CONDUCTING YOURSELF IN VIOLENT TIMES
We live in a society where everyone can openly carry a gun. As a result, we have a rapid
Rise in gun violence. We have more mass shootings than ever before.
We are in danger of being killed going to shopping centers, grocery stores, or just driving
Down the street. Our children are in danger in school.
So how do we conduct ourselves? What confidence do we have that when we go somewhere
That we will arrive safely?
I came across a word in 1 Samuel 7:12 “ Ebenezer “ which means Thus far the Lord helped us.
1 Samuel 7:12-13
12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, \”Thus far has the Lord helped us.\” 13 So the Philistines were subdued and did not invade Israelite territory again.
Samuel had assembled the Israelites at the temple in Shiloh for worship
While they were making sacrifices to the Lord, the Philistines had camped near to
Attack. The Lord stepped in with a LOUD thunder that frighten the Philistines and they were
Driven away
In gratitude, Samuel set up a monument to the Lord
1 Samuel 7:12-13
12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, 13 So the Philistines were subdued and did not invade Israelite territory again. \”Thus far has the Lord helped us.\”
We should make every day an Ebenezer memorial to the Lord.
How do we operate in this violent society? We can’t take the power of
God and the power of His Word for granted. God gives us some daily
Operating rules.
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY
Psalms 39:1
I said, \”I will watch my ways
and keep my tongue from sin;
I will put a muzzle on my mouth
as long as the wicked are in my presence.\”
Today every 18-year-old has the right to buy and carry a gun.
When you are out of the safety of your home you don’t know who
You will run into who has a plan to kill and who will be motivated to
By something heard or read and by something you might say.
Who is wicked? You have no idea. If you open your mouth, make sure
The Word of God comes out first in love.
85% of Gun violence occurs in a social setting.
Psalms 39 says you will get upset. But don’t react to it in public
2 But when I was silent and still,
not even saying anything good,
my anguish increased.
3 My heart grew hot within me,
and as I meditated, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:
4 \”Show me, O Lord, my life\’s end
and the number of my days;
let me know how fleeting is my life.
5 You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Each man\’s life is but a breath.
Be humble before God and man.
Everything does not need a public response from you.
BE CONFIDENT THAT YOU ARE LOVED
Psalm 11:5 ESV / 706 helpful votes
The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
DON’T LIVE IN FEAR
2 Timothy 1:7
7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and of a sound mind.
Fear comes from the world. Fear comes from a lack of confidence in
The Lord.
You have power. The power of the Word
You have Love. The Love of God
You have a sound mind. The mind to call on God with His Word
Some of you think it is your God-given right to carry your gun.
The problem is the enemy has bigger guns and more ammunition.
The enemy is ready to strike while you are looking for your gun.
Matthew 26:52-54 ESV
Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. All who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?”
If your mind is focused on praise and worship, God has your back
Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways.
Stay away from violent people. Go the other way when you see them
Coming.
KEEP THE PRAISE OF THE LORD IN YOUR HEART AT ALL TIMES
Isaiah 60:18 ESV / 388 helpful votes
Violence shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your borders; you shall call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.
The key word here is Praise
Psalms 22:3 says God inhabits the praise of His people
Don’t let a moment go by with praising the Lord
Jesus showed us that Satan will flee when you hit him with the Word.
You can do nothing about violent people. But you can Praise the
One who has been your help thus far.
AVOID ARGUMENTS WITH ANYONE.
An argument can be the trigger to violence.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the evil one. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Titus 3:2 ESV / 180 helpful votes
To speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.
An argument generally ends up being tic for tack. Back and forth with no
Resolution.
KEEP YOUR ACTIONS PURE TO STAY IN FELLOWSHIP WITH JESUS
Not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.
Galatians 5:19-21 ESV / 155 helpful votes
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Any sin we commit takes us out of fellowship with the Lord.
When you are out of fellowship with the Lord, maybe time stuff happens.
BE CONFIDENT THAT GOD IS IN CONTROL
Hebrews 10:30 ESV / 149 helpful votes
For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.”
Romans 14:1 ESV / 144 helpful votes
As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not quarrel over opinions.
Romans 8:28-29
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
God is not going to let anything happen to you that’s not for your good.
THOSE WHO SET OUT TO HARM YOU WILL HAVE A DAY WITH THE LORD
Let death steal over them; let them go down to Sheol alive; for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.
From the fruit of his mouth, a man eats what is good, but the desire of the treacherous is for violence.
PRAY FOR YOUR ENEMIES
Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.
Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
LET PEACE AND UNDERSTANDING START AT HOME
Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
DEVELOP A HABIT OF LISTENING FIRST BEFORE
YOU SPEAK
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
One of the things that work for me, is if I don’t have anything
Good to say, don’t say anything.
In this time of violence get a simple personal protection device.
Personal Safety Devices
Pepper Spray
Maze
Key Chain Alarm
Stun Gun
CLASS EXERCISE
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO BEFORE YOU LEAVE HOME?
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF SOMEONE TRIES TO TAKE YOUR PURSE?
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO BEFORE YOU GET OUT OF YOUR CAR?
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF YOU SEE SOMEONE WITH A GUN?
IF YOU HEAR GUNSHOTS WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?
WHERE IS THE BEST PLACE TO HIDE IN A PARKING LOT WHEN THERE
IS A SHOOTER?
WHERE IS THE BEST PLACE TO KICK AN ATTACKER?
WHAT IS THE FIRST THING TO DO IF AN ATTACKER GRABS
YOU FROM BEHIND?
Rev. M. Mitchell
