Hedges

Matthew 21 33. hear another parable there is a certain landowner who planted a Vineyard a set of hedge around it dug a wine press in it and built a tower and he released the Divine dressers and went into a far country I'll give a little context to this verse later Jesus is telling a story appointed parable but he describes a practice a landowner planning a Vineyard wanting to protect it so he built or set a hedge about it I want to speak to you on the theme Hedges God bless you please be seated in the Bible a hedge or a wall was called a fence or a wall was called a hedge the biblical use of Hedges was not like a row of shrubs that might surround your house for beautification and served a purpose and I've chosen to retain the word Hedges although I see what the Bible described as a wall a short wall in many cases around something to be protected they were not high like the walls around a fortified City they were typically smaller walls used more domestically and in agriculture but the point of a wall a hedge was the same was there to protect something that was valuable to the family or to the owner I want to talk to you about Hedges today because I believe that we are responsible to build hedges around what we love value and want to protect in the Book of Job chapter 1 verse 9 the Lord is having a conversation with the devil and Satan job 1-9 so Satan answered the Lord and said does job fear God for nothing you have made you have you not made a hedge around him around his household and around all that he has on every side you have blessed the work of his hands and of his possessions have increased in the land the devil said to God I want to get to job but I can't you've set a hedge around him on every side it's not just in front or back or one side or the other it's on every side and it protects me from getting to his family his stuff his body you protected him now Satan negotiates with God and God allows the Hedge to come down as he deems it he can first get to job's possessions his livestock and his children and later Satan has access to job's Health he is smitten with boils from head to foot it's interesting though that with the removal of the Hedge that God had put up that that job had some self-built hedges in his life he had a hedge of worship that when everything is gone I will still choose to worship God he had a hedge of trust that even though things did not make sense he trusted that God knew what he was doing and was working on his behalf job had a hedge of hope that in the midst of all his all of his Calamity he knew that if skin worms destroyed his body yet in his flesh he would see God Hedges are a first line of defense against an attack in Psalm 89 and 40 there's a picture of what happens when Hedges are broken down Psalm 89 40 you have broken down all his Hedges you have brought his strongholds to ruin so there was something important a stronghold that was surrounded by a hedge and when the Hedge came down the stronghold was destroyed it was brought to ruin the Lord spoke of Israel as his well-beloved like a Vineyard that was surrounded by a hedge you'll find that in the book of Isaiah chapter 5. this story that we're reading about in Matthew 21 a parable told by Jesus I want to read it again Matthew 21 33 here another Parable there is a certain landowner who planted did a Vineyard that's what he valued he set a hedge around it he dug a wine press in it so he could crush the grapes and get the juice and then he built a tower which is another sermon a place from which he could watch he leased it out to vine dressers and went into a far Country Now the point of this Parable is how the Jews rejected Jesus he sent for the fruit and they they killed the ones that went who were his ambassadors but we see a picture of a practice that was common in the Bible if you had a home if you had a farm if you had a Vineyard you would very often surround it with a hedge a wall that would protect anything from getting in that you didn't want in it wasn't to keep people or things from getting out it was to keep the outside from getting in so Vineyards or symbolic of something of value and edges were symbolic of a first line of defense a way of protection that the landowner would have so it was a matter of security to surround what you valued with a hedge this is an important idea about family about your life about making sure that you protect the things that matter to you this hedge is a barrier it stands between you and your family and danger it doesn't wall you in it walls other things out I grew up in in a modest home in Hialeah Florida Miami and my parents had a chain link fence put around our house now it wasn't six feet tall it wasn't topped with barbed wire but it was a fence nonetheless and I've thought about what that that fence kept out I'm sure my parents also thought it was a good idea to keep us for kids and cousins and friends to be protected from the cars that drove down the busier Street in front of our house not the side street so my parents loved us enough to build a fence in our church we have a lot of Technology here and we want to protect it so brother Roger Carter he looks after this put a very thorough firewall for our internet for all of our technology but we've been told that our firewall is attacked something like a thousand times a day someone would like to get in and hack our information mess with mess with our computers and and destroy the technology that we use to bring glory to God but thank God there is a hedge there there's a firewall there to protect us but fences Hedges that have holes in them or of little value I recently saw some warthogs going under a hole in a fence that's not really keeping stuff out and keeping stuff in if you've ever been to a farm or a place that was fenced and there were breeches in the fence maybe the the barbed wire was cut and anything could come and go that was a dangerous place that left the farm vulnerable the purpose of my message today is to encourage you to strengthen the hedges around your soul and around your family and to make sure you know that you need them if you love your soul if you love your marriage if you love your family then you need to build a hedge or strengthen the Hedge around your family it doesn't need to be on one side or two it needs to be a 360 structure to protect what you really love and value amen Satan is your enemy continually conspires to destroy you Jesus spoke about his work in John 10 and 10 that the thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy that's what his business is in your family and I want to remind you that he is always working he knows his time is short he's like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour so don't be spiritually asleep or naive or you think that because you prayed last week that that's good enough we must be vigilant watchful and build a hedge around our family and maintain it at all costs there's a thief coming to steal kill and destroy I don't know about you but I think your family is worth protecting I know my family is worth protecting so what are these hedges I believe that they can be identified as lines you draw about Holiness safety protection whatever comes into your home that you want to make sure but everything you can to keep stuff out that wants to come in that may be Insidious or overt but it has a motive of destroying your family so I want to talk about three kinds of Hedges physical and relational Hedges mental and emotional Hedges and spiritual Hedges physical and relationship Hedges are very important fathers and mothers and if you're a single parent that's you you are a steward of the hedges that surround your marriage and family and as I said at the beginning of this series I am acutely aware here that there are many people that do not fall into the category of a family that I may be addressing today you may be single you may be older widowed divorced you may be a single parent these principles apply to the hedges that you need to build and maintain in your life but the head of a home I believe is the primary Steward of that hedge amen job was surrounded on every Side by a hedge around his life amen so it's a it's an important thing that we maintain these hedges in our life and everybody said amen amen and my iPad decided to just go somewhere else and so I'm finding my spot if you're wondering what I'm doing right now physical and relational hedges now in the Old Testament God gave a tremendous amount of authority to husbands and fathers so much so that if a wife or a minor child made a vow to God if the husband felt that that vow was foolish that husband had the authority under God to disannull that vow they could say this is a foolish vow or one that shouldn't be made to God and the husband could overrule it this is found in Numbers Chapter 30 I'm in verse 5 now but there is an important component of this if a wife or a minor child made a vowel and the husband did not say anything then that vow would stand and the Bible said that the father had to overrule her his wife or the child on the day that he heard of that vow and if he didn't do that then he was giving silent consent to that vow and she or that child that wife or child would not be released from that vowel if he keeps his mouth shut and doesn't speak up then that foolish vow will stand amen wouldn't it have been a good idea if Adam would have told Eve no Eve it may look good it may be desired to make you wise it may look like it's good to eat and it's pretty but we're not eating that fruit in our family I'm not talking about husbands and dads as dictators but I am talking about leaders that love your family and you are a first line of defense to say we're not going there doing that that's not for us my responsibility is to protect my family it would have been a great idea if Abraham would have said to Sarah I know we don't have any children and it sounds like a great plan for me to father a child with your handmade but I don't see any good thing coming from that a nation that will be our nemesis from now on and if Abraham would have spoken up and said that's a bad idea Sarah that Jewish people would have been saved a lot of trouble through the centuries but Adam was silent and Abraham was silent and history tells the rest of the story and I want to tell you that if you're a father husband if you're a single mom it may not be easy for you to take a stand but would you say by the grace of God I'm going to stand where the Bible stands I'm going to build a hedge around my family I'm gonna say this is what we believe as for me and my house we will serve the Lord we're gonna build some hedges for our family hedges around your body after all they are the temple of the Holy Ghost physical health and safety of your family is very important nutrition sleep shelter safety date from all danger and harm that's very important for us to do in a practical way any good parent would not leave a loaded firearm laying around their house with young children to access it I think that's a good idea right you don't leave guns laying around knives sharp objects well if you believe that's important there's a lot of other things that are dangerous to families and you should try to protect your children from abuse in every form that it might come whether overt or Insidious you need to be aware of who your children are with who's alone with your children where are they staying who is at home what those relatives or friends when they come back home do you see any changes of behavior does something tip you off that something might have happened I'm not trying to create a lot of suspects but we live in a pretty evil world and we should be guarded that's what hedge is all about does your child seem troubled maybe something's going on they may not want to talk about it at first but you need to reach out to them I think it's important for you to know what's being taught them in school on Wednesday night I set it to say private Christian School that's not an Apostolic School you need to know what's being taught there and counteract false Doctrine if they go to a public school you need to know about secular humanism that their stuff being taught your kids that you do not approve of and you need to address it with your child to help save them from people that you trust and they trust that may not be trustworthy there's a lot of great teachers in the public school system I'm not speaking against them but when a system is designed to undermine the faith of people then we need to stand up and get involved as parents we need to know we need to know and we need to help our kids who are your kids friends who are your friends you're blessed or cursed by the company that you keep as mature Christians we should be reaching out to lost people to bring them into the kingdom of God so they can be saved from hell and go to heaven but we need to watch about ungodly influences in our children the Bible is very clear about relationships First Corinthians 15 33 New Living Translation don't be fooled by those who say such things about associations for Bad Company corrupts good character yeast always changes the nature of the dough the dough doesn't change the nature of the yeast and when something is active and evil sometimes East is evil in the Bible not always when something is evil and active it is trying to change you it is trying to change your family you should know that it is not inert that it is active and you need to get involved in removing it from the context of your family a little yeast leavens the whole lung when Israel left Egypt a group of people went with them they were called the mixed multitude the rabble some translations say they were the people who murmured against God and turned Israel against the Lord you need to know if there's some grumblers and complainers and scoffers and critics in your life that are always criticizing the church and your faith and they're trying to understand undermine your family they need to go on the other side of that hedge amen Solomon was the wisest man in the world no one ever liked him to Jesus but Solomon made a fatal mistake he began to take into his kingdom something the Lord advised against the King was not to multiply to himself wives or horses or money Solomon starts marrying Pagan women and they undermine his faith the wisest man in the world so no matter how spiritual you think you are or wise you may be no one no one can allow themselves to compromise a principle and not be affected by it Nehemiah was addressing the the marriages in his day between Jews and pagan people and he spoke of Solomon he used Solomon as an example did not Solomon Nehemiah 13 26 did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things yet among many nations there was no King like him who was beloved of his God and God made him King over all Israel nevertheless Pagan women cause even him Nehemiah says even Solomon was not wise enough to go against the principle and survive it even him did Pagan women cause to sin so I want to say to you that you may consider yourself moral and spiritual and grounded and good but none of us no one not the person preaching not anybody listening none of us are above the Bible none of us are above the law of the word of God every one of us are affected by it and should live by it that's why today I'm in I'm encouraging you I'm challenging you to build a hedge around your soul build a hedge around your family don't let anything breach those walls [Applause] thank you [Applause] I mentioned friendships Proverbs 13 20. He Who Walks With wise men will be wise remember your blessed are cursed by The Company You Keep but the companion of fools will be destroyed when you knowingly willingly Ally yourself make a friendship with someone who is a fool who is ungodly who begins to influence you it will destroy you now I know we want to be Soul winners I'll get to that in a bit but if you Ally yourself with him and align yourself with them you're going to be affected by that you need to know the friends of your kids what is their character where are they going what are they doing what are they watching who are they with you sound like you're interrogating your child well at once in a while that may be important but if you know you don't have to ask so many questions because you've already figured that out who are their Heroes September 3rd this year something happened in in Douglasville that made the news a lot of things make the news the police responded to Arbor Place Mall there are some people fighting inside and out outside the mall the Douglas County sheriff's deputies arrived and they found a chaotic scene inside and outside Arbor Place Mall there as many 200 people kids mostly teenagers juveniles the report said running around screaming others were fighting some were saying that guns were being fired although they were not but they had social media on they were wanting to get more likes and watches and engagement it's believed that a three dollar movie event led to this large crowd of juveniles who were there without parental supervision which is against the policy of them all there were only minor injuries scrapes and bruising there was an investigation by the Douglasville police department they arrested 19 juveniles and one adult and the ages of those arrested were between the ages of 12 and 17. they got charges like disorderly conduct a Fray simple battery nine people were charged with the violation of the Georgia street gang and terrorism prevention act that's not good on your record and they said you know it's a little bit of gang activities but the but the law enforcement agency said while uh these programs that try to intervene in games are important It ultimately falls on the shoulders of parents to monitor their children's behavior and prevent conduct which will lead to them being injured or arrested by us this may mean this is the article you shouldn't let your 12 year old go out unsupervised on weekend nights the Douglas County Police Department Douglasville said we will vigorously investigate incidents like this but parents should make sure their children understand this type of behavior will not be tolerated or ignored by law enforcement in Douglasville and in Douglas County amen you can blame gangs if you want but blames are often replacement families where kids find relationships and approval because they didn't get it at home where they should have gotten it and I do find it a little ironic because I agree with what I just read that parents are responsible but some people believe that when your kids go to school that your kids belong to the state and not the family but I will tell you that the Bible teaches that we are the stewards of our family we should be involved we have a right to know what's going on with our kids we should intervene we should shape the process with our vote and our voice and our involvement Hallelujah but I'm not really here to preach about politics although we ought to be involved where we can I'm talking about the involvement of parents to make sure that you build a hedge around your kids your family they're too important to destroy that hedge as a Christian there are some relational Hedges you need to build between people yourself and the people of the opposite sex talking about married couples single adults and I'm not being funny now but if your Temptations are not heterosexual Temptations you need the power of God to keep you there's no past there's no permission to violate biblical morals even if you're struggling with something that is not god-given that is that is from another place whether nurture or satanic or spiritual battle that you may be facing amen but I want to say this to parents as a former youth pastor if a person of the same sex as your child or you is forming a controlling or abnormally close relationship with you or your children take heed I'm not saying it is always evil but it needs to be a little flag that goes up why is this person possessive of my child does it want them to have other friends doesn't want us to be associated with other people that is something of a concern to me if you're married you need to stay clear of compromising situations it's called the sometimes called the Mike Pence rule or it's called Uh the rule by another leader I'm sorry just my mind just went blank not in my nose but but I read it from Jerry Jenkins about relationships that you don't eat alone with a person of the opposite sex if you're married you don't travel alone with the member of the opposite sex if you're married you maintain a hedge around your life so that you are protected the other person was a Billy Graham Rule and the Mike Pence rule I've just read that this week you should be careful how you complement because people tend to respond to compliments so you complement character and you make sure that you're not being flirtatious when you don't mean to be flirtatious and if you're being flirtatious and you shouldn't be you're not trying to get married you are married then that is wrong I've heard people say innocent flirtation if you're married there's no such thing has innocent flirtation [Applause] now I know there's a few people right now that wish I was talking about Nebuchadnezzar's image something that isn't so close to home but I'm intentionally really close to home today because we want to go to heaven we want our families to be saved amen so be cautious about that he cautioned cautious and discreet about touching and hugging and maintaining a proper distance with people of the opposite sex maintain a good healthy marriage amen and if you're married don't discuss intimate problems with other people unless it's in a context to get help and counseling that's not something that should be kind of just gutter talk with other friends men and ladies that should be in the sanctity of your marriage because the Bible said that marriage is Honorable among all and the bed is undefiled but it stays there in the sanctity of your marriage not to be calm and talk that creates imagery and Temptation for other people I think that's plain enough don't discuss your marriage problems with someone of the opposite sex and they you gain their sympathy and you form an emotional bond with them that is unhealthy be discreet and correspondence in texting however you communicate so that your intentions are always clear and never misunderstood amen no I want to talk briefly because I'm talking about hedges how do you treat people who are once in truth that walked away from truth I'm not talking about trying to win people to God I'm not talking now about people who we would consider backsliders who were saved but are now away from God I'm talking about people who consider themselves saved but have chosen another Doctrine another path they are often trying to evangelize you to come where they are because they have a guilty conscience and they want to talk about it and justify where they are for they are now free in Christ and you are now under bondage that's how they couch that language the Bible tells us that we are to have nothing to do with people like that Romans 16 17. I know this is not family but it is your soul it's about relationships now I urge you Brethren note those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you learned and avoid them First Corinthians 5 9 New Living Translation when I wrote to you before I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin but I wasn't talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin or are greedy or cheat people are worship idols you would have to leave this world to avoid people like that so Paul in the wisdom of the word of God gives us an understanding there are some people you should avoid but it's not Sinners who have never been saved verse 11. I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer they say they're saved yet they indulge in sexual sin or is greedy or worship idols or is abusive or is a drunkard or cheats people don't even eat with such people now I know you may kind of take issue with me but please don't take issue with the Bible the Bible is very clear here that someone who is left the faith who is like an Infidel away from truth doesn't need to be your best buddy you need to have a hedge between you and them amen the second kind of hedge after a physical and relational Hedge there's a mental and an emotional hedge in your life so guard your mind and guard your soul continually evaluate the influences that you allow into your mind and into your home what is being watched and how much is it being watched what is being listened to are read how much time is spent in social media even if it is not evil there's been a lot of studies not religious but sociological about the rewiring of your brain by your involvement with social media and all kinds of things like that that's not the purpose of my message that's not my expertise but I can read what kinds of entertainment are you engaged in how much money is it costing your family how much time has spent in sports programs entertainment gaming and other media compared to the time you spend in church in Ministry and devotion is a diet of entertainment and media building a more Godly family in your life or is it undermining your family values this wasn't part of my notes I didn't say this in the 9 A.M but more and more children's movies are including people that practice deviant Behavior that are transgender that are not that we would understand the Bible not what we understand what the Bible clearly teaches it is a subtle entertainment with the twist here and there and the entertainment is so enjoyable that we tolerate what the Bible condemns and we are undermining the Next Generation to normalize what is a perversion you need to be vigilant and make some good decisions and you need to put a hedge around your family and say that may be funny but it is not godly how much do you believe the truth how much are your convictions guiding your behavior or will you compromise if it's enjoyable okay and how is that influence helping your family is your family better off because of that or do you find yourself struggling more and more with imagery pornography with things that are improper are your kids healthy or doing better are they more inclined to be obedient to you or are they fighting with the spirit of rebellion back in the day when we were raising boys it was about the rebellious music that kids could listen to that has a spirit behind it well there's all kinds of things that have Spirits behind it right and we need to know some things are maybe okay they they fall in a neutral area but some things have a spiritual agenda to undermine your faith and destroy your family amen so you need to have an understanding parents need to be together on this even if you think your spouse is a little more conservative on the stand on this it would be better for you to stand together than to see your kids see you separated in a value about the Bible that's more damaging it would be better for you to set a stronger standard than a more liberal standard it would be better for you to have a bigger hedge a taller hedge and one that is farther away from the world than one that is as close as you can get too much is at stake amen I want to give you a few verses about media if you want to know more about this lesson five on Apostolic identity we dive into this very deeply it's archived Psalm 101 3 I'll go through these verses quickly but I want to make sure I substantiate what I've just said I will set no Wicked thing before my eyes I will hate the work of those who fall away it shall not cling to me Job 31 1 he said I have made a covenant with mine eyes I like that wording I made a deal with my eyes why then should I look upon a young woman and the context is with lust in the Bible in verse first Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 22 of stain from all appearance of evil another verse not in my notes says that we should be wise unto that which is good and simple concern evil Paul wrote that in Romans how much do you need to know about evil as little as possible Philippians 4 and 8. finally Brethren and sisters whatever things are true whatever things are noble whatever things are just whatever things are pure whatever things are lovely whatever things are of a good report if there is any virtue and if there's anything praiseworthy meditate on these things the psalmist said let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart the acceptable in thy sight amen O Lord my redeemer the Bible says in Romans 12 verses one and two we love this verse it is still true today I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a Living Sacrifice holy acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service and be not conformed to this world Phillips paraphrase says don't let the world around you squeeze you into its mold be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove that you may live out what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God the Bible says a lot about building a hedge around our minds so things that would undermine our faith need to be put away from us and we need to be accountable for the way we live with your devices if you're constantly erasing your history and your spouse doesn't have access to that if your parents don't have access to that I know our kids are a lot smarter than us if you can't figure out technology ask a six-year-old they can help you I'm not saying don't trust your teenagers trust and verify and be accountable amen we need Hedges to protect our families physically and relationally we need Hedges to protect our families mentally and emotionally with all that said we mostly need to protect our families with a spiritual hedge around them spiritual Hedges are hard to see but they are formed by the integrity and the walk the spiritual walk of parents it is who you are in the dark what you believe how you live it's your prayer life it's your interaction with the word of God that the word of God dwells in you richly in all wisdom not just something you know in your head but it's something you have in your heart it is the prayer in the spirit not just with the understanding when the Holy Ghost begins to pray through you we raise three boys there were times when I feel like we ward in prayer I did not know exactly what I was praying but I felt the unction of the Holy One to pray and build up ourselves on our Most Holy Faith praying in the Holy Ghost amen I hope you pray over your meals I hope you have a prayer list but I hope you've got a dimension of prayer that is powerful that you intercede in the Holy Ghost for your family when you do you are building a spiritual wall of protection you're saying not here not us you don't own us we belong to God amen we need to build spiritual spiritual hedges around our family the Apostle Paul Second Corinthians 10 and 3. for though we walk in the flesh we eat and sleep and drink and work jobs and goof off a little and joy people God created a beautiful world to enjoy we walk and live in this human life so we walk in the flesh we do not war after the flesh we don't win these wars with bombs and guns we win these wars in a superior form of warfare for the weapons of our Warfare are not carnal they're not Earthly try to have a curfew but you better have more than a curfew it's great to have media limitations but you better have more than that it's wonderful to guard your friendships but you need more than that you need this dimension of the Holy Ghost and when we come to the altar I'm going to encourage you to pray in the spirit if you talk in tongues about once a year that's not great the old-timer said you need to speak in tongues every day I'm not going to make that a Doctrine but Paul said the outward man perishes the inner man is renewed day by day you're not to be drunk with wine whereas in a sex test but you are to be filled with the spirit we need to pray what Romans 8 26 says that there's groanings and utterries that come in the Holy Ghost that is a spiritual warfare back to my verse for the weapons of our Warfare are not carnal but they are Mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds casting down imaginations and every High thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to The Obedience of Christ one of my heroes one of my friends brother Wayne Huntley years ago preached the message that Pentecost needs a Pentecost you've heard me say before we don't want to appear a pretty Pentecost that sounds good and real pretty we call ourselves that but we deny the power thereof Pentecost was a power that came from heaven where people were accused of being drunk with wine they were so moved on by the spirit when you're praying in the Holy Ghost it may not be pretty you may not maintain your composure but you are fighting a war that is winnable because you're building a spiritual hedge around your family would you stand right now [Applause]