“THOU ANNOINTEST MY HEAD WITH OIL”

1. With the recent change in temperature, bugs are becoming very apparent.

2. Someone recently told me that they have already seen a mosquito.

3. Tonight’s lesson involves sheep, and I want to begin it by noting something about insects.

4. During the summer months sheep are bothered by bugs.

5. Some of the parasites that bother sheep are:

A. Warble flies, bot flies, heel flies, nose flies,

B. Deer flies, black flies, mosquitoes, gnats, and other things.

6. One of a sheep’s worst pests, I have read, is the nose fly.

7. This fly tries to deposit eggs on a sheep’s nose.

8. If these flies are successful,

A. The eggs hatch in just a few days.

B. After hatching, worm-like larvae enter into the sheep’s head.

C. Once in the head, these larvae cause irritation and inflammation.

D. This situation is so painful that sheep do desperate things.

E. They will beat their heads against rocks, trees, and posts.

F. They will rub themselves in the dirt and thrash about.

9. Good shepherds knew that insects could create havoc within a flock.

10. Thus, preventative steps were and still are taken.

11. One of these steps is found in the OT, Ps. 23:5.

12. David said, Thou annointest my head with oil.

13. With sheep, oil served as a protective barrier.

14. Oil was designed to keep insects away from sheep.

15. This was how oil was often used in the summer months.

16. When autumn began to draw near, oil was used in another way.

17. Sheep mate during the fall.

18. During the mating process, sheep are prone to fight.

19. Rams battle each other to gain favor with ewes.

20. Day and night, I am told, people can hear sheep fighting.

21. Heads crash together; bodies collide; rams really butt heads.

22. The combat that sheep engage in can be deadly.

23. Thus, good shepherds used to and still take some preventative action.

24. In David’s day, lubricant was applied to the head and nose of each ram.

25. If sheep rammed into each other after this lubricant was applied, they basically bounced off each other.

I. IF YOU HAVE BEEN IN THE CHURCH FOR VERY LONG, OR IF YOU HAVE EVER READ MOST OF THE BIBLE, YOU KNOW THAT CHRISTIANS CAN BE LIKE RAMS.

A. Brethren can butt heads.

B. At times, brethren can really go after each other.

C. My wife and I have worshipped at 2 congregations where there were not elders.

D. In both places, I attended the men’s business meetings.

E. On more than one occasion, I saw men in these meetings get mad.

F. One brother got so angry he stormed out of the building with hate on his face.

G. I have heard church members slam doors so hard that things shook.

H. I have seen two Christian women scream at each other in the church parking lot.

I. My wife and I have seen brethren clash, and so have most of you.

J. It may have been here or somewhere else.

K. You have seen or been involved in the butting of heads.

L. The first thing I want to say about brethren butting heads, is that it is not new.

M. Scripture tells us that brethren in the past have butted heads.

N. One well-known case is found in Acts 15.

O. Paul was getting ready for his second missionary journey.

P. He wanted to check on the places he had visited on his 1^st trip.

Q. It was Paul’s plan that he and Barnabas again be a team.

R. Barnabas wanted to take along a third man—John Mark.

S. Paul didn’t want John Mark to go.

1) As Luke described this difference, he used imperfect tense verbs.

2) That is, Barnabas was saying, “Let’s take him, Paul.”

3) Paul was saying, “Barnabas, let’s leave him home.”

4) These two brethren went back and forth for a while.

5) These two men finally locked horns,

6) QUOTE/READ V. 39.

T. There are two different schools of thought on the meaning of v. 39.

U. Some argue that Paul and Barnabas were not really that upset.

V. Some contend that these men didn’t resort to butting heads;

W. They were “above that.”

X. This explanation is hard for me to accept.

Y. From what I can tell, these two men really got hot under the collar.

1) In addition to what v. 39 says,

2) The word translated sharp contention is used in the LXX.

3) LXX usage and NT usage is not always identical.

4) Knowing how the LXX uses a NT word can be beneficial.

5) Listen to how this same word is used in Deut. 29:28.

6) READ.

Z. God was so angry with some people that he kicked them out of their land.

A. Luke uses this same word to describe what happened between Paul and Barnabas.

B. What happened between these 2 men is likely close to what some of us have witnessed or even been involved in.

C. Another example of a clash between Christians is found in Phil. 4.

D. There were two women at Philippi who were butting heads.

E. Paul does not specify why these 2 women were not getting along with each other.

F. We do know that an apostle had to address the matter.

G. READ Phil. 4:2.

H. This example is not the last one that scripture gives.

1) Gen. 13:6-7 records a problem between Abraham and Lot.

2) Jacob and Esau didn’t see eye to eye, Gen. 26.

3) The brethren at Corinth were clashing with each other.

4) The Sadducees and Pharisees didn’t always get along.

II. PEOPLE ARE LIKE RAMS IN REGARD TO GETTING ALONG WITH EACH OTHER. WHILE OIL CAN PREVENT PESTS AND FIGHTING AMONG SHEEP,

A. We need something a little different.

B. What we need are minds and hearts filled with scripture.

C. Long ago, David said in Ps. 119:11, READ.

D. If I understand what David wrote, the thought is this:

1) David knew much scripture from the OT.

2) This knowledge of scripture governed his life.

3) Hour after hour and day by day, David was guided by passages he knew.

E. God’s law was David’s oil.

F. We need to have some oil—the NT.

G. Since becoming a Christian, I have heard people use Jas. 1:18-19.

H. In most situations, these two verses are separated.

I. People either concentrate on Jas. 1:18 or Jas. 1:19.

J. These two very familiar verses go together.

K. Verse 18 says, QUOTE/READ.

1) Verse 18 tells us how God reaches people.

2) God does not use dreams, visions, or supernatural power.

3) God reaches people with the word of truth (Bible).

4) Once people become Christians, what are they to do?

5) 18 b tells us that we are to follow God’s will.

L. Verse 19 reinforces the thought. QUOTE/READ.

1) Every man is supposed to be “swift to hear”.

2) Speaking and anger are to come “slowly”.

3) It is very rare to hear people connect verse 19 with verse 18.

4) Connecting these texts is exactly what James had in mind.

5) Verse 18 gives us the subject—the Word of God.

6) Verse 19 tells us what to do with it—hear it.

M. Jas. 1:18-19 is really identical to Ps. 119:11.

N. Let me put the matter into practical terms.

1) Here is a wife who is employed outside the home.

2) This wife likes to have a clean house.

3) On Friday, this wife goes to work thinking about the weekend.

4) By chance the husband in this example has the day off.

5) Wanting to relax, the husband really makes himself at home.

6) As the husband enjoys himself throughout the day,

7) a mess is created.

8) Dirty dishes are in about 3 different rooms.

9) Cheetos are ground into the carpet.

10) The house is no longer clean by the end of the day.

O. The wife comes home at 5:30; she’s tired.

P. She is looking forward to a weekend and a clean house.

Q. When this wife walks through the door,

R. She immediately sees what her husband has done to the house.

S. Somehow, the wife has just enough energy to lay into her husband.

T. Though she is a Christian, she really takes her husband to task.

U. Within a few minutes, the husband is angry. The weekend is spoiled.

V. This is the scenario without oil.

W. With oil, (Jas. 1:18-19/Ps. 119), things take a different turn.

X. The wife comes home and sees the mess that has been created.

Y. Instantly, the oil of God’s word goes to work.

1) The wife thinks of Jas. 1:18-19; “slow to speak, slow to anger”.

2) Then, 1 Pet. 3 pops into her head.

3) Though the mess is very displeasing, she wants to be a good example.

4) 2 Pet. 1 reminds the wife of self-control and patience.

5) Finally, brotherly kindness and love enter into the mind.

Z. Just as fighting can be controlled among sheep, with oil, our thoughts and actions can be controlled.

A. Our oil is the word of God.

B. We familiarize ourselves with the Bible passages to such a degree that:

1) When we are ready to lose our temper,

2) Take a swing at somebody,

3) Scream and holler,

4) Or let loose with the tongue,

5) We bring to mind passages that apply to what we want to do.

6) These passages then help us to control our actions.

7) They keep us in check; moderate our behavior.

C. The word of God helps us to keep control.

D. Attaining this control is not easy; it’s a life-long battle.

E. We can, however, make steady progress towards this control.

F. Part of the goal is reached by coating ourselves with scripture.

G. We allow scripture to function as oil on sheep.

H. This oil helps keep pests from getting to us.

I. This oil keeps us from butting heads

J. as Paul said in 2 Cor. 10:5.

K. Paul was not always as successful as Acts 15 shows.

L. None of us will ever be completely successful.

M. Let’s be sure that we do the best we can.

N. For the rest of our lives, let’s saturate ourselves in the oil of God’s word.

O. Let’s use that oil as David did, Ps. 119:11.