Conclusions

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I want to begin with a little about the infamous feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys that began during the 1800’s in Pike County Kentucky.

·        Mr. Perry Staton, a 93-year-old member of our Church, was raised in Pike County and is related to both the Hatfields and the McCoys.

·        In fact, a man named Bill Staton, an ancestor of Mr. Perry’s, was the first person killed in the feud.

·        Mr. Perry’s grandfather wrote an extensively documented account of the events leading up to the feud in a published book on the subject. I’ve read that book in which he lists all of the court documents and witness statements and several accounts from friends and neighbors.

·        Even though the descendants either don’t know or won’t agree with what caused the feud in the first place, they are still feuding. Here is a portion of one historian’s take on it and how it started, entitled:

The Real Reason the Hatfields and McCoys Started Feuding

BY Stacy Conradt

June 15, 2015

Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

In the late 19th century, the Hatfields and McCoys were locked in a bloody, decades-long feud…

… the event that launched the now-infamous conflict—which claimed the lives of 13 family members—has taken a backseat to the fact of its impressive longevity. What caused the bad blood in the first place? A pig …

In 1878, Randolph McCoy accused Floyd Hatfield of stealing one of his hogs. The matter went to trial, with the star testimony coming from Bill Staton, a McCoy who married a Hatfield. Staton sided with Hatfield, and was later shot dead by Sam McCoy.

Generations later, the Hatfield’s and the McCoy’s grandchildren and great grandchildren are still considered to be in a feud even though many of them can’t even agree on why the feud began in the first place. They were raised in a feud and have lived under the assumption that feuding is the way of life for them and have concluded that feuding is the only option.

Conclusions

Today we are talking about conclusions and how they can affect everything we think, believe and do and even affect future generations to come.

Let’s look back a little farther in history, back to about 1100 years Before Christ. There we find the account of the Children of Israel going to battle against the Philistines and losing possession of the Ark of the Covenant. You can read about it in 1 Samuel, chapter 4. (Allow me to catch us up …)

(Side Note: Michelob – Ichabod --- Tell the story all the way through Dagon’s beheading and the dedication of the threshold of his temple …)

Our text for today begins in:

1 Samuel 5

1 ¶  Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.

2  When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the temple of Dagon and set it by Dagon.

3  And when the people of Ashdod arose early in the morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and set it in its place again.

4  And when they arose early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. The head of Dagon and both the palms of its hands were broken off on the threshold; only Dagon’s torso was left of it.

5  Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor any who come into Dagon’s house tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

The Philistines drew a stupid conclusion to the events they had witnessed. They concluded that the threshold was sacred and then began to worship it. Their decisions for their future and the future of their children were based on the wrong interpretation. (Just to note: in the medieval period, when Christianity became widely corrupted, the adoration of the thresholds  of churches was once again revisited. People would even bow and kiss them before entering concluding that the building or the institution had somehow become holy and the object of worship.

In the case of these Philistines, that’s what I call, “Stinking Thinking’.

Something was wrong with their interpreter … When we listen to the wrong voices we will make the wrong choices. Not everything that sounds or seems or is spiritual is Godly. The elder John wrote to us about that …

Everyone sees the same thing, but conclusions are subject to each individual’s personal interpretation.

For example, 10 out of 12 spies, like in the book of Numbers, chapter 14, will tell you that you the enemies are too big …

·        That you can’t trust God

·        That you are going to die

It seems rare to find people who can draw an accurate conclusion. Especially if they have already made up their minds and are looking for confirmation. It can be tough to accept that you have made a wrong conclusion.

What most often leads people to draw wrong conclusions?

·        Stubbornness

·        Pride

·        Hurt

·        Anger

·        History/Experience

·        Spiritual blindness

·        Hubris

·        Youthful Idealism

·        The pressure or the desire to run with the crowd

o   The Emperor’s new clothes

o   The 10 spies

o   The Philistines when it came to Dagon

Our conclusions control our decisions and ultimately control our actions.

There is a universal law that says:

·        You find exactly what you are looking for …

o   New Cars

o   Nobody likes me

o   Everybody loves me

o   Mexican Restaurants

·        We find what we are searching for and we search for validation of our conclusions.

There is a story about two men sitting on the porch of the General Store in a small West Virginia town. A car pulled up with a family of four and the dad rolled down his window to ask a question. It seems the family was wanting to relocate out of the city and wondered what kind of people lived in this particular town. When asked that question one of the old men answered with a question: “What kind of people live in the place where you’re coming from?” The reply from that family was that the people they were leaving were hard and harsh, unfriendly and not to be trusted. The second old man sitting on the porch spoke up and said, “That’s exactly the kind of people you’re going to find here in this town too.” With that, the window rolled up and the family drove off.

A little while later the same thing was repeated by another family looking to relocate. When they stopped and asked the question as to what kind of people lived in this town the same old man answered with the question: “What kind of people live in the town you folks are from?” The response was quite different. The family replied that the people in their community were kind and nice, friendly and supportive and that they just hated having to leave. That second old man spoke up again with the same answer … “Well, he said, that’s exactly the kind of people you’re going to find in this town too.”

We find what we are looking for and perhaps we even mostly find people who are just like us! Conclusions …

How do people draw conclusions? What do we use to decide what we are going to believe and how we interpret what is going on around us?

1.  Filters

2.  Fears

3.  Foregone Conclusions

Some of us have already made up our minds and drawn conclusions about:

·        Chevrolets

·        Foreigners

·        Policemen

·        Political Parties

·        Blondes

·        Men with beards

·        Preachers

It won’t matter how wrong we may be … Our foregone conclusions will find confirmations and will affect our decisions and be passed down to our children for generations to come … right up until somebody decides to break out of those fears, filters and foregone conclusions.

What can we do to insure we always have the best interpretation of anything we see, hear or experience?

We should always apply a generous amount of:

·        Mercy

·        Forgiveness

·        Love

·        Thanksgiving

·        Grace

·        Hope

·        Faith

·        Compassion

·        Kindness

·        Patience

To everything we hear and see.

1.  Change your filter

2.  Conquer your fears

3.  Let the Word of God establish your foregone conclusions

Like jelly on a piece of toast … every experience should always be tasted through the sweetness of God’s Word, God’s Will and God’s Way.

Tell me, what have you concluded about Jesus, the Church, the Bible, being a witness to others, heaven or hell? Do you have God’s interpretation, your own convictions or someone else’s opinion making decisions for you? Only what God believes and only His conclusions will stand the test of eternity.

Let’s make sure Jesus is not only our Savior but also our Lord. Then, let’s submit each day’s conclusions to Him and His Word and ask the Holy Spirit to become our interpreter, our teacher and our guide.

This is the daily will of God for you.