|
Home
Doctrine
Holy Days
and Holidays
Christian
Living
Life
and Death
Prophecy
History
The Church
Other
Sermons
Booklets
and Articles
Sermon
Audio Recordings
Statement
of Beliefs
| |
|
Reacting To Our Sins
A week ago we were keeping leaven out of our homes. Are we as
concerned about sin in our lives as we were about leaven in our homes?
Paul described his frustration with the sin in his life in Romans 7:
Rom 7:14-23 (RSV) We know that the law is spiritual; but
I am carnal, sold under sin. {15} I do not understand my own
actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.
{16} Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. {17}
So then it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me.
{18} For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my
flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. {19} For I
do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. {20}
Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin
which dwells within me. {21} So I find it to be a law that when I want
to do right, evil lies close at hand. {22} For I delight in the law of
God, in my inmost self, {23} but I see in my members another law at war
with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which
dwells in my members.
Sin is all around us, in nearly everything we see and do. Sin
is present in us as well, as Paul described. A war rages within us,
a carnal war versus a Spiritual war. What do people do when they find sin
in their life?
Let me show you five ways people react to the sins we
continually find ourselves committing. While we go through these, ask
yourself which way you use:
Way #1. Many don't believe they are guilty of sin when others
point it out, even if pointed out tactfully. They think there is nothing
wrong even when they are caught with their hands in the cookie jar. "Well,
you're not perfect either" is one typical reaction.
We must learn to acknowledge our sins.
(Acts 8:18-24 NKJV) And when Simon saw that through the
laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered
them money, {19} saying, "Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I
lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit." {20} But Peter said to him,
"Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God
could be purchased with money! {21} "You have neither part nor portion
in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. {22}
"Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the
thought of your heart may be forgiven you. {23} "For I see that you are
poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity." {24} Then Simon answered
and said, "Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you
have spoken may come upon me."
Simon Magus refused to believe he had done wrong. People who
can't believe their children would do such and such, usually can't believe
they, the parent, have sin either. Don't let yourselves refuse to see what
sin is.
(Rom 14:11-12 NKJV) For it is written: "As I live, says the
LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to
God." {12} So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.
When judgment comes, will we deny that we have done wrong?
Will we say that everyone does it? Will we blame others?
Rom 2:7-8 (NIV) To those who by persistence in doing good
seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. {8} But
for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and
follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.
Do we reject the truth when we hear it? Do we pass off
instruction by just saying, "well I don't agree with that" or "it doesn't
matter"? That was the attitude of Adam and Eve too.
(Gen 3:12 NKJV) Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave
to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate."
Yes, Adam knew who was to blame. Eve was. It wasn't his
fault, was it? Pilate had the same attitude.
(Mat 27:24 NKJV) When Pilate saw that he could not prevail
at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed
his hands before the multitude, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of
this just Person. You see to it."
He could have over-ridden the Jewish priest's demands but it
wasn't worth the effort. He passed the buck to the Jewish priests. The man
who had power over life or death or anything else he wanted to do, washed
his hands of the torture and death of the Son of God. It wasn't his fault,
was it?
Let's go back a little further, this time to the time of
Moses as he confronted Aaron regarding the golden calf.
Exo 32:21-24 (NIV) He said to Aaron, "What did these people
do to you, that you led them into such great sin?" {22} "Do not be
angry, my lord," Aaron answered. "You know how prone these people are to
evil. {23} They said to me, 'Make us gods who will go before us. As for
this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has
happened to him.' {24} So I told them, 'Whoever has any gold jewelry,
take it off.' Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire,
and out came this calf!"
Why, this little ol' calf just popped up out of the
fire...all by itself. It was all the people's fault....certainly not
Aaron's.
Paul seemed to have a different idea about what it took to
make a golden calf.
Acts 17:29-32 (NIV) "Therefore since we are God's
offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or
silver or stone--an image made by man's design and skill. {30} In
the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people
everywhere to repent. {31} For he has set a day when he will judge the
world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of
this to all men by raising him from the dead." {32} When they heard
about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but
others said, "We want to hear you again on this subject."
Do you sneer? Do you prove what the ministry teaches? Do you
believe that every word of the Bible is inspired and backed up by God? Do
you relate current events to prophesy? During the days of unleavened
bread, did you throw out every vestige of leavening from your life . . .
or have you kept back a little, maybe because its so comfortable? Remember
what happened to King Saul when the Israelites held onto a little of the
booty they were ordered to destroy? In 1 Sam 15, King Saul was told his
life as king was over. Do we want that same fate for holding onto just a
little sin?
John addressed this in John 3. This is also an answer to the
question of why seemingly converted, Christian people are not called.
John 3:19-21 (NIV) This is the verdict: Light has come into
the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds
were evil. {20} Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not
come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. {21} But
whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen
plainly that what he has done has been done through God."
Are you a creature of the light....or of the dark? You are a
creature of the light only if you live by the light. We must not carry
with us a dark corner into which we can retreat when we want to. We must
throw out all the leaven in our lives.
Way #2. Do we get mad and make counter accusations about
God's servants or our spouse or our brethren or anyone else? Some find it
self-satisfying to say, "Who makes you right" or "I know that. I don't
want to hear about it." Let's read a chapter from Numbers about insolence.
Num 16 (NIV) Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son
of Levi, and certain Reubenites--Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and
On, the son of Peleth--became insolent {2} and rose up against Moses.
With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had
been appointed members of the council. {3} They came as a group to
oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, "You have gone too far! The
whole community is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is with them.
Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord's assembly?" {4} When
Moses heard this, he fell facedown. {5} Then he said to Korah and all
his followers: "In the morning the LORD will show who belongs to him and
who is holy, and he will have that person come near him. The man he
chooses he will cause to come near him. {6} You, Korah, and all your
followers are to do this: Take censers {7} and tomorrow put fire and
incense in them before the LORD. The man the LORD chooses will be the
one who is holy. You Levites have gone too far!" {8} Moses also said to
Korah, "Now listen, you Levites! {9} Isn't it enough for you that the
God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community
and brought you near himself to do the work at the Lord's tabernacle and
to stand before the community and minister to them? {10} He has brought
you and all your fellow Levites near himself, but now you are trying to
get the priesthood too. {11} It is against the LORD that you and all
your followers have banded together. Who is Aaron that you should
grumble against him?" {12} Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the
sons of Eliab. But they said, "We will not come! {13} Isn't it enough
that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to
kill us in the desert? And now you also want to lord it over us? {14}
Moreover, you haven't brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey
or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out
the eyes of these men? No, we will not come!" {15} Then Moses became
very angry and said to the LORD, "Do not accept their offering. I have
not taken so much as a donkey from them, nor have I wronged any of
them." {16} Moses said to Korah, "You and all your followers are to
appear before the LORD tomorrow--you and they and Aaron. {17} Each man
is to take his censer and put incense in it--250 censers in all--and
present it before the LORD. You and Aaron are to present your censers
also." {18} So each man took his censer, put fire and incense in it, and
stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
[Confident, weren't they?] {19} When Korah had gathered all his
followers in opposition to them at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting,
the glory of the LORD appeared to the entire assembly. {20} The LORD
said to Moses and Aaron, {21} "Separate yourselves from this assembly so
I can put an end to them at once." {22} But Moses and Aaron fell
facedown and cried out, "O God, God of the spirits of all mankind, will
you be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins?" {23} Then
the LORD said to Moses, {24} "Say to the assembly, 'Move away from the
tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.'" {25} Moses got up and went to
Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. {26} He warned
the assembly, "Move back from the tents of these wicked men! Do not
touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away because of
all their sins." {27} So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan
and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing with their
wives, children and little ones at the entrances to their tents. {28}
Then Moses said, "This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to
do all these things and that it was not my idea: {29} If these men die a
natural death and experience only what usually happens to men, then the
LORD has not sent me. {30} But if the LORD brings about something
totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with
everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the grave,
then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt."
{31} As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split
apart {32} and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, with their
households and all Korah's men and all their possessions. {33} They went
down alive into the grave, with everything they owned; the earth closed
over them, and they perished and were gone from the community. {34} At
their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, "The earth
is going to swallow us too!" {35} And fire came out from the LORD and
consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense. {36} The LORD said
to Moses, {37} "Tell Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, to take the
censers out of the smoldering remains and scatter the coals some
distance away, for the censers are holy-- {38} the censers of the men
who sinned at the cost of their lives. Hammer the censers into sheets to
overlay the altar, for they were presented before the LORD and have
become holy. Let them be a sign to the Israelites." {39} So Eleazar the
priest collected the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned
up, and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar, {40} as the LORD
directed him through Moses. This was to remind the Israelites that no
one except a descendant of Aaron should come to burn incense before the
LORD, or he would become like Korah and his followers. {41} The next day
the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. "You
have killed the Lord's people," they said. {42} But when the
assembly gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the
Tent of Meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the LORD
appeared. {43} Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the Tent of
Meeting, {44} and the LORD said to Moses, {45} "Get away from this
assembly so I can put an end to them at once." And they fell facedown.
{46} Then Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer and put incense in it,
along with fire from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make
atonement for them. Wrath has come out from the LORD; the plague has
started." {47} So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the
assembly. The plague had already started among the people, but Aaron
offered the incense and made atonement for them. {48} He stood between
the living and the dead, and the plague stopped. {49} But 14,700
people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because
of Korah. {50} Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the Tent
of Meeting, for the plague had stopped.
Korah felt he was as good as or better than Moses and
indignantly told Moses so. We don't need to make counter accusations
toward God's servants, our spouses, our brethren, or anyone else. Notice
in verse 41 that the people chimed right in.
Would it be too strong a statement to say that God HATES
insolence?
Way #3. The Charlie Brown "nobody loves me; I can't do
anything right; I'll go eat worms" attitude in reaction to being corrected
or finding sin in their life.
Jonah 4 [between Obadiah and Micah] (NIV) But Jonah was
greatly displeased and became angry. {2} He prayed to the LORD, "O LORD,
is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so
quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and
compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who
relents from sending calamity. {3} Now, O LORD, take away my life, for
it is better for me to die than to live." {4} But the LORD replied,
"Have you any right to be angry?" {5} Jonah went out and sat down at a
place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its
shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. {6} Then the LORD
God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his
head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine.
{7} But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine
so that it withered. {8} When the sun rose, God provided a scorching
east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he grew faint. He
wanted to die, and said, "It would be better for me to die than to
live." {9} But God said to Jonah, "Do you have a right to be angry about
the vine?" "I do," he said. "I am angry enough to die." {10} But the
LORD said, "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not
tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. {11}
But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who
cannot tell their right hand from their left [a Hebrew idiom for "little
children"], and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about
that great city?"
Jonah had the Charlie Brown complex. This is nothing but
pouting or, to be generous, an inferiority complex. He didn't feel he
could do anything right.
Jonah is probably the best example of the Charlie Brown
complex but let's look at some other examples:
Job 9:15-35 (NIV) Though I were innocent, I could not
answer him; I could only plead with my Judge for mercy. {16} Even if I
summoned him and he responded, I do not believe he would give me a
hearing. {17} He would crush me with a storm and multiply my wounds for
no reason. {18} He would not let me regain my breath but would overwhelm
me with misery. {19} If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty! And if
it is a matter of justice, who will summon him ? {20} Even if I were
innocent, my mouth would condemn me; if I were blameless, it would
pronounce me guilty. {21} "Although I am blameless, I have no concern
for myself; I despise my own life. {22} It is all the same; that
is why I say, 'He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.' {23} When
a scourge brings sudden death, he mocks the despair of the innocent.
{24} When a land falls into the hands of the wicked, he blindfolds its
judges. [Now you see why we in the U.S. experience all these unwise
judgments from our courts.] If it is not he, then who is it? {25} "My
days are swifter than a runner; they fly away without a glimpse of joy.
{26} They skim past like boats of papyrus, like eagles swooping down on
their prey. {27} If I say, 'I will forget my complaint, I will change my
expression, and smile,' {28} I still dread all my sufferings, for I know
you will not hold me innocent. {29} Since I am already found guilty, why
should I struggle in vain? {30} Even if I washed myself with soap and my
hands with washing soda, {31} you would plunge me into a slime pit so
that even my clothes would detest me. {32} "He is not a man like me that
I might answer him, that we might confront each other in court. {33} If
only there were someone to arbitrate between us, to lay his hand upon us
both, {34} someone to remove God's rod from me, so that his terror would
frighten me no more. {35} Then I would speak up without fear of him, but
as it now stands with me, I cannot.
(Luke 24:13-17 NKJV) Now behold, two of them were traveling
that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from
Jerusalem. {14} And they talked together of all these things which had
happened. {15} So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus
Himself drew near and went with them. {16} But their eyes were
restrained, so that they did not know Him. {17} And He said to them,
"What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you
walk and are sad?"
They had lost their Messiah, their leader, their teacher whom
they loved. Where could they go from here? What hope was there? They had
no faith that God had a wonderful plan for believers. The Messiah had
taught for 3-1/2 years and now all was over.
(Mat 12:39-41 NKJV) But He answered and said to them, "An
evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be
given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. {40} "For as Jonah was
three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the
Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
{41} "The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this
generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of
Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.
But after His crucifixion, even His disciples lacked the
faith and wisdom to understand what He was talking about. They had the
attitude of Jonah even though Christ assured them that the men of Nineveh,
would stand up at the judgment and condemn his generation for its lack of
faith.
Is this the way we react to problems or discovered sin in our
lives?
Way #4. Those who give up and quit after discovering sin and
see no way of being able to cope with their struggle against sin. This
past feast season has allowed us to look for our own sins. We must not let
these sins get us down.
Mat 27:1-10 (NIV) Early in the morning, all the chief
priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus
to death. {2} They bound him, led him away and handed him over to
Pilate, the governor. {3} When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that
Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty
silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. {4} "I have sinned,"
he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood." "What is that to us?"
they replied. "That's your responsibility." {5} So Judas threw the money
into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. {6} The
chief priests picked up the coins and said, "It is against the law to
put this into the treasury, since it is blood money." {7} So they
decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for
foreigners. {8} That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to
this day. {9} Then what was spoken
by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: "They took the thirty silver
coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel, {10} and they used
them to buy the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me."
Judas Iscariot wanted the overthrow of the Roman government.
He was also a thief. When he realized what he had done and that Christ
would really be taken, he repented (verse 3), then hanged himself when he
could not undo what he did.
Is that our reaction against sin - to just give up? Do we
say, "God will never forgive me for what I have done"? Let's look at an
example where someone did not give up.
Luke 18:1-8 (NIV) Then Jesus told his disciples a parable
to show them that they should always pray and not give up. {2} He said:
"In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared
about men. {3} And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him
with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.' {4} "For some
time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't
fear God or care about men, {5} yet because this widow keeps bothering
me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear
me out with her coming!'" {6} And the Lord said, "Listen to what the
unjust judge says. {7} And will not God bring about justice for his
chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them
off? {8} I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and
quickly......
What did Paul admonish?
Gal 6:9 (NIV) Let us not become weary in doing good, for at
the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Way #5. What is the correct reaction? When we find sin our
life, we must repent. Here is a scripture which seems designed to teach us
to do just that.
Mat 26:69-75 (NIV) Now Peter was sitting out in the
courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. "You also were with Jesus of
Galilee," she said. {70} But he denied it before them all. "I don't know
what you're talking about," he said. {71} Then he went out to the
gateway, where another girl saw him and said to the people there, "This
fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth." {72} He denied it again, with an
oath: "I don't know the man!" {73} After a little while, those standing
there went up to Peter and said, "Surely you are one of them, for your
accent gives you away." {74} Then he began to call down curses on
himself and he swore to them, "I don't know the man!" Immediately a
rooster crowed. {75} Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken:
"Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times." And he went
outside and wept bitterly.
When we are in a difficult situation, we may sin too. Is one
sin better or worse than another sin?
(James 2:10 NKJV) For whoever shall keep the whole law, and
yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.
No, when we find sin in our lives, we must repent as Peter
did. But after denying Christ [a great sin], Peter didn't give up. No, he
went on to be used as a powerful leader in a great work. He undoubtedly
regretted his sin every day for the rest of his life. But after repenting,
he went forward.
In 1 Cor 15, Paul writes:
1 Cor 15:10 (KJV) But by the grace of God I am what I am:
and his grace which <was bestowed> upon me was not in vain; but I
labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God
which was with me.
This was Paul's attitude: He just worked harder not to repeat
the sin. But it was not Paul's efforts which paid off directly. It was the
increased grace of God which was bestowed for Paul's increased
efforts which enabled him to be more successful.
There is the clue. During the days of unleavened bread, we
were symbolically putting sin out of our lives. After going to the effort
to put all leavening out of our homes, we must not forget that what we
really want to be doing is putting sin out of our lives. But what happens
when we find sin, either in our homes or in our lives? We must put forth
increased effort to get rid of the sin - and with our increased effort
will come the increased grace of God (God's Holy Spirit) to really put sin
out of our lives. That will be discussed in our next High Day, Pentecost.
Sermon
given by Wayne Bedwell
April
10, 2010
|
|
Studies in the Word of
God
Church of God Most High
P.O. Box 89741
Tucson, AZ 85752-9741
USA
E-Mail
No limitation is
placed upon reproduction of this document except that it must be
reproduced in its entirety without modification or deletions. The
publisher's name and address, copyright notice and this message must be
included. It may be freely distributed but must be distributed without
charge to the recipient.
|
|