YOU CAN'T GET AWAY WITH ANYTHING!

I took my daughter, Charlotte plus two of her friends to a Mizzou Women's Basketball game at Mizzou Arena on Sunday afternoon.  It was a Christmas gift for her.  The tickets were  purchased last fall.  As the date approached, we realized this might make me late for Easter Pageant rehearsal at church.  It did.  I arrived at 7:30 PM for a 6-8 PM rehearsal.  Oops!  

I made no attempt to hide that fact.  It is what it is.  We all have a life outside church activities and cannot be there for every minute of everything that happens...even when you are the pastor.  A funny thing happened though on my way to the church from the arena.  I got a text from a friend who is "snow-birding" in Florida for the winter.  He asked if I had been to the game because they were watching the game online - from Florida - and thought they had seen me on the screen.  Busted!  Ha ha! You can't get away with anything!

We convince ourselves we can get away with sin in our lives.  We start to think maybe God won't notice. Maybe, we can get away with one more lie, one more time of spreading juicy gossip, or just one more sneak at something inappropriate online.  

Can I just tell ya something?  That is nothing but a bunch of foolishness!

We can lie to ourselves long enough to blind our own view of sin, but sin still finds a way to reflect its glare, no matter how well we try to cover it up.  In fact, our sin is a commonly expressed excuse and reasonable reason for lost people to reject the existence of God. 

In our failure to overcome the temptation to do wrong, we are in fact treating God as if He does not exist.  

We don't want our sinful actions to be exposed. But, in our attempt to blind our sin from others and even ourselves, we are pretending there is no God. It allows justification in our minds while ignoring judgment. This is a foolish stinking-thinking which looks more like the world than like a child of God.

Prayer - 
Father, I know You know, see, and hear all.  I confess to You that I am a sinner and fall short of Your Biblical standard.  And, I know You already know that.  Forgive me Lord, for making it seem like I am trying to pretend You do not exist in my attempt to cover up sin.  Help me to rely on the supernatural strength of your Holy Spirit living within me to overcome the temptations of sin in my life.  Amen.

The fool says in his heart, “There’s no God.”  They are corrupt, and they do vile deeds.  There is no one who does good. -- Psalms 53:1 (CSB)


#Missions #Evident #MásDeTi

The Mizzou Golden Girls performing during half-time of the annual Mizzou Women's Basketball Pink Out game

We ARE the ones with the keys to the house!

Exodus 12:1-28

How can we create a home where our families will be safe from the destructive influences of this ridiculous R-rated world around us?

How can we keep the world's influences out of our homes?

Let me ask you a question:  How do we deal with any other potential "intruder" in our homes?  We close the door AND we lock it.  Right?  Hey, can I just tell ya something parents?  WE are the ones with the keys to the house!  We need to be "Gatekeepers" in our homes...physical AND spiritual GATEKEEPERS!

Parents, God is relying on us to make sure the destructiveness of the world around us DOES NOT GET THROUGH THAT FRONT DOOR!  You know what I'm talking about.  I'm talking about all the TV shows, movies, books, magazines, games, etc. which teach lessons and a morality that we don't want our families to learn.  I'm talking about those certain types of so-called "friends" that our kids ought not associate with.  

We have always taught our kids that it's one thing to hang out with the wrong crowd for the sole purpose of leading them to Jesus.  It's another altogether to just "hang out" with no agenda for influencing their lives.

Listen, we all know this fact:  Alcohol, drugs, pornography, gambling, etc. absolutely COULD and all indications and odds are WOULD destroy our children's lives.

Why would I want those things in my home?

Why would I want anything like that... with that kind of potential around my family?

We've got to make up our minds that anything which would or could hurt our family will NOT be allowed through that front door... or the back door... or through an open window!

When you think about it, this business of putting a rating on everything like movies, video games, etc.  It's Rated G, PG, PG-13, R...X, or just Adult.  On the one hand, I appreciate the warning, as a parent, because it helps us choose what to watch or allow into our homes.  But, aren't they also sort of sending us a message:  

"Psst!  We've created these "mature" movies, etc. for YOUR benefit."
"You're a grown up... you can handle it."  

What they are really saying is:  

"It's ok to watch "mature" programs when your kids leave the room."

But, you see, they're trying to convince us that what we watch and what we allow into our homes and into our hearts will not influence or affect our children.  But, my friends, I am here to tell you THAT is NOT true!

Hey, can I just tell ya something?  Kids may not LISTEN to the adults in their lives...  BUT, they never fail to IMITATE the adults in their lives!

This system of labeling a product's maturity level we buy into and appreciate has a negative side to it.  We give our children the impression that certain kinds of TV shows, movies, activities, beverages, behavior, etc. are only for grownups.  Translation:  It's what "mature" people do.  Well, what kid doesn't want to convince the rest of the world how "mature" they are?  Kids want to look mature and to be like grown ups.

It also leaves the door unlocked for the world to just coming marching right in the front door.  So much for being "gatekeepers"...

By the way, that's one reason the "Feast of Unleavened Bread" wasn't just for the children.  It was for all ages.  God taught them to remove the leavening from their homes completely!

"Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?"

1 Corinthians 5:6

It starts with one wrong choice.  Then the door is open.  Sin waltzes right into our homes.  And, it can affect everyone we love.  In spite of our best efforts, some of the world's r-rated influence can make it's way into our homes over time.  Every once in a while, we need to look our homes over and ask ourselves:

Would that magazine subscription please God?

Do those books bless or hinder my walk with God?

Do those TV shows we watch bless or hinder my family's faith?

This entry is taken from my notes for the sermon:  "Gatekeepers".  Click the link to listen to the entire sermon.  This is the fourth sermon in a series.  The entire sermon series audio is available here:  

BLINDERS, BLINKERS, & WINKERS SERMON SERIES

The Truth Is Sin Tastes Pretty Good

Exodus 12:1-28

When Jesus warned his disciples against becoming like the Pharisees, He said:

“...Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. "

Luke 12:1

And when the Church at Corinth had a man within the church membership who was engaged in some sexual immorality, Paul told the church not to even associate with the guy until he repented.  They weren’t even to eat with him.  Paul said, if they insisted on brushing it under the carpet, the man’s sin would taint the rest of them.

"Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?"

1 Corinthians 5:6

We can see God used yeast to portray sin in our lives.  Now, maybe you're wondering about that.  Maybe you're asking yourself, 

"Why use yeast?".  

Compare these two pictures of bread:

One with and one without yeast.  The bigger "loaf" has the yeast.  The yeast is what makes it rise and puff up.  The "loaf" of Matzah bread, more like a cracker, has no yeast.  That's why it is flat.

Sin acts in our lives in sort of the same way yeast works in a loaf of bread.  

For starters, bread with yeast is:  YUMMY!  That's a technical cooking term.  Matzah bread, on the other head, is not what most of us would call:  YUMMY!  That is why we make bread with yeast in it.  That is why we buy it and why we eat it.

Can I just tell ya something?  The truth is, sin tastes pretty good too…for a while.  If it didn’t taste good, we wouldn’t be so tempted to do it!

It's important to note that it doesn't take much yeast to change the shape and taste of the finished product.  It doesn't take much yeast to warp the shape of the dough even before it's cooked.  When sin creeps into an area of our lives, it really doesn’t take much sin at all to change who we are.  It really doesn’t take much sin to warp our character.

Bread with yeast looks like it has more of something.  It looks like it has more flour than it actually does.  The larger loaf actually may not have much more flour than the “cracker” looking “loaf”.  It’s the yeast that puffs it up.  When you are baking, patience is important.  You can have bigger biscuits for instance, if you’ll just let the dough rise longer before you put it into the oven.  You can have bigger donuts NOT by using more flour, but, by just letting the yeast have it’s way with the dough for a while before you actually cook it.

Can I just tell ya something?  Sin can make us BELIEVE we have more in our lives than we do!  Sins like bitterness and hatred can make us feel like we have more power over others.  Sins like hypocrisy and bigotry can make us feel more important than we actually are.  Sinning by watching crude or even X-rated stuff on television can make us believe we’re more mature and grown up.  Sins like getting drunk or high can fool folks into thinkin they’ve gained more control over their lives.  Sin can make us believe that we’ve gained MORE of something in our lives.  When the reality is:  All we’ve gained is more decay and rot.

And by the way, Yeast ALSO causes bread to mold and decay.  Have you ever had to throw away moldy bread?  Most of us have.  Have you ever had to throw away moldy crackers?  Probably not.  Crackers will last forever.  But leavened bread with yeast will decay and rot.

Hey, can I just tell ya something?  Sin has the power to cause our lives and our homes to decay and to rot.  That, my friends, is why God hates sin!  Sin destroys us!  Yeast made a great analogy for God to use to help us understand the importance of avoiding sin in our lives.

This entry is taken from my notes for the sermon:  "Gatekeepers".  Click the link to listen to the entire sermon.  This is the fourth sermon in a series.  The entire sermon series audio is available here:  

BLINDERS, BLINKERS, & WINKERS SERMON SERIES