God’s E. P. A.

GOD’S E. P. A.

1 Jn. 5:8 KJV

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR: The Garden of Eden

1. One day in the Garden of Eden, Eve called out to God. "Lord, I have a problem!" "What's the problem, Eve?"

2. "Lord, thank you for creating me and giving me this beautiful garden and all of these wonderful animals, but I'm just not happy."

3. "Why is that, Eve?" came the reply from above. "Lord, I am lonely, and I'm sick to death of apples."

4. "Well Eve, in that case, I have a solution. I shall create a Man for you." "What's a Man, Lord?"

5. "This man will be a flawed creature, with many bad traits. He'll lie and cheat a little, and be very competitive; all in all, he'll give you a hard time. But, he'll be bigger, faster, and will like to hunt and kill things. He will look silly when he's aroused, but since you've been complaining, I'll create him in such a way that he will satisfy your physical needs. At times he’ll do childish things like fighting and kicking a ball about, so he'll also need your advice to think properly."

6. "Sounds great." says Eve, with an ironically raised eyebrow. "But, what's the catch, Lord?" "Well... you can have him on one condition." "What's that, Lord?"

7. "As I said, he's proud and self-admiring... So you'll have to let him believe that I made him first!”

B. GOV’T AGENCY LINGO BINGO

1. The Federal Gov’t has an almost limitless number of agencies, all of which are identified by an abbreviation of their names. See if you can guess the following (just list the abbreviations on a screen):

CIA Central Intelligence Agency

EEOC Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

FCC Federal Communications Commission

FDIC Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

FEC Federal Election Commission

FRS Federal Reserve Service

FTC Federal Trade Commission

GSA General Services Administration

NTSB National Transportation Safety Board

NRC Nuclear Regulatory Commission

PC Peace Corps

SEC Securities and Exchange Commission

SBA Small Business Administration

SSA Social Security Administration

TVA Tennessee Valley Authority

USPS U.S. Postal Service

HUD Department of Housing and Urban Development

DOVA Department of Veteran Affairs

DOHS Department of Homeland Security

OMB Office of Management and Budget

2. One of the most hated and maligned agencies is the EPA. It’s frequently cited as an example of a governmental overreach or bureaucracy gone amuck.

3. In reality, it has played a vital part in cleaning up our air, water, and land from pollutants. If you look at the pollution of India or China today, it will make you appreciate the E.P.A.!

4. However, the E.P.A. has taken their mission too far in many areas. This year, 1-4-13, for instance, they tried to get all rainwater runoff declared “pollutants” in order to gain jurisdiction of all streams & waterways in the US!

5. But still, I think a lot of cleaning needs to be done on Planet Earth, and not just physically! Well, the good news is, God has a spiritual version of the E.P.A., but without the excesses.

6. Ever heard of it? Well, let men tell you about it. Man needed to be cleaned up, so God gave us HIS E.P.A.

C. THESIS

1. There are 3 cleaning forces that God has provided. Each have their own methods and sphere of operation.

2. Tonight I’m going to use the acrostic E.P.A. to outline these 3 agencies:

E –“Euaggelion”= the Gospel/ synonymous with the Word.

P – “Pneuma”= the Greek word for ‘Spirit;’

A – “Aima”= the Greek word for ‘Blood.’

3. The title of tonight’s message is, “God’s E.P.A.”

I. E – EUAGGELION/ THE WORD

A. STRUGGLING, FALLING SHORT

1. A lot of people struggle in their Christian life. They find themselves falling short of the Christian life.

2. Like Joe Mazzella. One morning his son got on his nerves and Joe scolded him pretty severely. Joe saw the hurt in his eyes, apologized & told him how much he loved him. But Joe wished he could take back what he’d said.

3. Later that day Joe acted the part of the Good Samaritan, helping an older lady in trouble.

4. Joe asked himself, “How do I reconcile that frustrated Father I was earlier in the day with the smiling, good Samaritan I was later in the afternoon?”

5. Joe answered, “The answer is simple. I am still a work in progress.”

6. Isn’t it great that God gives us the hope of transformation?!

B. SCRIPTURES

THE FIRST CLEANING AGENCY WE’LL LOOK AT IS THE WORD.

1. "How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your Word" Psalm 119:9.

2. "You are already clean because of the Word I have spoken to you" John 15:3.

3. "Sanctify them by the truth; Your Word is truth" John 17:17.