"How To Get Out Of Sin"

“How to GET OUT of Sin”

"For when Satan, who is completely armed, guards his palace, it is safe--" Luke 11:21-26

Illustration: A church had a man in the choir who couldn’t sing. Several people hinted to him that he could serve in other places, but he continued to come to the choir.

The choir director became desperate and went to the pastor. "You’ve got to get that man out of the choir," he said. "If you don’t, I’m going to go crazy. The choir members are going to quit too. Please do something."

So the pastor went to the man and suggested, "Perhaps you should leave the choir."

"Why should I get out of the choir?" he asked.

"Well, five or six people have told me you can’t sing."

That’s nothing," the man snorted. "Fifty people have told me that you can’t preach!"

Intro: Stuck is a terrible thing: Stuck in traffic…, Hung up in the mud…, Trapped by an addiction, Obsessed with a bad habit…, Caught up by sin. When you are “stuck in something” it feels like you are locked and chained to it.

Illustration: We have all experienced being in a busy restaurant where one person is trying to wait on a dozen tables. When that happens the waitress may be doing her very best to serve drinks, take orders, bring food to the tables, refill drinks and check to see if she can get you anything else.

Even though the server may be doing her very best…, There are so many people…, and so many orders, that she becomes hopelessly behind.

And when a waitress is that far beyond her capacity to handle a situation or cannot catch up.

That is when someone doesn’t get their drink, the orders get mixed up, someone in the party doesn’t get their food or when they get their food then it is served cold, you run out of drinks, and that leads to a frustrated and an angry “may I speak with the manger.”

Who are you in this illustration?

Are the person sitting at the table?

Now you are mad. My food is cold, my cup is empty, my dinner is ruined. I came here to have a nice evening with my friends, and we have had to wait, I am outraged, the party has been ruined, I am livid, I will never come back to this place, And I’m not leaving a tip.

And if you are not the type of person who would ever complain out loud…, Human nature is…, that you at least thought about it. Now you have all that outraged on the inside. Keeping anger and frustration and bitterness bottled up is just as bad because sooner or later you are going to explode, or have a stroke, or something, it is just a matter of where, when, and how, but it will come out!

Are you the waiter or waitress in this story?

There are usually only three or four people in your section.

You can handle small orders really well…, You can keep several things under control…, But when the tables are overcrowded, when people start yelling at you, when the dishes pile up and things start closing in on you, you are good at handling three maybe four problems, But problems don’t usually come in just three’s and four’s.

Illustration: The old saying is…, “When it rains…, it pours.”

When temptations come…, and sin knocks at your hearts door…, It is not just one lie, but you end up telling one lie after another…, to cover up the first lie, to make the last lie sound more truthful to keep from getting caught. Then it is not just one bad habit but you start doing something else that is wrong, you know it is wrong, but you keep on doing it anyway.

Then there is another temptation, and another temptation, and another the temptation, Before you know it what started out as a once in a while indulgence has now become a daily habit. What started out as an occasional treat has now become a daily addiction. What started out as spontaneous pleasure, has now become a ball and chain on your life…

A spur-of-the-moment temptation has now become a way of life. What was an extremely rare behavior has now become not just the daily routine, But just like an alcoholic who can not stop at just one drink. Or an addict who has to have his next fix. Or a person who every other word is a curse word. You have become unconscious of your sin. You have crossed the boundary of repentance and grace…, till you have returned to backsliding and sinner…

That lifestyle of sin happens to the unchurched. That lifestyle of sin happens to the people who are not Christians. [But it also happens to people who come to church 52 hours a year more often than they will admit it.]