I Must Insist On This

INTRO.- Roger Clemens. Guilty or not? Is he guilty of using drugs and Human Growth Hormone or not? Clemens insists he is not guilty!

Clemens has won seven Cy Young Awards, two more than any other pitcher. He throws and bats right-handed. On December 13, 2007, Clemens’ name was listed in the Mitchell Report, which alleged that he had used steroids and HGH during the 1998-2001 seasons. Clemens has firmly denied these allegations.

In fact, here’s a recent article I found about the subject. Roger Clemens is either completely innocent or completely stupid. There really isn’t another option, not after Clemens has so aggressively defended himself against performance-enhancing drug charges that he has, perhaps unwittingly, raised the stakes to felony levels.

On Wednesday, 2/13/08, he and his former trainer and chief accuser, Brian McNamee, will (did) testify in front of a Congressional committee. It’s a moment we may just find out what Rocket Roger really is – a man lashing out at false charges or a fool begging for a prison cell.

Clemens may be as guilty of doping as McNamee and a fair amount of common sense say yes. But he is, at the very least, acting like he is innocent, his lawyer all but daring federal agents to take him on.

Time will tell whether he regrets turning a sports controversy into a federal case. Clemens’ defense was slow to start, but now he’s done everything imaginable to assert his innocence.

He’s filed a defamation lawsuit. He’s gone on "60 Minutes." He’s held a news conference. He’s taped a phone call. He’s voluntarily testified under oath. He’s welcomed his day in Washington. He’s met privately with politicians. He’s prepared statistical arguments. He’s challenged the slightest of charges with evidence. He’s had his lawyers make all sorts of crazy comments. At this point, the dice have been thrown, and someone is in a lot of trouble.

That’s the chance he took in his all-out blitz; one more chip he pushed into the pile in his all-in gamble to prove his innocence.

If Clemens is clean, then he deserves credit for fighting this fight and proving it. If not, he’ll have plenty of time in a prison cell to curse his reckless stupidity.

As the writer said, ONLY TIME WILL TELL. And who knows? Maybe not then.

Brothers and sisters, it’s ok to be insistent on something when there is absolutely no question that a person is right about a subject, but when the subject is debatable, he or she had better not be insistent!

IN OUR TEXT, the apostle Paul was rather insistent about some things, some facts and He was right on! He said "I insist on this in the Lord!"

That’s a pretty strong insistence! Some things are worth insisting on and others may not be. Whenever it comes to the Lord and His Word, we should be somewhat insistent, only in a nice way.

Eph. 4:15 "Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ." We must speak the truth about Christ and the Bible but speak it in love, kindly, courteously, graciously, etc.

I Pet. 3:15 "In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect."

Brothers and sisters, we MUST speak for Christ. We be insistent in our speaking for Him. We must speak for Him at every opportunity that comes our way, however, it must be done graciously as one beggar telling another beggar where to find some really good bread. Like, "Let me tell what I’ve found in life that has blessed me."

PROP.- Let’s think about what Paul insisted on in the Lord.

1- I insist that you don’t live like others

2- I insist that you did not learn Christ from the world

3- I insist that the truth is in Jesus

I. I INSIST THAT YOU DON’T LIVE LIKE OTHERS

17So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.

ILL.- Who in Hollywood would you NOT want to act like or be like, besides Britney Spears? How about Paris Hilton? Any others? I saw an article on the internet entitled the 50 dumbest people in Hollywood.