Consequences Of Holding On When We Should Be Letting Go
Mark 7:14-23
Prayer
Introduction
Good Morning I hope that you all had a very good week last week and that God Blessed you during the week. In fact I know that He did because you are here this morning that is a blessing in itself especially if you are lost. He has given you at least one more chance to hear His word, to have His spirit to deal with you, and to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. To many of us are holding on to this world when we should be letting go and grabbing on to eternity. We let Satan confuse us and trick us into believing that we don’t need salvation or that we are saved when in truth we are not. We ignore God’s word and do things the way we want to do them, His love is not in us and therefore we cannot love like He does because He is not in us, but Satan Works very hard to confuse and trick us. He does not want you to come to Christ and If you Christ’s He wants to destroy your testimony by tricking you into believing that you are serving God and doing what God wants you to do when it is not what God wants you to do. But Preacher how can you tell if you are doing what God wants you to do. It is simple by the Study of God’s word, coming to Bible Study and Sunday school and learning God’s word and fellowshipping with your brother and sisters. All these things God has provided as tools and sources of strength for each and every one of us.
But we all must face temptations it is what we do with those temptations that matters. Rent-a-Kid" starring Leslie Nielson. The opening segment shows a dream sequence. Little Molly is an orphan who just gets adopted. Her new family is extremely wealthy and has everything a child could want materialistically speaking. They even have their own merry-go-round in the house. The new parents tell Molly she can have anything or go anywhere in the house she pleases. She’s just not allowed to go into this one room. It’s off limits! Molly let’s curiosity get the best of her and opens the door. On the other side she finds it is an exit to the outside with her new parents standing by a car waiting to take her back to the orphanage. Her parents are taunting her with phrases about how she just couldn’t listen and do what she was told. It’s back to the orphanage as she screams and then wakes up. This is an excellent clip depicting temptation and it’s consequences. We must understand that when we face temptations that there are consequences to face for our actions. We can go on believing those things we want to believe that man has drawn up like the Pharisees and Sadducees and continue to ignore God’s Word in favor of man’s word.
But Preacher, how can it be so serious, it is just one little thing that I want to hold on to. It is something that I have believed all my life and I just want to hold on to it because my parents believed it, my grandparents believed it and so on it ties me back to my roots. Why it is in my blood, it must be right because so many believe it. Well just like the Pharisees, who Jesus called a pit of vipers by the way, refused to change their beliefs because of tradition and family so do we. But that can lead to consequences also. On 11 May 2000 a lady found a new e-mail message on her computer, which simply said, "I love you". It looked innocent enough, perhaps even romantic. Like most of us would, she clicked to open the message, and the so-called "Love Bug" was born. With lightning speed it raced around the world, bringing politics and business to a halt. It was a deadly computer virus that caused millions of computer software programmers to crash. One virus, but so much contamination. But it’s not the first time that a single virus has caused so much grief to mankind. In fact, it’s a kind of replay of a deadlier virus that hit Planet Earth more than six thousand years ago polluting the first human couple, Adam and Eve. Despite God’s warning not to click on to Satan’s message, they did so with appalling consequences for them, and through them to all mankind. That virus is called "Sin". Ever action that we take has a reaction a consequence so lets talk about consequences now.
I. How do we know that there are consequences?
a. Jesus says listen to me and understand.
i. We can believe any thing we want to. But the truth is that our Lord, our King, our Savior says listen to Me.
ii. Listen to Him does not mean coming to Sunday service and hearing a Sunday school lesson or sermon. Neither does it mean coming on wed. night and sitting through a bible study and going back home and living your life just like you did before you came. No what it means is that you read the word, you hear the word and then you go and put that which you learned to practice in your life.
b. He says to understand.
i. We understand how a car cranks and runs but that understanding does not make us qualified to be a mechanic.
ii. We understand that to turn on a TV. All we have to do is make sure it is plugged into a wall and then push a button but does that make us a repairman.
iii. We know that to crank a car we have to have a key.
iv. But just having the key does not crank the car we first have to put the key in the ignition and then turn it.
v. Just like with our lives we are to understand, believe and then put that belief into practice in our lives. That is what the Word of God teaches us. That is one reason why it is called the living word of God. It is a blueprint for our lives; it is what we are to live by.
c. A consequence of not believing and following God’s Word is defilement.
i. When we do what we believe, when we ignore what God’s word teaches we are defiling ourselves.
ii. Jesus plainly says in v 5 that the things we believe, say and do will either defile us or glorify God.
1. We can choose to ignore God’s command to think about Him always and wander off the path and sin. We can go back doing what we have always done. And that will defile us because we are doing like the world and this world is sin.
2. We can choose to overlook Jesus’ command for His servants to be compassionate, loving, merciful and humble and instead chose to believe in racism, hate, anger, spitefulness and to be unmerciful. And we will be defiled because that is what the world teaches and that is what Satan wants us to do. As children of God Satan no longer has any power over us except that which we give him.
3. Our words, our beliefs, our actions will come out, and they will either glorify or defile us.
d. Jesus said if you hear me than pay attention.
i. He wants us to do what He has called us to do, to be loving, compassionate, merciful and forgiving.
ii. He wants us to glorify the Father and Praise the Father for His merciful gift of salvation.
II. What does this mean?
a. Salvation is not about rituals, traditions, theories, prejudice, or pride. Salvation is about a cleansed Sour, a cleansed heart that has been purified by the blood of Jesus Christ.
b. That we did nothing to be saved. Jesus did it all forever single soul. He died for the Jew, the Roman, the African, the Arab, the Asian, and for you and me. We all are Christ’s and we all are part of the royal family of heaven. None of us are higher than others we all are the same and equal in the eyes of God.
c. It means that we love each other and rejoice whenever another soul is won just as the angels rejoice and marvel whenever a soul is won.
d. It means that our business is the business of the Lords. And that is the winning of Souls.
e. It means that we have to give up our thoughts because these proceed out of evil and causes us to murder, steal, covet, to do wickedness, lie blasphemy, to be prideful and to be foolish because we want to follow man’s ideas instead of the Lord’s commands. These defile us.
f. Jesus calls us to service and to worship. To be loving and compassionate, to be merciful and full of grace. To be humble and meek. This leads to glorification of God and that is why we are here it is to worship and glorify Him.
III. Conclusion
a. What about you this morning? Are you defiled or glorified? Only you can answer, only you and God knows the answer.
