RIP TIDE
3. Danger Strong Current
This is week three of our Rip Tide series,
and this week we are going to talk about
the consequences of leading someone else
into the flow of a rip tide.
Now some of you said you were good swimmers,
and that’s great,
but I hope none of you would ever
try to test your swimming skills
and be foolish enough to swim into a rip tide
just to see if you can do it and get out again.
Maybe some of you think
you’re stronger and wiser
than the pull of the subtle rip-tide current,
and that you somehow you could swim into it
and not get sucked out to sea.
If you choose to be foolish enough to try it,
then I pray God’s mercy on your life.
I would have to call that a stupid move,
but hey, it’s your choice.
But here’s the big problem
you might not have thought about.
What if you were swimming towards the rip tide,
because despite all the warnings,
you really thought you could beat it,
but someone else who could not swim
as well as you,
or maybe they weren’t as strong as you,
but they saw you swimming toward that rip tide
and they followed you into the flow of the rip tide?
What would happen to them?
Let’s do a spiritual application of this:
What if there is someone in your life
who is easily influenced by you,
but even though you know that,
you still choose to swim into the current of sin?
That’s not only foolish on your part, it’s wrong.
Not only have you endangered your own life,
but you’ve endangered another life as well.
Sometimes I think we lose sight
of how precious life really is,
whether it be yours, or someone else’s.
God created life, and life is precious to God.
Let me tell you, you never want to be guilty
of putting any life in danger,
or causing harm, to your life, or someone else’s.
Don’t play around
with the miracle of life that God created.
He doesn’t approve of these kings of games.
Let’s look at what the Bible has to say
about our influence on other people.
Paul wrote the letter of I Corinthians,
and he addresses this very issue.
I Corinthians 8:13
“Therefore, if what I eat
causes my brother to fall into sin,
I will never eat meat again,
so that I will not cause him to fall.”
Look back at verse 12
“When you sin against your brothers in this way
and wound their weak conscience,
you sin against Christ.” I Corinthians 8:12
Paul says he has chosen not do anything
that could cause someone else to fall.
Even though it was not sin for him to eat meat,
if it was going to cause someone else to sin,
then he had chosen not to do it himself.
He says when we cause other people to sin,
then we ourselves sin against Christ.
So even though eating meat
would not be wrong for Paul to do,
causing someone else to stumble,
would be sin for him.
Back to our Rip Tide application,
even if you were a good enough swimmer
to swim into the current of the Rip Tide,
and swim back out,
if it could cause anyone else to stumble and fall, because they tried it just because they saw you do it, then it’s wrong for you to do it.
Maybe that doesn’t seem fair to you.
You may ask
Why should I be held back
because of someone else’s weaknesses?
Because God said in Philippians 2:4 that we should … “look not only after our own interests,
but also after the interests of others.”
You’ve got to think about other people.
You do not live on an island,
and you can’t sin in a vacuum.
Don’t do anything that will cause yourself to fall,
or someone else to either.
It’s better to be safe than sorry.
Just don’t do it, Don’t do it.
The biggest influence you have on others,
is probably going to be on those
younger than yourself, and on those closest to you.
For parents, this would mean your children.
For teens and young adults,
that would mean the younger teens
and teeny boppers.
For you seniors, that would mean
those who are in my generation and younger.
And for everyone else,
anyone else in your own age group or younger.
We all influence other people,
whether you want to admit it or not.
One of the young men
who’s laying block on our house
has a younger helper working with him
who has the same length and style of hair-do,
and smokes the same little cigars as he does.
It’s kind of funny watching them work,
it looks like the boss
has a shadow following him around.
We do have an influence on other people.
Now the question is,
are you influencing them for the good,
or for the bad?
If you choose not to heed this warning,
and you continue swimming towards the Rip Tide and sinning even though you know it’s wrong,
and you know it may cause other people to stumble,
then this is what God has to say about you:
Matthew 18: 6-7
“If anyone causes one of these little ones
who believe in me to sin,
it would be better for him
to have a large millstone hung around his neck
and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
Woe to the world
because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come,
but woe to the man through whom they come!”
And He says it again in Luke.
Luke 17:1 “Jesus said to his disciples:
‘Things that cause people to sin
are bound to come,
but woe to that person
through whom they come.”
Do you hear the warning?
Do you hear the warning?
Do you hear the warning?
Don’t be guilty of sin,
and for sure don’t be guilty
of causing someone else to sin.
People follow your example.
Everyone has people that look up to them.
It’s been said,
you may be the only Bible some people ever read.
They know you go to church.
They know you call yourself a Christian.
They’re watching you.
They think, “Well if they can do it,
and they say they are a Christian, then I can do it.”
You are responsible for your actions,
and for the actions of the people
who look up to you,
those who God has placed
in your circle of influence.
People God has placed under your authority.
You are responsible.
How are you doing?
How many people have you led
into the current of the Rip Tide?
How many people have you warned
of the danger of the pull of the current?
God has put me in a position,
where I have had the opportunity
to see very clearly,
the affects sin has on people.
This is the one part of pastoral ministry
where you can’t shake the weight and gravity
of people’s bad choices of living in sin.
It weighs heavy on my shoulders
and grieves my heart beyond belief.
This is one area I can truly say
that I understand how God feels.
Remember the diagram of a Spiritual Rip Tide
current from week 1?
~ Temptation ~
~ Desire ~
~ Sin ~
~ Death ~
Why is it so important
to stay away from the Rip Tide?
God already told us that sin leads to death.
And now I want to paint a picture for you
of what the space between sin and death looks like.
Ezekiel 4:17
“…food and water will be scarce.
They will be appalled at the sight of each other
and will waste away because of their sin”
Food and water will be scarce.
Well if you were caught in a real Rip Tide,
that’s pretty obvious.
Food and water just aren’t available.
But even when you’re talking about sin,
once sin has escalated to the point
where even basic needs aren’t being met,
then things are out of control,
and you’re being carried out to sea.
What seemed to be an innocent little thing
in the beginning,
soon got out of hand, you lost control,
then all your time and money
was being eaten up by the sin.
Soon, there was not enough left
for even the basic necessities of life,
and people around you begin to suffer.
Not only that, but all those people
who were your “friends”
while you were in the pit of wickedness with them, now can’t even stand the sight of you, or you them.
They weren’t really your friends,
they were just trying to struggle to stay alive
while in the current of the Rip Tide.
When your eyes are finally open
to the effects of sin,
you can see the sunken, bloodshot eyes,
the hollow cheek bones, the pale skin,
the rotten teeth,
and the dirty, ragged clothes of reality.
This is what the space between sin and death
looks like.
The sight of someone who has given in
to the pull of the Rip Tide is literally appalling.
You can see it in their face.
You look at them
and see “They have had a hard life.”
Often times they look almost twice their age.
Many times they are wasting away to nothing,
just as their life is.
What could have been, is now gone.
A wasted life is being tossed and turned
in the current of the Rip Tide
as it’s carried out to sea.
Those are the effects of the Rip Tide.
That’s why we need to stay away from it’s pull. That is why we need to warn others of the danger.
Do you remember last week
what we said happens to the wicked man
who chooses to escape
from the current of the Rip Tide?
The Bible told us in Ezekiel
that if a wicked man repents of his sin,
and leaves his wickedness behind,
then all of his past sins will be forgotten.
It’s never too late to swim out of the current of sin.
It’s not too late until you are dead,
then it is everlasting too late.
If you’re tired and beaten down
from struggling against the pull of sin,
and you just feel like you can’t hold on any longer, then I’m going to be your personal trainer tonight,
and I’m going to scream at you
until you are angry enough at your sin to SWIM!
SWIM! SWIM! SWIM!
Perpendicular to the pull of the Rip Tide! SWIM!
SWIM! You can do it! You’re almost there!
Keep it up! That’s it! Keep moving!
Don’t turn back. Don’t give up. Don’t go under.
Just SWIM!
And If you’re guilty of leading someone else
into the current of sin, bring them out with you.
Go to them and apologize for what you’ve done.
Tell them what you’ve learned.
Tell them what God has done for you.
Tell them how to get out of the pull.
Are you one of the life guards
God has put into place to warn people?
Have you given the appropriate warnings
to those in danger?
Or are you guilty of complacency,
and have failed to warn them?
Remember, God said if you fail to warn someone
of the danger they are in, then their blood will be on your hands.
If you warn them,
but they choose not to heed the warning,
then you are released from their guilt,
and they will be held responsible for themselves.
But whatever you do, from here on out,
don’t do anything that would cause someone else
to be sucked into the rip tide of sin.
Is there something in your life
that you need to clean up? Get rid of?
We have our new Overcomer’s Group
that meets every Sunday evening.
They are there to encourage one another
to stay out of the pull.
They have all been there.
They know what it is like.
And they will urge you to get out.
Or if you are getting too close,
to get away as fast as you can.
God gives us His Word,
and places authority in our lives,
and Christian friends to help us.
Are you using His resources?
Or are you fighting against them
and even refusing their help?
Let’s all take a moment to do some self-judgement.
I want us to take some time with this,
so go ahead and get everything else
out of your mind.
Please bow your heads and close your eyes.
Now look into your own heart and life.
Don’t think about anyone else’s faults and failures. You have enough of your own to fill up this time
and even tomorrow!
Now look at your life how God would look at it. What does God think, of what He sees in your life?
Is there anything you should be embarrassed about?
Or do you already know, right off,
what’s in your life that shouldn’t be?
Think about those closest to you.
Have you influenced them in a negative way?
Do you need to make things right with them?
Let’s take some time first to make things right
between ourselves and God.
Ask Him to forgive you, very specifically,
of the things in your life, right now,
that should not be there.
During this time, if you’ve never asked Christ
to come into your life
and to save you from your sins,
if you don’t have a personal relationship with Him,
but you would like to,
please come up right now, and let me talk to you.
We’re not in a rush.
And I would love the opportunity to talk with you.
This is why we do everything that we do,
here at New Hope,
to obtain and to enhance our relationship
with our Creator,
and to give others the opportunity to do the same.
Don’t think about anything else right now
except your relationship with God,
think about what’s standing in the way
and holding you back
from being everything God has created you to be.
I want you to name your spiritual Rip Tide
that keeps drawing you to sin.
Name it so you can deal with it.
Name it so God knows you are serious
about wanting to be freed from it.
Ask for His forgiveness,
then pray for His victory over it.
God is more powerful than any sin
Satan has to offer.
Father God, the rip tide of sin is so strong,
but we Your children want to overcome this
for Your honor and glory.
Please equip us with Your mighty power
to swim out of this sinful current
and on toward Your purposes for our lives.
As we see the natural signs
of Your swift return to this earth
we pray that we’ll be found faithful
doing what You want us to do
the way You want us to do it.
Help us to never be guilty of influencing others
to do wrong against You.
Help us to always live the life
that will point others to You.
We love You and we thank You
for this instruction tonight.
Bless our fellowship time now
and keep us safe as we go home later on.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
