The Greatest Sin in the World!
The Greatest Sin in the World! If I was to ask you what the greatest sin in the world was I would suspect that I would get dozens of different answers. Murder, adultery, homosexuality, lust, cheating, stealing, hatred. So what it the greatest sin the world. It is a sin that each one of us has no doubt committed at some point or another in our Christian life.
A sin that ensnared Adam and Eve, Abraham, David, Moses, Gideon, Jonah, Peter, Paul, Mark and a host of other characters from both the Old and New Testaments. A sin that I struggle with personally and if you were honest a sin that you might be dealing with in life right now. And you are sitting there thinking: I wonder how he knew?
This sin will limit your Christian walk, it will limit what God can do through you, and it will limit what our church can do. This sin is the reason the vast majority of our communities, our province and our country remain unreached and unchallenged by the gospel.
If I asked that you stand and identify yourself this morning if this is an issue in your life I would suspect that there would be as many of you standing as there would be of you sitting. When we as Christians have defeated this sin then we will finally be able to accomplish all that God has for us as individuals and as a church.
And you are sitting there thinking: Come on Denn spit it out, what it the Greatest Sin in the World?
Well let’s go back to the scripture that was read earlier this morning. James 4:17 Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. And so the greatest sin in the world is failing to be all that God would have us to be.
You need to realize from the beginning that you are special, and never let anyone tell you any different. You are a wonderful creation of God, young, old, tall, short, male, female, smart or not so smart. God made you the way you are and God don’t goof. The same God that created the heavens and the earth, the same God who carved the Grand Canyon with his finger, scooped the oceans with his hands, cast the milk way into the evening sky and doddles with sunsets and rainbows created you. So you always need to remember “God don’t sponsor flops”
Each of you was designed and created for a purpose, you are no accident and you have no right to belittle yourself or to allow anyone else to belittle you. You were put here for a reason and you have no right to be any less then you can be.
It was Adam who started it, Adam who braced his feet and refused to be what his creator intended for him to be. Instead a life of discovery became a life of drudgery, a life of beauty was replaced with ashes, serenity was washed away with sweat, thorns and weeds displaced the flowers.
The greatest waste of energy today has nothing to do with SUVs or leaving your lights on all night or not insulating your home. The greatest energy shortage today is the unused potential of God’s people.
William James is credited with saying that most of us only use 10% of our available potential. Now we all know that 73% of statistics like that are made up, but what if the number was even twice that or even four times that? And it was Dr. W. Ross Adey from The Brain Research Institute of UCLA who wrote “The ultimate creative capacity of the human brain may be, for all practical purposes, infinite.”.
Simply put, the brain has no limits other than those that are self imposed. Perhaps going back to Leo Tolstoy’s statement in his book “War and Peace” “We lost because we told ourselves we lost.”
I wonder how different the world would be if instead of being satisfied with only using 10% of our potential if we decided to use 20% or 30%? What could God do with us if only we decided to be everything that we could be.
And perhaps you are sitting there thinking “Preacher, I haven’t got anything, I have no talents, no potential and the little bit I could contribute wouldn’t help at all.”
And that my friends is hogwash, pure unadulterated rubbish. Let’s try a little exercise, ok? Take these two fingers and place them right here on you neck, go ahead it won’t hurt. If there is a pulse than there is potential. The problem is that we get caught up in the big things and perfection and if we can’t do it big and perfect then we don’t want to do it.
If you can’t sing like Celine Dion then you won’t sing, if you can’t preach like Billy Graham or Joel Osteen then you don’t want to preach. And if you can’t pray like John Wesley then you don’t want to pray.
And that of course has run over into our giving patterns, if we can’t give a thousand dollars than we don’t give fifty dollars. Mark 12:41-44 Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”
If you have ever heard the term “The Widows Mite” this is where it comes from. The coin that woman dropped into the box was what was called a “Mite” which was the smallest coin at that time. A penny in our culture. A friend of mine said when he was a kid he heard the minister preach on the widow’s mite and wondered how she got the two mice in the box.
Now understand it wasn’t the two coins it was the motive. The widows gift isn’t a financial statement it is an attitude statement. Your mite may be money but then again it might be talents, or service or time.
All too often it’s not our ability that God is looking for as much as it is our availability. After all it doesn’t matter how much ability you have if it doesn’t do the kingdom any good.
There is an interesting story in the book of Acts about a couple named Ananias and Sapphira, maybe you know it. The believers in the early church were selling their belongings and giving the proceeds to the church. It wasn’t required, it wasn’t something that people were commanded to do it was just something that some believers had chosen to do.
And so Ananias and his dear wife thought they would do the same, so they sold their cottage at the beach. Now remember nobody asked them to do it, wasn’t required by the church, it was their choice. And after they sold their property, nobody asked them to give the money to the church. They could have gone out and bought a brand new fully equipped sports camel, or they could have put in an in ground pool or put an addition on their tent. But instead they kept half, no problem, and gave half to the church, no problem.
The problem came because they implied that they had given all of it to God, and God struck them dead. And you know where I’d be if God still struck down liars? That’s right speaking to an empty room.
Because everyone of us has done that at some point, we have said “Here is everything I have God, it is yours.” And all along we know that we are holding out on him.
In Matthew 25 Jesus tells us the parable of the master who gave three servants varying amounts of money Matthew 25:14-15 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip. Do you know the story? The master gets back and the first two had invested their money and saw it doubled, but the third man buried his in the back yard. And while the master praised the first two servants and rewarded them he was upset with the third man. And maybe you are wondering why, after all he hadn’t lost the master’s money. True, but he hadn’t done anything with it, he had the potential to do something and instead he did nothing.
Every one of us has been given something by God, some ability some talent something and he’s expecting us to do something with it.
1) We need to Discover our Potential I love the story of the farm boy in Colorado who one day discovered an eagles nest and absconded with one of the eggs. He took the egg back to the farm and put it under one of the laying hens. Well you can probably guess what happened. To the chicken an egg was just an egg was just an egg. And she hatched it. Well the eagle thought it was a chicken and spent it’s days scratching and pecking around the yard. Why? Because it lived in the company of chickens and had never discovered that it was created for so much more.
There is a lesson to be learned there, when you are content to be with small people you will remain small, if you hang out with critical people you will become critical, the company of negative defeated people will make you feel negative and defeated as well.
My dad used to have a T-shirt that he wore that said “It’s hard to soar with the eagles when you have to work with turkeys.” And there is a lot of truth there.
Well to carry on with the story, one day the little eagle saw another eagle, realized what he was and off he flew. Don’t you just love stories like that. And I know some of you are thinking: is that a true story or are you just preaching? I cannot vouch for the veracity of the tale but it is a great story. And the point is that time and time again God’s people miss what God has in store for them because they fail to recognize the potential that God has given them. And because of that they fail to be all that God would have them to be.
After Moses left Egypt he spent forty years as a shepherd in Midian, and Midian was in the middle of nowhere, Moses had to come in to hunt. And it was there God came to Moses and told him that he would deliver his people out of the slavery of Egypt. God gave Moses the big build up and Moses’ reaction, roughly translated from Exodus 3:11 was “Who me? You gotta be kidding.” And God replied “Yeah you, I don’t sponsor flops. I created you and you are special.”
In Judges chapter 6 God comes to Gideon and gives him the same build up, “Gideon you will defeat the Midianites who are terrorizing my people.” And Gideon said “Who me? You gotta be kidding.” And God replied “Yeah you, I don’t sponsor flops. I created you and you are special.”
In the book of Jonah God said “Hey Jonah, I want you to go to Nineveh and you will be the greatest evangelist of all time, you’ll make Billy Graham look like an amateur.” And you know what Jonah said right? “Who me? You gotta be kidding.” And God replied “Yeah you, I don’t sponsor flops. I created you and you are special.”
You and your talents and abilities are no accident, you are a masterpiece created by God, master of the universe. You’re not just a number in a line up, you aren’t just a statistic, not just another person you are special. You have distinct gifts and talents and you have shoes that no one else will ever be able to fill.
If you were to disappear tomorrow you can’t be replaced, you are special. Remember the Cosby Show? The father would tell his son, “I brought you into the world and I can take you out and make another one just like you.” But it can’t be done, because you are unique. And you have a responsibility to be all that God wants you to be. Don’t let people tell you that you are worthless, God created you and God don’t make junk.
2) We Need to Develop Our Potential I am no gardener but even I know you don’t just plant a seed and forget about it. You tend it and you nuture it, you baby it and it grows. And as it grows you talk to it, feed it, keep the bugs away and it flourishes. You can be sure that Howard Dill does a lot more then just plant the seeds for his pumpkins.
We don’t bring a newborn home from the hospital and say “Ok kid, welcome home, here’s your room, the bathroom is across the hall, towels and facecloths are in the closet. Here’s the kitchen, that’s the fridge, help your self if you are hungry. Don’t forget to make your bed in the morning, and holler if you need anything.”
We never do that to a child but we do with our potential when we fail to develop it. A man would never try to make fine furniture out of unfinished lumber, but we try to do that with our talents. You are responsible for what God has given you. So the question remains: How do we develop our potential?
a) The first thing you have to do in developing your potential is to develop a positive self image. It is no accident that as your self image improves so does your performance. Your actions are directly related to how you see yourself. The person who believes himself to be a failure will be a failure. The person who thinks he was nothing to offer, will have nothing to offer.
It’s not a sin to feel good about yourself. Sometimes it seems like Christians have the concept that if there are going to be holy they need to have a poor self image. Stephen Brown, is a Presbyterian preacher and author of “No more Mr. nice guy - saying goodbye to Door mat Christianity” tells us “Christians are guilty of taking what is neurotic and making it spiritual.” Brown says that one day after a church service he complimented a young lady on a solo she had sung. “Oh it was nothing” she replied “It was the Holy Spirit using me.” To which Brown replied “I heard the Holy Spirit using Sandi Patti to sing the same song and he did a much better job then.”
Don’t be afraid to just say “thank you”, Jesus wants you to feel good about yourself because when we feel good about ourselves we start to feel good about other people. And it works the other way too you know. If you feel worthwhile you become worthwhile. The great your self image the greater the development of your potential. And the person who has the most control over how you feel about yourself can be found in your mirror.
Nobody can destroy your self image without your permission.
b) We Need to Realize that You Are Responsible for Developing your Potential Not your parents, not your spouse, not your preacher, not God but you.
God has given you the same potential as Einstein, Billy Graham, Mother Theresa or every Nobel Prize winner who ever lived. God makes each one of us what we are, but it’s only when we stop playing games that we become all that we can be. I am convinced that God will judge us not only on what we did but also on what we could have done and should have done and didn’t.
Have you buried your potential in a pile of inferiority? If so you are like the third servant in the story Jesus told.
When I was in Bible College, Ron Mitchell the president had a sign on his office wall, and you are probably thinking “Denn, what were you doing in the President’s office?” Which time? They are long stories. But I love the sign that Dr. Mitchell had and it said and I quote almost thirty years later “What you are is God’s gift to you, what you become is your gift to God.”
c) We Have to realize that God is more interested in having you develop your Potential than in the Mistakes you might make. You won’t learn anything without trying and you won’t try anything without making mistakes along the way.
When I was a young teen I was taking riding lessons and my instructor told us “every time you fall off your horse you will get back on a better rider.” I wasn’t too impressed with the logic when I was thirteen but it’s the truth. Mistakes are only mistakes when we fail to learn from them.
Too many people are paralysed with the fear of failure. Years ago I was talking to a couple wanted to get married. I asked what their hobbies were and she told me that she wrote. And so I asked if she had ever been published and she told me that she had never submitted anything. When I asked why not she told me that she was afraid of it being rejected.
And I commented “What’s the worst that can happen, they won’t publish it? It isn’t published now.” And because she was afraid of failure the world may have missed out on a great author.
For too long the church as nit picked at people who have tried and failed. The potential of pastors and people has never been realized because the church has majored on peoples shortcomings. God will not beat us for trying, when we fall down He’s there to help us back up, not to kick us while we are down.
Do you remember the story from the New Testament about Peter walking on the water? When he began to sink how Christ stretched out his hand to save him. Christ saved the sinker before he rebuked the doubter. He reached out a helping hand not a finger of accusation. Christ may have rebuked him for doubting but he never criticized him for trying. And it’s true that the other disciples who stayed in the boat may have stayed dry but they never experienced walking on water either.
d) Keep Company with those who are Successful in Developing their Potential. Have you ever noticed that winners surround themselves with winners? Yes it might be a clique but losers have cliques too. I’m not saying that we don’t have anything to do with people who are not as successful as we might be, but that shouldn’t be where we get our inspiration from.
You get the positive vibes from the winners in your life. They said nobody would ever break the 4 minute mile and yet a young medical student named Roger Bannister ran the mile in 3 minutes 59.4 seconds in 1954. And within ten years no less than 336 people ran the mile in less then 4 minutes.
Jack Nicklaus had won more golf tournaments than any other professional golfer and he was asked if he thought some day his record would be broken and he said “Oh yes, all records will be broken sometime, by somebody.”
Gordie Howe was undoubtedly the best hockey player in the world, and nobody had ever come close to breaking the scoring record he set in his 20 + years in the game, until Wayne Gretzky broke the record in only 8 years. And someday the Great One’s records will be broken.
The records in the 1936 Olympics in Germany were the qualifying standards in the 1972 Olympic Games also held in Germany.
Look around and see what God would have you to be, in your church, your work and your family.
3) Dedicate that Potential to God If you discover your potential and then you develop your potential but you fail to give it back to God then you’ve lost. After all it was God who made you all that you can be and he expects you to use what you have to further and advance his kingdom.
There really is no excuse for not being all that God would have you to be.
With Thanks to John Maxwell for many of his ideas.
PowerPoint may be available for this message email me at denn@cornerstonewesleyan.ca
