TITLE: HOARDERS
TEXT: ROMANS 12:1 & 2
INTRO:
1. We must realize that Christianity is primarily about the rescuing of our souls from sin and the restoration of right standing with God.
2. The plan of God is not to get us to walk down an aisle in a church to an altar and repeat a prayer, but His plan is for the complete transformation of our lives. Real Christianity is not about what we do but about who we are, and who we are should change what we do.
3. We must understand that our culture has turned us from Christian Americans to American Christians. For us, Christianity has become little more than a box to be checked on a census form. Christianity is equivalent to an accessory to an outfit, like a belt or scarf, that we put on or take off depending on what we believe the dress code to be for each event of our lives.
4. If we were to be asked about Christianity we would talk about the church we periodically attend instead of saying that we have been set free from the curse of sin, that we have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, that we have been crucified with Christ, that we are not our own but have been bought with a price, and that we are a new creation in Christ Jesus.
5. It is the problem of sin and relationship with God that Jesus came to solve. It is this same problem that the apostle Paul wrote so often about.
6. In the book of Romans we find his definitive teaching on the issue of sin, redemption, and the changed life. The crux of the teaching is found in these two verses of chapter 12; that we no longer conform to this world, but that we are transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we can live in the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.
7. In order to fully understand and appreciate this profound statement we must understand the importance of the word “therefore” in verse 1. Anytime there is a “therefore” in Scripture, it is a sign that the author wants us to filter their next words through the words that precede them. In some cases this means the preceding verses or chapter, but in the case of Romans 12:1 & 2 it means all eleven chapters that came before.
8. In the first eleven chapters of Romans Paul tells us that:
The wrath of God will be poured out on unrepentant mankind because of sin (1:18), that mankind is without excuse (1:20), and that the gospel of Christ is the power of God for salvation (1:16).
The goodness of God leads us to repentance (2:4), and that what we do on the outside won’t get us right standing with God but who we are on the inside will (2:25-29).
All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, we are justified by the grace of God, and that Jesus shed His blood as a propitiation for our sin (3:23-25).
The promise of God is fulfilled through faith (4:13) and that against hope we can still hope and believe (4:18).
God demonstrated His love to us through Jesus’ death on the cross while we were still in our sin (5:8).
We are no longer slaves to sin but slaves of righteousness (6:18).
The only thing that can rescue us from the depths of sin is Jesus Christ our Lord (7:24 & 25).
We no longer stand condemned before God (8:1), we are no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit (8:9), and that we are God’s children and heirs (8:12-17).
We will miss righteousness if we seek it through works and not through faith (9:30-32).
Everyone who calls on Christ will be saved (10:13) and that faith comes through the Word of God (10:17).
If we continue in God’s goodness than we will always have God’s goodness (11:22) and that the wisdom, knowledge, and judgments of God are beyond our understanding (11:33).
9. It is with these facts in mind that Paul tells us in Romans 12:1 & 2:
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
10. What does all of that have to do with hoarders? Let me explain.
11. Illustration,
On the A&E Network there is a program called Hoarders. Apparently it started last year, but I wasn’t aware of it until last week. I watched a few episodes and was completely amazed. There web site says this about the show: “Each 60-minute episode of Hoarders is a fascinating look inside the lives of two different people whose inability to part with their belongings is so out of control that they are on the verge of a personal crisis. Whether they're facing eviction, the loss of their children, jail time, or divorce, they are all desperately in need of help. In a fly-on-the-wall style, we'll capture the drama as experts work to put each on the road to recovery. But cleaning is just the first step, like taking drugs away from an addict. The healing won't be easy. For some, throwing away even the tiniest thing -- a sponge, a button, an empty box -- is so painful that they will not be able to allow the cleaning to be completed, no matter the consequences. For others, professional help and an organizer's guidance give them the strength to recover. At the end of each episode we'll find out who has been able to keep their hoarding behavior at bay and who, despite help, is still lost inside this painful disease.” As I watched the show I didn’t know what to think. There were people that had so much stuff in their homes that you couldn’t see the floor. There were rooms where things were stacked three and four feet high throughout the entire room. There was one house that, while they were cleaning it, they found two decomposing cats. I was completely dumbfounded. My honest thought was that these people were lazy and just needed to clean their houses. I couldn’t believe that anyone would allow their life to be completely destroyed by junk that they didn’t even really want to keep. Then the Spirit of God spoke to my heart. It was incredibly clear. He said, “That is what My people do with their sin.” I didn’t know exactly what the Spirit meant. Then the Spirit began to explain it to me. People come to Christ and pray a prayer and are sincere in their intentions. They begin to grow in Christ and develop an understanding of sin. They allow God to clean out their lives and try to live a life of holiness. Christians get to a point where big, devastating sins never enter their mind. We don’t wake up and say, “I think I’ll commit adultery today.” What we do, however, is hoard sins. They are small, insignificant sins that we know we don’t need or even want any more, but we keep them around anyway. There’s that web site that we still go to every few weeks. There’s that magazine that we thumb through in the check out line. There’s that beer that we keep in the fridge’ for the big game. There’s that can of SKOAL that we keep in the truck for the deer woods. There’s that piece of gossip that we hang on to. There’s that excuse that keeps us from being faithful to prayer and Bible study and God’s house. They’re little and we don’t even really want them, but we keep them around. We don’t notice when they begin to pile up. Suddenly we notice that our lives are cluttered. We think we should throw out some of these sins, but we don’t. Then we begin to notice that our lives have become more than cluttered. Now it looks messy and it’s difficult to get through certain rooms in our lives. We think that we definitely need to throw away some sin, but again we don’t. Next thing we know our entire life is trashed. Our kids are a mess, our relationship with our spouse is in ruins, our career is falling apart, and when we look at our life all we see is sin. Now we’re overwhelmed. We say, “Where did all of this come from and how can I ever get rid of it now?” What we must realize is that it didn’t just appear, we’ve been accumulating it. We’ve become hoarders.
12. Today we must understand what to do with our sin hoarding and allow the power of Jesus Christ to break the grip of sin from our lives.
I. CONFORMED
A. We Have A Problem Letting Go Of Sin
1. Rom. 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world
2. Illustration,
Webster’s Dictionary:
Conform- 1: to be similar or identical; to be in agreement or harmony 2 a: to be obedient or compliant b: to act in accordance with prevailing standards or customs
3. We have grown so used to being in harmony with this world that we struggle to let go of sin, even when we no longer want it or find it necessary.
4. Jn. 8:34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.”
5. Col. 2:20 Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules:
6. Ezk. 11:12 And you will know that I am the LORD, for you have not followed my decrees or kept my laws but have conformed to the standards of the nations around you.
7. Even though we know it’s bad for us, we choose to stay in conformity with this world and hoard our sins.
8. Illustration,
Quotes from Hoarders:
“I just started asking God that I would like to know what it would be like to have an organized home.”
“You have to be able to let it go because if you don’t it will swallow you up.”
“I feel overwhelmed.”
“She wants someone else to take care of the objects, otherwise she can’t release them.”
“I realize I have to let some things go because, how am I ever going to get out of this mayhem and foolishness if I don’t let it go?”
“If we don’t make a big difference now I don’t know what will happen to either one of us. We really can’t go on like this.”
9. Although these comments are made from people who are dealing with the problem of hoarding things, I believe our hearts say the same things when we are hoarding sins.
10. Illustration,
“I just started asking God that I would like to know what it would be like to have sin out of my life.”
You have to be able to let sin go because if you don’t sin will swallow you up.”
“I feel overwhelmed by accumulating sin.”
I want someone else to take care of my sins, otherwise I can’t release them.”
I realize I have to let sin go because, how am I ever going to get out of this mayhem and foolishness if I don’t let sin go?”
If we don’t get rid of sin now I don’t know what will happen to either one of us. We really can’t go on like this.”
11. Rom. 7:14-24
14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
B. Hoarding Sin Will Destroy Us
1. Rom. 6:23 For the wages of sin is death
2. Dr. George Sweeting, Special Sermons For Special Days,
“Several years ago our family visited Niagara Falls. It was spring, and ice was rushing down the river. As I viewed the large blocks of ice flowing toward the falls, I could see that there were carcasses of dead fish embedded in the ice. Gulls by the score were riding down the river feeding on the fish. As they came to the brink of the falls, their wings would go out, and they would escape from the falls.
“I watched one gull which seemed to delay and wondered when it would leave. It was engrossed in the carcass of a fish, and when it finally came to the brink of the falls, out went its powerful wings. The bird flapped and flapped and even lifted the ice out of the water, and I thought it would escape. But it had delayed too long so that its claws had frozen into the ice. The weight of the ice was too great, and the gull plunged into the abyss.”
3. Illustration,
Quotes From Hoarders:
“She has this need to please and to help people but she doesn’t realize she’s hurting herself.”
“I always felt like if Jesus came to the door I couldn’t open the door because I would have been so ashamed. I would have felt like I wasn’t showing gratefulness and appreciativeness.”
“There was just a point where I kind of started giving up, when it started turning the other way. Once I started that, it was just the beginning of a long slide downward and I never was able to make the correction again.”
“You just get used to something and, little by little, you keep getting used to it until one day you look around and you live in this and you don’t really care.”
4. James 1:14 & 15
14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
5. Rom. 8:13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die;
II. TRANSFORMED
A. We Need To Be Completely Changed
1. Rom. 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
2. Illustration,
The Greek word that is translated “transformed” is the same word that is used when Jesus is transfigured in Matthew 17 and Mark 2. The Greek word is metamorphoo which is where we get our word metamorphosis.
3. Illustration,
Webster’s Dictionary:
Metamorphosis- change of physical form, structure, or substance especially by supernatural means; a striking alteration in appearance, character, or circumstances
4. Jn. 3:3 In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
5. Illustration,
Mitsuo Fuchida was the pilot in charge of one of the most successful aerial attacks in recorded history. Under his command was a squadron of 360 specially selected pilots, & on Dec. 7, 1941, Fuchida’s squadron bombed Pearl Harbor. He quickly became one of the most highly decorated pilots in the Japanese air force, & the one most hated by the American forces. That included Jacob DeShazer, a young B-25 bomber pilot who longed for the day when he would be able to pay Japan back for what they had done. When the radio announced the sneak demolishing of Pearl Harbor, he hurled a potato at the wall and shouted, "Jap, just wait and see what we'll do to you!" One day that opportunity arose as DeShazer became a part of the very first Doolittle Raid over Japan. But after dropping his bombs on the city of Nagoya, DeShazer lost his way in the heavy fog & was forced to bail out when his plane ran out of fuel. He was quickly taken prisoner, & for almost two years, DeShazer suffered from hunger, cold, dysentery, & watching his fellow prisoners die. And the more he experienced this treatment the deeper his hatred of the Japanese grew. Then, in 1944, someone gave DeShazer a Bible. He started at Genesis & read on & on, barely sleeping. And by the time he had come to the Book of Romans he had surrendered his heart & life to Jesus as his Savior & his Lord. Immediately Matthew 5:44 became a crucial challenge to him, “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you & pray for those who spitefully use you & persecute you.” Because of it DeShazer’s attitude toward his Japanese guards began to change. His hostility evaporated & every morning he greeted them warmly. He prayed for them & sought to witness to them. Slowly their attitude toward him also changed & some of them even began bringing him extra food & supplies. Finally, the war was over & DeShazer was free. Returning home he studied for the ministry & decided to return to Japan as a missionary. After establishing a church in Nagoya, the very city he had bombed, he wrote a pamphlet entitled, “I Was a Prisoner of the Japanese.” It wasn’t long until thousands of Japanese wanted to see & hear the man who could forgive & love his enemies. Meanwhile, Fuchida, the Japanese hero, had come out of the war a very disillusioned man. As he got off the train one day in Tokyo's Shibuya Station, he saw an American distributing literature. When Fuchida passed him, he was handed a pamphlet entitled “I Was a Prisoner of Japan.” The peaceful motivation he read about was exactly what he was seeking. Since the American had found it in the Bible, Fuchida decided to purchase one himself, despite his traditionally Buddhist heritage. In the ensuing weeks, he read the Bible eagerly. On April 14, 1950, Fuchida asked Jesus Christ to forgive his sins and change him from a bitter, disillusioned ex-pilot into a well-balanced Christian. Fuchida became an evangelist who traveled across Japan and the Orient introducing other to Jesus Christ. Jacob DeShazer and Mitsuo Fuchida were enemies filled with hatred and anger. But they experienced the transforming power of Jesus Christ and were forever changed.
6. Eph. 4:22-24
22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
7. 2 Cor. 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
B. We Are Transformed By Keeping Our Minds Renewed
1. Rom. 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
2. The only way we will ever stop being hoarders of sin is to constantly be transformed by allowing the Spirit to renew our minds.
3. John Murray, NICNT The Epistle To The Romans,
“The term used here implies that we are to be constantly in the process of being metamorphosed by renewal of that which is the seat of thought and understanding….Sanctification is a process of revolutionary change in that which is the centre of consciousness….It is not the beggarly notion of second blessing that the apostle propounds but that of constant renewal, of metamorphosis in the seat of consciousness.
4. 2 Cor. 3:18 NKJV But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
5. Lk. 9:23 & 24
23 Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.”
6. Gal. 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
CNCL:
1. We must understand that we have become hoarders of sin.
2. We hang on to sin even though we don’t want it or need it.
3. If we don’t get rid of the sin that we have been hoarding it will eventually destroy our lives.
4. Heb. 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
5. The only way we can stop hoarding sin is to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
6. God doesn’t want to add a little of Jesus to our messed up lives, but to make us brand new in Jesus Christ.
7. Today we must decide to stop being hoarders and to be transformed through the power of Jesus Christ.
ALTAR:
1. Salvation/Rededication
2. Hoarder
