(Children’s song, tho’ it can be read to a good effect as well as sung if you know the tune)
Well I stuck my head in a little skunk’s hole
And the Lil’ skunk said, "Well bless my soul,
Get it out, get it out... remove it."
Well I didn’t get it out and the lil’ skunk said
"If you don’t get it out, you’ll wish you were dead,
Get it out, get it out... remove it."
pssss "I removed it... too late
APPLY: I read recently a couple of interesting facts about skunks.
Does anybody know how far a skunk can spray? (6 to 10 feet)
Can anyone guess how far can it’s odor be smelled? (2.5 miles)
The unique thing about a skunk’s odor is once you’ve been sprayed, nobody wants to be in the same room with you. Not for a lonnnnnng time.
Now the Bible tells us is that our sin has the same kind of effect to God. When sin dominates our lives it creates a stench about us that’s hard to overlook.
I. In Jeremiah 5, God is telling Israel - they stink
God lists a number of sins that have caused Him to become angry. And then, He makes an intriguing comment in verse 25 (TURN THERE)
“Your wrongdoings have kept these (blessings) away; your sins have deprived you of good.” Jeremiah 5:25
Their sins have deprived them of good things… their sin has blocked God’s blessings.
Now this isn’t the only time God warns His people about this:
In Deuteronomy 28:23 God warns His people that if they turn their back on Him: “The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron.”
Jesus advises people not to even bother offering their gifts to God if they’ve got a problem with their neighbor… because God won’t accept it - "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. Matthew 5:23-24
Isaiah 59:2 says “… your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.”
And Peter tells husbands to “…be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.” (I Peter 3:7)
II. Now, why would our sins keep God from listening to us?
Why would our sins make it so that He wouldn’t hear our prayers?
As I was preparing this sermon, there were two reasons I could think of:
The first reason is this: God hates sin. He’s not going to put up with it.
ILLUS: A. W. Tozer noted: “God’s wrath is His utter intolerance of whatever degrades and destroys. He hates iniquity as a mother hated the polio that would take the life of the child.
God hates sin because it corrupts His people
… it damages us
… it destroys us
And so, because of that - He has no intention of rewarding us for bad behavior
In Jeremiah 5 you can almost hear God pleading with Israel:
“Your wrongdoings have kept these (blessings) away; your sins have deprived you of good.” Jeremiah 5:25
Come on guys (He seems to be saying) I want to do good for you. I want to give you blessings. But you keep messing things up.
(pause…) The problem is this: people will often choose the path of least resistance in life. They’ll choose evil because it is often easier than doing good… and it is enjoyable.
Therefore… if there are no unpleasant consequences to their actions they’ll continue to do that which is evil.
THEREFORE when we set our hearts to sin God just stands back and leaves us alone. He basically says: “fine… you want to live like that, go ahead, but don’t expect Me to help you out”
God does this, because He wants to teach us the horridness of our sin by allowing us to reap the results of our wickedness.
ILLUS: Dr. A. C. Dixon used to tell of a lady who had a very spoiled and willful child.
One day a wasp flew in the window, and the boy - seeing its brilliant colors - began to cry for it.
At last the mother called to the servant who was tending the child "What is the boy crying for? Whatever it is… let him have it?"
So, the servant returned to the boy, and a few minutes there’s a loud scream.
The mother is shocked and yelled out "What’s the matter?"
The servant peeked back into the room and calmly said: "He got what he wanted"
If we determine that we’re going to embrace sin in our lives, God lets us have what we want. And we are NOT going to like what we get!
So one of the primary reasons God will not hear our prayers when we sin is – God hates sin.
The 2nd reason God would not hear our prayers – is because of embarrassment. Not His embarrassment, but ours. Sin doesn’t just smell bad to God… it smells bad to us too. Inside of our heart of hearts, we realize that it is folly to come before God covered with the stench of our sinfulness and expect Him to be overjoyed with us.
Paul describes this sentiment in Romans 7
“…I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 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. 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.
So, I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 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. (Now, notice this last phrase) What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” Romans 7:18b-24
Because sin embarrasses us, there are people who will avoid God because they recognize their sinfulness and they realize that their sin has a terrible smell. As a result this brings them despair and shame. THUS – since they avoid God out of embarrassment – God CAN’T hear their prayers because they never offer them.
Just like Adam & Eve- these people hide from God – because, like them, they know what their sin has done to them.
III. Now, bear in mind – what we’re talking about here isn’t sin that happens just once in a while
This is sin that has become a lifestyle choice.
In Jeremiah - the Israelites had MADE UP THEIR MIND to behave like this.
John Smithson once said: “Before I came to Christ, I practiced sin and committed acts of righteousness….”
The Israelites had gotten into the habit of practicing sin.
Sin was normal for them and righteousness was an aberration.
Righteousness was an “add on” to their lives.
IT WAS WINDOW DRESSING.
What God wanted for them was for them to PRACTICE RIGHTEOUSNESS. He wanted righteousness became the goal of their lives… and for sin to become the exception.
So… God wasn’t saying that the Israelites had had a bad thought or had said a curse word or two. These people had gotten into a HABIT of selfishness and sinfulness that made them smell bad to God.
IV. How could this happen to Israel?
I mean this was a nation of people dedicated to living holy lives. How could they allowt themselves to end up like this?
Well… it’s actually quite simple. They had left a corner in their lives open for Satan to sneak in. And once Satan had that foothold in their lives, he took over more and more until he totally filled their existence.
ILLUS: A Haitian minister told of a certain man wanted to sell his house for $2,000. Another man wanted very badly to buy it, but because he was poor, he couldn’t afford the full price.
After much bargaining, the owner agreed to sell the house for 1/2 the original price
with just one stipulation:
He would retain ownership of one small nail that stuck out from the wall just over the door.
After several years, the original owner wanted the house back, but the new owner was unwilling to sell. So the first owner went out, found the carcass of a dead dog, and hung it from the single nail he still owned. Soon the house became unlivable, and the family was forced to sell the house to the owner of the nail.
The Haitian preacher concluded his story with this statement: "If we leave the Devil with even one small peg in our life, he will return to hang his rotting garbage on it, making it unfit for Christ’s habitation."
If we leave room for Satan to put a nail up… eventually he’ll find a way to stink up our whole lives.
V. Now… one last point
Sin is a terrible thing. It creates a stench that’s hard to stand.
A lot of people make the mistake of trying to cover up that smell…
By doing good deeds
By being kind to strangers
Helping little old ladies across the street
They convince themselves that the fragrance of their good behavior will cover up the smell of their past.
But they’re kidding themselves.
They’re kind of like the teenage boy who comes in from playing hard outdoors and he either doesn’t have the time, or doesn’t want to take the time to take a shower. So how does he try to deal with the smell? That right! He uses enough deodorant and cologne to choke a horse. And you know what? IT DOESN’T WORK!
No matter how much good smelling stuff that boy uses… there’s still an odor. You can’t cover up the smell! You have to wash it away.
CLOSE: The Bible tells us a story of a man who was very righteous. He once said that he had always taken great pride in his own “righteousness”… in fact when it came to being righteous… he was “faultless.” (Philippians 3:6)
His name had been Saul (we know him as Paul).
He had been a very well respected Pharisee in the days of the early church and as far as he was concerned these “Christians” were heretics.
He made it his personal mission to eradicate this fledgling church, and had even been responsible for the death of the first Christian to die for his faith (Stephen).
Paul was on the road to Damascus one day w/ the intention of persecuting the church there. While he was on his way, Jesus confronted him and struck him blind. Paul later explained:
“I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’
“ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.
“ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied.
Paul then asked “‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.
"… get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do”
Well… his friends led him to Damascus. And while he was there he did good things to try to make up for the wrong that he now knew he had done. For 3 days…
He fasted…
and he prayed
But as much as that reflected his desire for forgiveness these good things didn’t wash away the stench of his past sin.
Finally, God sent a man named Ananias to Paul. Ananias laid his hands on Paul and he was healed of his blindness. Then Ananias said these words to Paul:
“…Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.” Acts 22:16
You see… you can’t get rid of the stench of sin by covering it up. You have to wash it away.
If you don’t belong to Jesus, the way you wash away your sins is to come to Jesus on His terms.
1. You must believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the Living God
2. That you are a sinner and you must wash away your sins with His blood
3. You must be willing to make Him the Lord and Master of your life… turning over every aspect of your possessions and life.
4. You must be willing to make a commitment to practicing righteousness rather than sin in your life.
5. And you must be buried in the waters of Christian baptism. Not that the water washes away your sins, but that God has chosen that point in your life to apply the blood of Jesus to your heart and wash away the stench of the past and to give you a new life.
SERMONS IN THIS SERIES
· Formed For A Purpose - Jeremiah 1:4-1:10
· Accept No Substitutes - Jeremiah 2:4-2:13
· The Smell of Sin - Jeremiah 5:20-5:25
· If I’ve Got It Why Can’t I Flaunt It? - Jeremiah 9:23-9:24
· The Effect Of Judgment - Jeremiah 10:17-10:25
· Time To Decide - Jeremiah 15:15-15:21
· Planning For The Future. - Jeremiah 29:8-29:14
· A New Hope - Jeremiah 31:31-31:35
· Knowing God’s Phone Number - Jeremiah 33:1-33:3
· You Can’t Tell Some People Anything - Jeremiah 44:1-44:30
