Now, I have no doubt that some of you have looked at the title of my sermon printed in the bulletin and wondered, “What in the world are you up to this morning, Pastor Jim?”
Well, we are going to hear a word that begins with “s” quite a bit this morning and I thought to myself on Monday when I started this sermon, “Hey, that’s a catchy title!”
What’s the word? SIN.
It is a hard word to say. It sounds rude, it sounds harsh, it sounds judgmental, it sounds old-fashion, and it sounds very, very un 21st century. But it is a Biblical word and it is God’s will that we be forgiven of it and released from its power over and grip on us if we want to experience spiritual breakthroughs in our lives.
As I shared last week, Spiritual Breakthroughs are… (Overhead 1)
As we continue our series on experiencing spiritual breakthroughs, we have to face four important truths about sin that puts us in so many ruts:
(Overhead 2)
The reality of sin in our lives
The power and pull of sin over our lives
The availability of forgiveness from sin in our lives
The reality of resisting sin for our lives
As we face these truths, we can experience spiritual breakthroughs in our relationships with family, friends, co-workers, the Lord, and ourselves because sin, as we learn from the very beginning in scripture, sin, disobedience of God, affects everything.
Let’s examine each of these four truths this morning:
The reality of sin in our lives
The Bible speaks of the reality of sin in the human heart and soul from cover to cover and we cannot deny that it doesn’t do so.
Jesus spoke of the reality of sin often during His time on earth and we read some of those statements in the gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John as follows:
In the opening chapter of Matthew we read in verse 21, “And she will have a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Matthew 4:17 provides us with a statement of Jesus spoken at the beginning of His active ministry,” Turn from your sins and turn to God because the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
In Mark 1 and verse 15, we again read Jesus’ proclamation, “The Kingdom of God is near! Turn from your sins and believe this Good News!”
In Luke 13 we hear Jesus say, “You will also perish unless you turn from your evil ways and turn to God… I tell you again that unless you repent, you will also perish.”
In John 1:26 we read of John the Baptist’s proclamation “Look! There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
The Bible is clear that sin is a major problem for the human race and that central to the Christian faith is God’ s plan and offer to forgive us our sin and to help us return to the Lord and live rightly with Him.
We see this in the availability of forgiveness from sin through Christ. In each of these just mentioned verses, not only is the reality of sin mentioned; the availability of forgiveness is mentioned as well.
The words of the angel in Matthew 1 acknowledge that Jesus will “save His people from their sins.” We also hear the availability of forgiveness in the proclamation to repent because the act of repentance is rewarded with forgiveness.
Finally John’s public pronouncement makes clear that Christ, the Lamb of God, takes away (forgives) the sin of the world.
We also hear in the scriptures not just about the reality of sin and the availability of forgiveness from sin we also are told of the power and pull of sin over our lives.
James 1:14 and 15 says, “Temptation comes from the lure of our own evil desires. These evil desires lead to evil actions, and evil actions lead to death.”
And Paul writes in Romans 7 in a very personal and intense way of the power and pull of sin over our lives. “I don’t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead I do the very thing I hate. I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong… but I can’t help myself, because it is sin inside me that makes me do these evil things… Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Bob Snook has written a very pointed skit entitled “Echo” in which a mother and daughter are sitting with a mentor and as the mother shares the daughter mimics every action and word. The mother cries out for help, “Amy you’ve got to help me! She repeats everything I say… I can’t make her stop.”
Eventually the mentor gets the daughter to stop and leave the room while she has a serious conversation with her mother about the mother’s lifestyle, especially as it relates to inappropriate relationships and substance addiction and its influence on the daughter’s behavior.
Eventually the parent comes to realize that she needs to make some changes that are hard and difficult and is invited to the mentor’s home for a Friday night support group of Christians who are working on similar issues in their lives.
I would not be surprised that the Romans 7 passage we have briefly read would be a passage this group would go to for help. Sin is a powerful, powerful thing and it affects us in ways large and small. But its power and grip on us can be broken as we experience God’s grace and forgiveness and as we continue to walk obediently with the Lord.
This is reflected in the truth that we are invited to realize the reality of resisting sin through Christ as we accept God’s saving grace and as we continuously choose to walk obediently with the Lord.
Our main Bible passage makes this truth clear. Now, at first glance this passage seems rather negative. That is because John is pointing out what has been a common human action since Adam and Eve realized what they had done in eating the forbidden fruit – denial and self-justification.
“IF we say we have NO sin…” John minces no words to the Christians and Christian community to which he is writing. “If we say that we are okay, that everything is okey dokey that we have no sin running around in our thoughts, feelings, and attitudes, then we are pulling the wool over our eyes… and our souls!”
John knows the truth about the human condition. By this point in his life, he has the perspective of wisdom and experience behind him regarding the spiritual condition of humanity. He has seen first hand, as he recalls in both his gospel account and in the three books, which we read a portion from today, people who set themselves up for a fall when they fail to properly deal with the power of sin and temptation in their lives. Paul says it well in I Corinthians 10:12 “If you think you are standing strong, be careful, for you, too, may fall into the same sin.”
Now in verse 10, John goes a little further and bluntly says, “If we claimed we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar!” It is not enough to be told that we are fooling ourselves by not dealing with our spiritual condition in which sin has wrecked havoc in us and around us. We are bluntly told by John that we make God out to be a liar when we claim that we have not sinned and God (and most likely some other human beings) very well knows that we have sinned.
But John does not stop with verse 8 and verse 10 to leave us in despair and gloom. He includes verse 9, a very important verse; it is a spiritual breakthrough verse!
“But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.”
When we admit to the reality of our sin, like Peter did;
When we admit to the power and pull of sin over our lives like Paul did in Romans 7;
When we admit to and by faith and hope, reach out for availability of forgiveness from sin through Christ like Jesus spoke of in the Gospels;
Then… there is the reality of forgiveness and living victoriously over the power of sin in our lives! Verse 9 points to the reality that sin’s power can be broken…again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, in our lives as we admit to (or confess) our sin to the Lord and accept His forgiveness.
The spiritual habit (and I use habit in the positive sense of an important repetition) of regular confession that I believe this verse emphasizes creates spiritual breakthroughs in our relationship with the Lord because it keeps open the relational line between the Lord and us.
I also think that learning some important things about how sin works in our lives can help us experience spiritual breakthroughs in our relationship with the Lord.
I Corinthians 10:13 “But remember that the temptations that come into your life are not different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it.”
Looking quite honestly at my own life, there have been times when I have not wanted the Lord to show me the “exit” when temptation came. I have experienced both the sweetness and pleasure of clear living when I have resisted temptation and walked away from it. I have also experienced the bitterness of despair and loss when I have given in to temptation and gone through the agony of confession and repentance.
And probably in the past ten years, I have seen the “exit” sign well before the temptation hits its stride by paying attention to a simple acronym that was shared with me several years ago.
HALT (Overhead 3)
H (hungry or harried)
A (angry or anxious)
L (lonely)
T (tired or tense)
I was told to tell myself “HALT” when I began to feel an emotional or attitudinal change coming on that was not good. I was then encouraged to ask myself what I was feeling at that point that made me vulnerable to temptation. I can look back and see where I was feeling one or more of these emotions well before a temptation would rear its head. It has taken awhile for this wisdom to take root because I believe it comes through spiritual maturity and progress.
Then a few weeks ago, I read that Bruce Wilkinson asks audiences at some of his seminars and speaking engagements a series of questions when discussing the power of a habitual sin or sins in one’s life. Doing so can help us begin to notice certain dynamics when temptation comes at us like a fire-breathing dragon and we wonder what is going on.
He calls it a “Personal Sin Profile.” He asks 6 questions: (Overhead 4)
1. What time of week do you sin the most?
2. What time of day do you sin the most?
3. Where are you when you sin the most?
4. Who is with you when you sin the most?
5. What is the sin you commit most in these circumstances?
Then there is question 6, “What are the specific emotions you feel before you sin? (HALT!) He goes onto say that his audiences begin to discern that there are common emotions that always show up, prior to giving in to a temptation no matter what the circumstances are.
Wilkinson goes on to point out sin promises some emotional benefits or seeks to provide some kind of emotional relief by shortcutting God’s standards and going right for the relief. Think for a moment about Judas. John writes in John 13 and verse 2 “the Devil had already enticed Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to carry out his plan to betray Jesus.”
I believe that God wants us to understand this situation far more clearly than what we think we can because I believe it can help us be better prepared for spiritual breakthroughs in our lives. We have already heard James 1:14 and 15 this morning but I want to read them again. It says, “Temptation comes from the lure of our own evil desires. These evil desires lead to evil actions, and evil actions lead to death.”
When it comes to our make up, emotions and desires are as important and strategic to our spiritual life as our will and minds are. And Satan tempts us through our desires and emotions in order to satisfy a deep need within us that only the Lord can truly satisfy. I do not think that is wrong to assume that Satan tempted Judas to betray Jesus by shortcutting to fulfill some legitimate human needs.
I have heard over the years many interpretations of Judas’ betrayal that have roots in an unfulfilled expectations that Jesus was going to turn around the political order by overthrowing the Romans and reestablishing the nation of Israel. When it did not happen, Judas grew outraged and decided to turn on Jesus because He was angry and disappointed with Him and had a strong desire to see Israel free from political oppression.
The temptations that come our way offer us paradise but we end up with the taste of Hell in our souls because we have not sought the relief and the help that comes through the “Comforter,” the Holy Spirit as Jesus says in John 15:26, “But I will send you the Comforter (or counselor or encourager) the Spirit of truth.”
If then this is true, is it any wonder that we struggle with a consistent walk with Christ when we need to allow the Comforter, the Holy Spirit to comfort us in such a manner that we are offered “a way out” from temptation?
This is a series on experiencing spiritual breakthroughs. I want it to be helpful. I want it to be Biblical. I want it to be practical. I want it to be a turn around time in your life for the honor and glory of God!
This morning, I ask you, “What emotional/spiritual triggers keep you from experiencing spiritual breakthroughs in your life and your relationship not just with the Lord but with everybody else in your life?” Is it…. (Overhead 5)
Anger
Resentment
Fear/Anxiety
Bitterness
Control
Material possessions
Loneliness
Self-esteem/insecurities
We need the comfort and help of the Holy Spirit to live victoriously over those areas of our lives that we continuously struggle with. God wants us to live victoriously! God wants us to live in the peace and joy of the Spirit! God wants us to experience spiritual breakthroughs. So we must deal with the reality of sin in our lives. Yet we also must come to grips with the great reality of God’s plan to help us overcome sin and live well in Him!
I close with a prayer that Wilkinson prays in moments of temptation, “Dear Holy Spirit, You’ve been sent to me to be my personal comforter. I am in desperate need of comfort. I don’t want to sin. Please comfort me. In Jesus’ name.” Amen.
Snook’s skit was found at www.sermoncentral.com and ©2001 Bob Snook. Conditions for use: Do not sell any part of this script, even if you rewrite it. Pay no royalties, even if you make money from performances. You may reproduce and distribute this script freely, but all copies must contain this copyright statement. http://www.fea.net/bobsnook email: bobsnook@fea.net
Wilkinson’s questions are found on pages 108 and 109. His prayer is found on page 111 of his book Experiencing Spiritual Breakthroughs. Copyright 1999. Published by Multnomah Press.
