Trouble On The Inside

TROUBLE ON THE INSIDE

TEXT: Luke 8:27--And when he went forth to land, there met him out

of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and

wore no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs."

This man who possessed devils, and whom Jesus healed, seems to

tell us the striking need of our time. For indeed, we live in a sin maddened world. As, times have changed; customs have changed, people have changed. Everyone seems to be tense "up tight." The former spirit of neighborliness seems to have vanished. People seem to be going about with chips on their shoulders.

Many have lost respect for law and order. It is far safer to be on

the firing line in our major cities. And not only, but many have lost respect for The Lord's Day. We seem to hold the Church in extreme disregard. Materialism has become the order of the day; the more we get, the more we want; we are never satisfied.

Violence is undermining our nation, and our young people, trying

to seek a way out, are becoming decadent in their morals, and by the use of drugs, liquor, crime, and immorality try to lose themselves and their identity. And in a vain effort to excuse their debauched behavior; they blame the generation gap the power structure. /Therefore, more crimes are committed by our youth than all of the adults put together.

,

Many Parents have become derelict in parental responsibility; more and more, they are permitting children to have their own way, and as a result, children have lost respect for parents and parents have lost respect for children.

Why is a nation founded upon the principles, of Christianity; a

nation which has on its currency "In God We Trust,-" Why is it in such an age of scientific development and discovery, has America fallen so low?

The man of the text, can answer all of these questions. _ "THE

TROUBLE IS ON THE INSIDE." You see, before an individual can act

right; think right; walke right or talk right he/she must be right on the inside. You hear a lot of talk about ghettos and rat infested dwellings.

Many legislators are seeking the enactment of laws to develop adequate housing for the underprivileged, at rent prices they can afford to pay. Their philosophy is: if you move a man out of the ghetto environment, crime will decrease, as such a move would rid such ghetto victims of their inferiority complex, and feeling of helplessness. But let me tell you; ghettos are bad. People ought to be given decent, clean, well arranged housing. But this alone will not blot out

the ghetto, or slums in America. You see you can tear down the ghetto and construct the proper type of housing, and if something is not done on the inside of the ghetto dweller, it wont be long before the new housing project becomes a ghetto itself. You see, to destroy the ghetto; you have got to destroy the ghetto thinking in a man's heart. The trouble is on the inside .

I used to wonder about people; you meet them on one day, and they

are talkative genial and jolly and you can meet the same folks the very next day, and they will appear so angry, that it seems they don 't want their clothes to touch them. But I understand better now; something is wrong on the inside. You see, a man just can't act good on the outside, when he is bad on the inside.

One day the Pharisees criticized Jesus and His Disciples for eating

with unwashed hands, but Jesus knew how to defend Himself. He told them in effect: that it wasn't what went from the outside in, that was harmful; but what came from the inside out, that did the damage. The trouble is on the inside.

You can get a filthy dirty, ragged bum out of the gutter; take him

to the store and buy him silk ^underwear ; silk sox; Stacy Adams shoes,a $250.00 suit; a $35.00 Dobbs hat; and a $20.00 shirt, and then shave him up; wash hi m up; clean him up; and dress him up; but it won't help a bit, until he gets a sense of pride and cleanliness on the inside; without which he will wear the clothes you bought until they too, become ragged. The trouble is on the inside. I don't care how many schools you attend or how many diplomas you may have on the wall; if you don't have it on the inside, it will do you no good. You see, education is just like opening a can of food; you can't get out of that can, nothing that wasn't already in that can.