Immorality distorts our decision-making
We hear about the crazy ordeals in the news - Dad/Soccer coach in Flor. who everybody loved, was arrested for embezzling $10,000 from the league and concessions. Parents were shocked.
A mom in another part of the country who had been elected treasurer of their non-profit S.L., and get this, over the last few years she has embezzled over $100,000 from the league. -
Again the parents were shocked.
For all of us we seem to go thru these seasons of life where we’re just not dialed in, below the surface we’re struggling & we battle hurts, hang-ups, and habits - and sometimes things just get down right out of control.
and nobody wants to end up there.
Do you think soccer dad and mom woke up one morning and said, “well today I’m gonna rip off my kids S.L.”
No it probably started w/ a big bill to pay & they were short on cash & thought nobody will notice - we‘ll repay it”
Maybe a few months later there became a sense of entitlement,
like you know I put alot of hours into this S.L., they owe me.
Then 1 thing leads to another & suddenly you end up in a place you thought you’d never be. Betraying people you thought you’d never betray - doing things you thought you’d never do.
So in each of our lives there is this temptation of immorality, whatever it may be & we all struggle w/ it - it’s unavoidable -
and we may end up living our lives w/ the appearance that everything is just fine.
So today were going to talk about, how do we unplug from this illusion of immorality.
How do we unplug from the negative influences.
If you have your bible turn to Is. 6
We’re going to unplug and see the world for what it really is - see the truth about God and ourselves - unplugging from this illusion is for people who are fed up w/ low living - they don’t wanna live a half life - they wanna live full out the life God
intended for us to live - they wanna unplug from the illusion & they want to be free & we see here in Is. a picture of a guy who has unplugged from the illusion of immorality - to live free and it changed everything for him.
“In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the LORD sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
And he said, Go, and tell this people.” Isaiah 6:1-9
If we want to see God like Is. did we need to clear our perspective - when Is. cleared his perspective everything changed.
He saw God’s Holiness, he saw his helplessness, and he saw the hopelessness of the world -
He unplugged, and began a process - a process that breathed new life, and it freed him up and sent him on his mission.
There’s this process of personal renewal that set him free - look at this in vs. 5 he says, WOE (circle) then the angel flys up to Is. (7)and says, LO (cir), & (v9) God says, GO (cir)
Is say, WOE, the angel says LO, and God says, GO - mix
These are the 3 elements in our journey toward freedom, to unplug from the illusion - 1st step is cleansing, 2nd step is consecration - angel touches him and says you belong to God
3rd step is that of our mission, God says, GO I have a mission for you.
WOE - cleansing
Hou. we have a problem, I have a problem, I am a man of unclean lips - God created you on purpose, for a purpose and God wants to pour into you - every arena of life crammed full of this thing Jesus called abundant life and love.
When we look at the great men and women of the bible we say, I want that too! That God-filled life.
When we find someone who displays this God-filled life something we find out about that person is they have gone thru this personal cleansing - someone living that God-filled life has dealt w/ the issue of personal sin in their life.
“let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience” Hebrews 10:22
God uses all types of personalities, all sorts of people groups, ethnic groups, male and female, big vessels, small vessels, plain vessels, even broken vessels, which is good b/c I’m a cracked pot - but there’s one 1 type of vessel God wont use and that’s a dirty vessel - 2 Timothy 2:21
“Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work”
- which mug would you use? Dirty or clean?
God wont do any less
Here’s the problem in my life I’ve discovered - I have this amazing tendency to get myself dirty - anyone know what I’m talking about? I have this nat. ability to say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing & I get myself dirty - I get myself stained - chip/ques
It’s a profound truth about ourselves and it’s key to unplugging from the illusion and it’s this: We’re ALL Stained.
In other words, everytime I gossip about somebody it’s a stain, everytime I shade the truth a little bit to protect myself or make myself look a little better it’s a stain, everytime hurtful words come out of my mouth to my wife or children it’s a stain -
everytime there’s a sexually inappropriate thought, another stain
Stain after stain after stain - what do I do to clean myself up, how do i get myself clean? Do I pull out the Tide pen and start scrubbin? You know most people think that’s how it works,
pull yourself up by the bootstraps, muster up some will-power & say, “I’m gonna be good - I’m gonna at least try to get the good things I do to outweigh the bad things I do. - Hopefully it will pan out in the end”
But I’ll tell you, I don’t think I could keep up w/ my sins.
I can’t out-do my stains. I keep saying the wrong things or doing the wrong things - I can’t keep up - I can’t do enough good works.
Here’s the good news, we don’t have to, it’s not about trying to outdo the stains or scrubbin away the stains - 1 John 1:8-9
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
We can be cleansed of our stains, no matter what we’ve done, no matter how big the stain or the type of stain or even how many stains - you can be clean!
How? Thru the cross of Christ (explain)
B4 God pours Himself into us, there’s this moment of personal confession of saying, God, I can’t do it, will you please forgive me, will you clean me up, will You wash me clean from inside out... and He washes you completely.
For us to unplug from this illusion of immorality, this is where it starts - it can happen today - instantly!
We just need to confess to be able to clean up those dirty vessels to remain pure & holy b4 God and then do what He wants us to do. Psalm 32:5
Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, "I will confess
my transgressions to the LORD "—
and you forgave
the guilt of my sin.
LO - consecration
Roman 12:1 - “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.”
Consecration is offering yourself as a living sacrifice, saying, “God here I am, take all of me, I surrender to you.”
For any of us to be used mightily of God - there comes this act of I’m gonna be full out surrendered to Jesus.
What kind of sacrifice does God want?
“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Psalm 51:17
For us to be used by God we have to come to this realization that the greatest hinderance to God’s work in my life is not other things, or circumstances, or other people, but ourselves.
That’s the greatest obstacle.
To unplug from this illusion we need to understand - brokenness
The issue of brokenness appears over and over in scrip.
Brokenness is a symbol of surrender - Jesus/ 5000
took the bread, blessed the bread, broke the bread, then He gave it away.
That’s exactly what Jesus will do w/ anything we put in His hands - if you put your life in His hands, He’ll take you, clean you up, and bless you - but there’s this process of breaking as well b4 He can give you away.
Now what do we need to be broken of? Our pride, it’s all about my dreams, my plans, my way - God’s gotta break us of these so we can be set free.
Wild Stallion - to break it - you don’t hurt it, but harness it - harness it’s power - why? - to work together.
Jesus said, Father, not my will, but yours. - that’s what we need to say - Life is not about us guys - life is about God
We’re born w/ this addiction to self & we gotta be broken of it
or otherwise we’ll spend our entire lives staring at our navels
“Cause it’s all about me, my stuff, what I have going on, -
this is not a good way to live life - so God breaks us of that & we become the kind of person He can pour into.
GO! - mission
This is about accepting your mission from God.
Sociologists tell us that it only takes 2% of a population to influence a culture - if that 2% is radically committed to whatever they believe in & whoever they follow.
If you need some evidence of that, look at Germany and the 3rd Reich, look at China & communism.
Let me ask you today - will you be God’s 2% in this world?
Will you be radically committed to the mission He’s given you.
b/c you do have a mission from Jesus Christ
“As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”
John 17:18
You have a mission in this world, and you may have been delayed like Is. was delayed, but if you’re ready to confess, and you’re ready to surrender & and say, I’m all yours God - you can be on your mission, right here, right now - today.
God is not saying, “I’ll use you & you & you, and not you -
if you’re useable - God will use you - it’s not about ability, it’s about availability
And He pours into you and me & that’s how He works.
He touches you, and then He touches others thru you.
Isn’t that cool!
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