Is it I?

I remember once while I was working. A police officer came into where I was working.

I jokingly said something like, Oh what did I do now, or something to that effect. The officer without skipping a beat, pointed at me and said, let’s go, are you ready?

As if he was there for me.

Now, I knew I hadn't done anything wrong, but I must confess, at that moment, I felt my heart sink into my stomach, until he started smiling.

Oh, he thought It was really funny.

But I about had to change my shorts.

I never disliked cops, but I guess there was always a kind of distrust of them.

Growing up around street violence I guess does that to you

So, even though I knew I didn't do anything wrong, It wasn't like I said to myself, “I can keep calm because I know I didn't do anything,”

No, it was more like, “how am I going to get out of this?”

Jesus went through this when they plotted against Him. He didn't do anything wrong yet they threw Him in prison.

I am a fan of international motorcycle travel.

I saw an episode where this one very well known traveler was in a certain country. He went to transfer some funds into local currency but to his surprise, he went to transfer, and nothing was there He couldn’t believe it.

He looked into his account further and found that his account had been drained completely.

$Zero balance Could you imagine that?

Traveling abroad in another country. Go to use some money and find out its all been stolen from you?

It turns out it was a case of mistaken identity in his home country of Spain.

Apparently, someone else with the exact same, uncommon, name ended up in some financial trouble.

So, they did a search, found his name, and with a click of a button Poof, he’s wiped out.

It wasn't him, but for a little while, they thought it was, and he had to experience the wrap for someone else.

Similarly, the family and I traveled to Mexico A few years ago.

Yadi, and the boys went through immigration without issue but, when I handed them my passport the official gives me the double glance.

She turns to another official and they both look at me strangely. They send me over to a private office over to the side.

Needless to say, the blood pressure begins to rise right about now as all kinds of possibilities are going through my head.

We are told that my name matches someone they are looking for. They had to contact the Mexican version of the FBI, to clear me to enter. After an our or so of waiting, I was released.

A case of mistaken identity

Its one thing to be charged with a crime of which you are guilty.

Its quite another thing to be charged for a crime you didn’t commit.

When you are accused of anything, the first thing we do is analyze if we are truly guilty, don’’t we?

Say you walk through the theft detector at the local store the detector goes off. What do you do?

Do you start running, thinking you’re guilty? No, normally we’ll stop to let the check our bags or whatever Because, “WE” know we are innocent of this suspicion.

But, we cant help but wonder, while being searched. If we maybe we have accidentally placed something in our pocket, or purse without thinking.

Innocent of intent but, guilty none the less?

Come on, we have all done that haven’t we? Why do we do that?

Its because even though we don’t have that intention, we are all capable of sin. And we know it!

So, we naturally check ourselves to make sure we haven't unintentionally committed one.

I wish we could be as diligent as Job and offer sacrifices to the Lord for the sins we do commit, And one for the “Just in case we sinned”

Job 1:5 CSB

Whenever a round of banqueting was over, Job would send for his children and purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned, having cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.

Boy, he was smart

I take that example and apply it to my own life now.

When I pray for forgiveness, I ask the Lord to forgive my sins and to forgive any sins I committed without noticing, or knowing.

Because when we do that, its like going through the spiritual doors of the Lord’s presence, and if we aren’t careful, may very well, try to go through those spiritual doors with unrepentant sin stuffed innocently in our spiritual coat pocket or purse.

And be sure, that this detector WILL detect sin and it will find you out

Numbers 32:23 CSB

But if you don’t do this, you will certainly sin against the Lord; be sure your sin will catch up with you.

Matthew 26:20–22 CSB

When evening came, he was reclining at the table with the Twelve. While they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” Deeply distressed, each one began to say to him, “Surely not I, Lord?”

Matthew 26:30–35 (CSB)

After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, “Tonight all of you will fall away because of me, for it is written:

I will strike the shepherd,

and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.

But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” Peter told him, “Even if everyone falls away because of you, I will never fall away.” “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to him, “tonight, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” “Even if I have to die with you,” Peter told him, “I will never deny you,” and all the disciples said the same thing.

We see that Peter had good intentions but, for some reason, the spiritual detector went off and Jesus called him out on it Saying, that before the crowing of the rooster, he would deny Christ 3 times

So, we all have moments where we fail, and we ask for forgiveness.

Where we are by circumstance. Humbled.

Meaning, when we are caught, or when we recognize our sin, & truly repent, there in our brokenness before the Lord, we stand humble and admit that, without question,

“It was I Lord who betrayed the blood You spilled for me I did it and I confess.”

But, where we make grave mistakes is, and which is the focus of todays message, Is when we get into the area of arrogance.

The “Knowing” I did nothing wrong attitude is a dangerous place to be.

Because you can easily lose site of your dependency on the Holy Spirit

And began to, like a young child, start asking for a little more and more leeway, to wander a bit further out on your own.

Because you feel confident you are on the top of your game so-to-speak .

Then, before you know it, you are denying the very thing you swore to serve.

Luke 18:9–14 CSB

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee was standing and praying like this about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I’m not like other people—greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’ “But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes to heaven but kept striking his chest and saying, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this one went down to his house justified rather than the other, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Don’t ever allow yourselves to lose sight of the fact that, when Jesus went to the cross, there was no mistaking the identity of the person He was willingly dying for.

So, then the natural question becomes then.

Who was it He died for ?

I am so glad you asked!

Ask yourselves, Is it I, Lord?

And the answer is, Yes, He died for you.

Yes, little ole you.

Complete with your emotional baggage

Complete all those nasty little dirty secrets you haven’t repented of

Even you with all those blotches on your spiritual record

Even you, who are very near to facing Him, due to an illness or death

Yes even you, who did everything by the book, except for that one time

Yes, even you who are depressed.

Anxious, Stressed, Hurting, Sad.

Yes, even for those who were victims, and even for those of you who were the aggressor, there is still hope for you

Because, Yes, Jesus even died for you too

For there is salvation in no other name under heaven given among men

He died for you

So, don’t take the blessing for granted, thinking, you’ve got it covered.

Because, if there is any unrepentant sin hanging around in you be, sure as the Bible says, It WILL find you out.

And its never pretty when the sin comes out

Confess your sins before the Lord. Repent of any Sins you haven’t addressed yet,

And, ask the Lord to bring to your memory anything you haven’t already asked to be forgiven for. “Just in case”

If you keep this mindset, You will always be mindful of His Spirit that you carry with you, And your tendency betray the blood will be less and less.