If my people; turn from wickedness

Good morning, my name is Jamey Mills and I am one of the pastors here at Northside. We are so excited to have the opportunity to hang out with you all today…

Hopefully you have heard by now, Northside is starting to meet in person on July 5th at 6:30 PM at NACC. This will allow us several options… when the weather is nice, we will meet outdoors… and we think it will even be possible for you to stay in your car and tune in on your radio too. We are testing all of our equipment this weekend…

But we will communicate clearly with you all. Lots of shade… and we will take all the precautions. Masks aren’t required… but we want you to feel comfortable if you want to wear one.

One thing I want to reiterate… just as soon as the school opens back up, we plan on going back to Sunday mornings… but in the meantime, we feel like this is the best option we have.

The services will be a little shorter… family style services. We will have activity packs for kids… but we won’t have kids ministry or nursery… at least not to start with.

We will be streaming the service on Sunday night… and again the following Sunday morning. We’d love to see you there… but we understand these are interesting times. We know that some of you are at greater risk and we don’t want you to feel guilty or like you’re not a part of things.

If you want to know more about what these gatherings will look like, please visit our website.

As we transition into what it is we want to talk about today I have a few pictures for you…

THIS JUST ISN’T right…

I’m sure you have heard it… where I grew up it sounded more like… That ain’t right…

When we say something like that… What do we mean? Something is happening that shouldn’t be… or something isn’t happening that should… or maybe something is off… and there is a TON of that in our world right now. SO MUCH… going on around us that just isn’t right…

That ain’t right… something is off… that is the sentiment behind this timeless truth that we have been looking at in the Old Testament.

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NLT)

14 Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.

These four ways that God tells us to lead… when life in us or around us just isn’t right…

Humility, prayer, seeking His face, and turning from wickedness these are both personal… and corporate. It’s something we do as people… but it's also something we do His people and as a Church.

A phrase that we have mentioned every week during this sermon series is right here… Life is better when we listen to and follow God’s instructions!

It just is…

And we aren’t the first ones to say that.

Way back in Psalms… we hear this same wisdom from some who lived far before we did…

Psalm 119:1–3 (NLT)

1 Joyful are people of integrity,

who follow the instructions of the LORD.

2 Joyful are those who obey his laws

and search for him with all their hearts.

3 They do not compromise with evil,

and they walk only in his paths.

The psalmist is saying that life is better when we follow God’s instructions… That there is joy when we seek Him and when we don’t allow what the Bible calls evil… to drive our lives.

And last week i mentioned that for whatever reason, that seems to be a hard truth for us to embrace… we tend to fight it… and digging into that is important…

And it turns out we are not the first ones to talk about this fight or battle either…

The book of Galatians, talks about this very battle… here is what it says…

Galatians 5:17–25 (NLT)

17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.

Our sinful nature… our pronation toward selfishness… and what the Spirit of God wants for us are constantly clashing…

And the reason God points this out… and God tells us that whatever we allow to drive us… to lead us or influence us…. Effecting how things go…. It has an impact… and we call them consequences.

Consequences that sound like they have a profound impact on what we experience in life.... And this deserve our attention…

Living out our selfishness… living out our sinful nature…which because of sin is sort of like our default… causes all these life taking things… it often feels like it offers a sort of mirage of freedom… “don’t tell me what to do, I can do what I want”... that often leads to brokenness and captivity. The bible even uses the phraseology slave… to help us understand… it says that we become slaves to things like idolatry, lust, addiction, brokenness, jealousy, anger, greed… things that isolate… and are driven by our own selfishness. Things that were never intended to have a place in our lives at all.

And in the other corner is allowing the Spirit of God to inform, influence, and even empower the way we live. Taking our cues from Him… the creator… author… and designer of life… and Paul teaches us that the outcome is just far different… instead of chasing a mirage… we find true freedom… real freedom that God has always desired for you… a life free of adultery, lust, porn, addiction, hate, greed…. And a life full of real love, real grace, real peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, real gentleness… and what the last one… self control.

And if you need help remembering those things… Hannah has a song for you… she’s also looking to unload some assorted fruit.

God says IF… we step into humility, pray, seek His face, and turn from wickedness… He will hear us… Forgive us… and heal our land.

Who is the us in that passage that is in need of forgiveness? It’s His people. It’s His Church.

And we learn that A huge part of God bringing restoration… bringing healing to all that is lost and broken in our land involves His Church being in the right relationship with Him... . and it involves whatever it means by turning from wickedness.

Here is something I noticed… define wickedness: it’s illusive right… it's hard to define… it’s not a word we use much anymore… even within the Church but at the same time, there really isn’t a way we turn from wickedness without knowing what it is.

Wickedness is defined as departure from what God desires for and from you. The blatant disregard or passive overlooking of justice, righteousness, and truth.

Sin is something we do or don’t that stands against who God is and what God does… it creates distance between us and God.

But wickedness is allowing, overlooking, or developing patterns of sin that leads to a closed mind and hard heart toward God…. wickedness is the effect of unchecked sin in our lives that begin to turn our minds and hearts away from God. it looks like… and really is an absence of God in our lives.

Sin and wickedness has been around from the beginning…

Genesis 6:5–6 (NLT)

5 The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. 6 So the LORD was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart.

Genesis tells us that sin grieves the heart of God… it reminds us of Matthew 9:36… when Jesus saw the crowds and ached over them… they were like sheep without a shepherd… lost… aimless… directionless… without hope.

God grieves over the sin and wickedness of His people… And this probably most reminds me of being a parent… who has watched their kid choose things they know aren’ healthy… knowing and even watching the hurt and brokenness that those things bring… for those of us who have faced that or things like it… I think it’s a touch of what God feels about sin and wickedness in our life.

It’s hard watching those you love most… choose what leads to brokenness and captivity…

In humility… we realize that this is your issue… this is my issue.

Mark 7:21–23 (ESV) 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person

There isn’t anyone who doesn't struggle with this… we all have a sinful nature… a selfish nature…

And because of that… turning from sin… turning from wickedness is part of what it means to live out a right relationship with God.

And so it's right to ask you… have you? Have turned from wickedness in your life?

Another word you hear… it's a churchy word… that helps us understand what turning from wickedness means is repentance…

what does repentance mean?

Repentance means being broken by those things that break God’s heart…. it means caring about what He cares about… and it means grieving over and being truly sorry for those things in us that offend Him and break His heart…

Repentance literally means turning… out of the 4 things we read in 2 chron… turning from wickedness is a tad unique. God invites us… to move toward or into humility, prayer, and honestly seeking Him… but he tells us to turn… or move from wickedness.

And if you picture what it would look like for you to literally turn your head and body away from wickedness… that really is a pretty great picture of what we are talking about.

As a mountain biker/motorcycle rider… I have found the hard way… that your path follows your eyes. Where your look… is where you will go… and so turning from sin… turning from wickedness means looking and heading in a new direction…. Not just any direction… God’s direction.

Repentance means real change… In Biblical times, people had the external practices to show the world they were repenting… They’d rip their clothes and dump ashes on their heads… and it became far too easy to go through the motions…

The real fruit of real repentance is real change... and the Bible is full of examples… 11 of the disciples… the apostle Paul… Zaccheaus… the woman at the well… the woman caught in adultery…

People who in humility owned it… their sin and wickedness … and who chose to turn from it… and experience real change… not a mirage of freedom… but the real thing.

Even today… this battle goes on within us… and here are a few things that I would recommend.

Don’t just allow sin to sit there. Unchecked sin turns into wickedness… which is a closed mind and hard heart to God.

Be intentional. If our sinful nature is the default… then apathy is its friend. Be intentional… and if you like the metaphor of a battle… think of it as sending reinforcements. I have found through my years that whatever side is receiving help… becomes dominant in me. Here are a few ways you can do that.

PS 119:11 talks about hiding God’s word in our hearts… helps us in our battle with sin.

Accountability… not the wimpy kind… but the kind with teeth… is helpful.

Following God’s instructions… seriously.

Willfully doing what it takes to turn from evil…

Prayer… which is what we are talking about next week… 6:30p… at NACC.

Parents these things are things you want to talk about with your kids…

Have you truly turned from wickedness? In my opinion… if we desire to be right with God… this is an ongoing thing.

In the late 1700’s a 22 year old young man wrote one of the most popular hymns the Church has ever known… totally unaware that it would eventually be self fulfilling prophecy.

Before long, Robert Robinson… allowed his sinful nature to drive things . He walked away from God… his family… and everything he believed in…

Late in his life… he found himself captive to misery and isolation… Living for himself led him there. He found himself wandering on a stage coach… where across from him a young woman was reading poetry… and Robert asked her to read it to him that he might find peace… and He was shocked to hear the words that once came from his pen…

“Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Here’s my heart Lord, take and seal it… seal if for your courts above.”

How could the man who wrote such an inspirational truth… find himself captive by the very thing he wrote against?

I’m guessing it is in part… living out his sinful and selfish nature. Sending it reinforcements… and it having its way…

The battle is real… be intentional… don't let sin find its home in you… be drastic if you have to… turn from wickedness every chance you get, repent often… and know that the very thing that destroys you… God hates.

Jesus began his public ministry by calling people to repentance… Mark 1:15.

And it was one of the very last things that He said… Luke 24:47

Turning… from sin and wickedness… is part of what brings healing… and restoration… to you… but also… to our land.

One last thing…

If you seriously desire to live in right relationship with God… it will involve turning… repenting. I’d encourage you to memorize this verse… weight it out… walk it out… have honest conversations with God often.

Psalm 139:23–24 (NLT)

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

24 Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

The desire to know God honestly… to be known by God honestly…

And to live for Him authentically…. Involves repentance. Turning from wickedness.