Break-Away Night 4
Notes
Transcript
Break Away From Sin
Break Away From Sin
Romans 6:12-14
Updated
Hey all!
Tonight is different isn’t it.
I hope that we all have had a great day.
I loved being Bob Ross today!!
So fun!
It was magical!
Well welcome to night 4!
You have made it thus far!
How have you guys liked Break-Away so far?
What was your favorite thing about today?
Well awesome!
I am so thankful that we get to have this message outside around a campfire tonight.
Nothing screams summer more then hot dogs and s’mores.
Over the past couple of days everyone here has been challenged to live life differently.
You have been challenged to BreakAway from routine by Kevin.
And the last two nights you have been challenged to breakaway from the voices, and last night we talked about breaking away from expectations and the World.
And tonight we have another challenge but tonight, this one is going to sting.
This one is going to cause some pain.
This one is going to be the hardest challenge yet.
Because tonight we are talking about breakaway from sin.
But not just this overarching concept of sin in general.
But our own sin.
We must look at our own lives and root out the sin that is present.
For we know that we are loved by Jesus just as we are, but Jesus refuses to allow us to stay the same.
So tonight we must come face to face with our sin.
For some right now you may be thinking Zach, I have way to many to name.
For others, you may be thinking of that one sin that as soon as I said lets talk about sin— your mind went to that area of sin in your life.
For others you may be thinking— well Zach I have a good handle on my sin thank you very much.
No matter where you are at tonight we all have sin that we need to address, repent of, and surrender to God.
I believe that talking about sin is something that is important for our faith.
Because for so many of us— we have an inaccurate picture of sin, We fail to see sin in light of the cross, and we fail to wage war against sin.
We are going to breakdown what is an accurate picture of sin, what is the status of sin in light of the cross and how do we wage war against it.
So first let’s get an accurate picture of sin.
ACCURATE PICTURE OF SIN
ACCURATE PICTURE OF SIN
A good working definition of sin is:
“Sin is any lack of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God.” (Gospel Coalition)
Conformity is “Not being or doing what God requires.”
And Transgression is “Doing what God forbids”.
Sin says that we don’t need God.
It says that we know right and wrong and we get to choose what is right and what is wrong.
If you allow me to talk about the Garden of Eden for just one moment—
At the beginning of this earth God created everything and it was good.
For sin was not present.
It was then that God gave breath to Adam and Eve.
And all was well in the Garden.
And in this perfect garden there was only one rule:
That is found in Gen 2, it says
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
It was then that satan deceived Eve and her husband Adam.
You see Satan put doubt into Eve’s mind that God was not be to trusted— And Eve began to doubt God’s goodness.
As if God himself was holding something back from her and Adam.
I’ll read you the rest
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
It was in this moment that sin entered the world.
And we hear this story often and maybe you are asking the question of why did God not remove the tree?
Did God not know that this was going to happen?
These are great questions.
And to answer them— I’ll start with the second one first— of course God knew this was going to happen.
He is all knowing— he knew that his creation would turn away from him.
He knew but yet he let it happen?
The answer to this question is the most important and it goes with the question of why did God not just remove the tree?
Simply put— because he gives us free will.
We are all free to make our own decisions.
This week you have made decisions on if you are going to take the break-away challenge or not.
It is a choice that only you can make.
Now, if I told everyone the first night that you are required— no, that it was mandatory to do all the challenges are you going to be an active participant?
Maybe some would but others would probably not.
And why is that?
Because if we are being forced to do something it is not genuine.
And what King wants to have a following that is required over one that is freely following?
Because if we are freely following then we stake our lives on it.
We trust it.
We endure it.
We buy into it.
We share it.
We study it.
We love it.
Adam and Eve had free-will just like you and I.
They could have said no satan NOT TODAY!
But instead sin was born out of a desire to be like God.
To know better than God.
Actually we see the step of sin right here in verse 6 and 7
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
She saw that it was good
She delighted in it
She desired it
and she took it.
She heard that something was worth doing.
She delighted in it— it made her feel happiness maybe.
She then desired that fruit— even if she knew it would cost it something— she wanted it.
And then in the end— after the look, the delight, the desire— She took.
She took the fruit and sin entered the world.
Rebellion of God was now present.
Sin was now established.
And God could not be in the midst of it.
For God is a good and perfect God— for he can’t be in the presence of sin.
This caused a rip if you will.
It caused a rescue plan to be put into place.
For while sin just entered the world— God had already hatched a plan for redemption.
God knew that this was going to happen but what is amazing is that God still made Adam and Eve— He could have made them different— maybe smarter.
But God knew the outcome— knew what it was going to cost and still created man and woman.
That is love, that is grace and that is mercy--
God hates sin but he loves you.
God hates what sin has done to his world but he loves you in it.
We must understand that God does hates sin.
You may have heard that God loves the sinner but hates the sin.
Let me just challenge this thought for a moment if I may.
Hang with me here:
I believe the but in that statement is wrong.
I think it needs to be changed to and here is why:
It should then read that God love the sinner and hates the sin.
The word but implies that God does not hate the sinner.
—folks this is not true.
He does hate the sinner.
Now hear me out:
Look is psalm 5:4-5
For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
evil may not dwell with you.
The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;
you hate all evildoers.
Or how about another Psalm
The Lord tests the righteous,
but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
While I know the intent behind why we say this; but by taking this statement and making it be our theology we gain a false understanding about sin.
God’s wrath is real.
And he pours it out on those whom he does not approve of.
John Piper has this to say about this statement:
“This infinite disapproval is what the Bible means when it says God hates sinners. He infinitely disapproves of them. Sin is not sinful except as committed by sinful hearts. Sin is an expression of anti-God, human corruption in human hearts. Sinful volitions are owing to sinful hearts. Sin doesn’t just hang out there with its own existence; it is in hearts or it is nothing. Sins do not suffer in hell; sinners suffer in hell. I wonder what people who make that misleading statement believe about hell because he is not punishing sin in hell — he is punishing sinners in hell.”
Sin is not sin unless it is committed by a sinner.
We have all heard the phrase guns don’t kill people, people kill people.”
Sin does not sin it is sinners who sin.
Lying will not suffer in hell.
Murder will not suffer in hell.
Homosexuality will not suffer in hell.
Lust will not suffer in hell.
Greed will not suffer in hell
But those who practice these things will.
Now let break this down a little more and I’ll tell you may this matters.
You see God hates but God also loves.
And God can do these things at the same time.
He hates and he loves.
And here is why this matters.
Because if we don’t understanding that God loathes and hates sinners then we will not have an appreciation for his love.
It should stun us that God would want to save me or others like me.
His love that saved millions.
His love that sent his one and only son to the cross to save us from our sins.
Because doesn’t it mean more that God comes to us “not in our attractiveness, “like oh I really love this person but I hate their sin.”
Because we have nothing attractive to offer God.
HE IS THE ONE OFFERING THE FREE GIFT OF SALVATION
WE OFFER NOTHING
THAT is the power of the cross.
That is the power of Jesus.
That despite God’s hatred for sin and yes, for sinners— we are still loved.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
If we walk around this life not seeing sin the way God sees sin then we will make very little of the cross and the sacrifice that Jesus paid.
A hatred for sin is what drove Jesus to the cross.
It was there love was poured out for all those who accept his sacrifice.
That is what sin is and why it matters.
I love this quote from Charles Spurgeon
“Great as my sins have been, they are not so great as his love.”
Let move on to thought number 2:
What does sin look like on the other side of the cross?
FREEDOM FROM SIN
FREEDOM FROM SIN
You have been given freedom from sin and you have been given a new life.
Look at Romans 6:
For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, since a person who has died is freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him, because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will not die again. Death no longer rules over him. For the death he died, he died to sin once for all time; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Our bodies before Jesus, was being ruled by sin.
But by putting to death our old self we are rendering sin powerless.
It has no control on you— you are no longer a slave to sin.
You have freedom from sin in light of the cross.
When you accept Jesus as your Lord and savior the old you is gone.
Look at:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
You are a new creation.
The old you, the old me— in the words of Justin Timberlake— is dead and gone— dead and gone.
We have been delivered from this sinful state.
Now does this mean that we will never sin again?
HECK NO!
Because we are still human and we have this sinful nature.
BUT here is the difference— our sins have been bought and paid for.
Jesus is now our mediator.
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.
To put it simply:
Jesus is now this middle man, who goes on our behalf to God.
And when we sin— Jesus says to God— my blood covered them.
That is grace.
Does this mean that we get a free pass to sin as much as we want!
NO!
Not at all!
This brings us to our last thought.
We must wage war against sin
WAGE WAR AGAINST SIN
WAGE WAR AGAINST SIN
For this I want us to go to 1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
What if I told you that every temptation you have had to sin— has been experienced by someone else here?
Would you believe me?
That is what Paul is saying.
He is saying look the stuff that temps you— guess what it temps others as well.
Your sin is not unique.
Stop living ashamed of it— because your fellow Brothers and sisters in Christ are there with you.
If you have been saved by Christ then you have freedom from your sins.
Confess— Repent— Draw near to Jesus.
We get so secretive about our sin and our temptations.
But what if someone else is going through that same thing and you can help them through it?
Or better yet— what if someone around this fire has struggled with something that you are struggling with and that could encourage you and come besides you?
Would you not want that?
Maybe that should offer hope that whatever you are dealing with by the grace of God— others have endured it and conquered it.
There is no extraordinary sins out there.
They are all common to man.
But here is some good news.
God is faithful, he is loving, and he offers mercy and grace and God will not let you be tempted beyond what you can handle.
And I know you may be thinking— Zach I can’t stop doing this.
I am being tempted beyond anything I have ever endured.
I’m going to give you a little tough love here-
We give in so easily to sin
Try harder.
I don’t mean this to sound rude or be insensitive.
I just want you to understand that we make excuse after excuse as to why we sin instead of just owning it.
(Walmart Propane pick up)
“It is always easy to blame someone else.”
God will provide you a way out.
Something I have found out lately is that my body is more capable then I give it credit.
Many of you know I have started to do crossfit and those people are crazy.
And there are times when I feel like quitting because evey single muscle is screaming at me to stop— but I have a coach in my ear yelling at me to not quit!
To keep pushing— To go just a little further.
You are more capable of avoiding temptation then you give yourself credit.
Because for starters you are not doing it on your own.
God is with you.
But you have to trust him.
I know it’s hard and it is terrifying but if you want freedom from sin— you got to fight a little bit.
You have to wage war against sin.
God is going to give you a way out but you have to be willing to be fight against that temptation.
Are you going to be perfect no.
No one is asking you to be.
God knows you can’t live up to perfection— that is why he sent Jesus.
To be the sacrifice for our sins.
Tonight we have looked at what is an accurate picture of sin, and what is the status of sin in light of the cross and how do we wage war against it.
So to conclude tonight, I think we would be remissed if we did not call out sins in our own life.
We are not called to live in bondage to sin.
Sin can have a hold of us so tightly that we feel like we can barely breath.
Like we are just barely trending water out here.
There is hope.
So tonight our challenge is to surrender our sins to God.
Maybe you have been trying to fight them by yourself for far to long— it is time to give them to God.
It is time to surrender it up.
And in order to do this we have to name it.
I heard a good line this week: “Honesty is a precursor to victory.”
You see you can’t have victory over something if you can’t say it.
I was talking with some of the guys who were admitting some sin to me and they noticed that they couldn’t even call it sin.
Stop making excuses for your sin— it is causing you to miss out on freedom that Christ died for.
Sin can be deeply rooted in our souls.
And right now you may be thinking— that if you write that sin down— everyone will judge you.
That is the enemy talking because Jesus says to lay down your burden on him and he will give you rest.
You see confession of sin is commanded of us.
When we confess we understand our need for a savior.
We know that we can’t do this on our own, we need the Holy Spirit to guide us and lead us.
We need to give it up and over God.
So everyone was given a notecard— you are going to be given a chance to repent, confess, and surrender your sins.
You can write down whatever sin that you have in your life you on that card.
And then I want to you confess it before God— seek forgiveness.
And while the music is playing— you can come up and give it over to God by taking it out of your hands and putting it into the fire.
And before you toss it in if you want to say what you are surrendering you can.
Or maybe you need to grab a leader and tell them what is going on in your life— you should.
I know that this part can be intimidating but we are all brothers and sisters in Christ and we are called to bear each others burdens and to pray for each other.
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Let’s pray and then lets take some time to confess our sin to God, to repent, and to surrender, and maybe even to bear one another’s burdens.
PRAY