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Don't Run Ahead of God

SERIES: BEWARE OF THE LITTLE THINGS 10/6/13

When we are impatient spiritually, it has costly results. Waiting on God is one of the hardest parts of the Christian life. It’s not that we don’t want God to guide us or to act on our behalf, it’s just that we want Him to do it in our timing not His; and in our way, not His. We are in a hurry, and we think God should be too.

Patience is listed among the fruit of the Spirit in Gal. 5:22. So impatience belongs to our sinful fleshly nature, and if we belong to Christ, our flesh must be crucified (Gal 5:24). We cannot excuse our impatience and say its just our personality. No, it is sinful. It belongs to our fleshly nature, and we need to fervently pray for God to help us to change.

Again and again the Bible exhorts us to be patient, and to wait on the Lord, and it warns us of the consequences of impatience. This is why we are going to take the time this morning to consider the subject of impatience.

Know Who You Are in God

SERIES: BEWARE OF THE LITTLE THINGS 9/22/13

In Exodus chapters 3 and 4, when God calls Moses as the deliver of Israel, Moses gives God every excuse in the book why he can’t do what God is calling Him to do. As soon as God counters one excuse, Moses comes up with another one. But the underlying issue, the root of Moses’ reluctance, is found in the first three words of his question in Gen 3:11, “Who am I?” He had an insecurity issue. He did not know his own identity. He was so insecure, he didn’t even feel he could speak (4:10), and he had to have Aaron help him with the call that God had given him. Insecurity almost kept Moses from God’s destiny for His life.

Insecurity is another little fox, that spoils the vine. It is a subtle danger that can have great consequences. Today as we consider the problem of insecurity, and most of us struggle with it, we will find that the only answer for insecurity is knowing who we are in God.

The Desire to Acquire

SERIES: BEWARE OF THE LITTLE THINGS 9/29/13
 A guy in the crowd asks Jesus to intervene in a family dispute over inheritance. Fighting over money can cause such contention in families.

He has not gotten his fair share, and he wants more. He expects Jesus to get involved and ensure that he gets his rightful portion, but Jesus does not become entangled in this family dispute over money, instead he gives a stern warning, Lk 12:15 – “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist of abundance of his possessions.”

Now Jesus is not teaching that he doesn’t want us to succeed or have money, or to save. In fact the man in Jesus story is a rich man. The problem is not that he is rich, the problem is his obsession with having more, it is his attitude toward money or possessions that Jesus warns against. So today we want to consider Jesus warning against greed, and how it applies to our lives.

Don't Stumble Over Your Mouth

Series: Beware of the Little Things 9/15/13
We all stumble in many ways, but one of our greatest challenges is our tongue. Who of us, in the heat of the moment, has not said something that we immediately wished we could take back? Our problem with the tongue is multifaceted. It is not just angry words. It is prideful words, malicious words (ie: gossip, slander, condemnation, judgement, criticism, sarcasm), and hurtful and unkind words that reject, depreciate, or put others down.

Is it any wonder that the wisdom writer says “When words are many, sin is not lacking” (Prov 10:19). There is so much opportunity to sin with our tongue every day. In fact, research indicates that we spend approximately 1/5 of our life talking (approx. 15 years). Someone has said that each day the average person fills a 50 page book with their words. That’s a lot of talking and a lot of opportunity for sin. This is why James’ teaching on the tongues is so very important for everyone of us today.

The Truth About Lies

Series: Beware of the Little Things 9/8/13

Lying is another one of those “little foxes” that we tend to overlook, but it has grievous consequences. God takes lying very seriously, so much so that it made the top ten list of “Thou Shalt nots” – the Ten Commandments (Ex 20:16). It also made the list of seven things God hates (Prov 6:17). Rev 21:8 says, “. . . all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone.”

God hates lying because it is diametrically opposed to God’s character: Hebrews 6:18 says that it is impossible for God to lie. Everything God says is true (Jn 17:7). As Christians our lives must reflect the character of God. If we are truly his children, then we must bear our father’s nature.

Lying is easy, but the truth is difficult at times. Sometimes the truth is costly. Do you tell the truth even when it costs? Today we want to look at the truth about lies, we want to see what the Bible really has to say about lying.

The Great Sin

Series: Beware of the Little Things

9/1/13
Jesus told a story of 2 men who went to church (the temple). One was a highly respected Pharisee, a spiritual leader, and the other a despised tax collector. As Jesus introduces the characters, the people probably expected the Pharisee to the be the hero and the tax collector the villain. But Jesus shocks them with the outcome, when He declares that the tax collector is the one who is justified in God’s eyes. Then He states the spiritual principle: v14b “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Jesus warns of the danger of pride.

Pride is extremely dangerous because of how deceptive it is, and the people who are proudest are the least likely to admit that they are proud. CS Lewis, called pride “the Great Sin,” "the worst of all vices" because, "it comes direct from Hell." It creeps into our religious life by the devil himself. He wants us to be secure in our own selves,” self-sufficient, rather than relying upon God.

As we look at the story Jesus told, it reveals several important truths about pride.

The Devil's Doorway

Series: Beware of the Little Things
8/25/13
There's an old song, much before my time, titled “You Don’t Own Me,” and some of the lyrics of the songs say: “I am young, and I love to be young. I'm free and I love to be free. To live my life the way I want, To say and do whatever I please. So don't tell me what to do, Oh don't tell me what to say.” The words of that song express a universal sentiment that resides within every human being.

There was someone in the pages of Scripture that wanted to do as he pleased, and he soon found that there were serious consequences for his self-willed choices. Saul had a reputation of rebelling against God by doing his own thing, making his own rules, and worshiping the way he wanted to. But in 1 Samuel 15, his rebellion reached its climax, and Saul was rejected by God, the kingdom was torn from him, and virtually his entire family would be killed, leaving no one to sit upon the throne. What Saul thought was no big deal, was the most serious of sins in God’s eyes.

Verse 23 identifies for us one of those seemingly “small” foxes, in our eyes, that ruins the vine - it is the sin of rebellion. Samuel told Saul that rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft… a sin so terrible that it was punishable by death in the Old Testament (Lev. 20:27). Saul is not the only one who is guilty of rebellion. Many Christians today are guilty of the same thing, and like Saul, they often do not even realize it. Today let’s learn from Saul so that we do not repeat his mistakes in our life. Let’s consider the nature of rebellion and how to avoid it.

Learn to Be Angry

Series: Beware of the Little Things
8/18/13
From a baby who has a toy taken away, to and adult who doesn’t get their way, everybody gets angry in some shape or form. Anger is a universal human experience. And for many of us, it is the single greatest challenge in every area of our lives.  Anger is an inherent part of our human nature. We were created with the capacity to express anger, because we were created in the image of God.

God gets angry. Jesus got angry in the Temple and turned over the tables of the money changers and sacrifice sellers. Yet we know that God is holy, and Jesus is without sin. So anger is not necessarily sinful. But our human anger often is, that is why Paul warns in Eph 4:26-27: “In your anger do not sin.” Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.”

Anger is one of those little foxes that ruin the vines. Where there is anger, sin is nearby.  Jesus warns that anger can have very destructive effects, leading to further evil, the ultimate of which is murder (Matt 5:21-24). Anger’s price tag is very high, leaving in its wake a trail of hurt feelings, and broken relationships. For Christians it results in a damaged testimony, lost witnessing opportunities, and wrecked credibility with family, friends, and coworkers. Sinful anger is not a little thing, it has very destructive consequences. We must learn how to be angry in way that glorifies and honors God.

DON'T TAKE THE BAIT

SERIES: BEWARE OF THE LITTLE THINGS
7/28/13

Jesus plainly tells us that it is impossible to go through life without having the opportunity to be offended. No matter how many times this subject is preached on, it seems to be a recurring problem in peoples lives. We listen and say “Amen” to the message, until we are the one that is offended. Then suddenly all that we have learned from the Bible seems to go out the door, and we deal with the offense in a fleshly, and ungodly way.

We are continuing our series based on Song of Sol 2:15, “it is the little foxes that ruin the vineyards.” Offense is one of those little foxes. One of those things that we don’t think are that serious. We try to minimize, ignore, or deny it, yet it carries grave consequences. Today, we want to talk about the reality of offence, the reasons for offence, the root of offence, the results of offence, and the remedy for offence.

Don't Hold On To It!

Series: Beware of the Little Things 8/4/13 Peter knows first hand how easily offences come, and how difficult it is to overcome them. He is living with 12 guys who are not very sanctified. They are wrangling about all sorts of things, this chapter begins with them wanting to know who is greatest in the Kingdom. They are competing for power and recognition. Two of them, James and John, were hot tempered. Peter himself had foot in mouth disease. Thomas was a skeptic who questioned everything. Judas was stealing from the offering. They had many opportunities to offend each other.  And Peter is thinking, “there has got to be a limit to this forgiveness stuff --where do you draw the line?” This is the very reason a lot of people struggle with forgiveness: they don’t want to keep getting hurt. Peter is really stretching himself when he says, “how often shall we forgiven, seven times?” But Jesus corrects him,“no Peter, seven times seventy...” – Jesus didn’t just mean 490 times, as if we are to keep a running tally. He is pointing to infinity. To explain His point about forgiveness Jesus tells a parable about settling accounts. Unforgiveness is another one of those small foxes that destroy the vine. We think it is a small thing, but it has major consequences. This parable reveals to us some powerful principles about forgiveness.