GET RID OF THE BAD HABITS (SIN)
God brought His people to the border of the land of blessing in verse one. In verse two, God promises to fulfill his promise, but without the exceptional delight of His presence, rather sending them in with an angel. In verse three, God proclaims their sin “stiffnecked” and refuses to “go up in the midst of thee...lest I consume thee in the way.” GOD IS OFFENDED BY SIN! What does He demand? In verse 5, He tells Moses to command them to cast off their ornaments. The ornaments were pieces of jewelry that were prominent in Egyptian idol worship. Even after God brought them out of bondage, brought them over the Red Sea and provided for their food and drink, they carried portions of their past life.
WHAT BAD HABITS (SINS)?
THE TOUNGE
“Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.” Proverbs 21:23
“But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.” Matthew 15:18
EVIL THOUGHTS
“To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” Romans 8:6
LACK OF ATTENDANCE
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another…” Hebrews 10:25
UNCONTROLLABLE ANGER
“Be ye angry, and sin not…” Ephesians 4:26
LACK OF CONTENT (COVETOUSNESS)
“He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.” Ecclesiastes 5:10
“For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” Philippians 4:11
LAZINESS
“Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord…” Romans 12:10-11
“By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.” Ecclesiastes 10:18
IDOLATRY
Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.” Exodus 20:3, 5
HOW DO I QUIT DABBLING?
ADMIT YOU HAVE A BAD HABIT
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9
KrisAnna was at Maw Maw Delma’s coloring with a marker, using a stool to hold her paper. The marker went off the paper accidentally. She was so scared that she would be punished. She could have tried to blame it her cousin, but instead she admitted what she had done. Kristin was able to take care of the problem right away and wash away the mark.
This verse promises that God won’t let us down! The first step is to admit where we come short. After that, see what God does! He is faithful and just; He will be true to Himself and exceed our expectations. He will forgive and cleanse. The original word for “forgive” means to send away, like a husband divorcing his wife. And then God will purge us, wash our hands for us. And He does this, if we will just come to Him like a little child and admit what we have done.
RELY ON GOD TO HELP
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.” James 4:7-8
The worst thing that we can do as human beings is to try and go it alone. In fact, our loving Creator, who knows us so well, tells us so in his word. Twice in these verses, He tells us that we need to come to Him for help. And The Message version says it this way: “Let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field.”
CLEAN HOUSE COMPLETELY
But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell. Numbers 33:55
CLOSING
Sin is offensive to God. When we are born again, we who are dead to sin should live no longer in the place from which God has brought us. But we want to hold on to traces of the past. From Exodus 33, the Greek Septuagint says, “The people, having heard this sad declaration, mourned with lamentations. And the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Now, therefore, put off your robes of glory, and your ornaments, and I will show you the things I will do unto you. And the children of Israel put off their ornaments and robes by the mount, by Horeb.”
In Luke 17, Jesus said, “ Remember Lot’s wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.”
