"WHY YOU NEED SIN OUT OF YOUR LIFE"
Mark 5:1-21
There are few that would argue that we need to get sin out of our life.
Most disagreement would come about WHY and HOW.
I want to deal with both of these today.
First… WHY.
Some would say because:
I want to go to heaven
I want my prayers answered
I want to please God
I want to grow in grace
All of those are great reasons
Let me give you some others:
1. Because it poisons the environment of your life.
"There met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit..."
Look at this man's surroundings: alone…death
people feared to come there
He lived in the tombs
tombs were caves
This man could not go to town, had no place to stay so he moved the stone and stayed in the tombs stench decay unsanitary
Not a great environment for a person.
What caused these surroundings to be so terrible?
evil spirits.
This man had probably once dwelt with others, in town, a family once had a job once had a house
But all of that was lost... over time... as these demons possessed him.
As you say yes to sin and the demons of passion and greed, and vice; you start to notice that your surrounding are poisoned
friends,
activities
language
Thoughts
2. Because you cannot control it.
Yes, yes, yes... so many times he had said yes to the demons that now they were in control of his life.
"No man could bind him, even with chains. "
His heart, his desires, his actions, his words were out of control
He could not get control over them
He did things not because he thought they were best, but because he was a slave
Satan is like a strong and well-schooled American gladiator...
they play tug-o-war on pedestals
The American Gladiator is strong and gives a big jerk to get the contest and off-balance
As the contestant nears the edge he lets loose and re-grabs
The Gladiator immediately takes up the slack
Over and over
Soon the contestant is out of rope and ground and is pulled down
Inch by inch he had surrendered control of the rope and the enemy had taken control
Every time we say YES to sin and temptation we are surrendering, grabbing back
The more it happens, the more we lose
Eventually he has control and we are just barely hanging on, on the brink of a fall
This man could not control the sin, the temptation, the passion.
Why? Is sin stronger? NO... NO!!!!!
But, we have surrendered too much to the enemy
He is sitting on his haunches, feet dug in, rope wrapped around his arms, plenty of ground
We are teetering on the edge, holding on by thread, on the balls of feet
It doesn't have to be stronger, it has control.
Every “Yes” is a loss of control, a weakening of your control.
You don't see it that way, you love what you are doing, don't see any reason to resist
it is fun, you enjoy it
But you are losing, surrendering control
Soon the enemy will have you and will deliver the death blow.
3. Because it separates you from God.
Hear just how separated, how alienated from God he was... " What have I to do with thee, Jesus? "
He was saying, "Jesus, I don't want anything to do with you."
That is the way it is for lost people, people who are caught up in their sin... they don't want anything to do with Spiritual things
Ever wonder why we invite lost people to come to church and they don't come
they don't care for spiritual things
They don't care for Jesus
Some don't care for him because they don't need Him,
others don't want to give up things
Most don't care for Jesus because HE MAKES THEM UNCOMFORTABLE.
Just his presence convicts them of sin
Why should they want to come to church and be with Jesus?
They would rather live among the tombs… the sin and bondage… than be convicted.
They want to be around people who make them feel good.
This demoniac was pampered by the BLACK MARKET PIG FARMERS.
They profited from his bondage
Brother, you are in serious trouble when you don't want anything to do with spiritual things… church bible
One of the real dangers of sin is that it separates us from God in this life.
In this world our sin cuts us off from God's help, touch, blessings, peace, power, hope,
strength, victory, guidance, riches, deliverance
We can live in the muck of sin, in the bondage of the world and never know the joy of His freedom and life.
It is such a shame to see people living apart from God, thinking they are the lucky ones, the ones having all the fun, and know the joy they are missing.
And they are so deceived that they can't even see it, they think we are the ones to pity.
But the real danger of sin in our lives is not the things we pass up here, not being separated from God here.
The real danger of sin and greatest reason we need sin out of our life is…
4. Because the wages of sin is death.
The difference can be seen by looking at two persons separated from God in this life.
The carnal and unfaithful Christian and the lost person.
Both are separated from God because of their sin.
The Christian is forgiven, that means in eternity he will not be punished.
The lost person will be punished in eternity, because he is not forgiven.
The lost person because of his sin is unable to receive blessings, direction, etc. from God in this life
So is the unfaithful, carnal Christian.
But one day they will both die and stand before God in the judgment
The Christian, though sinful, will be washed in the blood and dressed in Jesus' righteousness.
God will look on him but not see the sin for the blood.
He will be the poorer for what he missed in this world, but he will not be punished, he will be in heaven.
The lost person, however, will stand naked before God.., naked with no excuses for sin
They will stand clothed in their sin
God will see the sin and will judge them for it HELL.
You may say, "That is not fair; both are sinful, one goes to heaven."
There is nothing fair about salvation
If God was fair and gave us what we deserved... we would all go to Hell
It is not about fair... but grace
Grace is giving us what we do not deserve = Heaven
The great reason to get sin out of your life is because the result of sin is DEATH = SEPARATION ETERNALLY.
Why get rid of sin?
Because it poisons the environment of your life
Because you cannot control sin.
Because it divides from God in this world.
Because the wages of sin is death in next life.
HOW?
1. Confess that you are a sinner
Don't just confess the sins... they are the symptoms
confess the sin it is the cause
R. C. Sproul said, "We are not sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners."
The problem is not the lie or the thought
The problem is what causes them... sinfulness.
Confess that you are a miserable, helpless, undeserving sinner who loves to sin.
2. ASK God to forgive the sin, take it away
God to give you the power over sin and temptation
God to come and live inside you and take control
God to change your heart and mind
3. REPENT of your sinful ways = stop living in sin
stop hanging in those places
stop surrendering to the demons—FIGHT
stop pushing God away
4. BELIEVE that Jesus died on the cross to pay for your sins
that Jesus will receive you even while you don't deserve it
that Jesus will hear your prayer
that your name is now written in the Lambs book of life
