Sermon for 10/23/2005
What Sin?
Jeremiah 50:18-20
Introduction:
Dr. Karl Menninger, a famous psychiatrist, once said that if he could convince the patients in psychiatric hospitals that their sins were forgiven, 75 % of them could walk out the next day.
WBTU:
A. Today’s Scripture is in a section in Jeremiah of how the Babylonians would be destroyed. In the midst of this message of doom, there is a great message of hope and forgiveness for the Israelites, the people of God.
B. No sin would be found in all of the land of Israel. This must be a description of heaven.
Thesis: When we come to Christ, what does he do with our sin?
For instances:
1. Forgives
A. (Psa 32:1 NIV) Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. (Psa 32:2 NIV) Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.
B. (Jer 50:20 NIV) In those days, at that time," declares the LORD, "search will be made for Israel’s guilt, but there will be none, and for the sins of Judah, but none will be found, for I will forgive the remnant I spare.
C. For a person who has never responded, Plan of Salvation.
D. For a person who is a baptized believer, (1 John 1:9 NIV) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
C. Let it Go, give it to Jesus, Let it go the guilt you feel inside, There’s no need for you to be defeated, when there nothing left for you to hide, For His Blood destroyed the traces sin had left behind, walk on in his forgiveness, mercy granted one more time.
2. Forgets
A. (Isa 38:17 NIV) Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back. Hezekiah is here speaking about how the Lord saved him from a sickness and how he did not die. When we set our sins before our face in true repentance, then God casts them behind his back.
B. (Micah 7:19 NIV) You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. A minister preached on this verse. His little boy, ten years old, afterwards said to him, "Daddy, when you were talking about the Lord casting sin into the sea, you ought to have said that sin was heavy like stones, and would drop out of sight, or they might think it would float like corks on the top." Praise God, our sins are covered by the blood of Jesus as stones thrown into the ocean.
C. (Psa 103:12 NIV) as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. If you travel north, you will eventually round the pole and start going south. But if you travel west, you can continue on forever going west and will never go east.
D. (Heb 8:12 NIV) For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." Difference from covering over something and cleansing, washing something away. God does not remember because it has all been washed away. The blackboard wall at my house.
E. What Sin? by Morgan Cryar
It happened so long ago
I cried out for mercy back then.
I plead the blood of Jesus
Begged Him to forgive my sin.
But I still can’t forget it
It just won’t go away.
So I wept again, "Lord, wash my sin,"
But this is all He’d say,
What sin? What sin??
Well, that’s as far away as the east is from the west.
What sin? What sin??
It was gone the very minute you confessed
Buried in the sea of forgetfulness.
The heaviest thing you’ll carry
Is a load of guilt and shame?
You were never meant to bear them
So let them go in Jesus’ name.
Our God is slow to anger
Quick to forgive our sin
So let Him put them under the blood
Don’t bring them up again.
Cause He’ll just say,
What sin? What sin??
Well, that’s as far away as the east is from the west.
What sin? What sin??
It was gone the very minute you confessed
Buried in the sea of forgetfulness.
Lord, please deliver me from my accusing memory.
Nothing makes me weep this way, then when I hear You say,
What sin? What sin??
Well, that’s as far away as the east is from the west.
What sin? What sin??
It was gone the very minute you confessed
Buried in the sea of forgetfulness.
3. Freshens
A. Fresh = Not stale or spoiled; Not soiled but clean; Free from impurity or pollution.
B. The term glorification. Jesus Christ has been glorified in heaven and one day we will be glorified with him in that eternal bliss.
B. When we look at the verses in Jeremiah many say that this describes the 1,000 year reign of Christ upon the earth, but beyond this it describes what it will be like in heaven. The effects of sin will be no more.
C. (Psa 139:14 NIV) I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
D. Through our conversion to Jesus, the Holy Spirit puts our lives back together and thus begins the process of remaking us as we were original intended to be. (Phil 1:6 NIV) being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It will not be completed until we go to heaven.
D. Our bodies. (Phil 3:20 NIV) But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, (Phil 3:21 NIV) who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
E. Not just our bodies but also our spirits and personalities. (1 Cor 12:4 NIV) There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. (1 Cor 12:5 NIV) There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. (1 Cor 12:6 NIV) There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. (1 Cor 12:7 NIV) Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
E. We receive gifts when we came to Christ. However, none of these gifts go against our original makeup. Many times the Spirit just enhances what is already there. Some times he brings things out of us that we never knew existed, but some times he brings out things that have been there since our birth.
F. We have a natural makeup. I can see it in my children. However, sin and this world have made us into things that we should not be. Some are bossy, impatient, overbearing, manipulating, know it all’s, this comes naturally to some.
I. Some never stop talking, have no follow through, undisciplined, always have to be center stage. These people are that way naturally.
J. Some people are given to being moody and depressed. They have a low self image, always have guilty feelings, insecure socially, withdrawn and distant.
K. Others are indecisive, avoid responsibility, and resist change. Naturally that way.
L. The Holy Spirit helps these different personalities to change and not give into their weaknesses but these weaknesses are still there and they will continue to be there until their glorification.
M. I don’t like so and so.
N. Dating is the worst. You are not the one for me. Not that they are unholy or unfriendly or committed Christians, it is just that the chemistry is not there. Personalities don’t go together well. In heaven this will all be different.
O. The effects of environment have warped many. We go through many terrible situations and it changes us sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. Look at little children. No past history and so trusting. If there was no sin what a wonderful world this would be but the world as it is puts us in situations that color the rest of our lives. Children who are sexually abused. … (Exo 20:5 NIV) You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
P. When I give something to someone who is a stranger and they tell me that they will pay me back and they don’t. The next time
O. (1 John 3:2 NIV) Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
P. (1 Cor 15:51 NIV) Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed--(1 Cor 15:52 NIV) in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
Q. (Jer 50:19 NIV) But I will bring Israel back to his own pasture and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan; his appetite will be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.
R. (Luke 6:21 NIV) Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.
S. I can’t get no satisfaction. We should be content but really we are never completely satisfied.
T. I’ve Never Been This Homesick Before By Dottie Rambo
There’s a light in the window the table’s spread in splendor
Someone’s standing by the open door
I can see a crystal river so I must be near forever
Lord I’ve never been this homesick before
See the bright light shine; it’s just about home time
I can see my Father standing at the door
This world’s been a wilderness, I’m ready for deliverance
Lord, I’ve never been this homesick before
I can see the family gather sweet faces all familiar
No one’s old or feeble anymore
This lonesome heart is crying: think I’ll spread my wings for flying
Lord, I’ve never been this homesick before
U. Newsong- Don’t It Make You Want to Go Home
FAR AWAY FROM THIS WORLD OF PAIN, GOD’S PREPARED A PERFECT PLACE AND I CAN’T STOP THINKING ABOUT IT, I’M SO HOMESICK FOR IT
DON’T IT MAKE YOU WANT TO GO HOME
DON’T IT MAKE YOU WANT TO GO HOME
RUN THROUGH THOSE GATES AND FALL IN JESUS’ ARMS
AND ALL THE CARES OF THIS WORLD WILL BE GONE
DON’T IT MAKE YOU, DON’T IT MAKE YOU WANT TO GO HOME
So What?
(Rev 22:3 NIV) No longer will there be any curse. A reversal of the Fall.
The fulfillment of all human needs, including hunger, thirst, relationships, and relationship with God. Nothing evil will be there. Nothing distorted. Nothing that draws us away from the light!
