[The following is the manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday, the 1st of March, 2015.]
As we continue through the season of Lent, we’ve been looking at what it means to repent and why we need to do it. In a nutshell, to repent is to turn completely from our sin and toward Jesus. And we should do this because Jesus tells us to. Our Lord says that the kingdom of God is at hand, so we should repent and believe in the Gospel.
But what happens if we do turn from our sin, but not completely? Maybe we find we still get distracted from focusing solely on Jesus. Maybe our repenting doesn’t stick. What then?
Let’s turn to our number one source on all things repentance and ask Him. Listen and follow along to the words of our Lord Jesus as recorded for us by Luke in chapter 11 of his Gospel account, verses 24 through 32…
24 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25 And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. 26 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”
27 And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!”
28 But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
29 And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. 30 For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation. 31 The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.”
--Luke 11:24-32 (NKJV)
Let us pray... Heavenly Father, may the words of my mouth, and the meditations of each of our hearts, be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, our strength and our Redeemer. In the name of Your Son Jesus we pray. Amen.
Three ministers were discussing the problem of bats in the attic at church and how difficult they were to get rid of. The first minister said that his congregation had tried "smoking them out", but they still came back. Another had tried poisoning them, but enough survived to repopulate the attic. The third minister shared his solution: "I just baptized and confirmed them all, and they NEVER came back!"
In Tifton, Georgia, stands an old abandoned Victorian house that has become filled with thousands of bats over the years. The once-elegant home in the town’s historic district was declared “off limits” after a bat specialist estimated that as many as 20,000 bats had taken up apparently permanent residence. The local teens call it “the bat house” or “the bat cave”. People talk about the smell – a horrible blend of animal urine and waste and rotting wood. In the summer time, the stench can be unbearable. This would not be the kind of tourist attraction most towns would desire.
No, I haven’t gone batty, but the little joke leads to the story and the story provides a bit of illustration as to what Jesus was talking about in the first 3 verses of our scripture reading.
Here we have a house that’s been vacated by its former residents, for whatever reason. Bugs and mice can get into almost anything, so they’ll probably be the first new residents. And snakes generally follow mice. Kids being kids, somewhere along the line a few windows will get shattered by thrown rocks or BB guns. Then the bats and birds will find this nice dry shelter with no humans to disturb them. As time passes, you end up with a huge, stinky mess that will likely require a bulldozer to clean up.
But this doesn’t just happen to vacant houses - it can happen to vacant lives as well. This is what Jesus is saying in those first 3 verses. If a person doesn’t fill their life with good stuff, the bad stuff, the evil stuff, will move right in and take over. And oh by the way, the bad stuff will be seven times worse that before!
Let me give you a little example of what Jesus means here, going again to what He tells us in His own words, from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 12, verses 33 through 37…
Three ministers were discussing the problem of bats in the attic at church and how difficult they were to get rid of. The first minister said that his congregation had tried "smoking them out", but they still came back. Another had tried poisoning them, but enough survived to repopulate the attic. The third minister shared his solution: "I just baptized and confirmed them all, and they NEVER came back!"
In Tifton, Georgia, stands an old abandoned Victorian house that has become filled with thousands of bats over the years. The once-elegant home in the town’s historic district was declared “off limits” after a bat specialist estimated that as many as 20,000 bats had taken up apparently permanent residence. The local teens call it “the bat house” or “the bat cave”. People talk about the smell – a horrible blend of animal urine and waste and rotting wood. In the summer time, the stench can be unbearable. This would not be the kind of tourist attraction most towns would desire.
No, I haven’t gone batty, but the little joke leads to the story and the story provides a bit of illustration as to what Jesus was talking about in the first 3 verses of our scripture reading.
Here we have a house that’s been vacated by its former residents, for whatever reason. Bugs and mice can get into almost anything, so they’ll probably be the first new residents. And snakes generally follow mice. Kids being kids, somewhere along the line a few windows will get shattered by thrown rocks or BB guns. Then the bats and birds will find this nice dry shelter with no humans to disturb them. As time passes, you end up with a huge, stinky mess that will likely require a bulldozer to clean up.
But this doesn’t just happen to vacant houses - it can happen to vacant lives as well. This is what Jesus is saying in those first 3 verses. If a person doesn’t fill their life with good stuff, the bad stuff, the evil stuff, will move right in and take over. And oh by the way, the bad stuff will be seven times worse that before!
Let me give you a little example of what Jesus means here, going again to what He tells us in His own words, from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 12, verses 33 through 37…
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. 36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
--Matthew 12:33-37 (NKJV)
Let’s say we take the opportunity for house cleaning that Lent provides and we confess our sin to God and turn from it, promising not to let it rule us again. And then one day, while driving to Wally World or the restaurant or even to church one Sunday morning, someone cuts us off, or is obviously lost and keeps slowing down to look for a certain address, or pulls out in front of us just to stop to make a left turn. Or maybe we’re standing in a long line at the grocery store, and there are two people ahead of us and four behind, and then they open up another register and everyone behind runs over to it and we’re still stuck where we were, even though we were ahead of the others.
How do we react? We need to be honest with ourselves here. How do we react to those common annoyances and irritations that we all face each and every day? Granted, muttering some mild curse or harsher obscenity under our breath may not seem as bad as rear-ending them out of rage. But in God’s eyes, the severity of our reaction isn’t as important as the intent. Do good things flow from the treasure of our heart, or some level of wickedness or evil? Jesus says we’ll have to answer for every idle word that comes from our mouth, and I believe that includes those that we never speak out loud, but may only voice in our thoughts.
These little annoyances and our reactions to them can serve as indicators of just how clean our house really is. Those little irritations can easily become the tiny holes and cracks and broken windows that allow the bad critters to come in and mess up our house, our lives.
So once we’ve got our house clean, how do we keep it that way? Once we’ve rid ourselves of the clutter and bad stuff, what do we fill the space with? It’s simple really – we just use what’s already there.
When we accepted Jesus as our Lord – not just as our Savior but also as our Master – He sent God’s Holy Spirit to dwell within us. The Spirit is there, whether we repent or not. But it’s up to us to give Him some “room” to do His work. Once we’re repented and cleaned our internal house, we need to let Him fill all the nooks and crannies, and the corners and all the little dark places.
We do that by focusing on God, by keeping Jesus clearly and steadily in our sight. We can pray, often and with the full expectation of our prayers being heard and answered. Prayer doesn’t have to be complex or formal – it’s just you and God having a little conversation. You can do it anytime, anywhere, out loud, or silently in your heart. You don’t even have to close your eyes! Our Father just wants us to talk to Him – He doesn’t care about all the rules and regulations some folks try to impose on prayer or even on worship itself.
We can read our Bible, God’s inspired word, and especially all those “red letter” passages that Jesus Himself spoke while He walked this earth. If something is important to Jesus, where He talks about it or tells us about it, then we need to make it important to us as well. Look at verse 28 of our message text again. “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” Jesus says we are blessed when we hear, or read, God’s word, but we must keep it as well – we must obey what God says for us to do.
We can keep our eyes pointed in the right direction by serving God. We can help feed the hungry, clothe the poor, visit the ill and the imprisoned, and do for the least of those among us as Jesus wants us to.
And we can worship our Lord, praising Him every chance we get, witnessing to others how much He means to us, thanking Him for each and every blessing in our life.
Once we’ve turned from our sin, once we’ve swept the house clean, if we follow these few steps, we’ll be too busy for any of the bad stuff to come back in! There’ll be no room for any wicked spirit to move into, let alone for him to bring along seven of his friends.
Our heart is the home of the Holy Spirit. What lies there in our heart: a good treasure or an evil one? What comes from there: good thoughts and words and works, or bad ones? Who do we make the most room for: Him, the Holy Spirit, or some wicked spirit that wants to set up shop?
I’m not here to judge anyone – it’s not my job. If we’re honest with ourselves, we know what’s in our heart. Jesus will be our Judge, and He definitely knows what is in our hearts - every second of every day. And don’t forget: the kingdom of God is at hand. That Day of Judgment draws nearer and nearer.
Repent, and believe in the Gospel. And keep your house clean.
Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, thank You so much for always giving us another chance. Please help us understand that the day will come when we’ll run out of chances, when we’ll have to stand before Your Son as He judges us for what we have done and said. Help us clean our house, Lord, and help us keep it clean. Thank You for filling us with Your Holy Spirit! Help us give Him all the room there is within us. Help us focus only on Jesus in all our activities, all our thoughts, all our words. And Father, if there is anyone who does not know Your Son as their Lord and Master, please help them seek Him today - let them ask Your servant, that I might lead them to their personal Savior.
Hear us now, Lord, as we open our hearts to You, confessing and repenting of our sin…
Lord Jesus, You see our every deed, You know our every thought. We truly want to repent, Lord. We want to turn from our sinful ways and focus only on You. But Lord, Satan would rather we get trapped by all the little annoyances and irritations he throws our way. Empower the Holy Spirit to take greater control over our lives so that we might more closely live as You would have us live. In Your most wonderful name, Jesus, we pray. Amen.
How do we react? We need to be honest with ourselves here. How do we react to those common annoyances and irritations that we all face each and every day? Granted, muttering some mild curse or harsher obscenity under our breath may not seem as bad as rear-ending them out of rage. But in God’s eyes, the severity of our reaction isn’t as important as the intent. Do good things flow from the treasure of our heart, or some level of wickedness or evil? Jesus says we’ll have to answer for every idle word that comes from our mouth, and I believe that includes those that we never speak out loud, but may only voice in our thoughts.
These little annoyances and our reactions to them can serve as indicators of just how clean our house really is. Those little irritations can easily become the tiny holes and cracks and broken windows that allow the bad critters to come in and mess up our house, our lives.
So once we’ve got our house clean, how do we keep it that way? Once we’ve rid ourselves of the clutter and bad stuff, what do we fill the space with? It’s simple really – we just use what’s already there.
When we accepted Jesus as our Lord – not just as our Savior but also as our Master – He sent God’s Holy Spirit to dwell within us. The Spirit is there, whether we repent or not. But it’s up to us to give Him some “room” to do His work. Once we’re repented and cleaned our internal house, we need to let Him fill all the nooks and crannies, and the corners and all the little dark places.
We do that by focusing on God, by keeping Jesus clearly and steadily in our sight. We can pray, often and with the full expectation of our prayers being heard and answered. Prayer doesn’t have to be complex or formal – it’s just you and God having a little conversation. You can do it anytime, anywhere, out loud, or silently in your heart. You don’t even have to close your eyes! Our Father just wants us to talk to Him – He doesn’t care about all the rules and regulations some folks try to impose on prayer or even on worship itself.
We can read our Bible, God’s inspired word, and especially all those “red letter” passages that Jesus Himself spoke while He walked this earth. If something is important to Jesus, where He talks about it or tells us about it, then we need to make it important to us as well. Look at verse 28 of our message text again. “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” Jesus says we are blessed when we hear, or read, God’s word, but we must keep it as well – we must obey what God says for us to do.
We can keep our eyes pointed in the right direction by serving God. We can help feed the hungry, clothe the poor, visit the ill and the imprisoned, and do for the least of those among us as Jesus wants us to.
And we can worship our Lord, praising Him every chance we get, witnessing to others how much He means to us, thanking Him for each and every blessing in our life.
Once we’ve turned from our sin, once we’ve swept the house clean, if we follow these few steps, we’ll be too busy for any of the bad stuff to come back in! There’ll be no room for any wicked spirit to move into, let alone for him to bring along seven of his friends.
Our heart is the home of the Holy Spirit. What lies there in our heart: a good treasure or an evil one? What comes from there: good thoughts and words and works, or bad ones? Who do we make the most room for: Him, the Holy Spirit, or some wicked spirit that wants to set up shop?
I’m not here to judge anyone – it’s not my job. If we’re honest with ourselves, we know what’s in our heart. Jesus will be our Judge, and He definitely knows what is in our hearts - every second of every day. And don’t forget: the kingdom of God is at hand. That Day of Judgment draws nearer and nearer.
Repent, and believe in the Gospel. And keep your house clean.
Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, thank You so much for always giving us another chance. Please help us understand that the day will come when we’ll run out of chances, when we’ll have to stand before Your Son as He judges us for what we have done and said. Help us clean our house, Lord, and help us keep it clean. Thank You for filling us with Your Holy Spirit! Help us give Him all the room there is within us. Help us focus only on Jesus in all our activities, all our thoughts, all our words. And Father, if there is anyone who does not know Your Son as their Lord and Master, please help them seek Him today - let them ask Your servant, that I might lead them to their personal Savior.
Hear us now, Lord, as we open our hearts to You, confessing and repenting of our sin…
Lord Jesus, You see our every deed, You know our every thought. We truly want to repent, Lord. We want to turn from our sinful ways and focus only on You. But Lord, Satan would rather we get trapped by all the little annoyances and irritations he throws our way. Empower the Holy Spirit to take greater control over our lives so that we might more closely live as You would have us live. In Your most wonderful name, Jesus, we pray. Amen.
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