Sunday, October 16, 2011 - Cut It Off!
The sermon text this morning was Matthew 5:27-20.
Lust.
"You won't say, 'No!' to lust, until you say, 'Yes!' to something you love more." ~My Pastor
3 Words to be "Cut off" from Lust:
1) Transparency: Live your life in such a way that people can see it - live in the light and invite others in
2) Community: You were not meant to fight sin battles alone
3) Love: You won't say, 'No!' until something else is more appealing; until your love for God is greater than your love for your sin. The Gospel will become more sweet when your sin becomes more ugly.
The seriousness of sin: If you could fix it by mutilation, it would be worth it!
Cutting off that which is most dear to you for the sake of righteousness! (The right eye and hand would have been of utmost value in a culture where life depended on it: archery using primarily the right hand & the right eye and the soldier swinging his sword in his right hand, looking on with his right eye while his shield is mainly covering his left eye).
If your computer causes you to sin, cut it off!
If the route to work causes you to sin, cut it off!
If the game causes you to sin, cut it off!
If my pride causes me to sin, cut it off! Selah...pause...hmmmm...how does one go about cutting off their heart!?!
Ah, tis the ambition of this Fast...to have the scales cut off day by day by day...
This much, O LORD, I want You, this much!
The pain is worth it because YOU are WORTHY!
(Note: Most of these thoughts are from My Pastor)
For a list of all the daily lesson titles in the 40 Days of Surrender in one place, Click Here.
John Piper says something similar in "Desiring God." He says (I'm paraphrasing) that we cannot discipline ourselves out of sin. We can only hope to find joy in other things so that the sin loses its appeal because something else satisfies more deeply.
ReplyDeleteYes! These thoughts reminded me of Piper as well.
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