Sunday, August 06, 2006
August 6, 2006--Forgive Mel, as Christ Forgave Us...
Note: Posting here is based upon the loose outline notes of the pastor. Actual sermon delivered live may have varied in some content. No video available, sorry!
Text: Romans 7:18-25; 8:1-4, 22-8
As you all know, I like to keep up on current events and what is going on. Sometimes those things make their way here to our sermons and talks together. Well, I want to talk about something we saw in the papers last weekend. Mel Gibson, the man who directed and produced the Passion of the Christ, was arrested for drunk driving and made some very horrendous remarks. The criticism came fast and hard from all over.
Of course! We knew it! So much for the Christian tolerance! See, we told you! Not so perfect now, are we Mel? So much for that piety!
Friends, these are the cries and accusations of the Enemy! I am not condoning what Mr. Gibson did or said, as both are reprehensible. However, at no time has Mel Gibson ever said he is perfect. In fact, far from it. In an interview I saw with Dian Sawyer, he talked about his imperfections and being rescued from them by Christ, and how easy it could be to fall back. Well, it appears he is human after all, but aren't all of us, especially those of us who call ourselves Christians?
We are a fallen people. Our heroes of the faith are fallen. Look at King Saul, first king of Israel as selected by Samuel the prophet. A humble man, a pious man, he eventually became so twisted with his own self he tried to kill David. Look at David, the great writer of the Psalms, the man who saved Israel from Goliath, the great king. He sent a friend into a hopeless battle so he could bed the man's wife! Have we excommunicated these people? Have we thrown them out? No, because we realize they were fallen, and so did they. The admitted it to themselves and to the Lord.
See, we are all like Mel Gibson, we are all addicted to something. In the past (see 4th of July sermon, A Declaration), we have discussed these pattern sins, about getting stuck in the rut, and then that rut guiding us where we don't want to go. I think that is what happened to Mr. Gibson. He did horrible things, but you know why I think things will be OK? Mr. Gibson immediately asked God and us for forgiveness. Just as Paul tells us.
We all have demons. Even Paul, the writer of the Epistles, had them. He talks about the sinful nature. We want to do what is right in God's eyes, we love the law, but our body is a slave to sin as it is in this world. Only by the Grace of God we are saved! Praise be to God!
See, the world will continue to come after us, to say we are hypocrites, we don't keep the promise, and they are right in a sense. We are fallen. What they don't get, and what some in the church forget, is that we are FORGIVEN. We should not judge Mr. Gibson. He is forgiven, if He asked the Lord and is earnest in changing his life and not getting into the sad state he was in. This same man, the man who brought us the powerful Passion film, has faults. Shock! Not really. All of us have these demons, these slings and arrows Satan throws at us. We must come to grips with the fact our bodies are slave to sin, and we must come to grips that we can't do it on our own. We fail often times when we are blessed because maybe we start to believe the lie that we are responsible for the blessings, or maybe we feel guilty and engage in self destruction. Either way, we are sinning. it is only by the Grace of God we are blessed.
Therefore, don't judge Mr. Gibson. Minister to him, pray for him. That is what Jesus would have done. It is what Jesus does for us, even now, what, according to our Scriture reading, that the Spirit does for us nonstop, with groanings beyond words. Friends, we need to reach out to the fallen who seek redemption, not throw them to the hounds of this world who happily seek their destruction. Of course this man was a target of the evil one, look at how many lives were transformed for Christ by the film! Of course Satan puts a big target on the faithful because we are the Body of Christ! WE are the arms and legs, the ones who gather. WE are the oppostion.
So, friends, pray for Mel. I think this could be a good thing for him and his family. Why? Because I believe in that last verse, Romans 8:28. If Mel is true in his faith and his desire for repentance and redemption, then this will be used for Good in his life and in the lives of others. For, if we believe, if we love the Lord, then all things work to the good for His purposes.
WE should not be pointing at him, because we all have fallen, especially those of us who are looked to as leaders. I have sinned and done some horrible things, said horrible things. However, you all have forgiven me, and more importantly, so has God. Remember, when you point that finger, you have three more pointing back at you. We are just as guilty, what separates us, is that we are forgiven. Remember that, and instead put out the open hand of forgiveness to the penitent. After all, Christ did it for us.
Text: Romans 7:18-25; 8:1-4, 22-8
As you all know, I like to keep up on current events and what is going on. Sometimes those things make their way here to our sermons and talks together. Well, I want to talk about something we saw in the papers last weekend. Mel Gibson, the man who directed and produced the Passion of the Christ, was arrested for drunk driving and made some very horrendous remarks. The criticism came fast and hard from all over.
Of course! We knew it! So much for the Christian tolerance! See, we told you! Not so perfect now, are we Mel? So much for that piety!
Friends, these are the cries and accusations of the Enemy! I am not condoning what Mr. Gibson did or said, as both are reprehensible. However, at no time has Mel Gibson ever said he is perfect. In fact, far from it. In an interview I saw with Dian Sawyer, he talked about his imperfections and being rescued from them by Christ, and how easy it could be to fall back. Well, it appears he is human after all, but aren't all of us, especially those of us who call ourselves Christians?
We are a fallen people. Our heroes of the faith are fallen. Look at King Saul, first king of Israel as selected by Samuel the prophet. A humble man, a pious man, he eventually became so twisted with his own self he tried to kill David. Look at David, the great writer of the Psalms, the man who saved Israel from Goliath, the great king. He sent a friend into a hopeless battle so he could bed the man's wife! Have we excommunicated these people? Have we thrown them out? No, because we realize they were fallen, and so did they. The admitted it to themselves and to the Lord.
See, we are all like Mel Gibson, we are all addicted to something. In the past (see 4th of July sermon, A Declaration), we have discussed these pattern sins, about getting stuck in the rut, and then that rut guiding us where we don't want to go. I think that is what happened to Mr. Gibson. He did horrible things, but you know why I think things will be OK? Mr. Gibson immediately asked God and us for forgiveness. Just as Paul tells us.
We all have demons. Even Paul, the writer of the Epistles, had them. He talks about the sinful nature. We want to do what is right in God's eyes, we love the law, but our body is a slave to sin as it is in this world. Only by the Grace of God we are saved! Praise be to God!
See, the world will continue to come after us, to say we are hypocrites, we don't keep the promise, and they are right in a sense. We are fallen. What they don't get, and what some in the church forget, is that we are FORGIVEN. We should not judge Mr. Gibson. He is forgiven, if He asked the Lord and is earnest in changing his life and not getting into the sad state he was in. This same man, the man who brought us the powerful Passion film, has faults. Shock! Not really. All of us have these demons, these slings and arrows Satan throws at us. We must come to grips with the fact our bodies are slave to sin, and we must come to grips that we can't do it on our own. We fail often times when we are blessed because maybe we start to believe the lie that we are responsible for the blessings, or maybe we feel guilty and engage in self destruction. Either way, we are sinning. it is only by the Grace of God we are blessed.
Therefore, don't judge Mr. Gibson. Minister to him, pray for him. That is what Jesus would have done. It is what Jesus does for us, even now, what, according to our Scriture reading, that the Spirit does for us nonstop, with groanings beyond words. Friends, we need to reach out to the fallen who seek redemption, not throw them to the hounds of this world who happily seek their destruction. Of course this man was a target of the evil one, look at how many lives were transformed for Christ by the film! Of course Satan puts a big target on the faithful because we are the Body of Christ! WE are the arms and legs, the ones who gather. WE are the oppostion.
So, friends, pray for Mel. I think this could be a good thing for him and his family. Why? Because I believe in that last verse, Romans 8:28. If Mel is true in his faith and his desire for repentance and redemption, then this will be used for Good in his life and in the lives of others. For, if we believe, if we love the Lord, then all things work to the good for His purposes.
WE should not be pointing at him, because we all have fallen, especially those of us who are looked to as leaders. I have sinned and done some horrible things, said horrible things. However, you all have forgiven me, and more importantly, so has God. Remember, when you point that finger, you have three more pointing back at you. We are just as guilty, what separates us, is that we are forgiven. Remember that, and instead put out the open hand of forgiveness to the penitent. After all, Christ did it for us.
# posted by Mark : 1:23 PM
