Wednesday, November 5, 2014
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This could sure come under the heading of "You know it's going to be a bad day when..." Yeah, my wife and I were stopped at a stop light during the rush hour one morning. We were on a local street that intersects the busiest highway in the area in that town. There were two lanes. We were in the left one-the left turn lane. The light turned green, I started turning left. Well, I noticed another car next to me on my right turning from the right lane. Well that's not allowed. You're not supposed to do that; it's illegal, and it's very dangerous at this intersection. Well, suddenly, I guess this guy saw in his rearview mirror – this blinking light behind him. He had just made that illegal turn right in front of a police officer. Needless to say, he was pulled over on the shoulder before he even cleared the intersection. I mean he's not even out of the neighborhood yet and he's been caught.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Always Caught."
Now the Bible has some unsettling news in Numbers 32:23. It says, "Be sure your sin will find you out." See, if God knows, you're already caught. And God hasn't missed a moment. His video camera rolls 24 hours a day; it's inescapable. His recorder catches every word. Our neighbor at the light thought if the law doesn't see me, this is fine. Boom! Caught!
In fact, when it comes to people catching us, we often do get away with sin. Your parents may never find out, your mate may never know, your boss may never catch you, your friends may never find out, your pastor, your congregation. It sets you up for the myth that you're actually getting away with it. Nobody ever gets away with sin. The bill may be delayed, but the bill always comes. Whatever a man sows, that he will reap.
Adam and Eve's death sentence came later, but it came. Postponed judgment never means judgment has been canceled. Now, our word for today from the Word of God: 1 Timothy 5:24, "The sins of some men are obvious; reaching the place of judgment ahead of them. The sins of others trail behind them." Now, one way or the other we get caught; sometimes earlier, sometimes later. Which is better? Well, the longer it takes for the bill to come, the more the interest accumulates.
That might be the reason God's asking me to talk about this today. Because He's telling you to face that sin before it faces you with much greater consequences than if you choose to deal with it right now. Today, this is the least expensive day you will ever have to face that sin. The bill continues to increase. Maybe it's a sin that you've committed. Maybe it's lying, or immorality, cheating, stealing or even backbiting or it's lust. It could be rebellion. It could be messing with the occult or verbal or physical abuse of someone.
And then again, it may be a sin of omission: you're neglecting your mate or your children, or a commitment you've made, or time with your Lord. But every day the sin calculator is running, the consequences are growing, and the gap between you and God is increasing. You're driving with your eyes on the rearview mirror wondering if you're going to be caught. Wouldn't you like to be free; wouldn't you like to be forgiven?
It's far better to freely come to God with that sin than to have God come to you with it. And he took all of that sin on that first Good Friday and put it on His son so Jesus could pay for it so that when Jesus said "Father forgive them," He was talking about you. This can be erased from God's book forever. The Bible says, "Repent and turn to God, and your sins will be wiped away and the times of refreshing will come from the Lord." This is your day to finally be clean inside, to get the spiritual shower only the man who died for you could give you. If you want that, I encourage you to check out our website the soonest you can get to it today. And let me show you there, how to be forgiven and how to begin your relationship with Jesus. Go to ANewStory.com. That's what it could be for you - a new story. You started out this day dirty, you will be by the end of it, clean inside as you have never been before.