Pastor Shane L. Johnson, D.Min.5/16/10

New Life Church

18 If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; 19 but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. 20 Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!

Cherished- ra’ah; to gaze upon, look at Sin- ‘aven; evil or wickedness Heart- leb; the inner man Listened- shama; hear or obey The bottom line- sin impedes communication

between us and God

American culture has normalized sin so much so that there is no clear cultural definition of it

there is response or cultural blush toward sin Postmodern thought has banished Truth- we

now only have various truths With the death of Truth has come the death of

absolutes- hence, no longer any right and wrong

The rate of acceptance of sin is exponential- life and marriage are no longer sacred; one day nothing will be sacred

Hamartano- to miss the mark Sin is anything that puts distance between you

and the Lord Dobbins’ definition of sin- Sin is an invisible

force, emanating from Satan, which impacts the mind and will, to think and act in terms of negative life choices, thus detracting from our Kingdom potential

Satan can use almost anything as a tool for sin Paul was very clear to name specific sins

because he wanted us to know there are things that have no place in the life of the believer- 1 Cor 6.9-11

There is no long term satisfaction to sin Much of sin is a perversion of the good- rest/laziness,

passion/anger, sex within marriage/sexual sin, nutrition/gluttony, industry/workaholism

Experimentation with sin will always end in personal failure

Left unchecked, sin always grows and worsens- James 1.13

All sin is personal before it is corporate The baptism in the Holy Spirit is not a substitute for

personal holiness- character precedes giftings Sin is normally accompanied by some kind of

rationalization- “I do this because…” Some people fall into sin; others jump There is good in the worst of us and bad in the best of

us; thus, everyone is capable of sin

We were all born into sin Satan is the second most powerful force in

existence The weakening of biblical manhood- the first

line of defense in the home and church is a strong, Godly man

The breakdown of the home, beginning with marriage

The lack of discipline of children The silence of the church regarding evil The church’s lust for acceptance by the

world

1. The battle for your soul is won or lost in the mind- much of what you allow to go on in your mind will determine your end result

2. Sin must be confessed- first to God, and sometimes to others; James 5.16- confess your faults…

3. Sin must be strangled in its infancy, or starved in its adulthood

4. Dealing with some sin requires drastic measures- Mt 5.29- “if your eye/hand offends you”ex- my friend Rick