Separation of Church & Hate Pt. 5: Murder, Divorce, and Vows - 8/4/2024

Pastor Dale Benson Are humans good or evil? The answer is not necessarily so black and white. Genesis 1:26-27 (NLT) - You are created in God's image! That is good! It is not good for Adam to be alone. Genesis 2:23-24 (NLT) - After creating woman, man and woman sin, it is not enough for us to be made in the image of God. - We want to be God. - You are a fallen human being - (That's not good.) Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28, 31-34, 37 (NLT) Our perceptions in relationships begin in the heart, and what we accept or reject begins in our hearts and minds. - Our perceptions and perspectives on these issues shift due to how the world views and accepts divorce as normal. Jesus points to the people in His day and acknowledges that Moses allowed the people to write a divorce paper, and apparently, that was happening a lot. Jesus says this is not God's desire. Divorce has become too acceptable. "It's just something that happens," or "It wasn't an option until it was." - We all understand that the act of murdering someone is actual murder, but when we lie, we murder the truth. When we commit adultery, we murder the love we have for lust for another. When we get divorced, we participate in the murder of a family. The family that existed no longer exists. When we often hear about Jesus, we think about love, grace, and forgiveness. This is a passage where Jesus seems to make the law harder. He moves us away from the actions we do (or don't do) and moves into the issues surrounding our hearts and minds. - We must be constantly aware. Last week, Yhoshua and Caleb showed us how Jesus taught us to pray, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." I don't think we really take this to heart. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us that our enemy is like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." - Satan is sneaky. When you watch TV or social media, or anything else, deception, adultery, divorce, and any other number of heinous things are fully shown to us, with almost no restrictions. - The answer is not to put more laws in place to stop this. The Jews had laws. Laws don't change our hearts. We change them by constantly renewing our minds. This does not start when we are married. It starts when we are young. For those in your youth and teenage years headed to college, it takes allowing God to continue to shape you to be like Him. It is not about being evil or good. It is about reflecting God. - Pastor David quoted Jesus two weeks ago: "You are to be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect." We were created in God's likeness and image. We are not God. But we are made to reflect Him in all we say and do (outwardly) for the world to see. This work begins inwardly as soon as we come to know Him. Together, as individuals made in God's image, we come to reflect this God who created us in their likeness and image-to live in relationships that reflect the very relationship of the Trinity itself. The call today is to admit a few things. 1. God loves me, and He created me in His image. So, I am created good. 2. I do things I shouldn't because I have fallen and need a Savior. 3. I live in a fallen world filled with many other people like me. I must work on allowing God to help me be reformed, conformed, or transformed into His image. Your first step today is not simply to pray and ask God to forgive you and change your heart but to begin working on this in the community. This is not just an issue in our society. It is a huge issue in Grove City and the surrounding communities. If we are going to see change, we need The Naz to be the kind of place where we know that seeking help is not a luxury. It is a necessity. We want to create an environment where seeking help is valued even more than simply admitting there is a problem. As we model that, it will help others seek the help they need and share that help with others. We will begin to see the changes that need to take place in our world. Right here on earth as it is in heaven.