Innovate Church ’09: Ed Stetzer

Innovate Church '09: Ed Stetzer

 

(Ed is author of several books and works with Lifeway Research.)

 

Secret Sins ZAP Spiritual Power

 

• Sin not addressed in your life and in your church hurts.
• We've been taught to believe in levels of sin

 

Galatians 5:19-21 --- the deeds of the flesh

 

Our goal is to live a Gospel Centered – Repentance Filled Lives.

It is easy to see the big sins in others.

Compromise is Satan's desire in our lives.  If Satan can't compromise our beliefs, he will settle to compromise our character.

The Gospel Centered – Repentance Filled Life is a CROSS centered life, die daily.  Respond to the world through repentance not thinking better thoughts but thinking Biblically.

 

4 Principles

 

1.         Secret sins are only that way for a season.

• Numbers 12:4 --- God calls them out.
• Numbers 32 --- if you do not repent, sin will catch up with you.
• If you won't come to repentance, God will bring you to repentance.
• God is more interested in your character than in your comfort.

2.         Private sin can deliver the community of faith into public defeat.

• Joshua 7 --- unfaithfulness led to trouble for all.
• Faith gives rise to boldness
• Sin gives rise to failure
• Get broken or God will break you.

3.         The churches toleration of sin distracts the church from its mission.

• 1 Corinthians 5 ---
• We are afraid to offend people rather than offend God.
• We lack spiritual power because won't do spiritual discipline as the Scripture says to do.

4.         A return to God's mission begins with repentance before God's standard.

• 1 Corinthians 10:1-5
• John Calvin said "The heart is an idol factory."
• Genesis 4:7 --- sin is crouching at the door.
• A repentant people are God's most powerful tool on earth.
• James 1:15 --- sins grow

 

We'd rather treat our sin like a pet rather than slay it like the beast it is.

• Moralism creates Pharisees.