"The Condition We Must Correct"

Sermon by Bro. Charles Murphy

Monday, July 19, 2010

National Association of Free Will Baptists Convention

Isaiah 6:5-7

Do you desire to serve God? Our desire to serve God is evidence of our salvation. The strength of that desire is a measure of our spiritual maturity. But before we can be used by God, we have to be cleansed from our sins by God. We must correct the condition of sin...

1. Because of sin's hindering effect on our lives.

• Our sin separates us from God. (Isaiah 59:1-2)
• Without God, we can do nothing.
• You can't serve God if you are separated from Him and His will.

2. Because of sin's hardening effect on our hearts.

• Our sin hardens our hearts and makes us less sensitive to the calling of God. (Isaiah 6:9-10)
• "But exhort one another daily, while it is called to day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." Hebrews 3:13 - We should challenge and encourage one another to turn from sin daily.
• Our sin is an urgent matter. If we don't turn from our sin, it will hinder our lives and harden our hearts so that we cannot be used by God.

HOW DO WE CORRECT THE CONDITION OF SIN IN OUR LIVES?

1. We must see God as He really is:

• If we don't see the holiness of God, then we don't see our own sinfulness.
• When we see how holy God is, we can then see how unholy and sinful we are.
• Isaiah feared God (verse 5). The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Wisdom leads to repentance from sin.
• To know God as He really is, we must spend time with Him - in prayer, in His word, and in service for Him.

2. We must be broken before God:

• When Isaiah saw God, he saw his own spiritual bankruptcy. "Woe is me!" (verse 5)
• He recognized that he was a man of unclean lips - do you take the sins of the mouth seriously? "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh." (Matthew 12:35, Luke 6:35, James 3:6-10)
• We must confess our conformity to the world (1 John 2:15-17, 1 Peter 1:14-16)

3. We must receive cleansing from God:

• Isaiah 6:6-7 - The coal came from the altar, which points us to the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, Jesus.
• Jesus's death on the cross and His blood cleanses us from our sins. (Isaiah 53:5-12)
• "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:6
• Romans 5:20-21

4. We must consecrate ourselves to God:

• We must lay ourselves on the altar (Romans 12:1 - "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.")
• We must consecrate ourselves to God in our daily lives by being holy. (Ephesians 5:26-27)
• We must take personal responsibility for our actions. We live in grace, but that doesn't take away our free will or our responsibility for the choices we make.

Do we want the had of the Lord to be withdrawn from us because of our sin? Or do we want God to be with us and guide us? We must deal with the condition of sin in our lives if we are going to live in God's will.

"But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James 4:6-7