SIN: CONSEQUENCES & CURE

Memorise:

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God - Romans 3:23

Read: Ezekiel 18:20-24

20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.

23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?

24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.

Message:

Sin is disobedience of God or a deviation from His ways. From the account in Genesis 3, we understand that sin cannot be hidden. Every secret sin will always be discovered; it’s only a matter of time (Numbers 32:23). When sin comes in, there is a loss of relationship with God. When we house sin in our lives, no matter the amount of time we spend in the place of prayer, the heavens will remain shut. Sin is not a lifter; rather it leads to demotion. It brings shame and reproach to someone with a glorious future as seen in the case of Samson. Proverbs 14:34 says,
“Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.”

Although Samson was born great, by including in sin, his destiny was truncated (Judges 16:20-21). God has been warning a lot of people about the consequences of their actions, but they have refused to depart from the path of iniquity. Some people remain in disobedience until they experience a negative turning point in their lives. King Saul was a king who happened to be handsome, rich, healthy, powerful and prominent. His word was law, but he disobeyed God and kept going contrary to God’s divine will until tragedy struck.

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land" 2nd Chronicles 7:14.

The only way a lost relationship with God can be restored is obtaining pardon for sin through genuine repentance. The good news is that the death of Jesus on the cross has made adequate provision for the remission of our state of hopelessness against sin. We must be convinced of the need for pardon and be willing to confess our sins, no matter how numerous and terrible they are. God is ever willing to grant pardon to a genuinely repentant soul.

Genuine repentance involves a change of mind that leads to a change of conduct. This change of conduct will lead to a life of holiness, through which the repentant soul becomes a vessel unto honour for the Master’s effective use. Such a person will then begin to work towards the attainment of perfection in Christ Jesus. Having done all these, there is a guarantee of an inheritance in Christ and an assurance of everlasting life.

Prayer point:

Father, I thank you for the Blood of Jesus that was shed for the remission of my sins. I accept this provision of Yours, and ask that it washes away all my sins.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : Judges 8:29-9:57 and Mathew 26:6-25.

AUTHOR: Pst E. A ADEBOYE.

THUS SAITH THE LORD 2

   For, lo, he that formeth the mountains and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The Lord, The God of hosts, is his name. Can two walk together, except they be agreed? Will a lion roar in the forest when he hath no prey? Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in the city and the Lord hath not done it? Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophet. The lion hath roared, who will not fear? The Lord hath spoken, who can but prophesy?For thus saith the Lord God to INDIVIDUALS, SOCIETIES and GOVERNMENT/SHEPERD

;
   The city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel. For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel, seek ye me, and ye shall live. Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth, seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name. That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress. They hate him that rebuketh in the gate and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly. Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.
   For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right. Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time, for it is an evil time. Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. Hate the evil and love the good and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.   Therefore , the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord , saith thus; wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing. And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for i will pass through thee, saith the Lord.   I hate, I despise your feast days, and i will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, i will not accept them: neither will i regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for i will not hear the melody of thy viols. But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.
Merciful God;
   The word of the Lord came saying, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked should turn from his wickedness. If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

My say;
   The judgment of our Lord God is near, ready to judge us all by our doings/acts/deeds. If you & i have found ourselves in any kind of wickedness, i say that we need to correct ourselves by simply turning from our various acts of wickedness.
   Another important thing is for us to believe and not differ the repentance from wickedness, tomorrow may be too late.
   Most Churches have termed this year as - "Judgment of the Lord" , "heaven on earth" - whichever one, it connotes the eradication of wickedness because if heaven will be on earth, any thing evil/wicked must die.