Common Problems - Taking Responsibility
by Jeff Fry
James 5:13-16
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15 and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed.
Thesis: We must take responsibility for taking hold of our own freedom.
I. Introduction
A. We continue our series: Truth Encounter. Last week we talked about the problems feelings can pose. Another common difficulty is the one of taking responsibility.
B. The Illustration of Holly and Erin
1. The other day I started to pick up the clutter in our lounge. Most of it was colouring pens and papers scattered all over the floor which belonged to our two young girls, Holly and Erin who are 4 and 5 years old. I didn't get far in the process when I stopped once I realized what I was doing.
2. I called to the girls to come and pick up their own mess.
3. It was a long and arduous process. They stalled for time, made excuses like,
a) "that's hers , not mine!"
b) I don't know where this goes
c) you're not helping Daddy
d) and generally resisted at every turn hoping that eventually I would give in and pick it up myself out of exasperation.
4. They generally looked for every other way to get the job done except for taking responsibility for it themselves.
5. But before we criticize this behaviour, let's consider if this avoidance of responsibility doesn't happen in our spiritual lives and instead we need to take responsibility ourselves for gaining our own freedom in Christ.
II. We must take responsibility for taking hold of our own freedom
A. State
1. The quick fix is always easier. That's why it is so popular in our comfort society.
2. I do professional web sites and we have a quick fix in the industry. If you want to do a quick web site for someone, then just download a template from a site on the internet or get it from a magazine cd and use that. It's a quick fix because
a) someone else designs the site for you and you just fill-in the content
b) you don't learn anything, you don't grow to become a better designer, you don't deepen your character, you don't stretch yourself, but you get the result you want - a web site.
3. I'm sure you can think of the quick fix in your trade as well.
4. There is the quick fix spiritually of course too
a) When we are having difficulty spiritually what do we do? One of two things:
(1) Look for the quick fix
(a) Instead of taking the steps to gain our own freedom from the bondage of sin, we look for someone else to do it.
(b) We seek out that special person whose prayer could free us instead of praying a prayer of repentance ourselves
(c) Or we find the person who is known for having a word from God and hope that they have heard from God on our behalf instead of listening to God ourselves.
(2) Try to deny that there is a problem (pretend it isn't there because it's easier than trying to deal with it - although it really isn't because you remain in bondage - to anger, to depression, to addiction, etc)
b) God promises us freedom if we take responsibility to take hold of our own freedom
(1) Firstly, if we are in trouble due to sin in our life (and ultimately this is always the root cause) then we are promised by God that we can be free from the oppressive power of sin IF (and that's the big IF):
(a) I confess : I John 1:9 says, " If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
(i) confess = "to admit, agree, acknowledge"
(ii) now read it again: "If we acknowledge our sin and admit it, then He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins".
(iii) You can either pretend your sin is not there or you acknowledge it.
(iv) but if you won't deal with it you will pay the price
(a) Proverbs 28:13 "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy."
(b) Many of you give up before the fight has even begun because you think you cannot win the sin battle. You don't think you can change. You've arrived and you are content with the YOU that is despite the areas of your life that you know could change for the better.
(c) You've stopped striving for forward progress. This is death , spiritual death or at least spiritual stagnancy. You've stopped living. The enemy has you just where he wants you - defeated! We were created for freedom, not defeat!
(d) And thus you deny the gospel which is the gospel of transformation - old man to the new man, darkened mind to the light of the gospel, slave to sin and now slave to righteousness, etc..
(i) The gospel message is that you can be free from oppression of sin (Luke 4: 18 says so)
(e) Also, YOU must acknowledge your sin. Don't go looking to find someone else to pray about your sin for you until you've acknowledged it yourself first.
(f) James 5:13 says, " 13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise."(i) who should pray? the one who is suffering!(ii) Remember the enemy wants you defeated and as long as you think you can't do anything about your sin, suffering and oppression! Then he wins!
(b) I Repent
(i) repentance is commanded of us by God in the Bible (Acts 17:30) but in a loving way - ie. in order that we may return to Him
(a) Amos 4:6 "I gave you empty stomachs in every city and lack of bread in every town, yet you have not returned to me," declares the LORD. 7 "I also withheld rain from you when the harvest was still three months away. I sent rain on one town, but withheld it from another. One field had rain; another had none and dried up. 8 People staggered from town to town for water but did not get enough to drink, yet you have not returned to me," declares the LORD. 9 "Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards, I struck them with blight and mildew. Locusts devoured your fig and olive trees, yet you have not returned to me," declares the LORD.
(ii) repent = to change one's mind, to be converted (OT: to turn from sin to God)
(iii) the Brits have converted me to tea with milk! I've changed my mind about what is better - that's primary - the change in the mind. The actions follow logically but are not primary.
(a) Illus.: it is pleasing to entertain lustful thoughts. Now you become a Christian and one of the things you learn is that Jesus said, ESV Matthew 5:27 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away...." (b) The first thing I must do is to get straight in my mind that this is not a good thing. It is not good for my soul despite the temporary good feeling it gives. That's the change of mind that has to happen and that's repentance.
(iv) finally, because of my new understanding, I must then stop lusting and purify my mind.
(c) I Submit to God
(i) James 4:7-8 says, "Submit therefore to God and resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded"
(ii) You have to do more than just resist the devil which in this case is resist sin, resist the desires of the flesh. You have to also draw near to God.
(iii) While resisting the devil involves acknowledgement of sin and repentance from it. That's the emptying of ourselves of sin. That's the defense.
(iv) The offense is that we draw near to God. We fill ourselves with holiness. We open ourselves to the Holy Spirit.
(v) In the place of the sinful habit that we want to be free of, we need to put the holy practice of drawing near to God. This helps us break the sin-confess cycle that we so often get stuck in.
(2) So, if we find ourselves operating by our fleshly desires, we must
(a) confess (acknowledge, agree)
(b) repent (change mind, turn)
(c) submit (turn to God)
(3) So, to gain our freedom we must ACT
(a) Acknowledge our sin
(b) Change our mind
(c) Turn to God
B. Illustration
1. If I had cleaned up the lounge for my children they would never learn to clean up for themselves and more importantly they may never learn that they can clean up a room.
2. More so, they would learn to become co-dependent meaning that we depend on others for things that they are capable of doing on their own.
3. In other words they become spoiled brats - always looking for someone else to do the things that they are responsible for doing.
4. Don't be a spiritual brat! Take hold of your freedom yourself!
5. Understand that I am not saying that it is wrong to have others pray for you. I am not saying that. The Bible commands it so we know this is a good practice. But it also tells those in trouble to pray themselves and we must learn to do this also.
III. Conclusion (Application Questions)
A. What are some ways you can live out Proverbs 28:13 and be sure you don’t conceal your sins but instead acknowledge (confess) your sin and repent of it? (short accounts, immediate confession on the spot, meet with another person who will tell you the truth about yourself and who can see things about yourself which you don't see or don't want to see)