Being right with God; does it really matter?

We have spent the last few months talking about a program called THE W.E.D.G.E. which ends tonight, but what is the motivation for diligently following such a program? We talk so much about how important it is to break the cycle of sin in your life and live a victorious Christian life. Perhaps the reason so many teens don’t strive to stay right with God is that they don’t know the answer to this question. Why not be careless about the things you let yourself get involved in? (Music, movies, MTV, language, bad friends, alcohol, drugs, physical relations, rebellion)

There’s a simple reason, and it’s found in Galatians 6:7. It is the law of sowing and reaping. “Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” The greatest motivation for living godly is the desire for God’s blessing on your life. If you choose to sin, you will pay down the road for every sin you involve yourself in. One has wisely said, “You can choose your sin, but you cannot choose the consequences.” Which of the following would you not mind being cursed and destroyed in your future life?

• Future career decision
• Future marriage
• Future family
• Future health
• Future happiness
• Future ministry
• Future peace of mind
  

Fact is, none of us want any of these things to be cursed in our life. However, I have literally witnessed Christians who, because of sin, have been destroyed in every one of these areas. How did it happen? They forgot that the whole time they were “living it up” in sin, they were planting a field of iniquity that would someday produce of harvest of destruction. I am now 27, and I am seeing the generation I grew up in reap from their teen years. Let me tell you, IT’S SCARY!!! My friends who went to Christian School, Fundamental churches, good youth groups, and had great examples are now in a mess. Many are divorced, many have children out of wedlock, many are out of church, some are involved with alcohol and drugs, and most of them are down right miserable.

If I were to ask you if that’s where you’d like to be when you are 25, you would say no. However, is the way you’re living now working you toward that direction? If so, you had better start setting a W.E.D.G.E. between you and the sin that produces that kind of result. Let’s take a look at our last point.

EMPTY YOUR PASSIONS; REPLACE YOUR PASSIONS.

Read the story of Samson in Judges 14:1-13, 16:1-17, 30. What a sad story! It’s the story of someone who had amazing potential for God, but died as a failure. If you are to succeed in the Christian life you would do well to learn from the example of Samson.

Samson’s problem is that he fed his sinful passions rather than emptying them. Notice in these passages how he provided for himself all the sinful things that he desired. If he had a craving for it, he made it happen. God had warned him through the Nazarite vow he took not to mess with women, drink alcohol, touch a dead body, or shave his head. However, he has no ability to curb his sinful appetites. In his desperate craving for sinful women, he breaks every single one of the vows he took. He touches a dead body, drinks alcohol at the parties, and ends up getting his head shaved by the woman who would be his demise. All along the way, he is sowing seeds of sure destruction.

It’s amazing to see how Samson treated sin so lightly. He plays games with temptation like he is smarter and stronger than sin’s destructive powers. Watch how he toys with Delilah and slowly but surely reveals his secret. He is so enamored by his relationship with this woman who was satisfying his sinful passions, that he really doesn’t care that he has just told her the secret to destroying him. He laughs as he plants the seed that will spring into his destruction in a matter of days. What a fool! Oh, and how foolish it is when we, every day of our life, sow seeds of destruction that will one day spring up when we least expect it and least want it. Right now you may not care enough about life to stop, but one day when you do, it will be then that you pay.

Samson let his passions destroy him. He never gained victory over his passions for sin. Just think of what God could have done with him had he developed a passion for God, his parents, and Israel. Very well, he could have lead Israel to many years of victory over her enemies. It is so important for you not only to empty your passions, but replace them with godly passions. Empty the Rock music, and replace it with godly conservative music. Empty your lustful thinking, and replace it with precious time with God in His Word. Empty your filthy language, and replace it with helpful language. Empty your time with worldly influences, and replace it with time around godly Christians. Empty your worthless literature, and replace it with good Christian literature. Empty your physical relationship, and replace it with prayers for a future pure and blessed marriage. Empty your worldliness, and replace it with godly standards.

It is important to be right with God. You want His blessing, and it only comes as you obey. Samson is a great example of someone who lost the blessing of God through his careless holding on to old passions. What passions do you need to empty to prevent sowing seeds of destruction for your future life? What passions need to replace those sinful passions? Start this week. Decide you want God’s blessing so much that you will be diligent to put a W.E.D.G.E. between you and sin. Write down your greatest temptations, Enter into a commitment with God, Destroy any present avenue to sin, Gain a secure position far from sin, and Empty your passions/replace your passions. God helping you, you can win!

Next week we will begin a series on purity. See you then.