"Oops, I Goofed. Now What Can I Do?"

October 20, 2024

The title of the sermon, “Oops, I Goofed. Now What Can I Do?" is actually a play on words, for we do goof up at times, but in reality I am not talking about a goof like spilling milk, I am talking about a deliberate sin against God or others, and if it is against others, it is against God as well. In the Lord’s Prayer we pray, “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” Others say trespasses instead of debts, but what is the true meaning of these words. In actuality, Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” Reading it or praying it this way puts the reality of what we have done in a greater light.

I mean, what is a debt…it is when we owe someone something, so are we praying God forgive us the money we owe “Bob” so he will forgive others what they owe him? And the word, “trespasses” sounds like we are walking on our neighbors lawn without permission. So let’s be clear. We are talking about sins here and when you sin, it will change your life for the worse. The words “debts” and “trespasses” when interpreted years ago was known to mean sins, but for young people today, those meanings are lost. Another title for this sermon could have been, “Sin Can Change Your Life,” but who wants to hear another sermon on sin.

We all know the hymn “Amazing Grace” but few know the story of its author. John Newton was a slave trader who watched as many young black man and woman died in the bowels of the ship he was hauling them on, chained together, side by side, to bring them to England and America to be sold to the highest bidder. Later in life after coming to Christ, he regretted and repented of that horrible sin. This film clip that we are going to watch is from the movie “Amazing Grace” and you will hear Newton expressing his regrets to William Willberforce and telling him that he must work hard to repeal slavery as a way of life in England.

1 Peter 2:24 (NASB) “and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”

Introduction: There is no doubt that sin changes lives. You can take the most innocent of children, and when they find themselves sinning, they begin to change. One Sunday School teacher had just finished a lesson on Christian behavior. "Now, Billy," she asked, "tell me what we must do before we can expect to be forgiven for our sins." Without hesitation, Billy replied, "First we gotta sin." This morning we don’t have to go out and sin first to discover the forgiveness that God has for us. We have already all sinned enough. What I want to do this morning is to help you to see what sin is, how to avoid sin, and if you have sinned, to find the forgiveness that comes from Christ.

Defining Sin
1. The Ten Commandments Exodus 20:3-17
  1. "You shall have no other gods before Me.
  2. “You shall not make for yourself an idol.”
  3. "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.”
  4. "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”
  5. "Honor your father and your mother.”
  6. “You shall not murder.”
  7. "You shall not commit adultery.”
  8. "You shall not steal.”
  9. "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
  10. "You shall not covet."
2. James 4:17 (NIV) “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.” Listen to that Scripture again. “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.” It isn’t just when we out-rightly go out and sin the 10 Commandments we are sinning, it is when God speaks to us about doing good for someone and we don’t do it…that is sin as well. When God prompts us to invite someone to church and we don’t, that is sin. When we are prompted of God to be in church and we decide to skip it, that is sin. The scripture is clear, we will reap what we sow! What are you sowing in life today?
3. 1 John 3:8 (NASB) “the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” Comedian Flip Wilson, who our younger generation may not know, used to say, “The devil made me do it!” Well if you are practicing sin, it isn’t the devil making you do it, but you partnering with the devil to live his way!
4. Unforgiveness may be the greatest sin in our lives. We can puff ourselves up because we don’t do the “bad sins” of the 10 commandments. We think we are great because we help the poor, visit the sick, love our neighbors as we love ourselves, but if we have someone in our life we have not forgiven, we just might miss out on being in heaven someday! Remember Jesus taught us to pray, “forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” This isn’t a suggestion. This isn’t something you can just sweep under a rug. This is a command of Jesus! On the cross, Jesus who had just been beaten and whipped almost to death. Rejected by multitudes of people who chose a murderer, Barabbas over Him. Then had a crown of thorns beaten upon his head and nails pounded into his hands and feet and left to die on a cross…Jesus cried out to his father in heaven, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they have done!” If Jesus went through all of that to forgive those who had crucified him, do you think he is just going to wink at unforgiveness in your life?
5. We don’t just redefine sin, we compromise until we allow sin to enter our lives. I remember one time in my late teens, my mom confronted me about a sin in my life. I told her, “It was okay because God understand who I am.” No sooner had I said that and God spoke to me and said, “Yes, and I call it sin!”
How Sin Enters Our Lives
1. Satan first attacks by getting us to believe that no one else has been tempted as much as we have. But God’s word says in 1 Cor. 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.”
2. He then tries to get us to believe that the temptations we are facing come from God and He is just playing games with us. Again though when we look at God’s word, we find the truth. James 1:13 “Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.”
3. Here is the truth of how sin enters our lives. James 1:14 “But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. [15] Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.” We have a bent towards sin in our lives. It comes from the carnal nature we inherited from Adam and Eve’s sin. So when we are tempted and jump on that bandwagon of sin, it comes from something deep within us to begin with.
4. Sin is a result of our failures. Our failure to flee sin and our failure to pursue righteousness. 2 Tim. 2:22 “Now flee from youthful lusts, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
  
  Dave Jackson in Leadership magazine wrote. “Our train rolled into Kansas City at 1 a.m. Dim lights came on to help the new passengers find seats. Many of us who had been riding home through the night had spread out to occupy two seats apiece. An attractive woman made her way down the aisle with her bags. She was looking from side to side, hoping for someone to move. I turned toward the window and watched her in the reflection. "May I sit here?" she asked. "Sure." I looked up and smiled as I moved over. She threw her things into the rack above and sat down. Near the back of the car, only one of my colleagues had managed to keep his extra space. Lucky guy. "My name's Kathy. What's yours?" I told her, and we talked quietly for a while. She was on her way to visit her mother after some rough spats with her husband. I was eager to get home and see my wife and family after an exhausting church leadership conference. Soon we had both slipped off to sleep. At some later stop, I awoke to find Kathy cuddled next to me. "You don't mind if I lean my head on your shoulder, do you?" she said sleepily. "Uh, no. I guess not." She was just tired ... wasn't she? And besides, I had a wonderful wife and a great marriage and would be home before noon. I looked around to see if anyone was noticing. She cuddled closer. I wondered what she really wanted--or would allow. At first I couldn't believe what I was thinking. But then it was her fault. She knew exactly what she was doing. I might as well enjoy it. After all, what could happen on a train full of people? Nothing, nothing really ... except what Jesus warned about happening in the heart. Finally, I excused myself so I could go back and talk with my friend--the "lucky" one with the empty seat beside him. Or maybe I was the lucky one since that extra space was still available. I only knew I didn't need to stay where I had been. Perhaps it wasn't luck at all. Maybe that was the "way of escape" that 1 Corinthians 10:13 talks about, which God had provided from the beginning.
Recognition Of Being Sinful
1. Adam and Eve - Genesis 3:8 (KJV) “And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.” They had sinned and like a little child caught with his hand in the cookie jar, they were ashamed and blamed others for their sin.
2. The Prophet Isaiah - Isaiah 6:5 (NASB) “Then I said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." Pride keeps us from knowing God.
3. The Prodigal Son - Luke 15:21 (NASB) "And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' The weight of sin often keeps us from returning to God.
4. The Apostle Peter - Luke 5:8-9 (NASB) “But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus' feet, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken;” Peter was no different than you and I. He was at work fishing one day and met Jesus, but when Jesus performed a miracle by overflowing their net with fish, he realized Jesus was no ordinary preacher and saw the sin of doubt in his life.
The Forgiveness Of A Loving Savior
1. There are two scriptures I want to share about the forgiveness of a loving Savior.
  1. Matthew 26:28 (NASB) “for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” God’s forgiveness through Christ is for all and every sin…no matter what you’ve done.
  2. Ephes. 1:7 (NASB) “In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” Our redemption and forgiveness is based on the riches of God’s grace and they are immeasurable.
2. James Garfield was a lay preacher and principal of his denominational college. They say he was ambidextrous and could simultaneously write Greek, with one hand and Latin with the other. In 1880, he was elected president of the United States, but after only six months in office, he was shot in the back with a revolver. He never lost consciousness. At the hospital, the doctor probed the wound with his little finger to seek the bullet. He couldn’t find it, so he tried a silver-tipped probe. Still he couldn’t locate the bullet. They took Garfield back to Washington, D.C. Despite the summer heat, they tried to keep him comfortable. He was growing very weak. Teams of doctors tried to locate the bullet, probing the wound over and over. In desperation they asked Alexander Graham Bell, who was working on a little device called the telephone, to see if he could locate the metal inside the president’s body. He came, he sought, and he too failed. The president hung on through July, through August, but in September he finally died—not from the wound, but from infection. The repeated probing, which the physicians thought would help the man, eventually killed him...So it is with people who dwell too long on their sin and refuse to release it to God.
3. God offers forgiveness to you today. Will you remain a prisoner of sin or find freedom. As we sing our closing hymn this morning, I just ask that you mind God. If He wants you to come to the altar for prayer, then come. If He wants to meet with you in your pew, then pray right where you are.

A young man whose mother passed away when he was maybe 10, has struggled for 20+ years wondering whether life was worth living and often thinking he and the world would be better off if he were dead. Recently he made a full surrender to Christ and here are his words. "(Your) story can’t really start until you drop all the doubt, shame, everything holding you back. Too many times I’ve wondered why I was never fully committed. I was only half in it. Wasting my time, and Gods time with half-hearted words. If you continue to let those things hold you back, it’s a never ending cycle. Sometimes you have to go through the crap of life to realize what you really have. And what I’ve taken for granted way too much is that no matter how far away I strayed, God was still there. No matter how much I tried to shut him out, he was still there. Today I’m thankful for that.”

His mother was one of my teens in YFC. I had her funeral. We have been reaching out and praying for him for years and he has finally opened his eyes and heart to God. What is keeping you from being fully surrendered and away from the cross of Christ?