Sin Has Damaged Everything

Nov 5, 2014 Sin Has Damaged Everything by Rick Warren “We know that all creation is still groaning and is in pain ...” (Romans 8:22a CEV) Nothing works perfectly. Because the entire human race has made poor choices … Everything’s broken, and nothing on this planet works perfectly. Sin has damaged everything. Sin has ruined everything. Sin has destroyed everything. Sin has corrupted and spoiled everything. Sin has injured everything — every relationship, idea, dream, and human body. Everything has been touched by this damage. In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon describes six dimensions of your life that sin has damaged. Over the next few days, we’ll look at these six dimensions. The first result is natural disasters and deformities.We’re not living in Eden anymore. As John Milton wrote in a very famous poem, paradise was lost. We live on a broken planet. And, as a result, we have hurricanes, typhoons, wacky weather, earthquakes, droughts, and floods. It’s amazing to me that insurance calls all these things acts of God but doesn’t call the birth of a baby an act of God. In other words, an act of God is only the negative stuff that happens. God does not want these things happening in the world. And he is as upset by natural disasters as we are. The world was broken when sin damaged everything. The Bible says in Romans 8:20, “Creation is confused” (CEV). Everything on this planet has lost its original purpose. Everything in the world was damaged including your DNA, your parents’ DNA, and their parents’ DNA. Have you figured out yet that your body doesn’t work right? If everybody’s body worked perfectly, there would be no need for doctors. The second result is physical decay and death. There was no death on this planet until sin entered the world. Ecclesiastes 8:8 says, “We cannot control the wind or determine the day of our death.” We know that death is inevitable, but we sure try to stop it. We go to great lengths to postpone the decay, too. But there’s actually good news: God doesn’t want you to live forever on this planet. He wants you to live forever in a perfect place, not on a planet that’s been broken by sin. 1 Corinthians 15:42-43 says, “Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength” (NLT). Talk About It Why is it so hard for us, even as believers, to accept the thought of the decay of our bodies and death? What do you think should be the responsibility of Christians toward the environment?

Set the Blessing in Motion TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:38, ESV) TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria God is a god of abundance! He wants to pour out His abundance on you until you are so full that you are running over with His goodness. Notice how this verse starts. It says, “Give, and it will be given to you.” That’s because your giving sets the blessing of God into motion in your life. Giving is like a seed. When you plant an apple seed, it doesn’t just grow a single fruit. That one seed grows into a tree that produces an abundance of apples! That’s what happens when you obey God in your giving. You receive an abundant harvest in return. It’s overflowing, literally “running over!” And when the blessing is running over, it means you have so much that you want to give more. The cycle just keeps repeating itself! Is there something the Lord is telling you to give today? It could be financial, material or even your talents and service to others. What do you have in your hand that you can use to bless someone else? Take a step today and set the blessing of God into motion in your life. Open the door for His blessing to be running over in every area of your life today! A PRAYER FOR TODAY Father, I choose to obey Your Word. I choose to be a tither and a giver. I choose to obey Your word and step out in faith knowing that every seed I sow will come back in abundance in Jesus’ name! Amen. ​PS...​   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei9CBJh_YN4