 [Show and describe elephants from Esther with the inside ones not even looking like an elephant]… but I say they are perfect. They are not perfect, but they are.
A young child gives a drawing to grandma, one eye is near the top of the head, the mouth is crooked, the body is not proportioned right, and what does grandma say? [perfect].” Perfect vs. not perfect is a rich theme in scripture. One of my favorite insights comes from the book of 1 Corinthians. When you read the book Paul scolds them over and over, corrects some of their behavior, the immorality, the bad judgment, the questionable behavior which leads to division and fighting. Knowing the corruption and sin of the church, listen to how the Church of Corinth is addressed in the opening verses: “To the Church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with those everywhere who call on the name of our Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 1:2). What I think: We are harder than God on ourselves. A simple message today: God takes the imperfect and declares it is perfect. God takes the incomplete and calls it complete. God takes what is unfinished and gives us completion.
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 4-5 years ago (when I was not as smart as I am now), I planted my garden. Sadly, then the rain came and drowned a lot of the seeds. Much of the garden came up spotty, especially the corn. I did not did not want to replant! I crossed my fingers and hoped corn would sprout. Over the next few days I could see green. I convinced myself it was corn. I rototilled around the rows. That year I grew the healthiest row of weeds you can imagine, all in a nice neat row. The weeds were three feet tall before I finally admitted I wasn’t getting any corn that year, and I pulled them out.
How often we do wrong, make bad decisions, do that which we don’t want to do, sin ~ our choices aren’t healthy for a life of peace, yet we let the weeds grow crossing our fingers and deny we are seeing what we are really seeing. Achan is the model sinner in our scripture today… You know the craziest thing he does? READ Josh. 7:21. Achan could have possession of this robe for 50 years and he’d never ever be able to wear it ~ he’d be found out in an instant. Same with the money…Achan hid the loot ~ he’d never be able to show any of it in public. Sin is the craziest thing////…in the long run it always compromises your life… the momentary pleasure leads to a dead end. Sin is like cultivating a row of weeds and crossing your fingers hoping it’s corn ~ you’re just fooling yourself.  Did you know…You cannot sneeze with your eyes open. A duck’s quack cannot echo and nobody knows why. It is impossible to lick your elbow. A crocodile cannot stick out it’s tongue. It’s physically impossible for a pig to look up into the sky. just as impossible: Joshua bringing down the walls of Jericho. Yet the people of God acted in Faith. Hebrews 11:30: “By Faith, the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.” Faith is the march.
What walls need to come down in your world? Perhaps it’s a wall of division. Perhaps it is an addiction. Patterns. Habits. What impossible obstacle is keeping you from fully living for God. As we face transitions in life, obstacles can get in the way. |
 
Carl Crouse, Pastor
At SACC we believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Every Sunday the worship service includes a message from the Bible. My words are an attempt to understand and apply the Bible to our daily living. I post weekly sermons and other biblical messages on this page. May you find meaning and hope as you read through each message and seek to hear God's voice. Leave a comment to ask questions or inspire others with your insights. Categories
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