Good Morning LifeUC!  Greetings from Enjoy Church.  Thank you to Ps Sean & Lynda Stanton for inviting me to be with you this weekend!  

I love your theme for this year - DEEPER!  The Lord has certainly set it before you & so I encourage you in it! 

But to go & keep going where God wants to take you, it doesn’t have to be hard but it is going to require us to make choices; & its going to take some commitment.

Proverbs 14:1 tells us that:

Proverbs 14:1 (NLTSE)

1 A wise woman builds her home, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands.

I’ve read this verse so many times over my christian lifetime, but only as I prepared this message did it occur to me that these two could be one-&-the-same woman. The WISE & the FOOLISH.

Starting off devoted to God & ending up living wild-&-loose with His grace & goodness, until her HOUSE/ LIFE/ CONSEQUENCES come crashing down on her. 

Because, as I’ve said, that’s humanity for you!  Just read the OT & you’ll see Israel gets here over & over…& over & over...  So often, it makes your head spin!  

In fact, as people who are wanting to go DEEPER - & AVOID this scenario - I thought it might be worth seeing if we can glean some wisdom from THEIR mistakes, for OUR lives.  

Because, gosh, I’ve made enough mistakes of my own!  It’d be really cool to learn from someone ELSE’S mistakes, for a change!

Let’s have a look at one example of this.  For the sake of time we’re going to most compact account of could find & read just three verses from Psalms 106.  Hopefully we’ll be able to see how Israel got there & maybe glean some PREVENTATIVE  wisdom for our own lives.  Are you good for that?

Psalms 106:34-36 (NLTSE)

34 Israel failed to destroy the nations in the land, as the Lord had commanded them. 35 Instead, they mingled among the pagans and adopted their evil customs. 36 They worshipped their idols, which led to their downfall.

Talk about Israel’s lifecycle in a nutshell!  Here in this passage lies wisdom for us ALL- on what NOT to do.  

In other words, we want to learn HOW THEY GOT THERE, so we don’t get THERE too.

Firstly (v34) they…

1/ FAILED TO DESTROY

Psalms 106:34 (NLTSE)

34 Israel failed to destroy the nations in the land, as the Lord had commanded them.

In a world & an age where INCLUSIVITY is a very BIG DEAL - & in the CHURCH of Jesus Christ where hopefully inclusivity is still VALUED - we don’t often want to talk about/ or even entertain the thought - that there are SOME things that need to be so radically REMOVED or separated from our lives that it could be LIKENED to ‘DESTROYING’ them. 

These days God is not calling us to destroy the PEOPLE around us, but He IS calling us to stand against their WAYS.

These are the ways of the FLESH & it’s fruits - gossip, hatred, anger, malice, sexual promiscuity, pornography, adultery, greed, idolatry, dishonesty, selfish ambition & the like.  We need to destroy them from within our midst, & not give them oxygen, or room to thrive, in our OWN lives or in our CHURCH community.

1 Corinthians 5 tells us how sin is like a little bit of yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough.

Whether these things come to our own mind-to-do/ rise in our feelings-to-act-out, or we see them in the midst of the Body of Christ, they need to be squeezed out, shown the door & told, ‘I’m sorry, we don’t do that here!’

It’s going to take boldness & self control.  And if you feel don’t have it, then ask the Holy Spirit to help you to develop it.  

Because, if you don’t destroy the things God commands you to destroy they WILL EVENTUALLY DESTROY YOU.

And if WE - as a church - don’t destroy the things God commands US to destroy they WILL EVENTUALLY DESTROY US.

Because we are not called to INTERPRET God’s Word via the current societal norms.  We’re called to OBEY it.

2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)

5 We DEMOLISH arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we TAKE CAPTIVE every thought to MAKE it obedient to Christ.

Israel’s repeated downfalls - ALWAYS - began with their failure to eradicate the ways of the surrounding people in their lives.  They refused to fully destroy what God told them to destroy. (The sin of Saul...)

So, they firstly failed to destroy.  Which took them to a place where they…

2/ MINGLED WITH THEM

Now, I’m sure you’d be thinking to yourself, ‘But the Word is CLEAR that Jesus sends us INTO the world.  We have to mingle with them. How can we see them saved if we don’t?’  

And it’s true, we have been sent out into the world to share the Good News of Jesus!  But read the whole passage in John 17 & you’ll know that we are to be IN the world, BUT NOT OF IT.

And when we look at the FULL MEANING of the word ‘mingle’, the meaning of this verse becomes clearer.

Mingle:

1. to become mixed, combined, blended, or united.

2. To join.

3. to take part with; to participate.

Which means it’s not just about spending some time with, or being inclusive of, others.  God has no problem with that.  BUT, we are not sent out into the world to become LIKE the world - to partake of their ways.

We are not to INTERMARRY/ become ONE with/ go into BUSINESS with/ BLEND with the WORLD.  

Because we are NOT OF the world. - Unless of course, you ARE!?

2 Corinthians 6:14 (NIV)

14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?

And again in Amos 3:3

Amos 3:3 (NLTSE)

3 Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?

Are you AGREEING with something you should be STANDING AGAINST?

We’re called to go into the world to share God’s LOVE. But if we are going in the SAME DIRECTION as the world, we are going in the WRONG direction. 

When we mingle & ‘become one’ with the world then, we end up in the same place as the Israelites, where they…

3/ ADOPTED THEIR CUSTOMS

With the world so VERY ‘CONNECTED’ these days via SOCIAL media & the INTERNET it’s easy to be INFLUENCED about what is ‘NORMAL’.  Because we are constantly bombarded with images & words & songs that will tell us that ‘everyone is DOING it’, everyone is BUYING/ WEARING it - ‘I’m obsessed!’ 

(I’m so over that line!)  ‘It’s LIFE!’

Everything is ‘going viral’/ is a ‘viral sensation’.  And if we don’t watch out, we can END UP just SWALLOWING the rhetoric hook, line & sinker.  

And then what happens is it IMPACTS our STANDARDS!

-Our standards of DRESS, (Classy-yes! Cool-yes! But modest? NO!)

-our standards of how we TREAT PEOPLE & INTERACT with OTHERS, 

-how we do RELATIONSHIPS, 

-the value & importance of our INTEGRITY, 

-our PARENTING (‘Gentle’?  Don’t get me started…!), 

-our WORK ETHIC & 

-our DAILY DECISIONS.

But, Church, WE are the People of God!  We’re MEANT to be different!

Matthew 5:14-16 (NLTSE)

14 "You are the light of the world - like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

WE should be SETTING the STANDARD.  We should be LIVING ACCORDING to the TRUTH of God’s WORD.  

And if we don’t know what God says about something, then I BEG you - find out from the BIBLE!  Not just from social media, Chat GPT, or a 30 sec grab from someone’s preaching reel.  That’s NOT the way to go DEEPER with God.  I’m sorry, but - that’s the LAZY way!  

Romans 12:1-2 (NLTSE)

1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice - the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him. 2 Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

You want to go DEEPER in God?  Then spend enough time with Him that He TRANSFORMS you & changes your thinking.  That is truly the worship He is looking for.  

Our LIFE IS our worship.  The only question you need to ponder is, WHO does your life worship?  GOD - or the WORLD? 

Because when we 

-FAIL to DESTROY what God commands us to destroy, 

-when we MINGLE & ADOPT THE CUSTOMS of the world around us then - as sure as day follows night - we will end up in the same place the Israelites went.

Where they…

4/ WORSHIPPED THEIR IDOLS

In the Western world we pride ourselves on not being a highly religious society, so we DON’T think we have IDOL WORSHIP here.  But, we SO DO! 

Are we chasing & worshipping the SAME things in life as the world around us?  Are we worshipping SUCCESS, BEAUTY, PERFECTION, POWER, INFLUENCE, or the PRAISE OF MAN?  

Is there actually ANYTHING DIFFERENT about our lives - EXCEPT that we go to CHURCH on a Sunday/ or some Sundays? 

Romans 12:3 (NLTSE)

3 Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don't think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves BY THE FAITH God has given us.

In this year of DEEPER, God is calling us ALL to account on what it really means to be devoted to Him.  Sometimes, the first step to going DEEPER with God is checking if we’re still sure-footed in the SHALLOWS. 

Otherwise we can find ourselves in the same place as the Israelites did.  

They didn’t just wake up one morning & decide to DEFY God.  There was a path that led them there.  And it led to their DOWNFALL.

5/ LED TO THEIR DOWNFALL

Romans 1:28 warns us…

Romans 1:28 (NLTSE)

28 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, He abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done.

Romans 2:5 (NLTSE)

5 But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.

Church, our God is a GREAT GOD, whom we should FEAR.  Not because He’s mean & spiteful & ready with a scowl & a big stick, but because He’s holy & righteous & just; & is worthy of our love, honour & our sacrifice.  

BUT, because He’s also a GOOD GOD He is warning us of where our actions will take us, BEFORE we have to bear the consequences.  He makes us aware & by so doing He gives us a choice:  The broad or the narrow way?  

Which is why the verse just before Romans 2:5 says this:

Romans 2:4 (NLTSE)

4 Don't you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can't you see that His kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?

God’s entitled this year, ‘DEEPER’ because He’s calling you to Himself.  He wants you to know Him more, to become more like Him.  He WANTS you to come DEEPER with Him.  May I encourage you to draw near.

But as I do, you need to understand that some things may get burnt off as you get closer to the fire of His holiness.  He’ll definitely put His finger on some things.  But, it’s all for your good.  It’s all for your blessing. He’s wanting to bring the purity of heart you long for; that intimacy with Him.  He’s wanting to set you free. 

So today, let’s learn from the Israelites. 

When God says to destroy/ remove/ deal with something in our life?  Let’snot fight Him, let’s not IGNORE Him anymore.  Just YIELD it up to Him & His fire of holiness.

THEN we won’t end up where the Israelites ended up.  

Instead we’ll find ourselves DEEPER with Him, living the life He has for us, fulfilling the purpose we were always created for.  Amen!