Secret Sins                                                   August 30, 2009

                By Doug Davis

I remember listening to a sermon, many years ago by a preacher called the Chaplin of Bourbon Street.

His name was Bob Harrington.

This was so long ago, that it was actually on a record.

You know, an LP record.

If you aren't sure what I'm talking about, ask your parents.

In this sermon, Brother Harrington had asked this guy for his definition of the word sin.

The man told him, "it is something you do wrong, and get caught."

We may laugh at that, but do you know how many Christians think the exact thing?

Oh, we probably wouldn't come out, and say it, but we practice it in our own lives.

Let's turn in our bibles to the book of 2KI, chapter 17.

The nation of Israel was in a bad situation.

They had been over taken, and were really going through some rough times.

Let's pick the story up in verse 7, it explains exactly why this was all happening.

2 Kings 17:7-18

7 All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods

8 and followed the practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced.

9 The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their towns.

10 They set up sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree.

11 At every high place they burned incense, as the nations whom the LORD had driven out before them had done. They did wicked things that provoked the LORD to anger.

12 They worshiped idols, though the LORD had said, "You shall not do this."

13 The LORD warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers: "Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your fathers to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets."

14 But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their fathers, who did not trust in the LORD their God.

15 They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their fathers and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the LORD had ordered them, "Do not do as they do," and they did the things the LORD had forbidden them to do. 

16 They forsook all the commands of the LORD their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts, and they worshiped Baal. 

17 They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and sorcery and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to anger. 

18 So the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left, NIV

That word Asherah, or Asherim, in other translations, was a pole they raised for the goddess Asherah.

In the OT Asherah appears as a goddess by the side of Baal

The ancient Hebrews also thought of her as the girlfriend, or consort of God.

This was a form of worshipping a demon.

A reference is also made to divination.

Let me give you the definition for that.

Divination

the practice of attempting to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge by occult or supernatural means.

If we went through this passage verse by verse, and point by point, we'd be here all afternoon, so I will just hit a couple of the important points.

In verse 7, it says that all this came about because the people had sinned against God, and were worshipping other gods.

Now, we know that there are no other gods, so when people worship another god, it is really demon worship.

The people that the Lord had set aside, as His very own, had turned their backs on Him, and ran off to worship demons, evil spirits.

Talk about a kick in the head!

In verse 13, it tells us that God kept warning them to stop this, but they wouldn't.

They refused to turn from this wickedness, and kept on living in sin, and disobedience.

The thing is, they knew better.

It wasn't like they were some other nation, who didn't know anything about the Lord, they knew all about Him, but chose to ignore His warnings, and wanted to live in sin.

This passage shows us that things can come upon us, by our disobedience to God.

Not everything that goes wrong is a result of our sin, of course it isn't, however, it can be.

I gave you the definition of divination, to make a point.

Fortune telling.

We think of the card readers, crystal balls, and all that stuff, that's what we know.

You see, no one in their right mind, would go kill a chicken, or goat, and look at its guts, and try to divine the future.

That's just to weird!

However, astrology, and fortune tellers is divination too.

The word tells us, straight up, to avoid these things.

They are sin.

They are every bit a sin, as whatever else you can think of.

If God tells us not to do something, it is for a reason, and we'd better listen.

Look at verses 16, and 17.

16 They forsook all the commands of the LORD their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts, and they worshiped Baal. 

In this verse alone, they got that golden calf thing going again, they worshipped the stars, and Asherah, and Baal.

Man, talk about losing control.

17 They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and sorcery and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to anger. 

Child sacrifices, divination, and sorcery.

Abortion, fortune telling, and witchcraft.

Folks, this isn't a study in ancient history this morning, it is a look at our society.

It is a look at here, and now, but it is more than that.

It is a look at a lot of Christians.

You wouldn't believe how many Christians, or people who think they are Christians, are dabbling around with these things.

I have no idea why I was lead to this topic this week, but I know that after Pastor Marc called me Tuesday evening, while I was fishing, that this jumped out at me the next morning.

I wasn't even studying the word, or thinking about what to preach, it just came to me in my daily devotional reading, and the Lord said, "write that down, and think about it."

I've met many church going people, who read their horoscopes, and play with witchcraft.

This isn't anything to play with!

I don't know how to say it any stronger.

It is a sin, it is playing with hell fire.

Years ago, in another Pentecostal church, we had a Sunday School teacher, telling a group of kids, about 12 years old, that the Holy Spirit would teach them to read people's minds.

She was actually trying to teach them how.

Talk about freaking weird!

Let me draw your attention, in closing, to verse 9 A.

9 The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right.

Notice how they did it?

Not in public, not where everybody could see, but in secret.

What goes on in our homes?

What are we playing with, when no one is around?

What are we reading?

What are we watching on TV?

What movies are we watching?

I'm not getting legalistic on you today, I can't stand religion, and rules, and junk like that, but the fact is, God has made rules, and told us things to do, and things not to do, and we can't bend those rules.

Play with sin, you get dirty.

Play with hell fire, and you will get burned, every time!

Paul wrote this: ROM 2:23 You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God?

Yes we do!

JAMES 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.

11 For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not commit murder." Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.

In verse 15 of our original passage, notice that it says, " They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless.  "

That's a pretty serious statement.

Chase after worthless things, and you run the risk of becoming worthless.

I didn't say it, God did.

Please, take this message in the spirit in which it has been given.

I'm not being condemning, or judgmental, I'm simply trying to wake all of us up to the fact, that what we do in secret, is known to God, and there can be serious ramifications for those actions.

Be washed in the blood of Christ, and made clean this morning.

Let's pray.