It seems like every sermon that I preach has some sort of disclaimer.  I will be hitting it hard up on the platform and make a bold statement.  In the back of my mind I will hear a little voice that says, “That is true, but in this other situation it might be different.”  It is not that I lied or said a misleading statement.  In fact, what I say, I believe to be the truth, but it seems like there are situations that are odd or irregular.  My dad used to say, “Robin, we must follow the rules, but sometimes there are exceptions to the rule.”  Does that mean you throw out the rules?  No.

So, I was plowing along Sunday and talking about the Grace and Mercy of God.  I capitalize those words because they mean so much to me.  I said, “Judas, went to the temple leaders to pay back the 30 pieces of silver, and that was the wrong thing to do.  That is not the way you receive the forgiveness of God.”  Immediately in the back of my mind, I hear this voice say, “God often asks us right our wrongs.”   “Sure”, I think to myself.  That is true, but that is not the point today.  The point today is that righting our wrongs is not the method of forgiveness.  The power and method of Forgiveness comes directly through the cross of Jesus Christ.  Righting our wrongs is the next step in honoring or being obedient.  We right our wrongs because it honors the God that has just forgiven us.

‘Disclaimer’ is probably the wrong word here.  Maybe ‘exhaustive’ is a better word.  To thoroughly exhaust every topic would take forever and not be necessary unless the integrity of the message depends upon it.  This past weekend, our objective was for everyone to: 1. acknowledge their sin. 2. be remorseful of it 3. Ask God to forgive it, and that happened on a large scale.

While speaking, I get so many applications, stories, scriptures, antidotes, etc ‘on the fly’.  I believe God saves these until the last minute so that I can deliver them as fresh as possible.  It is interesting to see how each of the 3 messages is delivered uniquely.  Along with all the God-given nuggets are the distractions (both thought distractions and people walking around distractions).  It is amazing how quickly my brain functions with each of these messages.  When I say “my brain”, I don’t think mine functions any quicker than any other.  Ok, that last sentence was a great example of a disclaimer…

+Robin