The Fall

           Vera Czermak lived in Prague, Czechoslovakia. She found out her husband was having an affair. She became enraged. She thought about committing both murder and suicide.

            Finally, she chose to kill herself. Impetuously, she jumped out the window-located on the third floor of her house.

            Vera was fortunate–she suffered only minor injuries. Her husband, however—not so much.

            Vera landed on him, an act that killed him. Reflecting upon the event, someone wrote, “Sometimes, in this life, there is justice.”

            Perhaps so, but that are better ways to pursue it than by counting on God to kill our enemy when we throw ourselves out the window.

Source: THE 7 SINS OF HIGHLY DEFECTIVE PEOPLE by Rick Ezell

Eyes Sewn Shut

               Dante in his writing on purgatory portrayed envy as blind beggars sitting by a wall–their eyelids sewn shut. The symbolism was to reveal that envy is a blinding sin—an envious person has sewn himself up with his poisonous thoughts.

            God wants his people to be content: “11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances”(Phil 4:11.) NIV

            Let's rid ourselves of envy.

Source: THE 7 SINS OF HIGHLY DEFECTIVE PEOPLE by Rick Ezell

    

Satan Tempts a Monk

            Envy is one vice that everybody has experienced. The story is told in of a monk whom several demons of hell desired to tempt.

            It seemed to them that a big church would swell his heart with pride. But it did not.

            Their next strategy was lust. They sent a gorgeous woman his way; however, that temptation was not successful.

            Satan watched their failure with bemusement. He used it as an opportunity to teach those demons a lesson. He informed them, “Permit me to show you how it is done.”             

           He whispered to the monk, “Your brother was just made Bishop of Alexandria.”             Immediately, a cloud of envy transformed the monk’s face.

            “That is what I recommend,” the Devil told the demons.

            James was well aware of the work of the devil. He writes, “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.”(James 3:16.) ESV

            Let's rid ourselves of envy.

Source: THE 7 SINS OF HIGHLY DEFECTIVE PEOPLE by Rick Ezell

  

The Statue

            In ancient Greece, they told the story of a city’s desire to honor a great Olympic athlete. The decision was made to erect a statue of him.

            A competitor grew so envious, he committed himself to ruining the statue. Every evening, under the cover of darkness, the competitor took a hammer and chisel and chipped away at the base of the statue.

            One evening, the competitor succeeded in his envy-fueled mission. The statue fell… directly upon him.

            The competitor had literally killed himself with envy.

            The ancient Greeks had a proverb: “Envy slays itself by its own arrows.”

            The ancient Jews had a proverb that went like this, “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones”(Prov. 14:30.) NIV 1984

Source: THE 7 SINS OF HIGHLY DEFECTIVE PEOPLE by Rick Ezell

Gluttony

            Part of my sermon Sunday morning will deal with gluttony. Gluttony is not about one’s size. There are some big people in this world who are in total control of their diet. And there are some skinny people who are gluttonous.

            I know because before my metabolism changed, I could eat whatever I wanted  and it would not affect my body. As a matter of fact, when I was 6 foot 1 and 125 lbs., I tried to eat everything I could. I still could not put on weight. (That is not the case now, I assure you!)

            I developed some bad habits. Can I confess to you my gluttony story?

            When Judy and I first got married, she came to our apartment one evening and said, “I have great news.”

            I asked her what that news was.

            She told me, “I bought a box of chocolate pudding pops from the store.”

            I said, “Oh, no. I wish you had not done that.”

            She asked me, “Why?”

            I said, “Because I cannot stop once I start. I love them so much I just keep on eating them. I could eat that whole box.”

            She said, “You could not either! There is no way you keep that whole box.”

            I said, “Yeah, I really could.”

            She said, “Let's see you eat that whole box.”

            I said, “Okay. But I am going to do this only to show you that I really mean what I say.”

            I proceeded to eat the entire box of pudding pops.

            I remember it as being a box of 12. Judy remembers it as being a box of 24. Either way, that was not a healthy thing for me to do.

            Incidentally, a lot of times you'll hear about people doing something like that, and they get so sick, they will never eat another one again. I did not get sick. And I do enjoy them to this day. Moreover, I am happy to say that I have grown in Lord somewhat, and so now I can somewhat control myself. But there was a time when it was a struggle for me. And the best thing to do was to keep them out of the house.

            What about you? Do you have your version of pudding pops that you have struggled with?

            The Bible talks a lot about gluttony. There is a fascinating section in Proverbs 23 that goes like this:

   1 If you sit down to eat with a ruler,

       notice the food that is in front of you.

 2 Control yourself

       if you have a big appetite.

 3 Don't be greedy for his fine foods,

       because that food might be a trick…

6 Don't eat the food of selfish people;

       don't be greedy for their fine foods.

 7 Selfish people are always worrying

       about how much the food costs.

    They tell you, "Eat and drink,"

       but they don't really mean it.

 8 You will throw up the little you have eaten,

       and you will have wasted your kind words (Proverbs 23:1-3, 6-8.) NCV

            Another says, 19 Listen to me, my children!
Be wise and have enough sense
to follow the right path.

20 Don’t be a heavy drinker
or stuff yourself with food.

21 It will make you feel drowsy,
and you will end up poor with only rags to wear (Prov. 23:19-21.) CEV

            We all know that gluttony is eating too much. However, do we know that gluttony is misdirected hunger? Christian minister Rick Ezell writes that the problem with gluttony is that it seeks to feed the soul with food for the body. It can cause a person to become so full in his stomach that he loses his appetite for God. A gluttonous person has not only a misdirected hunger but also a misplaced God.

            Let God control your appetite for Food. If you do, he can control your other appetites as well.

The Photo

            Defeating the sin of gluttony is hard. I read about a woman who decided that her added weight reflected the fact that she ate too much. Consequently, she did everything she could to lose weight. 

             She tried diets; she tried exercise; she even tried pills. Nothing worked… until she placed on the door of her fridge a 12 x 16 photo. The photo was of a physically striking woman: thin, beautiful, perfect figure… dressed in a bikini. Whenever the lady craved a snack and went to her fridge, that photo motivated her greatly.            

            Over the course of the next month, she lost 10 pounds. 

            Unfortunately, her husband gained 20 pounds!

            When it comes to regulating your appetite for food, the same plan of attack does not work for everyone. The important thing that applies to all is the understanding that our relationship with food is an outward manifestation of our inward relationship with God.

            When we control our appetite for food, it demonstrates that God is controlling us.

Source: THE 7 SINS OF HIGHLY DEFECTIVE PEOPLE by Rick Ezell

The Load

           A boy was helping his father bring wood into the house for the fire. The wood was heavy, and the boy’s knees buckled under the load.

            “Why don’t you use all of your strength?” the father asked.

            Gloomily, the boy replied, “I am.”

            The father gently encouraged him, “No, you have not. You have not asked me to help you.”

            Then the father stretched out his hands and picked the boy-and the log in the boy’s arms-up.

            When Paul wrote to the Philippians, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13 ESV), he was not doing so in order that a guy who was five feet, two inches tall could be inspired to someday dunk a basketball. Instead, Paul was giving a church hope that by the power of Jesus, they too could overcome sin and demonstrate the qualities of Jesus in their lives.

            I believe this teaching applies today.

            Empowerment by God typically does not mean that God will MAKE us do the right thing… or that he will take away the temptation to do the wrong thing. Neither does it mean that if we strain hard enough, we can overcome sin exclusively by our own power and live out the qualities of Jesus.

            What it does mean is that God gives us the power to collaborate with him in his work, and God’s grace and love motivate us to offer everything within our means to participate with him in his work.  

            Here is a mathematical equation for you:

Jesus—the marriage of God and flesh=The Christian—the marriage of God and flesh.

Source: THE 7 SINS OF HIGHLY DEFECTIVE PEOPLE by Rick Ezell