october 30 the letterman's sweater

 The Letterman's Sweater.   Many of you will remember a song by the Beach Boys titled “Be True To Your School. "One stanza goes: “I got a letterman's sweater with a letter in front.  I got for football and track.  I'm proud to wear it now. When I cruise around the other parts of the town, I got a decal in back. So be true to your school.”  Some of you earned a letter when you were in school.  My wife Marless earned a choir letter.  I didn't receive any letter.  Track?  no   Football?   no   Choir? no  Academic?  Far from it.   Nope not a letter one.  I probably deserved one but thankfully they didn't give to me.  I came close to deserving a D.  D for dummy.  I had a hard time in school.  It took all I had just to pass.  As hard as school was for me, I never dreamed God would call me to type out a 6 page single spaced inspired sermon and present it to a congregation each week.  But He could speak through Baalam's donkey...so He can use this guy too.  And you as well if you will let Him.  Be true to your school.  Let me ask you...Are you being true to your Lord?  Are you living for Jesus?  We don't have to wear a big “C” for Christian on our sweaters...but our lives should reflect the love of Jesus in all we say and all we do.  Do others see Jesus in you?   Back to the letterman's sweater.  Some people proudly wear their letter they have earned.  But what if society required us to wear a sweater with a letter for the sins we have committed?  Remember Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel...The Scarlet Letter?  A woman caught in adultery had to wear a large scarlet A around the town.  What letter have you earned?  A for adultery?  F for fornication?  T for thief?  L for liar?  G for gossiper?  C for covetousness?  P for pride?  How about the letter U?  You say what sin starts with a U?  Unforgiveness.   It is a sin to be unforgiving.  Jesus said: Matthew 6:14-15 (KJV)  For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15  But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.  Is there anyone that you refuse to forgive?  If so you are hindering your personal relationship with the Lord. Think how embarrassing it would be if we had to wear a letterman's sweater with all the letters we deserve for the sins we have committed.  I'm afraid my sweater wouldn't have enough room for all of them.  But since I asked Jesus to save me...my sins have been washed away and I am clean.   Colossians 2:14 (KJV)  Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;    Picture this.  We have a letterman's sweater covered with the letters of sins we have committed.  We come to the cross.  We take off the sweater and drape it over Jesus.  Our sins break His heart and He dies.  But our letterman's sweater is nailed to the cross when they remove Jesus' body.  He comes back to life victorious over sin and death.  But our sins are still nailed to His cross. The Lord says:    Isaiah 1:18 (KJV)  Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.   I am thankful Jesus has washed away my sins.  I stand clean in His presence.  Have you asked Him to nail your sins to His cross?  He will if you will ask Him to. 

 The Witch of Endor.   Many in our society are interested in witchcraft and sorcery. The Harry Potter series promote witchcraft including drinking blood, casting spells and communicating with the dead.  Witches are casually found in Snow White,  The Wizard of Oz plus almost countless other books and movies.  In the Bible we find a real medium.  One who thought she communicated with dead people.  Departed souls are not able to communicate with those living on earth.  Demons can communicate pretending to be deceased persons and I believe they can even “haunt” houses and other places, but  the Bible tells us to not try to communicate with the dead. Deuteronomy 18:10-12  There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, 11  Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 12  For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD:…   A necromancer is one who tries to communicate with departed spirits.  King Saul turned away from God and God turned away from him.  When surrounded by his enemy God refused to help him.  In desperation Saul turned to a witch.  He hid his identity and convinced her to hold a séance for him as he wanted to talk to Samuel the deceased prophet.  The Lord allowed this medium to actually see Samuel.  This real communication shocked her terribly.  1 Samuel 28:12 And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul. The Lord allowed Samuel to tell the witch that the next day King Saul and his sons would die in battle. 1 Samuel 28:19  Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines. This prophecy came to pass the next day. Flirting with Satan will cause you great sorrow.  The works of the flesh include witchcraft:  Galatians 5:20 … witchcraft…   This is the Greek word pharmakeia. We get the word pharmacy from it.  Witchcraft and drugs go hand in hand.  Sorcery, talking to the dead, casting spells, Ouija boards, tarot cards, fortune tellers and worshiping Satan seem simple enough but will place a follower in bondage and eventually in hell unless the person repents and asks Jesus to be his Lord.  Jesus is the bondage breaker.  Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,  We have all been bruised by Satan.  Jesus will set you free if you repent and ask Him to.  www.heretheword.com