Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.  Therefore do not become partners with them;  for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.  Walk as children of the light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true) and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.  Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.  For is it is shameful even to speak of the things they do in secret.   Ephesians 6:6-12  ESV

Our scripture passage begins today by telling us to let no one deceive us with empty words.  By empty words, it means foolish talk, crude joking, unclean speech, or those words that are innuendos or veiled in double meaning.

Last night we began a revival at our church.  It was a wonderful experience and I am definitely looking forward to the rest of the week.  But, our guest speaker, Brother Tim Norris did a sermon entitled, What Time is It?  He spoke of the urgency of salvation and developing a close relationship with our Lord and Savior.  The time is now.  So this morning I want to talk about those “little” sins that we think are okay.  First of all let me start out by saying that there is no little sin.  Sin is sin folks.  But we mistakenly tend to characterize sin in big and small.  It’s not like clothing, it more like one size fits all.  That sin that you consider to be small nailed Jesus to the cross just as much as those sins that the other people commit that you consider to be big.

Often times when we get saved, we can remove the “big” sins, but we tend to try to hang on to the “little” ones.  You know the ones that we don’t think really matter, the dirty joke here and there,  the pornographic picture that everyone is showing around the office, the gossip at the lunch table.  Sadly those sins are just as big as adultery and murder.

So your dirty joke at the water cooler nailed Jesus to the cross.  That lie you told yesterday nailed Jesus to the cross.  That pornographic picture that was passed around at the office that you stared at for just a moment too long nailed Jesus to the cross.  The gossip that you heard and shared nailed Jesus to the cross.

Our pastor, Brother Dan Munson, is leading the music for the revival.  Last night during a moment of technical difficulty, he offered for anyone who so desired to share their testimony.  Some said that it would take all night.  When I think about all the wonderful things that God has done for me it would take a very long time for me to tell someone.  But when I think of all the sins I have committed, that would take a very long time to tell also.

Brother Dan’s sermon yesterday morning was about the rapture.  The Bible tells us that we cannot escape the throne of judgement (Revelation 20:11-15).  I encourage you to give this some serious thought.  The Bible tells us that we will give an account for every word that comes out of our mouth.  I have to think that this includes words that were thought and typed as well.  We need to be very careful to guard our mouths and our fingers.

We live in a world filled with darkness.  We deal with people who live in total darkness.  Some of those people just want to put our light out. Some of those people are searching for the light.  How can you be the light if you join their errant behavior?  How can you be the light if you quietly sit back and condone their behavior with your silence?  How can you be the light if you listen to their dirty jokes?  How can you be the light if you join with them in spreading gossip?  Refrain from empty words.

The time has come for us to be different.  The time has come for us to be bold.  We must let the light of Jesus shine in our hearts.  We must remember that garbage in produces garbage out just as goodness in produces goodness out(Luke 6:45).  We all know that we can’t put sugar in our gas tank and expect our car to run.  We can’t put junk in our bodies and expect it to perform properly and we can’t see and hear junk and expect good things to come out.  We know that all good things comes from God (1 Chronicles 29:12, James 1:17).  We must walk in His Spirit so that we can discern good from bad.  We must be alert.  We must not be deceived.

Today I encourage you to enter into a close relationship with your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  I encourage you to pray (talk to Him), and read your Bible (as He talks to you through His Word).  I encourage you to join with other believers and study God’s Word.  Most importantly, I encourage you to strive each and every day to the best of your ability to imitate Christ.

Ephesians 4:29 tells us Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion that it may give grace to those who hear.  I don’t know about ya’ll but for me that’s a tall order.  I am going to have to work a lot harder. Won’t you join me?

Think about this, Jesus knew everything about everybody, but you never heard about Him sitting around and gossiping with His disciples.  He knew everyone’s dirty little secrets, but He loved them anyway.  He knows all your dirty little secrets and He loves you too.  Why not begin today to strive to please Him in all that you do.  Put Him first and ask Him to help to remove any empty talk from you.  Ask Him to help you put those “little” sins out of your life.  He will be glad to help!

Have a great day!