Ottumwa Community Church

4. 9. 17 Beware the Bait?

“Even if you win the rat race, you are still a rat…”

A house full of traps…

THE “ABANDONED” HOUSE WE BOUGHT- WE HAD MICE-
Stuck? Crushed? Imprisoned? Poisoned? Follower?- everyone does it.

Mouse traps- they LOVE to take the BAIT!

“Sin will take you farther than you wanted to go, keep you longer than you wanted to stay, and cost you more than you wanted to pay”

Matt. 25: 26a- 29 "But the master replied, 'You wicked and lazy servant!... 27 why didn't you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it. 28 "Then he ordered, 'Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. 29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.

Rom 12:1+2 present yourself a “living sacrifice”… Don’t be
conformed to this world… Renew your mind… fulfill Gods will for you…

Matt. 25: 26a 'You wicked and lazy servant!...
· He forgot he was a servant/sacrifice- took the “its’ all mine” bait?
· He “kept” it- hidden, refused to “risk” it: FEAR of not keeping it…
not having enough… GREEDY-… kept it for himself
Nothing wrong with “keeping it”- unless you know the Master wants you to invest it?

Vs. 27 why didn't you…? He didn’t make a plan- did “his own” thing?
The “Bait”
· We all are “sitting” on some “hidden” riches/treasures and trophies…
not a sin…
· It seems the Master believed this servant knew what to do- but didn’t want to?
· The Master said, “You know Me and what I expect”…

Vs 28 "Then he ordered, 'Take the money from this servant".
· He lost what he had- AND the position of service?
· There are consequences for “not renewing your mind and flowing with worldly, sinful, self centered thinking.
· God- the Master- will allow your resources to dwindle and disappear if
you refuse to serve as He directs?
· THE BIGGEST COST IS UNRESOLVABLE REGRETS- ETERNAL?

Vs. 29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance.
There is always a promise in Jesus’ teaching-
He most often doesn’t paint a hopeless picture- sin does…
· Father redeems us/our failures- even in the midst of warning or rebuke.

But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.
· FOMO- take the world’s “bait”- lose it all… regrets… death?

"Christians can have regrets, but they should not have many surprises-"
God makes it clear to us- through His word and the Spirit what He is asking.

Stuck? Crushed? Imprisoned? Poisoned? Follower?- everyone does it...
WORLD’S/satan’s system and thinking…

OR- God given ABUNDANCE, AFFIRMATION, PROMOTION, CELEBRATION?

We have to know the Father- or in the times of Testing, Service or Crises…

IF WE KNOW THE Father is good- then we can trust, that deliverance from this trap of sin, or the crises we don’t understand will be used for good by a good Father.

IF WE KNOW- the Father is sovereign (ultimately in control)- then we know that even if we sin or people sin against us, He can and will use it for good- if we allow Him to.

Rom. 12:1+2 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.