Aim for the Kingdom

Special music, wasn't that? Wonderful. Really appreciate that. Courtney, thank you so much. What a great reminder. God is all-provident, and what a blessing it is. That is definitely where our help comes from. We certainly remember that on this Sabbath day. Well, lately I've had archery on my mind. I'd say, well, that's strange, but maybe not for you. I don't know. Reason being, our niece, about three weeks ago, was in Louisville.

And she had qualified for the national championships for junior high archery. And so she was in a competition down there just a few weeks ago. I don't know, have you ever watched archery? It wasn't on the top of my list, but when she got into it, well, we had to see how this whole thing works. It's pretty amazing. Just absolutely amazing. And if you've ever watched some of the archery in the Olympics, it's just phenomenal, the precision. But it comes down to this idea of being focused in preparation and the practice that goes into it, the discipline, and of course, probably most important, the consistency, that they are just one after another. It's just absolutely amazing how they can hit that target.

It also reminded me of ever trying blindfold archery. If you haven't, you don't know what you're missing. Well, I had to get that in there somehow, too.

But what was interesting is Parker actually placed third in the Nationals and did very, very well.

And when you consider what it takes, I mean, if you're a bow hunter, you know what it's like. Sometimes it's hard to hit the target. Other times, it's amazing the precision that archers can have when it comes to hitting that mark just absolutely perfect.

Now, all of that reminded me of that passage in Romans 3.23. If you need a theme scripture for the day, well, this would probably be it. Romans 3.23, a passage you're probably familiar with. It's a short little paragraph, and yet it says a lot in connection to this idea of being a good spiritual archer. Romans 3.23, what does it say? It says, some of us have sinned. Oh, no, it does not. It says, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. All, all have sinned. Now, the interesting part here, the Greek word for sinned is hamartia. Hamartia is the Greek word here for sin, and it literally means to miss the mark or that arrow that falls short of the target. So you're just off. You're just off. And so, interesting, the most often used word for sin in the New Testament is that word, hamartia. 170 times or so, it's mentioned in the New Testament.

If you ever want to do an interesting study, just maybe AI, words for sin in the Bible. It'll pop up a number in the Old Testament. You'll see three different words that are used to describe sin. New Testament, it's about five that describe sin. Now, this one, missing the mark. Maybe we're more familiar with 1 John 3, 4. That's the passage that says, he who commits sin commits lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness. Now, that's a different word there, different word that's used for lawlessness there.

That's the anomia word. No law, lack of law. You don't follow God's way, His will, His purpose, His law. But then, most often used is this hamartia, missing the mark. And I think it gives us a pretty powerful picture, especially if you consider this idea of a spiritual archer. God set the target. It's His righteousness, putting on the character of Christ, learning, understanding spiritual concepts, and making sure we are aiming perfectly toward His kingdom.

Because when you think about what God is doing, He's in the transformation business. He wants us to be like His Son, Jesus Christ. He's creating sons and daughters for His eternal family, and He's preparing us to reflect that character of Christ and ultimately serve with Christ in the kingdom, serve humanity, and then on for eternity. So instead of asking the question, why we miss the mark, because that might not be the most helpful question to ask, I thought I'd turn it around a little bit and ask a little bit more hopeful, maybe a little bit more practical question.

How does God help us hit the mark? How can we hit the... we know we don't want to sin. We don't want to miss the mark. We don't want to fall short of the goal. Well, how does God help us then? How does He help us walk in His way? How does He help us to overcome sin? How does He help us to grow in righteousness and become more like Him? So today, let's consider five keys that God helps us in order to hit the mark.

All right, number one. Stay far away from temptation. Not a particularly brilliant point, but one that is very practical. Probably the most practical strategy. Don't stand too close to danger. Anyone ever been to Utah for the feast? You're probably out in the parks, and you're climbing these areas. Maybe you've gone up to the angel's nest. You know, you've probably seen those signs. Maybe there's even a banister or a railing that says, don't cross! Of course, I always notice there's always footprints on the other side of the railing.

You know, or maybe you've gotten those notifications. You ever got those? Her famous last picture. And sure enough, it was some lady that stepped over the railing to get that last, because you don't want the railing in the picture. I want this just beautiful scenery in the background. And yeah, it was the last thing that she did.

Stepped over the railing, and that was it. Similarly, spiritually speaking, there's a danger. When we get too close to temptation, it's more likely to happen. Here's a pretty familiar example. Turn with me back to Genesis chapter 3. Genesis chapter 3. I don't think there's a person who hasn't heard the story of Adam and Eve.

Well, put your marker in Genesis chapter 3. We're going to come back and forth here a couple of times. Just pick out a couple of lessons from the story. It was right off the bat, right at the beginning of man. We have that story of Adam and Eve. And in Genesis chapter 3, here Eve begins a conversation with the serpent. And it's interesting the way that it's recorded for us here in Genesis chapter 3.

It starts by saying the serpent was more cunning. And he said to the woman, Has God indeed said you shall not eat of every tree of the garden? Verse 2. And immediately the woman fled. Oh no, it doesn't say that, does it? What does she do? She engages in a conversation with the serpent. She lingers. She hangs out. She began to think about and consider what he was saying. And the longer she stayed in that conversation, the more vulnerable she became.

Now hold your place there. Let's look at the difference of what Joseph did. Genesis 39, still in Genesis, but in chapter 39, Joseph, who's been sold into slavery by his brothers down in Egypt, works his way up to be the steward of Potiphar's house. Problem.

Mrs. Potiphar had the hots for him. All right, she's after him. And verse 39 just puts it on the line. Well, what was Joseph going to do? She's after him. He's striving to be a godly man. Verse 11, Genesis 39, it says, it happened about this time when Joseph went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house were inside, that she caught him by his garment saying, Lie with me. But he left his garment in her hand and fled and ran outside.

A little bit different way to deal with it. He didn't hang out and talk. Well, let's discuss this for a few moments. Maybe this isn't a good idea. Well, let me consider this option. No, he didn't do any of that. He ran. Now, I didn't run out naked. Some get the idea, just bolted naked. Now, this seems to be his coat or his outer garment, but he got out of there. He didn't hang out with her. He didn't negotiate with temptation. He didn't stand to show, I'm strong and I can resist this temptation. I'll stay right here. No, he didn't do any of those things. He fled. He fled. And so, what about us? How far do we stay away from temptation? Reminded me of a young man I knew many years ago, probably in his early 30s. He had struggled with alcoholism and he had this problem for years. And he knew he couldn't live this way. He couldn't go on living that way. It was ruining his career, ruining his marriage. And he had a sense he really wanted to change. He knew he couldn't continue this way. And he prayed and he studied. I believe he really wanted to overcome.

But he kept slipping, kept falling, kept getting into trouble. And then one day we were talking about it. And of course, this is back in Wisconsin. Anyone grow up in Wisconsin? I'll wrap my hand on that one. Well, in Wisconsin, especially in a small town I grew up in, there is a bar on every corner. I think Wisconsin is kind of famous for that, a bar on every corner. So we got to talking. It's like, well, how do you drive home from work?

Well, I go right past my favorite bar. Well, maybe that's the shortest route, but I don't think it's the safest route. You know what he finally did?

He drove an extra 20 minutes to and from work just to avoid the bar, to avoid the temptation. Now, he didn't immediately overcome. It took time. It wasn't overnight. But it removed that in-your-face temptation, the biggest challenge that he had. And I think sometimes for us, that can be the challenge. Do we come so close to the edge of the cliff? Do we come right up to that temptation and then continue right in the front door? You see, he realized he couldn't do that. And really, that's Joseph's story as well. He realized he couldn't just depend on his own strength. He had to get out of there. He had to run. He had to put distance between himself and the temptation. Certainly, Scripture backs that up. Now, if you hold your place here in Genesis, go over to 1 Corinthians 6, 18. Here it paints that very picture, kind of a Joseph kind of a picture. 1 Corinthians 6, 18 says it very simply, very plainly, and a practical instruction. Very practical.

1 Corinthians 6, 18, what does it say? Flee sexual immorality. Get out of town! Get away from it! Don't consider it. Don't negotiate. Get out. In fact, a couple of pages later, it's not just about sex. It's about any kind of temptation that would lead us away from God. Look at chapter 10, verse 14.

1 Corinthians 10, 14, another very short, specific, clear instruction. Paul says, therefore my beloved flee from idolatry. So anything that would get in the way of our relationship with God, we've got to put it behind us. Get it in the rearview mirror. Don't consider it. Run! Run! And it's amazing to see how that story of fleeing is so prominent throughout the Bible. Think of the Israelites. They left Egypt. They had to get out of Egypt. Well, what did Egypt represent? Sin. Get away from sin. But it didn't just stop there. It wasn't just, well, we got out of sin. Here we are out in the wilderness. Now what are we going to do? They had to go after righteousness. They had to walk toward the promised land. They had to walk toward that goal. They saw the target ahead. They had to aim for that target. And it's no different for us. Paul instructed the young minister, Timothy, 1 Timothy 6, 11, that very practical aspect of what we need to do. Yes, we run. We flee from evil. That's an absolute. But that's not enough. That's not enough.

When we realize we have to get away from temptation, we have to go toward what's good. So 1 Timothy 6, verse 11, hear that instruction from Paul to the young minister, Timothy. He says, But you, O man of God, flee these things. If we backed up, we could see all those works of the flesh, the bad things, the sins we're supposed to run away from.

But then what does he say? Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. So it's not just about fleeing. He says, flee and pursue. So we're not just running away from sin. We're running toward God, toward righteousness. And so it tells that story. If we're going to hit the mark, if we're going to be right on target, it's not about how close we can get to temptation, how close we can get to the end of the cliff before we fall off. You see, wisdom is knowing how far to stay away from sin. So that's critical, absolutely critical. We have to stay away from that temptation. All right, key number two. Key number two, fill your mind with God's Word. Well, it's interesting. Pretty simple point. God's Word has to be our guide. And when we think about how we utilize God's Word, there's that familiar example of the temptation of Christ. Christ was called into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. If you turn over to Matthew 4, it tells that story. And it's interesting, when Christ was tempted, what did He do? How did He defend Himself against Satan's arguments? One of the things that's interesting here in Matthew chapter 4 is Satan actually uses Scripture to try to trip up Christ. He tries to get Christ to miss the mark. And as he tempts Christ, how does Christ respond? Well, his mind was filled with God's Word.

And so as he's tempted, what do we recognize? Well, verse 4, he answers that first temptation by saying it's written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. So he answered with the Word of God. Verse 7, second answered after, well here, interesting, Satan used Scripture against Christ. And it's not a contradiction of Scripture itself because that's what Scripture says. He'll give His angels charge over you. That's what it says. So that was right. But what was the problem? Satan misapplied it. He distorted it. He kind of took a proof text and tried to say, See, now you can do that too. But because Christ was filled with God's Word, what does He say? It's written again, You shall not tempt the Lord, your God. And then of course that last one where he says, Fall down and worship me. What does Christ say? Verse 10, Away with you. It's written, You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only.

Shall you serve. And so rather than just using any old reasoning, what did he fall back on? God's Word. God's Word was in His heart, in His mind. And so that came out of Him. Not, and for us, well, what do we fall back on? Well, Eve used her own reasoning. Well, it looks pretty good. Looks like his tasty. Looks fine to me. Rather than trusting God's Word.

And so Christ was ready for the temptation because that was on His mind. And see, we realize that's true. We know, well, how are we different? How are we set apart? How are we sanctified? We're sanctified by the Word of God. God's Word is truth and we are set apart. We're sanctified by God's Word. And so are we ready for those kinds of challenges? That that's what we'll respond with. That'll be our reaction. Yeah, hopefully we are. I was reminded of that scenario because back in the day we had an airline captain in one of our congregations.

And we talk about different experiences he's had through the years and different things.

And I asked him one time, hey, have you ever been in like a life-threatening situation, you know, where all the lights are flashing and the buzzers are going off and all that sort of thing. And he described a couple of amazing times, you know, that he had to go through some, you know, life-threatening situations. And so as we were talking about it, you know, I thought, okay, well, when you go through those things, there's probably no time to think and you just act on instinct, right? You know what he said? Nope. It's like, what do you mean? I mean, don't you just kick it into high gear? You know, pressure's high, the buzzers are going up. You just got to do things. He said, no, I rely on my training. I rely on my training. And he kind of explained, well, I fall back on what we practiced over and over and over and over again.

Yes, it becomes a natural reaction, but it's already in my mind. This is what you do. And so he said something that, like, well, a pilot just doesn't become smarter when the emergency happens. No, you got to practice. You got to prepare for it. And that really struck me because there definitely is a spiritual principle that applies there. Because when temptation comes, when the challenges hit, when we're going through trials or there's discouragement, maybe it's just a fearful situation. How do we react? I always remind the students at ABC when it's test time. There's that beautiful passage of John 14, 26, where it says, you know, God's Spirit will bring to remembrance all things. Like, great, we got a test. I need all things brought to remembrance.

Of course, I have to remind them, if you didn't put it in there first, there ain't nothing coming to remembrance. You got to put it there to remember it. And it's so similar to this very thought.

That pilot had put it into remembrance by practicing it over and over spiritually speaking. We have God's Word in our heart and on our mind. That's what's going to come out. That's how we're going to deal with those challenges. That's how we hit the target and not miss the mark, because that then becomes our go-to. It's one of the passages that the Psalms emphasizes. Psalm 119, verse 11.

Here in the longest song in the Bible, we have that admonition in that very sense.

Psalm 119, toward the beginning of the song, it makes this point. Notice what it says here in Psalm 119, verse 11. It says, Your word I have hidden in my heart. Now that's not just knowing Scripture or memorizing Scripture, but it's being able to utilize that passage. That's going to come to mind when I need it. And so it reflects that in this verse. I've hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. And so that takes it far beyond just memorization. It's more than just information. It's more than just understanding it. I think that's pointing to that spiritual training, the spiritual training that we need so that we're ready. Because the passages that we're studying today, the Scripture that we're going through, I think those are the very Scriptures that will come to mind tomorrow when you need it most. That's going to be on your mind.

And so we've got to make sure we put it there. Paul also reminded Timothy, 2 Timothy 2.15.

Notice what he reminded Timothy of in this case. When we consider this idea of filling our mind, making sure our mind is filled with the Word of God, I mean, that presents a real challenge today because there's so many distractions. I mean, we have these beautiful phones that can do all these amazing things. We could know any fact instantaneously. Just ask Siri or Alexis or AI. Boom! There it is. We got the answer. Well, there's Facebook and I can look at this or I can watch this reel or Instagram that or TikTok that. Wow! Suddenly, three hours later, I probably should try to get something else done. And I get off track! And that's what's on my mind. You know, what's the next funniest cat video or something like that? No. All right, those distractions lead us toward that cliff. They're the ones that throw our aim off. And yet, here Paul tells Timothy, 2 Timothy 2.15, be diligent to present yourself a self approved before God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. So we recognize God's Word. We understand God's Word. We put God's Word to use. We rightly use it. We divide it. When we need it most, that's our fallback. That's where we go to God's Word. And the more God's Word fills our mind, the more our thinking then is shaped like Jesus Christ. We're putting on the mind of Christ. And then that fixes our actions and our aims so that they're emulating Jesus Christ.

All right, key number three. Key number three, keep God on the throne. Keep God on the throne. Now, why do I say that? I think in some ways when you begin to boil down this idea of missing the mark, or even lawlessness for that matter, different definitions for sin, what really is at the core of that? What's at the core of sin?

I think in many ways it could come down to one word, authority. Who's the authority in my life? Who's going to rule? Who's in charge? Am I in charge? Or is God in charge?

Now, if you held your place in Genesis 3, let's head back there for a moment. Genesis chapter 3, notice verse 5. Here's this conversation that Eve is having with the serpent. We recognize this is Satan the devil in disguise. He tells Eve, God knows in the day that you eat of it, your eyes will be open, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.

So here's the temptation, and the question is, Eve, who's in charge? You in charge? Or is God in charge? That's kind of what it comes down to. Satan's saying, you don't need God to tell you what to do. You can figure out what's right. You can figure out what's wrong. You should decide that for yourself. That's your prerogative. Do you do what you want? Now, we never hear those words today, do we? Okay, maybe we do. Follow your heart. Right? Or maybe that's a pretty benign way of saying it.

You, you live your truth. Yeah, your truth. That's great. You should be the best version of yourself. That's what it's all about. You know, do what feels right. Of course, you know, you be you. Yeah, let's do it. That's great. Well, who's the authority? I mean, God says something very different. Our Creator, the one who knows us best, the one who knows what's best for us, who knows the best way to walk, the best decisions to make. What does He say? You can't do that. Don't do that. You're going to get in trouble. You know, you can't serve two masters. You know, Christ made that very clear. Christ said, if you want to follow Me, what do you have to do? Well, you be you. That's it. No, He said, deny yourself and follow Me. I've got a better way.

When they entered the Promised Land, you know, God showed them, here's blessings, here's cursings. You know, you're going to you be you? Wow, that's going to lead to a mess. You're going to walk right over the cliff. You're going to miss the mark. But here's life. This is what you want to choose. You want to choose your choice. You choose what's best. And so we're told that in many different ways over and over again. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. You seek the first of the seek the kingdom first. That's what He tells us. That needs to be first. And His righteousness. That should be our guide. God has to be our authority if we're going to hit that target. And so we have to ask ourselves, well, what is it that gets in the way in my life?

You know, when I'm challenged, when this situation comes up and I see, wow, this is at the cliff's edge, it's right here. God's Word is challenging me. Well, do I negotiate with it?

Do I defend myself? Do I make excuses for myself? Or maybe I just look the other way and I don't really want to even see that. You know, what's our perspective? When we look at that, those are tough questions. But we've not only got to ask those questions, we've got to answer those questions as well if we really want to hit the mark. Key number four. Help each other. Help each other. I mean, we have a responsibility to strengthen each other, spiritually speaking. I mean, when you think about, you know, our calling, is our calling to be a Christian soloist? Or are we part of a symphony orchestra? Well, we're at the Church of God. We're called out collectively and we're brought together.

We know those analogies in the Bible. We're like a body. We're a spiritual body with all these various parts and they all have to work together. We all have to play our part in order for God's purpose to be fulfilled. So, yeah, it's a symphony. We're a family. We're a body. We're a fellowship. We're a temple. We are the temple of God. It takes all the bricks, all the parts of that building to hold up the structure. And so, learning together, growing together. Really, God designed this so that we have help together as we aim to hit that target. And the big one, you know, His kingdom. Now, if we go back to Genesis 3 one more time.

Genesis 3, let's notice verse 6. Genesis chapter 3 verse 6, coming back to Eve once again, after this little conversation with the serpent, we see what was on her mind. It says, The woman saw the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise. She took of its fruit and ate.

Well, interesting. So, there was nobody there to help her, was there?

Well, hang on a second. What's the very next sentence?

She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

Implications seems to be that he's not that far away. And it doesn't say, Oh, hey, hang on, Eve! Don't, wait! No, don't do that! You know what, God, we shouldn't be doing that! No, we don't see any of that. It just says, He took it and ate.

So, instead of helping her, instead of intervening, he joined in, and the rest is history. He joined in. And I think that helps us to recognize the obligation we each have to each other. Not long after this section of Scripture, we have those two brothers.

What's her names? Cain and Abel, right? And you probably know the story there, right? Cain kills Abel, and what does God say? Hey, where's your brother? And what's the famous response?

Am I my brother's keeper? Well, actually, you are! And that story is mirrored throughout Scripture.

We have a responsibility to each other, especially as God's people. We certainly do.

There's, in a sense, a command in Galatians 6. Notice the beginning of that chapter in Galatians 6. It speaks to this idea of a trespass, of a misstep. And in this particular sin, it's interesting the instructions that are given here that help us to recognize how we should help each other to hit that mark, to make sure we hit the bullseye on that target.

Galatians 6, we have the Apostle Paul inspired to write to the brethren in Galatian. He says, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Okay, so we don't want to get a big head saying, oh, they fell and I didn't. Look at me. Aren't I great? No, we're supposed to lift each other up. But then he also says, verse 2, bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Well, we know the law of Christ is the law of love. Love to God, love toward neighbor, love toward each other. When that situation comes up, we have the, we can't stand by like Adam. We can't just be a bystander in any of those situations. No, we have to be one who supports and steps in and helps. Hebrews talks about stirring each other up to love and good works. So we're not called to walk alone. We're not just in it by ourselves. We're called to strengthen each other. We're helping each other to hit that target and continue on that journey toward the kingdom of God.

All right, that brings us to key number five. Key number five, take responsibility and pursue repentance. I put those two things together to make one point. I thought five keys were better than six. So take responsibility, pursue repentance. I was reminded in thinking about this particular point of an old cartoon series. Anyone remember the Peanuts cartoons?

Okay, yeah, you do. I mean, they're still out there. You can buy little books and things. Well, in one of the series, Lucy was a psychiatrist. You remember those? And she set up her own little cardboard psychiatric office. It said something like, psychiatric help, five cents. Wow, that was a deal. In that day, five cents, you can get psychiatric help. Then the doctor is in. So here's Lucy sitting behind her made-up office. And in one of the cartoons, she said something in the first frame like, I've never made a mistake in my life. And the next frame said, I thought I did once.

Final frame. But I was wrong. I thought I made a mistake once, but I was wrong. Yeah, that's humanity. That's who we are.

Well, when you think of it in those terms, you know, what is God after?

I think you could frame it in the perspective of humility. You know, that's definitely not a humble attitude. I mean, when you recognize that, pretty amazing that we can overlook that so easily.

You still held your place here in Genesis 3. Go back there.

And notice something interesting about this very familiar story of Adam and Eve.

Something interesting is recorded for us in verse 12. So here we are after they've eaten the fruit, they've sinned. God comes on the scene and talks to them. Where are you? And then notice what begins to happen. Genesis 3.12, the man, Adam says, the woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate. But not to be outdone. Verse 13, the Lord said to the woman, what is this that you've done? The woman said, the serpent deceived me, and I ate. It's not my fault, right? It's not my fault? No, I'm not going to take personal responsibility. No, I'm not going to do that. No, it's the serpent's fault. And of course, actually interesting, Adam sort of blamed the woman, but who is he really blaming? The woman you gave to be my wife. The woman you gave to be. It's your fault, God. It's not my fault. If you wouldn't have gave me this woman, I would have been just fine.

You imagine that? No humility there. No taking responsibility. No even hint of...

Wow, I'm sorry. I was wrong. Please, please forgive us. No. And so, human nature has been doing the same thing ever since. Ever since. I remember as a young minister, one of my old sages, a long time pastor said something to me once that I've really never forgotten. And he said one of the hardest phrases for any human being to say is just three words.

I was wrong. I was wrong. And that's stuck with me. I was wrong. All too often, you know, I've heard myself say, well, I'm sorry, but... excuse, excuse, excuse, right? Or, I'm sorry if I offended you. Is that an apology? Or, you know, I wouldn't have done that if you hadn't... oh boy, that'll get you in trouble. Instead of just, I was wrong. I was wrong.

I was reminded of a situation years ago of a couple of, yeah, I suppose you could say elderly men. They had to be in their 70s. They had been best of friends, shared experience, worked at the same company for years, shared so many things together. But they got into it over something, as I recall, pretty trivial, pretty trivial overall. But it got to the point, I'm not talking to you. And so they started avoiding each other, and they wouldn't speak to each other. And weeks went on. And then months passed. And it's interesting, as I talked to the the two men about these things separately, each one of them could say exactly what the other had done, and what they did wrong, and how could they have done that to me. I was like, well, that wasn't very good. And then the other one, he's like, yeah, that's what he did. And can you believe that? That just is unacceptable. Okay. Yeah, okay, I get it. I get it. But what was so interesting, they couldn't see the other's point of view at all. They both felt very justified in basically not taking any personal responsibility. Now, what was interesting is, after a while, one of them finally called the other on the phone. And I believe God was certainly inspiring and working with him. And he said something to the effect to his friend. I've been thinking so much that every day this has been coming to my mind, and I've been thinking about it, and I've been praying about it. And he said, I realize I was wrong, and I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?

That changed everything. He didn't take responsibility for the whole thing. It wasn't all his fault. But he did take responsibility for his part in it. And you know, a couple weeks passed, and suddenly there's these old buddies together again. And they were able to work through that. That relationship that looked like it was over, like maybe gone over the cliff, really was salvaged because of humility. Someone taking responsibility. And that humility just cracks open that door of frustration where sin just wants to nail that door shut. Pride wants to slam that door in your face. But humility can change everything. I think of Proverbs chapter 28, verse 13. Proverbs 28 verse 13 probably encapsulates the story of these two elderly friends.

Proverbs 28 13, just a short little verse, but wow, it is so powerful. It says, he who covers his sins will not prosper. Yeah, they would have kept on going forever if somebody hadn't finally relented and changed their heart and mind and had some humility, took responsibility. So he who covers the sin will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. Boy, aren't you thankful God has mercy on us? God gives us grace, extends mercy. And so when we find ourselves in these situations, don't blame the circumstances, don't blame someone else. See your part in it. Recognize really what's wrong from ours. And that's where real change can begin to take place. And really, that's what happened when people began to see themselves for who they really were at that very first Pentecost. Here we are just coming through the Feast of Pentecost, just last Sunday, and rehearsing Acts 2. Did you see this? Just the other day when we were rehearsing this story, Acts 2.37. Acts 2.37, after Peter explains this whole scenario of what God has been doing, the people were listening. And it says they were cut to the heart. They recognized they had to take responsibility for themselves. And they asked, what should we do? Acts 2.38, Peter said, repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Now we probably rehearsed that one the other day.

Interesting this word for remission of sins, that's the hamartia word, missing the mark off target. You've missed the mark. You want forgiveness. You want those sins remitted, forgiven, redeemed, over, gone. And through repentance and baptism, going before God, God provides the way for those sins, those missed marks, to be forgiven and removed.

And so it emphasizes the fact it's not just feeling bad about something, it's a change. It's a turn in direction. It's yielding to God. It's certainly taking that personal responsibility and genuinely explaining those mistakes to God, those sins to God, and seeking His forgiveness.

And He extends then mercy and grace and forgiveness so that we can change. And so, what a blessing! What an amazing blessing that God offers these very things. Because when we think of that, Romans 3, 23, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. All of us have. We've all missed the mark, but God hasn't called us to remain there. We're not supposed to stay there. We're supposed to go on from there. In fact, not too far from that particular passage, it also says the wages of sin is death. Yep, that's... yeah, we don't want to remain there. We don't want to fall short because the consequence is death. But that Romans 6, 23 passage immediately says, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus. Yes, the wages of sin, the wages of Ha-Martea, missing the mark, the wages is death. Yes, there is a severe consequence, but God doesn't leave us there. He wants to extend mercy and forgiveness, and it points to eternal life in his family. 1 John chapter 1 verse 7. It's probably a synopsis of these five keys in verse 7. As it emphasizes that perspective that God wants us to have, let's notice what 1 John chapter 1, let's notice verse 7. Let's notice verse 7. Here it says, if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin. He says then, if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. The truth isn't in us, but if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The other sin word here, Ha-Martea, same word used over and over here, that sacrifice of Christ, claiming that sacrifice justifies us. God lines us up with the character of Christ. We are forgiven and we stand justified before him. We find we are acquitted of sin. It is removed. We are cleaned up from the ways that we miss the mark. So then it makes it possible so we can walk in the light. So what a great reminder. It's not just that we're supposed to avoid missing the mark. Remember, we pursue righteousness. He's called us to become like him because he's preparing us for the kingdom. So as we consider that, let's think about what this week looks like. This week, I have a challenge for you. Think about these various things that might need to be adjusted. What is it that needs to be adjusted in my life? Well, we should take the spiritual challenge. Choose an area that needs to be adjusted. Maybe one temptation that I need to avoid. Well, what is it? Maybe take the challenge of examining and studying a passage of Scripture so that I put it in my heart so I'm ready to bring it out when I'm faced with the difficulty. Maybe it's a priority. Do I have my priorities in the right order?

Maybe I need to reorganize things and put them back in a spiritual order. Maybe the challenge is seeking out that one other person that needs some help, someone that needs a friend, someone that can come alongside them and encourage them. Or maybe there's that one area that I've been avoiding. I don't want to talk about that. I want to bring that before God.

But I need to confess it and I need to forsake it.

Take that challenge this week and seek God because by His power, certainly with His Word, through the sacrifice of Christ, with the help of the Church, God can certainly help us to aim higher, stand steadier, shoot that arrow that much straighter. And so let's more fully place our lives into His hands, fixing our eyes on that spiritual target. And when we do, we know that by God's grace and with His help, we can keep from missing the mark of His righteousness and put on ultimately His character as we look forward to His coming Kingdom.