I Can't! — Ernest O'Neill

Someone has said that a comedian laughs because if he didn't he would cry at the state of the world. And two of the comedians who are among the most serious commentators on our modern life at the moment are Woody Allen and Mel Brooks now in mentioning their names which means I am not at all recommending a lot of their movies because their movies often include the worst in our society as well as serious commentary but it is interesting to see the confirmation of the truths that God is helping us to see by looking at a comment of for instance Mel Brooks in an interview recently the interviewer asked him do you no longer believe there is a supreme being because of course you know a lot of his fun is based on belief in a supreme being.

And he said yes of course I believe there is a supreme being. And the interviewer asked him well are you afraid of him. And Mel Brooks answered no I am not afraid of him. And then the interviewer said is there any power that you are afraid of.

And Mel Brooks thought for a moment and he said yes there is when I get mad at somebody and I sense within me a power that is stronger than myself and I realize that that power exists in everybody else who lives in this world.

The Inner Perversity That Enslaves Human Beings

Then I get scared. It is interesting isn't it that both Brooks and Allen lay a lot of emphasis on that streak of perversity within us that makes us lose our temper. It is interesting that a lot of their present day work lays emphasis on that strain of perversion that seems to be deep down within each one of us that seems utterly uncontrollable.

And we have so often talked you know about that hating, killing Mr. Hyde that rises up within the quiet, civilized Dr. Jekyll that everyone thinks us to be. And of course you know we have often discussed why it is that we seem to be bound by a chain to the words and the actions of other people.

Humanity's Bondage to People, Circumstances, and Things

We seem to be bound by a chain to the circumstances we are experiencing to even the very things that we own. We seem in our personality to be bound and enslaved by a chain to them so that instead of being free self-determining individuals that do what we really think is right we seem to be bound in such a cause and effect stimulus response reaction to these things around us that we are forced to respond in ways that we don't want to and we can't control it.

And you know that all of us have experienced it from time to time we will act or think on principle just from time to time normally we act according to a blind stimulus response reaction to either what people have said to us or what things are happening to us or what kind of things we own and loved ones, Jesus and his disciples have explained to us that that old personality of ours that is enslaved to the world of people and circumstances and things in that cause, effect stimulus response way that old personality has been destroyed.

The Old Self Crucified with Christ

Remember Jesus calls it it's your old self and he says that old self was crucified with me. That's why I died. For those of you who have never heard it before it's stated this way in Romans 6 in verse 6 our old self was crucified with Christ so that we may no longer be enslaved.

God's Foreknowledge Before Creation

When did it happen? In time in our history in our space time universe. It happened around 1900 years ago. That's when it was manifested in the death of this Jesus in Jerusalem. Actually it happened long before that because the need to break the chain that binds our personalities to other people and other things and other events and other happenings and makes us slaves and robots.

The need to destroy that and to recreate it was foreseen by God before he made us. Do you realize that? If our computers can foresee our food needs and our oil needs a hundred years. Hence don't you see that the great creator of the universe was able to foresee what we would do and how we would enslave our own personalities to people and things before he ever made us.

Yet it doesn't mean he made us do it but he foresaw it. And loved ones he destroyed our old perverted personality in him his son in eternity before creation. Now that might be new to you. So I'd ask you just to look up the verse where it states it.

It's Revelation and chapter 13 and verse 8. Revelation chapter 13 and verse 8 it's page 1080. And those of you who have heard me translate this in the RSV before know that they have mistranslated it compared with the King James.

And in fact the Greek is in a different order though this verse as it is translated means effectively the same Romans 8. And looking at Romans 13 I'm sorry I'm looking at verse 8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it.

I'm sorry Revelation 13 and verse 8. Revelation 13 and 8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it. Everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the lamb that was slain now you'll have to trust me that if you go upstairs and look at the Greek New Testament you'll find that the adverbial phrase of time before the foundation of the world actually occurs after that was slain.

You see that so before the foundation of the world goes not after written and does not modify the verb written but modifies the verb that was slain. So the verse in fact runs. And all who dwell on earth will worship it.

Everyone whose name has not been written in the book of the lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world whose name was not written in the book of the life of the lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world.

In other words loved ones God foresaw all that would happen. And he made provision. And he slayed his own son in his own eternal mind before he created the world. Who were included in that death. I think a lot of us have a tendency to say well probably all the Christians.

Christ's Death for All People

Isn't that right. Look at 2nd Corinthians 5 .14 and you'll be amazed at the answer. 2nd Corinthians 5 .14.

1 ,006. 1 ,006.

2nd Corinthians 5 .14 for the love of Christ controls us because we are convinced that one has died for all. That's for all people on the earth. Therefore all people on the earth have died. Do you realize.

Loved ones. That means that every one of us in this room and every one of us in the lounge and every one of us throughout the whole world were put into Jesus before the creation of the world. And our old miserable perverted personality that makes it impossible for us to obey the best that we know that was destroyed in Jesus.

Choosing Truth Over Satan's Lie

In other words God simply allowed us to live in this Satan dominated self gratifying world. That is an absolute lie so that we would have a clear choice we could either continue to live in this lie of a world that says you're on your own.

There's nobody will look out for you but yourself. And you'd better use people and circumstances and things to make yourself as important and secure as you possibly can. You can do that. Or you can affirm the actual truth that that personality that has become enslaved to that world has been destroyed in Jesus and has been recreated in his resurrection and is able to obey.

Accepting God's Deliverance by Faith

So here's the amazing thing nobody in this room will go to hell or will suffer eternal loneliness or will be alienated forever from God or will burn forever in their own selfish lusts because they have not been put into Jesus.

They will suffer hell. They will burn in their own lusts. They will be alienated from the God who loves because they have refused to accept what God has done to them in his Son. Loved ones that's it. There is not one of us here this morning can say I can't obey I can't those other people who have been placed into Jesus and have been destroyed and raised with him.

They can, I can't. No loved ones. Every one of us has experienced in reality the same deliverance in Jesus that everyone else has experienced. And there is none of us here who cannot obey God's word to us in our conscience if we so choose this morning.

Communion and the Power to Obey

That's what communion is. That's why it's open to everybody here. That's why any of you can take the bread or the wine who are willing to affirm that your old self has been crucified with Christ that you are now in Jesus that you are part of him that you have all the power that he has to obey his Father and to love and to do miracles.

All you have to do this morning is to choose that by faith and live like that in the coming days. And you have that opportunity now. I know it's a deep kind of truth. I know that. But loved ones it is actually true that all that has needed to be done to enable us to be free people has been done.

And here this morning is another opportunity for you to listen to Jesus' spirit as he outlines to you a new liberty that he has provided for in your life a new liberty into which he wants you to enter.

Freedom from Habitual Sin

So will you listen for his spirit and don't be discouraged if he says it's the smoking then see you can do it. You can do it thousand times. You might get up and fall. But you can do it because that chain that binds the nerve endings and their usage to nicotine has been destroyed.

And you can do it. And you with the old unclean thought problem you can do it because the old track in the cortex of the brain that has continually got used to thinking unclean thoughts at night that was destroyed with Jesus has already been destroyed by God's word in Revelation 13 and 8 has been destroyed.

And you can think clean. You can. And the same with all our other sins this morning as you hear God's voice stand up in your dear savior Jesus. Because you can through Christ who strengthens you loved ones if you are ready to you stand and I'll give the invitation you that do truly and earnestly repent of your sins and are in love and charity with your neighbors and intend to lead a new life following the commandments of God and walking from henceforth in his holy ways draw near with faith and take this holy sacrament to your comfort and make your humble confession unto almighty God.

Let us be seated as we pray.