Dr. Rick Mandl - October 23, 2020
Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide, What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
Devotional Manuscript: Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide, What could possibly go wrong?
Message By Dr. Rick Mandl, Friday, October 23, 2020.
Recorded in Los Angeles, CA.
Hey church family most of us have heard the old saying, “just follow your heart and you can’t go wrong” or “just let your conscience be your guide.” It’s actually the dumb thing that Christians say that we’ll be looking at this weekend, so I hope you can join us.
On a related note, this week I was reading about the unusual story of a man named Dennis Lee Curtis. In 1992, Curtis was arrested for armed robbery in Rapid City, South Dakota. That wasn’t unusual. What was unusual was that in his wallet, police found a list of rules Curtis had written for himself – guidelines for his robberies – robbers rules. For example, Curtis had written “I will not kill anyone unless I have to.” “I will not rob mini-marts.” (not sure why) “If I get chased by cops on foot, I will get away. If chased by vehicle, I will not put the lives of innocent civilians on the line.” “I will rob only seven months out of the year.”
What’s not surprising is that the judge before whom Dennis Lee Curtis stood didn’t consult his list of rules. He didn’t say, “Well, at least you live by some values.” No, Dennis Lee Curtis was judged by the laws of South Dakota. And as a result, he was convicted as a thief.
While Curtis’ behavior might seem a little bit odd, when you think about it, it’s not that different than folks who think they can live by their own standard and God will be pleased. People sometimes compare themselves to others so that they can see themselves in a more favorable light. We may look at the things that we don’t do, to feel good about ourselves. I don’t commit murder. I don’t steal. I don’t commit adultery. I don’t get drunk. Yet, God isn’t going to judge us on the basis of what we don’t do. Or on a curve system based on the lives of those worse than we are. Or on our own value system.
He tells us that he has a standard for righteousness that none of us can meet on our own. We all sin, all fall short. That’s the bad news is that if we admit our unworthiness, receive His grace, and accept His offer of salvation through Jesus Christ, we can be saved. We can experience pardon, find peace, feel His power working in our lives, and know His purpose for our lives. If we don’t want to do that, we can follow our heart. . . we can let our conscience be our guide . . . but the problem is, it won’t get us where we need to be.
Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” When it comes to just trusting your heart, Jeremiah 17:9 warns us . . . “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? “ God has a better way, and that’s what we’ll be looking at this weekend.
And speaking of this weekend, I hope you can join us for our “Night Of Worship” this Sunday October 25th at 6:00PM in our church parking lot. It will be a safe, fun evening for the whole family. Also, if you are going to be joining us this Sunday evening, let me encourage you to download our ERBC church app. You can find it in either “Google Play” or that Apple App Store, just by typing ERBCLA in the search box.
Our church app has a lot of great features that you’ll find beneficial, but if you’re coming to our parking lot worship event, that app is where you’ll find the lyrics – the words - for all the worship songs we’ll be singing this Sunday evening. So if you haven’t downloaded that app already, do it now. Again just search ERBCLA and you’ll have everything you need. Hope to see you this Sunday evening
Recorded in Los Angeles, CA.
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