The Problem
Is Not In Your Set!
Sermon Notes
Saturday, January 12, 2008 &
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Rev. Jim O’Neal, Senior Pastor
(480) 895-8766
Mark 1:1-8 NRSV
1The beginning of the good news of
Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2As it is
written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way; 3the voice of one crying out in the
wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the
Lord, make his paths straight,’”
4John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of
repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And
people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of
A. Introduction
1.
Cowboys and Redskins
a. The year was 1974, and I was in
seminary at Southern Methodist University.
A large number of us gathered in the dorm lounge to watch NFL
football. The Dallas Cowboys were
playing the Washington Redskins. This
has been a heated rivalry over the years.
They were playing in the old RFK Stadium in
b. Then the announcer came on and said,
“The problem is not in your set. The
problem is that RFK Stadium has wooden bleachers. And when the Redskin fans get excited and
jump up and down it actually shakes the stadium and our TV cameras! The problem is not in your set.”
2.
Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford
a. I remember the Presidential Debates
between Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.
Ford spoke and shared his position on an issue. Then Jimmy Carter stepped up to the lectern
to speak. His lips moved, but there was
no sound! An announcer broke in: “The difficulty is not in your set. The audio portion of this program has gone
dead at the sight of the debate. I repeat;
the problem is not in your set.”
b. “The problem is not in your set.” We have all heard that statement. It is a phrase associated with television
that speaks to us on this Sunday that we remember the baptism of Jesus. This phrase is a modern day translation of
the message of John the Baptist.
B. You and I have a problem called sin.
1. Between Husband and Wife
a. Mabel came in to see the pastor. “I want to divorce my husband, Jack,” she
said. The pastor inquired, “Do you have
grounds?” Mabel said, “Yes Reverend, we
own two acres just outside of town.”
“No,” the minister said, I mean what’s the problem between you and Jack. Do you have a grudge?” Mabel shook her head and said, “No, pastor we
just have a carport.” The frustrated
pastor responded, “Mabel, what’s the problem?
Does Jack beat you up or something?”
Mabel said, “No, I beat him up everyday.
I get up at six and he gets up at seven am.” “No, no, no,” stammered the pastor. “Please just tell me why exactly do you want
to divorce Jack?” “Well” she said, “Jack
has a problem. He doesn’t know how to
communicate.” Someone had a problem in
that marriage and it wasn’t just Jack.
We always want to blame others.
b. I remember a real life case. A couple came into my office. The wife said, “We’ve got to talk about
it. I can’t go on like this any
longer.” The husband responded, “Talk
about what?” “About our problem,” said
the wife. “Problem? What problem?” asked the dumbfounded
husband? They are now divorced. They had a problem and the husband’s lack of
awareness did not make it go away.
c. John the Baptist tells us that we have
a problem. Yes, it is a worldwide
problem, but each individual person has this problem. The problem is sin. Sin is the breaking of God’s laws. The results are confusion, disorientation,
lack of meaning and purpose in life, and loneliness. It can even make you sick, and often leads to
all kinds of irresponsible and harmful behavior directed at others and one’s self. Sin is a big
problem. And our denial of it doesn’t
make it go away.
2.
Sit down brother!
a. A small
b. You may deny it,
but it doesn’t change the truth: You and
I have a problem called sin.
C. You can’t blame others.
1.
Kitty did it!
a. In the “Bad Baby” Comic Strip, baby is
covered from head to toe in black ink.
The father says, “Who got into my ink bottle?” And baby with fingers pointing at the cat
says, “Kitty did it.”
b. That is human nature. We blame our problems and our own misdeeds on
others.
2.
Astrologer
a. An astrologer said this about a
certain politician: “He had eight years
of the bleakest period of his life when many of the planets in his chart
conspired to produce a series of crises such as the illness of his son, his
wife’s problems, and the tragedy of a terrible automobile accident.”
b. The poor fellow had no responsibility
at all! Destiny had conspired against
him! He had no choice but to drink and
drive and go off a bridge with a young woman in his car! We live in a culture where people do not want
to take responsibility for their own actions.
If we do wrong and harm others, it’s not our fault. We blame the parents: “They did not love me enough!” “They were too strict or too lax.” We blame society: “I am a victim. Society discriminates against me.” We blame fate or heredity: “It was in the stars or my genes.” We blame the Devil. With Flip Wilson we cry: “The Devil made me do it!” We want the easy excuse for our own wrong
actions. Yet we know the truth. When I do something wrong, I am responsible
for my own actions. I can’t blame
others. When you do something wrong,
likewise you are responsible and can’t blame others.
3.
Tom Shipp
a. Tom Shipp was abandoned by his
alcoholic parents. He lived on the
street and joined a gang. One night some
gang members beat him unconscious and threw him into a river. The shock of the cold water revived him, and
some how he made it to the other side of the river. A Christian couple found him broken,
bleeding, badly cut, and barely breathing.
They got him medical help. The
doctors did not think he would make it, but he did. The couple that found him and their Church
prayed constantly for his recovery. When
Tom left the hospital this couple took him into their own home. Rehabilitation was slow. Tom bore the scars of his beating for the
rest of his life.
b. Now with this background Tom Shipp had
every excuse to be an emotionally disturbed criminal. Instead he grew up to be a caring United
Methodist pastor. His ministry is
remembered for its kindness and compassion.
He brought gang members to Christ.
He ministered to alcoholics. He
even took care of his irresponsible parents in their old age. Rev. Tom was a man of God and a man of
love. He never let his past be an excuse
for his behavior. He chose of his own
freewill to follow God’s path. Tom knew
that you can’t blame others.
D. It’s your own problem.
1.
Colossians 3:8
a. Paul tells the Colossians: “But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as
these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and
filthy language from your lips.” (Colossians 3:8 NIV) To say that we can rid ourselves of
all these things is to acknowledge that we are responsible for our
actions.
b. God does not hold us accountable for
something we have no control over.
Certainly the Power of Evil tries to influence you to do wrong. But the choice to sin or not to sin is your
choice. So don’t blame your parents,
society, fate, or the Devil. The
problem is not in them or your TV set.
2. TV
Bonfire
a. A few years back a congregation in
b. But what did the TV sets have to do
with the kinds of programs that were shown upon them? The problem was not in the sets. The problem was in the hearts and minds of
the people who wrote, directed, acted in, and produced
these programs. The problem was in those
who chose to sponsor such programs. And
the problem is in the hearts and minds of those who chose to watch the
shows. If John the Baptist were at that
bonfire, I can hear him say, “Folks the problem is not in your sets. The problem is inside of you and the problem
is sin.”
E. Jesus IS the solution!
1.
Kill the spider!
a. Every Sunday for six months in the
“Glad Tidings Pilgrim’s of the King” Sunday School Class, Ralph lifted up the
same prayer: “Jesus I have made a mess
of my life again this week, so please clean out the cobwebs of sin from my
soul.” Finally, Mary Martha Martin cried
out, “Don’t do it Lord. Don’t do
it. Don’t clear out the cobwebs for
Ralph. Kill the spider!”
b. Jesus kills the spider. He deals with the root problem of sin.
2.
Colossians 3:5
a.
The only place, that I know of in the New Testament, where the Christian
is told to kill is in Colossians 3:5 where it says: “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly
nature: sexual immorality, impurity,
lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” (Colossians
3:5 NIV)
b. If we repent and
ask Jesus Christ into our hearts, He works a miracle! First, Jesus forgives us, and then He gets to
work at removing the real problem. When
we let Him in, He begins to transform us from selfish creatures of the world
into loving children of God. We cannot
do this on our own. We are not strong
enough to “put to death” the evilness of sin within. But the pure and perfect One can! When we let the peace of Christ rule in our
hearts and the word of Christ dwell within us, that’s when His goodness
transforms our earthly nature and drives away all that is evil and impure. (see Colossians 3:15-16)
A heart ruled by Jesus is a heart filled with love, and a heart that
desires above all else to please God!
F.
Conclusion: Recap
1. You and I have a
problem called sin.
2. You can’t blame others.
3. It’s
your own problem.
4. Jesus IS the solution!
Mark 1:1-8 NRSV
1The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending
my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; 3the voice of
one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’”
4John the baptizer appeared in the
wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins. 5And people from the
whole Judean countryside and all the people of
The Problem
Is Not In Your Set!
1. You and I have a
problem called sin.
2. You can’t blame
others.
3. It’s
your own problem.
4. Jesus IS the
solution!