Creekside Church, Sunday, July 23, 2023
Wicked Schemes
Locations & Times
Creekside Church
660 Conservation Dr, Waterloo, ON N2J 3Z4, Canada
Sunday 9:00 AM
Sunday 10:30 AM
God hates “… a heart that devises wicked schemes.” Proverbs 6:18 NIV
2 Axioms to Hold in Tension:
GOD IS LOVE.
Followers of Jesus love God and love people.
THERE ARE THINGS GOD HATES.
Followers of Jesus hate what God hates.
3 Truths to Understand from Proverbs 6:18:
1. All of us have a heart that is prone to wickedness/sin.
“heart” (Greek word - kardia)
Your heart is the seat/centre of your mind, personal life, emotions, will, conscience.
The Bible tells us we can’t trust our heart.
“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”
Jeremiah 17:9 NIV
2. “Wicked scheming” is a natural outcome of an unregenerate heart.
Wicked scheming - imagining or carrying out evil against any individual or group for personal benefit or other misguided objectives
“Machiavellian” - anyone who’s scheming, unscrupulous, or cunning. psychcentral.com
We have extreme examples like 911/Twin Towers and school shootings.
We also have everyday human relationships – wicked scheming can include thinking about how I can get someone back, cancel them, treat them poorly, take advantage of them or say things to others to put them down.
3. To hate what God hates and love what God loves we must choose to align our heart with God’s heart.
The influence of the Spirit on the heart is always present, urging man to return to God in a loving and intimate relationship. So is the influence of the devil on the heart of man. He is intent on turning man’s heart away from God and completely destroying the relationship. In the end, those to whom we turn over our hearts and allow to sit on the throne of our hearts will determine the activities of the heart. Dr. Clarence Talley Sr.
Hating What God Hates
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:19-21 NIV
Loving What God Loves
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.
Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23 NIV
Rather than scheme, PLAN.
Pray – pray with and for people.
Love – serve people and care for people.
Ask - “How can I add value to this person?”
Navigate – work through relational challenges.
“Dear Father, please help me to hate what You hate and love what You love. Help me to see and root out wicked scheming in my heart. Please give me a heart that plans for the good of others and lives out the fruit of the Spirit. For your glory and in Jesus’ Name I pray, AMEN.”
2 Axioms to Hold in Tension:
GOD IS LOVE.
Followers of Jesus love God and love people.
THERE ARE THINGS GOD HATES.
Followers of Jesus hate what God hates.
3 Truths to Understand from Proverbs 6:18:
1. All of us have a heart that is prone to wickedness/sin.
“heart” (Greek word - kardia)
Your heart is the seat/centre of your mind, personal life, emotions, will, conscience.
The Bible tells us we can’t trust our heart.
“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”
Jeremiah 17:9 NIV
2. “Wicked scheming” is a natural outcome of an unregenerate heart.
Wicked scheming - imagining or carrying out evil against any individual or group for personal benefit or other misguided objectives
“Machiavellian” - anyone who’s scheming, unscrupulous, or cunning. psychcentral.com
We have extreme examples like 911/Twin Towers and school shootings.
We also have everyday human relationships – wicked scheming can include thinking about how I can get someone back, cancel them, treat them poorly, take advantage of them or say things to others to put them down.
3. To hate what God hates and love what God loves we must choose to align our heart with God’s heart.
The influence of the Spirit on the heart is always present, urging man to return to God in a loving and intimate relationship. So is the influence of the devil on the heart of man. He is intent on turning man’s heart away from God and completely destroying the relationship. In the end, those to whom we turn over our hearts and allow to sit on the throne of our hearts will determine the activities of the heart. Dr. Clarence Talley Sr.
Hating What God Hates
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:19-21 NIV
Loving What God Loves
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.
Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23 NIV
Rather than scheme, PLAN.
Pray – pray with and for people.
Love – serve people and care for people.
Ask - “How can I add value to this person?”
Navigate – work through relational challenges.
“Dear Father, please help me to hate what You hate and love what You love. Help me to see and root out wicked scheming in my heart. Please give me a heart that plans for the good of others and lives out the fruit of the Spirit. For your glory and in Jesus’ Name I pray, AMEN.”