Recently I have the privilege of speaking at the Innovate Conference, sponsored by Thomas Road and hosted by my friend Jonathan Falwell. I shared a message that was a modified version of a message I gave at my church. Since this was to pastors and church leaders, it is written and communicated that way.

The video and notes are below. If it is helpful to you, feel free to use it in any way that advances the work of the Kingdom.

"Secret Sin and Spiritual Power" from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

My outline:

Stop trying to convince yourself that secret sin in your life and in the church will not hinder the mission of God. Instead, live a gospel-centered, repentance-filled life.

As a pastor, I have heard it time and time again: "My sin does not hurt anyone else."

De-nile is not just a river in Egypt.

We need to realize that there are no "small" sins. God refers to all sin as an affront to His righteousness. All sin brings separation.

There is no distinction between "Venial & Mortal."

"Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar, about which I tell you in advance--as I told you before--that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God" (Galatians 5:19-21).

"Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery,"

I am not having an affair and I am a not a warlock, I have those covered... right? But look at the rest.

"...hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy,"

But, I hate my deacons and elders, lust after a bigger church, and envy someone with a better salary--let alone committing adultery in my heart.

"...drunkenness, carousing,"

OK, back to the stuff I am probably not doing...

... "and anything similar,"

But, just in case you missed it, "anything similar" is in the list.

"...about which I tell you in advance--as I told you before--that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God" (Galatians 5:19-21).

There is no difference in God's eyes between being a warlock and envying the larger church, lusting in your heart after what's on the cable channel, and hating some of the people you are called to pastor.

They all keep you out of right fellowship with God.

It's sin. It saps spiritual power. It kills you, your spiritual life, and the spiritual life of your church.

It is so easy for us to roll off the names of Swaggart, Baker, and Haggard... but I wonder how your neighbors and mine might speak our names. Or our spouses. Or are kids.

You don't come to Liberty Mountain unless you are a Bible thumping evangelical like me. I bet we have a room full of inerrantist, Bible-toting, gospel preachers. Somebody shut Amen. And, we are going to stand on the word. Right?

But, we often forget: if Satan cannot compromise our beliefs, he is happy to settle for our character.

And, that is what he is doing in your life, pastor. And in mine. And, we need to change. Not once, but every day. Today. Now. But then tomorrow.

Truth spoken from a compromised life is like a light shining from behind a curtain, only residual effects are made.

Let me explain this because it is key to my message today:

We need Gospel-centered and repentance-filled life.

The gospel is not something you get over, it is something you live in. ]

A cross-centered and resurrection powered life doesn't get saved and then live on our own power. We, instead, die daily. And, it is repentance filled because that is how we respond to a sin sick world--but quickly and readily repenting.

4 Principles to Consider:

1. Secret sins are only that way for a short time.

Sin might be kept secret for a season but in its time will give rise to death.

Biblical examples:

Numbers 12:4 - God calls out Miriam and Aaron for speaking against God's plan and His servant Moses. "You three come out of the tent of meeting..."

Moses commanding the people.

"But if you don't do this, you will certainly sin against the Lord; be sure your sin will catch up with you" (Numbers 32:23).

King David, Uriah, Bathsheba, and Nathan

If you won't come to repentance, God will bring you to repentance.

God is not mocked. What a man reaps, he sows.

And, God is interested I changing you.

God is more interested in your character than your comfort.

Even the king of an empire cannot hide his sin once God is ready to confront him with his deeds.

We are too comfortable with sin's presence in our lives.

Sin is not a pet to tame but a beast to slay.

And, you cannot slay it on your own. That is why God sent Jesus.

Stop trying to convince yourself that secret sin in your life and in the church will not hinder the mission of God. Instead, live a gospel-centered, repentance-filled life.

2. Private sin can deliver the community of faith into public defeat.

Lie: My sin is private and does not affect the community of faith.

Pastor, your sin saps your church's spiritual power.

Joshua 7 - Achan's sin and the defeat at Ai

One man's sins had devastating results for all of God's people

Joshua 7:1 says that the Israelites acted unfaithfully. Not that Achan was sinful.

v. 25 - Joshua asked Achan "why have you brought this trouble upon us?"

Why? Because we are called to live out our faith in community.

For Israel to have success in the Promised Land, sin had to be rooted out of the camp.

After Achan was cast out (and killed) then they were able to take this small city

Just as faith is most effectively lived out in community, so is sin.

Faith gives rise to mutual boldness. Sin gives rise to mutual weakness.

Stop trying to convince yourself that secret sin in your life and in the church will not hinder the mission of God. Instead, live a gospel-centered, repentance-filled life.

3. The church's toleration of sin leads to a communal rejection of the mission.

"It is widely reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and the kind of sexual immorality that is not even condoned among the Gentiles--a man is living with his father's wife. And you are inflated with pride, instead of filled with grief so that he who has committed this act might be removed from among you" (1 Corinthians 5:1-2).

The Corinthian Christians not only tolerated the sinfulness of the man, they were even proud of it!

No wonder the Corinthians were so off base. They needed to be educated in regards to the nature of the Gospel, its life-changing power on believers, how to live as a church family, and even the very nature of biblical love.

When you tolerate open sin in your church, you are not being loving. You are being naive.

Paul tells the whole church how to handle what today's culture would have termed a "private, family matter."

Your church lacks spiritual power because if it does not practice church discipline.

Disobedience to Christ is a rejection of His missionary endeavor to others.

When we do not practice a personal dedication to Christ and His mission which redeemed us, then we will not participate in with the community of faith's endeavor to turn the world upside down with the power of the gospel.

1 Corinthians 5:9-13: I wrote to you in a letter not to associate with sexually immoral people by no means referring to this world's immoral people, or to the greedy and swindlers, or to idolaters; otherwise you would have to leave the world. But now I am writing you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother (who is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a reviler, a drunkard or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person. For what is it to me to judge outsiders? Do you not judge those who are inside? But God judges outsiders. Put away the evil person from among yourselves.

Stop trying to convince yourself that secret sin in your life and in the church will not hinder the mission of God. Instead, live a gospel-centered, repentance-filled life.

4. A return to God's mission begins with repentance before God's standard.

"Now I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. But God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the desert. Now these things became examples for us, so that we will not desire evil as they did. Don't become idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to play." (1 Cor. 10:1-7).

Heart is an idol factory- John Calvin

That's why every day you and I have to die to self and live for Christ.

I am going to need to repent today. I am going to need to repent tomorrow. So far, I have never had a day where God said, "nope, your good... thanks for checking."

Genesis 4:7 - sin is crouching at your door.

Some are flirting with it on the front porch.

Some have invited it in and are letting it live in the guest room.

Some have lived with the sin so long that you cannot remember life without it.

See the implications -

James 1:15 "Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death."

SIN GROWS.

Sin always takes you further than you wanted to go.

Sin will take you further than you want to go,
Cost you more than you want to pay,
And keep you longer than you want to stay.

(attributed to many people, but, ironically, one of the more well-known quotes of Ted Haggard)

That faded memory of life before the habitual sin is when you were on mission with God.

Participation in the mission of God is accomplished only to the extent of our obedience to the teachings of Christ.

In Corinth, once the Corinthians were corrected by Paul, we find him commending them for their faith and ministry in 2 Corinthians.

My own weight sin.

A repentant people is God's most powerful instrument for ministry on earth.

The lie: Secret sin in your life and in the church will not hinder the mission of God.

The answer: Live a gospel-centered, repentance-filled life.