Pastor Cal Lord's Recent Sermons
"Do You Have Problems With Mildew?"
Leviticus 14:33-54 January 2, 2005
New Year’s Day is an opportunity to make a fresh start. Most of us use the onset of a new year
to make some changes in our lives. We try to see it as turning the page on the past and beginning
a new chapter.
It seems a little like a big joke now, but every January I go back to weight watchers. This is
going to be the year that I take off that weight and keep it off. The truth is, that what most of us
are really doing is trying to get rid of bad habits, those things we do which bring us down and
rob us of a full life.
For whatever reason, some noble, some not so noble, we use the start of a new year to mark the
day when we get a fresh start in life. The truth is that no matter when we decide to make a fresh
start in life, we need to clean up before it happens. That is why we make resolutions. That’s
why we try to get rid of bad habits.
And the truth is that the scriptures tell us that we could be doing this every day. Each day is an
opportunity for a fresh start. A chance to do things God’s way.
The scripture we read this morning deals with a new beginning for the Israelites. It is a rather
detailed look at what has to be done to clean a house that has a problem.
You see God promised the people that He was going to give them the land of Canaan to dwell in.
He told them that they would be able to settle down and would no longer have to live in tents.
They would soon have houses to live in.
Now owning a house is great. But there are some challenges that always follow. Houses seem to
deteriorate over time. They need repainting, and touch up work on a regular basis. If you
develop a problem, say a water leak or cracking plaster, you need to fix it right away or else it
will cause even more damage.
God in all His wisdom, told the people right up front that this was going to happen. Of course the
biggest problem in the Middle East was that of mold and mildew growing inside the houses. The
mold ate away at the walls and the foundations of the houses and destroyed them from the inside
out. For those of you who think God doesn’t care about the little things, reread this chapter in
Leviticus. God tells the people that mold and mildew has to be treated immediately and then goes
on to describe how it is to be done. It is a four step process.
First, the owner has to confess that he has a problem. He has to get beyond hiding the problem
out of embarrassment or fear. God says that ignoring the problem only makes it worse. It gets
bigger over time and the sooner you deal with it, the easier it will be to overcome the problem. By
being right up front, God is also revealing that this is a common problem, one that all of them are
susceptible to. The prescription begins with telling the local priest.
Second, the person is told to clean out the house. Get rid of anything that will encourage the
spread of mold and mildew. Goid goes a step further and says to move out anything that hides
the problem. Every wall should be made clear so the priest can inspect it.
Third, the contaminated walls should be repaired. Ruined sections should be cut out and removed
and then every wall should be scraped clean. New stones should be put in their places and the
walls secured again with new clay and plaster.
Finally, the house was to be purified with a special ceremony. Two birds were brought in. One
was killed and its blood was drained in a pot with ceder, hyssop and scarlet year. The second
bird was then immersed in this solution and then released . In this way the man made atonement
for his house and it was declared clean again.
Next time you pick up a bottle of Tilex or some other mildew cleaner, you can thank God you
aren’t under the Old covenant any more. We got it easy.
Now the truth is some of us look at these Old Testament passages and say, “So what. That was
then and this is now. It doesn’t apply to me. I have Tilex and Jesus doesn’t care about our
houses.” That’s not quite true. You see, in Judaism there a method of scriptural interpretation
that Christianity has borrowed. It is called the “rule of light and heavy.” The rule is stated this
way; If a principle applies to a lighter situation, it logically applies to the heavier situation.
For example in Exodus 22: 5-6 we read that we are not to damage our neighbor’s property. Now
that means we are not to steal his cattle or sheep. We are not to knock down his mail box or run
over his fence. That is the light. The intent is that we should do no harm to our neighbor. The
heavy extends this to taking his wife (adultery), his life (murder) or his name (gossip.) It makes
sense and shouldn’t have to be said.
In other words, if God puts minor restrictions on our actions, we should infer that greater
restrictions also should apply. So here is where the rule of light and heavy comes into this text in
Leviticus and how it speaks to us as we move forward in a new year, or even with a new day.
You see I think deep down inside we understand what God is saying when we make our new
year’s resolutions and try to give up bad habits and clean up our acts.
The word house is used many times in the Bible and it is used to describe a physical dwelling.
But it is also used to describe a nation (the house of Israel). At times it is used to describe a
family too (the house of David). Going a step further, in the New Testament the church, the
gathering of God’s saints, is often referred to as a house (house of God). In I Peter 2 the term is
even used to describe us as individual Christians.
"As you come to Him the living stone-rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him-
you also, like living stones, are being built into a SPIRITUAL HOUSE to be a holy priesthood,
offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."
If God in His Word tells us, and He does in Leviticus 14, that He is concerned with the
cleanliness and purity of a mere Physical house, made of walls, plaster and clay, (the lighter).
How much more, is God concerned, about, the Heavier situations. How much more, is God
concerned, with what is happening in our lives.
Have your walls become moldy, and are the stones are corroding, and the plaster falling off the
walls. Left untreated, the walls will come crashing down. The truth is that sin creeps into our
lives slowly over time just like mold and mildew.
I’ve gained ten or more pounds over the last year. If you count what I lost last winter when I
was going to weight watchers, then it is even more. It didn’t happen over night. I wasn’t even
aware of it until my clothes started getting too tight to wear. Then I began making excuses. I
even bought some new clothes in bigger sizes to accommodate the weight gain. And I thought I
was fooling everyone. Until last week when I went to visit Doris Royce. You see when you get
to be 89 years old, which she will be in a few weeks, you can tell the truth and get away with it.
As I was leaving she says to me, “You know Cal I love you” She grabs my cheek and adds, But
you are getting a little chubby!”
It is time to clean the house! The truth is that there are other areas of my life that have gotten
out of control. Like the creeping mildew, these things have slowly become problems. The truth is
that all of us could say the same thing. There are areas in our lives that we have let go of and let
things build up. Maybe it is our finances. Maybe it is our smoking or drinking. Maybe it is the
way we treat people. Maybe it is overworking and running after wealth or success or power so
much that we have let other things go.
How is your spiritual life? Do you attend worship regularly? Maybe that’s why you are here
today. Fresh start. You see, new years is a good time to get your life in order again. To clean
house and start fresh. The same rules that apply to cleaning up mildew, apply to our lives.
First, admit that you have a problem. Confess it and ask for help. Go to Jesus, our high priest
and ask him to come into your lives and help you clean up the house. You see, Jesus can do
that. He can help you overcome any problem you might have.
Then get rid of anything that causes or hides the problem.
I remember several years ago Darryl Strawberry was playing for the New York Yankees. He
admitted he had a problem with drugs and alcohol and went to rehab. Then he rejoined the team.
A few months later he got into trouble again. T all began when he went out to a bar with his
teammates. When questioned about that, he said, “I just went along with my friends. I didn’t
have anything myself.” Even later, he admitted that this was the beginning of his downfall. He
just couldn’t be in those places and behave himself.
If you want to clean house, then you may have to change some of the things you do. No more all
you can eat buffets and value meals for me. I know I can’t lose weight if I put myself in those
situations.
If you have drifted away from God and want to return to a strong relationship with him, then
you need to make changes. You need to find out what is preventing you from coming back and
do something about it. You need to reprioritize your life.
Third, you need to replace the bad with good. That might mean drastic action like finding new
friends, seeking fellowship in the church, or going to new places.
People talk about quitting smoking and also changing some of their habits. Some people chew
gum or eat candy. That is switching and replacing.
Paul has a great suggestion of other things we can furnish our lives with in Gal. Ch 5. He says be
filled with love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Walking with Christ, reading the Bible, attending Bible studies will help you make this
transformation and life will be different.
I love the testimony given by Lee Stroebel when he was a reporter for the Chicago Tribune. His
wife became a Christian, then he did.
And Finally, we need to be purified from our sin. It is significant as we discussed earlier that
purifying a house from sin involved immersion in water and blood. That is what baptism is all
about. Maybe you need to be baptized now. Paul says in Romans 6, we are baptized into the
death of Christ. Christ shed His blood at His death and we contact His blood in
baptism/immersion. Baptism is where God’s grace meets man’s faith and where the blood of
Jesus washes away our sins.
That is why we come to the table today…
Leviticus 14:33-54 January 2, 2005
New Year’s Day is an opportunity to make a fresh start. Most of us use the onset of a new year
to make some changes in our lives. We try to see it as turning the page on the past and beginning
a new chapter.
It seems a little like a big joke now, but every January I go back to weight watchers. This is
going to be the year that I take off that weight and keep it off. The truth is, that what most of us
are really doing is trying to get rid of bad habits, those things we do which bring us down and
rob us of a full life.
For whatever reason, some noble, some not so noble, we use the start of a new year to mark the
day when we get a fresh start in life. The truth is that no matter when we decide to make a fresh
start in life, we need to clean up before it happens. That is why we make resolutions. That’s
why we try to get rid of bad habits.
And the truth is that the scriptures tell us that we could be doing this every day. Each day is an
opportunity for a fresh start. A chance to do things God’s way.
The scripture we read this morning deals with a new beginning for the Israelites. It is a rather
detailed look at what has to be done to clean a house that has a problem.
You see God promised the people that He was going to give them the land of Canaan to dwell in.
He told them that they would be able to settle down and would no longer have to live in tents.
They would soon have houses to live in.
Now owning a house is great. But there are some challenges that always follow. Houses seem to
deteriorate over time. They need repainting, and touch up work on a regular basis. If you
develop a problem, say a water leak or cracking plaster, you need to fix it right away or else it
will cause even more damage.
God in all His wisdom, told the people right up front that this was going to happen. Of course the
biggest problem in the Middle East was that of mold and mildew growing inside the houses. The
mold ate away at the walls and the foundations of the houses and destroyed them from the inside
out. For those of you who think God doesn’t care about the little things, reread this chapter in
Leviticus. God tells the people that mold and mildew has to be treated immediately and then goes
on to describe how it is to be done. It is a four step process.
First, the owner has to confess that he has a problem. He has to get beyond hiding the problem
out of embarrassment or fear. God says that ignoring the problem only makes it worse. It gets
bigger over time and the sooner you deal with it, the easier it will be to overcome the problem. By
being right up front, God is also revealing that this is a common problem, one that all of them are
susceptible to. The prescription begins with telling the local priest.
Second, the person is told to clean out the house. Get rid of anything that will encourage the
spread of mold and mildew. Goid goes a step further and says to move out anything that hides
the problem. Every wall should be made clear so the priest can inspect it.
Third, the contaminated walls should be repaired. Ruined sections should be cut out and removed
and then every wall should be scraped clean. New stones should be put in their places and the
walls secured again with new clay and plaster.
Finally, the house was to be purified with a special ceremony. Two birds were brought in. One
was killed and its blood was drained in a pot with ceder, hyssop and scarlet year. The second
bird was then immersed in this solution and then released . In this way the man made atonement
for his house and it was declared clean again.
Next time you pick up a bottle of Tilex or some other mildew cleaner, you can thank God you
aren’t under the Old covenant any more. We got it easy.
Now the truth is some of us look at these Old Testament passages and say, “So what. That was
then and this is now. It doesn’t apply to me. I have Tilex and Jesus doesn’t care about our
houses.” That’s not quite true. You see, in Judaism there a method of scriptural interpretation
that Christianity has borrowed. It is called the “rule of light and heavy.” The rule is stated this
way; If a principle applies to a lighter situation, it logically applies to the heavier situation.
For example in Exodus 22: 5-6 we read that we are not to damage our neighbor’s property. Now
that means we are not to steal his cattle or sheep. We are not to knock down his mail box or run
over his fence. That is the light. The intent is that we should do no harm to our neighbor. The
heavy extends this to taking his wife (adultery), his life (murder) or his name (gossip.) It makes
sense and shouldn’t have to be said.
In other words, if God puts minor restrictions on our actions, we should infer that greater
restrictions also should apply. So here is where the rule of light and heavy comes into this text in
Leviticus and how it speaks to us as we move forward in a new year, or even with a new day.
You see I think deep down inside we understand what God is saying when we make our new
year’s resolutions and try to give up bad habits and clean up our acts.
The word house is used many times in the Bible and it is used to describe a physical dwelling.
But it is also used to describe a nation (the house of Israel). At times it is used to describe a
family too (the house of David). Going a step further, in the New Testament the church, the
gathering of God’s saints, is often referred to as a house (house of God). In I Peter 2 the term is
even used to describe us as individual Christians.
"As you come to Him the living stone-rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him-
you also, like living stones, are being built into a SPIRITUAL HOUSE to be a holy priesthood,
offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."
If God in His Word tells us, and He does in Leviticus 14, that He is concerned with the
cleanliness and purity of a mere Physical house, made of walls, plaster and clay, (the lighter).
How much more, is God concerned, about, the Heavier situations. How much more, is God
concerned, with what is happening in our lives.
Have your walls become moldy, and are the stones are corroding, and the plaster falling off the
walls. Left untreated, the walls will come crashing down. The truth is that sin creeps into our
lives slowly over time just like mold and mildew.
I’ve gained ten or more pounds over the last year. If you count what I lost last winter when I
was going to weight watchers, then it is even more. It didn’t happen over night. I wasn’t even
aware of it until my clothes started getting too tight to wear. Then I began making excuses. I
even bought some new clothes in bigger sizes to accommodate the weight gain. And I thought I
was fooling everyone. Until last week when I went to visit Doris Royce. You see when you get
to be 89 years old, which she will be in a few weeks, you can tell the truth and get away with it.
As I was leaving she says to me, “You know Cal I love you” She grabs my cheek and adds, But
you are getting a little chubby!”
It is time to clean the house! The truth is that there are other areas of my life that have gotten
out of control. Like the creeping mildew, these things have slowly become problems. The truth is
that all of us could say the same thing. There are areas in our lives that we have let go of and let
things build up. Maybe it is our finances. Maybe it is our smoking or drinking. Maybe it is the
way we treat people. Maybe it is overworking and running after wealth or success or power so
much that we have let other things go.
How is your spiritual life? Do you attend worship regularly? Maybe that’s why you are here
today. Fresh start. You see, new years is a good time to get your life in order again. To clean
house and start fresh. The same rules that apply to cleaning up mildew, apply to our lives.
First, admit that you have a problem. Confess it and ask for help. Go to Jesus, our high priest
and ask him to come into your lives and help you clean up the house. You see, Jesus can do
that. He can help you overcome any problem you might have.
Then get rid of anything that causes or hides the problem.
I remember several years ago Darryl Strawberry was playing for the New York Yankees. He
admitted he had a problem with drugs and alcohol and went to rehab. Then he rejoined the team.
A few months later he got into trouble again. T all began when he went out to a bar with his
teammates. When questioned about that, he said, “I just went along with my friends. I didn’t
have anything myself.” Even later, he admitted that this was the beginning of his downfall. He
just couldn’t be in those places and behave himself.
If you want to clean house, then you may have to change some of the things you do. No more all
you can eat buffets and value meals for me. I know I can’t lose weight if I put myself in those
situations.
If you have drifted away from God and want to return to a strong relationship with him, then
you need to make changes. You need to find out what is preventing you from coming back and
do something about it. You need to reprioritize your life.
Third, you need to replace the bad with good. That might mean drastic action like finding new
friends, seeking fellowship in the church, or going to new places.
People talk about quitting smoking and also changing some of their habits. Some people chew
gum or eat candy. That is switching and replacing.
Paul has a great suggestion of other things we can furnish our lives with in Gal. Ch 5. He says be
filled with love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Walking with Christ, reading the Bible, attending Bible studies will help you make this
transformation and life will be different.
I love the testimony given by Lee Stroebel when he was a reporter for the Chicago Tribune. His
wife became a Christian, then he did.
And Finally, we need to be purified from our sin. It is significant as we discussed earlier that
purifying a house from sin involved immersion in water and blood. That is what baptism is all
about. Maybe you need to be baptized now. Paul says in Romans 6, we are baptized into the
death of Christ. Christ shed His blood at His death and we contact His blood in
baptism/immersion. Baptism is where God’s grace meets man’s faith and where the blood of
Jesus washes away our sins.
That is why we come to the table today…
| Welcome to the First Baptist Church of Norwich 239 West Main Street Norwich, Connecticut Phone: 860-889-0369 |
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