Reality TV

THE PREMISE: A radical new reality series where for one week, your life will be continuously recorded 24/7, and subsequently broadcast to millions of homes across America over the course of a television season, in exchange for $50,000.

THE PAYOUT: At the end of the season, when all the footage has been shown, viewers will vote to determine if you are deserving of the $1,000,000 GRAND PRIZE!

THE FINE PRINT: Unbeknownst to you (in the small print), the actual filming has already occurred.

THE REALITY:

I. GOD IS THE AUDIENCE

• Proverbs 15:3 The LORD is watching everywhere, keeping his eye on both the evil and the good.
• Psalm 90:8 You spread out our sins before you—our secret sins—and you see them all.
• Matthew 10:26b “For the time is coming when everything will be revealed; all that is secret will be made public.”
• Hebrews 4:12-13 For the word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are. Nothing in all creation can hide from him. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes. This is the God to whom we must explain all that we have done.
• Matthew 12:36-37 “And I tell you this, that you must give an account on judgment day of every idle word you speak. The words you say now reflect your fate then; either you will be justified by them or you will be condemned.”

II. GOD IS THE JUDGE

• In the parable of the unforgiving debtor (Mat 18:23-35), Jesus speaks of God’s forgiveness of our sins in the illustration of a King who forgave a man of a debt of millions of dollars.
• James 4:12 God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?
• Ecclesiastes 12:14 God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.
• 1 Peter 1:17-20 And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites when he judges. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as foreigners here on earth. For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him for this purpose long before the world began, but now in these final days, he was sent to the earth for all to see. And he did this for you.
• Romans 3:23-26 For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet now God in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this through Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins. For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God’s anger against us. We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us. God was being entirely fair and just when he did not punish those who sinned in former times. And he is entirely fair and just in this present time when he declares sinners to be right in his sight because they believe in Jesus.

III. GOD IS THE EDITOR

• 1 John 1:9 says that “if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.”
• Psalm 103:12 says “He has removed our rebellious acts as far away from us as the east is from the west.”
• Isaiah 43:25 says “I—yes, I alone—am the one who blots out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again.”

THE APPLICATION:

TAKE A “REALITY CHECK”

• Acts 20:21 I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike-the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus.
• Q: What does it mean to "repent"? (more than just "I'm sorry;" a change of thinking, of heart)
• "Like faith, repentance has intellectual, emotional, and volitional ramifications. Berkhof describes the intellectual element of repentance as "a change of view, a recognition of sin as involving personal guilt, defilement, and helplessness." The emotional element is "a change of feeling, manifesting itself in sorrow for sin committed against a holy God." The volitional element is "a change of purpose, an inward turning away from sin, and a disposition to seek pardon and cleansing." (Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 486) Each of those three elements is deficient apart from the others. Repentance is a response of the total person; therefore some speak of it as total surrender." (http://www.gty.org/resources/articles/a330)
• 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord isn't really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.
• Romans 2:4 Don't you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can't you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?
• God is not "Big Brother," or like a voyeuristic audience watching a train wreck of a "reality TV" show; He is not looking to "vote you off the island" because you failed some cosmic Survivor game; were that the case, we would ALL be voted off. Instead, He has graciously granted us immunity, favor, pardon, forgiveness, mercy. But it is pure to accept or to reject.... and if we choose to accept it, but continue in our present course, without coming to a mental and emotional change of thinking about Christ and about our sin, what does that say? What does that imply?
• James 1:21-25 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the message God has planted in your hearts, for it is strong enough to save your souls. And remember, it is a message to obey, not just to listen to. If you don’t obey, you are only fooling yourself. For if you just listen and don’t obey, it is like looking at your face in a mirror but doing nothing to improve your appearance. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you keep looking steadily into God’s perfect law—the law that sets you free—and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.
• Q: Have you experienced biblical repentance? I can't answer for you, or presume to know.
• Luke 18:9-14 Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: "Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: 'I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don't cheat, I don't sin, and I don't commit adultery. I'm certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.' "But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, 'O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.' I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."

CLOSING PRAYER:

• Psalm 139