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Has America become numb to tragedy? Recent mass shootings have left 43 dead and
many asking why?
PITTSBURGH - Does the name Byran Uyesugi ring a bell? Odds are not. What about
Robert A. Hawkins? Or Mark Barton? Terry Ratzmann? Robert Stewart?
Each entered the national consciousness when he picked up a gun and ended multiple
lives. Uyesugi, 1999, Hawaii office building, seven dead. Hawkins, 2007, Nebraska
shopping mall, nine dead. Barton, Ratzmann and Stewart — 24 dead among them in
1999 (Atlanta brokerage offices), 2005 (Wisconsin church service) and last week
(North Carolina rehab center).
Each has been largely forgotten as the parade of multiple killings in America
melts into an indistinguishable blur. We bemoan, we mourn, we move on. ANALYSIS
By Ted Anthony
Sun., April 5, 2009Men and women are in the clutch of a horrifying power, and
that power clutches them deep inside their own being and it pulls them to self
destruction. That power is SIN, and SIN makes for BAD NEWS.
FOUR MAJOR AREAS THAT SIN PRODUCES BAD NEWS FOR THE HUMAN RACE.
1A self-centeredness Acquired Self-centered Syndrome
Acquired Self-centered Syndrome (ASS) is not a new "disorder" it's been plaguing
humanity ever since Eve bit into the forbidden fruit. Eve ate the fruit because,
well, she wanted to be like God. In a "pride goeth before the fall moment" Lucifer
boasted, "I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the
Most High" (Isaiah 14:14). God promptly booted him out of heaven on his hinny.
Adam followed Eve's lead and ate of the forbidden fruit. They both received a rude
awakening. The First Couple was driven from their garden retreat forthwith.
• It’s bad news in human existence that every one of us is bent on fulfilling
our own selfish desires at any rate.
• Satan was the first angel who had this self-centeredness syndrome
Society has lost its moral compass and our children have paid a big price. Divorce
is rampant, even in the Church. The excuse Christians give is, "God wants me to be
happy." Wrong. God wants kids to be happy! He wants adults to be responsible. And
in the case of Christians, His desire is for them to be obedient.
We live in a world where people are demanding their rights. “What are you going
to do for me now”. And if they don’t get their wish, they rebel, get angry and
SIN and cause harm to anyone who is not willing to give it to them.
The ultimate goal of people today is to achieve self-satisfaction. Because of
this selfishness for gain, fame, dominates, popularity, money, physical
fulfillment.
WE SHOULD LOVE PEOPLE AND USE THINGS INSTEAD OF USING PEOPLE AND LOVING THINGS.
So what is the result of self-centeredness?
I submit to you today there is good news! Romans 1:1 Paul says there is good
news, and that is the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, The good news of
salvation, The good news of the grace of God.
WE PREACH THE GOOD NEWS, BUT THE WORLD SEES IT AS BAD NEWS.
Romans has the Good News. The entire 16 chapters are thrust in the first seven
verses of chapter one.
Paul summarizes the good news and then unfolds it in the chapters remaining.
Romans 1:1 THE GOSPEL OF GOD.
Good, merry, glad, joyful, tidings that make a man’s heart rejoice, make him
sing, leap for joy.
Note where the good news comes from: ‘FROM GOD” that is important to say
that. The good news is not coming from Rome, from Caesar, but from God.
Why should God give me good news? I don’t desire it. RIGHT.
gospel -- neither so late as when "the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and
Saul" (Ac 13:2), nor so early as when "separated from his mother's womb" (see on
Ga 1:15). He was called at one and the same time to the faith and the apostleship
of Christ (Ac 26:16-18).
of God -- that is, the Gospel of which God is the glorious Author. (So Ro 15:16
1Th 2:2, 8, 9 1Pe 4:17).