Is Smoking Always Bad?
Updated: Sep 21
Pastor Stan Mons
Sermon Transcription:
The title I have for you is this: Is smoking always bad? Is smoking always bad? I want to start off with you in the book of Hebrews, chapter 12. We're going to read verse one and two. "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge cloud of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up, and let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne." The writer of Hebrews—long debated who the writer of Hebrews is—but the writer of Hebrews says, "Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us." We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus. He says, "Let us run the race that God has set before us."
Now, this doesn't imply a comfortable, nice little hike that we can do in our time off or when we have extra time. This language really implies training and intention and shedding the weight of everything else that could be a distraction so that we may run this race that God has set before us. Not just any race, a race that God has set before us. And everyone knows when you are going to participate in a race, there's other things you cannot do. There's other engagements you cannot commit to. There's a lot of things you cannot say yes to because I have this race coming up. And and the word says God has assigned you to a race. Make sure that you run the race that God wants you to run. Now, the writer says this in light of the great cloud of witnesses discussed in the chapter before, chapter 11. All of these people that have ran the race and did well says, in light of the fact that some do it really well, let us make sure that we are not the ones that mess it up or that exit the race or that get stranded in the race.
Because many people start running the race with Jesus, eyes on Jesus, and many people get stranded, and they stop running. They start saying yes to other things, other engagements, other priorities. Many people say yes and start running with Jesus. They begin to grow. They begin to change. They even begin to become contributors in the kingdom. And then you meet them five years later, they're doing nothing anymore. They're not excited about Christ anymore. Their eyes have now gone to other things, and confusion always sets in. Confusion means that you are not in agreement with God. That may sound like a funny definition, but when you understand who God is, what He wants, and what His plan is, you are never confused. And when you lose sight of those things, you may feel at peace. You may feel all kinds of stuff, and stuff may work out. That doesn't mean you are not confused. You have lost sight of the race that God put before you, God's plan for you, God's assignment for you, and the way that God was always going to keep you growing, strengthening you, and bringing you into the purpose that He had in store for you.
Many start running the race and then end up stranded. Now they know what it is like to run the race. They've seen it, they've done it, at least for a little bit. The parable of the sower comes to mind, sprouts up quickly, then gets choked out by the cares of this world. They get stranded. And I'll show it to you in the Word. Galatians 5, verse 7 and 8, reads this: "You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth? It certainly isn't God. For He is the one who called you to freedom." Here Paul writes, "You were running the race so well. What happened? You were running so well. You started off. You understood who God was. You understood what he had done. You understood what he placed before you. You understood what was important. You understood how to prioritize your life. You understood what needed to be done in order for you to run. What happened? You ran so well the last time I saw you. Who has held you back from following the truth?" See, these people still knew the truth. But the following, the action of following the truth, living life in a following way. I follow the truth I know. I follow the truth that has been revealed to me. I follow the truth. The truth has a name. His name is Jesus Christ. I follow the truth. What happened? Who has held you back from following the truth?
Now, here in the letter to the Galatians, you can read it on your own later if you would like to. If you continue reading, you realize that they were confused because confusion sets in when your eyes get off of Jesus. Now, you may not feel confused. We've kind of made our own definition of that. You may not feel confused. You may feel focused. You may feel you know what you're doing, and it may be going well. That doesn't mean that, in God's opinion, you're not confused.
The Galatians certainly didn't write a letter to Paul saying, "We're so confused. Please help us out. We don't know what to do anymore." No, they were going about their life, and they had it right because they had Jesus, and they were doing everything right. And out of nowhere, seemingly, comes this letter: "You are confused. Who's holding you back? What happened to you? You ran so well." Confusion that sets in after taking your eyes off of Jesus and giving your attention more and more to other things. Confusion gets you stranded in that race. That's what happened to the Galatians.
Stranded Christianity. People that have a had a real encounter with Jesus. And I don't like the way that sounds. So, I'm going to explain it because I hear this talk so much, encountering Jesus, having a moment with Jesus. And it needs to be defined, or else people just start to think of a certain feeling they had in a certain situation. A a real moment with Jesus always costs you something, and then God produces something that wasn't there before. It is a miraculous encounter. It always costs you something, and then God replaces it with something only He could have done or only He could have made or only He could have repaired inside of you. Stranded Christianity is the the believer that knows what that is like for you to give up a portion or maybe all of your life and to see God begin a Godsized work in you and maybe even through you. They know what it's like to run. And now everything God was doing is no longer growing in their life. Now other things are growing in their life. Their God journey has gotten stranded. Now they may not be where they started, but they're most certainly not growing, not going forward, not continually moving forward, running the race. It's now a a side thing or a hobby, not what we do anymore.
Stranded Christianity. And the cry is, "You were running so well. You really had it down." And now your walk with Jesus isn't really going anywhere. Others are passing you left and right, outgrowing you, outdoing you. Their ministry, their personal ministry, not just in church, their personal growth, their personal fruitfulness, their personal ministry is outgrowing you. They're passing you left and right, stranded. Just yesterday, my oldest three kids and I, we were doing some work in the harbor at our boat, and the day went by very well. We got a lot done. They helped tremendously. And it did all take a little bit longer, and we were going to be coming home a lot later than I had hoped. And as I was driving the car home, it's a fairly short drive. As I was driving the car home, I was just thinking and wondering about the word for today. A number of things that I'm studying, things the Lord has spoken to me, and I'm digesting and studying and building teachings or sermons on. But every week, the Lord makes very very clear in prayer what he wants me to speak from the pullpit that particular Sunday.
He knows what people needs. He knows what people are going through, and He knows what needs to be fed to the hearts and the souls that need hope and need resurrection in some cases. He knows that, and He's the one that's going to do that. And here I am, driving home, kind of wondering what the word was because generally the Lord gives it quite early on in the week. And I'm driving just wondering that I still don't have the word that the Lord pointed out as I take the exit. I'm always studying and praying throughout the whole week, asking the Lord about that word for the upcoming Sunday and to really make sure that I have ready what the Lord wants to speak. And generally he gives it pretty early on in the week, and then I can sit on the word and meditate on it and and digest it and grow from it myself and learn the whole week and really submerge urge in it so that I really know it before I get to share it. And then sometimes the Lord gives me a parable instead. And generally in those cases I will get the word very very late because he gives me a parable and I'm in it. I had to live through something because it helps me understand things. That's what parables do. They help you understand things that are very, very simple, but they're very, very deep at the same time. And then usually when I'm in the parable, by the time I realize I'm in it, the Lord goes, "Now look around, watch and learn, and understand."
So, we take the exit, we pull off the freeway, and at the end of the offramp, I mean, for those that know me, I'm a little bit of a a sporty guy. I used to race um off-road motorcycles, dirt bikes you call them here. I've totaled a number of cars. I like speedboats. I'm just a boy at heart, and again I've totaled some cars. I've seen smoke. But we pulled off the freeway, and by the time we came to a stop at the end ramp, I had never seen, not in my own escapades and not ever seeing anybody else on the side of the road with this kind of smoke. It was just bellowing up. And I mean, I knew instantly we were not on fire cuz it wasn't that kind of smoke. But I mean it was coming out of every vent, just blowing in our faces. Three kids in the car, and and we couldn't see nothing. I couldn't see the front of the hood. It was it was pretty impressive, and I felt incredibly calm. And I open the windows, make sure that this smoke can get out of the car, make sure the kids don't get too worried. I tell them it's going to be fine. Papa will fix it. And I see on my gauge that it the the engine is is is too hot. It's a hot engine problem. I get out of the car, everything is hot. So, I get back in the car and I decide, well, I'm just going to wait for it to cool down a bit and then I'll investigate. And I'm thinking and I'm processing, what could it be? How did this happen? It's 6:30. I still don't have that word. This is not a good moment for me. That's what it looks like. But I was so peaceful, which was somewhat strange in the situation.
The engine starts to eventually cool down a bit. So I open the the hood, and big smoke is coming out, and quite quickly I see a hose that is broken off of something. A fitting has broken off, and and there's spray everywhere. Terrible smell. And so I start to think, and I get my pocket knife, and I take that hose and I cut off the end piece because I figure if I can just get that hose loosened up and get it to like slide over the broken off fitting, fitting that is still there, then maybe I can make it home. Maybe I can get it running at least. I'm 5 minutes from from the house. I can at least get these kids home. I can get started on my word preparing and get this car home. I don't want to call no tow truck. So I start working on it, and after about five minutes and a lot of blackness all over me. Um there's no way I'm getting this . So I start thinking, and then I call my wife, said, "Can you FaceTime me?" And I guided her through the house. I said, "I need these tools. You need to go into the little barn. I have I have hose clamps there. I have all leftover hoses from all the escapades I've done with other engines and stuff on this shelf. Go through it. You need a hose that that your thumb will fit in. If your thumb fits in it, then I think I can fix this." And she's going through all the hoses. The right one isn't there. I say, "Honey, got to be there. There has to be a hose the right size." And she ends up finding one. And I said, "I need gallons of water. I need jugs of water." So, she fills them up, and she comes to me in the car with a bucket that she had between her legs driving cuz she only could find one jug. And she brings me all of those parts and drops it off. Her eyes are a little big.
She's a little impressed with how this all looks on the side of the road. And I said, "Honey, I got this. Thank you so much. I think I'll be able to get it running." Then my friend Andy calls me and he says, "Do I got to come? I can be there in about 30 minutes." I said, "No, I'll be gone by then. Um, it's going to be fine." And so I I get the parts and quickly get it all together and fill it up with water, and it worked fine. And I'm here at church with that car right now. But it all worked out. Now, I had given in the morning my day to the Lord. I'd given every portion of the day to Him. So I knew instantly in my heart, in my mind, in my peace. I knew this couldn't be bad smoke. Now remember, I'm waiting on a word from the Lord. He has me in this parable. I'm about to start realizing that I'm in a parable. And I want to read to you some scripture. Now the Bible says this in Genesis 2:18: "Then the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him." And then Jesus says this in John 14:16-18: "And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another helper, that he may abide with you forever. The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him, but you know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you." See, when I see my wife by my side, catching my blind spots that I overlook, just a call away from me in a sticky, stranded situation where there is no way.
I feel like I know what needs to be done, but there's no way for me to get it done. I give her a call. She gets me everything that's needed and gets me out of that smoky stranded situation. And in those times, I can learn something just by looking at my wife. I can learn something about the Holy Spirit because God says, "I made a helper fit for him and his wife." And then Jesus said, "I'm going to send you another helper." They get the same name there. There's something I can learn about God, the Holy Spirit, by the the wife that God also made for me. And I can learn something by looking at her. I can learn something about the Holy Spirit and about the race that I'm running. See, because we are called to run the race, not to be stranded. You need help. I need help. And we need to ask. You need to know who to call when you get stranded. You have to call the helper that God has given you. You have to call on the spirit of God when you get stranded and not everything is there to get it figured out. Lord, help. Lord, I'm stranded. I you you may even feel like you know what needs to happen. You know how to fix this. And then we would get out of this, but I just don't have everything here. I just don't have all the resources. I just don't have all the tools, Lord.
Lord, I don't have everything to get out of this. I feel like I know what needs to happen, but I can't get it fixed. I don't have all the parts to fix this mess. There is a helper. God wants you to have a helper fulltime available so that you don't have to sit in your mess. You simply call on the spirit of God sent to help you. He has all of the pieces. He has all of the resources and He can get you back on track running the race. It don't matter the mess you're in. It's not all bad smoke, church. Psalm 46 says this about God. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Humble yourself. That's the only obstacle. Humble yourself and ask for help from the helper. James 4:10 reads this. "Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up in honor." "Humble yourself before the Lord and he will lift you up in honor." Now, how do you think I felt while I was driving home that last five minutes after getting stranded? And I was able to figure it all out because I had a helper. And here I am coming home. This didn't push me down. It didn't drag me down. It didn't cause any panic. It didn't ruin the word. How do you think I felt?
I was able to put it all back together and get back on the road because I'm not alone. I have a helper. And I believe with all of my heart, I am convinced of this that no matter how stranded you are, God wants you to feel the exact same thing once He has you back on track running that race. I was able to get out of my mess because I'm not alone. I have a helper. It wasn't bad smoke. I got to find out how much help I have. You see, that's where our pride kicks in. We get in trouble. We get stranded running the race. We're not producing the same level of fruit. Our ministry is not growing. It's declining. Our joining the family of God and becoming one with the family of God, bearing one another's burdens, working together for the purposes of God, it's declining. Friendship with the world is starting. Everything is getting stranded. Our pride wants us to focus on the smoke. It's embarrassing that I'm here. It's embarrassing that this area is stuck. Why not just abandon this whole situation? Church, it wasn't bad smoke. It wasn't a bad end of my day. I was about to find out how much help I have.
God uses your smoking moments. Whatever in your life may be falling apart. Whatever in your life may be just in decline and burning down. Whatever it may be, however much it may be hurting you, no matter how bad they are, no matter how bad it looks in the moment, no matter how stranded your smoke moments may make you feel, it's not always bad smoke. You're about to find out how much help you really have. God is ready to show you just how much help you really have. You don't need to stay stranded in your sins. If you say, "I still feel like I have things I don't like to talk about, things I need to keep hidden, sins that still feel like they are mine. They have not been placed on Jesus. They have not been taken out of my hands. They still very much feel like my mess. You don't need to stay stand stranded in your sins. It don't matter how bad the smoke is. It don't matter how bad the stranding is. No matter how bad your situation is, God is about to show you how much help you have. If you would just humble yourself and say, "Lord, send me the helper. I need help in this situation." You don't need to stay stranded in hopelessness. No matter what your situation looks like, no matter how impossible going forward may look, you don't need to stay stranded. You don't need to stay stranded in running the race.
If you ran well at one point in the past and today you're not, you don't need to stay stranded. You need to learn how much help you really have. You don't need to stay stranded in anxiety. You don't need to stay stranded in fear. You don't need to stay stranded in your covetousness or your sexual sin. You don't need to because you're not alone. You actually have help from the Lord God at all times. Even when you say, "I know what needs to happen," you cannot do it alone. You need the helper to come and to take you out of this situation. And it'll make you feel like you're 10 times the person you are now because you realize, I have so much help, nothing can take me down. I have so much help. Nothing could keep me from entering God's purpose for my life. Not even my own neglect. Not even my own failures. Not even my own lack of doing maintenance to keep me from getting stranded in my spiritual journey. I messed it all up. But because of how much help I have, I might get there anyways. It's not all bad smoke. God wants you to see how much help you really have. Church, no matter how much smoke there is in your life, you are about to find out how much help you have in Jesus. Humble yourself. Ask of the helper. Lord, help me see how much help I really have. Lord, I do panic when life falls apart. Lord, I do panic when all of a sudden, out of nowhere, in the worst moment possible, there's smoke in my face. Panic, things break down. Life doesn't work out.
Unexpected things are thrown my way. I do get angry. I do panic. I do worry. Lord, help me see how much help in you I really have. Lord, help me. I'm stranded in the race. I'm not running the way I used to. I'm not running well anymore. Lord, help me. Lord, help. I still feel my sins. Lord, help me. Whatever you may be going through, God through all of this simply wants you to learn how much help you have. He created help for you. He assigned his spirit to be your helper. And if you have to say to the Lord this morning, Lord, I'm willing to live off of your help. That's humbling yourself before the Lord. Lord, I'm willing to live off of help. If that is you this morning and you want to say that to the Lord, I promise you now every stranded area in your life, it's going to be a place where you're going to have your chest puffed up and you're going to feel so proud and you're going to feel so loved and you're going to feel so victorious because God will reveal his help in the most broken, the most weak, the greatest failing areas of your life. That's what He is like, a present help in time of trouble. If you want to say that to Him, Lord, I'm willing to live off of help. Would you come to the altar so we can pray together and surrender every smoky situation, every stranded situation unto his capable helping hands? Hallelujah.
-Pastor Stan Mons
