Originally posted by kirksey957I would like to precede my entry this round by saying that I believe
The theme of this round is "Fire and Brimstone."
that shaming, shunning, and scaring are not tactics that I would ever
use in compelling someone to act in a Christian manner, but for the
sake of the competition, I have given it a shot.
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It was 8:00 p.m. on a Thursday night before the reality finally struck
me with a hard knot in my gut. All that week, and all that month, for
that matter, I had spent my time without even considering what was
now due in exactly twelve hours. While I had been carelessly watching
the newly released movies, playing some old favorite video games,
and counting down to my summer vacation, my geometry poster
project had found its home in the back of my mind. And yet there I
sat, on that dreaded Thursday, nearing the verge of tears, without a
single drop of ink to show for my time of procrastination.
Although I have now come to realize that a mere geometry project will
not destroy my future, Jesus presents us with a similar situation on a
far magnified scale that may very well affect my future, and yours,
too. In Luke 13:6-7, one of Jesus’ many parables, Jesus says, “A
man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for
fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care
of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit
on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it
use up the soil?’”
Just as I did not have anything to show for my waste of a valuable
month, the fig tree in Jesus’ parable had not produced a single fig
after three whole years. What did the man in Jesus’ parable say in
response to this? In essence, he said, “Cut it down! Why should it
[take up space]?” You can easily fathom some of the many
comparable verbal stabs that my father gave me later that night.
And now you have the arrogance to ask, “How does this relate to
me?” Simply stated, you must produce your own good fruits! Produce
your own good works! Give your time, money, and compassion. Give
your joy, friendship, and thoughtfulness. Give your life to doing such
good and righteous things. But beware, if you fail to give your time
and your money, your compassion and your joy, your friendship and
your thoughtfulness, then you will simply be cut down like a worthless,
barren tree! Why should you take up space on this world doing sinful,
wicked things? What good will you have to show for your life? Not a
single drop of ink!
My brothers. My sisters. My friends. I worry for you and for me. We
must always remember to give of ourselves and to produce the fruits
that we have within us. And we must not procrastinate an instant.
Right this moment, what works do you have to show for yourself?
Imagine yourself on your dying bed without a single good deed to
show for your life. Imagine yourself before God without a single good
deed to show for your life.
Not even a single drop of ink.
What does it mean to fear God? Should we fear God? These are but a few questions to be answered in my message tonight as I have provided the following verse as a source of enlightenment on the matter.
2 Samuel 6:6 And when they came to Nachon's threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it, for the oxen shook it. And the anger of the Lord was kindled aginst Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.
The gist of the story may not be apparent from the short verse mentioned. However, what we have here is a story about the ark of the covenant. What is so special about the ark you may ask? The ark was built in order for the presence of God to dwell amongst the people. The presence of God was upon the ark, thus, great care had to be taken in caring for the ark. In fact, the people were told not to so much as touch the ark because a sinless and holy God was and is incapable of inermingling with sinful man. So what did Uzzah do? You guessed it, he touched the ark and died. However, he did so in order to keep the ark from falling off the cart. He certainly had good intentions. After all, he was merely trying to preserve the ark from sliding off the cart. What's so bad about that? In fact, king David was angered that God smote his servant Uzzah for simply trying to preserve the ark. David was said to have been moved by both anger and fear of God for such an act. David was so moved with fear, in fact, that he relocated the ark away from his own dwelling for a short period of time.
So what should be learned from this story? Why would God smite someone who was only doing what was right in his own eyes and in the eyes of his fellow man? The simply answer is disobedience. God made provisions for the transport of the ark of the covenant that did not include transport by cart and oxen. The ark was commanded by God to be transported by four men on foot via two long wooden polls. Also, when the ark of the covenant was placed in the tabernacle in a place called the holy of holies, ONLY one man was allowed in who was called the high priest. Before he entered the holy chamber the high preist was instructed by God to make atonement for his sins before entering so that he could, in turn, make atonement for the sins of the people of Israel in the presence of God. In fact, if he did not make an atonemnet for his sins before entering the holy chamber, he would be struck dead just as Uzzah was struck dead on the cart.
So how does this apply to us today? Well, just as God made provisions for sinful man to interact with a holy God during the time of the ark of the covenant, so too today God has made similar provisions for man to interact with him minus the ark of the covenant. Today, instead of inhabiting the ark of the covenant God inhabits the hearts of men. Instead of appointing a high preist to make atonement for the people in the holy of holies via the ark of the covenant we now have Christ as our high preist to make atonement for our sins in the presence of a holy God. However, just as there were "Uzzah's" back in the day of the ark of the covenant, so to do we have "Uzzah's" in the world today. What's an "Uzzah" you may ask? An "Uzzah" is someone who attempts to interact with a holy God on their own terms. An "Uzzah" is someone who walks into a holy chamber before making atonement for their sins. An "Uzzah" is someone that is more focused on doing what is right in their own eyes than what is right in the eyes of their God. God knows what provisions are necessary to deal with our sin that seperates us from himself, not us. Therefore, don't be an "Uzzah", rather, be a follower of Christ. Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the promised Messiah of old that was prophesied to come to our rescue. No one comes to the Father but through him. Christ is the provision that has been provided to us to deal with our sin. He is the source of our atonement. God knows I have tried to be an Uzzah in the past. I have tried to do good works in the past like Uzzah did in trying to save the ark. However, a million good works cannot erase so much as one small sin. Without atonement, I will be struck dead just like Uzzah. The sin is what is the problem not a lack of good works. We need atonement!!!
Originally posted by kirksey957***********ll***********
Meine Gott! Here it is only Tuesday and it's like I've thrown blood upon the waters of a shark infested sea.
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Originally posted by kirksey957This one is way outside my area, but I will enjoy reading everyone else's sermons.
The same rules apply to this round as the previous ones. The theme of this round is "Fire and Brimstone." The judges will be looking for how you use fear, guilt, and shame to scare people into heaven.
The deadline will be Saturday night.
Originally posted by NordlysYou are right, of course.
That depends on your religious beliefs. Personally I prefer "mein Wal" or "mein Muffy".
I was spoiling for a fight, because I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO AT WORK AND I AM BORED.
See my other posts in debates and you will see what I mean.
Do you mean whale?
I don't even know what you mean by muffy. I worship that too, but I think you mean something else. 😉
Originally posted by knightwestYes, "Wal" means "whale". When I say "mein Wal", I am referring to the Whaly Trinity: Whale Father, Whale Son and the Whaly Spirit.
Do you mean whale?
I don't even know what you mean by muffy. I worship that too, but I think you mean something else. 😉
Muffy is the creator of all gods and goddesses. Believers in Muffy are called Muffins.