Sermon Illustrations

My mother has a fairly rare heart condition known as Hypertropic Cardiomyopathy. It is a disease of the muscle of the heart in which a portion of the muscle of the heart is thickened without any obvious cause. It’s a leading cause of sudden cardiac death in any age group and causes disabling symptoms. Apparently with this disease the heart muscle increases in size and causes the heart muscle to thicken. It causes disruptions of the electrical functions of the heart. My mum recently went into the ICU with an irregular heart beat and received shock treatment - electrical impulses to stimulate the heart to beat in time, rather than irregularly.

Pharaoh had some shock treatment to his hardened heart also, in the form of signs and wonders and plagues. God was trying to reveal Himself to Pharaoh. I am no better than Pharaoh, yet when God shocked my spiritual heart it began to function once again as it should. I saw the Cross and was shocked by what God had done for me and the forgiveness that He was offering me and humbled by such an act of love.

When God shocked Pharaoh’s heart it hardened all the more and was headed for certain cardiac arrest.

How does your heart respond to God’s promptings? Are you shocked by your sin and your need to humbly submit to Him and accept His forgiveness? Are you shocked by the Cross of Christ? God says to me as He did to Pharaoh "You will know that I am God!" which means He is in command and I am not.

Related Sermon Illustrations

  • Early In My Ministry, I Met A Man Named Worral. ...  PRO

    Contributed by Charles R. Swindoll on Oct 13, 2004
    based on 4 ratings
     | 10,137 views

    Early in my ministry, I met a man named Worral. He had been stricken with rheumatoid arthritis at age 15, and when I met him 30 years later, he was totally paralyzed except for 1 finger, could barely speak and was totally blind. But he had a string tied to that one mobile finger that could turn on ...read more

  • At The Spiritual Level, Planning Means Taking The ...

    Contributed by Richard Mcnair on Nov 4, 2004
    based on 1 rating
     | 2,597 views

    At the spiritual level, planning means taking the initiative. It’s not about sitting around until you are absolutely certain God is calling you to a particular task, direction, country, or ministry. Nor is it waiting for the doors to open so you can go there easily. Planning is an act of faith. ...read more

  • Sieze The Day  PRO

    Contributed by Dave Mcfadden on Dec 20, 2004
    based on 4 ratings
     | 2,890 views

    Shakespeare once wrote: "there is a tide in the affairs of men, Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows and in miseries." The Latins had a phrase that expressed the same idea: "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero," ...read more

  • Quote: "If Men Of Wisdom And Knowledge, Of ...  PRO

    Contributed by John Gerald on Oct 8, 2004
    based on 3 ratings
     | 2,379 views

    Quote: "If men of wisdom and knowledge, of moderation and temperance, of patience, fortitude and perseverance, of sobriety and true republican simplicity of manners, of zeal for the honour of the Supreme Being and the welfare of the commonwealth; if men possessed of these other excellent qualities ...read more

Related Sermons