Sermon Central
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Take A Young Man From A Wealthy Family, Strip Him ...
Contributed by Tobin Crenshaw on Aug 15, 2010 (message contributor)
Take a young man from a wealthy family, strip him of all of his money until he finds himself homeless and has to beg on the street, hold him in a cell as a prisoner of war in a foreign land, and turn his family against him and what are the odds you would give for him to impact the world?
Or consider, put a man who is considered too old, too small and too nice in the ring with the most dangerous fighter in the world. Place the Vegas odds at 25-1 against him; cancel his honeymoon and have his training partners beat him during routine exercises. What chance does he have of surviving the fight, let alone winning?
Paul says the promises of God go beyond our expectations to things the Apostle would share that, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." (1 Corinthians 2:9).
The first man above is Saint Francis who voluntarily gave up all money to serve the poor. He was taken prisoner when he walked across the battlefield to speak with the Islamic Sultan. While held in jail he shared the love of Christ and the Sultan agreed to treat the prisoners better. He is still a beloved figure today because his life was marked by poetry, song and joy.
The second man is Evander Holyfield, who beat Mike Tyson for the world heavyweight championship. Holyfield was married just a few weeks before the fight. During his training he was overwhelmed with all the responsibilities he was facing.
His wife told him, "You think God is not big enough to handle this problem." Then she sang, "I have made You too small in my eyes."
Holyfield realized he was seeing God as small and his challenges as too big. He began singing that song throughout his practices and his timing and speed began to dramatically improve.
When fight day came, he and his wife danced to the inspirational song, "Mighty Man of War" which recounts God's power and strength in times of need.
During the fight while in his corner his team told him, "Man, we can't understand you. What are you saying?"
Evander replied, "Don't worry about it, I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to God." It is a great statement to remember when responding to the pessimists of the world.
In the end Holyfield won the fight in one of the biggest upsets in boxing, and both he and Saint Francis are examples of what God can do when we see him as big enough.
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