Silence The Ignorant Talk Of Foolish Men Series

INTRO.- Ignorant talk. There is a lot of that going around. Much of it is in Hollywood. Here is some ignorant talk from foolish people.

- JODIE FOSTER: "I absolutely love religions and the rituals. Even though I don’t believe in God."

- BILLY JOEL: "I wasn’t raised Catholic, but I used to go to Mass with my friends, and I viewed the whole business as a lot of very enthralling hocus-pocus. I believe that all important matters have to be settled here, not in the clouds somewhere after we kick off."

- JOHN MALKOVICH: "I believe in people, I believe in humans, I believe in a car, but I don’t believe something I have absolutely no evidence of for."

- BILL MAHER: On Larry King Live, Maher said that "all religious people have a neurological disorder" and that religion is "insanity by consensus."

- GEORGE CARLIN: I would never want to be a member of a group whose symbol was a guy nailed to two pieces of wood. Also, I’ve begun worshiping the Sun for a number of reasons. First of all, unlike some other gods I could mention, I can see the Sun. It’s there for me every day. And the things it brings me are quite apparent all the time: heat, light, food, a lovely day. There’s no mystery, no one asks for money, I don’t have to dress up, and there’s no boring pageantry.

ILL.- When comedian Kathy Griffin accepted her long-awaited Creative Arts award Emmy award in September 2007, she said: "A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus."

She went on to hold up her Emmy, make an off-color remark about Christ and proclaim, "This award is my god now!"

Fox religion correspondent, Lauren Green, wrote: I just don’t understand comedian Kathy Griffin. Please understand that I like her. She’s been on the FOX News Channel quite a bit and for the brief times we’ve talked, I’ve found her to be funny and self-effacing.

So, it puzzled me at first, then angered me second, that she would accept an award and then insult a man who preached love and acceptance. Why would someone do that?

I don’t know what went through her mind and why she would think that was cutting edge or even funny. But first, I want to actually show you that, in fact, Kathy Griffin is wrong. Jesus had everything to do with her winning that award. And here’s the reasoning.

Jesus died on a cross 2,000 years ago. His dying words were, "Forgive them Father for they know not what they do." He died and they buried him in a rock cut tomb. Three days later, as the Bible says, he rose from the dead. That day is what Christians celebrate as Easter. So, you see, Kathy Griffin, Jesus has everything to do with you winning that award.

"You live in a free country where your abilities can be recognized if you’re willing to work hard enough. That’s at least the dream of America. If you’d been born in many other parts of the world, your daily activity might involve seeking out a way to survive, or even trying to avoid persecution and death.

"Luxuries like pursuing a career in the entertainment industry would never have been realized; luxuries like being able to insult the founder of a religion of forgiveness and acceptance would not have been possible.

Kathy Griffin, just because you "can" say something, doesn’t mean you "should."

You didn’t just insult Christianity … you insulted the very reason you’ve prospered.

And that’s what I call "silencing the ignorant talk of foolish people." Amen. But there are other ways of silencing the ignorant talk of foolish people.

PROP.- Our text tells us how to silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.

1- Submit to authority

2- Live as servants

3- Show proper respect

4- Love the believers

I. SUBMIT TO AUTHORITY

13Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.

ILL.- A policeman pulls a man over for speeding and asks him to get out of the car. After looking the man over he says, "Sir, I couldn’t help but notice your eyes are bloodshot. Have you been drinking?"

The man gets really indignant and says, "Officer, I couldn’t help but notice your eyes are glazed. Have you been eating doughnuts?"

ILL.- A man was speeding down a Alabama highway, feeling secure in a group of cars all traveling at the same speed. However, as they passed a speed trap, he got nailed by radar and was pulled over.