I Urge You Series

INTRO.- I urge you. I encourage you. I challenge you. I charge you. I beg you. I plead with you. I appeal to you. I’m asking you. Wow! That’s a lot urging.

Sometimes it takes a lot to get people to do things.

ILL.- One dental worker said: At the busy dental office where I work, one patient was always late. Once when I called to confirm an appointment, he said, "I’ll be about 15 minutes late. That won’t be a problem, will it?"

"No," I told him. "We just won’t have time to give you an anesthetic." He arrived early.

The idea of suffering pain was a pretty good motivation. That’s always a good motivator! Most of us don’t like pain!

ILL.- Bank robber Willie Sutton, when asked why he robbed banks, replied, "Because that’s where the money is."

Money is also a good motivator. As the bumper sticker reads: “Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to work I go.” Or it’s more like, “I owe, I owe, so it’s off to work I go.”

ILL.- There was once a jockey who had an unbelievable winning record. Just before the end of any race, the jockey would lean way over and seemingly speak to the horse. A reporter asked the jockey what he did that made such a difference in the horse’s speed. He replied: "I simply quote a little verse in his ear: ’Roses are red, violets are blue; Horses that lose are made into glue!"

Mercy. Yes, I guess the thought of death would be a good motivator for most folks. However, I’ve known of doctors to say to some people, “If you don’t stop what you’re doing you’re going to die.”

And some of those people just keep right on doing what they’ve been doing. Maybe some doctors should say even more, like, “If you don’t stop that wild living not only are you going to die, you may also spend eternity where you don’t want.”

ILL.- On a Western Airlines flight to San Francisco, fried chicken tycoon Col. Harland Sanders, at age 89, had made himself agreeable to staff and fellow passengers, then dropped his chin to his narrow black tie and closed his eyes. Somewhere in the back of the plane a child had been shrieking for some time. One stewardess told another helplessly, "I’ve tried candy, books and games, but nothing seems to make any difference."

"I’ve got to speak to that child," said the colonel. He rose to his feet and, with the aid of his cane, made his way back. The staff watched and shrugged, as if to say, "What can he do?"

When the colonel came back, not long afterward, his charm had produced a minor miracle. There was only the sound of chatter and newspapers. The stewardess came up to him and said, "Thank you for helping us, Colonel."

"I didn’t do it for you," he replied. "I did it for the child." And he closed his eyes again and settled down. HE DID IT FOR A CHILD.

Children should motivate us to do good in life; at least, to do good for them. Our own children and others.

Motivation makes the difference. And the Lord’s word should be enough to motivate us to do certain things in life but sometimes it takes even more motivation. God’s Word urges us to do good in life.

PROP.- God urged Timothy through Paul to do certain things:

1- I urge you to pray

2- I urge you to be godly

3- I urge you to seek salvation

I. I URGE YOU TO PRAY

1I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

I urge you to pray! We shouldn’t have to be urged to pray. It should come naturally for the child of God. We should want to pray. We should want to talk to God constantly.

ILL.- A little girl came home from a neighbor’s house where her little friend had died. "Why did you go?" questioned her father. "To comfort her mother," said the child. "What could you do to comfort her?" "I climbed into her lap and cried with her."

How could you not want to talk to someone who would do this for you/with you? How could you not want to talk to one who would always sympathize with you and even cry with you?

Hebrews 4:14-16 “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”