Be Careful!

Be Careful!

August 17, 2008 Evening Service

Immanuel Baptist Church, Wagoner, OK

Rick Boyne

Message Point: Heed the caution that is given to us through the ages.

Focus Passage: Ephesians 5:15-21

Supplemental Passage: Introduction: An angel appears at a faculty meeting and tells the dean that in return for his unselfish and exemplary behavior, the Lord will reward him with his choice of infinite wealth, wisdom or beauty. Without hesitating, the dean selects infinite wisdom. "Done!" says the angel, and disappears in a cloud of smoke and a bolt of lightning. Now, all heads turn toward the dean, who sits surrounded by a faint halo of light. At length, one of his colleagues whispers, "Say something." The dean looks at them and says, "I should have taken the money."

I. Be wise! [Redeem the time: the days are evil]

a. Walk wisely: Automaker Henry Ford asked electrical genius Charlie Steinmetz to build the generators for his factory. One day the generators ground to a halt, and the repairmen couldn’t find the problem. So Ford called Steinmetz, who tinkered with the machines for a few hours and then threw the switch. The generators whirred to life--but Ford got a bill for $10,000 from Steinmetz. Flabbergasted, the rather tightfisted car maker inquired why the bill was so high. Steinmetz’s reply: For tinkering with the generators, $10. For knowing where to tinker, $9,990. Ford paid the bill.

b. Use your time wisely

i. In a lifetime the average North American will spend:

Six months sitting at stoplights

Eight months opening junk mail

One year looking for misplaced objects

2 years unsuccessfully returning phone calls

5 years waiting in line

6 years eating

21 years watching television.

II. Don’t get drunk! [to be extravagant or dissolute in the pursuit of pleasure; especially: to drink to excess]

a. Don’t be filled with wine, be filled with the Spirit.

b. [God shaped void] (Blaise Pascal, the great 17th-century mathematician)

III. Sing to God!

a. Quit singing bar/drinking songs

b. Start singing to God

c. Make any excuse to praise the Lord

Invitation: