Here Comes Trouble Again! # 1a

Before you get up and leave, let me encourage you to sit and listen to this sermon that could be a tremendous help to you. Maybe I can teach you something you did not know about trouble.

Illus: A man went to aviation school to learn all he could about helicopters. He said he always thought that what kept helicopters up in the air was the propellers spinning above the helicopter. But he said he found out that was not the case.

He said he discovered that the propeller spinning above the helicopter was no more than a big fan to keep the pilot cool.

He said, “If you do not believe me, watch a helicopter pilot when those propellers quit spinning and see if he does not begin to sweat.”

I do not know that much about helicopters, but I do want to teach you some things I have learned from the scriptures about trouble.

One thing we learn at an early age is that we do not live in a perfect world.

Illus: Someone said that in a perfect world . . .

• A person should feel as good at 50 as he did at 17

• We would be as smart at 50 as we thought were at 17

• We would have an much energy at 70 as we did when we were 17

• Pro baseball players would be complaining about school teachers being paid millions of dollars to teach

• Potato chips might have calories, but if you ate them with onion dip the calories would be neutralized

• If the guy from the government said to you , “I’m here to help,” not only would he mean it, but he would also do it

• Highway patrolmen would never be around when your running late, but would always be at your side when a BMW speeds past you, or a Mac truck won’t get off your bumper

• The better food tasted, the less calories it would have

• Warranties would be for 13 months and products would fail at 12 months

We all have come to realize that WE DO NOT LIVE IN A PERFECT WORLD.

Illus: When I think of trouble, I think of the woman that had three sons that were so wild that she changed their name to STUPID, SHUT-UP and TROUBLE!

They were riding down the road one day in a pick-up truck and TROUBLE was in the back by himself. He was hollering and jumping around in the back like a wild man. STUPID was driving around a corner too fast, and TROUBLE fell out.

They went back to look for him, but they could not find him anywhere. After some time looking for him, they decided the only thing they could do was go to the police station and report him as a missing person.

When they arrived, they saw a police sergeant behind the desk and they told him they wanted to report a missing person.

He said, “Ok, but before we look for him we need to fill out a missing person questionnaire.”

He said to the first one, “What is your name?” He said, “SHUT-UP!”

He turned to the next one and said, “What is your name?” He said, “STUPID!”

The police sergeant said, “Fellows, just who do you think you are, coming in here and talking to me like this? If you are looking for TROUBLE, you came to the right place!”

They said, “HOW DID HE GET HERE?”

No one goes around looking for trouble, it just seems that TROUBLE is always looking for us.

No one is particularly fond of trouble. When some misfortune opens the door and comes into our lives, we treat it as an intruder, and bitterly resent its presence. We immediately look trouble in the eye and say, “What are you doing in my life? This is private property and you are not wanted here!”

The last thing we want in our life is trouble, so, when we hear a man like the Psalmist say, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted;” we are inclined to question his wisdom, judgment or sincerity in making such a statement.

I believe when David made that statement he was very SINCERE. Actually, there are a great many Christians who could and would have made the same statement. They would say that one of the best things that ever happened to them was when trouble came into their lives.

WHY WOULD A CHRISTIAN SAY SUCH A RIDICULOUS THING? Because adversity in our life can do for us what nothing else can do.

Illus: A preacher tried for years to get a man to attend church, but the man had time for everything else but no time for God.