THE WIZARD OF OZ
Heb. 11:10
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR “Why Men Are Happier People”
1. NICKNAMES. If Laura, Kate and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Kate and Sarah. If Mike, Dave & John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Bubba & Wildman.
2. MONEY. A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs. A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need but it's on sale.
3. BATHROOMS. A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel. The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 337. A man would not be able to identify more than 20 of these items.
4. ARGUMENTS. A woman has the last word in any argument.
Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.
B. TEXT
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” Heb. 11:8-10.
C. THESIS
1. PLAY VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U016JWYUDdQ
2. The movie was based on the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. The film stars Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale. It was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and later named the most-viewed motion picture. It has become an icon of American popular culture.
3. This movie is parallels the life of the Christian, who is trying to get to the Celestial City, New Jerusalem.
4. We’re going to see the longing for a place without troubles, the discovery that God offers such a place, and the four aids given to reach it.
5. The title of this message is “The Wizard of Oz.”
I. SEARCH FOR A PLACE WITHOUT TROUBLES
A. MOVIE PLOT
1. Dorothy Gale, a Kansas farm girl, lives with her Auntie Em and Uncle Henry. When a mean lady wants to take her dog Toto away, Dorothy runs away with Toto.
2. Seeing a tornado, she returns home, finds the house empty, and is hit on the head by a falling window frame.
3. Auntie Em had just told her, “Find yourself a place where you won’t get into any trouble.” Dorothy had said, “Is there such a place Toto? Not a place you can get to by a boat or train.”
4. In the song, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Dorothy imagines “Where the dreams you dare to dream come true; a place where we’ll find troubles far behind us.”
B. HEAVEN IS SUCH A PLACE
1. There’s a lot of people looking for a place without trouble, where their dreams come true.
2. The Apostle John said, “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God….3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people….They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Rev. 21:2-4.
2. “The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp….On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there” Rev. 21:22-25.
3. John added, “Blessed are those who…have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city” Rev. 22:14.
4. Many of our family members are there now! The Bible says, "To be an absent from the body is to be in the presence of the Lord."
5. Heaven is a Real Place. It’s described as ‘Paradise.’ It has real cities, streets, mansions, mountains, trees, rivers, and lots of people and angels there. Best of all – God’s there!
6. HUMOR. A pastor preached all about heaven, then asked, “How many of you want to go to heaven?” Almost everybody raised their hands, all but Jimmy Smith. “Jimmy, don’t you want to go to heaven when you die?” Why sure, when I die. But I thought you were getting a group together to go right now!”
7. We CAN go there! But there are requirements for entry:
a. ONLY THE REDEEMED
b. “BORN AGAIN.”
c. THE FAITHFUL
II. JOURNEY TO THE EMERALD CITY
A. DECISION TO CHANGE THINGS
1. Dorothy in her dream decided to go to the Emerald City. She knew if she got there, all her problems would be solved.
2. But there were obstacles to getting there; she had to make a long journey. And there were bad people who didn’t want her to get there. Yet she decided to try & go there.
3. Now it would’ve been impossible for her to ever get there on her own. But 4 things were supplied to help her make it.
4. Likewise God has supplied us with 4 things to help us overcome the challenges, be changed to appropriate character, and finish the journey to the heavenly city.
5. Have you decided to change yet?
B. “JESUS IS GONNA WIN”
1. Vernon Grounds tells of an incident that happened while he was in seminary. Since the school had no gymnasium, he and his friends played basketball in a nearby public school.
2. Nearby, an elderly janitor waited patiently until the seminarians finished playing. Invariably he sat there reading his Bible.
3. One day my friend asked him what he was reading. The man answered, “The book of Revelation.” Surprised, my friend asked if he understood it.
4. “Oh, yes,” the man assured him. “I understand it.” “What does it mean?” Quietly the janitor answered, “It means that Jesus is gonna win.”
5. YOU MIGHT AS WELL MAKE UP YOUR MIND NOW TO GET ON THE WINNING SIDE!
III. 4 THINGS GIVEN TO BRING HER VICTORY
The four things that helped Dorothy get to the Emerald City are parallel to 4 things that assist us in getting to heaven. They are these:
A. THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD: GOD’S WORD
1. WORD SHOWS US THE PATH TO TAKE
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Ps. 119:105 ESV. “You make known to me the path of life” Ps. 16:11.
2. THE WORD TEACHES US
a. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for TEACHING, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16).
b. “Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You” (Ps. 119:11). The presence of the Word of God within defies and defeats the devil’s temptations.
c. D.L. Moody said, "The Scriptures were NOT given for our INFORMATION, but for our TRANSFORMATION.”
3. THE BIBLE CAN SAVE/ TRANSFORM YOU
a. The words contained in this Bible can save and transform your life. Rom. 1:16; This Gospel “is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes.”
b. ILLUS. A WW2 pilot was shot down over the Pacific. He parachuted into the water and made it to an island. The natives helped him – food, clothing, shelter. One evening a native held up a Bible with love and respect; “Many years ago missionaries came and brought us Bibles and now we are Christians.” The G.I. replied, “Oh, we in America are more modern than that; we hardly believe in that anymore.” The native said, Well, it’s a good thing for you that we believe it, or right now we’d be eating you!”
4. The Bible is the guidebook to heaven. You can’t go wrong with it!
B. STRAW MAN: NEEDING A NEW MIND
1. CHRISTIAN CALLED TO HAVE A RENEWED MIND
“And be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing (Gr. anakaino, restore) of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” Rom. 12:2. “And be renewed (Gr. ananeoo, to re-form) in the spirit of your mind” Eph. 4:23.
2. We can be born again yet still be displeasing to God because we’re functioning out of a carnal, unregenerate mind. “The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so” Rom. 8:6-7.
3. Not only did the Straw man have no brain, but he was always scared that he was going to catch on FIRE! That's 99% of the Carnal Church! They’re scared they’re going to catch on fire!
4. You hold a revival and they don’t come because they’re satisfied they have all the spirituality they want. Church, we need to get the mindset of Paul who was always pressing in for more!
C. TIN MAN: NEEDING A NEW HEART
1. Do you remember the Tin Man’s problem? The Tin Man didn't have a HEART.
2. “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh” Ezek. 36:26. (11:19; 18:31).
3. DeBakey & Cooley weren’t the first ones to do heart transplants, God was! He needs to do some this morning.
4. God talks about a “stony” or “hard” heart. The opposite is a “tender” heart. Stone is cold; it has no inanimate fire of its own. It’s also dead; there’s no life in it!
5. Not only did the Tin Man not have a HEART, he was also RUSTY. He was so RUSTY, he was frozen up. He needed some oil.
6. Oil is a type of the Holy Spirit. Some of you haven’t attempted to “move” with the Spirit of God in a long time. You haven’t witnessed or shared your faith in a long time.
7. You’ve gotten RUSTY. You haven't had fresh oil in years. The lack of oil may also indicate the lack of heart.
8. There’s something else: the Tin Man always carried and AXE. When we don’t have the oil of the Holy Spirit in us, it’s easy for us to have an AXE to grind against something or somebody.
9 We need to get the HEART of God, the ANOINTING of God and move out to fulfill the MISSION of God
D. A LION: NEEDING COURAGE
1. It’s strange that someone can have the NATURE of a Lion but not the courage of a Lion.
2. It’s odd that people can be of the Family of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and yet be fearful of witnessing or timid in confronting evil.
3. ILLUS. “BIG TOM”
a. Big Tom was the biggest boy in our class. Tom could have beaten up anybody. He was strong, husky, muscular - and he could lift almost anything. But he simply refused to fight!
b. Even the smallest boys in our class poked fun at him. Skinny, weak kids ended up defending Tom! He got a lot of unnecessary harassment.
c. It might all have stopped if he’d've stood up and said, "If you bother me one more time, I'm going to clobber you!" But Tom never did that.
d. Up through the fifth or sixth grade he was still being called "wimp", "coward", "sissy", "powder-puff." And the older he got, the worse the taunts became. My last memory of Tom was of a six-foot boy full of fear. Sadly – it didn’t have to be that way.
4. It can be true of us Christians. If we don’t know WHO WE ARE and what our STRENGTH is, we can get pushed around & victimized by the devil.
5. That’s why God gave us the Holy Spirit – to give us BOLDNESS! Acts 4:31 says, “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”
6. The Holy Spirit turns WIMPS into WARRIORS! It turns PUSSYFOOTS (like Peter) into POWERFUL PREACHERS!
7. “But you shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” Acts 1:8.
8. It’s time we got backbones like saw-logs! LET THE LION OF JUDAH LIVE IN YOU! A lion is to be fearless! We can’t be scared we’ll lose that paycheck or pension!
9. Preach the Word without fear or favor! “Jesus didn't come to make us safe; He came to make us brave.”
10. Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened. Billy Graham
11. We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people. Martin Luther King, Jr.
12. Boldness dares to do.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION:
1. When you were young, did you ever have a kid draw a line and dare you to cross it?
2. Usually they did that because they were afraid to get into a fight, and were stalling, trying to avoid a fight. So they’d give you another chance NOT to violate their orders.
3. But aggressive boys/ girls, who aren’t afraid, are happy to call their bluff and step over the line.
4. Today, Satan’s trying to bluff you, to try to intimidate you by drawing a line and daring you NOT to cross it.
5. He’s saying, “You don’t want to change! You don’t want to step out for God because:
a. You don’t know where it’s going to lead;
b. You won’t be in control;
c. You may be perceived as a fanatic;
d. You may not be able to do it.
6. BUT IT’S ALL BLUFF CHURCH! I say, “CROSS THE LINE!”
B. ALTAR CALL
1. Everybody who wants God to move in your life in a fresh new way stand up on your feet.
2. THE LINE HAS BEEN DRAWN UP HERE AT THE ALTAR AREA. I WANT YOU TO DEFY THE DEVIL, GET ON THE WINNING SIDE, AND COME STEP ACROSS THE LINE.
3. Prayer Warriors Pray for them for special anointing, liberty, and deliverance. Salvation also.
[The idea for this message came from Johnny Campbell]
