Looking around and wanting something that someone else has can get us into lots of trouble.
Illus: A man saw other men with their good looking wives, and decided he wanted a wife. One day, he walked into the restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him, and as he sat there, the waitress came over and asked for their order.
• The man says, "I'll have a hamburger, fries and a coke," and turns to the ostrich. "What's yours?" "I'll have the same," says the ostrich.
• A short time later the waitress returns with the order. "That will be $6.40 please," and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out exact change for payment.
• The next day, the man and the ostrich return and the man says, "I'll have a hamburger, fries and a coke," and the ostrich says, "I'll have the same." Once again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with the exact change.
• This becomes a routine until late one evening, the two enter again. "The usual?" asks the waitress.
• "No, this is Friday night, so I will have a steak, baked potato and salad," says the man. "Same for me," says the ostrich.
• A short time later the waitress comes with the order and says, "That will be $12.62." Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the table.
• The waitress can't hold back her curiosity any longer. "Excuse me, sir. How do you manage to always come up with the exact change out of your pocket every time?"
• "Well," says the man, "a while back I was cleaning the attic and I found an old lamp. When I rubbed it, a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes. My first wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything, I could just put my hand in my pocket and the right amount of money would always be there."
• "That's brilliant!" says the waitress. "Most people would wish for a million dollars or something, but you'll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live!"
• "That's right! Whether it's a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce, the exact money is always there," says the man.
• The waitress asks, "One other thing, sir, what's with the ostrich?"
• The man sighs and answers, “On my second wish I messed up big time. I asked for a tall chick with long legs who agrees with everything I say.”
Desiring certain things can get us into trouble in a number of ways, such as:
(1) IT CAN CAUSE MARRIAGE PROBLEMS
Many men and women look around each day and they see other men and women and they think - “I WANT WHAT THEY HAVE!”
Illus: There is a story of two Buddhist monks walking in a drenching thunderstorm. They came to a stream, and it was swollen out of its banks. A beautiful young Japanese woman in a kimono stood there wanting to get to the other side, but she was afraid of the currents. In characteristic Buddhist compassion, one of the monks said, "Can I help you?" The woman said, "I need to cross this stream." The monk picked her up, put her on his shoulders, carried her through the water, and put her down on the other side. He and his companion went on to the monastery. That night his companion said to him, "I have something I want to talk to you about. As Buddhist monks, we have taken vows not to look on a woman, much less touch her body. Back there by the river you did both." The first monk said, "My brother, I put that woman down on the other side of the river. You're still carrying her in your mind." (John Claypool, "The Future and Forgetting," Preaching Today, Tape No. 109. )
There are many married folks looking at the opposite sex, and this can only lead to some serious problems.
(2) IT CAN GET US IN TROUBLE FINANCIALLY
Many folks look around and see what others are wearing, driving and how they are living, and want what they have.
Illus: I like that television commercial where a man stands in front of this beautiful house. He shows you his swimming pool in the back yard, he shows you the golf course where he plays golf, he shows you his beautiful car, and his riding lawn mower. He then says, “HOW CAN I AFFORD ALL THIS?” He says, “I AM UP TO MY EYEBALLS IN DEBT CAN ANYONE PLEASE HELP ME!”
Many people have looked around and have seen what someone else has and decided they had to have the same thing, and now they are up to their eyeballs in debt.
• Someone said, “Many people have finally realized that money can't buy happiness. Now they're trying credit cards.” (James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988, p. 370.)
• An ad appeared in the classified section of the newspaper that read: "I would like to announce that the ad I put in this newspaper last Saturday was in error. I will be responsible for any debts incurred by my wife. And I will start paying as soon as I get out of the hospital." (James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988.)
When we start to look around at what others have and then lust for it, we can find ourselves in big trouble fast! Israel looked around at their neighbors and wanted what they had and it certainly got them into trouble.
They wanted to be like other nations and probably they chose Saul for his size and looks. BUT HE WAS A TERRIBLE KING!
So, when they were ready to choose another king, God told Samuel, "...Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature...for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." In other words, God was saying, "Do not make the same dumb mistake again."
Illus: Speaking of dumb mistakes, a couple of New Jersey hunters are out in the woods when one of them falls to the ground. He appears to be dead but his friend is not sure. The man whips out his cell phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps to the operator: "My friend appears to be dead! What should I do?" The operator, in a calm soothing voice says: "Just take it easy. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead." There is a silence, then a shot is heard. The guy's voice comes back on the line. He says: "OK, now what?"
We all have made our share of dumb mistakes. Some men have accused God of making mistakes over and over again.
Illus: After Adam was created, there he was in the Garden of Eden. Of course it wasn't good for him to be all by himself, so the Lord came down to visit. "Adam," He said, "I have a plan to make you much, much happier. I'm going to give you a companion, a helpmate for you, someone who will fulfill your every need and desire. Someone who will be faithful, loving, and obedient. Someone who will make you feel wonderful every day of your life." Adam was stunned. "That sounds incredible."
"Well, it is," replied the Lord. "But it doesn't come for free. In fact this is someone so special that it's going to cost you and arm and a leg."
"That's a pretty high price to pay," said Adam. "What can I get for a rib?"
God has never made a mistake, but we have certainly made our share of them.
God was telling Israel that THEY NEEDED TO LEARN FROM THEIR MISTAKE AND NOT MAKE THE SAME ONE AGAIN!
As we look at ourselves, we can easily make mistakes because we judge people OUTWARDLY, while God judges people INWARDLY!
We are told that a cat has nine lives. I mention that to say this: We all have FOUR different lives that we are known by.
I. THE LIFE THE WORLD KNOWS US BY
They know us by our face and voice.
The people had looked upon Saul and judged him to be worthy of ruling because of his tall stature and good looks. So often people make matrimonial decisions on looks alone. But what they fail to realize is that as time goes on, that beautiful girl or that handsome fellow will not always look like that.
Illus: We men go through four stages in life.
• We believe in Santa Claus
• We do not believe in Santa Claus
• We are Santa Claus
• We look like Santa Claus
The world KNOWS US but they DO NOT REALLY KNOW US!
They took one look at Saul and said, “Wow! He is handsome, and if we make him king, everyone is going to look at us and say, “We wish we had a nice looking king like that!”
Now David was not bad looking, but obviously he was not as tall and im¬pressive as Saul was. The Bible tells us a little about David’s appearance. Look at 1 Sam. 16:12, it says, "...Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the Lord said. Arise, anoint him:"
The life the world knows us by is the life they see, but we are all very good at concealing and only letting them see that part of our life that we want them to see.
This is why some can THINK THEY KNOW US, but in reality they DO NOT KNOW US AT ALL!
Illus: When a serial killer is caught, the news media begins to talk to their neighbors to find out more about the killer. And generally we hear them say, “He was always nice and kind, it is hard to believe he would do such a thing.” This is what they think about someone who has killed 30 or 40 people!
God’s Word cautions the Israelites to NOT TO JUDGE A MAN FROM WITHOUT, BUT WITHIN.
Illus: A man’s life is like a book. You have heard the old saying, “You can not judge a book by it’s cover.”
There is THE LIFE THE WORLD KNOWS US BY and -
II. THE LIFE OUR FRIENDS KNOW US BY
Our friends know us a bit better than the world knows us. The world may mis¬judge us, but our friends will not be so quick to do so, because they know us better. They know our likes, dislikes, hobbies, sports, etc.
Illus: Someone said, “Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."
Illus: They say -
• It takes a minute to find a special person
• It takes an hour to appreciate them
• It takes a day to love them
• But it takes an entire lifetime to forget them
Illus: One example of friendship remains with me as vividly as the moment I first heard of it as a boy. In his first seasons with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Jackie Robinson, the first black man to play Major League baseball, faced venom nearly everywhere he traveled -- fastballs at his head, spikings on the bases, brutal epithets from the opposing dugouts and from the crowds. During one game in Boston, the taunts and racial slurs seemed to reach a peak. In the midst of this, another Dodger, a southern white man named Pee Wee Reese, called time-out. He walked from his position at shortstop toward Robinson at second base, put his arm around Robinson's shoulder, and stood there with him for what seemed like a long time. The gesture spoke more eloquently than the words: This man is my friend.” (Willie Morris in Parade. )
Listen, pity the man who has no friends. But even our friends do not know everything about us.
God was telling Israel that He knew what was within a person because He could look within.
There is THE LIFE THE WORLD KNOWS US BY, THE LIFE OUR FRIENDS KNOW US BY and -
III. THE LIFE OUR FAMILY KNOWS US BY
Our family knows us as well as any human can know us. It has been said that if you really want to know about a man, ask his family.
They can come closer to telling you what a man or a woman really is like than anyone else. They know:
• His desires
• His hobbies
• What he reads
• What he watches on TV
• His goals
• His prayer life
• His Bible study life
Illus: A man died, and the preacher was preaching his funeral. He had nothing but nice things to say about this man. In fact, he said so many nice things that the wife leaned over to her son and said, “Son, go look in that casket, that does not sound like your dad in there!”
Our families know us better than any human on this earth.
There is THE LIFE THE WORLD KNOWS US BY, THE LIFE OUR FRIENDS KNOW US BY, THE LIFE OUR FAMILY KNOWS US BY and -
IV. THE LIFE GOD KNOWS US BY
The world, our friends, church people, and our families know us by our reputation, but God knows what is in our heart.
We look people in the eyes but we do not have a clue what is in their hearts.
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger was in a restaurant one day talking to a young man. The waitress held up the newspaper and said, "Did you read about that cruel murder that happened last night?" The preacher said, "No, I didn’t." She said that a young lady was cruelly mutilated and then killed. To hear of such a thing as this caused his blood to curdle and he said, "They ought to catch the man that did this and do the same thing to him!" Well, they caught the man the next day! It was the very man that he had been drinking coffee with at the time she told him about it.
We do not always know what is in a man's heart! He may look you in the face and smile, and at the same time have such a strong hatred in his heart that he would kill you if he could do it and get away with it.
Illus: Years ago, Dr. Odell Belger tells of how the church hired a retired lady to work in the church nursery. But one of the church members could smell alcohol on her breath. The deacons began to check into this matter and found out she had a serious drinking problem. They had to let her go. She got mad at Dr. Belger for dismissing her. She later came to his office and pretended she knew she was wrong and she wanted to ask for forgiveness. In fact, she brought him a nice hot meal to show her friendship. Immediately after she left, he received a telephone call from a lady in the church. She said, “Preacher, do not eat that food she brought you. She went by a witch doctors house and had it cursed before she brought it to you.”
You never know what is in a man’s heart, but God does!
Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
I do not care how pure a man or woman may seem to be, we are all subject to becoming as corrupt as any other person.
Illus: One married lady had such talent, that as she played the organ and sang she almost looked like an angel. She had played in church for years. Everybody that knew her had great con¬fidence in her until she sur¬prised everyone and left town with another man.
Most pastors have counseled with folks who fell into deep sin, and they have heard them say, "I did not know I could do such a terrible thing."
Man does not realize how wicked his heart is. Because God knows man's sinful heart He says, "Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again." (John 3:7)
You may think you are a pretty good person, but God sees all those wicked, lustful thoughts. God sees the hate in your heart and He says, "Marvel not...Ye must be born again."
Conclusion:
Illus: A certain man had three friends. One day he was given a summons by the court because his affairs were so tangled in such a mess that a condemnation of the gravest sort appeared inevitable. In these circum¬stances he went to his friends.
• One said, "All that I can do is buy you a suit to make your appearance in court.”
• The second friend said, "All I can do is escort you to the court house."
• The third said, "I shall enter in and speak on your behalf."
He did, and did it so well that the man was found "Not guilty". The story is the story of each of our lives. A friend will give you the last suit of clothes you will ever have. Others shall accompany you to the cemetery, but cannot go any farther. But that friend that shall enter in with us is Jesus. He shall go all the way and speak on our behalf. We, who have a sinful, depraved nature, need a Savior to save us from our sins. Jesus said, "Ye must be born again."
Won't you do it now?
There is -
I. THE LIFE THE WORLD KNOWS US BY
II. THE LIFE OUR FRIENDS KNOW US BY
III. THE LIFE OUR FAMILY KNOWS US BY
IV. THE LIFE GOD KNOWS US BY
