Don’t let this shock you, but some anthropologists tell us that at an unconscious level we even go so far as to choose partners who look like us. There must be some truth to that, because look at: (Humor…select a couple that everyone knows)
Some may doubt the conclusions of the anthropologists, but we do know that once a young man and woman begin to date, they begin to explore each other's aspirations to see if they have a shared future together.
Many now go to electronic dating services, where they have to fill out a questionnaire to see if they are compatible with someone.
Illus: (Humor) I read a list that gave some facts about men and women. It goes like this:
• Women need to cry, and they won't do it alone unless they know you can hear them.
• Women keep three different shampoos and two different conditioners in the shower. After a woman showers, the bathroom will smell like a tropical rain forest.
• If a man goes on a seven-day trip, he'll pack five days worth of clothes and will wear some things twice; if a woman goes on a seven-day trip she'll pack 21 outfits because she doesn't know what she'll feel like wearing each day.
• Women love cats. Men say they love cats, but when women aren't looking, men kick cats.
• Women do NOT want an honest answer to the question, “How do I look?”
• Women cannot use a map without turning the map to correspond to the direction that they are heading.
• All women are overweight by definition; don't agree with them about it. Women always have 5 pounds to lose, but don't bring this up unless they really have 5 pounds to gain.
• All women seek equality with men until it comes to sharing the clothes closet, taking out the trash, and picking up the check.
• The most embarrassing thing for women is to find another woman wearing the same dress at a formal party. You don't hear men say, “Oh-my-goodness, there's another man wearing a black tux, get me out of here!”
Women are different from men in many ways.
Illus: A man also filled out his electronic questionnaire and had to tell why he enjoyed being a man. He said he enjoyed being a man because:
• Wedding plans take care of themselves
• You can never be pregnant
• Car Mechanics tell you the truth
• Wedding dress - $5000. Tux rental - $100.
• The occasional well-rendered belch is practically expected
• One mood all the time
• Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat
• A 5 day vacation requires only one suitcase
• You can open all of your own jars
• Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack
• Everything on your face stays its original color
• The same hairstyle lasts for decades
• Your belly usually hides your big hips
• You can "do" your nails with a pocket knife
• You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache.
• You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on Dec. 24 in 25 minutes
Men and women are totally differently and they have to really take some time before marriage to see what they have in common.
One thing that we all have in common is that we all want the best this life has to offer. Another thing we all have in common is that we all have just two lives we can pick from while seeking for the best.
1. We can choose the life that Satan offers us
2. We can choose the life that the Lord offers us
We have to decide which one of these two lives will give us the best.
• Many believe that the best life has to offer them will come from Satan.
• Some believe that the best life has to offer them will come from the Lord Jesus. They believe Him when he says, “I have come that you may have life and have it more abundantly.”
We all want the best of life and we must all choose one of the two different kinds of life that is available to us.
When will people ever learn that the best life we can have is NOT having THINGS? The BEST LIFE we can have is having HIM (Christ) in our life! We who know Christ, have things money can’t buy!
We have...
I. A HEDGE AROUND US
Job is an example of having a hedge of protection. Look at Job 1:8., “And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.”
Satan recognizes that God has built a HEDGE around us to protect us from him.
Illus: We live in a world of terrorism. There are evil men and women today that would like to destroy us and our children.
We can be thankful for the good leadership of President George W. Bush after 911. He built a HEDGE around this country to keep these terrorists from destroying us. It is not because they did not try, it is because they have not been able to penetrate the HEDGE of security that this nation has.
But the greatest terrorist is Satan himself. The Bible tells us he has come to STEAL, KILL, AND DESTROY! The only reason he has not destroyed every one of us is because God has built a HEDGE around us and will not let him touch us to carry out his evil plans.
WHAT IS THAT HEDGE FOR? A hedge is like a fence that we put around our children to protect them. God the Father puts up a hedge around us to protect us from Satan.
Listen, If God did not do that, Satan would waste no time killing us and our children. We are all here today because God has built a HEDGE around each and every one of us. That hedge protects us from Satan.
Sometimes we forget there is a battle that has been going on since the beginning of time BETWEEN GOD THE FATHER and SATAN.
Satan came before God one day thousands of years ago. We do not have all the words of that conversation, but we do have some of the conversation in the Scriptures.
Look at Job 1:7. We read, “And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.”
Notice, God did not ask Satan why he was going “...to and fro in the earth...” God knew why! God knew he was walking around on the earth trying to get one of God’s children to sin against God. There is nothing that pleases Satan like getting one of God’s children to fall into sin, so when he comes before God he can say, “You may have kicked me out of heaven because I do not love you, but the fact is, your own children do not love you!”
But look at verse 8, we read, “And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job...”
Look at the Lord’s response in verses 9-10. We read, “Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.” In other words Satan said, “The only reason Job loves You is because You have blessed him and build a hedge around him.”
Then Satan went on to say, in verse 11, “But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.”
God knew better. God knew Job was not serving Him because He had blessed him. God knew Job served Him because Job loved Him. God knew it and He was going to prove to Satan that Job loved the Lord.
Then we read in verse 12 that God took down the hedge and allowed Satan to remove the blessings from Job’s life. Satan began a brutal attack on Job.
• In verses 14-15 he lost all his oxen
• In verse 16 he lost all his sheep and his servants were burned alive.
• In verse 17 he lost his camels and servants.
• In Job 2:5-8 we read that Satan attacked Job physically with boils from the sole of his feet to the crown of his head
• In Job 2:9 his wife said to him, “...Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die...”
The word “hedge,” is translated from the Hebrew word, “suwk,” which means, “a fence.” God allowed the HEDGE momentarily to be taken down to prove to Satan that Job really loved him.
EVERYTHING THAT COULD GO WRONG FOR JOB, WENT WRONG! Look at Job 2:10. We read, “...In all this did not Job sin with his lips.”
God built a HEDGE AROUND US and SATAN CAN NOT LAY A FINGER ON US UNLESS GOD ALLOWS IT!.
We have A HEDGE AROUND US and . ..
II. A HAND UNDER US
Illus: There used to be an advertisement for Allstate Insurance that pictured a family standing in a pair of very large hands. The caption was, “You are in good hands with Allstate.”
I do not doubt that in the least, but the best hands you can be in are the HANDS OF THE LORD JESUS.
Look at John 10:28. We read, “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, NEITHER SHALL ANY MAN PLUCK THEM OUT OF MY HAND. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.”
WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND HOW BIG HIS HANDS ARE!
Look at Isaiah 40:12. We read, “Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?”
Let’s look a little closer at this wonderful verse of scripture. Notice, “Who hath...meted out heaven with the span...” The span of a hand is across from the thumb to the end of the little finger when our hand is stretched out flat. God laid out, or measured out, the heavens with the span of His hand.
Illus: Listen, the heavens are so vast that we could travel at the speed of light and it would take us thousands of years to get to some of the places in space that He has created.
That is how big His hands are. If you think you can just crawl out of those hands, go ahead and try it!
Notice something else about His hands in Isaiah 40:12. We read, “Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand.…” God has taken all the oceans, lakes, ponds and creeks, and put them in the hollow of His hand. This is how large the hollow of his hand is.
Notice that “hand” is singular. God does not even have to use both hands - just one!
God has placed us in His hand and has vowed that NO MAN SHALL PLUCK THEM OUT OF HIS HAND.
There is A HEDGE AROUND US, A HAND UNDER US, and …
III. A HELPER ABOUT US
When the Lord was here on earth, the disciples did not want to see him go.
Illus: I like that song that Johnny Mathis and Denise Williams sing together called, “What Will My Mary Say.” It is about two people in love with each other. When he has to leave, Denise Williams sings in a very pitiful voice, “Don’t go! Don’t go!” You have to hear Denise Williams to know how sorrowful she sounds as she sings, “Don’t Go!”
What a sad day indeed when the Lord told the disciples that He was going back to heaven, from where He came. Can you imagine how those disciples must have felt? The Lord always knows what we need. He gave words of comfort to them.
Look at John 14:16-18. We read, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”
The Lord realized His presence with them was a COMFORT. Notice He said, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you ANOTHER COMFORTER...”
What a comfort it is to know that we have the Lord with us each day to TEACH US and to WATCH OVER US! The Holy Spirit is our HELP WITH US each day.
The New Testament church was much more conscious of that than we are today. Let me give you three Biblical examples:
1. Look at Acts 13:2, we read, “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.”
HE WAS THEIR PARTNER IN THE MINISTRY.
2. Look at Acts 15:28. We read, “For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;”
The early church recognized that the CHURCH HAD A HELPER.
3. Look at Acts 16:5-7. We read, “And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily. Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: BUT THE SPIRIT SUFFERED THEM NOT.” The Holy Spirit watched over them!
Only when we get to heaven will we find out how often God the Holy Spirit had OPENED and SHUT DOORS because He knew what was best for us.
Illus: A pastor and his wife got home from a Christmas banquet. It was cold that night. The weather man had predicted it would freeze. As the pastor and his wife and their two boys were getting ready for bed, the pastor said to his wife, “I think I am going to light the kerosene heater in the hallway so the heat can go into all the bedrooms.” The tank was about two-thirds full so he filled it up. They went to bed that night not knowing that the man who sold them the fuel had sold them gas instead of kerosene. Around two or three o’clock in the morning the kerosene had burned out and gas was feeding the heater.
The first miracle was that there should have been an explosion, but there wasn’t. The heater just quietly caught on fire.
Soon the hallway was on fire and the bedrooms were filling up with black smoke. The pastor’s wife woke up. About two feet above the bed there was a black line drawn. Smoke was so thick above it that you could not see through it. The pastor jumped up and began to fight the fire, still not knowing it was gas and the fuel can was only a few feet away with flames licking across the floor around it. He threw covers, which melted immediately from the intense heat, on the heater. His wife was able, miraculously, to jump through the flames and down the stairs. She grabbed a hose and turned on the water. It should have been frozen, but miraculously it was not. She pulled it upstairs and put the fire out just as the fire truck drove up.
Now you can think what you want, but God, the Holy Spirit tapped her on the shoulder and said, “Wake up. Your family is in danger!”
Listen, we have a HELPER ABOUT US!
We have A HEDGE AROUND US, A HAND UNDER US A HELPER ABOUT US and …
IV. A HOPE ABOVE US
Suppose I told you that I was going to inherit enough wealth that would enable me to live a life of luxury and joy like no man on earth has ever enjoyed EVER! You might say, “Preacher, that is wishful thinking!”
I can assure you that it is not “wishful thinking,” it is the HOPE that every child of God has. In 2 Timothy 4:8, the Apostle Paul said, “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, BUT UNTO ALL THEM ALSO THAT LOVE HIS APPEARING.”
Lost man does not have a thing to look forward to. He knows he is only one heartbeat away from eternal damnation. Look at Jude 1:7, “Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”
This is such a horrifying thought to some lost people that they do not want to think about it or even want to talk about it.
But we who know the Lord Jesus, have a HOPE ABOVE US! We know that when God is through with us in this life, He will take the hedge down and Satan will destroy our flesh, but nothing can ever destroy our salvation.
Conclusion:
As we serve the Lord, Christians have:
I. A HEDGE AROUND US
II. A HAND UNDER US
III. A HELPER ABOUT US
IV. A HOPE ABOVE US
