I must confess as I preach this sermon to you that I am guilty of doing just that often.
Illus: I am like the man who says:
• People say I make too many assumptions.
• I mean, they don't say it, but I know they're thinking it...
But this is not something I am guilty alone, I think we are all guilty of doing it.
Define Assumption: A thing that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof.
Assuming things make me think of the…
Illus: On the first day of school, the children brought gifts for their teacher.
• The supermarket manager's daughter brought the teacher a basket of assorted fruit.
•
The florist's son brought the teacher a bouquet of flowers.
•
The candy-store owner's daughter gave the teacher a pretty box of candy.
• Then the liquor-store owner's son brought up a big, heavy box.
• The teacher lifted it up and noticed that it was leaking a little bit... She touched a drop of the liquid with her finger and tasted it.
• "Is it wine?" she guessed.
• "No," the boy replied.
• She tasted another drop and asked, "Champagne ?"
• "No," said the little boy........... "It's a puppy!"....
I am here to tell you that ASSUMING THNGS CAN GET YOU INTO TROUBLE.
The danger of assumptions is that we live our life thinking we know everything because we have based our life on assumptions.
That is we live our life by accepting that our narrow view of information is accurate, we close ourselves off to other possibilities.
HOW DOES ASSUMPTION GET STARTED!!!
It’s easy to make assumptions. Do three things:
1. All you need is incomplete information about a situation.
2. You fill in the blanks with YOUR interpretation of what you SEE OR HEAR.
3. Armed with your information, you connect dots that aren’t there.
That is something we do in this life, we assume something is true to only find out later it there is not one shred of truth in it. NOT A SHRED!!!
Illus: Let me illustrate: A professional carpet-layer stepped back to survey a newly installed carpet he had just installed.
Reaching into his shirt pocket for a cigarette, he realized the pack was missing. At the same time he noticed a lump under the carpet in the middle of the room, about the size of the missing cigarette pack.
There was no way to retrieve his cigarette pack from under the attached carpet without ripping everything up and starting over. Finally, he decided to beat the object flat, thereby destroying any evidence of his mistake.
Gathering his tools, the carpet layer walked out to his truck. There on the seat of his truck was the mislaid pack of cigarette.
As he lit one up, the homeowner hurried out of the house and asked, “Hey, have you seen my son’s parkeet?”
Again, if you want to live a life of regret go through life assuming things without the facts.
We do this all the time by:
I. THINGS WE HEAR
Listen, you can not believe in everything you hear.
For example, if we were living in the days on earth when Christ was on earth, and believe all the things that his enemies said about Him we would not believe that He was who He said HE WAS!!!
For example, look at Mark 3:20-22 And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself. And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.
Notice, they said,
• HE IS BESIDE HIMSELF!!!
• HE HATH Beelzebub
In Luke 7:34 The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!
• He is a glutton
• He is a winebibber
Many people were saying bad things about Jesus. Even Jesus’ family were saying bad things about him.
John 7:5 For neither did his brethren believe in him.
There was some very bad things being said about the Lord Jesus.
Now those who heard such things ASSUME it was the truth and they became part of that crowd that hollered, CRUCIFY HIM!
The things they said of Him is the biggest FALSE ASSUMPTION that has ever been assumed.
Illus: Someone said, “You can not believe half of what you hear”.
I would not say that is true, but if we are wise when we hear something we should NOT ASSUME everything we are hearing is the truth.
Illus: The photographer for a national magazine was assigned to get photos of a great forest fire. Smoke at the scene hampered him and he asked his home office to hire a plane. Arrangements were made and he was told to go at once to a nearby airport, where the plane would be waiting. When he arrived at the airport, a plane was warming up near the runway.
He jumped in with his equipment and yelled, "Let's go! Let's go!"
The pilot swung the plane into the wind and they soon were in the air. "Fly over the north side of the fire," yelled the photographer, "and make three or four low level passes."
"Why?" asked the pilot. "Because I'm going to take pictures," cried the photographer. "I'm a photographer and photographers take pictures!"
After a pause the pilot said, "You mean you're not the flight instructor?"
People said some terrible things about the Lord Jesus and none of it was true!!!
Illus: The news media today report all kinds of things and many times it is the opposite of what they are reporting.
WHY DO THEY DO THIS?
(1) Because they have a hidden bias against someone and they want you to hate someone as much as they hate someone.
(2) They also reports false news because they know that most people will assume they are telling the truth when it is not even close to the truth!
Again, if you want to have a life of misery ASSUME everything you HEAR!!!
But also believe in…
II. Everything you SEE.
1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.
Sometime we can not believe everything we HEAR nor can we believe in everything we SEE?
Illus: Years ago, we hired a elderly lady to work in our nursery.
She was well dress and from appearance she seem to be everything we were looking for.
But several months after we hired her someone came to me and said, “Preacher, you need to come to the nursery…we have a problem.”
When I arrived I saw this lady that appeared to be the ideal person for our nursery was DRUNK AS A SKUNK…WHATEVER THAT MEANS!!!
She was not just drunk, she was wobbly drunk and had to be assisted home.
We made that mistake based on WHAT WE SAW WHEN WE INTERVIEWED HER. SHE LOOKED TO BE THE IDEAL PERSON!!!
We learned WHAT YOU SEE IS NOT ALWAYS WHAT YOU SEE!!!
When I think about not believing what you see…I THINK OF HER!
Illus: I also, think about a cowboy movie with John Wayne and Maureen Ohara. John had been drinking a little to much and he offered the house keeper a drink. She refused but after a little convincing she took a drink. After she took a drink he offered her another drink. Soon this took place and they were drunk.
She decided she would go on to bed but after she started up the stair case she could not make it. And drunk John Wayne said, LET ME HELP YOU! They got half way up and they both came tumbling down the stair case and she landed in his lap.
His wife came out and saw them and John Wayne told her, HONEY, ARE YOU GOING TO BELIEVE WHAT I TELL YOU OR ARE YOU GOING TO BELIEVE WHAT YOUR LYING EYES ARE TELLING YOU!!!
A lot of times we see something and ASSUME something that is not true.
Illus: John was driving home late one night when he picked up a hitchhiker. He looked at him real careful before he picked him up. But as they rode along, he began to be suspicious of his passenger.
John checked to see if his wallet was safe in the pocket of his coat that was on the seat between them, but it wasn't there! He stopped to look more careful and it was not there.
He ordered the hitchhiker out, and said, "Hand over the wallet immediately!" The frightened hitchhiker handed over a billfolder, and John drove off.
When he arrived home, he started to tell his wife about the experience, but she interrupted him, saying, "Before I forget, John, do you know that you left your wallet at home this morning?"
We make big mistakes in life ASSUMING things we HEAR and things we SEE!!!
Remember Job…many false assumptions was made about him from HEARING and SEEING.
Even the devil made a FALSE ASSUMPTION about this great man of God.
Satan says to God, "The only reason Job is worshipping you is because you’ve blessed his life with wisdom, wealth, health and family. Take away the blessings and watch Job curse You."
This is a false assumption satan made about Job.
And God gave Satan the permission to attack Job.
In chapter 3,
• Job’s children had all died.
• Poverty replaced Job’s wealth.
• A terrible disease robbed Job of his health.
• Self-pity replaced Job’s wisdom.
• Death became a welcomed friend to Job.
But the devil assumed if all the blesings was removed that Job would quit serving God…HE WAS WRONG!!!
Job’s friends assumed that God was punishing him…BUT THEY WERE WRONG ALSO!!!
Conclusion:
We go through life assuming things:
(1) Some assume that if a person has big houses, new cars it is a sign God is blessing them.
Really, God must really be blessing all those movie stars because they have some of the biggest houses and cars of anyone!!!
(2) Some ASSUME if a person has good health, it is a sign God is blessing them.
Really, I can assure you that some very healthy ungodly people are enjoying good health.
Listen, we must not assume that every illness, financial problem or relational problem is God’s judgment.
I can not always make the best decision on what I HEAR and what I SEE that I need to trust in God who always know the facts.
If God wants me to know what I SEE and what I HEAR He will reveal it to me!!!
Because He knows all the facts the Holy Spirit can lead me into ALL TRUTH.
I want to close with this verse in John 21:20-22 Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.
The older I get the more I realize I do not need to be concern about what others are doing, I FIND IT A FULL TIME JOB OF TAKING CARE OF ME!!!
