INTRO.- ILL.- A man by the name of George owned an apartment complex and had just completed the exterior brick work on the 2nd floor. He had some bricks left over and was trying to decide the best way to get the load of bricks back down to the ground level without breaking them.
He noticed a 55-gal. Barrel on the ground and thought, "I know what I’ll do. I’ll tie some rope around that barrel, hook a pulley to the 2nd floor eave and pull the barrel up to the 2nd floor. Then I can load the bricks into the barrel and let it back down to the ground."
So that’s what he began to do. He tied the rope around the barrel, ran it over the pulley on the 2nd floor and pulledthe barrel up to the 2nd floor. Then he tied the rope to the root of a nearby tree. He went up to the 2nd floor balcony and loaded the bricks into the barrel. Then he went back downstairs, grabbed the rope and pulled it loose from the root.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT, HOWEVER, GEORGE HADN’T COUNTED ON! That 55-gal barrel full of bricks weighed about 4 times as much as George! So the barrel shot down like lightning and George shot up like a rocket! As George shot past the barrel, it hit his shoulder, slammed against his hip and hit his kneecap. The barrel crashed to the ground, and George’s head smashed into the pulley above, cracking his skull. THERE HE WAS, DANGLING BY THE ROPE FROM THE 2ND STORY.
When the barrel hit the ground, the bricks were so heavy they knocked the bottom out of the barrel. NOW GEORGE WAS HEAVIER THAN THE BARREL! What a predicament!
Down came George and up came the empty barrel. This time, however, the barrel caught him on the other side. It hit his other knee, scraped his hip, broke his nose and dumped him on top of the pile of bricks.
He turned both his ankles and scuffed up both his shins. George let out a yell and turned loosed of the rope. SINCE THE BARREL WAS HEAVIER THAN THE ROPE, DOWN CAME THE BARREL. And you guessed it, it hit George one more time. As George found himself in the hospital bed: bruised, broken, cut, and sprained, he kept saying to himself, "I DON’T KNOW WHETHER TO FILE ONE INSURANCE CLAIM OR FIVE."
George’s story reminds us that we are living in a terribly mixed up world! Our world is forever going up and down. And about the time we think we have the bucket filled, the bottom falls out of the bucket and we get cracked in the head.
We expect life to have a few bumps, BUT NOT ONE CONSTANT ROLLER-COASTER RIDE FULL OF PAIN, MISERY AND BRUISES!
There may be tiems when most of us feel like George. Life has dumped on us, bruised us, and dropped us on its pile of brokenness. We’re all beat up and donât think we can even get up and walk away.
THINGS DO GO WRONG IN LIFE! Everything is up and down in this old sin-cursed world! What’s the answer? How can things be made right when things go wrong?
PROP.- God’s Word has the answer. God’s Word is always right. I want to center our attention on Romans 12:9-11. In this text, Paul tells how to make things right when things go wrong in life.
1- Love sincerely
2- Cling constantly
3- Honor graciously
4- Serve zealously
I. LOVE SINCERELY
Love must be sincere. Love others sincerely. Love others honestly and genuinely.
ILL.- Years ago, we heard it expressed this way in a song or a saying, "Love makes the world go ’round." NO. Love does not make the world go ’round, BUT SINCERE LOVE CAN SURE MAKE IT GO RIGHT!
There isn’t anything, any situation, any relationship, etc. that true love can’t change and make it go right!
I Cor. 13:4-7 "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." Powerful!
That is the truest and most sincere love there is and when it is at work in our lives, it will always make things right when things go wrong!
I Pet. 4:8 "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."
Warren Weirsbe said, "Love does not condone sin; for if we love somebody we will be grieved to see him sin and hurt himself and others. Rather, love covers sin in that love motivates us to hide the sin from others and not spread it abroad."
JESUS WAS THE BEST WHEN IT CAME TO LOVING PEOPLE!
ILL.- In John 4, Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well, "Go, call your husband and come back." She said, "I have no husband." Jesus said, "You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands and the man you now have is not your husband...."
Honestly, what would you think of a woman who’d had 5 husbands and was now living with a 6th man? And how would you respond to a woman like that? What would you say to her?
DO YOU REALIZE THAT JESUS SAID NOTHING TO HER ABOUT HER SIN? All He did was point her to living water.
ILL.- Tony Campolo, in his book THERE’S ALWAYS SOMETHING LEFT TO LOVE, tells about seeing the play entitled Raisin in the Son. In the play, an African-American family inherits $10,000 from their father’s life insurance policy. The mother of the house sees a chance to escape the ghetto life of Harlem and move into a little house with flower boxes out in the countryside. The brilliant daughter of the family sees in the money the chance to live out her dream and go to medical school.
But the older brother has a plan that is difficult to ignore. He begs for the money so that he and his "friend" can go into business together. He tells the family that with the money he can make something of himself and make things good for the rest of them. He promises that if he can just have the money, he can give back to the family all the blessings that their hard lives have denied them.
Against her better judgment, the mother gives in to the pleas of her son. She has to admit that life’s chances have never been good for him and that he deserves the chance that this money might give him.
As you might suspect, the so-called "friend" skips town with the money. The desolate son has to return home and break the news to the family that their hopes for the future have been stolen and their dreams for a better life are gone.
His sister lashes into him with a barrage of ugly words. She calls him every despicable thing she can think of. HER CONTEMPT FOR HER BROTHER HAS NO LIMITS. When she takes a breath in the midst of her tirade, the mother interrupts her and says, "I THOUGHT I TAUGHT YOU TO LOVE HIM!" The daughter answered, "Love him? There’s nothing left to love." And the mother responds, "THERE’S ALWAYS SOMETHING LEFT TO LOVE. And if you ain’t learned that, you ain’t learned nothing. Have you cried for that boy today? I don’t mean for yourself and the family because we lost all that money. I mean for him, for what he’s been through and what it done to him. Child, when do you think is the time to love somebody the most: when they done good and make things easy for everbody? Well then, you ain’t through learning, because that ain’t the time at all. IT’S WHEN HE’S AT HIS LOWEST and can’t believe in himself ’cause the world done whipped him so. When you start measuring somebody, measure him right, child, measure him right. Make sure you take into account what hills and valleys he came through before he got to where he is."
THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING LEFT TO LOVE! That’s grace! And that’s what that dear woman had a heart of!
To demonstrate love when someone is at their lowest point in life is genuine love.
AND THAT’S THE KIND OF LOVE THAT WILL MAKE THINGS RIGHT WHEN THINGS GO WRONG!
II. CLING CONSTANTLY
Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Cling constantly to what is good in life and in people.
There are two sides to the Christian life: we must hate what is evil, but even more importantly, we must cling constantly, strongly to what is good in life and in the lives of people.
Even though we are to hate what is evil in life, we must never become hate-mongers like the Ku Klux Klan and others.
ILL.- Several years ago (3, I believe) I saw a movie entitled, "A Time To Kill." DID YOU SEE IT? Personally, I didn’t like the movie because to me it just enlarged on the hate problem in America. It was a well-made and a well-acted movie. No doubt about that. BUT IT ZEROED IN ON THE KU KLUX KLAN (which I think is a hate group) AND EVERYONE ELSE WHO WAS TRYING TO GET REVENGE AT SOMEONE.
It’s true that we are to "hate what is evil," but we are not God’s vigilante committee to go out into the world, beating up on anyone and everyone who does evil.
ILL.- In the Garden of Gethsemane, perhaps you recall that when they came to get Jesus, Peter pulled out his sword and cut off the ear of Malchus. And Jesus plainly told Peter to put his sword away and then he put the ear of Malchus back on his head.
Jesus was trying to teach Peter that you don’t cure the world’s evils by fighting or force. AND WE DON’T CURE THE EVIL THAT EXISTS IN PEOPLE’S LIVES TODAY BY TWISTING THEIR ARMS or by any means of force.
Jesus converted people from their evil ways, not by beating them over the head physically or mentally with the gospel, but by loving them!
Jude 23 LB "Save some by snatching them as from the very flames of hell itself. And as for others, help them to find the Lord by being kind to them, but be careful that you yourselves aren’t pulled along into their sins. HATE EVERY TRACE OF THEIR SIN WHILE BEING MERCIFUL TO THEM AS SINNERS."
Did you hear what Jude was saying? Hate every trace of their sin while being merciful to them as sinners.
What is that? It’s the old idea of "Hate the sin, but love the sinner." And that’s exactly what we are to do! HATE THE SIN IN PEOPLE’S LIVES BUT DON’T HATE THEM!
In fact, cling to the good in people. See what is good in people. Cling to that good. Commend that good. Compliment that good. AND NO TELLING HOW MUCH GOOD YOU WILL DO FOR THEM!
We are often quick to criticize people, but slow to commend and compliment. And sometimes commending does a whole lot more good to help people do right in life than by being critical of them.
ILL.- Larry and JoAnn were an ordinary couple. They lived in an ordinary house on an ordinary street. Like any other ordinary married couple, they struggled to make ends meet and to do the right things for their children. They were also ordinary in another way: THEY HAD THEIR SQUABBLES. Much of their conversation centered on what was wrong in their marriage and who was to blame.
That is, until one day when a most extraordinary thing happened. Larry said to JoAnn, "You know, dear, I have a magic chest of drawers. Every time I open them, they’re full of socks and underwear. I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR FILLING THEM ALL THESE YEARS."
JoAnn stared at her husband over the top of her glasses and said, "What do you want?" "Nothing. I just want you to know that I appreciate those magic drawers."
This wasn’t the first time Larry had done something strange, so JoAnn pushed the incident out of her mind until a few days later.
Larry said to JoAnn, "Thank you for recording so many correct check numbers in the ledger this month. You put down the right numbers 15 out of 16 times. That’s a record."
JoAnn responded, "Larry, you’re always complaining about my recording the wrong check numbers. Why stop now?"
Larry said, "No reason. I just wanted you to know I appreciate the effort you’re making."
JoAnn thought to herself, "WHAT’S GOT INTO HIM?"
The next day when JoAnn wrote a check in the grocery store, she glanced at her checkbook to make sure she wrote down the right check number and the proper amount. She thought, "Why do I suddenly care about these dumb check numbers?"
JoAnn tried to disregard the incident, but Larry’s strange behavior intensified. He said one evening, "JoAnn, that was a great dinner. I appreciate it very much. In the past 15 years you’ve fixed over 14,000 meals for me and the kids. And dear, the house looks spiffy. You’ve really worked hard. Thanks for just being you. I really enjoy your company and appreciate your hard work."
JoAnn was getting worried, thinking, "where’s the sarcasm, the criticism?"
What was wrong with Larry? Had he not noticed what was wrong with JoAnn? Sure, but he just kept focusing on the positive things, clinging to the good in JoAnn’s life!
And over the week’s JoAnn found herself changing in her own attitude and thinking. Soon she was saying "thank you" to Larry for the good things in his life. Finally, one day JoAnn said to Larry, "I want to thank you for going to work and providing for us all these years. I don’t think I’ve ever told you how much I appreciate it."
Brothers and sisters, the moral of the story is this: BY CLINGING TO THE GOOD IN ONE ANOTHER’S LIVES, LARRY AND JOANN GREW EVEN MORE DEEPLY IN LOVE WITH ONE ANOTHER and became ablessing to others. Instead of focusing on the bad, they focused on the good and built on that good. And if we will do that in our relationship to one another it will help to make things right when things go wrong!
1- Love sincerely
2- Cling constantly to the good
III. HONOR GRACIOUSLY
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. HONOR ONE ANOTHER ABOVE YOURSELVES. In other words, honor one another graciously. This goes along with the last point. When we see good in people’s lives we should "give honor to whom honor is due." (Rom. 13:7)
ILL.- Let me tell you about Becky Sweet, an associate/employee at the Silk Tree Factory in Cape G., MO. Becky is 34 years old, is married, has three children (ages 11, 9 and 11 months) and works full time in the supply and container department at the Silk Tree Factory.
Every time we would get a truck in at Silk Tree, Becky was one of the first associates back there to help unload it and unpackage it. After the truck was unloaded, she would start tearing in those pallets of merchandise. She would unpackage and price the merchandise and put it in shopping carts so it could then be stocked on the shelves. AND IT DIDN’T MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE WHOSE DEPARTMENT OR MERCHANDISE IT WAS, SHE WAS QUICK TO UNPACKAGE IT AND PRICE IT FOR THEM.
As a result of her good work, one day the manager recognized her at our morning meeting and gave her a half-day off with pay.
And she wasn’t the only person who received that honor.
That’s honoring people graciously for their good service! And that’s exactly what we need to do as Christians! If anybody should be quick to honor others, it should be Christian people!
Phil. 2:3-4 "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."
The idea is: WHAT CAN I DO FOR OTHERS? What can I do to help others? What can I do to honor others?
ILL.- Last Saturday Elaine and I were in Joplin, MO, to visit my mother who turned 80 years old on Sunday. My twin sister Sharon (who didn’t get the brains and the looks) and her husband drove up from Arlington, TX and together, we honored mom by taking her out to eat at a great catfish restaurant in Neosho, MO.
MOM LOVED IT AND SAID IT WAS THE BEST BIRTHDAY SHE EVER HAD!
Brothers and sisters, that wasn’t anymore than she deserved! In fact, it wasn’t enough, but it was enough for now. My mother gave birth to me and has seen me through so many ups and downs in life I can’t even begin to count them.
Some years back, while living single, I was down to visit mom. I was sitting on the couch and began to cry. I looked at mom hoping she wouldn’t see me, but she did and she began trying to get out of her chair which was a real struggle for her. I said, "What are you doing?" She said, "I’m coming over there to kiss you."
SOME PEOPLE NEED TO BE HONORED GRACIOUSLY! And most mothers are one of those people! But they are not the only ones.
ILL.- Not long after we moved here, you dear people, honored Elmer and Vi Banet with check and a dinner at Gowin’s after church.
And practically everyone from the church showed up! I thought, "This is great! What did Elmer and Vi do that I haven’t done?" NO, THAT’S NOT WHAT I THOUGHT!
I thought, "How gracious of this church!" And honoring others graciously, in any form, and putting others above yourself, will go a long way in helping to make things right when things go wrong!
1- Love sincerely
2- Cling constantly to the good in others
3- Honor graciously
IV. SERVE ZEALOUSLY
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. We must serve the Lord zealously or serve passionately, fervently, eagerly, excitedly.
ILL.- One day last spring I caught 70 largemouth bass (all weighing between 2 and 3 lbs) from a farm pond in Southern Illinois. Boy, was I ever excited! I went around telling everybody about it.
I SHOULD GET SO EXCITED ABOUT SERVING CHRIST?! Righ! We all should! Serving the Lord is what life is all about for the Christian! And we do this bascially, by serving others.
I Peter 4:10 "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms."
ILL.- The young people of the Shively Christian Church were fiercely cmopetitive with their neighbor Shively Baptist Church in all things and especially softball. They were also serious about their Christianity. One week the Bible lesson was about Jesus washing the feet of the disciples from John 13. To make the servanthood lesson stick, the youth minister, Dave Stone (now with the large Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, KY), divided the kids into groups and told them to go out and find a practical way to be servants to others.
Dave said, "I want you to be Jesus in the city for the next two hours. If Jesus were here, what would He do? Figure out how He would help people." Two hours later the kids returned to report what they had done.
One group had done two hours of yard work for an elderly man. Another group bought ice cream treats and delivered them to serveral widows in the church. A third group visited a church member in the hospital and gave him a card. Another group went to a nuring home and sang Christmas carols - yes, Christmas carols in the middle of August. One elderly lady remarked that it was the warmest Christmas she could remember.
But when the 5th group stoodup and reported what they had done, everyone groaned. This group had gone to the Shively Baptist church and asked the preacher there if they he knew someone who needed help. He sent them to the home of an elderly woman who needed yard work done. For two hours, they mowed grass, raked leaves and trimmed hedges.
When they were getting ready to leave, the woman called the group together and thanked them for their hard work. She said, "I DON’T KNOW HOW I COULD GET ALONG WITHOUT YOU. YOU KIDS AT SHIVELY BAPTIST ARE ALWAYS COMING TO MY RESCUE."
"Shively Baptist," interrupted Dave Stone, "I sure hope you set her straight and told her you were from Shively Christian!"
The kids replied, "WHY, NO, WE DIDN’T. WE DIDN’T THINK IT MATTERED."
And really, it didn’t matter and it doesn’t matter, as long as we serve Christ in complete sincerity and love. AND POINT TO CHRIST AS THE AUTHOR OF OUR GOOD DEEDS!
And serving Christ zealously, enthusiastically, excitedly, any way we can, any time we can, any where we can, IS WHAT WILL MAKE THINGS RIGHT WHEN THINGS GO WRONG!
CONCLUSION---------------------------------------------------
ILL.- Bret Harte tells a story about the change that took place in a miniing camp in California. It started with a rather small but important action and spread. A woman of questionable reputation and the only woman in the camp, died. She left behind a small baby, and the men of the camp had to take care of the baby. The baby was lying in a box but the men felt it was not fit for a baby’s crib. So they sent on of their men 80 miles on a mule to Sacramento to get a rosewood cradle.
When the cradle came, the rags in which the baby was sleeping seemed out of place.
So the man was sent back to Sacramento to get some lacy, frilly clothes for the baby.
Once the baby was dressed in the lovely clothes and placed in the rosewood cradle, the men noticed for the first time that the floor was dirty. So they scrubbed it. Then they noticed that the walls and ceiling were unsightly. So they cleaned them. Afterward, they repaired the windows and put drapes on them. And because the baby needed sleep, the men remained quiet and stopped their rough language and rowdy ways.
When the weather permitted, they took the cradle up to the mines. But they discovered the mining area had to be cleaned and flowers planted to make the surroundings lovely and attractive for the baby. Finally, the men began to improve their own personal appearance.
THUS, THE COMING OF A BABY, AND A SENSE OF RESPONSBILITY AND OBLIGATION TO IT, SNOWBALLED TO TRANSFORM ROARING MINING CAMP INTO A NEW AND ATTRACTIVE PLACE!
Brothers and sisters, the coming of a baby was what made things right when things were so wrong. And the coming of a baby into our world is the only answer to making things right when things go wrong.
A long time ago, an angel announced, "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord...
You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."
That baby who became our Savior is the one who can transform our lives into something good and make things right when things go wrong. PLEASE LET HIM DO THAT!
