A. INTRODUCTION
1. We have many emotions. These include fear, anger, excitement, loneliness, despair, and satisfaction. What emotions motivate you the most?
2. The three greatest emotions. Today’s lesson surrounds three of the greatest emotions:
WHAT EMOTIONS
What makes you cry?
What makes you sing?
What makes you dream?
3. Why are these among the greatest emotions? Because we cry over the past and ask, "What might have been?" This deals with our loss. Then, we sing to reflect our present happiness. Our songs tell everyone our joy. Then we dream of the future, and hope for what might be.
B. WHAT MAKES YOU CRY: THE PAST (Ps. 137:1).
1. We cry because we remember the past. "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion" (Ps. 137:1). They wept because they could no longer worship God in the temple, no longer live in the land, they no longer had freedom.
2. We cry because our dreams die. Alexander the Great sat down and wept because there were no more kingdoms to conquer. He lived his life for war and conquering other nations, and wept when there were no more to conquer.
Athletes weep when they can no longer compete, parents weep when they no longer can influence their children, businessmen weep when they can no longer go to work, and all ministers weep because they can no longer preach. We weep when our dreams die.
3. We weep because others disappoint us. "Jesus wept" (John 11:35). Why did Jesus weep?
a. Because of Mary’s request. "If thou hast been here, my brother had not died" (John 11:21).
b. Because of the multitude’s question. "Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man (Lazarus) from dying?" (John 11:37).
c. Because He loved Lazarus. "Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus" (John 11:5).
4. We weep because we of sadness. We weep at funerals because we have lost a loved one. Parents weep at a wedding because they lose their "little girl." We weep because of loss.
5. We weep when we can’t do what we once did. The Jews in Babylon wept because, "We hung our harps upon the willows . . . " (Ps. 137:2). The harp made the Jews happy and they no longer used their musical instruments.
C. WHAT MAKES YOU SING? (Ps. 137:2,3)
1. The Jews in Babylon could still sing. "For there those who carried us away captive required of us a song, and those who plundered us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion" (Ps. 137:3).
2. When you are happy, it shapes our outlook on life. We usually sing because we are happy. The word "blessed" means happy. All of the Beatitudes begin with the word, "blessed" (Matt. 5:3-11). The first word in the most spiritual book in the Bible (Psalms) is "blessed" which means we must be happy to be spiritual. "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful" (Ps. 1:1). If you are a happy Christian, you will sing the songs of Zion. The Jews in captivity were asked, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion" (Ps. 137:3). The people were not singing because they were not happy. "How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?" (Ps. 137:4). Happy Christians sing, whistle, or hum Christian songs.
3. Don’t seek happiness, just to feel good. The world seeks fun just to "have a good time." A truly happy person has a purpose in life and is working toward a purpose. The happy (blessed) person measures his/her life by that purpose. "Happiness is found on the road to duty." -E. Towns
D. WHAT MAKES YOU DREAM? (Ps. 137:4-6)
1. What you remember is what you dream. "If I do not remember you, let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth—If I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy" (Ps. 137:6). Our dreams of the future are based on what we remember of the past.
a. We raise our children how our parents raised us.
b. Our track record in business is based on how we prepared in school.
c. How we will treat people in the future, is based on how we were treated in the past.
2. You are known by your dreams. Joseph was called a dreamer because of his dreams. "Behold this dreamer cometh" (Gen. 37:19). My Dad is known by his dream of Liberty. What dreams are you known by?
3. Your dreams will get you in trouble. Because Joseph had dreams about his brothers serving him, "they hated him yet the more for his dream" (Gen. 37:8). Good dreams get you in trouble with bad people.
4. Everyone can dream. Peter preached on Pentecost, "Your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams" (Acts 2:17).
5. Dreams are absolutely necessary. "Where there is no vision, the people perish" (Prov. 29:18). If people don’t have a dream, they don’t have a purpose to live.
E. SELF EVALUATION
1. What makes you cry?
2. What makes you sing?
3. What makes you dream?
If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:
Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God. Please contact me at jonathan@trbc.org and tell us about your salvation experience so that we can rejoice with you.
