INTRO.- ILL.- Someone said, “Good advice is what your own kids disregard but save to give to their kids.” Isn’t this the truth? “Now listen, you kids, my daddy always said…” I may not have done what daddy always said, but now I know he was right and I’m going to tell my kids.
ILL.- Someone else said, “We could all save ourselves a lot of words if we’d only remember that people rarely take advice unless they have to pay for it.”
Does this mean that you’ll listen to what I have to say “in the pulpit” but not “out of the pulpit”?
All of us need advice at some time or other in life. Sometimes we get it whether we want it or not.
ILL.- I’ll never forget my first official “date.” I wasn’t 16 years old yet so mom and dad took me to pick up my date. And mother gave me all kinds of advice as to what to do, what to say, and how to treat the young lady. Boy, was I embarrassed but mother was right.
ILL.- And dad, well, dad used to say to me, “Steven, pay attention to what you’re doing.” I guess I had a tendency to daydream a bit or maybe a lot. Good advice and well taken.
But once we reach adulthood we still need advice and we still must learn. This is where the Lord and His Word come in. The best advice (and it’s more than advice) is from the Word of God. If we all would believe God’s Word and obey God’s Word we would be a lot better off. We all would save ourselves a lot of heartaches and headaches.
PROP.- This message today will be somewhat different. It’s long and yet it’s short. I have six pieces of advice, but it’s short advice from God’s word. Sound advice from God’s Word for various situations in life: 1- trials will come 2- All will pass 3- God promises life 4- Temptation is strong 5- God gives good 6- Anger displeases God
1- TRIALS WILL COME
James 1:2-3 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.”
ILL.- The backwoods preacher found a small boy all alone, playing in the dirt. “Where’s your father?” the preacher asked. The boy said, “He was hanged last week.”
“Where’s your mother?” “She run off.”
“Where’s your sister?” “She’s in jail.”
“Is there anybody else in your family?” “Yup, I’ve got a brother.”
“Where is he?” “At Harvard University.”
“Well, at least one member of your family is doing well. What is he studying?” “‘Nothin’. They’re studying him.”
Brothers and sisters, that boy had to be discouraged with life! I don’t think anybody’s life could be as bad as that boy’s. BUT WE ALL MUST ADMIT THAT LIFE CAN GET PRETTY DIFFICULT AT TIMES. And certain things happen to us that can cause us to want to give up on life.
ILL.- Marshall Hayden, a preacher from Columbus, Ohio, wrote an article several years ago entitled, "Would every non-hurting member please stand up?" He went on to point out that people who come to church may put on their best clothes and their best smiles, BUT MANY OF THEM ARE STILL HURTING PEOPLE.
He wrote, "Think your way around the where the saints gather on the Lord’s Day.
- Over there is a family with an income of $550 and an outgo of $1000. (that might be stretching it a bit, but you get the idea)
- There are two children in one family who, according to their parents, are failures.
- The lady in the back pew just tested positive for cancer.
- Sam and Jane just had a nasty fight. In fact, the straw that broke the camel’s back. Each one is thinking seriously about divorce.
- Last Monday Jim learned that he is going to be laid off from work at the end of the week.
- Sarah has tried to her best to cover the bruises her drunken husband inflicted when he came home last Friday night.
- The Smith’s little girl has a hole in her heart and needs surgery."
Brother Hayden went on to write, "there are the lonely, the dying, the bankrupt, the exhausted, and others who are at the mercy of forces beyond their control. They’re all there. And there are those of us with lesser hurts, but they don’t seem like small hurts to us: tired from being overweight and run to death, an income that barely covers the essentials, an indifferent and un-alert spouse, a boring job, poor grades, a friend who is not much of a friend anymore, parents who don’t understand and don’t seem to care." Brother Hayden wrote, "You can travel down every pew in every church and find some hurting people." Isn’t that the truth?
ILL.- A sophomore student at Yale U said to the chaplain, “Sir, you must admit that religion is just a crutch?” The chaplain replied, “Sure it is, but who isn’t limping?” Trials will come and this is we need the Lord. He’s the best crutch there is.
2- ALL WILL PASS
James 1:9-11 “The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.”
ILL.- Aug. 8, 2005 -- ABC news anchor Peter Jennings died of lung cancer on Aug. 7th at the age of 67. Jennings announced his lung cancer diagnosis four months ago. The cancer was reportedly inoperable, meaning that it could not be treated adequately with surgery.
"As you all know, Peter learned only this spring that the health problem he’d been struggling with was lung cancer," said ABC News President David Westin in a statement.
"With Kayce [his wife], he moved straight into an aggressive chemotherapy treatment. He knew that it was an uphill struggle. But he faced it with realism, courage, and a firm hope that he would be one of the fortunate ones. In the end, he was not."
There are several risk factors that increase the chance of developing lung cancer; smoking is the most important one. The longer you smoke and the more you smoke per day, the higher your risk of developing lung cancer. The good news is that quitting can reduce your risk.
Heb. 9:27 “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.”
All will pass from this life, sooner or later, whether from cancer or from something else. And this, too, is why we need the Lord. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
3- GOD PROMISES LIFE
James 1:12 “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”
ILL.- Safe at home. Discovery. Aug. 9, 2005. The most exhaustive test flight in the space shuttle fleet’s 24-year history ended Tuesday with the shuttle Discovery’s pre-dawn touchdown in California. After 14 days and 5.8 million miles in space, Discovery landed safely at 8:11:22 a.m. ET at Edwards Air Force Base. "Discovery is home," the NASA TV commentator said.
"Congratulations on a truly spectacular test flight," astronaut Ken Ham at Mission Control radioed to the crew as the shuttle stopped on the runway. “Welcome home, friends.”
Matthew 25:21 “His master replied, ’Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’”
Job 19:25-26 “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, YET IN MY FLESH I WILL SEE GOD.”
Job believed in and counted on the resurrection from the dead! That’s astounding, considering the time and era in which he lived. He knew nothing of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus at that time. We do and often, we still don’t have that much faith in the resurrection from the dead! We often say we believe that heaven is the greatest and best place there is, but we’re not in a hurry to get there.
Job believed in the resurrection and he apparently believed that if God wouldn’t cure his problems right here and now, then He would there and then!
ILL.- J. Russell Morse was a missionary to China many years ago. And I believe it was in 1991 that he died in a hospital in Joplin, MO, at the age of 90. A preacher friend of mine called on brother Morse the night before he died. And old Brother Morse’s last words to him were: "VICTORY IN JESUS!"
The only way anybody is going to experience victory over sin and death and hell is through Jesus!
4- TEMPTATION IS STRONG
James 1:13-15 “When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
ILL.- It was said that in the days of the Civil War it was illegal to trade in cotton, but many unscrupulous people tried to buy cotton in the South, run it through the Union lines and then sell it at great profit in the North. One of the people approached a Mississippi steamboat captain and offered him $100 if he would run his cotton up the river for him. The captain declined, reminding him that it was illegal.
“I will give you $500,” said the man.
“No,” answered the captain.
“I’ll give you a $1,000,” said the man.
“No,” said the captain again.
“I’ll give you $3,000,” said the man.
At that, the captain drew his pistol, and pointing it at the man said, “Get off this boat! You are coming too near my price.”
Brothers and sisters, everybody has a price or a particular temptation. What’s yours? And what can be done about it?
ILL.- One man said, “While my wife and I were shopping at a mall, a shapely young woman in a short, form-fitting dress strolled by. My eyes followed her. Without looking up from the item she was examining, my wife asked, "Was it worth the trouble you’re in?"
ILL.- There is an old legend of a monk who, when assailed by the devil in a low and immoral theater, asked the devil how he could be so bold as to tempt a servant of the Lord. The devil answered, “What business has a servant of the Lord in my territory?”
One of the best ways to avoid temptation is to stay out of the devil’s territory, wherever that is.
II Thess. 3:2-3 “And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith. But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.”
Stay out of the devil’s territory and keep looking to the Lord and your temptations will not be so strong.
5- GOD GIVES GOOD
James 1:17 “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
I think God gives us more good things than we realize.
ILL.- Last week on Monday evening Elaine and I happened to watch the THE LEARNING CHANNEL. The title of the show caught my eye and heart. It read, “160 lb. Tumor removed.” I thought, “What? How could that be?” I found out how it could be.
A small lady in Bucharest, Romania, had this 160 lb. Non-malignant tumor attached to her body, mainly to the back of her body. It hung on her like a huge glob or blob. It had two arms that wrapped around her hips to the front of her body.
They flew in a surgeon from the US to help save her life. This tumor was growing, being fed from the blood of her body. They said it was sucking the blood out of her body and would soon kill her if not removed.
There was a large team of doctors, etc. to assist in this operation. It took hours to perform and they were not sure if they could save her because the operation was so delicate. They also had 100 units of blood to use during her possible blood loss.
The surgeon first began to cut the arms of the tumor, which had wrapped around her hips. It was like filleting a fish. And these tumors had large blood vessels running from her body, feeding it. They had to cut them apart just right and sew them up, otherwise the blood loss would kill her.
After removing the arms of the tumor on the front of her body, a large group of people (10-12) proceeded to lift the woman carefully in the air and then turn her over, face down on the operating table. They proceeded to cut away the rest of the tumor, which took 5 or 6 people to carry away.
The lady would later need some skin grafts to complete her healing and recovery.
That lady, her husband, and son were not rich people but they were extremely grateful for the American surgeon and all the people. Their gratitude seemed unending as they wept and rejoiced! And they expressed a strong faith in God, as they believed He would save her.
Brothers and sisters, even though my back hurts most of the time and limits me in some ways, I don’t have a 160 lb. Tumor attached to my body to the point where I can’t do anything and where my life is in danger. WE ALL ARE BLESSED WITH GOOD THINGS, GOOD BLESSING FROM GOD.
We need to be more aware and more thankful.
6- ANGER DISPLEASES GOD
James 1:19-21 “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.”
ILL.- Preacher John Stott said, "We human beings have both a unique dignity as creatures made in God’s image and a unique depravity as sinners under His judgment. We can behave like God in whose image we are made, only to descend to the level of beasts."
Sometimes we all can become beasts or beastly. We all can become aggravated, irritated and even downright angry. But is it ever right? Few of us are righteous like the one who cleansed the temple in anger.
- Ben Franklin “Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame.”
- Ben Franklin, “Anger is never without a reason, but seldom with a good one.”
- William Penn, “It is he who is in the wrong who first gets angry. “
ILL.- Someone said, “A person who is angry on the right grounds, against the right persons, in the right manner, at the right moment, and for the right length of time deserves great praise.” But that’s not us, not often and for some, never.
Most of the time we become angry with others because we think we’re right and they’re wrong or because we are self-centered. We want our way and if we don’t get it, we’ll get mad.
ILL.- In the spring of 1894, the Baltimore Orioles came to Boston to play a routine baseball game. But what happened that day was anything but routine. The Orioles’ John McGraw became angry and got into a fight with the Boston third baseman. Within minutes all the players from both teams had joined in the brawl. The warfare quickly spread to the grandstands. Among the fans the conflict went from bad to worse. Someone set fire to the stands and the entire ballpark burned to the ground. Not only that, but the fire spread to 107 other Boston buildings as well.
Anger generally destroys, especially, people’s lives and does not please God.
“Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.”
There is only one cure for anger: the Lord and His word. We must fill our hearts with His Word and at the same time His spirit will fill us and change us and calm us.
CONCLUSION-----------------------------------
ILL.- Capt. David M. Cronin was piloting United Airlines Flight 811 from Honolulu, Hawaii to Auckland, New Zealand, on Feb. 24, 1989. The Boeing 747 jet had just reached 22,000 feet. Passing through some thunderstorms, everything seemed routine. Suddenly there was a tremendous decompression explosion as an 11-by-20-foot opening was ripped in the right side of the plane. Apparently, a cargo door had not been properly closed or a latch on the door was faulty. Nine people were sucked from the jet to their deaths over the Pacific Ocean.
Captain Cronin, due to take mandatory retirement at age 60 on March 23, managed to get the plane back to Honolulu during the next 18 minutes which must have seemed like an eternity.
Using everything he knew from 38 years of flying, he dealt with the loss of two of his four engines, a stuck right wing flap, and a huge hole in the side of the plane which sent tornado-like winds through the plane, shaking it violently. 345 passengers and crew members praised him for making the right decisions. The plane’s landing was gentle and took only 2/3’s of the runway.
Brethren, when there is a crisis, which has already killed some people and threatens to kill everyone else on board, you want the right person at the controls of a jumbo jet! AND AT THE CONTROLS OF THE UNIVERSE!
The Lord is at the controls of the universe. He has all the answers and he pulls all the right levers. And we need to let Him do the same with us.
