The Seven Wonders of World
Opening song Closing Song
Scipture Reading: Ps. 71:1-8
Introduction
The Great Pyramid of Giza,
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon,
The statute of Zeus at Olympia,
The temple of Artemeus at Ephesus,
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus,
The Colossus of Rhodes and
The Lighthouse of Alexandria.
These are “The seven great wonders of the world.”
Structures which dominated the landscape of their time.
Structures which caused men to stop, wonder and stare in awe.
Structures which fascinated;
Which seem to defy the logic of the men of that time.
These are indeed the Seven Wonders of the World.
These objects fascinated the men of their time and the men after but they have no effect on God or his angels. They are insignificant to them. What amazes God and excites the angels are men who stride through this earth and chart a path for themselves not by might nor by the sword but by spirit of the Living God. God is not fascinated by men who build lofty structures, or by men who acquired great wealth . God is fascinated by men who take the time to carve out for themselves characters of righteousness. Had they to choose the Seven Wonders of the World it would not be made up of edifices built by man but by the men who built characters by their obedience to God!
Prayer..
[Gen. 6:5-8] And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually
And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart
And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man and beast and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
God took a look around the world and he saw two things:
He saw the physical manifestation of men’s wickedness which is visible to all men. He saw men cheating and stealing; He saw murders, fornication, adultery witchcraft. You name it, he saw it. He saw men calling evil good and good evil. He saw men being glamorized not because of the good they do but because they were more evil than others were. These men were placed on a pedestal and were well respected. All because of their evil characters.
Not only did he see the result of men action but he saw what others can not see. He saw their imagination, their thoughts and he described them as being evil continually. There were no plans for good but all their plans for success were based on evil schemes. Injustice reigned and fairness was forgotten. There was no place for the weak and compassion was not to be considered. Yet amidst all this wickedness, amidst all this evil, amidst all these thorns a beautiful flower bloomed-Noah. The bible tells us that Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD!!!
What a marvelous statement! After God had look around and examined every man, woman and child and concluded that every imagination of the thoughts of men’s heart was evil he came upon one man who was different. (If he were to examine your neighbourhood, your work place, your school, would you be the one to stand out?)
This man no doubt was not one admired by society; he was not one of the in-crowd. Someone the men of his time would have invited to their social gatherings or parties but He found grace in the eyes of the LORD. Noah, the great grandson of Enoch may not have found favour with men but he certainly found favour with God. He is indeed one of God’s great Wonders
He did not allow the society or the community he was living in detract him from the values he had learnt as a boy at the feet of his great grandfather Enoch. He did not find excuses to fit into the crowd so that he would not stand out as being weird or different. He stood up for what he believed in and when God went searching there he was.
Brothers and sisters there is no excuse for evil. We must never allow ourselves to give into the pressures of society. All around us we witness churches giving in to the pressures of society to sanction homosexuality. We witness homosexuals being ordained as priest and serving in the house of the LORD but we my people must be a Wonder for God. We must say thus far and no further.
We witness Christians finding reasons to be part and parcel of the revelers at Kadooment but we my friends must say thus far and no further. We must be a Wonder for Jesus Christ.
Noah stood out as a bulwark against the tide of evil and he won out. Indeed like one of the Seven Wonders of the World he stood out in the character landscape. He certainly dominated the landscape of his time. The people may not have stood in awe and wonder but I believe the angels certainly did. The angels were astonished and amazed to find a man like Noah. We too must cause them to be amazed. Amidst the evil of our day we must allow the light of goodness to shine.
It does not matter the community you live in, or the state of the economy what matters is what the Word of God says.
Society must not shape our character;
Television must not shape our character;
Radio must not shape our character;
Our friends must not shape our character;
The Word of God must shape our character. This is what held Noah steadfast in a stream of steady flowing evil. Like a salmon he swam against the tide and won.
But he is only one of God’ s great wonders: Another of his wonders was born in slavery. Destined to die in slavery or so their thought; But this man was one who had a vision to see beyond his present status.
At a time when the Israelites could see no other life for themselves but slavery Moses caught a vision that the riches of Pharaoh could not diminish. No one could see any possible way out of their situation but Moses had a dream. A dream based on the word of God; A dream that prepared him to be used by God. Thus God used Moses to bring over six hundred thousand men women and children from the land of Egypt. It is in this journey that the character of Moses is brought to the fro, causing the spirit to speak glowing words about him through the apostle Paul: Hebs.11:24-26 states that By faith Moses when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasurers in Egypt; for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward..
Firstly Moses stood out as a man of faith, believing in the promises of God when no one else seemed able to believe. God had promised that after 400 years he would deliver the Israelites and though Moses could not see how it was possible he believed it. It would do us well to believe just as well in the second coming of Jesus Christ. Moses refused to live the big life preferring rather to suffer with the children of God. He forsook the epitome of comfort and privilege to suffer in the doldrums of poverty and slavery. This is enough to make him a wonder!! Today we all love comfort and convenience. How much inconvenience are we prepared to suffer for the promotion of God’s work? Too often we shy away from anything that would break up our schedule or cause us discomfort.
God blesses those who make every effort to get to church!
God blesses those who despite not having the correct shoes for going into the field still do so!
God blesses those who though they do not have a large house are still hospitable and invite guess!
God blesses those who despite having to clean afterwards still welcome visitors into their homes!!
Few are willing to break away from the comforts of the large congregation to work in small congregations. Working with a small congregation in a school is not a bed of roses. It takes a certain degree of loyalty and commitment to serve each week. Week after week, month after month and year after year. Thank God for the faithful and loyal few. Perseverance seldom fails!!
Moses’ was willing to place his all on the line to realize the achievement of his dream. How much are you willing to place on the line to the realization of God’s vision? How much are you willing to place on the line to see your the Kingdom of God expand? How much are you willing to place on the line my friends?
Another time Moses’ brother and sister had a problem with Moses and his family and out of it we are given further information of God’s view of Moses: Let us turn to Numbers 12: 1-7
Num. 12: 1-7 And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? Hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it. (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.) And the Spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And the they three came out. And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth. And he said, hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth even apparently and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold; wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses
When the challenge to Moses’ authority came, he did not defend his status. In fact he did not even take it to God, the bible says that God heard and responded for Moses. Moses was not the type of man to argue over position. He was in charge of over 600,000 people yet his head was not swollen. We too must learn how to mix authority with humility. Some people never had so many people under them but want to behave like king pins.
I love what the scriptures say regarding Moses- he was very meek and to bring home the point- above all the men which were upon the face of the earth. Moses never fought any power battles but allowed the LORD to fight all for him; only if we would take a leaf out of his book. The Lord declared to Aaron and Miriam who claimed that God also spoke through them- look with prophets I may reveal my wishes by visions and dreams but with Moses I speak face to face (mouth to mouth) and plainly not in parables. He will even be allowed to see the similitude of the LORD. He is faithful to me.
When God can stand up and testify for you, one does not need another testimony. This man stands as a colossus in time, for the character he developed. God was so caught up with him that he brought him to spend eternity with him in heaven as witnessed from the transfiguration.
Oh that God could give a similar testimony on our behalf.
Before I close I just want to mention one last wonder-Job- a bastion of longsuffering, patience and faith; For although he suffered he held on to his faith. Though he was accused wrongfully he chose still to trust in God!! Too many of us disappoint God as soon as tribulation and distress comes our way. Job lived up to God’s expectations; God testified in Job 2:3 ..Hast thou considered my servant Job, that they is none like him in the earth, a perfect man, one that feareth God and escheweth evil? And still he holdeth fast his integrity although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.
Can God speak with the same confidence about us!! Can he on looking around the world to find one faithful point to you, or would you be one he has to pass over?
Need I tell you about other Wonders like Daniel and Abraham, Peter and Paul, Stephen and the others. All wonders in the sight of God and his angels. Are you a wonder? Or are you a disappointment to God. Today God is looking for men who will amaze the heavenly host; Men whom he can testify about.
THE Real Seven Wonders
The true seven wonders of the world
Are not The Great Pyramid of Giza,
But the man who can love his enemies
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
But, the man who remains faithful to a nagging wife
The statute of Zeus at Olympia,
But the man who lives at peace with all men
The temple of Artemeus at Ephesus,
But the man who suffers long yet forgives
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus,
But the man who places others above himself to his own detriment
The Colossus of Rhodes
But the man who power does not corrupt
The Lighthouse of Alexandria.
But the man who despite the fact there is no food in the house
No money in the bank
No job to go to
And no hand to help
Can still have faith in God.
These are the true seven wonders of the world.
May God help us to be a WONDER for HIM
