The Tragedy Of Spongebob Squarepants

The Tragedy of

SpongeBob Squarepants

(All my sermons use illustrations from sermoncentral.com and all scripture is niv unless otherwise noted)

When I was a young child I can remember coming in from trick-or-treat on Halloween night and hearing Orson Welles “War of the Worlds” and really thinking that we were being invaded by aliens from outer space. Of course my Mom explained it all to me, but for a brief time I thought it to be real, because I trusted the radio as a credible source of information.

John, my eldest son once told me of a 141 point buck that was shot and mounted, he saw it in a magazine thinking “therefore it must be real.” I reminded him that there were also pictures of the world famous jackalope. Of course we know this to be folklore, stories meant to impress us.

Picabo Street, the well known Olympic gold medalist in the Super G, is much more than a famous skier. In fact, between training on the slopes and traveling around the world to compete, she managed to get an education and earn a degree in nursing. Early in her nursing career, she was assigned briefly to work ad an ICU nurse in a large metropolitan hospital. She did outstanding work, but there was one problem. The head of the nursing staff had to tell her to discontinue answering the phone in the ICU because of the confusion it created when callers were connected to to ICU and would hear Picabo answer in her most professional voice, “Picabo, ICU” - True story, of course not, just a myth, but one many would like to believe.

This brings us to the Tragedy of SpongeBob Squarepants - A child is on a cruise ship with his parents. He finishes breakfast and announces he is going to see SpongeBob Squarepants. His parents, thinking he is going to the cabin to watch TV, have no problem with this. But in his attempt to see Spongebob Squarepants, who “lives in a pineapple under the sea,” - the child jumps over the rail fo the ship and drowns.

A terrible tragedy, if it actually happened. This brings us to today’s scripture.

If you have your Bible with you, please turn with me to the second letter of Timothy, chapter 4. Tucked away in this chapter are five verses with a strong warning and a specific set of instructions. A warning that not only still applies to us today, but has become more and more obvious in the world we live in. Perhaps some make light of this warning by using excuses such as “selective hearing” and”some-timers disease” but the cold hard truth of the matter is that Paul predicted this day to come, and perhaps it is here. Unlike the stories I just mentioned, this is the truth from God’s Word and deserves our full attention and acceptance.

2 Tim 4:1-5 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

PRAYER

We must look at the middle of this passage first; the time has come folks, people are NOT always willing to put up with sound doctrine anymore.

I. COMPROMISE IS COMING

For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

NO, instead they will turn from the TRUTH and surround themselves with those willing to tell them what they want to hear.

Our world is so full of this terrible tragedy, people are willing to accept (as truth) what fits their needs or desires. They are willing to turn from the ONLY real truth and accept lies. Liberal translations of scripture are put in place to allow just about everything we see in our world today, from Homosexuality to Abortion. Most people agree that the scripture speaks of warnings against homosexual lifestyles, but they explain it away by saying, “that only in the case of a non-committed relationship”. In other words if you are committed to your homosexual partner it is okay with God. So many today will pick and choose the scriptures that fit their needs but ignore the scripture that speaks against the sin they live in. And, I must say that it is not just on a major issues such as abortion and homosexuality, many explain away disunity in the church, gossip and rebellious doctrine with the excuse that there is no other alternative. So many times I have heard the excuse; we want to do it the way that the Bible says to, BUT, there is no qualified people to do what God wants done, so we are just doing the best we can. YES, we must do the best we can, but going against scripture is NEVER an alternative or option.