Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
Emotion Tone
Anger
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Fear
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Joy
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Language Tone
Analytical
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Social Tone
Openness
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Conscientiousness
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Extraversion
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Agreeableness
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Emotional Range
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Tone of specific sentences
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Anger
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Have you ever wished that you could go back in time and change something?
We could think about things in our life that we would change.
Maybe things in history, like make sure Hitler never became in charge of Germany.
Stop the Civil War from happening.
Make sure slavery was not allowed under the Constitution.
All sorts of things.
Have you ever wanted to change a trust situation?
You wished that you had trusted something else.
You were falling off a cliff and you should have grabbed the vine to the right instead of the one to the left.
That is an extreme example…
I’m not going to ask you to tell what you could change.
Sometimes, I wish that I could go back and change what Adam and Eve did at the beginning of time.
They decided to not trust God and to do their own thing.
God said that he would provide for everything that they needed, and they said: “Nope.
I’m going to trust my own reason and this talking snake instead of you.”
But, when I wish that I could change their decision, I realize that it wouldn’t be worth it.
You see, humanity has consistently turned to the wrong things to trust.
Pray
1A.
Humanity has consistently turned to the wrong things to trust
Humanity has consistently turned to the wrong things to trust.
When they stand before a line-up of God and everything else, they consistently turn to the “everything else.”
We know this is true, because we do it too, from an early age.
Consider the typical high school student.
What does he or she base her emotional security on?
How people view her or how they treat him.
When you talk to a typical high school student, what do they base their future career on?
Money or the prestige that comes from it.
And this doesn’t change.
So much of our culture is up in arms on the concept of CRT, whether they are for it or against it, they are up in arms.
The whole system of CRT is based on who has power and who doesn’t.
Humanity doesn’t change in what they pursue.
1B.
What do they turn to?
What do we turn to?
Great question.
Paul lists three things that humans turn to instead of God, three things which are pretty universal.
His list here is very interesting, especially if you look up the passage he refers to at the end of the paragraph.
Paul is quoting from Jeremiah 9:23-24
Both Jeremiah and Paul list three areas that humans tend to run to instead of God.
1C.
Wisdom
First, they trust in wisdom.
This isn’t a reference to Godly wisdom.
This is a reference to human intellect.
This is the person who says: you must prove to me the existence of God, for if I cannot understand it with my mind, I cannot accept it as true.
This is the person who will not humbly listen to someone else in a discussion but quickly forces his own understanding into the mix.
Humans have always sought understanding.
And they have always sought it within their own mind.
In the 1700s, this became heightened.
People thought advancement came through knowledge.
If someone wasn’t educated, they couldn’t become anything of worth.
This is still in play, as many people will make education and school activities of a higher priority than church and fellowship, exulting homework over discipleship.
Wisdom
2C.
Strength
Humans also trust in strength.
While Jeremiah uses the term strength, Paul uses the term influential.
This term doesn’t merely speak of physical strength, but strength of position.
Humans think that if they can have authority or if people look up to them, life will be good.
Everyone wants to be the one that people respect rather than the one that people bully.
So, they try to work up the ladder of whatever career they are in.
They run for public office.
They become pastors.
They do what they have to receive some sort of status.
They want worth.
They want a safety net, so they turn to strength.
But strength just disappoints, because there is always someone higher up.
3C.
Wealth
The third category is wealth.
Jeremiah calls it riches.
Paul ties it to one’s family.
He says: noble birth.
These are people who have not worked for their money but are born into it.
They cannot consider life apart from money.
They believe that with money anything can happen.
They can buy happiness and joy.
They can supply all their needs.
If there is a problem, just throw money at it.
Even people who are not born into money can fall into this trap.
They believe that happiness can be found if they just had a little more.
Which is why everyone flocks to jobs that pay more.
That is why people become workaholics, because money will solve their problems.
Wisdom, strength, and wealth.
These standards remain in our culture.
They determine who is “in” in school and who is “out”.
They are the root of all advertising campaigns.
And unfortunately, many churches fall prey to these three areas.
2B.
What do they provide?
Why do people turn to these?
Because for some reason, they believe that wisdom, strength, and wealth will provide something for them.
But, unfortunately, these are empty promises.
Solomon wrote:
We could look at Lot who cast his gaze on the nicer portion of land, settling in the town of Sodom, which would soon be destroyed by fire from heaven.
We could look at Saul who refused to wait for Samuel to sacrifice but took matters in his own hands.
We could look at Judas who was more interested in 30 pieces of silver than the man who had the words of life.
We could talk about Absalom, Solomon, Ahab and Ahaz.
We could talk about so many Biblical figures who placed their faith in all these things, believing the lie, but in the end realizing that it was only a lie.
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