Life's FAQs Week 4
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 3 viewsNotes
Transcript
Intro to the Series
Intro to the Series
Good Morning,
First time or need a refresher
We are in the book of Proverbs, one of the great books of wisdom in our old testament.
We have the formula here on the screen: Proverbs are these short sayings that are simple, true, and have stood the test of time
Proverbs is that reminder that God’s wisdom has something to say in area of your life.
Is the grass always greener?
Is the grass always greener?
Introduction- I don’t have what they have.
There is a moment that many people have in their lives where they realize a pretty harsh truth. They cannot sing.
As kids at the playground, all but one of us realized someone can run faster than me.
As we get older, we find out someone has a cooler car, or a more influential friend group, or more charisma,
you study really hard at school or try to make the right move at your work, only to find otu someone is smarter,
funnier, or stronger, a better resume
or just “have more” in the gas tank than I do.
Have you ever looked at someone and thought to yourself, “if I only had what they had, life would be better?”
This morning we are going to be asking the question, “Is the grass really greener on the other side?”
I have news for you this morning: if you have ever asked this question, or thought it to yourself. you are a human being
When he was collecting Proverbs, the little pieces of wisdom throughout the ancient world, Solomon knew that there was going be moments we looked around, we scrathced our heads and thought. “I wnt what they have”
As we move into Scripture this morning, there will be one guiding verse for us, and it won't make a lot of sense at the time, but work with me.
Solomon in all of his wisdom declares,
Do not move an ancient boundary stone
set up by your ancestors.
Alright, work with me.
To us, this doesn’t mean a thing. Does anybody go visit their family’s ancient boundary stone?
To the children of Israel, though, this would mean a great deal. It would have taken them back to their ancestors, to the time that the great leader of Israel’s army, Joshua, led the children into the Promised Land.
Joshua was a great leader of the people, and was sent to drive out the Canaanites from the land and, and then fill the land with the children of Israel. They spent 6 chapters in the book of Joshua drawing the boundaries. 6 chapters, and there are twelve allotments
To separate each tribe’s land from the other one, they placed stones around the perimeter
Each tribe had the responsibility to have children and to make their place ready for life.
The land that they were standing on was the constant reminder that GOd was good on His promises. He hadn’t forgotten about the covenant he made with their ancestors
Now, all of the people agreed with Joshua that day, and the people had babies, and then grandbabies, and great-grandbabies, and they all went to work, and eventually they stood up and started looking around.
Some of the tribes are noticing that in some seasons, they can't grow a thing, but the tribe next door has an abundance of fruit and veggies; those by the coast have great fish, and you’ve got good wheat, but there doesn’t seem to be enough: “This tribe is stronger, faster, more populated; and you think to yourself is the grass really greener?
And so, when your neighbor is out fishing for the 14th time this month, you move that stone just a a few feet out. almost impossible to detect. a genretation goes by and you son does the same thing and then things go on
I like to think that everybody has been given a specific place and time by God, just like our ancestor, we need to grow things, but we cant help and look around, and we want to move this rock
Work’s hard, and my boss is on another 2 hour lunch, he wont mind if I just,
it’s been a long day, and hard week, and I know I made that decision that I’d quit drinking, but I didn’t know all of this was going to happen this week.… and I
My neighbor has a whole shed of Milwaukee tools; they won't mind if I borrow a power drill
Is the grass really greener
neighbor steals land from neighbor,
KING SOLOMON “ DON’T MOVE THE STONE
The boundaries get blurry
not all at once, but it creeps in change your world
when we steal from others, and try to take what doesn’t belong to us,
we lose opportunities that came with our plot of land
What do we find out
Each area has its own problems- climates (mountains, seas, lakes, forest, desert,
what grows there is different,
different threats to every area.
There are some things they could have excelled in growing where God had them, but the grass looked greener
We find out when we leave our spot, our neighbors had their eyes on our wheatfields, and their children had been slowly moving the family ancestral stone. suddenly
all of us are in places that we don’t belong
The map is a mess and entire tribes get thrown together and just dissolve
What is left is a group of people with nothing but, memories of how it was. Is the grass really greener?
And in the middle of Israel’s and our failure, God in His Love does something about it.
Out in the Jordan River, away froma all of the importnat places at the time, there was a wild man, eating bugs and baptizing people.
John the Baptisit
Turn away from all of this, stop looking to the left and to the right and being upset what God has done for others, it was was never about these stones.
It was never about seeing others in constant competition with you.
John the Baptist is a very practical in his apprach to ministry,
if you want to make the place where you are really come alive
Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. ( turn away from the things in your live that posion the soul) (stop giving into hate or lust, or self rightoeousness) And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
From this message, he attracts people from all over,
3 groups approach John in the desert and each one gives a great lesson
“What should we do then?” the crowd asked.
John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”
You had abundance that season for a reason. Help your borther and your sister, work for your families and those to those around you
Food is for everyone, but my shirt size is specific.
Somebody who can wear my clothes, knows what it’s like to be my size, my height, we have things in common
Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”
“Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.
Hated by those at the river.
not tell them to be someone else, the tax collectors stay who they are.
the hard to reach areas of life and they stay where they are.
God has a plan for everyone, can you imagine revival, not in a sanctuary but in a government building?
Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”
He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”
This will be the same government that will eventually kill John the Baptist.
Stay where you are, do your job with fairness and donot create lies about the people you rule over.
Training
Don’t move the stones
I’m going to lead us in a quick prayer
You can write this prayer on stone
“Lord Jesus, You are God and I am not”
