Sermon Tone Analysis

GOD’S PURPOSE FOR OUR LIFE

*Text: Ephesians 5:15-18*

*Introduction**:* Most of us have attended a high school or college graduation at some time in our life.

The students who are graduating are told by the commencement speaker that they are preparing to enter the adult world, and that each and every one of them have talents and skills they can contribute to making this a better world in which to live.

This is true, but if the commencement speaker was a Christian and wanted to tell them the whole story about their life, he would say,  “God has a purpose for you being here, and you need to seek God to find out what His purpose is.”

This is what Paul was saying in Eph.

5:17, we read, “Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.”

Many of these graduates start life off after graduation with all the vim and vigor they can muster up to find their niche in life.

Someone said this is what different college grads ask...

· The graduate with a Science degree asks ... "Why does it work?"

· The graduate with an Engineering degree asks ... "How does it work?"

· The graduate with a Business Administration degree asks ... "When will it work?"

· The graduate with a Finance degree asks ... "When will it turn a profit?"

· The graduate with an Accounting degree asks ... "How much will it cost?"

· The graduate with an Economics degree asks ... "Will there be demand for it?"

· The graduate with a Liberal Arts degree asks ... "Would you like fries with that order?"

Every year thousands and thousands of graduates are released into society to find out what God has put them here on earth to do.

!! A.        MANY WILL FOLLOW THE CROWD

!!! 1.

They think that if something works for others, it will work for them.

You have perhaps heard the story about the man from the back mountains of Tennessee who found himself in a large city for the first time, standing outside an elevator in a fancy hotel.

He watched as an old, haggard woman hobbled into the elevator and the doors closed.

A few minutes later the doors opened and a young, beautiful woman walked out.

The father hollered to his youngest son, "Hey Billy, go get your mama.”

!!!! a)      What works for ONE person does not always work for SOMEONE ELSE!

You can get your life messed up fast thinking you can follow a certain individual and you will get the same results they are getting in their life.

!!!! b)      Following the crowd can mislead us about ourselves the same way many have mislead themselves, by WEARING WHAT OTHERS WEAR thinking it will look good on them!

It doesn’t work that way!

!!!! c)      Many young girls will watch a television interview of some movie actress, and they look at the way she wears her hair and how she dresses, and they think that if they do the same thing they will get the same results she got.

!!!!! (1)  If many of the actors and actresses today were to walk out into the streets like the average person, without all this plastic surgery and cosmetics, they would look like most people and would not get any more attention than anyone else if no one knew they were actresses.

They spend thousands of dollars on plastic surgery and hair-dos, and special people to pick out their wardrobe so they look nice.

These people do not shop at Walmart!

!!!!! (2)  The reason I mention these actors and actresses is because it is foolish to think that we can follow the lead of others and look a certain way.

And it is foolish to think we can follow others and find the plan of God for our lives.

!!!!! (3)  To find their place in life, many just follow the crowd.

They are like the blind leading the blind, and one day they are all going to fall in the same ditch.

!! B.        MANY WILL FOLLOW AFTER EVIL

!!

Many people who follow evil do not intend to travel this road all their life.

Their plan is to make some big money fast and then take a different route one day and give their hearts to the Lord before they die.

But their mistake is this, once a person takes the sin route, there are consequences that follow.

!!! 1.      SIN WILL ROB YOU OF YOUR HEALTH

!!!! a)      Many people today are in bad shape physically because they chose the path of sin.

Sin has really destroyed the life of many.

I heard that one doctor was so busy treating patients that he had to change the message on his answering machine.

A transcript of the new answering service goes something like this, “Hello, and welcome to the Mental Health Hotline.

· If you are co-dependent, please ask someone to press 2 for you.

· If you have multiple personalities, press 3, 4, 5 and 6.

· If you are paranoid, we know who you are and what you want.

Stay on the line so we can trace your call.

· If you are delusional, press 7 and your call will be transferred to the mother ship.

· If you are schizophrenic, listen carefully and a small voice will tell you which number to press.

· If you are manic-depressive, it doesn't matter which number you press, as no one will answer.

· If you have amnesia, press 8 and state your name, address, phone number, date of birth, social security number and your mother's maiden name.67

· If you have bi-polar disorder, please leave a message after the beep or before the beep, or after the beep.

Please wait for the beep.

· If you have short-term memory loss, press 9.

· If you have short-term memory loss, press 9.

· If you have short-term memory loss, press 9.

· If you have low self-esteem, please hang up.

All our operators are too busy to talk to you.”

!!!! b)      Many have chosen the path of sin thinking it to be the best route to take for their life

!!! 2.      SIN WILL ROB YOU OF YOUR REPUTATION

!!!! a)      Everyone has a reputation.

But sin will rob us of our good reputation.

Marines are known for their toughness.

A marine came to town and he pulled in at a hotel to get some rest, but every hotel in town was full.

He said to the desk clerk, "You've got to have a room somewhere," he pleaded.

"Or just a bed, I don't care where."

"Well, I do have a double room with one occupant - an Air Force guy," admitted the manager, "and he might be glad to split the cost.

But to tell you the truth, he snores so loudly that people in adjoining rooms have complained in the past.

I'm not sure it'd be worth it to you."

"No problem," the tired marine assured him.

"I'll take it."

The next morning the Marine came down to breakfast bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

"How'd you sleep?" asked the manager.

"Never better."

The manager was impressed.

"No problem with the other guy snoring?"

"None whatsoever, I shut him up in no time," said the Marine.

"How'd you manage that?" asked the manager.

"He was already in bed, snoring away, when I came in the room," the marine explained.

"I went over, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and said, 'Goodnight, beautiful,' and he sat up all night watching me."

!!!! b)      Many blondes have a reputation for not being smart.

There was a blonde mother who had three grownup sons.

When her birthday came, each one gave her a present.

The first one gave her a house to live in.

The second gave her a Mercedes to get around in.

The third gave her a parrot that could quote scriptures from the whole Bible, because she had bad eyesight.

A week passed and the mother contacted her sons:

She told the first, “The house you got me is too big.”

To the second she said, “The car you got me is too small.”

To the third she said, “Thank you my dear for your humble but thoughtful gift, the chicken you gave me was delicious.”

Our opinion is what we think we are, our reputation is what others think we are.

You can have a good reputation but you can choose to live in sin and immediately lose your good reputation.

!!! 3.      SIN WILL ROB YOU OF YOUR MONEY

!!!! a)      You can have a lot of money, but a life of sin will rob you of every penny you have.

!!! 4.      SIN WILL ROB YOU OF YEARS OF YOUR LIFE

!!!! a)      There is a reason that insurance companies want to know a little about your life-style before they insure you.

They know that according to their statistics, certain lifestyles are big risks and they do not want to touch them.

!!!! b)      Some have chosen the path of sin to find maximum pleasure.

They went out one night to have some fun, and now they have the incurable disease called AIDS!