Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

A couple of weeks ago when we spoke of the ten lepers we saw how God wants to have a relationship since the beginning.

I mentioned God walking in the garden, his dwelling in the tabernacle, temple and the flesh.

We ended by remembering the fact that God is building his kingdom with people like you and me, sinners saved by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Last week Major Peabody blessed us with the reminder of how sometimes we need to be broken down so our pride does not get in the way of our relationship with God.

Well, after God breaks us down of our pride and we come to know Him more closely, God can build us back up with a desire to build his kingdom.

He quickly shows us we can build his kingdom through vision, possibility and inspiration.

Transition: Firstly, let’s look more closely at the Scriptures to see a contrast in vision.

Through vision

Interesting observation while reading (contrast)

Lack of vision

Pharisees (religious people of influence)

“When will the KOG come?… already among you.”

Disciples (Followers of the Way)

Lk 18

Disciples scolded the parents while Jesus said “Don’t stop them!”

Desire for vision

Lk 18.35-40

What was his response?

“Lord, I want to see!”

What did Jesus respond?

“God bless you, I will be praying for you.”

NO

And here the true mark of someone’s life who has been transformed by Jesus...

All of the glory is for God!

When God gives us vision we do not just stay sitting where we were when we were blind.

We respond like the man who received his sight and praise God.

Others respond by praising him as well.

Transition: But as I kept thinking I wondered: Why does the KOG belong to those who are like these children?

Through possibility

A child more often than not will try something beyond reach and sometimes even crazy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPOgvzVOQig

Because children had no social status during this time they depended largely on their relationship with their parents to receive everything they would need to live and survive.

I found it interesting that right after Luke writes about receiving the KOG like a child he writes this story

lk 18.

EMPHASIS

Lk 18.20-27

Lk 18

lk 18:

I believe this is one of the reasons we need to be like little children to enter the Kingdom of God.

Our trust needs to be fully in God and no one or nothing else.

When we trust God for vision he can also pair it up with the passion for possibility.

There is a story of a poor boy who...

There is a story of a poor boy who “opened a printing shop… a prosperous competitor said he would drive him out of town.

[This boy] showed him a piece of black bread from which he dined and a pail of water from which he drank, and asked id he thought a man who could live on fare like that and work sixteen hours a day could be driven out of town.”

- S.L. Brengle in The Soul Winner’s Secret, An Undivided Heart

Does anyone know the name of the two people in this story?

The poor boy was Benjamin Franklin, one of the individuals of the Thirteen British Colonies in North America who led the American Revolution against the authority of the British Crown and established the United States of America.

Otherwise know as the guy on the $100 bill.

Insert slide image for $100 bill

Transition: I find the response from the disciples very amusing...

Through inspiration

READ (if preaching in Spanish)

lk 1.

Listen to some of the reasons why others would be inspired to build the kingdom of this Jesus...

lk 18.40-

Lk 18

Lk 18.1-

READ (if preaching Spanish)

Romans 8:33-34

Lk 19.5-

Romans 8:

God rewards, God heals, God listens!

He wants an intimate relationship with us and gave his life so it would be possible!

Conclusion

Summary

Vision - Whether we are living a religious life wondering when the KOG will come or are sincerely seeking Jesus, but still getting in the way of his work it is essential we trust him to give us vision like the beggar did.

Possibility - God gives us the vision to do what is necessary in the building of His Kingdom even though it may seem as impossible as a camel going through the eye of a needle.

Inspiration - God gives us every reason to be inspired: He heals, listens and wants a relationship with us to the point where he gave his life being born as a human child and died on the cross to make it all possible.

Application

Call P&W group up (Preferably a song about trusting God)

Vision - When God gives us vision we do not just stay sitting where we were when we were blind.

We respond like the man who received his sight and praise God.

Others respond by praising him as well.

We mobilize to bring this transformation to other blind, lame and hopeless people whom God wants to make a part of his kingdom.

After God gave William Booth the vision of suffering humanity he gave the founder of The Salvation Army the vision to reach for the impossible.

"'Not called!' did you say? 'Not heard the call,' I think you should say.

Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin.

Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help.

Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father's house and bid their brothers and sisters, and servants and masters not to come there.

And then look Christ in the face, whose mercy you have professed to obey, and tell him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish his mercy to the world.""

- William Booth

Possibility - All the vision in the world is useless if we do not do what is necessary for it to happen.

Sometimes we let doubt detain us from even trying to do what is possible.

"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible."

- St. Francis of Assisi

This coming from a person who “went to Egypt in an attempt to convert the Sultan to put an end to the conflict of the Crusades.”

"In order to attain the impossible, one must attempt the absurd."

- Miguel de Cervantes

Author of the second best-selling book of all-time “Don Quixote” with over 500 million copies.

"It's kind of fun to do the impossible!"

- Walt Disney

Inspiration - Brothers and sisters, God has given us the every single reason to be inspired by transforming our lives and making us whole.

On top of that he is willing to reward us for our faithfulness to him.

Are we lacking trust in Him? Whether it be trusting him for vision, possibility or inspiration you can make sure you will find them all at the foot of the cross.