Sermon Tone Analysis

*Are You Drinking From the Fountain?*

*Text: Colossians 1:13-20*

*Introduction:*

   The Amazon River is the largest river in the world.

The mouth is 90 miles across.

There is enough water to exceed the combined flow of the Yangtze, Mississippi and Nile Rivers.

So much water comes from the Amazon that they can detect its currents 200 miles out in the Atlantic Ocean.

One irony of ancient navigation is that sailors in ancient times died for lack of water... caught in windless waters of the South Atlantic.

They were adrift, helpless, dying of thirst.

Sometimes other ships from South America who knew the area would come alongside and call out, "What is your problem?"

And they would exclaim, "Can you spare us some water?

Our sailors are dying of thirst!"

And from the other ship would come the cry, "Just lower your buckets.

You are in the mouth of the mighty Amazon River."

The irony of ancient Israel and the tragedy around us today is that God, the fountain of living water, is right here and people don't draw from Him.  (See:  Eph 3:11-12; Col 1:17-23; Col 2:9-19 )

Christ is our source.

If we do not draw from him we will die.

It is from him that we get life, because:

*I.

Christ is the source of creation*

*A).

All the earth* is from His creative power (V.16).

By him all things were created.

It is in Him and by His grace that you have your being, and that you have life.

All that you enjoy on earth; the sky, the birds, the trees are from the God through Jesus Christ.

***  There is no God.

All of the wonders around us are accidental.

No almighty hand made a thousand billion stars.

They made themselves.

No power keeps them on their steady course.

The earth spins itself to keep the oceans from falling off toward the sun.

Infants teach themselves to cry when they are hungry or hurt.

A small flower invented itself so that we could extract digitalis for sick hearts.

\\    The earth gave itself day and night, tilted itself so that we get seasons.

Without the magnetic poles man would be unable to navigate the trackless oceans of water and air, but they just grew there.

How about the sugar thermostat in the pancreas?

It maintains a level of sugar in the blood sufficient for energy.

Without it, all of us would fall into a coma and die.

Why does snow sit on mountain-tops waiting for the warm spring sun to melt it at just the right time for the young crops in farms below to drink?

A very lovely accident.

The human heart will beat for 70 or 80 years without faltering.

How does it get sufficient rest between beats?

A kidney will filter poison from the blood, and leave good things alone.

How does it know one from the other?

Who gave the human tongue flexibility to form words, and a brain to understand them, but denied it to all animals?

Who showed a womb how to take the love of two persons and keep splitting a tiny ovum until, in time, a baby would have the proper number of fingers, eyes and ears and hair in the right places, and come into the world when it is strong enough to sustain life?

There is no God?

-- 1966 by Jim Bishop, Miami Herald, July 27, 1987.

All creation gives glorious testimony to the King of Creation, Jesus.

But it is not only the creation we see on earth that gives testimony to the divine hand that wrought it.

*B).

Unseen things* in heaven of which glory we can only imagine have Him as their source.

It has been said that Heaven will only be heaven because Jesus is there.

All the gold, jewels and amazing things yet to be seen will mean nothing apart from Him.

It is in Him they have their source and it is only of His Royalty and grandeur that they testify.

\\ ***   A child of God who was seriously ill and lacked assurance of salvation said to his physician, "Doctor, although I'm a Christian, I'm afraid to die.

Exactly what happens to us in the hour of death?"

The surgeon, who was also a believer, thought for a moment and then replied, "I'm afraid I can't give you an exact answer to that question!"

As he walked across the room to leave, he desperately wished he could say something comforting.

Pausing briefly before opening the door, he heard the sound of scratching and whining on the other side.

Suddenly he realized that he had left his car window open and his little dog had jumped out.

With the patient's permission he let in his pet poodle who leaped on him with an eager show of gladness.

In a flash the doctor's mind was awakened to a scriptural truth he had never before put into words.

Turning to the sick man, he said, "Did you see how my dog acted?

He's never been in this room before.

He had no idea what was inside; yet when I opened the door, he sprang in without fear, for he knew his master was here!

As Christians we have not been told about the glories that await us on the other side of death.

But one thing we do know; our Master is there, and that is enough!  (See:  Phil 1:23 )

 

All that is seen, and all that is unseen have Christ at the source, and all life finds its beginning in Him.

That is a wonderful thought in itself, but not only is Christ the source of all creation, but:

*II.

Christ is the source of all preservation.*

This can be seen in the fact that He Himself is preserved.

In the grave where corruption and decay would reign we see Christ as conqueror.

The fact of his own resurrection gives testimony to His Power to sustain and preserve life.

(Acts 17:24-31 NASB)  "The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; {25} neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and all things; {26} and He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation, {27} that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; {28} for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His offspring.'

{29} "Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man.

{30} "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, {31} because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead."

It is in Christ that we move and exist, and if we are preserved, it will only be by Him; the proof being that He himself is preserved; being raised from the dead.

Even today, your very life has Him as its source.

In Him all things hold together (v.17), and they exist by his power.

If we are to be preserved after our life on earth is done, it will be by His preserving Hand.

Listen to the following letter.

***Dear Ann Landers:

\\    The enclosed  appeared in the Schenectady Gazette.

It was written by a teenage boy who died from cancer.

His parents were divorced and he and his sisters were being raised by grandparents.

Please try to find room for this farewell message in your column.

We went to school with Kevin, and he was truly one in a million.

A Very Special Thank You

   If I were back on earth, I would want to express my thanks:

   To the doctors and nurses at Ellis Hospital who attended me and made sure I did not suffer any unnecessary pain during my illness.

To all my school friends for your concern and kindness; for the many visits you made to the chapels and churches to pray for me; for the many hours you spent at the hospital helping to cheer me up and lift the spirits of my family.

For the memorial services you held on the steps of Draper High School the day I left this earth.

To all who came by the funeral home to pay their last respects.

I stopped counting when the number reached 400.

To all who sent cards and sympathy letters.

They were so helpful.

To you dear friends and neighbors who cooked all that delicious food and baked those wonderful pastries.

Your goodies just about covered every flat surface in our home.