Sermon Tone Analysis

/17 Feb 08/

James B. Stockdale, an American Pilot, was shot down during the Vietnam War in 1965.

For the next 7 years, Stockdale would be held as a prisoner of war by the Vietcong.

He was often tortured in an attempt to break his will and get him to denounce U.S. involvement in the war.

They would bind his hands above his head for days at the time so that he couldn’t even swat the mosquitoes.

The Vietcong broke one of his legs and never set it properly.

Perhaps the worst torture was being separated from other POW’s and put in solitary confinement for four years.

How could he survive such treatment?

How could anyone endure and carry on?

When asked what helped him make it through those seven years, Stockdale said that it was his hope.

Hope that one day he would go home.

He knew that he had to hold on to the hope that every day could be the day he would be released and go home.

And that kept him going.

The Hope of Home.

Job 14:1-2 (NASB95) \\ 1 “Man, who is born of woman, Is short-lived and full of turmoil.

\\ \\

Do you know what he’s saying?

Friends, he’s saying that life is hard.

Some of you are dealing with situations at work that are hard.

There are people that you work with whom you just can’t get along with.

Their always causing problems and you come to the point where you dread going to work every day.

Others of you hate your job but you’re stuck in it, and you dread it every day.

Many of you come from broken homes.

Some of you are living in broken homes right now.

And it’s hard to live with that.

Many of you know the sting of divorce, and the pain of going through that, and it’s hard.

Broken promises and broken hearts.

So many here this morning are living with sickness and pain every day.

We all have loved ones who are suffering.

For some it was a struggle just to get out of bed this morning.

And others just couldn’t get out of bed.

And we all go through the pain and the sorrow of losing those we love.

And it’s so hard to go on.

Life is so hard.

And I can’t help but wonder what God would say to us, if He would just open up the sky and speak directly to us this morning in light of all of the pain and suffering we go through.

He did speak through Peter.

In 1 Peter 1:3, we have God’s word spoken to Christians who knew that life is hard.

They were being persecuted for their faith.

They had had to leave their homes in Jerusalem because of the persecution.

They were outcasts of society.

Friends and family cut them off and wanted nothing to do with them.

Local people refused to do business with them.

And they too faced the pain of separation and death.

Life was hard.

1 Peter 1:3-7 (NASB95) \\ 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, \\ 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, \\ 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

\\ 6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, \\ 7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; \\ \\

I think the key for us is found in verse 6.

6 In this (salvation which will be revealed in the last time) you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,

 

We are being distressed by various trials in this life.

And it is hard.

What Peter is saying to us is that we’ve got to do the same thing that Stockdale did as a POW.

We’ve got to hold on to the hope of going home.

That any day could be the day that we are released from this prison and taken home.

I want to tell you about a dream that I had.

This was a vivid dream.

It was one of those dreams where you can literally see and hear and feel, and you know it’s real.

*Mat 24:36-51*

NARRATIVE

The alarm clock went off.

I Got up and sang the “Good Morning” song to Mariah.

Next, I took a shower

Shaved

Just another day

Kissed Jessica goodbye and walked out the door to go to work

 

Something was different

Couldn’t put finger on it

All of a sudden a shout and trumpet sounded

Not whistle from mill

*1 Thes 4:13-18*

Looked up and saw the Son of Man, Jesus coming on the clouds  And the Dead in Christ, those who have gone on before, were rising up to meet him in the air.

And then I started to rise up.

It was amazing

I was just picked up by invisible hands and flying to Jesus

As I got closer I could see that there was a division

*Mat 25: 31-46*

A multitude of people were on his left, and I knew that these were the ones who had never accepted him as Lord and Savior.

I knew that they would spend eternity in Hell.

And somehow I could see that there were more people on his left.

But over to his right there was another multitude.

And I knew many of the faces I saw over there.

These were those who had washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb.

Those who had accepted Christ as Lord and Savior and had lived for him

I knew that they would spend eternity in heaven with Jesus

 

And I can’t tell you the joy I felt as Jesus sent me to his right side in his mercy and grace

 Matthew 25:34-36 (NASB95) \\ Then the King said “to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

\\ 35 ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; \\ 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’” \\ \\

Matthew 25:41 (NASB95) \\ Then He said “to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;” \\ \\

I drifted out at that point

Next thing I know, I’m standing on a road

In front of me is a massive wall          *Rev 21:1-21*

Stretches as far as I can see east to west, as high as I can see into the sky

1,500 miles

 

As I looked at the foundation of this great wall, I saw that it was made of all kinds of different stones and it was so beautiful

 

I made my way to the open gate in the wall and saw that it was cut from one huge pearl.

It was magnificent

An Angel stood guard at the Gate, and he let me pass

 

The wall was so thick that it was like walking though a beautiful, multicolored cave.

But when I came out the other side, into the city, I lost my breath.

I was on a street of pure Gold, and all of the city that I could see looked so wonderful, I can’t describe it with words.

As wonderful as the city was though, that wasn’t the best thing.

There, waiting for me when I came through the gate, were loved ones I haven’t seen in years.