Sermon Tone Analysis

! Oh, The Places You Will Go!

!! Bill Mesaeh ~/ www.billmesaeh.com

*1.

**Brains in Your Head*

a.       You’ll have many decisions to make

                                                               i.

To this point, many have been made for you

                                                             ii.

That gradually diminishes, and you’re left to decide more on your own

                                                            iii.

There are times that is a good thing,

1.       and there are times that it’s a scary thing

b.

When you step out to make your decisions, remember:

                                                               i.

Know your limits

1.       Graduation doesn’t make you 10’ tall and bullet proof

a.       It’s the start of the rest of your life

2.       Diplomas don’t make you wise; they make you educated

                                                             ii.

Know your resources

1.       Wisdom can only come from experience

2.       Don’t forget the wise in your life

a.

Chances are:

                                                                                                                                       i.

they’re older than you

                                                                                                                                     ii.

they care enough to share some nuggets of experience

                                                            iii.

Know your place

1.

We often forfeit the counsel of the wise by assuming that God gave us a special crash course in the wisdom that other people have taken their whole lives to accumulate

/a.      //Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old.

-- Job 12:12/

/b.      //Jacob replied, “I have traveled this earth for 130 hard years.

But my life has been short compared to the lives of my ancestors.”

-- Gen 47:9/

/c.       //The words of the wise are like cattle prods—painful but helpful.

Their collected sayings are like a nail-studded stick with which a shepherd drives the sheep.

-- Ec 12:11/

*2.       **Failure is an Event, Not a Person*

a.

As painful as it sounds, we learn some of our best lessons when we fall down

b.

The mistakes that we make do the greatest damage on us when we decide to stay down

                                                               i.

When we allow them to define us

c.       Listen to Paul,

/                                                              i.

//No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

-- Php 3:13-14/

d.

Just know now that:

                                                               i.

Your heart /will/ be broke

                                                             ii.

There /will/ be jobs you don’t get

1.

A test you fail

2.       A friend you lose, etc.   

e.

Find ways to Unslump yourself

                                                               i.

Draw on your resources

                                                             ii.

Remember that nothing touches you that has not first been through God’s hand

1.

You can endure any What if you understand the Why.

a.

The Why may not always be immediately knowable, but you’re different from the crowd b~/c you understand that God remains in control during the good and the bad

*3.

**What kind of dirt will you be?*

a.

One more thing about decision-making:

                                                               i.

Remember that each decision we make slowly turns us into a different person—for better or for worse

1.       Ultimately, you’re deciding yourself into being a specific kind of person

a.       You’ll have choices set before you that will require you to draw upon the years of wisdom and lessons you’ve learned along the way

2.       In the end, we become the grand sum of our decisions

a.       Remember that when you’re tempted to cheat, lie, steal, get drunk, etc.

b.      Listen to what Jesus says,

/                                                              i.

//One day Jesus told a story in the form of a parable to a large crowd that had gathered from many towns to hear him: “A farmer went out to plant his seed.

As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it.

Other seed fell among rocks.

It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture.

Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants.

Still other seed fell on fertile soil.

This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

When he had said this, he called out, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

-- Lk 8:4-8/

/                                                            ii.

//“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word.

The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved.

The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy.

But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation.

The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life.

And so they never grow into maturity.

And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.

-- Lk 8:11-15/

1.

What kind of dirt will you be?

a.       That’s a weird way to ask it, but consider how the life you’re living is affecting the seed’s ability to grow

                                                                                                                                       i.

Are you choking it out with a bunch of junky decisions?