September
29am, 2002 Back to
School? Psalm
25:1-9
By
Ronald E. George Jr. at the Fayetteville Baptist Church
Are
you ready to go back to school? The
Lord is good to teach. Why do
we need to learn? What do we need
to learn? Who needs to learn?
Who wants to learn? Who will
be ashamed? Do we wait on the Lord?
What does it take to become a learner?
This
is what is what it will take: dedication and commitment, persistence,
willingness
and desire to learn, sacrifice, a
teacher, time, ability to be available, and
humility. Are you ready to
go to God’s school of life?
“A young man was learning to be a paratrooper. Before his
first jump, he was given these instructions:
Jump when you are told. Count to ten
and pull the ripcord. In the unlikely event your parachute doesn't open, pull
the emergency ripcord. When you get
down, a truck will be there to take you back to the airport.
The
young man memorized these instructions and climbed aboard the plane. The plane
climbed to ten thousand feet and the paratroopers began to jump. When the young
man was told to jump, he jumped. He then counted to ten and pulled the ripcord.
Nothing happened. His chute failed to open. So he pulled the emergency ripcord.
Still, nothing happened. No parachute.
"Oh
great," said the young man. "And I suppose the truck won't be there
when I get down either!" From
Bible Illustrator.
1.
You will receive a body. You may
like it or hate it, but it will be yours for the entire period.
2.
You will learn lessons. You are
enrolled in a full-time informal school called Life. Each day in this school you
will have the opportunity to learn lessons. You may like the lessons or think
them irrelevant and stupid.
3.
Most "mistakes" are merely "lessons".
Growth is a process of trial and error: Experimentation. The
"failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the
experiment that ultimately "works".
4.
A lesson is repeated until learned. A
lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When
you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
5.
Learning lessons does not end. There
is no part of life that does not contain its lessons. If you are alive, there
are lessons to be learned.
6.
"There" is no better than "here".
When your "there" has become a "here," you will
simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than
"here."
7.
Others are merely mirrors of you. You
cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects something
you love or hate about yourself.
8.
What you make of your life is up to you. You
have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you.
The choice is yours.
9.
You will forget all of this.
Edited
from More Hot Illustrations for Youth Talks by Wayne Rice. Copyright 1995 by
Youth Specialties, Inc.
Scripture
Text:
Psalm 25:1 [A Psalm] of
David. Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul. 2 O my God, I trust in thee: let
me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me. 3 Yea, let none that
wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause. 4
Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.
This
is what David wants to learn. Will you go with the Lord?
1.
Show
me thy way. He
wanted to go with the Lord. Why?
The Lord’s way leads to life.
2.
Teach
me thy paths. He
wanted to know the right choices to make. Decisions
of life.
3.
Lead
me in thy truth. He
wanted to be sure that he was going the right direction.
Are
you a Learner?
1.
Wants to learn.
2.
Doesn’t know it all
3.
Is willing to listen
4.
Opens heart and mind to new possibilities
5.
Recognizes his or her need (sinner)
6.
Willing to follow
7.
Accepts the new situation or paradigm
8.
Ready to follow a new path that leads to life with the Lord.
The
Lord wants to direct your life. He
wants to give you the best that He has to offer.
Will you go the way of the Lord? Will
you go back to His school? Jesus
came to be our Savior who shows the way through His life.
He won’t leave you alone until you come to follow Him.
Then He will never forsake you throughout a lifetime of study and
learning.
John Smith was a loyal carpenter, working for a very
successful building contractor who called him into his office one day and said,
"John, I'm putting you in charge of the next house we build.
I want you to order all the materials and oversee the whole job from the
ground up."
John
accepted the assignment with great enthusiasm and excitement. For ten days
before ground was broken at the building site, John studied the blueprints.
He checked every measurement, every specification.
Suddenly he had a thought. "If I am really in charge," he said
to himself, "why couldn't I cut a few corners, use less- expensive
materials, and put the extra money in my pocket? Who would know the difference?
Once the house is painted, it will look just great."
So
John set about his scheme. He
ordered second-grade lumber, but his reports indicated that it was top-grade.
He ordered inexpensive concrete for the foundation, put in cheap wiring,
and cut every corner he could, yet he reported the purchase of much better
materials. When the home was
completed and fully painted, he asked the contractor to come and see it.
"John,"
said the contractor, "What a magnificent job you have done! You have been
such a good and faithful carpenter all these years that I have decided to show
my gratitude by giving you this house you have built, as a gift!"
Education
is similar to building a house. If
the foundation is strong, there is real strength for the future.
If the proper materials go into the construction, it will last a long
time. But if we build with shoddy materials, cut corners, and take the easy way
out, we build a weak house on a poor foundation. Followers of Jesus Christ are
called upon to study God's Word, reflect on it, and pray, so that all of life
becomes a rich experience of learning. From the Bible Illustrator