Salvation
The Gift Must Be Received
The work
has been done on the cross. The blood has been shed. The price has been paid.
The only thing left is for the forgiveness to be received by you.
I could
offer to give you a hundred dollar bill by holding it out with my hand. But
until you reach out and take it from me, it will never be yours. The same is
true with God's forgiveness. Until you receive it, it's not yours. (Kent
Crockett, The 911 Handbook, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2003,
55)
Cannot Save Ourselves
The first
thing we need to understand is we cannot save ourselves. Imagine being on a ship
in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and falling overboard. Because no one saw
you fall in, the ship continues toward its destination, leaving you hopelessly
stranded. After treading water for several hours, you find yourself surrounded
by sharks. You face certain death at any moment. Exhausted from trying to stay
afloat, you slip underwater and begin to drown. Somehow, you force your way to
the surface for one more gasp of air.
As you are
about to go under for the last time, a helicopter appears miraculously out of
nowhere. The rescue squad inside the helicopter throws out a rope and lassoes
your hand, pulling you out of the water just seconds before the sharks move in
for the kill. The helicopter flies you back to shore, where you receive
treatment in the hospital.
After you
recover, you begin to brag about how you saved yourself. "I'm really proud of my
hand. This hand saved me. Let me tell you how I found the helicopter in the
middle of the ocean..."
Just like we can't save ourselves if we were stranded in the Atlantic, we are also helpless to save ourselves from hell. God doesn't want our help, either. Because Jesus does all of the saving, we have no right to brag about anything we have done. "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). (Kent Crockett, The 911 Handbook, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2003, 221)
The Vacuum in Your Heart
"There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God the Creator, made known by Jesus Christ." --Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
Satan
Satan's Diploma
The devil has a Master's
degree in Trickonometry.
Kent Crockett's Sermon Illustrations, www.kentcrockett.com
The Only Time Satan Tells the Truth
"Satan puts some truth in
every lie to make the lie more believable." --Kent Crockett
Kent Crockett's Sermon Illustrations, www.kentcrockett.com
Know Your Strength
"The weakest Christian is
more powerful than the strongest demon." --Kent Crockett
Identifying the Enemy
Lord Horatio Nelson was
Britain's greatest naval hero. As his fleet was sailing into battle one day,
Nelson's men began to fight amongst themselves. Calling out their names, Nelson
pointed toward the approaching fleet and exclaimed, "Gentlemen, there is the
enemy!" --Proclaim, Jan-Mar 1997
Kent Crockett's Sermon
Illustrations, www.kentcrockett.com
Self-Control
Use Your Brakes
A company advertising
brakes came up with the slogan: "Without control, there can be no freedom."
Self-control is using
your brakes (saying "no") in order to keep your freedom.
Kent Crockett's Sermon Illustrations, www.kentcrockett.com
Delayed Gratification
In a recent
study of eighth-grade students, researchers found that the ability to delay
gratification was a bigger predictor of academic gains than IQ. Each student was
given the choice of either receiving $1 immediately, or getting $2 a week later.
The self-disciplined youth were the ones who consistently outperformed their
impulsive peers on everything from grades to standardized achievement scores.
Psychologist
Angela Duckworth, the study's co-author, affirmed the fact that children can
develop self-control. By allowing them to experience the frustration of having
to wait, involving them in projects that require planning, and using
extra-curricular activities like sports and music, delayed gratification can
become an acquired skill. The Bible repeatedly refers to patience as a learned
virtue of great worth and this study simply confirms that truth. --USA
Weekend, 8/4/06 as cited in In Other Words
Self-Image
The Self-Portrait in Your Mind
Self-image
is the self-portrait that hangs in the gallery of your mind.
(Kent
Crockett, I Once Was Blind But Now I Squint, Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers,
2004, 78)
The Crazy House of Mirrors
A popular
attraction at carnivals is the crazy house of mirrors. Inside this maze of
warped mirrors, we can view our contorted reflections. When we look into these
mirrors, our eyes and ears seem to balloon out of proportion. We see ourselves
as extremely skinny or overweight. We don’t actually look like that, but the
warped mirrors make us appear so.
Inferiority’s misshapen lenses make us see ourselves like the mirrors in the
crazy house. A warped self-image is no closer to reality than the image
reflected by the contorted mirrors at the carnival. We become disgusted with our
appearance. We focus on our unsightly features and exaggerate each flaw. My,
what big ears, nose, and eyes we have! Dissatisfaction with our appearance can
produce hatred toward the God who created us.
(Kent
Crockett, I Once Was Blind But Now I Squint, Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers,
2004, 78)
You Aren't An Accident
Christian
psychologist James Michaelson once counseled a woman who felt lonely and
abandoned. As she explained how she felt, he couldn’t concentrate on what she
was saying, because a scripture kept running through his mind: “It is He who has
made us, and not we ourselves” (Ps. 100:3). This verse had no apparent
connection with her problem, but he couldn’t quit thinking about it.
After she
finished talking, she sat in silence waiting for a response. Dr. Michaelson
didn’t know what to say other than quote the verse, although he realized it
might sound foolish since it seemed unrelated to her dilemma.
“I think
God wants you to know something,” Dr. Michaelson said. “‘It is He who has made
us, and not we ourselves.’ Does that mean anything to you?”
The woman
immediately broke down and cried.
After
composing herself, she explained what it meant.
“I didn’t
tell you this, but my mother got pregnant with me before she was married. All my
life I believed that I was a mistake—an unplanned accident—and that God didn’t
create me.
“When you
quoted that verse, I pictured in my mind God forming me in my mother’s womb. Now
I know that God created me and that I’m not a mistake. I’ll never be the same
again! Thank you, Dr. Michaelson. I’ll never forget this day as long as I live!”
God knew
this woman needed to know she was His marvelous creation and not an accident.
Her perspective changed dramatically once she understood that God had crafted
her in the womb.
(Kent
Crockett, I Once Was Blind But Now I Squint, Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers,
2004, 84)
The Inside Makes You Go Up
Several
children in a park watched a man release helium-filled balloons. The man let go
of a white balloon, which floated up into the sky. Then he released yellow and
red balloons, which also flew up and away. A little African-American boy asked,
“Mister, if you let go of a black balloon, will it go up?
The man
replied, “Son, the color on the outside has nothing to do with it. It’s what’s
on the inside that makes it go up.”
(Kent
Crockett, I Once Was Blind But Now I Squint, Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers,
2004, 142)
Selfishness
No Interest
I received a letter from
a credit card company that had "No Interest!" in big red letters on the
envelope. Do you really believe they will lend me money for no interest? Read
the fine print. It's ALL about interest. They have "no interest" in my best
interest--it's all about how much interest I can pay them!
Philippians 2:4 says, "Do
not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests
of others."
The Big Date
A young man called his
mother and excitedly announced that he had just met the woman of his dreams.
His mother said, "Why
don't you send her flowers and invite her to your apartment for a home-cooked
meal?"
The day after the big
date, his mother called to see how things had gone.
"Mom, the evening was a complete disaster," he replied. "It was horrible! "
"Why, didn't she come
over?" his mother asked.
"Yeah, she came over. But she refused to cook!"
Take Up Your Cross
We don’t
take up our cross daily to crucify Jesus again but to crucify our selfishness.
(Kent
Crockett, I Once Was Blind But Now I Squint, Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers,
2004, 82)
Serving God
God Wants Willingness, Not Intelligence
God is more
concerned with our “I will” than our IQ.
(Kent
Crockett, I Once Was Blind But Now I Squint, Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers,
2004, 80)
Legalism or Love?
There was
once a married couple who didn’t love each other. The day they got married, the
husband handed his wife a list of chores for her to follow. He insisted that she
do all the tasks on her list every day. The wife worked hard to accomplish her
assigned duties, but she was miserable as she performed them. Ironing his
clothes, preparing his meals, cleaning house—every task was burdensome. Although
she obeyed all his rules, she never enjoyed a loving relationship with her
husband.
Then one
day her husband died. After several years had passed, she fell in love with
another man and got married. The new husband never required her to do anything,
much less a list of jobs. Instead, he showered her with love and did everything
he could to make her happy.
One day
this wife was joyfully cleaning house when she discovered her first husband’s
list of commands tucked away in a drawer. As she read the paper, it dawned on
her that she was performing every task on the list, but now she was serving with
joy instead of misery. Her love for her second husband inspired her to
automatically do the same jobs that her first husband had required. She had
served her first husband out of duty, but her second husband out of love.
God wants us to serve Him out of jubilation, not obligation. Legalism adds weights to our work, but love gives wings to our service. (Kent Crockett, Making Today Count for Eternity, Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 2001, pp. 159-160)
Serving Others
A Lowly Heart
Being a servant doesn’t necessarily mean having a lowly position; it means having a lowly heart. My wife and I went to a restaurant where the meanest waitress we had ever met was “serving” us. She waited on us with the attitude, “My name is Grumpy, and I will be your waitress today. If you need something, you are just going to have to wait your turn. So don’t push me!” She was in a servant’s position, but she didn’t have a servant’s heart. (Kent Crockett, Making Today Count for Eternity, Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 2001, p. 129)
Being a Good Servant
People want
good service, but they don’t want to be good servants. (Kent Crockett, Making
Today Count for Eternity, Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 2001, p. 142)