《Sermon Illustrations (D~F)》(a compilation) table of contents

ENERGY No illustrations yet. ENERGETIC

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ENERGY No illustrations yet. ENERGETIC Many a person gets a reputation for being energetic when in truth, he is merely fidgety.   Jan McKeithen. ENJOYMENT The first half of life consists of the capacity to enjoy without the chance; the last half consists of the chance without the capacity.  Mark Twain. Statistics and Stuff It is a common temptation of Satan to make us give up the reading of the Word and prayer when our enjoyment is gone; as if it were of no use to read the Scriptures when we do not enjoy them, and as if it were no use to pray when we have no spirit of prayer. The truth is that in order to enjoy the Word, we ought to continue to read it, and the way to obtain a spirit of prayer is to continue praying. The less we read the Word of God, the less we desire to read it, and the less we pray, the less we desire to pray.  George Muller in "A Narrative of Some of the Lord's Dealings with George Muller." ENVIRONMENT A scuba diver takes his environment with him: he lives in the water, but he breathes the air. In the same way Christians are to be in the world, but not of the world. ENVY The godly Scottish preacher Andrew Bonar penned a diary entry. He wrote, "This day 20 years ago I preached for the first time as an ordained minister. It is amazing that the Lord has spared me and used me at all. I have no reason to wonder that He used others far more than He does me. Yet envy is my hurt, and today I have been seeking grace to rejoice exceedingly over the usefulness of others, even where it cast me into the shade. Lord, take away this envy from me!" Andrew Bonar. F.B. Meyer held meetings in Northfield, Mass., and large crowds thronged to hear him. Then the great British Bible teacher G. Campbell Morgan came to Northfield and people were soon flocking to hear his brilliant expositions of scripture. Meyer confessed at first he was envious. He said, "The only way I can conquer my feelings is to pray for Morgan daily, which I do." Source Unknown. Dwight L. Moody once told the fable of an eagle who was envious of another that could fly better than he could. One day the bird saw a sportsman with a bow and arrow and said to him, "I wish you would bring down that eagle up there." The man said he would if he had some feathers for his arrow. So the jealous eagle pulled one out of his wing. The arrow was shot, but it didn't quite reach the rival bird because he was flying too high. The first eagle pulled out another feather, then another--until he had lost so many that he himself couldn't fly. The archer took advantage of the situation, turned around, and killed the helpless bird. Moody made this application: if you are envious of others, the one you will hurt the most by your actions will be yourself. Source Unknown. Statistics and Stuff There is a distinction between jealousy and envy. To envy is to want something which belongs to another person. "You shall not covet your neighbor's house, his wife or his servant, his ox or donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor." In contrast, jealousy is the fear that something which we possess will be taken away by another person. Although jealousy can apply to our jobs, our possessions, or our reputations, the word more often refers to anxiety which comes when we are afraid that the affections of a loved one might be lost to a rival. We fear that our mates, or perhaps our children, will be lured away by some other person who, when compared to us, seems to be more attractive, capable and successful.  Dr. Gary Collins, in Homemade, July, 1985. EPISTEMOLOGY I will believe that the white object I see is black if that should be the decision of the hierarchical church.  Jesuit founder Ignatius Loyola, quoted in National Geographic, October, 1983,  p. 460. ESAU A New York State woman unknowingly allowed her family jewels to be sold for 10 cents at a friend's garage sale. It happened after she took the jewels out of a bank safety deposit box to wear to a wedding. The bank was closed when she got home, so she put the jewels in an old shaving case and stuffed it in another box. In time, she forgot about the jewels, and later she gave the shaving case to a friend who was collecting items for a garage sale. By the time the woman realized what she had done, the precious gems had been sold to an unknown buyer for a dime. In a sense, her pain is similar to Esau's. He too discovered what it's like to realize suddenly that he had lost something of great value. Source Unknown. ESCAPE Joe Louis was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 until he retired in 1949. In 1946 Louis prepared to defend his title against a skilled fighter named Billy Conn. Louis was warned to watch out for Conn's great speed and his tactic of darting in to attack and then moving quickly out of his opponent's range. In a famous display of confidence, Louis replied, "He can run, but he can't hide."   Today in the Word, July 6, 1993. Following three years of hazardous duty as a member of the famed Lewis and Clark expedition along the western frontier, John Colter turned to trapping beaver in the Three Forks area of the Missouri River, deep in Blackfoot Indian territory. One day, while inspecting traps by canoe, Colter and a companion were suddenly flanked by Blackfoot warriors. Colter's friend was killed as he tried to escape, but Colter was captured. Stripped of his clothing, including his shoes, the adventurer was led out onto the prairie and then released as several hundred Blackfoot set off in pursuit. What followed was a legendary 11-day overland trek. Traveling day and night, Colter climbed mountains, scurried across fields, and tramped through woods, covering an unbelievable 300 miles as he made his way to safety.   Today in the Word, April 24, 1992. Directory: Topics Topics -> ES18 topics intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (ipcc) Working Group I Topics -> Non-Governmental Organizations And Their Relation to Transboundary Water Resources Topics -> United Nations Peacekeeping Operations and Mandatory hiv testing August 1996 Topics -> Policy Options for Connecting and Enabling the Next Billion Download 1.31 Mb. Share with your friends: