DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE 9-16

© By Danna Shirley

#9 - BALANCED DIET

"And Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life.  He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.’”  (John 6:35)

My annual physical revealed several areas of concern.  As a person who is on the go and doesn’t like to cook anyway, fast food has been my “die-it.”  Now I am anemic and not operating up to peak efficiency or my full potential.  

We need balanced “nutrition” in our spiritual life as well…feasting on the Bread of Life in…

            Sunday School                       Prayer

            Church                                   Meditation

            Worship                                 Tithing

            Bible study                             Fellowship

If we ate the same food every meal, we would become burned out, weak, and sick.  It is the same with our spiritual life. 

Attending church for one hour once a week is helpful but is it enough?  What if our only sustenance was breakfast once a week?  Could we survive? 

God wants us “healthy” in all areas of our life.  He wants us to have a balanced spiritual diet.  Feast on the Word of God daily…pray without ceasing…you won’t be disappointed in how healthy you become. 

           

 Prop: Fresh fruit, vegetables, bread vs. stale, moldy, rotten, etc

#10 - ABIDING

“I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing.”  (John 15:5)

Looking at fresh, plump grapes it is not hard to see that they are well attached to the vine and quite juicy and desirable to a hungry person.

If left long enough, they shrivel up and become very undesirable.  Eventually, they begin to loosen and fall away from the stem. 

What keeps grapes looking juicy and desirable?  Being attached to the vine…the life source of the fruit. 

What keeps us, as Christians, from becoming loosened and shriveled and falling away?  Staying attached to the Vine (Jesus)…our Life Source.

Don’t fall away from church and Sunday School attendance, from reading and studying the Word of God, from fellowship with the saints, tithing, or prayer. 

Stay juicy and delicious…desirable for the world to see and want… abide in the Vine.

                 

Props:  A cluster of fresh grapes and a cluster of shriveled grapes.  Show that some have already fallen away and are loose…lost; but those that stay attached to the Vine (Jesus) are plump, juicy, and “alive.”

#11 - BROKEN POTS

“But now, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our potter; and all we are the work of Your hand.”  (Isaiah 64:8)

I had a big, green planter out on my deck.  I wasn’t concerned that it might get broken because it seemed heavy enough to withstand any small wind that might blow.  I guess I took it for granted that it would be safe and sound.  However, when a wind storm came through and knocked it over, I was surprised to find it in pieces and wished that I had paid better attention to its safety.

When the unexpected storms in life blow mightily against us, we, too, may fall over broken…OR…we can set our feet firmly in the foundation of Jesus Christ and let those winds bend us and bounce us back even stronger.  It depends on how well we’ve been planted in our pot (the Word of God) and how well we trust in the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).

Sometimes, too, being uprooted and replanted in better soil and a bigger pot can be the best thing for us.  Plants don’t flourish if they’re root bound and cramped.  Wait on God…He will repot you when and where He sees fit.

Prop:  Use broken pottery pieces and a loose plant with its roots in little soil.  Explain how a plant doesn’t survive well if living in loose shallow soil or in a cramped pot. 

#12 - DIRTY SHEEP

“He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.”  (Isaiah 40:11)

On one of my trips to California to visit family, there was a ram fenced in by my sister, Paula’s, driveway. My mind’s eye imagined sweet cuddly lambs with their fleece as white as snow. Not so with this ram. Its fleece was thick and heavy, gray and dirty in the summer heat. It was not at all an inviting picture. 

A few days later I noticed the ram had been sheared, relieved of its thick coat and relieved, I’m sure, to enjoy the cooler summer heat. But I also noticed that its skin was just as gray and dirty-looking as the fleece. I had expected when the wool was removed, the ram would be clean again. Then I thought of the little lambs before they become dirty rams. 

Our Shepherd loves us unconditionally and desires to clean away all of our thick, heavy, gray “dirt” (sins) and make us white as snow. As the Body of Christ, we are also accountable to teach the little lambs and keep them in the fold, safe and protected, so they won’t become dirty rams.

Be a role model to the children (lambs) around you. It is much easier to keep them on the right path than to clean them up as they grow older (sheep).

Prop:  Lamb--stuffed animal.

#13 - RUSTY TOOLS

“Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season.  Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.” (2 Timothy 4:2)

I found an old hoe that was left out in the yard. It had been neglected and was no longer strong . . . all rusted and of no use for its original purpose. The handle was brittle and I’m sure if I applied pressure to it, it would splinter and break.

God also gives us tools in our lives to be used for an intended purpose. Our “tools” are special gifts . . . prophecy, ministry, teacher, exhorter, giver, leader, mercy (Romans 12:6-8).

Don’t take what you have for granted. Protect it, nurture it, and care for it. It is better to keep your God-given “tools” (gifts) sharp and ready for use than to have to clean them up or repair them later.

Use your “tools” as God intended whenever and wherever He presents the opportunity. If you’re rusty or brittle, you could break under the pressure.

Prop:  Rusty hoe or a broken, splintered handle on any tool.

#14 - BRICKS AND BROKEN BRICKS

“For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:11)

One needs a strong, sturdy foundation on which to build. If not, the foundation breaks apart and what is on top falls through. 

The same is true of our lives. If we build our life on false beliefs, then we have a foundation that will be shaky and eventually crumble . . . taking with it everything that we may have built our life upon.

The only sure foundation is a life built upon Jesus Christ. When you lay your solid foundation, brick by brick, and mortar it together with the Word of God, it will not fail you. 

JESUS IS OUR FIRM FOUNDATION!

  

Props:  Solid bricks and broken bricks. Lay the broken pieces down first and try to place the solid bricks on top showing that it is unsteady. Then hold a vase or bowl on top and show how easily it would fall and break because the foundation is not on solid ground. Speak of our lives like the fragile vase and how easily we can be shattered if we set ourselves on something that will not firmly carry us through life.

#15 - TOASTY WARM

“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”  (Hebrews 10:24-25)

When we’re all together, we’re toasty warm, helping one another, encouraging and uplifting each other . . . “heating” one another as we come together in the Body of Christ.

We each have a place in the fellowship. We each have a ministry to the Body. If we are not in our place, then there are two losses:

Someone is not being ministered unto, for God always has an opportunity to use us.

We become cold from lack of heat . . . heat provided by the saints.

We need each other to keep toasty warm . . . on fire for Jesus.

Props:  Shallow pan with briquettes. Spray paint all of them red but leave one black.  Set it in the middle unseen. To illustrate the message, move it out and over to the side to show how we can become “cold” Christians when we neglect church attendance and fellowship. Describe the black briquette as cold, dark, hard, isolated, etc. and ask the question, “Do we want to become like this or remain toasty warm . . . inside the fellowship with other believers?”

#16 - HOUSE BUILDERS

“. . . Whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock     . . . but everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand . . .”  (Matthew 7:24 and 26)

My husband, two sons, and I recently built a steel-frame home that would withstand 100 mile an hour winds. We chose steel over lumber because of the hurricanes that plague our area on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

We received a significant discount on our homeowners insurance for having built with steel and when finally tested by the first hurricane, we were very pleased with our choice of materials. We now understood what the term “tried and true” really meant. 

Jesus is our Master Builder and He has a perfect design for our lives. We can know the outcome just by looking at the blueprints. They are laid out for us in the Word of God. “Whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man…”  To follow the “sayings” of Christ, you must know what Christ said. 

What kind of builder are you? What kind of builder are you teaching your children to be? What kind of materials are you using to build? Are you building on the solid Rock of Jesus Christ? Are you standing on the Word of God in all of your doings? Study the Word for yourself…be a wise builder!

 Props:  Set of blueprints.