Sep 21
Three point Oasis sermon
“God places the lonely in families; He sets the prisoners free and gives them joy. But He makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land” Psalm 68:6 (NLT)
This verse is a preachers dream because it breaks up into a clean “three point sermon”.
In “point one” the preacher would talk about the ‘lonely’, and how living self-sufficiently creates a separation from an inner-security that only comes from God’s Holy Spirit within. BUT GOD ‘places the lonely’ in a caring environment when we allow Him to empower us through continual requests for His strength. For His wisdom to direct us. Being God-sufficient as we move along.
Then the “second point” would cover how we tend to put ourselves in ‘prison’ through bad habits or striving mainly in life for self-satisfaction. BUT GOD ‘sets us free’ when we invite Him to come along side of us as we go through our daily routines. And ceaselessly pleading with Him to chisel away at those habits that gnaw at our inner-peace. Ceaselessly pleading with Him to help us reach out to others so to open the door for Him to meet our own needs.
“Point three” would be the clincher. Mr. Preacher hopefully would define ‘the rebellious’. We think back at our elementary school days and recall the “rebellious” kid that got in trouble on a daily basis. That’s not it. ‘Rebellious’ in this verse probably takes on a more subtle form. It’s more like seeing the self-sufficiency in “point one”, and the bad habits or selfish living in “point two”, then ignoring it.
But isn’t there a lot of people who could care less about walking with God, and they don’t seem to ‘live in a sun-scorched land’. On the contrary, they have the nicest cars, beautiful homes… This verse is talking about the insides of a person. I grew up in a wealthy family and trust me, it was ‘sun-scorched’ and Godless.
Not to say we can’t have both wealth and inner-fulfillment. Many men and women know how to make a living, but don’t know how to live.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Heavenly Father, show me how to live. Be my guide and my strength. Make my insides an oasis as I learn to allow You to daily walk with me. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.