Sermon on a Stick: 'Certainty?!"

(From Sunday at FBC Ruston and Dr. Chris, if you trust my note taking...)

" CERTAINTY?!"

Write down YES, NO, and MAYBE. Which one would you circle today, right now, if the question was, "Do you know, if you die today, where you will spend eternity?"

* The Bible is Clear About Life After Death

1. We face the judgement of God (Hebrews 9:27) .. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment

2. Heaven is real -- (1 John 5:11) And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

3. Hell is real -- 1 John 5:12 .. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

* The Bible Is Clear About How We Get To Heaven

1. 1 John 5:11-13 "Believe" here means to understand it and trust it intellectually, and surrender/follow ... "11And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life."

2. John 14:6 -- 6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

* Are You Certain About Your Eternity?

1 John 5:13 .. 13I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

*** Six 'markers' that offer salvation assurance

A. WHEN were you saved? John 3:3 ... 3In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
When is the day you bowed your heart to Christ?

B. CHANGE
2 Corinthians 5:17 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

C. DESIRES ... desires change when our hearts change
1 John 2:6 6Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

D. PEOPLE -- God gives us a natural love for people when we're saved
1 John 4:7-8 ... Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love
1 John 4:20-21 .. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

E. REPENTANCE .. 1 John 3:6 6No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
Sin is not the saved person's habitual lifestyle

F. HEART -- the Holy Spirit will have a testimony in the new person
1 John 5:9-10 9We accept man's testimony, but God's testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. 10Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son.
John 16:8 8When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt[a] in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:


The Holy Spirit gives comfort OR conviction.

Secretariat

(Reprinted from The Times, today...)

TALE OF A PURE HEART

“Just before noon the horse was led haltingly into a van next to the stallion barn, and there a concentrated barbiturate was injected into his jugular. Forty-five seconds later there was a crash as the stallion collapsed. His body was trucked immediately to Lexington, Ky., where Dr. Thomas Swerczek, a professor of veterinary science at the University of Kentucky, performed the necropsy. All of the horse's vital organs were normal in size except for the heart.

‘We were all shocked,’ Swerczek said. ‘I've seen and done thousands of autopsies on horses, and nothing I'd ever seen compared to it. The heart of the average horse weighs about nine pounds. This was almost twice the average size, and a third larger than any equine heart I'd ever seen. And it wasn't pathologically enlarged. All the chambers and the valves were normal. It was just larger. I think it told us why he was able to do what he did.’”

So begins the classic piece from Sports Illustrated’s William Nack, whose 1990 tale of 1973 Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing winner Secretariat is worth reading over and over again.

I hope the movie is as good. I hear it is. Can’t see it fast enough. (And not just because it stars Diane Lane. Hello!)

“Secretariat” opened Friday. Columnist Cal Thomas calls it “‘The Blind Side’ meets ‘Chariots of Fire’ meets ‘National Velvet.’ It is ‘Annie’ on four legs.”

“The sun’ll come out tomorrow. Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, there’ll be sun…”

Like Annie, we all run on hope. It’s trite and hints at sentimentality, but a healthy optimism and focused hope sure makes the day brighter. Like the story of Depression Era underdog Seabiscuit, another horse who became a national celebrity, a story like Secretariat’s reminds you of the possibilities, of all the good that, with heart, can happen. You gotta have heart…

In beautiful blue and white checkered colors, Secretariat won the Triple Crown in 1973, the final leg by an absurd record of 31 lengths. In the Belmont Stakes, Nack wrote that the thoroughbred ran “rhythmic as a rocking horse.” Secretariat started sprinting from the gate – and never stopped. One of the most magnificent photographs in all of sports is the jockey Ron Turcotte looking over his shoulder down the stretch – and being all alone. Just the horse and the rider, and Belmont Park rocking.

Heart.

Secretariat was euthanized 21 years ago this very week, victim of a painful hoof disease that in this case was incurable. But in retirement, tens of thousands had come to see him, a chestnut colt who, in 1973, had given the nation a break from the confusion and discontent of the Vietnam War and Watergate. When he died, millions mourned him, including Nack, a rookie turf writer for Sports Illustrated in 1973 but a longtime friend of Secretariat’s by the time the famous horse died.

Nack wrote about the time Secretariat had snatched his notebook away and refused to give it back. He wrote about the time Secretariat picked up a rake in his teeth and began cleaning his own stall. And “I told about that magical, unforgettable instant,” Nack wrote, “frozen now in time, when he turned for home, appearing out of a dark drizzle at Woodbine, near Toronto, in the last race of his career, 12 lengths in front and steam puffing from his nostrils as from a factory whistle, bounding like some mythical beast of Greek lore.”

Heart makes the difference. In stories like Seabiscuit’s. In stories like Secretariat’s. In stories like yours and mine.

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Whale Wars (4th in a series)

(My notes from Sunday if you trust my note taking. From Dr. Chris at FBC Ruston...)



HOW TO FIND IT

Jonah 2: 1-9

* We lose things all the time: keys, car phones, even our minds! We're always going to lose things. So it's important to know how to FIND what we REALLY NEED.

How DO we find what we really need?

1. Turn To God
Psalm 46:10 "Be STILL and know that I am God..."
We miss finding God because we won't be still

2. Turn To God No Matter What Your Situation Is
A. If things are good, turn to God
Sometimes our comfort keeps us from hearing God ... A great sign of spiritual maturity is CONSISTENCY ... turning to God daily.
B. If things are really bad, turn to God ...turn as Jonah did.
a. Repent --- Jonah 2:8 ... "worthless idols" are temporary things that we 'worship.' We need a heart and direction change.
We can't head in the wrong direction and end up in the right place.
b. Do what you should -- (v. 2:9) ... Pastor R.G. Lee said what when Christians slip, they neglect doing to church, reading their Bibles, tithing and praying ... And sharing Christ...What needs to be rekindled in my life today?
Worship equals surrender.

3. Turn to God and He Will Work In Your Life.
(Jonah 3:2 -- "1 Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: 2 "Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you."
God restored Jonah and set him on the right path.
James 4:8 -- "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you."

Things might not turn out like we want them to, but we'll turn out like God wants us to.

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What Is the LSU Coach Listening to in Those Headphones?...

My friend Other told me that one of his buddies, an LSU fan, said about the team's 5-0 record yet laughingstock reputaton: "We're beating folks with one coach tied behind our back." That's funny. My opinion...

So, here are some things me and Other think might be running through the headphones. We know it's not offensive football plays being sent in from the coaching booth upstairs. Hey, he's not THAT stupid...

"The ocean. Like from seashells..."

Rosetta Stone's 'How to Speak Portuguese"

Merle Haggard's "Wonderin' What in Sam Hill's Goin' On"

The Farm Market Report

NPR

Highlights from the '04 and '07 seasons

Nothing. They just keep down the noise from the crowd...

You Can't Make This Stuff Up , Take 4: (More Meth Valley Hatspeak...)

LSU head coach Les Miles spoke to the media on Monday to recap Saturday's victory over Tennessee.

See the the complete transcript at http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=5200&ATCLID=205006083

It's pretty lengthy but here are a few favorites chosen by my friend and LSU go-to guy Other...

On who decides who is going to play quarterback in between offensive series...
"Before the series generally there is conversation that would involve me, and during the series generally that's the play-caller. Certain situations speak to (Jordan) Jefferson, and certain plays speak to Jefferson as well as certain plays speak to Jarrett Lee."

On repeating the clock management issues...
"I think it's a completely different scenario. It's a clock management issue without question, but it's not the same. This specifically was trying to use a down, not give up a down, and that was a mistake. That was not the mistake that was made at Ole Miss. The mistake that was made here also dealt with clock management, but it was a completely different scenario and will be approached in a like fashion. The correction will be made very well."

On why there is a disconnect between what happens on the sideline and if Jefferson should have been more assertive in that situation...
"It would have been very easy for us to signal to clock it and have him clock it. The issue was trying to facilitate the call on the field and get the personnel that you want in the game. That decision was made prior to the time understanding. The 'clock it' call certainly was the absolute best call at that time, and it would have gone in the order that it would have anyway. We would have used the play that we used, and that would have been the last play. We would only have gotten another one after we choose the run. The next play, we could have scripted another play, but we would have never gotten it off. We like the calls that we made, and we did want to move in and out with quarterbacks, so moving in and out with quarterbacks and changing personnel certainly added to the mistake and certainly the multiplicity of the things that had to all take place in a short amount of time."

THE METH VALLEY MIRACLE!: You Can't Make This Stuff Up (3) -- Special 'Coach of the Week' Edition

From my friend Other after LSU's 'had 'em all the way' shellacking of Tennessee Saturday in Tiger Stadium or, as I like to call it (in honor of the offensive coaches), Meth Valley.

I take back everthing I said about Les Miles not being quite up to the job.

What an absolutely brilliant sequence.

Who'd've ever thought about pretending to be confused and disorganized just to confuse and disorganize the other team?

First you tease the Vols by yanking the quarterback who had just driven down to the two with some clutch throws.
And when you run your quarterback instead of your money guy and don't get in, you have him seem as if he doesn't care that the clock is running out.
Next you shuffle players as if you don't already have a play strategy for no time outs at the goal line needing a touchdown to win.
Then you have him dance around with a very convincing I-don't-know-what-I'm-doing-back-here act.
He then pretends to forget about signaling for the ball but the center snaps it anyway and it rolls harmlessly down field as time runs out.
So Tennessee is convinced they've pulled off the greatest upset in Dooley's entire life.
But before they can dump the Gatorade, a la Bluegrass Miracle style, they're hammered in the gut with the penalty that you knew was coming all along.
Finally you send the team back with the real play, the money guy goes in – ballgame.
You don't even try the extra point that they could block and take the other way for two to tie.

I take my mad hat off to you, Riverboat Gambler.

I'd be lookin for Coach of the Week recognition.

Other

You Can't Make This Stuff Up (2) ...

More from LSU football coach Les Miles, who is thinking of using his most heralded defensive player on offense. Thoughts from my friend Other follow Les' thoughts (for lack of a better term):

On Peterson: "I don't know when he'll be ready, but there are some thought processes for him on offense."
Other's response: Will he need a bucket, so he can put it on his head to think, like Sgt. Carter had Gomer do?

On booing: "I have a scotoma against all that other stuff," Miles said. "I don't see it. I can't reflect on it. It draws no feel. It's non-descriptive. You kidding me? You have to understand something. I saw Jack Lambert play (for Pittsburgh). He didn't have any teeth. He was tall and he was tough, and he made every tackle. He was from Kent, Ohio. And I want you to know something, I had great respect for him. Wow. And Jim Brown. I remember touching him, Jim Brown, No. 32 in a Browns uniform. Are you kidding me? I was from a middle-income home. So it was such a rare treat to be in a stadium of color and music and excitement that I elevated it well above anything that could be negative. I promise you that (booing) never came across my mind. The only negativity of Cleveland Municipal Stadium was it was too cold in late December. What more do I need to say?"
Other's response: Jack Lambert didn't have any teeth so LSU fans should not boo.

(BONUS COVERAGE: The term scotoma is also used metaphorically in psychology to refer to an individual's inability to perceive personality traits in themselves that are obvious to others.)

On telling about Peterson practicing on offense instead of keeping it from the opponents: "Only because I've been asked," Miles said. "If I hadn't been asked I would have never said it. And to let people know that we give consideration to things that are obvious. If my grandmother was alive, she would give consideration to playing Peterson on offense."
Other's response: If my grandmother was alive, she would give consideration to playing Shepard or Lee at quarterback.

In conclusion: "I think our special teams is a reason that we win," Miles said. "If the offense can throw it a little bit better and continue to run it like we have, we might see if we can parlay this team into a better position than the 4-0 position that we are currently in."

(I don't know what to say...(Sort of like the LSU coach.)

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