A SYMBOL OF HOPE: PLUMMET
THE PLUMMET SHOWS GOD HAS A PLAN!
HOW SHALL I APPROACH THE KING?
HOW SHALL WE APPROACH THIS PROBLEM?
OR ON BEHALF OF GOD’S CHILDREN!
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
Let we start by asking a question:
(I go to Home Depot or Lowes and buy a Plummet, or a plumb bob, or a plump line, $5.00. You could use a level. I hold this Plummet in my hand. I ask what is this?
I asked what is the value of a tool? What is the worth of a tool?
There is a difference in values and worth? Part of the worth depends upon whose hand the plummet falls.)
INTRODUCTION:
Does negative thinking produce negative thinking?
Can we see how a critical spirit is much like poison ivy?
A little contact and it spreads?
Negative thinkers, judgmental attitudes, legalistic thinking all become self feeding traps that drive people away from the goal.
I read:
Great minds discuss ideas.
Average minds discuss events.
Small minds discuss people.
Would you rather be an artist or an art critic?
I guess we need both? But I would rather be an artist.
I love this line:
God gives us one mouth that we can shut, but he
gives us two ears that we cannot.
Do you think God is trying to tell us something?
We have a precious missionary named Paul Brannon.
I once heard him say and I wrote it in my Bible:
The more you love the Lord, the less your giving seems like a sacrifice.
That is a powerful approach.
Life and ministry can have many approaches?
One approach might be purpose driven?
One approach might be crisis driven?
One approach might be seeker sensitive?
Seems we want to conquer the world and the church, but we do not want to conquer ourselves?
My Dad had a line I found to be very true.
He who would correct others often needs correction himself?
We know the satanic approaches are to steal, kill and destroy. But our enemies approach is much greater than that. Our enemy wants to work in:
1. Digression
2. Diversion
3. Division
4. Death
I. COMMITTED TO GO?
A. I am told that in flying an airplane there is an approach to the runway. The plane sits there and idles and there is a check list that the pilot and the crew review. Then the crew starts the aircraft down the runway.
B. There is a POINT OF NO RETURN, that once the pilots reaches this point the aircraft cannot be stopped, it must launch into flight.
C. The pilot has committed the vehicle and the flight cannot be aborted without great damage. The plane will either fly or crash, there is no
stopping.
II. GOD HAS A PLAN ON BEHALF OF HIS CHILDREN!
A. Behalf: interest, benefit, support, defense, ---
II Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose hearts is perfect toward Him.
B. God has a plan in the great interest of His children.
C. God’s benefits will support and defend His people by His plan and time table.
D. How shall we approach God?
E. How shall we approach the problems that stand before us?
III. THERE IS MORE THAN ONE WAY TO APPROACH A PROBLEM.
A. HOW SHALL WE APPROACH THE USA SPACE PROGRAM’S
PROBLEM WITH ZERO GRAVITY AND INK PENS?
Years ago the USA had discovered a little problem in space called Zero Gravity. The astronauts could not use their ball point pens in space because the push of gravity was not present to promote the flow of ink to the tip of the pen. So writing was very limited.
There was great discussion to face this problem of using ink pens in space. NASA scientists worked on this problem that zero gravity caused, there were also issues that temperatures from below freezing to 300*C
would have an affect on the ink.
There were many committee meetings, ideas were tossed around, the greatest scientific minds of the day studied this problem. The committees would refer this problem to more and more study. During the ten years of in depth study by the NASA scientist, it is estimated that many thousands of dollars was spent to solve this problem.
The solution was the creation of an ink pen that can write in zero gravity, it can write upside down in gravity situations. This new pen can write in great
temperature extremes.
B. HOW WOULD THE USSR APPROACH THE SAME PROBLEMS IN
SPACE?
The Cosmonauts could not use their ink pens in space, because gravity was absent to push the ink to the ball.
The Russians decided to use a lead pencil, it worked very effectively! THE COST WAS ABOUT 5 CENTS.
C. HOW WILL WE APPROACH IRAQ?
WE ARE SPENDING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS AND PAYING THE COST
OF MANY GOOD MEN’S SUPREME SACRIFICE IN IRAQ TRYING
TO HELP THEM DRAFT A NEW CONSTITUTION.
We have a great Constitution, it has passed the test of time. Our Constitution has worked for 200 years. Our constitution was written by some of the greatest minds of their day. Our Constitution is tried and proven, it has worked for over 200 years.
While they are working drafting a Constitution for Iraq, maybe they should study ours? And use it as a pattern for Iraq, it would work?
The sad thing about our Constitution is that many legislatures and judges are reaching for international laws to determine the rule of authority. We need no other outside source to determine our law. We are reaching to the laws of France, Italy, and England to establish our law. Seems we’re not using our Constitution anymore.
IRAQ TAKES A DIFFERENT GOVERNMENTAL APPROACH, THEY DON’T WANT RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, THEY DON’T WANT TOLERANCE, THEY WANT TO DRAFT THEIR RULES WITH THEIR EXCEPTIONS!
D. HOW SHALL WE APPROACH THE TEN COMMANDMENTS?
Perhaps today many churches approach the Ten Commandments as THE TEN SUGGESTIONS. Others think the Ten Commandments are optional, take what you want. Maybe many churches cannot get to mad because the Ten
Commandments are not posted at the Courthouses and at Schools because the churches do not have them posted on their walls?
The real killer for this society is not the issue of the legality of posting the Ten Commandments at the court house and in our schools, the real problematic
issue is that the Ten Commandments are not posted in every child’s bedroom and cannot be quoted from our children’s heart.
Maybe there is another real reason that we don’t have the Ten Commandments in Courthouses and schools maybe these teachings would prick the conscience
of those that grace the hallways everyday.
Maybe you cannot post "Thou Shalt Not Steal," "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery" and "Thou Shall Not Lie" in a building full of lawyers, judges and politicians? Maybe this creates a hostile work environment for them.
IV. HOW DO I APPROACH MY LITTLENESS?
A. IS THE PLUMMET A LITTLE TOOL? ( I have a plummet, or plumb line in my hand.)
B. What is a plummet?
***plumb line, level,
***a line that has one end a weight and it is used to determine verticality
***a line directed to the center of gravity
C. A PLUMMET OR LEVEL IS A DIRECT SIGN THAT THERE IS A PLAN AND THAT AT SOME POINT BUILDING IS AHEAD.
D. THE PLUMMET MAY BE A SMALL TOOL BUT IT IS AN APPROACH. WE ARE NOT STAYING HERE, WE SHALL ARISE.
THE PLUMMET IN THE MASTER’S HAND REVEALS A PLAN OF HOPE.
D. WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THIS VERSE BEFORE WE CAN
UNDERSTAND ZECHARIAH.
II Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose hearts is perfect toward Him.
Zechariah 4:10 For who hath despised the day of small things? For they shall rejoice, and see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven, they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the
whole earth.
V. IT IS NOT THE PLUMMET’S SIZE OR IMPORTANCE, IT IS THE HAND AND THE PLAN OF THE ONE THAT HOLDS THE PLUMMET THAT IS ESSENTIAL TO THE IMPORTANCE!
A. Maybe the hammer does not understand how important the plummet is?
B. Maybe the saw does not see the importance of the little shaving of the plane?
C. But we must never forget it is not the importance of the tool, it is the Master’s Plan and the Master’s touch that rightly fits each tool into the tools work place.
D. The accomplishment at the end of the project is following the over all plan of development.
E. There must be a foundation before a wall? There must be a wall before the ceiling?
VI. WE MUST APPROACH OUR LITTLENESS WITH HOPE.
Zechariah 4:11 Then answered I, and said unto him, WHAT ARE THESE TWO OLIVE TREES upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left of it.
A. AN OLIVE TREE IS A TYPE IN THE BIBLE.
It is a type of PEACE, hope, life, fruitfulness.
B. WITH THE PLUMMET THERE COMES TWO OLIVE TREES OF GREAT HOPE THAT GOD WILL MOVE ON OUR BEHALF!
C. Remember in Genesis 8 the dove returns with an olive leaf.
D. Let’s look are some general statements about little.
Little good will you do watering last years crops.
He that condemned little things will fall little by little.
Little profits? Too much idle!
So much to do, so little done.
I MAY BE SMALL, BUT GOD HAS A BIG PLAN FOR ME.
VII. I MAY START SMALL BUT I CAN BE SUPPORTIVE OF OTHERS!
Matthew 13: 32 The mustard seed may be indeed the least of all seeds: BUT WHEN IT IS GROWN, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in
the branches thereof.
A. WHAT DID YOU BRING?
THE STORY OF THE KINGS FEAST AND THE WINE.
I love this story of the King planning a great feast of appreciation for his people. The King so loved his people and their faithfulness that the King decided to honor his people with a great feast.
The King would provide everything but the drink for the meal.
It had been a bumper crop of grapes that year so the King asked each family to provide one bottle of wine for the feast.
All the bottles would be poured into a great 1000 gallon vat.
As each of the King’s people came into the courtyard of the King’s presence they brought their bottle of wine.
Each person poured their own bottle into the top of the vat.
The thousand gallon vat was filled to capacity.
They all sat at their place and the great meal was served.
They brought to the King in his royal chalice a glass of wine.
The King looked at his wine and it was water, there was no wine.
Seems each servant substituted water in their bottle for the wine.
They thought their bottle of water would not matter in the thousands of bottles poured into the vat.
Seems they all thought the same thing, my bottle will not matter.
They all came to the Master’s dinner with a diluted plan of little effort and little cost.
B. DID WE COME TO THIS SERVICE TODAY WITH A BOTTLE OF
WATER? OR DID WE BRING SWEET NEW WINE?
Can we afford to approach our ministry, our church, and our families
with little effort and little planning and small giving?
There is a Mathematical law of zero, no matter what you multiply
zero with --- it always comes out zero.
1,000 x 0 = 0
10,000 x 0 = 0
May we accept the promise of the plummet and let God build our families and our churches!
LET US BE HOPE GIVERS!
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com HELP ME? PASS THIS ON?
