Sermon Illustrations

A friend in Erie who had a huge Irish Setter. Truman was not very discriminating when it came to chasing after female dogs. He didn’t much care what kind of dog she was, he was interested.

Truman was getting himself in trouble so my friend put in one of those invisible fences. Collar on dog. If crossed line gave him a shock.

Truman was a big dog. Bothered by shock but not nearly enough to dissuade him from pursuing a female dog!

They upped the voltage, yelp as ran thru fence.

Had a friend who had a pit bull. They bought another battery. Very powerful and overrode the regulator so it would give a much greater shock to the animal. My friend did the same for Truman. In fact, the shock was so great that the dog nearly passed out.

They thought, this will do it! My friend was outside, a female dog passed by, Truman turned his head to one side, like thinking about it. Turned and walked toward back yard. Stopped and began to run, as fast as he could after the female dog.

As he passed thru the barrier he let out a yelp and fell, but his momentum carried him to the edge of the street, past the fence. He lied there for a moment or two, then got up, shook the cobwebs out, and continued the chase!

He has done this several times since. And it’s never really worth it. He always comes back, alone. The relationships never last!

The Psalmist says here, “I was like a brute animal towards you.”

Psalmist says he was like Truman chasing after things that weren’t worth it. Violating God’s boundaries. After spending time in God’s presence, (slide) he was able to diagnose the condition of his heart!

He saw what he had become, and he knew he didn’t want to be like that!