The Sweet & Sour of God's Message
Friday night, September 12, the 2013 IgNobels Prizes were held in Saunders Theatre at Harvard University! Winners traveled at their own expense, and received the prize from the hands of…real Nobel Prize winners. A few of the winners include:
PSYCHOLOGY PRIZE
REFERENCE: “‘Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beer Holder’: People Who Think They Are Drunk Also Think They Are Attractive,” Laurent Bègue, Brad J. Bushman, Oulmann Zerhouni, Baptiste Subra, Medhi Ourabah, British Journal of Psychology, epub May 15, 2012.
PEACE PRIZE
Alexander Lukashenko, president of Belarus, for making it illegal to applaud in public, AND to the Belarus State Police, for arresting a one-armed man for applauding.
PROBABILITY PRIZE
REFERENCE: “Are Cows More Likely to Lie Down the Longer They Stand?” Bert J. Tolkamp, Marie J. Haskell, Fritha M. Langford, David J. Roberts, Colin A. Morgan, Applied Animal Behaviour Science, vol. 124, nos. 1-2, 2010, pp. 1–10.
Every one of us may deserve an ignoble price for what we study INSTEAD of the Bible (including me-considering I read the entire article concerning the IgNobel prizes).
Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but ‘in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.’[a]” I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. Revelation 10:8-10
Ezekiel 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth. He then said to me: “Son of man, go now to the people of Israel and speak my words to them. . . . But the people of Israel are not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate.
The message of God is so often Sweet to the taste, and sour when digested.
Ezekiel is given a message from God- Sweet
The People of Israel will not listen- Sour
God so loved the world . . . Sweet
That He gave His only begotten Son (born in a manger, rejected by His people, died on the cross). Sour
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who though He was God Sweet . . . yet He humbled himself even unto death Sour
Hebrews 411 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, Sweet
so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. Sour
12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sweet
Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Sour
And so often the sweet comes only from embracing the sour:
He humbled himself unto death, even the death of the cross Sour!
THEREFORE God also highly exalted Him, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Sweet!
Personal experience
4 months in the US unexpected/undesired/visa not given Sour
Time with kids & parents. Time alone with the LORD-Retreat Sweet
And there is another message here-the Message of God is something we need to eat and digest, because once it’s inside of us it is a powerful spiritual weapon.
Too many believers neglect regular Bible study and prayer. Many students who apply for a degree here at New Life College, most of whom come from families which have had them in church every Sunday since they were young, fail a basic Bible-Knowledge entrance exam.
BLANK SLIDE STILL I’ve been thinking of some new questions to add to the exam:
Who was the smartest man in the Bible? –Abraham. He knew a Lot.
Who was the fastest man in the Bible? -Adam. He was first in the Human Race.
What man in the Bible had no parents? (you might think of Melchisedek. NO!) Joshua, Son of None.
Ok. Maybe these are not the best questions to include in an entrance quiz for Bible knowledge. . . But there are good reasons for continuing to develop our knowledge of the Bible.
Paul said we are in a spiritual battle-the war is between the flesh and the spirit. There are spiritual forces for good fighting on our behalf and spiritual forces of evil fighting against us. In that battle we have armour and weapons. The shield of faith, the footwear of the preparation of the Gospel of Peace, the helmet of salvation, and, our ONLY OFFENCIVE WEAPON: The Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.
(The Battle-Slide)
In a battle, if someone pulls out a weapon, that becomes the focus of the fight because the weapon can be the game-changer. If you get into a fight and your opponent pulls out a knife, you’ll want to get the knife out of his hand as soon as possible.
We have a Sword. Satan wants to get that out of our hands.
Scripture knowledge can be a spiritual weapon
I don’t know how many times I’ve felt the enemy’s influence
-being discouraged, “Do not be downcast, o, my soul!”
-Or I feel lazy “a little folding of the hands to sleep, and destruction comes on you in a moment”
-Or angry “The anger of man does not meet God’s righteous requirements”.
-Or overwhelmed “If anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives liberally . . .” or “When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I”
-Or afraid “do not be afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord they God is with you . . . fear not” “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind” . . .
Such biblical responses to the attacks of the enemy are effective and powerful, and can lead us to victory in spiritual things, and fruitful in this life. Having ready verses on the tip of the tongue-Sweet
requires time and effort – Sour.
So, we start the year with a plan to read the Bible in a year. We give up usually somewhere between Genesis 20 and Joshua.
I started just such a plan June 9 of this year, with the intention of finishing the Bible in 90 days-with the You Version app.
June to September I made it to Joshua. On the flight from the US back to India was able finished Joshua through Psalms. As soon as i got back to India, had a driving trip up & back to Ooty. Was able to finish listening Proverbs through the beginning of Job!
You could start now and finish a 90 day reading program before Christmas!
Those who would like to have a copy can sign up after the service.
So, the Message of God-God’s word, is sweet and sour,
You have to embrace the sour to get the sweet, and
His message is something we need to digest, because once it’s inside of us it is a powerful spiritual weapon.
Speaking of which, today we have a fellowship lunch, so please stay on after the service for some food and fellowship.
