Sermon Central
-
Strike While The Iron Is Hot
Contributed by Samuel Fulkerson on Mar 24, 2013 (message contributor)
Summary: Take action, act decisively and take your opportunities when they present themselves.
Quotes:
“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.”
- Goethe
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.” - Aristotle
“You must be the change you want to see in the world.” - Mahatma Gandhi
“Losers visualize the penalties of failure. Winners visualize the rewards of success.” - Unknown
“Vision without action is daydream. Action without vision is nightmare.” - Japanese Proverb
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Power is not revealed by striking hard or often, but by striking true.” -Honore de Balzac
“Not only strike while the iron is hot, but make it hot by striking.” -Oliver Cromwell
“Strike While the Iron is Hot”
Meaning: To take “action” to “act” decisively and to take your opportunities when they arise.
Origin: An old proverb which clearly alludes to imagery of the blacksmith or farrier at work at his forge. As he must strike the iron while it is still hot to desirable shape it, else if he delays the metal will soon cool and harden; and the opportunity will be lost.
First Usage: The expression is recorded in Richard Edwards', “The excellent comedie of two the moste faithfullest freendes, Damon and Pithias”, circa 1566.
“Strike While the Iron is Hot” = Take Action.
We spent this past Monday in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
There are now over 400,000 people interned in Arlington.
6 of them are Fulkerson’s: (Barry D. Mar. 4, 1942 d. Dec. 12, 2008; Clarence T. Nov. 9, 1918 d. Oct. 31, 2010; Pvt Joshua 1848 d. Sep. 1, 1864; Samuel Teel Apr. 18, 1928 d. Jan. 19, 2000; Thelma Jun. 14, 1914 d. Apr. 4, 2005; William J. Sr. Mar. 16, 1914 d. Aug. 29, 2004).
The Medal of Honor (sometimes referred to as The Congressional Medal of Honor) is THE highest military decoration that can be awarded by the Government of the United States.
There Are 367 Medal of Honor Recipients Buried In Arlington National Cemetery As Of May 2006
These were men of uncommon valor. Men of Action;
Men who struck while the iron was hot!
Nehemiah – Was a Man of Prayer and a Man of Action.
He saw the shame of Jerusalem and clothed it in a wall of protection.
Ezra – Was a Man of Action.
With a wall for protection Ezra obtained a commission with the decree form King Cyrus (Ezra 1:1-4) to rebuild the temple. This set in motion the ticking of Daniel’s prophecy time clock (Daniel 9:24-25); counting down the 490 years to Messiah.
Elijah – Was a Man of Action (I Kings 17).
He stood against the prophets of Baal.
The Apostles – Were Men of Action.
They forged out the Church.
They struck while the iron was hot.
Jesus Was a Man of Action. He became what we were that we might become what He is.
II Corinthians 5:21 “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
II Peter 1:5-8 “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” - ESV
Luke 11:9 “And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” – ESV
(Ask = pray; Seek = Look for what you have prayed for; Knock = Attempt to obtain it when you find it).
Ephesians 6:10-18 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ...”
