The Eye Of The Tiger

THE EYE OF THE TIGER

A teenager is…

--a whiz who can operate the latest computer without a lesson but can't make a bed

--a student who will spend 12 minutes studying for her history exam and 12 hours for her driver's license.

Teenagers are like CATS:

** Neither teenagers nor cats turn their heads when you call them by name.

** No matter what you do for them, it is not enough.

** You rarely see a cat walking outside of the house with an adult

human being, and it can be safely said that no teenager in his or her

right mind wants to be seen in public with his or her parents.

** Even if you tell jokes as well as Jay Leno, neither your cat nor

your teen will ever crack a smile.

** Cats and teenagers can lie on the living-room sofa for hours on

end without moving, barely breathing.

** Cats have nine lives. Teenagers carry on as if they did.

** Cats and teenagers yawn in exactly the same manner

** Cats and teenagers do not improve anyone's furniture.

Let's read today's texts...

•1 Peter 5:8 (KJV) "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:"

•Proverbs 23:31-32 (KJV) "Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. (32) At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder."

INTRODUCTION

Over the last few weeks and years, we've been shocked by the news of people who have been attacked and/or killed by either animals that were trained, or by professionals who knew how to be around dangerous animals, but who were suddenly and shockingly attacked

On Labor Day weekend, we were all shocked to hear about how Steve Irwin, the crocodile hunter, that we've all seen on TV as he got so close to all those crocodiles, and we would all just sit their on edge, just knowing he was going to get hurt, and he never did

But we were all shocked to hear how that while filming undersea life, a stingray for no reason, jabbed him right in the heart, and he died almost instantly

And then, over the summer, you may remember the story of Haley Hilderbrand, a 17 year old young lady, who decided that for her senior picture, that she would go down to a place where they had several trained dangerous animals, and pose with a tiger

But while she was posing, there with the tiger's trainer, for some unknown reason, it attacked, and killed her

And then, three years ago, the country was horrified by the news that animal trainer and magician, Roy Horn, of the popular show “Seigfried, and Roy” in the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, on October 3 (which was Roy's 59th birthday) was suddenly, and unexpectedly attacked by one of his trained tigers during the show, right in front of a live audience

It's almost unbelievable that these people, who…

--were with long-time trained animals

--knew how to be with these dangerous animals

--mesmerized us with their daring in front of these animals

Now, for whatever reasons, were suddenly and horribly attacked

Now, today is youth Sunday, and what I want to do is talk to you about THE EYE OF THE TIGER

And what I want to do, is for us to go back to October 3, 2003, and look at some reasons why Roy Horn was attacked and see if there's anything that we can learn

Because, you must understand, that according to our text this morning, the Bible says…

1 Peter 5:8 (KJV) "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:"

In other words, as…

--a young person

--a teen-ager

--a pastor

--senior saint

We all are literally, in THE EYE OF THE TIGER

And so, for a few moments, I want us to go back to the Mirage Hotel back to the night of October 3, 2003, and see if there's anything that we can learn from the attack on Roy Horn, and see if we can gain the advantage over the TIGER

You see, first of all, when we go back to that night, we find out that…

1. THE TIGER ATTACKED WHEN LEAST EXPECTED

When Roy Horn’s tiger attacked, no one expected it – including Roy Horn himself

From all accounts on that night, it was just another show, that they had done over 5,750 times before, but for some unknown reason, going through the same old same old, when they were least expecting, Roy Horn got caught IN THE EYE OF THE TIGER!!

And so that tells us that if we're going to survive the EYE OF THE TIGER, if we're going to have success and victory in your Christian life, then one of the first things we've got to do is always be on the lookout