PREACHED: OL, 2-27-05

 

“THE LOST SENSE OF WONDER”

 

INTRODUCTION:

 

I.      PSALM 8

 

A.      God…Marvelous, Majestic, Awesome Creator!

 

                   1.       Provided a wonderful world for us!

 

a.       Gen 1:31. “God saw everything that he had made and behold it was very good.”

 

                   2.       His glory everywhere!

 

a.       Psalm 19: 1. “The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.”

 

b.       Psalm 8:3, 4. “When I look at your heavens, the works of your fingers, the moon and stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him…?”

 

2.     OUR HECTIC LIFESTYLE

 

          A.      On every hand—marvels and mysteries!

 

1.       Stressful living…to busy to “stop and smell the flowers…”

 

2.                 Little or no thought of the Creator…

 

3.                 Miss the beauties of the “trip.”

 

 

a.       Like our teenager on a VBS trip to Colorado…

 

4.       Concentrate too much on tomorrow that we can’t enjoy today!

 

3.     A LOST SENSE OF WONDER—WHY?

 

          A.      Already mentioned the hectic, time-filled lifestyle

 

·        Scientific advancements are our wonders…

·        Creature comforts emphasis us and not God…

·        Emphasis on man’s achievements…

·        Entertainment –  E.T. world

 

w   Movie of the 1980’s…

                  

    Ø   Spirit was always there… Rose from the dead… Healed wounds… Lives inside… Coming back… GOD!!

 

·        Raised in religion—take God for granted!

·        Pride and arrogance

·        Self-sufficiency and stoic independence

·        So sensory based we can no longer comprehend the transcendent

 

4.     GOD’S DESIRE                

 

A.      Doesn’t want us…lose our sense of wonder… commonplace!

 

1.       Psalm 105:5-7. “Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered, O offspring of Abraham, his servant, children of Jacob, his chosen ones! He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.”

 

 

2.       Psalm 40:5. “You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare to you.”

 

          B.       That’s the beauty of memorials!

 

                   1.       Cause us to stop, meditate—REMEMBER!

 

                             A.      12 stones from the Jordan in Josh 4

 

                             B.       Passover

 

                             C.       Lord’s Supper

 

D.      Psalm 4:4b. “…ponder in your hearts on your beds and be silent…”

46:10. “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

 

C.       We must never lose our sense of awe!   

 

1.       Slow down…be still long enough…

 

                             a.       Takes focus…discipline!

 

5.     GOD’S WORK—NEVER ORDINARY!

 

A.      Psalm 106:2. “Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord, or declare all his praise?”

Jeremiah 27:5. “It is I, who by my great power and my outstretched arm, have made the earth with men and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me to give.”

Psalm 98:1. “Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things.”

 

6.    OLD TESTAMENT—AMAZED!

 

          A.      Moses at the Burning bush

 

B.                 Moses & Israel at the Red Sea

 

C.                 Israel and the First Born

 

D.                Elijah on Mt. Carmel

 

7.     THE EARLY CHURCH—AMAZED!

 

          A.      Jews on Pentecost -

 

1.       Acts 2:7. “They were amazed and astonished…”

 

          B.       First Christians -

 

1.       Acts 2:43. “And awe came upon every soul…”

 

          C.       Reaction to the healing of the lame man -

 

1.       Acts 3:9. “They were all filled with wonder and amazement at what happened to him…”

 

          D.      Reaction of the Jewish leaders to Peter and John -

 

1.       Acts 4:13. “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.”

 

E.       Are we still amazed?! Are we still in awe?! Do we still have the same sense of wonder…causes us to break forth in praise to God for his mighty works?

 

1.       Or is His might and power and glory more a topic for sermons and classes than an actuality in our lives?

 

8.     SPIRITUAL IMPACT OF A RESTORED         SENSE OF WONDER:      

 

          A.      Leadership more visionary!

 

                   1.       Sharper focus on building for eternity.

 

a.       I Cor 3:9. “We are God’s fellow- workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.”

 

B.       Nothing done without carefully search scripture!

 

1.       Acts 2:42. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teachings…”

 

a.       Instructions from the God of power and might!!

 

C.       Always seek God’s approval!

 

1.       Col 1:9, 10. “…we have not ceased to pray for you that you might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”

 

D.      Prayer would be more important!

 

1.       We are drawn, like Isaiah in Isaiah 6, into the throne room of God!

 

E.       Souls would become invaluable!

 

a.      The awesome God desires that they be saved!

 

1)       I Tim 2:4. “God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

 

E.                 Faith and Confidence would increase!

 

a.       Proverbs 3:5-7

 

F.                  Less worry and frenzy!

 

a.       Phil 4:4-6. “Rejoice in the Lord…”

 

9.     IN CONCLUSION

 

A.      PAUL HARVEY told the story about scientists in London England experimenting with Lotus seeds discovered in archeological excavations in l924, estimated to be 2200 years old.

 

1.       Wondered if they would still produce… submerged them in water for a period of time but nothing happened.

 

2.       Then covered them with camp cotton in total darkness, and when they went back to check, they discovered that England was going to have a Lotus crop!

 

                             a.       We stand in awe…in wonder!!

 

          B.       Something more awe inspiring:

 

1.       We have a living seed that is 2000 years old that produces eternal life!!

 

a.                  I Peter 1:23-25. “…you have been

born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for ‘All flesh is like grass and its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower falls, BUT the word of the Lord remains forever.’ And this word is the good news that was preached to you.”

 

C.       Let me encourage each of us to examine our own hearts and see if we have lost our sense of wonder, and immediately go to work recapturing our sense of awe of what God has done, what God is doing and what God can do in a church that is fully aware of his presence and his power!