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The Pencil
One of the great attributes of Jesus was his ability to use commonplace
things to teach great biblical truths. Have you ever looked at and
considered the great impact that his teaching had on the hearers? Mostly
that was true because he spoke in a way that people could hear and
remember what he was saying. For example in the 12th chapter of Luke,
Jesus uses the Birds of the air and the Lilly’s of the Field to teach
that God is in control and that he will take care of his children.
As I thought about Jesus’ teaching style over the past few weeks I
thought that it would be neat to see if we could use the type of
everyday object to learn some deeper theological truths. So tonight as
you came in you had the opportunity to grab a pencil. At first glance,
it seems insignificant, but I believe that it has more to do with our
Spiritual life than we may know.
The first thing that I notice is that it was designed for a purpose.
The pencil is a very simple tool and it has a very simple purpose; and
that is writing down information. Now we have been guilty of using a
pencil for all types of different things. We drum the table with it,
fidget with it, chew on it, I have seen pencils wedged in a window frame
to hold a window up, or taped to a tube to keep the tube from bending.
And even though you might be able to do all of those things with the
pencil that never was its original purpose.
In a like manner, we were also designed for a purpose. Listen to how the
Apostles explain God’s purpose for your life.
Paul tells us here that our first purpose is to live as sacrifice to
God.
Romans 12:1-2 I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to
present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God,
which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to
this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you
may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and
perfect.
Our Second Purpose is to bear Fruit to God.
Romans 7:4 So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of
Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the
dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.
Thirdly our purpose is to be God’s Holly Priests.
1 Peter 2:5 And now God is building you, as living stones, into his
spiritual temple. What's more, you are God's holy priests, who offer the
spiritual sacrifices that please him because of Jesus Christ.
Now that is our purpose, but there are many in the kingdom that are not
fulfilling their purpose. A Christian that withholds their time and
talent from the kingdom of God is misusing their purpose like a person
who uses a pencil to clean out their ear.
If you are not bearing the fruit of love for others, excitement about
life, stillness, a willingness to stick with things, a sense of
kindness, and involved in loyal commitments then we are not fulfilling
the purpose that we were created for any more than the person who uses a
pencil to fill in holes in the wall.
A Holy Priest now that is a goal to strive for. Do people know that you
are a Christian, or are that shocked when it comes out? You see if your
life does not radiate the love and compassion of Christ then tonight you
are not living up to your purpose.
The next thing I notice is that it was purchased with a price.
When Trista leaves to go see her mom, she gives me what ever money is
left for the week and I am supposed to use that money to buy food, or
washing detergent, or what ever I need at the house. I took some of that
money and bought you these pencils. Now these pencils are a gift to you,
but they are not free, I had to pay for them. Just as I spent money to
give this pencil to you A price was paid for you. We were purchased
through the blood of a sinless Savior
1 Peter 1:18-19 knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable
things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from
your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and
spotless, the blood of Christ.
First we see here the price that was paid for our souls. I have heard
people try to put a monetary value on their salvation. Well I gossiped
today and that is a small sin so it would only cost about $50.00. But
then I lusted and that is a little bigger sin so that must have cost
$200. Three weeks ago I got so angry I could have killed my boss and
Jesus says that is as bad as actually committing the murder so I figure
that cost about $1000.
Don’t you see how ridiculous that is? Peter says that the wages of our
sin didn’t cost silver or gold, but the precious blood of a spotless
Savior. But not only did the purchase come at an awful cost, but it also
comes with an awesome responsibility.
I Corinthians 6 19-20 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the
Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not
your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your
body.
You see all you have to do with the gift I give you tonight is accept
it. It is a small and insignificant gesture. But when you accept the
gift God gives you, a realization of the awful price paid for you,
should make you realize the wonderful depth of God’s gesture. And that
realization should compel you to do something. Paul says the realization
should cause us to honor God with our bodies.
Has a trademark that distinguishes it from all other Companies
There are 20 or more companies that manufacture Pencils world wide. As
you can see from the markings on this pencil you will notice that it was
made by the Papermate company. Companies spend a lot of money, and go to
go to great lengths to have a name that is memorable and carries a good
conation.
We who belong to the body of Christ also carry a trademark, and outward
sign that we must go to great lengths to protect, so that we will be a
blessing to the Lord’s Church. Let’s look at a few real quickly.
The first mark that we must carry is Love
John 13:35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you
love one another."
Are you know in the community as a person that is loving? Do people
reach out to you in times of crisis searching for a place of peace and
comfort?
Next we must bear the mark of Faithfulness
Revelation 2:10 'Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the
devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that you may be tested,
and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I
will give you the crown of life.
One of the most remarkable things about faith is the difficulty we have
of making it strong. I was taught that if I was faithful in attendance
then I was faithful in all things. As I grew I realized the error of
that teaching. Warming a pew does not equate with Faithfulness or
Godliness.
Secondly it is faith that endures the long haul, faithful until death,
John writes. If you look back in Matthew 13 you will see that three
soils produced a crop but only one was able to last until the harvest,
and that crop brought a hundredfold.
Finally we bear the mark of being Zealous of Good works
Titus 2:14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and
to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what
is good.
Notice the Paul does not say that you do good out of compulsion or
because you have to but you hate it like a beating, But that you
compelled to. It is not an “I have to” type of works, but it’s an “ain’t
it great that I get to serve God in this manner.”
We give an impression of the one whose mark we bear. Just like if we
were to sharpen these pencils and try to write with them only to have
the lead break every time we put it on the paper, or the pencil will not
be sharpened we would get a bad impression of paper mate and their
products. People will look at us, our actions and reactions and get an
impression of our master.
As it performs its task it is used up.
As you use a pencil it gets dull and you have to sharpen it and it gets
smaller and smaller. Listen to what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:15 So
I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as
well.
I love this picture that Paul paints in this passage. I have energy, and
talent, and time, we all do. The question that we have to answer is how
do we account for those things. Paul says that in being zealous for good
works causes him to use every bit of it to work for God in the kingdom.
To spend all of his time, energy, and talents until he is expended.
It leaves a mark
As you move the pencil across your paper or your hand or the wall it
will leave a mark. You can tell that it has been there. Well as
Christians we are called to make an impression on our world as well.
Matthew 5:13-16 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its
taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for
anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You
are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor
do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it
gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine
before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to
your Father who is in heaven.
We do the same. The people we come in contact with on a daily basis
weather casual or a prolonged meeting will leave them a different
person. They will either be upset or mad because we treated them
unfairly; or they will leave us better because we showed them the Love
of God.
Jesus teaches that we must live in such a way that we save the world
through our interaction with the world, and provide the light of Christ
to those who are trapped in the darkness of the world in which we live.
The question is the world a better place because of our lives?
Sixthly It’s the inside of the pencil that is most important
Now I purposely bought pencils of different colors, and some of you
tonight even asked for a specific color because you like that color
better. But we all know that no matter how attractive a pencil is if it
won’t write it is just plain useless.
Once again God tells us that it is the heart that is the most important.
I love Paul’s text in 1 Corinthians 13: 1-3 I may speak in different
languages of people or even angels. But if I do not have love, I am only
a noisy bell or a crashing cymbal. I may have the gift of prophecy. I
may understand all the secret things of God and have all knowledge, and
I may have faith so great I can move mountains. But even with all these
things, if I do not have love, then I am nothing. I may give away
everything I have, and I may even give my body as an offering to be
burned. But I gain nothing if I do not have love.
It is like we pat ourselves on the back and talk about how wonderful we
are because we have spoken with human eloquence revealing all his
mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that
says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, and I give everything I own to
the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but if my
inside is wrong then I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what
I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt if my heart is wrong.
Finally we see that It can only erase its mistakes by bowing its head
low.
If you have made a mistake with a pencil you have to use the eraser. You
can drop its head and correct the problem. In the same way if we have
sinned against God or one another we must drop our heads as well.
Luke 18:13-14 "The tax collector, standing at a distance, would not even
look up to heaven. But he beat on his chest because he was so sad. He
said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' I tell you, when this man went
home, he was right with God, but the Pharisee was not. All who make
themselves great will be made humble, but all who make themselves humble
will be made great."'
Arrogance as no place in the kingdom of the greatest servant the world
has ever known. If we are going to call ourselves Christians then we
must imitate the one in whose name we bear.
As with all great illustrations we see that there are many similarities.
But we also recognize that there is also a great difference. You see
this pencil must do whatever the owner decided. But God created us with
a choice.
Romans 6:16 Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to
obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey--whether you
are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to
righteousness?
You see this pencil is just lifeless object, but we were created with a
souls and a choice. The question comes tonight what will you do with
your soul?
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