55 Sermon Illustrations on Divine

"Providence sees to it that no man gets happiness out of crime."

- Conte Vittorio Alferi

(Instant Quotation Dictionary), p. 78.

The story has been told of a believer, Frederick Nolan, who was

fleeing from his enemies during a time of persecution in North

Africa. Pursued by them over the hill and valley with no place to

hide, he fell exhausted into a wayside cave, expecting his enemies to

find him soon.

Awaiting his death, he saw a spider weaving a web. Within minutes,

the little bug had woven a beautiful web across the mouth of the

cave. The pursuers arrived and wondered if Nolan was hiding there,

but on seeing the unbroken and unmangled piece of art, thought it

impossible for him to have entered the cave without dismantling the

web. And so they went on. Having escaped, Nolan burst out and

exclaimed:

"Where God is, a spider's web is like a wall,

Where God

is not, a wall is like a spider's web."

William Cowper, like many of us, was subject to moments of deep melancholy. One night in such a mood he called a cabby and directed him to drive to the banks of the Thames River. The city of London was blanketed with an impenetrable fog, which was, however, no thicker than the despair in the poet's own soul. For more than an hour the cab driver groped his way along the streets and yet did not find the river. His passenger grew more and more impatient until at last he leaped from the cab, determined to find his watery grave unassisted. Groping through the fog, he was astonished when he found himself at his own doorstep. Going to his room he penned the words of that beautiful hymn: “God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform.”

-- Gospel Herald

In England a returned missionary to Russia was a guest in the

Congregational minister's home. Visiting there at the time was the

minister's grandson. One night after evening worship the missionary,

who had been "taken" with the lad, asked him to point out the chamber

where he slept. Early in the morning he called him, and as they sat

together in the garden he told him of the love of Christ. A few days

later, as they were concluding family worship, the missionary took the

boy on his knee and said to those assembled, "I am convinced that this

boy will preach the gospel. I am convinced that he will be a great

preacher of the gospel, and that he will stand one day in the pulpit

of Rowland Hill." Then he said to the boy, as he gave him a shilling,

"I want you to promise that when that day comes and you stand in

Rowland Hill's pulpit, you will give out the hymn, 'God Works in a

Mysterious Way His Wonders to Perform.'"

Several years passed by; and the minister's grandson, now a lad of

fifteen, was on his way to church in Colchester. A storm came up, and

he turned into the first church he came to, the Primitive Methodist

Chapel in Artillery Street. The regular minister did not appear, and a

layman arose in the pulpit and gave out the text, \reference{Isaiah

45:22}{Isaiah 45:22}: "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of

the earth: for I am God, and there is none else." The boy sitting in

the rear of the dark and almost empty church answered the text and was

saved. That boy was Charles H. Spurgeon, who preached in the great

Metropolitan Tabernacle for thirty years!

The British Press Association reported this strange incident: A British submarine lay disabled on the ocean floor. After two days, hope of raising her was abandoned. The crew on orders of the commanding officer began singing:

"Abide with me! fast falls the eventide,

The darkness deepens - Lord, with me abide!

When other helpers fail and comforts flee,

Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me!"

The officer explained. to the men that they did not have long to live. There was no hope of outside aid, he said, because the surface searchers did not know the vessel's position. Sedative pills were distributed to the men to quiet their nerves. One sailor was affected more quickly than the others, and he swooned. He fell against a piece of equipment and set in motion the submarine's jammed surfacing mechanism. The submarine went to the surface and made port safely.

________

Gospel Herald

During Operation Desert Storm we studied war as no generation has

studied war before us--live from the battle front every night. One

thing we learned was the importance of an army's ability to re-supply

its troops. Night after night we watched successful attacks on supply

routes from Iraq to the troops at the front. Soon stories came in of

Iraqi soldiers lacking food and water. Those stories suddenly became

very human as Iraqi soldiers ran to meet coalition troops and Western

news cameras, surrendering gleefully in return for food, water, and

even shoes.

Keeping an army supplied with the necessities is an awesome

responsibility that only the highest authorities would dare assume.

When it comes to the army of believers who make up His church, God is

the supplier of the needs. As we follow Him in spiritual conflict, we

need not fear that we will encounter a need beyond His ability to

meet.

In the first days of September, 1862, the Confederate armies flushed with victory over the armies of McClellan and the armies of Pope at the second Battle of Manassas, crossed the Potomac into Maryland and set out on the first invasion of the North. At Fredericksburg, Lee divided his army, sending sections of it to take the Federal garrisons at Martinsburg and Harpers Ferry and then join the main army at Hagerstown on the way into Pennsylvania. By one of the chances of war, a copy of Lee's orders to his generals was left behind in Fredericksburg wrapped about a package of cigars.

When the Union army came cautiously into Fredericksburg, a Union man put the orders in the hands of McClellan. Lee's brilliant plan of campaign was in the hands of his adversary. The bugles sounded in the blue ranks and at the double quick the Union army marched for the passes of South Mountain to overtake Lee. They drove his army through the passes before he could call back his other divisions, and on September 17, the bloodiest day of the Civil War, defeated it at the fords of the Antietam.

When the baffled army of Lee had crossed the Potomac back into Virginia, Lincoln told his advisers how he had covenanted with God that, if the North was victorious in the struggle in Maryland, he would show his gratitude by freeing the slaves. A careless staff officer wrapped Lee's order about his tobacco, and the plan of the campaign was in the hands of the adversary. Surprise was impossible; defeat certain. The North was freed from invasion, and the Proclamation of Emancipation was issued. All of this was due to one of those strange events which, so insignificant in itself, yet under Him -- “Who sees with equal eye as God of all, a hero perish or a sparrow fall” -- is fateful to decide the issue of nations.

-- McCartney

Sometime, when all life's lessons have been learned,

And sun and stars forevermore have set,

The things which our weak judgments here have spurned,

The things o'er which we grieved with lashes wet,

Will flash before us, out of life's dark night,

As stars shine most in deeper tints of blue;

And we shall see how all God's plans are right,

And how what seems reproof was love most true.

And we shall see how, while we frown and sigh,

God's plans go on as best for you and me;

How, when we called He heeded not our cry,

Because His wisdom to the end could see.

And e'en as prudent parents disallow

Too much of sweet to craving babyhood,

So God, perhaps, is keeping from us now

Life's sweetest things, because it seemeth good.

And if sometimes, commingled with life's wine,

We find the wormwood, and rebel and shrink,

Be sure, a wiser hand than yours or mine

Pours out this potion for our lips to drink.

And if some friend we love is lying low,

Where human kisses cannot reach his face,

Oh, do not blame the loving Father so,

But wear your sorrow with obedient grace!

And you shall shortly know that lengthened breath

Is not the sweetest gift God sends his friend,

And that, sometimes, the sable pall of death

Conceals the fairest bloom his love can send.

If we could push ajar the gates of life,

And stand within, and all God's workings see,

We could interpret all this doubt and strife,

And for each mystery could find a key.

But not today. Then be content, poor heart!

God's plans like lilies pure and white unfold.

We must not tear the close-shut leaves apart,

Time will reveal the calyces of gold.

And if, through patient toil, we reach the land

Where tired feet, with sandals loosed, may rest,

When we shall clearly know and understand,

I think that we will say, "God knew the best!"

--May Riley Smith

Of Jesus Christ it is written, "There was a division because

of Him." He divides man's destiny. All deserved Hell, but He

has "brought life and immortality to light" and is "leading many

sons to glory," Heaven instead of Hell. He has divided Time in

the reckoning of many countries into B. C. and A. D. He divides

the human race into two classes -- those "in Christ" and those

"in Adam." When He was on earth there was a division among the

Jews as to His person, His works and His words. On a mountain

in the Rockies of Canada where there is a watershed, an arch has

been erected, with the words plainly wrought on the rustic

structure -- "The Great Divide." Drops of rain falling in the

same shower separate there, some joining a stream that becomes a

mighty river and flows to the Atlantic Ocean, others falling in

the other direction into another stream that flows to join the

Pacific Ocean. Though they fall in the same shower of rain,

their destinies are hundreds of miles apart. So it is in

families, classes in school, neighborhoods, and places of

business. Christ is the Great Divide, and the destiny of men for

glory or despair is determined by the attitude of the individual to

Him.

A South American company purchased a fine printing press from a

firm in the United States. After it had been shipped and completely

assembled, the workmen could not get it to operate properly. The most

knowledgeable personnel tried to adjust it, but to no avail. The

company finally sent a wire to the manufacturer, asking for a

representative to come and fix it. Sensing the urgency of the

request, the U. S. firm sent the designer of the press. When he

arrived on the scene, the company officials were skeptical because he

was young. After discussing the situation, they sent this cable to

the manufacturer: "Your man is too young. Send a more experienced

person." The reply came back, "He made the machine. Let him fix it."

We are in a similar situation. Only our creator can fix us.

Dr. F. B. Meyer learned the secret of appropriation when he

was addressing a large group of children who became very unruly.

On the verge of losing his temper, he prayed in his heart, "Thy

patience, Lord!" Immediately all anger and annoyance died. From

then on he used the same formula for every difficult situation. When

he felt lonely, he said, "Thy companionship, Lord!" When

he was afraid, "Thy serenity, Lord!" When he felt critical of

others, "Thy love, Lord!" He found the Savior sufficient for his

every need when he appropriated by faith the promises of God!

An aged Indian, halt, naked and famished, wandered into one of our Western settlements, begging for food to keep him from starving. While eagerly devouring the bread bestowed by the hand of charity, a bright colored ribbon, from which was suspended a small dirty pouch was seen around his neck. On being questioned, he said it was a charm given him in his younger days; and, opening it, displayed a faded, greasy paper, which he handed to the interrogator for inspection. It proved to be a regular discharge from the Federal army, entitling him to a pension for life, and signed by General Washington himself.

Now here was a name which would have been honored almost anywhere, and which, if presented in the right place, would have ensured him support and plenty for the remainder of his days, and yet he wandered hungry and forlorn. What a picture of men with all the promises of Jesus, yet starving in the wilderness! --Rev. C. Perrin

A mountain climber in the Alps had come to a perilous gap in

the ice where the only way to get across a chasm was to place

his foot in the outstretched hands of the guide who was a little

way ahead of him. Told to do this by the one who was directing

the party, the man hesitated a moment as he looked into the

gloomy depths below where he would certainly fall to his death

if anything went wrong. Seeing his hesitation, the guide said,

"Have no fear, sir; in all my years of service my hands have

never yet lost a man!".

While driving to a speaking engagement in Southern

California, a pastor passed through San Juan Capistrano. The

line "When the swallows come back to Capistrano" immediately

came to his mind, and he began humming that old song. He

recalled that for more than 150 years those golden-breasted

birds have spent their summers in the eaves of the old mission

located there. They always arrive on March 19 and leave on

October 23, never missing those dates. Not once have they

varied over the years. Even leap year does not change the times

of their coming and going. And the swallows invariably start out

before daylight on their southern flight.

Now, how would you explain this unusual phenomenon? Nature's

guidance? Luck? Coincidence? Well, let me tell you. The swallow's

Creator has put within those little creatures an instinct that tells

them with uncanny accuracy when to head south and when to return.

Their survival depends on this innate sense of timing. What

meticulous care God exercises to guide the swallow and all the

fowls of the air! But consider how much greater value we are to

God than these tiny birds. The One who has so marvelously

provided for our feathered friends is certainly interested in

many who is made after His own image. How can we help but sing,

"For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me!"

A computer program was recently used to prove that St. Paul is the author of only 4 of the 13 epistles attributed to him in the New Testament. Two researchers fed the computer a quarter of a million words of Greek prose to reach this conclusion. They said the method could be used to determine the authorship of any part of the Bible. Truly amazing, isn't it, that a mindless machine questions the Word of God?! If its findings were correct, they would make Paul a liar, for he claims the authorship of all 13 epistles. Just think, a lifeless mechanism "proving" that the Bible is not true! The computer is now a disputer. Now for the clincher. The same computer program was used to do an analysis of the book in which these conclusions were written. It was proven that the man who wrote the book couldn't have been its author.

Ponder this Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846. John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946. Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860. John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960. The names Lincoln and Kennedy each contain seven letters. Both were particularly concerned with civil rights. Both wives lost their children while living in the White House. Both Presidents were shot on a Friday. Both were shot in the head. Here is an interesting one... Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy. Kennedy's secretary was named Lincoln. Both were assassinated by Southerners. Both were succeeded by Southerners. Both successors were named Johnson. Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808. Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908. John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln was born in 1839. Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy was born in 1939. Both assassins were known by their three names. Both names comprise fifteen letters. Booth ran from the theater and was caught in a warehouse. Oswald ran from a warehouse and was caught in a theater. Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials. And here's the kicker, A week before Lincoln was shot he was in Monroe, Maryland. A week before Kennedy was shot he was with Marilyn Monroe.

In his book A Thirst for God, Sherwood Wirt tells of serving briefly as the quartermaster of the Teal, an 80 foot patrol boat belonging to the Alaska Game Commission. He was at the helm when Captain Cole took over briefly and changed their course north toward Juneau. He pointed to the compass reading and told Wirt, "Steady as she goes!"

As the ship cruised along, Wirt noted that they seemed to be edging toward the mainland, so he altered the course slightly and steered the Teal straight up the channel. In a few minutes Captain Cole came on the bridge and snapped. "You're off course! Go back to the reading I gave you." Wirt said, "My dead reckoning had led me to believe one thing, but the chart indicated something else. Following my intuition might have led to shipwreck."

The Bible is God's chart. Life's hazards are clearly marked. So are the channels of safety.

One evening an elderly Chinese said to the great missionary, Hudson

Taylor, "Are you a foreigner?" "Yes, I am an Englishman." "Are there

books in that bag on the table?" "Yes, there are." "Are you a teacher

of a foreign religion?" "Yes; of the Jesus religion." The Chinese

then told Taylor that for many years he had been a seeker after truth

but could find no religion that could take the burden of guilt from

his soul. A few nights before he had had a vision of a man in white

who had told him to go into Hangchow, that there he would find a

foreigner sitting in an inn with a bag of books on the table before

him, that he had visited inn after inn that day, but had found no such

person. Finally, he had heard of this inn in the suburb...and as a

last hope had entered it.

The missionary then preached the Gospel to him and gave him a New

Testament. Two days later he visited his home and found that he had

destroyed all his idols and was rejoicing in Jesus Christ as Saviour.

Hudson Taylor parted from the man, adoring God, not only for His power

to save, but also for His marvelous and miraculous way of leading

souls to the messenger and the message of the Gospel. --C. E.

McCartney

It is not uncommon to witness in late summer the migration of

the monarch butterfly. The careful observer may see hundreds of

them clinging to tree limbs and other shrubbery as the flock

rests up on their journey to a remote mountain site in central

Mexico. Scientists have recently found 16 of these sites,

ranging from 1 to 10 acres each, within a 100-mile radius where

millions upon millions of butterflies from North America spend

the winter. No one knows how butterflies find their way to

these tiny plots of land. Each new generation that migrates has

never been there before. Something programmed into their tiny

bodies directs them to a place they have never seen, but which

they somehow know they must find. These butterflies are one

more example of God's creatures being drawn along by the mind of

their Creator. They are also illustrative of the children of

God referred to in \reference{Hebrews 11}{Hebrews 11}. These heroes of

faith walked

roads they had not consciously mapped out, following an inner

leading to a land they'd never seen -- a land prepared for them

by God.

During the Vietnam War, a young West Point graduate was sent to lead a company of new recruits. One night he and his men were overrun by the Viet Cong. During the ensuing battle, the young lieutenant was able to get all his men to safety -- except one. The soldier who was left behind was badly wounded. From their trenches, the rest of the company could hear their comrade moaning and calling for help. To climb out of the trench to attempt a rescue would have meant almost certain death. Eventually the young lieutenant could endure the wounded man’s crying no longer. He crawled out and stealthily made his way toward the wounded soldier. Finally reaching him, he pulled him back to the trench. But just as he pushed the wounded man over the side of the trench, a bullet ripped through the lieutenant’s back, killing him instantly.

Several months later, the rescued man returned to the States. When the dead hero’s parents learned this man was in the vicinity, they planned to have him to dinner. They wanted to know this young man whose life was spared at such a great cost to them. On the evening of their dinner party, the honored guest arrived late. He was drunk. He was loud and obnoxious. He told off-color jokes, seasoned his language with profanity, and showed no concern for his hosts’ feelings. The lieutenant’s parents did what they could to redeem the evening, but to no avail. At the end of the ordeal, the husband ushered the obscene visitor to the door. As he bid the guest goodnight and closed the door, his wife collapsed in tears, crying, “To think that our precious son had to die for somebody like that!” -- Anthony Campolo

“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain,” and we should walk worthy of the Lord. -- Duane V. Maxey

An old man and his wife in Flintshire were much annoyed by their neighbor's cattle going over their fences into their wheat and grass, and thus causing great loss to the poor old people. David, the old man, got impatient at last, and one day, entering the house, he said to his wife: "Our neighbor's cattle have been again in our wheat. I'll make him pay the damage this time." "Don't talk about paying, David, 'I will repay, saith the Lord.'" "No, indeed, He won't," said David; "He is too ready to forgive a great deal to do that." --Dictionary Of Illustrations

D. L. Moody once said, "There are two ways of covering our sins:

man's way and God's way. If you seek to hide them, they will have a

resurrection sometime; but if you let the Lord cover them, neither the

devil nor man will ever be able to find them again."

George Woodall was a missionary to London's inner city. One day a

young woman he had led to the Lord came to him and said, "I keep

getting worried. Has God really forgiven my past?"

Mr. Woodall replied, "If this is troubling you, I think I know what

God would say to you. He would tell you to mind your own business."

"What do you mean?" She inquired with a puzzled look. He told her

that Jesus had made her sins his business. When he took them away, he

put them behind his back, dropped them into the depths of the sea, and

posted a notice that reads, "No fishing!"

San Francisco - After years of dealing with the big picture, Mayor

elect Willie Brown now faces the more prosaic task of making the city

work.

How will he keep his promises?

"Performance," he snapped at a press conference. "The level of

performance I'm prepared to engage in to make good on my promises."

"I'm also a pro. In 31 years, I've learned how to do the job. I'm

not into gloom, I'm not into doom. I hope San Francisco takes on my

style. I hope San Francisco take on my attitude. All if that comes

from me.

- {The Courier-Journal} Thursday, Dec. 14, 1995, A3.

Providence — by Jere E. Frost

The providence of God operates in the shadows as well as the sunshine. He who feels gratitude only when the scenes of life are desirable misunderstands and minimizes the over-arching providence of the Almighty. He needs to take a second look at the historical record and see the process at work.

The mistreatment Joseph suffered from his brothers was wrong. As a matter of historical record it will always have been wrong for them to sell him into slavery. But what they intended for evil, God over-ruled for good. (Genesis 50:20-21) And that is just the point. God was as much with Joseph, and his providence was as active, on the dark days as on the bright ones. Joseph was but a boy-man when the heart-wrenching reverses of his life began. It is absolutely marvelous how they worked to help produce the great man he became.

It is our trust in God, just as it was with Joseph, that makes the difficult circumstances in life bearable. It is faithful service despite trying circumstances that makes the “happy endings’’ possible. Job was not only more blessed after his sore trials than he had been before (Job 42:12-17), but his faith, gratitude and happiness must surely have been greater as well.

Daniel did not deserve to be a slave in Babylon. Nehemiah should have been a free man, not a cupbearer for a Persian monarch. But by providence it turns out they were exactly where they were most needed.

We have no way of knowing just how much we have been the beneficiaries of providence, for usually our view is too limited to see the whole picture.

I recently heard a story of a slave who had won the respect and friendship of his master, in part because he had a bright outlook on life. No matter what happened, faith in God and good cheer always radiated. They became close, and the master determined to set him free.

They planned a distant adventure together. But then the master had the breech of his rifle to explode in his hand. It blew off his thumb. He was anguished physically and emotionally.

The slave said, in his usual manner, “It is good.’’ It enraged the master. He not only did not set him free, but he put him to servile tasks. He deliberately left his close friend and companion behind and went on the adventure alone.

A disaster then struck. Cannibals captured him! They were in the very process of readying the fire to cook him when, suddenly, one of the cannibals pointed to where his thumb should have been and, amidst great excitement, set him free. They had a superstition that a man without one of his thumbs was specially favored and not to be eaten.

Returning home and feeling remorse for the way he had treated his slave-friend, he went directly to him, apologized for the way he had been punished, and then related his frightening experience.

“It is all right,’’ his smiling friend exclaimed, “for it was good.’’

The master bristled a bit at what, to him, was irrational cheer. “Good? — there you go again! How in the world could you say it was good?’’

“Because,’’ his friend replied, “otherwise I would have been with you. I too would have been captured. And I am not missing a thumb.’’

Do not miss the point and imagine for even a moment that evil is ever good. Evil is never good — evil is always evil! The point is, do not underestimate the power and wisdom of the Almighty God, or his love and providential care for those who love and serve him.

Our great need is greater faith — the trust in God to always be thankful and always be faithful, and most particularly when it seems evildoers or adverse circumstances have frustrated our efforts the most.

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose’’ (Romans 8:28). “… I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee, So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me’’ (Hebrews 13:5-6).

— Via The Bulletin of the North Courtenay church of Christ, May 17, 1998

A boy in Decatur, Illinois, was deeply interested in photography. He answered an ad in a magazine, ordering a book on photography. The publisher made a mistake and sent him instead a book about magic and ventriloquism, and he began practicing the art of throwing his voice. He created a wooden dummy to whom, at one time, millions of people listened on Sunday evenings -- Charlie McCarthy. Edgar Bergen had turned a mistake into a fabulous career. James Whistler, the renowned artist, wanted more than anything to be a soldier. He even entered West Point as a cadet. But he failed in a chemistry examination. Later he joked about the one wrong answer that had meant the difference between passing and failing. He said, "if silicon had been a gas, I would have been a major general instead of an artist."

Commenting on these 2 examples, Eric Butterworth noted, "in your own frustrating experience you can and should take a good look at a bad break. There may well be in your frustration the means of making it fruitful!

See: Romans 8:28-32; 2 Corinthians 12:9; Philippians 1:12-14