Humpty Dumpty
E.A. Johnston warns believers about the dangers of spiritual complacency and moral failure, urging them to remain vigilant and finish well in their walk with Christ.
In this devotional sermon, E.A. Johnston uses the familiar nursery rhyme of Humpty Dumpty to caution Christians against spiritual complacency and moral failure. Drawing on biblical examples like King David and the Apostle Paul, Johnston emphasizes the importance of self-discipline and vigilance in the Christian life. Through poignant real-life illustrations, he challenges believers to finish well and maintain a strong testimony for Christ.
Full Transcript
Some Christians start well for the Lord. They're all on fire for God. They want to do all they can for God, and then things kind of go cold.
They don't finish well. In fact, sadly, they end up very much like the children's nursery rhyme, Humpty Dumpty, which goes like this. Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. And all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again. In short, the big egghead got cracked up.
Who can forget the TV star preachers of the 1980s who fell into sin, shame, and scandal while their empires crumbled? Men like Jimmy Swaggart and James Baker, or more recently, celebrity pastor Coral Lentz and the well-known apologist Rabbi Zacharias, men who started well, but they fail to make it to the finish line. Because of moral failure, they fall off the wall, and their ministry and reputation lay in shambles. When you sit on a wall, you feel elevated over other men.
When you sit on a wall, you end up relaxing and letting your gourd down and kicking your feet. When you sit on a wall, you feel you are invulnerable, and you often get careless. If you sit atop a wall too long, you feel you are above the reproach of others.
If you sit on top of a wall too long, you feel you've become God's favorite, so you can do what you want to do when you want to. Kind of like King David up on the wall of his palace as he peered at naked Bathsheba until his peering became peeping, and he'd have to have her, even if it meant adultery and murder. How about you, friend? Does your peering at other women soon become lustful peeping? Or are you not satisfied looking at one picture of a naked woman on the Internet? You have to drool over a thousand.
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. The apostle Paul lived with a holy fear of God and an honest appraisal of himself.
In 1 Corinthians 9.27, he writes, But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. That word castaway, in the Greek, is the word adakamos, and it means not approved, rejected, useless. Paul knew the danger of becoming like his friend Demas, who forsook the things of God for this present world.
Paul knew he had to finish well in his testimony and service for Christ Jesus. He didn't want to end up a castaway on pieces at the bottom of a wall. I had a Christian friend whom I always looked up to.
In fact, every time you were around this man, all he ever wanted to do was to talk about Jesus. He made you thirsty for Jesus. Do you know someone like that, friend? Well, we'd often pray together, and we belonged to the same church.
One day, I ran into him in the church parking lot, and as I greeted him, he avoided eye contact with me. He wouldn't look me in the eye when I was talking to him. And I had a funny feeling.
I went home and I told my wife that I sensed this man was having an affair on his wife. My wife replied, No way, he's too godly a Christian man to ever do that. Well, a month later, his wife was sitting in our living room with her head in her hands, with a box of tissues in front of her as she sobbed and sobbed as she told us her husband was caught in an adulterous affair with his young secretary.
It was a terrible scandal at church because this man held a leadership position at church. He had a loving wife and three adorable children and a lovely fine home, and he fell off the wall, and it all fell to pieces, and he left his family in shambles as his 15-year marriage ended in divorce and his Christian testimony was ruined. Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall, and all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again.
Sermon Outline
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I
- Many Christians start strong but fail to finish well
- The Humpty Dumpty analogy illustrates spiritual downfall
- Famous Christian leaders have fallen due to moral failure
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II
- Sitting on the wall breeds complacency and pride
- Feeling invulnerable leads to careless sin
- King David’s fall as an example of moral failure from a place of privilege
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III
- The Apostle Paul’s example of self-discipline and fear of God
- The danger of becoming a 'castaway' in ministry
- The importance of finishing well in Christian testimony
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IV
- A real-life testimony of a respected Christian leader’s fall
- The devastating impact of moral failure on family and church
- A call to vigilance and humility to avoid a similar fate
Key Quotes
“Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.” — E.A. Johnston
“When you sit atop a wall too long, you feel you've become God's favorite, so you can do what you want to do when you want to.” — E.A. Johnston
“But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” — E.A. Johnston
Application Points
- Regularly examine your heart to avoid pride and complacency in your spiritual walk.
- Practice self-discipline and accountability to guard against moral failure.
- Commit to finishing well by maintaining a humble and vigilant relationship with God.