Misc Metaphors

Thursday, April 3, 2008

You can put yourself into another world, only if you stop doing things of this world

Sometimes you need to get to where you have nothing but the Lord to realize that you don't need anything but the Lord.

Call for faithfulness as standards fall

Vision of Zion - what can we assume about our Father's mansions?

Call for repentance - change

Metaphor - Flight, Body, Plants

Bloom where you are planted -
○ Pioneers had to bloom or perish
○ Vickings burned their boats. They had to conquer or die.
○ Keep the chain unbroken

Plant metaphor
○ We are plants - but we are being overcome by crickets. We must pray and fast for gulls to come
○ Recognize danger - Mike Skye's dad was hospitalized by rubbing poison ivy on him
○ Introducing foreign plants into the environment caused native plants to die out
○ Bark Beetle sweeps through at night, burrows under bark, and kills whole tree.
○ Pride like bark beetle is a natural cycle - but it's still deadly and worth fighting

Life is hard
○ We must be sober
○ Loud laughter is wrong - it shows we are wrong headed about where we are
○ Once we think life is easy, we give up the fight and are overwhelmed by difficulty
○ What do we build our joy on? Clothes, Shopping, Being pretty, Being smart, being rich? All will fall
○ Missions help you see how unimportant those things are

Relationship w/ God is most important
○ Like health is most important. If you don't have it, you have nothing.
○ WWYR - Be rich and poor health, or poor and good health?
○ Same with Relationship - it's most important. If you feel the love of God you have evertyhing. If you don't, nothing else really matters
○ WWYR - Be rich and not believe in God, or Be Poor and know that God loves you?
○ We talk about prayer and study as the answer (just like eat right and exercise is the answer to all physical questions) - but what we're reallysaying is - develop a relationship…reading and praying are essential to that.
○ What about a plant that bears fruit…a miracle
○ But plant not hooked to the vine is dead.
○ We have one choice - my will or thy will be done
○ Lots of conflict due to choice
○ WE can't cure the world, but the choice to follow cures all other choices

Flying metaphor
○ Thrust is power of God to move us forward
○ LIFT - Attitude is the shape of our airfoil which will help us to fly, or crash.
§ Humility vs pride
§ Gratitude vs
§ Love vs hate
§ Hope vs despair
○ Drag is the effect which holds us down and keeps us from flying.