The Darkened Path: A Delusion

November 7, 2004 | Link To Us | Index | This sermon is for your spiritual edification and to spread a little hope and cheer. Revelation 14:9-12

We live in a world where cruising the Internet all day long on the job for a lot of companies is not only not discouraged, it is almost as if it is supported. Those of us that work really hard don't get the breaks we want. The ones that are the laziest are the ones that get all the candy. They get the mega-yachts to ski behind and the expensive cars that go from zero to sixty in under 6 seconds. They get it because they know exactly how to stab a bunch of people in the back, steal all the accolades for doing almost nothing, and can have all the fun in the world in their offices and make very little contribution to this world.

This kind of a person wallows in self-importance. They see the world as being a place that serves only them. But wait a minute here, there is only one that can say that and that one is God. We can serve God. We can bless His holy name. We can serve Him. But yet in serving Him He will bless us and make His countenance known and His wishes for our life. He can persuade us to do good. He can help us be safe.

But you have to make the commitment to seek His guidance and love. And a lot of people these days are so wrapped up in themselves that they just can't see the light. These are the people that try to make you think they have made a great contribution to society, but really haven't. They can con you into believing that what they do is great, when really they are no more of a benefit than you are to society. Oh, they can tell you they are. They can try to make you think they are, but are they?

The real treasure in this life is trying to help others. Not the person that cons others into believing they are a great person.

The key word here is belief. We all believe in different things because we are our own persons. We think differently not because we want to but because we are unique. We all have our own set of beliefs that keep us going in a world where the rat race has come down on us like a vengeance. The every day occurrences have pushed out the things that are really important. The things in life that could really benefit us don't because we may not put much effort into them.

It is like an eternal life. For a lot of people that does not have much meaning. You can't see it or touch it, you can only believe that there is one. So a lot of people will cast it off like it is a damaged purse or a shoe with a broken heel. They dismiss it because they can't see what profit there is in trying to attain this status.

Attaining eternal life is like a status. Those that strive for it try to live a God-filled life where the ten commandments are very important to them. They aren't jumping into bed with every beautiful person that catches their fancy. They aren't trying to stick it to someone else in the hopes that their "status" will improve. And people like this are hard to come by. They strive for honesty rather than trying to convince others of this. They do it silently and with great care.

I hear a lot of single people saying they are trying to find that special someone in their life that is sweet and kind and will "cater to their every need." Unfortunately, that is what every person is looking for.

I remember a cartoon I saw some time ago. It showed a man and a woman on the altar exchanging vows. The groom had a thought bubble above his head that showed his new wife serving him breakfast in bed. The bride had a thought bubble above her head of the husband serving her breakfast in bed. And then people wonder why there are so many divorces in this day and age.

Everybody wants. Everybody needs. But there are few people out there willing to make a commitment to do good when it doesn't profit them, or so they may think at first.

What about happiness? Can a person be happy constantly stabbing others in the back, all the while convincing others they cherish to believe in them as if they are some panacea of great wealth of mind?

There is a bestselling set of books out there in this world that talk about the devil coming after the rapture during a time of tribulation similar to what is talked about in the Bible. It talks about a man that will be thought of as a great person. A person that millions will think of as a Messiah. They will do anything to please this man because they believe he is one true person that can save them form their own shallowness. That person, they feel, will make them feel good inside and give the front that they can accomplish more than any person in the history of the world.

But guess what people? That person is actually the devil in disguise. All the while that he is making others believe He is a great man, He is killing people that he feels are a detriment to his getting ahead in the world. But yet he is all smiles to those he wants to impress.

But yet he is still the devil. A person who will stop at nothing to make his realm of influence great no matter how many people he has to murder and enslave. He will take those without his mark and make them so awful in the eyes of the world that they will be slaughtered all because they are thought of as bad, but are instead true believers in a God that will give them eternal life if only they will choose to follow Him.

How can such blind following be thought of as so great? Because yet people will follow this evil person called the devil into an eternal life of damnation and not even realize it because they have hardened their hearts and made this truly awful person somebody they can believe in.

I think all people want something or somebody they can believe in. It is in all the novels. There is always the hero or heroine that makes them feel good. This person is somebody great if only for the life of the story they have made a brief part of their lives. They want somebody they can relate to that will say all the right words at all the right times. Now, by right I mean, what makes a person feel good at certain times.

But is it right...eous? No, because it is what we desire rather than what we need. It is a panacea of wealth in our eyes, rather than a way that is conducive to saving society from one wrong after another. It is a way for us to fall within the realm of wealth of stuff rather than wealth of mind.

Today's society is fraught with such kinds of frivolous muck that ensnares us like a quicksand that pulls us under when we least expect it. We are of the fantasy that what we are given is an answer to life when it is really a distraction into a way in the fork in the road onto a darkened path where the only light we see is the spark a cannon ball makes as it hits another wall into oblivion.

But yet so many people take that path thinking it is the only way that makes sense to them. They see it as the answer to what has truly been bugging them. They can not see the true light. They can not see the light that God shows brightly if even for a moment sometimes. And the reason it is for a moment is because the road to wealth can blind people into thinking that it is the right and correct path albeit the wrong path.

So where does a person go from here? How do people wake up and see what the BS in life is shovelling to them? How do you get a person to follow Gods laws when they are too busy listening to the crap of the world and making it a part of their hectic lives?

You cannot change others, but you can change yourself. You can read the Bible and believe in a God that truly has your best interests at heart. He can bless you in ways that may not be apparent at first. He can give you great wealth of mind and spirit.

So give God your time. Give Him your heart and your soul. Because only through Him will you have an eternal life of bliss and happiness.

Prayer: Dear Lord, sometimes life dishes out a lot of crap that we can be conned into believing. Sometimes people will try to make us believe they are the one. When that happens Lord, enlighten us onto the righteous path. Give us the insight into what we need to believe in, not what we want to think is the proper belief. Give us your love, and make your guidance strong in our hearts so that we can try to make the best decisions possible. We thank you Lord for all your may blessings. Amen.

Benediction: Now, Lord, Bless us in our daily lives. Help us to smell the roses whenever possible, to shine our light on those less fortunate than us, and lead us in the path we should go. For you are the light that keeps our path well lit. Help us to follow it, until we meet you, in a land where milk and honey abound, a place where our most wonderful dreams are fulfilled. Amen.

Hi, my name is Bryan, a messenger of hope who would love to hear from you. God Bless.

© 2004 Bryan Hill