Welcome to another posting of the Weekend Sermon. I am always glad when it is time to post the Weekend Sermon. I hope and pray that everyone is doing very well.
It's been a very stressful week at work. Also, I have been having a lot of pain again. Please pray that I will get to feeling better, and that I can make it through stressful days. As I've said many times, without Jesus, I don't know how I would make it through the days.
In prayer this week, please remember to pray for those affected by the flooding in Texas and in parts of Europe. Pray for those areas struggling with the Zika virus. Also pray for the safety of the European Football championships being held in France.
We need to continue to pray for peace in a troubled world. Pray for peace in Syria, Israel and Iraq. Let us also pray this week that the message of the love of Jesus will reach people in Libya and Tunisia.
In last week's message, we studied in one of our Summer series that will focus on the Ten Commandments. Today, we will shift our attention to the other series that we will be focusing on during the next few weeks.
Over the course of my life, I have had several dogs that have meant a lot to me. Toby was the best dog I ever had the privilege to know. He is my great friend, and I will always love him. In this series, I will have a couple of messages about what the Lord helped me to learn through him. Today, I want to tell you a little bit about a dog I had named Abraham, and an important lesson I learned from knowing that special character.
As I've mentioned before, my Mom had Collie dogs that she took to the dog shows. One of her Collie dogs won best in show at an all Collie specialty dog show. When I got older, I wanted to have my own dog that I could take to the dog shows. The dogs that I liked the best at the shows we attended were the Rottweilers.
Rottweilers do, and they did at that time, have a reputation for being very aggressive. My parents weren't really sure that they wanted me to get a dog like that. I had to find just the right one whose parents had the right temperament. It took some searching, but I found the right one.
I purchased Abraham the Rottweiler when he was 12 weeks old. His breeder was a Jewish man who had three male pups in the litter. He named them Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Abraham was a beautiful Rottweiler, He was massive with a large head and a powerful body filled with hard muscles. He looked very intimidating. However, looks can be deceiving. Abraham was the gentlest dog with the nicest disposition that I have ever met. He was friendly toward every person and every creature he encountered. He liked children and other animals. His personality was the direct opposite of that of my friend Toby who didn't like anything or anybody except me.
I took Abraham to the dog shows, and he did well, but he didn't really like it. He wanted to play, and he wasn't really too serious about the whole dog show thing. Abraham and my Dad formed a really good friendship, and over time, Abraham became my Dad's dog.
Abraham had two funny quirks. He liked to stay in the barn. He didn't want to be inside at all, so he became the barn dog. He also buried all of his food we fed him in the morning in the hay and then went back and ate it later in the day.
When Toby first came into my life, I went outside with him to see Abraham. Abraham was so excited to see the smaller dog. But, Toby didn't want to have anything to do with him. Abraham looked at me so sadly when the little dog didn't want to play.
As I think back on my old friend Abraham, I'm reminded of a couple of passages of Scripture. In John 7:24, Jesus told His followers to stop judging on the outward appearance and make a correct judgment. Also, I Samuel 16:7 tells us that man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart.
Many people were afraid of Abraham because he was a large, imposing dog of a certain breed. They didn't realize that inside, he was the nicest and gentlest of dogs.
So many of us judge others based on stereotypes and outward appearances. We see people that look or dress a certain way and we make a judgment that is often very wrong. Sometimes we make judgments about a person's entire life just based on the outward without getting to know them at all.
I have an interest in helping the homeless. One judgment that people make about the homeless is that they are all on drugs or are alcoholics. While this is true for many, many people who are homeless are families that just fell on hard times through no fault of their own. Another outward judgment that people make against the homeless is that they all need to be saved because if they knew Jesus they wouldn't be in that state. That is just very inaccurate.
Many also see people that are poor and judge them by the outward appearance. They assume that because someone is poor that they made bad choices, they are lazy or they lack education. This isn't always the case.
When I hit rock bottom financially, none of this was true. Bad things had just happened.
Often people will judge others by their race or their ethnicity. They will think bad things about a group just based on false stereotypes.
One thing that really upsets me is when people judge another person by their weight. Many assume that an overweight person lacks self-control or that they are lazy. This is often not the case at all.
Instead of judging people based on the outward appearance of things, we need to take the time to get to know others and see what they are really like. Often, the person that you thought you wouldn't like becomes a good friend.
Instead of looking at the outward appearance of a person, we should look at what they do and how they act. As Jesus said in Luke 6, a tree is known by its fruits.
I am so glad that Jesus does not look at outward appearances, but instead, He looks at our hearts. He knows what we are like down deep inside. Jesus loves us and cares about us no matter what others say about us.
In Jesus' day, the religious leaders cast out those who they thought were sinners or those who weren't what they thought of as the right kind of people. Jesus loved and accepted everyone. He cared and demonstrated His love to all.
As followers of Jesus, let us not look on the outward appearance. Let's make a right judgment and love the world as Jesus did.
Abraham lived a long and healthy life enjoying every day. My Dad loved that dog so much.
I just want to add a brief word. If you are thinking of adopting a dog into your family, don't judge by the appearance. I know that some breeds of dogs have a bad reputation, but many individuals of those breeds are really nice and kind animals that would make a good pet.
Next week, we will continue with our series in the Ten Commandments. I will post the verses on Monday, and I will have a review for Wednesday. May God bless you all. Amen.
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