youth sermon ideas: a fly in the ointment

8/6/2019 Youth sermon ideas: A Fly in the Ointment

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A Fly in the OintmentOne small sin, a mere fly in an ointment, canbe a cause of great destruction, but as Jesus

showed us on the cross, God can use onelife, clean an pure, yielded before Him, to

undo that same destruction.


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Scr iptu r e Fo c us: E cc lesiastes 10:1-3

"(NIV) As dead flies give perfume a bad smell,so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.The heart of the wise inclines to the right, butthe heart of the fool to the left. Even as hewalks along the road, the fool lacks sense and

shows everyone how stupid he is. "


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Int r odu c tion: Compute r Bug

M ars has been a subject of fascination for centuries. Scientistsare intrigued about the possibility of life and the possibility of

water beneath the surface. One recent spacecraft to visit the redplanet was the M ars Climate Orbiter. Its incredible to me thatscientists can calculate the gravity of the moon, the effects of thesun and planets, the orbit of the planets, and plot a course thatwill take a comparatively small spacecraft with very limited fueland send it on a trajectory to intercept M ars. Two years and a

billion miles later the spacecraft reaches it's target.


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U nfortunately, for the M ars Climate Orbiter, something wentwrong. It made the journey all the way to M ars but then in its finalmoments disaster struck. Initially, scientists were not sure whathappened, but contact with the spacecraft was lost. Later, asscientists tried to pinpoint what went wrong, they discovered thatit was not a mechanical error, but a human one that doomed the

spacecraft. Among the thousands of lines of computer programming code someone made a mistake. A small mistake,but a mistake with a very big consequences -- one programmingteam used English units (e.g., inches, feet, miles. . . ) while theother used metric units. When the spacecraft fired its engines totake it into orbit, its calculations were off and its journey and a

large portion of N ASA's resources were wasted.

A similar rocket failure took place on a Venus probe a few yearsback. In that case it was a simple hyphen in the computer program that resulted in the rocket's failure.


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A mistake in a computer program is called a "bug. "... Incomparison to the whole, the "bug " may seem small -- but a"fly in the ointment ". But that small "bug " can lead todisastrous consequences. Assumptions and the decisionsbased on those assumptions may be miscalculated. Our resources may be wasted and our destination may be forever changed - all on as a result of a fly in the ointment.

Let me read Ecclesiastes 10:1-3 again... This time from theNew King James Version.

(NKJV) Ecclesiastes 10:1 Dead flies putrefy the perfumer'sointment, And cause it to give off a foul odor; [So does] a littlefolly to one respected for wisdom [and] honor.


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TH E O INTM ENTValuableIn Old Testament times, ointments were highly prized andextremely valuable.

Treasure - Hezekiah displayed them in his treasure house to therepresentatives of the King of Babylon. (2 Kings 20:13 ) Tribute - They were used for payment of tribute (Hosea 1 2 :1) Jesus Feet - In the New Testament Judas complained that theointment poured on Jesus' feet might have been sold for a largesum of money (M atthew 26 :9)

Anointing and consecration - Ointments and oiled were used toanoint and consecrate priests, the tabernacles and furnishings.(Exodus 30: 22 -33 ) Birth of Christ - Two of the three gifts mentioned that the kingsbrought to baby Jesus were ointments - frankincense and myrrh.(M atthew 2:11 )


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P r a c tic al

Not only was ointment valuable, but it was also practical.

Hygene - The anointing of the hair, face, and exposed skinwas an important act of hygiene and grooming in the aridregions of the Holy Land. Water for baths was scarce. Oils alsoprovided protection against the scorching desert sun. King David - In II Sam. 1 2:20 we can read of King David,washing, putting on his lotions, and changing his clothes. Ancient Egyptian - Historical documents reveal an incident of workers going on strike because of a lack of food and"ointment " for their skin ("Ointment " - Zondervan PictorialEncyclopedia ).


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M edi c inal

Ointment was used for medicinal purposes.

Ointments & cremes - Even today, many of our medicines are applied in ointments & cremes. The "Balm of Gilead " referred to an ointment withmedicinal value - (Jeremiah 8: 22) Wounds - Isaiah 1: 6 and Luke 10:34 indicate oil wasused on wounds.

Burial - Ointments were also used in embalming andwrapping a body, in preparation for burial.Ointments were valuable, practical, and medicinal.


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FL IES IN TH E O INTM ENTOintment was made by an apothecary (chemist/perfumer ).He usually created the ointment by skillfully mixingprecious spices, scents, herbs, or medicinal extracts intoan olive oil base. The fragrance from these additions to theoil naturally attracted pesky flies. These unwitting flies thenbecame entrapped in the miry, oily substance.

D e c ay/ sten c h:

Not only did the flies corrupt the ointment by their simplepresence, but their decaying bodies caused the ointment tospoil and stink. Flies are quite commonly used as a symbolof decay, of corruption, of ruin. We've all seen flies drawnto dead animals and spoiled fruit.


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Wherever there are flies, ruin is sure to follow.

In Egypt: God used a swarms of flies as one of the 10 plaguesthat devastated Egypt. Of that event, Exodus 8: 24 reads " Andthe LORD did this. Dense swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh'spalace and into the houses of his officials, and throughout Egyptthe land was R U INED by the flies. "

In M alaysia: A couple months ago, while I was on a shortvacation in M alaysia I was working on this sermon. I orderedmixed vegetables and as I began to scoup them onto my spoona fly fluttered his wings and said "hello. " I guarantee that fromthat point, he may have been smaller but he now had a muchbigger appetite than I did. It ruined the mixed vegetables for me. I

couldn't eat them. I didn't even go back to that restaurant again.It may be a small fly, but it has great potential

o to ruin something very valuable,o to render something essential as uselesso to corrupt something used for healing into something that

is purifying.


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FL IES IN TH E O INTM ENT

Word U sage: This situation in which dead flies purified theperfume was such a common occurrence that the term "Flies inthe ointment. " came to be mean anything that spoiled pleasure of

the whole. Interestingly though, this verse is actually beingmisused today. This is true of many Biblical verses that havefound their way into common usage. Either someonemisinterpreted the phrase or meaning has changed over the last3000 years. The issue being discussed is not some isolatedblemish (or blemishes ) that detract from the pleasure of the

whole. The issue is that the dead flies have caused the ointmentitself to stink. The fly is merely a precursor to a more seriousproblem... The ointment is now purified. The result may be justas nauseating, but the distinction is extremely important. Deadflies can be fished out, but when the ointment has been ruinedsimply removing the fly does not remove decay and stench.


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Small but not insignificant.

One hyphen in thousands of lines of computer programmingOne unit in feet among hundreds in metric.One fly in the ointment and the ointment begins to give off a foul

smell.

One hyphen, one bug, in a thousand lines of computer programming is a mistake. The programmer didn't intend to dosomething wrong. Yet even with something so small, that wasn'teven a moral decision, the potential for disaster was enormous.

How greater is the potential danger of intentional sin - one littlesin can lead to potentially disastrous consequences. And theloss of a soul is so much more painful than the loss of aspacecraft, a piece of equipment.


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Bibli c al ExamplesIt was one bite of the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden.(Genesis 3 )It was one golden calf that doomed the Israelites to a 40 year holy Land tour. (Exodus 3 2)

It was one man's sin that led to Joshua's defeat in the battle of Ai. (Joshua 7 )It was one little lamb, a woman named Bathsheba, thattempted King David into adultery. (II Samuel 11 )It was one moment of Anger that prevented M oses fromEntering the promised land.It was one kiss that betrayed our Savior. (M ark 14:44 )If only it had been but one sin that nailed our Savior to thecross. Yet for us, we could be lucky if we only had one sinsince we woke up this morning... no for us, one is too small anumber...Yet it was the one Son of God died on the cross and tookaway ALL OF our sins.


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Watch Out for Those Tadpoles

I read about an incident that took place at a college campus,located in a valley between two mountains. The water tower for that college was located up on one of the mountains. Onemorning while the guys were taking their showers, the water went off. They thought the girls were playing a trick on them sothey quickly got dressed and ran to the girls' dorm, only to findthat the same thing had happened to them.

When they realized that it wasn't a trick, they called themaintenance crew. When the maintenance crew arrived, theywere perplexed. They could find no pipes that were burst or

valves that were turned off, so they began the tedious task of following the pipe all the way back up the mountain. Piece bypiece they took it apart to see if there was any blockage. Finally,they came to the last piece of pipe that went into the water tower. They opened it, and found an enormous bullfrog stuck inthe pipe.


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They could not understand how a bullfrog could have gotten into thewater tower. There was just no way. Then they realized that it hadn'tcome in as a big bullfrog but as a tiny tadpole. It had worked its wayin and lived off the algae in the water until one day it was swimmingtoo close and was sucked into the pipe, cutting off the water supplyto the whole campus.So many times, something may seem to us only

a small "indiscretion. ",a little mistake,a minor infraction,a short lapse of judgment,a momentary loss of control.

But in time, if not removed, that little sin will grow, and before weknow it the flow of the Living Water into our lives has been chokedoff. Our relationship with God becomes stale and stagnant.Like in the movie "Gremlins ", sin starts out small and cute like theM ogwai (spelling? ). But if we feed it, it becomes a demon, and we

don't control it, it controls us, and the result is destruction and ruin.


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A fly in the ointment is a pi c tu r e, an image of sin in the life of a believe r .

I imagine the apothecary represents God.The ointment and spices represent our lives, our actions, how we

live. And, the sweet smelling aroma or fragrance is the testimonyproduced by our lives.In 2 Corinthians 2:15 our life and testimony are similarly describedas an aroma. But that aroma can be spoiled by the flies, by the sinin our lives..

N ew Testament Comparison: Salt Losing its Saltiness.In The New Testament Jesus speaks of a similar metaphor whenhe speaks of Salt losing its saltiness.


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In M atthew 5:13 we read, "You are the salt of theearth. But if salt loses it's saltiness, how can it bemade salty again? It is no longer good for anything,except to be thrown out and trampled by men. " Similarly, In Luke 14:34 we read, " Salt is good, butif it loses it's saltiness, how can it be made saltyagain? It is neither fit for the soil nor for the manurepile." Furthermore, in Colossians 4: 6 we are told "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with

salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. "


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The common principle - Salt, like ointment, was used for healing. We can't be a source of comfort and healing to ahurting world when our lives have been contaminated andour witness has been corrupted.

What is the fly in the ointment for you? What is the sin in your life that is now destroying or hasthe potential to destroy your witness?

M aybe you are thinking.. its just a little sin.. But one littlesin can have great consequences.

What is it that brings about putrification and stench inyour life instead of a fragrant aroma of Christ?


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S in

It seems the world today doesn't like to talk about sin."Sin " is one of those words that isn't "politically correct. "Now when discussing various questionable activities, we replaceany references to "sin " with terms like "moral failure, " and"momentary lapse. "

Lilian Holcomb, a grandmother in Pueblo Colorado, tells her grandchildren a bedtime story from the Bible story every night. Onenight she said, "Tonight we're going to talk about sin. Do you knowwhat the word sin means? "Seven-year-old Keith spoke up. "It's when you do something bad. "Four-year-old Aaron's eyes widened. "I know a big sin Keith didtoday. "

Annoyed, Keith turned to Aaron. "You take care of your sins, and I'lltake care of mine. "[Christian Reader, "Kids of the Kingdom. "]


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Some of you may be thinking the same thing now, "You take careof your sins and I'll take care of mine. " But we often have nointention of taking care of our sins - we are merely upset thatsomeone else has discovered them.

Fly Colle c to r?

Cockroaches as pets?If you read the Singapore Straits Times ( August 19, 2000 ), Youmight have noticed the story about some special pets of students

in southern China. They are the latest rage and are even seen asstatus symbols. The wholesale price of these pets are about S$13per 250mg. The most prized specimens are said to be from theU nited States and Australia. What are these treasured pets?


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If you read the story you would know that they are cockroaches. Apparently there was a popular Hong Kong television series inwhich a couple raised a cockroach (named Xiao Qiang ) as a pet.Since then pet shops have been cashing in on the demand asstudents buy the creatures. Personally, I have a hard time seeinga cockroach as a pet. As matter of fact, my natural tendencywhen I see one is a heavy foot and a satisfying crunch.

When I was a youth I did have a few insects I collected, almostas pets. I raised M onarch butterflies, and I collected beetles. I think that if I had ever brought a cockroach home as a pet momwould have sent me to the nearest psychiatrist and given meroach killer for aftershave.

Even with my relatively benign insects, M om was always quick toinform me when any of my live specimens escaped, usually witha loud scream that "something was loose and crawling acrossher foot. "


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EntomologistsThey have a special name for people who study insects. Theyare known as entomologists. U nfortunately many of us asChristians have become entomologists ourselves. Not only dowe have a fly in the ointment, but we have chosen to become

collectors.

But I wonde r , what it is you have c hosen to c olle c t?

You don't need to raise your hands on these:If I were to peer into your collection, what would I find?

Is it anger, bitterness, jealousy, gossip, worry, gluttony, harmfulhabits or addictions, sexual lust, envy, materialism, little whitelies, big black lies, a divisive spirit, an unforgiving heart, a criticalspirit, selfish ambition, fear, real or imagined guilt,discontentment, pornography, depression, quarreling,impatience, complaining, deceit, arrogance, self-righteousness,unholy thoughts.


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S u r vey A recent survey of Discipleship Journal Christian readersranked areas of greatest spiritual challenge to them:

1. M aterialism2 . Pride3. Self-centeredness

4. Laziness5. (Tie) Anger/Bitterness6 . (Tie) Sexual lust.7. Envy8. Gluttony9. Lying

C.S. Lewis - Surprised by Joy (Chap. 14 )"For the first time I examined myself with a seriously practicalpurpose. And what I found appalled me;a zoo of lusts,a bedlam of ambitions,a nursery of fears,a harem of fondled hatreds. "


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S aving some fo r late r?

A primary 2 student went to his first confessional in his catholicchurch. He confessed one or two small items and the priest,knowing he was a very mischievous boy, asked, "Do you haveany more to confess? ""Sure " the youngster replied, "but I am saving some for next

time. "[Joseph Young, Saint Cloud (M innesota ) Visitor.]

P et S ins ?

I must confess, as I was preparing this sermon, I had to come toterms with the fact that I have more than one fly in my life. I guess we all do. I also must confess that there are a few I am notreally keen about giving up. I have a few I want to save until later.Some of them have become pets. I wonder if you also have afew pets?


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GrowingU

p, I lived in the Texas countryside, surrounded byranches and farms. The nearest city was 7 miles away. M ybest friend lived about 14 miles away. While we didn't live ona farm, we did have a large house on a large piece of land.We had lots of pets.

We had cats and dogs. We also raised ducks, geese,turkeys, chickens and rabbits. M om also took great joy infeeding the birds and the squirrels. There was even analbino squirrel, one that was all white, that mom consideredher pet, even though it was wild.

Because we were so far from the city we had our own wellfrom which we received our water. Water was pumped out of the ground into a large storage tank and then it went throughseveral filters and arrived in the house. We not only used itfor the animals and watering plants, but we used it for drinking, cooking, washing clothes and taking showers.


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On one afternoon I remember mom, who had the most sensitivenose, commenting that the water had a unusual smell to it. In timethe smell worsened. Dad was convinced to check the water system and filters and see if something was amiss. He checkedthe pipes and filters all the way back to the large storage tank.When he climbed the ladder to the top of the tank and removed a

cover to look inside, the stench just about knocked him off theladder. It seemed that one of mom's pet squirrels had somehowclimbed inside to get a drink and took an unexpected swim.U nfortunately, he failed his swimming lesson and drowned. Dadreached in to scoop him out and when he picked it up by its tail, itwas so rotten that the fur and skin came right off. And this was

water we had been drinking. Obviously we drained the tank, andadded a good dose of bleach to purify it before we refilled it withwater. We also put wire over the openings to prevent a similar occurrence. A few years later, however, the wire rusted throughand another squirrel went for a final swim. It was just one squirrel,but the the results were quite disgusting.


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While the water filters helped remove some of the smell, in asense they only made things worse because it took longer toidentify the problem. The problem wasn't solved until the squirrelwas removed and a good cleansing took place.

The same is true in our lives. We can try to clean up, what comes

out of our lives, our actions, but the actions will only become cleanwhen the source of the contamination, when the heart is cleanedup.

There is always an emptying before the new life can replace theold. A good cleansing or confession must take place.

Then a little extra protection in those weak spots would beprudent, as well, in order to prevent a return of the pesky littleproblem. In time, our "pets " get us into trouble.


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ADVI CE O N FLY CO NTR OL

Avoid fliesFLEE - "Flee the evil desires of youth... "FOC U S - "pursue faith love righteousness and peace "FELLOWSH IP "With those who call upon God from a P U REheart. " (2 Timothy 2:22) .

R emove the flies - if you sin, then repent and confess itimmediately."If you confess your sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive usour sins and CLEA NSE us from all unrighteousness. " (I John 1:9 )

Use Inse c t r epellent - saturate yourself with the Word,"Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin againstthee. " (Psalm 119:11 )


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Remembe

r that

Su

r vey

?

Survey respondents noted temptations were more potent whenthey had:* neglected their time with God (81 percent ) = (LACK OF FOC U S )* when they were physically tired (57 percent ).

Resisting temptation was accomplished by* prayer (84 percent ),* avoiding compromising situations (76 percent ), (FLEE )* Bible study (66 percent ), and* being accountable to someone (52 percent ). (FELLOWSH IP )-- Discipleship Journal, 11-1 2/92 . "To Verify, " Leadership.

If you do these things, then your life will be "a sacrifice to God for asweet smelling savour "- well pleasing to the Lord. (Eph. 5: 2)


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N AS A R EVI S IT ED

Remember the M ars Climate Orbiter that was lost as a result of using feet instead of metric units. There was something I didn't tellyou about it. When N ASA officials were asked about the error,they responded that the error wasn't the biggest problem. Peoplesometimes make mistakes... that's common. The biggest mistake,according to N ASA officials, was the failure of the system of checks and balances to detect the error and correct it.

I John 1:9 "If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgiveus our sins and cleanse (or P U RIFY ) us from allunrighteousness. "


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A FLY IN AM BE R . ( object Lesson)

I have here a piece of amber. I am an avid rock and mineralcollector.

Growing up, my mother, remarking on the vast number of stones and minerals that filled my closets, my drawers, mycabinets and overflowed onto the floor of my room, once toldme if I brought one more rock in the house I was going tohave to move out to make room for my collection. Of coursenow she is quite fond of my rock collection as long as itincludes rubies, opals, jade, and other stones she can wear.


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This piece of amber is one of the prized stones in my rockcollection. If you have seen the movie "Jurassic Park " or "TheLost World " you might remember the walking cane with theamber pommel. Amber is actually a prehistoric resin, secretedfrom a tree. M any of our ointments and medicinal cremes aremade from such resins. In the case of amber, the resin has

fossilized and hardened. Anything caught in the resin ispreserved. The resin becomes a miniature time capsuledisplaying its contents for all to see. The most prized amber are the specimens like this one that contains a fruit fly - a verylong time ago, it was merely A FL Y IN THE O INTM ENT, a flythat became trapped in the resin of a tree. Now it is fossilizedand encased in stone.

Too often our lives are like this piece of amber. Instead of removing the fly in the ointment, we allow it to harden andbecome fossilized.


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For some of us the fly has become a prized treasure.Some of us have become entomologists - insect collectors.The closets, drawers, and cabinets of our lives are overflowingnot with stones but flies. Flies that over time are becominghardened and fossilized.

What's the fly in your life?What is the sin that prevents you from being the fragrant aroma of Christ the Perfumer, your Creator, intended?What is it that has entered your life and is slowly putrifying your relationship with God?

Let's take a moment of silent meditation? Let God speak to you...


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youth sermon ideas: a fly in the ointment

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