Sermon Outlines

By Frederick F. Schwindt, Evangelist

THE WISDOM OF THE BIRDS

1. In the migration of birds, says Professor Newton, we are brought face to face with the greatest mystery in the animal world:
   1. How these little creatures find their way across continents and oceans without chart or compass
   2. How they sustain themselves for so long a time without rest and without food
2. The prophet Jeremiah credits them with special wisdom:
   1. The stork in heaven knoweth her appointed times
   2. The turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming B. LET US NOTICE A NUMBER OF SUGGESTIONS SEEN IN THE WISDOM OF THE BIRDS
3. The birds know instinctively where to go to secure safety and well being:
   1. In their flights to other lands they turn right away fro those regions where misery, starvation and death would be their lot
   2. Too, these birds know how to reach their destination of security and well-being
   3. In zones where danger lurks they fly high, at times beyond the reach of the naked eye. At times they fly as much as six miles high
   4. Also, these migratory birds know just when to leave our shores for sunnier climates
4. But, alas, God's people know not the judgments of the Lord"
   1. That is sad and almost unbelievable - because the wisdom of the birds rests on instinct
   2. Whereas God's people have been endowed with the powers of reason - Is. 1:17-19
   3. God's people have been blessed with the Bible, the word of God, to guide them in their relationship to God and man - 2 Tim. 3:15-17
   4. Also, God has blessed them with the presence of the Holy Spirit to guide them - John 16:12-13 C. WHY, O WHY DO GOD'S PEOPLE NOT KNOW THE JUDGMENTS OF THE LORD?
5. "My people doth not consider"
   1. They are not interested enough in the judgments of the Lord to put forth the effort for faithful and prayerful consideration; Examples: The Pharisees and the Sadducees had the writings of Moses and the prophets and the psalms. - Luke 16:31; yet the Son of God charges them with not knowing the scriptures, neither the power of God - Matt. 22:29
   2. They were not interested in the scriptures they occupied themselves with the traditions of men - Matt. 15:1-8; Mark 7:1-13; Matt. 23:4-32
6. Knowledge of the judgments of God must lead to influencing our lives:
   1. "To him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not to him it is sin" - James 4:17
   2. "For not the hearers of the law are just before God" - Rom. 2:13
   3. "Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves" - James 1:22
7. This brings us back to the wisdom of the birds:
   1. Can it be that sin has so blinded human reason to the requirements of heaven that man is less capable to comprehend what is for his own good?
   2. Or is the animosity ingrained in man responsible of his ignorance of God's judgments
   3. Is it because man is so engulfed by human traditions that it has become a fixed gulf between him and the Bible
   4. This writer believes that the latter is the case in many instances; tradition, man-made doctrines are so deeply embedded in the lives of many people that they are unable to think of any duty outside their creed
   5. How often have I been saddened by my observations noting that the word of the scriptures makes no impression upon the minds of the people, regardless of what you read to them out of the Bible.