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Seeing What We Want Introduction: Whitney Cerak, and Laura VanRyn look very much alike. Similar hair color, body build, age, weight, and height. On April 26, 2006 they were in a auto accident in which five people were killed. Whitney's family was told she was among the dead. Laura's family was told she was alive but in a coma. Whitney's family held a closed-casket funeral that drew over 1,400 people. The VanRyns stayed by their daughter's hospital bed for weeks. They fed her applesauce, and spoke to her, but she could not talk to them due to a tracheotomy. After five weeks they discovered that Laura was not the girl in the hospital bed but it was Whitney. How could this happen? Their identification was thrown all over the accident scene. The emergency workers took the identity closest to the body to be Whitney's; her family did not actually identify the body, they took the word of the hospital which was taking the word of the emergency workers. Laura's family were dealing with a daughter whose face was swollen and suffered broken bones. Besides they were thankful that they daughter was alive. Only when she started to come out of a coma did they realize something was wrong. She did not remember them, her father called her by a pet name which she did not respond to, and finally she was able to tell them her real name.
In July 2004 the same thing happened when Patrick Bement and Nate Smith were in an auto accident in Michigan. I) How Could This Happen? People saw what they wanted or expected. A) Too many see what they want in the Bible 1. Naaman expected to see Elisha come out to him and say something over his leporasy, 2 Kings 5. 2. The people had a problem with John the Immerser, Luke 7.24-25 3. Jesus was rejected because He was not what the Jews expected the Messiah to be a. Nazareth was the home of Jesus, yet the people there had a problem with Him, Mark 6.1-3. b. Pilate could not believe this beaten man could be the "King of the Jews." 3. Some people listened to the Gospel until they heard something they did not expect and/or did not like, Acts 7.51-53, 57-58 B) Modern examples of this 1. People that twist the scriptures so as to teach what others expect and like a. Premillennialism twist the prophecies of the Old Testament b. What to do to be saved? 2. Those that believe in modern day miracles and miracle workers, 2 Thess. 2.11-12 C) There is the danger of seeing only what we want and fooling ourselves 1. Emotions cannot change the truth. The girl's family wanted their daughter to be alive but in reality she was dead. 2. See faults and flaws that aren't there in God's word. II) Close Is Not Good Enough A) The two girls on paper were almost identical. 1. As I one time heard a person say, "If you turn off the lights and squint your eyes it almost looks the same." 2. Only they were not the same. B) We need to see the importance of the details or the "little things" 1. We tend to notice the "big things" and not the "small things" 2. Notice the detail of the prophecy in Psalm 34.20. 3. Paul paid attention to the details, Galatians 3.16. 4. Remember talking to some Mormons and their teaching of Jesus being born in Jerusalem. He was born in Bethlehem. Their response, "no big deal, Bethlehem is close to Jerusalem." C) There are people that want to change the Law of Christ, Galatians 1.6-9 1. As long as we keep the general theme of love and accepting Jesus then we are ok. 2. We cannot be picky or Pharisaical in our religion; stressing the minors. 3. It is true we need to not be like the Pharisees but what were they guilty of? Picking and choosing the parts of the law they wanted to keep. III) Consequences of Being Wrong Are Great A) They buried the dead girl in the wrong place. 1. The wrong family grieved the loss of a loved one. 2. The wrong family hoped to take their daughter home from the hospital. B) The results of being close but wrong can be tragic (close only counts in horseshoes and grenades). 1. We cannot be close to God and close to the world at the same time, Revelation 2.14,16; James 4.4. 2. Observing part of the Gospel does not equal being partly saved. 3. We are either going to be obedient or disobedient; faithful or unfaithful; in heaven or hell. C) We need to be sure of what we are doing, Romans 15.14-15 1. Make sure we are doing what the Bible says for it and it alone will reveal to us the will of God and pathway to heaven, 2 Peter 1.3. 2. Make sure we are seeing what is there and not what we want to be there. Conclusion: One family was happy and the other sad. Saying someone is alive does not make it so. |