Sticks and Stones
Ecclesiastes 10:9 Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith; and he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby.
Intro: There’s a saying we learned growing up, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Whoever came up with that was stoned.
This verse is about getting hurt.
I’d like to take this verse and make an application to a person getting hurt in the ministry.
The truths that are in this verse that apply to getting hurt in church are amazing.
There are several common denominators in the wisdom found in this verse, and getting hurt in church.
The similarities and the applications are intriguing.
Let’s look at them.
I. The Fact that is Inevitable
This chapter is filled with matter-of-fact characteristics of wisdom and life in general.
The Bible is clear; twice it said SHALL BE.
· Whoso removeth stones SHALL be hurt…
· He that cleaveth wood SHALL BE endangered…
If you remove stones, or you cleave wood, you should not be surprised when you get hurt; you should be surprised when they don’t.
The same applies to the ministry and life in church.
Getting hurt is inevitable.
If you’ve never been hurt in the ministry, you just started going. Just wait. It’ll happen.
You’re still a rookie!
I started making a list just from some stories in the Bible, and I had to cut it short.
So many good people in the Bible were hurt by their own brethren.
· Abel was murdered by his own brother.
· Abraham had a falling out with Lot. Lot never had a strife with the Sodomites!
· And after Abraham and his 320 trained servants saved him and his family, he went back to Sodom.
· Moses faced opposition from Korah and 250 princes that never once opposed Pharaoh.
· Moses faced severe criticism from Aaron and Miriam. (Numbers 12:1)
· David had to fight through Eliab and Saul to get to Goliath.
· Saul threw more javelins at David than he ever did at the Philistines.
· Jesus was denied by Peter and betrayed by Judas.
· Paul at his first answer, no man stood with him, but all men forsook him.
I don’t know anybody that has never been hurt by other Christians.
I’ve been hurt more by preachers than I have by prostitutes.
I’ve been done dirty by missionaries more than I have meth dealers.
I’ve been betrayed by evangelists out of my church more than by all the drunks and dopeheads combined.
II. The Factors that are Involved
There are several fascinating commonalities of these two illustrations.
Removing stones, and cleaving wood. Sticks and stones.
When your life is centered around sticks and stones, remember this:
A. Both of these endeavors involve Peculiarities
There is one predictable factor when working with sticks and stones.
That one predictable factor is that they are unpredictable.
The interesting thing about stick and stones is the unique character of each one of these elements.
It’s amazing how many possible scenarios you can encounter dealing with these two things.
In the ministry, there are so many different personalities, backgrounds, baggage, preconceived ideas…
Every person and family we encounter in the ministry is hurting from something or another.
And hurting people hurt people.
· The Cave of Adullam: 1 Samuel 22:2 And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.
If you’re afraid to work with hurting people, you’ll never have an army of mighty men.
B. Both of these endeavors involve Persistence
You cannot remove rocks in two minutes.
You cannot cleave wood without continual, nonstop, consistent effort.
It gets monotonous. It gets wearisome.
You will get callouses and blisters and you will work up a sweat.
One of the key aspects of this verse is the understanding of repeated involvement.
The chances of your getting hurt moving stones just one time is minimal.
The verse says “…he that removeth…”
This is not a person that walks outside and digs one rock out of the ground.
This is not about casually digging a rock out of your driveway or flowerbed.
The word “removeth” here gives the idea of a person working at a rock quarry.
This verse is speaking of a person whose job is that of cutting and removing rocks.
The slaves that build the pyramids were “removing stones.”
They were removing rocks all the time.
They did it so much that if someone asked them what they did, they said, “I remove stones.”
It’s not an every-now and then thing; it was something they did a lot.
The odds of you getting seriously injured cleaving wood once or twice is pretty slim.
But if you do it long enough, inevitably, you will get hurt.
It’s just a matter of time.
C. Both of these endeavors involve Perspiration
There’s nothing easy about removing stones.
There’s nothing relaxing about cleaving wood.
Both of these endeavors are difficult and challenging.
Both of these endeavors require you to get dirty.
The work of God and the ministry involves a lot of blood, sweat and tears.
Paul said it like this:
· Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
The pastor’s occupation is likened to an ox that plows fields and treadeth out the corn.
The word “deacon” comes from the word “waiter of tables.”
Soulwinning is compared to a sower sowing a field.
The church is compared to a husbandry and a building in 1 Corinthians 3:9.
Jesus prayed for workers to labor in the field.
The best way to insure that you never get hurt by sticks and stones is DO NOTHING.
D. Both of these endeavors involve Process
Both of these activities are things that are done in order to accomplish something else.
Neither one of these are endeavors that are attempted by accident.
Neither one of these activities are done without purpose and without a plan.
Nobody gets involved in removing stones because they’ve got nothing else to do.
Nobody cleaves wood just for the fun of it.
These are two activities that have to be done in order to accomplish the next phase.
There is a bigger plan in mind that demands the removing of stones and the cleaving of wood.
This brings me to our next point.
III. The Focus that is Intentional
Removing stones, and cleaving wood.
Why would someone embark on this kind of work?
What is the appeal of giving your life to work with sticks and stones?
Especially when you know that you WILL get hurt and that you WILL be “endangered.”
The answer is simple; you need sticks and stones for bigger things.
The text says, “Whoso removeth stones…”
Why would someone remove stones?
· Maybe you want to build an altar.
· Maybe you are trying to build a house.
· Maybe you are trying to pave a road or a bridge.
· Maybe you are trying to build a wall to protect the city.
· Maybe you are trying to build a wall around their house or fields.
· The husbandman in Isaiah 3 had to gather out the stones before he could:
o Fence it, plant it, build a tower and a winepress.
The text says, “he that cleaveth wood…”
Why would you get involved in the business of cleaving wood?
The purpose of cleaving wood is to accomplish a number of things.
· Maybe you want to build a fire to cook a meal or keep people warm.
If you’re going to stay on fire for God, you need sticks.
NOTE: Paul got bit by a snake on the isle of Melita while he was gathering sticks.
· Maybe you need to split logs to make a fence to protect the flock.
· Maybe you are making furniture to furnish a house.
· Maybe you want to build a house.
· Maybe you are making weapons of war; catapults, etc.
· Maybe you want to build a ship so you can enlarge your coasts.
· Maybe they are making wagons to haul crops.
Regardless of why, a person that is cleaving wood is working, laboring, striving, building to accomplish something greater.
Removing the stones is just a part of a bigger process.
Cleaving wood is just a part of a much bigger scheme.
If you allow the fear of getting hurt stop you, you will never have the rest of the things that comes with it.
One of the greatest pains is being rejected or mistreated by people you’ve ministered to.
If you allow fear of being hurt prevent you from getting involved, you are making a horrible mistake.
Notice the verse – “…shall be endangered thereby.”
Anytime you get up off the stool of do-nothing, you are entering into a danger zone.
Anytime you’re trying to build something, you’re entering a danger zone.
Anything worth doing involves risks.
IV. The Fulfillment that is Immeasurable
QUOTE: When you feel like quitting, remember why you started.
You cannot keep people from hurting you.
What you can do, is to stay right with God so that when hurts happen, you don’t fall out.
Nobody can get you out of God’s will but you.
No amount of hurt can keep you from being faithful. That is your choice.
Yes, you will be hurt by removing stones.
Yes, you will be hurt by cleaving wood.
Those sticks and stones will keep you awake at night.
But what was it that motivated you to start in the first place?
Why were you removing stones?
What were you trying to accomplish?
What were you planning to build?
If it was ever worth it, it still is.
· Is it worth it to keep some people out of hell?
· Is it worth it to keep marriages together?
· Is it worth it to see young people turn out for God?
· Is it worth it to see men called into the ministry?
God can take that old gnarly tree in the forest and turn it into a pulpit.
God can take a stone out of the mud and make it the cornerstone of the church.
He can take an ole twisted tree limb and turn it into the rod of God to part the waters of the Red Sea.
He can take a stone out of the brook and use it to kill Goliath.
You knew people might hurt you when you started.
Why let it stop you now?
CONCLUSION: In Luke 14:28 Jesus said before you build a tower, sit down and count the cost.
Part of the cost is the pain and the hurt that you’ll experience while building that tower.
Do you have what it takes to finish it?
What are you going to build that tower out of? Sticks and stones!
If you’re scared to remove stones and cleave wood, you won’t finish that tower!
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