Sermon Tone Analysis

In November 2014 there was a new Guinness World Record for the longest speech; not surprisingly, it was a sermon.

Pastor Zach Zehnder of Mount Dora, Florida preached for two days, five hours, and eighteen minutes.

Taking only rare bathroom breaks and with at least 10 people present at all times during the sermon, the pastor preached from Genesis through Revelation.

He surpassed the record after two days, but he didn’t quit.

He needed another five hours to finish the message.

While sermons don’t have to be long to be effective, they do have to be Bible-based to change lives.

Treasures of the Snow

Job 38:22

Much is taken from Rod Mattoon’s book entitled “Treasures from Job-volume two”

In the 38th chapter of Job, we find the Lord’s response to what Job has been saying throughout the entire book.

The response, however, did not address Job’s suffering or offer any comfort.

Instead, God directed His focus upon His creation, authority, and power.

The Lord put Job in his place by asking a number of questions about His creative work which Job would be unable and unqualified to answer with a knowledgeable response.

They were questions that only God could answer.

They included:

* Questions about the Start of Creation

* Questions about the Sea

* Questions about the Sun

* In this message, we will focus about God’s Question about the Snow

The Lord asked, “Have you entered into the treasures of the snow?”

This word “treasures” is from the Hebrew word ′owtsar {o-tsaw′} which not only means “treasures, but also storehouse or armory.”

God was asking Job if he had entered the place where snow was formed in the clouds.

Of course, the answer is “No.”

The phrase “treasures of snow,” however, caught my attention.

Why is snow a treasure?

Someone wrote an article entitled, “All I Need to Know about Life I Learned From a Snowman.…”

Here is what it said.

—It’s okay if you’re a little bottom heavy.

—Hold your ground, even when the heat is on.

—Wearing white is always appropriate.

—It takes a few extra rolls to make a good midsection.

—There’s nothing better than a foul weather friend.

—You know you’ve made it when they write a song about you.

—Accessorize!

Accessorize!

Accessorize!

—Don’t get too much sun.

—It’s fun to hang out in your front yard.

The attributes of snow and the lessons that it teaches make it a treasure.

Let’s consider some of them.

I.

It is a Treasure Because of its Purity

Snow is mentioned 24 times in the Bible.

Because of its purity, it has been used to describe the work of God in cleansing us from sin.

* Psalm 51:7—Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

* Isaiah 1:18—Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

It is interesting to note that snow has a purifying effect on the environment.

It is like a filter that removes impurities in the air.

Twelve million tons of dust, grit, and cinders are released into the atmosphere above the United States each year.

Snow forms around these impurities in the air and brings them to the ground, coating the plants and soil.

This process is called “wash out” or “snow out.”

Snow is a treasure because of its purity.

How many times have we seen an ordinary, desolate, rugged landscape transformed into a winter wonderland of beauty by the snow that glistens in the light of sun or shines in the light of the moon?

It is absolutely beautiful.

The filthiest place can look clean when blanketed by snow.

That is God’s message to us.

Snow is the Lord’s object lesson to what He does with our sins when we seek His forgiveness and cleansing.

At the core or heart of each snowflake is some kind of impurity.

Our hearts are sinful too, but because of Christ, we can become white as snow.

Your sinful past can be cleansed and forgiven if you will put your faith in Jesus Christ.

* 1 John 1:7—But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

* 1 John 1:9—If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

* John 1:29—The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

* Ephesians 1:7—In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

* Hebrews 9:14—How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole;

I want You forever to live in my soul;

Break down ev’ry idol, cast out ev’ry foe—

Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow—

Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

II.

It is a Treasure Because of Its Productivity

* Proverbs 25:13—As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to them that send him: for he refresheth the soul of his masters.

Snow not only cleanses the air, but it strengthens the soil and a person, enabling them to become more productive or fruitful.

Refreshing water that quenches thirst or irrigates crops comes from melted snow.

Forty percent of the Northern hemisphere is covered in snow.

Fresh snow falls on 1 out of every 4 square miles of dry land each year.

One third of the world’s water used for irrigation comes from snow.

In the western states of the United States, about 75 % of the water used for irrigation comes from snow that has melted from mountain ranges.

Rivers such as the Missouri, the Colorado, the Rio Grande, or the Columbia are fed by mountain streams.

It is estimated that melted snow produces 26 trillion gallons of water alone each year in the Columbia River.

That’s enough water to cover the state of Kansas in knee-deep water or to raise the level of Lake Michigan by six feet.

Snow is productive because it absorbs ammonia from the air and prevents the escape of nitrogen from the soil.

It also contains nitric acid.

With the rays of the sun, this helps to fertilize the soil, enabling crops to flourish.

As snow is productive, God wants us to be productive, too.

We are to be a faithful messenger of His Word.

We are to be spiritually fruitful in our personal spiritual growth and in reaching others for the Lord.

* John 15:16—Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

III.

It is a Treasure Because of Its Differences and Purpose

* 1 Corinthians 4:7a—For who maketh thee to differ from another?.…

* 1 Corinthians 7:7 For I would that all men were even as I myself.

But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.

Every single snow flake is different from another.

Not one flake is like another.

They are all unique and special demonstrating the creativity of our Lord.

In the same manner, you are unique.

No one is like you out of the eight billion people that live on this planet.