Enticing Words

Bible Reading: I Corinthians 2:1-10

Key Verse: Verse 4 – “And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:”

Key Words: enticing words

Any message should be not with enticing words but with the power of God.

Paul said in Colossians 2:4, And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. He also says in verse 8, Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.  

Ronnie Miller, in an article entitled “Enticing Words,” says…

“Today we can pick and choose where we want to go and hear the Word of God just like going to the grocery store and shopping for our needs. So, let's look at what you might find.

“You can shop for all kinds of churches and even shop for the whole family. You can pick up pain killers such as Aspirin or Tylenol. It's a church that gives you a quick fix so you can make it through another week or until Wednesday night and take another dose to make it to the next service.

“Why not go down the Greeting Card isle and pick up a church where you meet with all your friends and relatives and talk about what a good time we have together and we sure are glad we don't have any outsiders to interrupt our fellowship that we have with each other.  After all this is our church. 

“Let's make sure we don't forget to go down the ‘Personal Needs’ isle and get a church like some of the fancy body wash and pick up some bath oil.  It makes us feel so good about ourselves and lasts for days. It feels good and I deserve every moment of self-pleasure. I don't know why everyone is not as clean as we are.

“Oh my goodness! Don't forget the kids! Run over to the magazine rack and pick out a great entertainment church to keep them occupied and pick up some CD's that have that upbeat music.  I don't understand it but, they seem to enjoy it.  We will join in and pretend we understand. We will jump up and down to the beat, it will be fun, don't you think?

“In the magazine rack is another church.  It is wisdom, theology and philosophy.  The preacher there is highly educated with many years of college and seminary training.  

But, what comes out of all that knowledge?

“I heard of a theologian who used big words and tried to be very deep in his thinking.  He had talked to a group for about half an hour.  A man walked up to the group and asked one of the men, “What’s he talking about?” The guy answered, “He hasn’t said yet.”  That is the problem....he never would say.  All he did was talk with enticing words.”

Let’s speak with God’s power, not man’s.

 

                                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞ Apply I Corinthians 2:4.

Prayer Words

Bible Reading:  Hosea 14

Key Verse: Verse 2 – “Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.”

Key Words: Take with you words

These words were spoken to the nation of Israel who had turned away from the Lord. So Hosea, inspired by the Holy Spirit, was encouraging them to pray to God and ask God to be gracious to them.

Attending church in Kentucky, we watched an especially verbal and boisterous child being hurried out, slung under his irate father’s arm. No one in the congregation so much as raised an eyebrow – until the child captured everyone’s attention by crying out in a charming Southern accent, “Ya’ll pray for me now!” ~ Jean McMahon, Reader’s Digest

Early African converts to Christianity were earnest and regular in private devotions. Each one reportedly had a separate spot in the thicket where he would pour out his heart to God. Over time the paths to these places became well worn. As a result, if one of these believers began to neglect prayer, it was soon apparent to the others. They would kindly remind the negligent one, “Brother, the grass grows on your path.”

~ Today in the Word

Let me encourage you to turn to the Lord and take with you words.

 

                                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:  

✞ Have you taken words to God today?

Corrupt Words

Bible Reading: Daniel 2:1-13

Key Verse: Verse 9 – “But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof.”

Key Words: corrupt words

The astrologers, sorcerers, and the Chaldeans could not tell the king what he had dreamed. The king knew they were stalling for time and knew whatever they said would be untrue. So he simply said, “Any words you share will be corrupt.”  The word corrupt means faulty, decaying, rotten.

Some years ago, I was making some hospital visits.  When I first got in the car I smelled a bit of a bad odor, but I gave it very little thought.  But after making several hospital calls, I noticed the odor was getting stronger and was becoming difficult to endure. I looked the car over, searching for where the odor might be coming from but with no success.  When I finally arrived back at the office, the odor had become unbearable. So rolling up my sleeves, I set out to find where this foul odor was coming from.  Just as I was about to give up, I saw a “sippy cup” lodged under the passenger front seat.  When I pulled the cup out, I immediately realized I had found my “odor” problem. Whatever was in the cup was now “green and growing.”  What a horrible smell!!  Now, while I had to endure the odor, I wasn’t the one with the odor nor was I the cause of the odor.  The corrupt sippy cup was the one that smelled and was the cause.

So it is with those who use corrupt words.  Their words send out a foul odor of lies and deceit, bitterness, and malice.  They may be hard to notice at first but the person with a corrupt mouth and corrupt words will eventually “stink up the place.”  So it was with the king’s soothsayers.

 

                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:  

✞ Let God’s Word be your mouth freshener each morning.

Heeded Words

Bible Reading: Ecclesiastes 9:7-18

Key Verse: Verse 17 – “The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.”

Key Words: The words of wise men are heard in quiet

There are actually two truths in these few words.  The first truth is that wise counsel is mostly given in quiet or private.  Secondly, a wise person will heed wise words.

Speaking of heeding some good advice… here’s some!!

1. Business is made up of ambiguous victories and nebulous defeats. Claim them all as victories.

2. Keep track of what you do; someone is sure to ask.

3. Be comfortable around senior managers or learn to fake it.

4. Never bring your boss a problem without some solution. You are getting paid to think, not to whine.

5. Long hours don’t mean anything; results count, not effort.

6. Write down ideas; they get lost, like good pens.

7. Always arrive at work 30 minutes before your boss.

8. Be sure to sit at the conference table—never by the wall.

9. Help other people network for jobs. What goes around comes around.

10. Don’t take sick days—unless you are.

11. Assume no one can/will keep a secret.

12. The most successful people in business are interesting.

13. Sometimes you’ll be on a roll and everything will click; take maximum advantage. When the opposite is true, hold steady and wait it out.

14. Never in your life say, “It’s not my job.”

15 Understand the skills and abilities that set you apart. Whenever you have an opportunity, use them.

16. People remember the end of the project. As they say in boxing, “Always finish stronger than you start.”

 

                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞ Heed the advice listed above.

Unheeded Words

Bible Reading: Ecclesiastes 7:8-21

Key Verse: Verse 21 – “Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee:”

Key Words: take no heed unto all words that are spoken

Probably more words go unheeded than heeded.  We, for some reason, don’t like to hear “no” or “don’t” or “you shouldn’t” or “I wouldn’t.”

A tourist in Scotland some years ago, unacquainted with the nature of the coast, wandered along a path, which is only safe at low tide. Delighted with the seascape, he watched with admiration the huge waves breaking on the shore and gazed with awe at the precipitous rocks towering above him, and so entranced was he with his surroundings, he did not notice that the sea was gradually encroaching on his pathway. 

A native, observing the stranger from the lofty cliffs, descended as far as he was able with safety, and drew his attention by a loud "hulloo," and said: "If you pass this spot, you lose your last chance. The tide is rising, already the beach you have traveled is covered, and the waters are nearing the foot of the cliffs before you. By this path alone can you escape." 

The warning went unheeded, for the tourist thought he was able to make the turn in the road before the sea reached the cliff, but he misjudged the distance, and soon saw with alarm the danger of his position. He turned back, but alas, the sea had already cut off his way of escape. He looked at the cliffs, which were inaccessible, the waters were at his feet. He sought higher ground, but to no purpose. At last, a projecting rock was seen. He reached it but the relentless waves came on. They reached him inch by inch, until they reached his neck. He uttered one despairing cry for help, but none was near. The waters covered this victim of self-confidence. He neglected the warning and perished. 

"There is a time we know not when, 

A point we know not where, 

That marks the destiny of men 

For glory or despair."—Gospel Herald.

                                                                                             Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞ We would be wise to heed good council from those who have traveled like paths.

No Words

Bible Reading: Ecclesiastes 3:1-11

Key Verse: Verse 7 – “A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;”

Key Words: a time to keep silence

Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 3:7 that there is a time to keep silence and a time to speak. Certainly there are different types of silence.  There is a foolish silence, a cowardly silence, and a resentful silence. Why, there is even a “get even” silence.  None of these are recommended. The one we heartily recommend is a prudent silence: a holy, gracious silence which the Scripture heartily recommends. If one does not practice this type of silence, he will speak injurious words and stir up strife (Proverbs 15:1). Harsh, uncontrolled language will be used (Proverbs 21:23).

Someone has listed six “misses” that can result: “miss” information, “miss” representation, “miss” quotation, “miss” interpretation, “miss” construction, and “miss” understanding. These result when we speak and should be silent. Never assume that you have all the facts or you will “miss up” everything.

Two ladies stood in disagreement. One was arguing vehemently and gesturing wildly while the other lady stood perfectly still, tranquil, and silent. Finally, the first woman shouted and stomped her foot and said, “Speak, so I can argue with you more!”

 We can quickly lose our testimony by speaking quickly and impulsively. Today, let’s ask the Holy Spirit to help us maintain a sensible silence.

                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞ Preach often and, if necessary, use words.

Say So Words

Bible Reading:  Psalm 107:1-9

Key Verse: Verse 2 – “Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;”

Key Words: Let the redeemed of the Lord say so

There are two ways the tongue can be used incorrectly.  The first of these ways is known to all of us.  It is by speaking.  When our tongue is used as a tool of gossip, slander, cursing, or even idle talk, we misuse our tongue.  We are told in Psalm 39:1a, I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue.  The second way we use our tongue incorrectly is through silence, not speaking up when we should. Ezekiel warns us against the silence of the tongue in Ezekiel 3:18, When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.  If you saw your neighbor’s house on fire and you failed to warn your neighbor, you would be branded as a fool for the rest of your life.  Then what of those who we know are bound for an eternal fire? Should we not warn them as well; and if we fail to do so, what does that say about us?

I recently read the following story. “Two businessmen lived side by side in a suburb.  One was a professing Christian, and the other was an unbeliever. They both lived in the city and rode the same train to work each morning. Several years were spent each morning in neighborly conversation. One day the unbeliever became seriously ill. His doctor told him, “John, you are very sick. Would you like for me to call your pastor or someone who could help you spiritually?”  John shook his head and said, “No. There is nothing they can offer. My neighbor is a good Christian and for years we have ridden the same train together each morning and he has never mentioned salvation to me. If it is not worth living for then it’s probably not of any value in death either.”

Maybe we need to consider the word of the psalmist, David, Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.

                                                                                                 Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞ If you are redeemed, say so…live so!!