We Are Poor Listeners

Bible Reading:  Revelation 2:8-17

Key Verse: Verse 11 - "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.”

Key Words: He that hath an ear, let him hear 

One of the things I have learned as the pastor of a church with a school ministry is that children are poor listeners, at least according to the achievement test scores. I do believe that children get their poor listening skills from their parents. The truth is that we all need to develop better listening skills.

Do you know which organ of the body requires the most energy? The first two obvious guesses might be the heart or brain. Actually the inner ear demands the most bodily energy. Attentive listening can be a draining experience, so God made sure the ears got all of the necessary power to carry out this important task.

President Roosevelt once became tired of the smiling superficiality that accompanied many White House receptions. On this particular evening he decided to see whether anyone was actually paying attention to what he said. As he shook hands with each guest filing through the line, he smiled really big and said, “I murdered my grandmother this morning.” No one even noticed. People just gave the usual protocol, “How lovely!” or “Keep up the good work.” One foreign diplomat was listening and added humor to the night as well. When FDR told of his scandalous deed, the diplomat tactfully commented, “I’m sure she had it coming to her.”

Jesus’ half-brother, James, initially had trouble hearing his brother’s message (John 7:5). Perhaps that’s why James later wrote, “Everyone should be swift to hear.” (James 1:19)

Well, I’d better go for now. I’ve had people talking to me… I’d better go find out what they said.

                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

✞Ask God to help you be a good listener.

Being Generous

Bible Reading:  Luke 10:30-42

Key Verse: Verse  34 - " And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.”

Key Words: took care of him 

There is something to be said for generosity. We do need a “generous” spirit for those in need.

We on occasion will receive a notice of someone in need and the request will go something like this:  “Pastor, I know an individual or a family that has a need; is there something the church can do to help them?”  My response is usually, “What have you done for them?” In our text the Good Samaritan did what he could do, and so should we if the Lord leads us.

The story is told that one day a beggar by the roadside asked for alms from Alexander the Great as he passed by. The man was poor and wretched and had no claim upon the ruler, no right even to lift a solicitous hand. Yet the Emperor threw him several coins. A courtier was astonished at his generosity and commented, “Sir, copper coins would adequately meet a beggar’s need. Why give him gold?” Alexander responded in royal fashion, “Copper coins suit the beggar’s need, but gold coins suit Alexander’s giving.”

                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse                                       

What to do:

      ✞It never hurts to have a heart of generosity.

Results of Maturity

Bible Reading: II Samuel 9

Key Verse: Verse 1 – "And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan's sake?”

Key Words: I may shew him kindness for Jonathan's sake 

Jonathan had been a close friend of David’s down through the years, and now both Jonathan and his father King Saul had died in battle with the Philistines.

After David became king he desired to show kindness to anyone in Saul’s family.  There was one who he could show kindness to, the son of Jonathan, Mephibosheth, who was lame from an accident. David did show kindness to Mephibosheth but it was because of Jonathan that Mephibosheth received kindness from David.

One stormy night an elderly couple entered the lobby of a small hotel and asked for a room. The clerk said they were filled, as were all the hotels in town. “But I can’t send a fine couple like you out in the rain,” he said. “Would you be willing to sleep in my room?” The couple hesitated, but the clerk insisted. The next morning when the man paid his bill, he said, “You’re the kind man who should be managing the best hotel in the United States. Someday I’ll build you one.” The clerk smiled politely. A few years later the clerk received a letter from the elderly man, recalling the stormy night and asking him to come to New York. A round-trip ticket was enclosed. When the clerk arrived, his host took him to the corner of 5^th Avenue and 34^th Street, where there stood a magnificent new building. “That,” exclaimed the man, “is the hotel I have built for you to manage.” The man was William Waldorf Astor, and the hotel was the original Waldorf-Astoria. The young clerk, George C. Boldt, became its first manager.

            Kindness does pay.

                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

✞We will choose today to be kind or unkind and then we will see the result of our actions. Which will you choose?

Giving

Bible Reading: Acts 20:28-38

Key Verse: Verse 35 - “I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Key Words: It is more blessed to give than to receive. 

I could give one testimony after another of how God has blessed my wife and me. I believe because of our faithful giving of money, time and energy to the Lord’s work.

I have a plan for how much we give; it goes like this. I will never give more to pay any bill than I give to God. Then if I have a big mortgage payment, I pay it and we give more than that to God in one tithe. My number one financial output   goes to God.

A mother wanted to teach her daughter a moral lesson, She gave the little girl a quarter and a dollar for church. “Put whichever you want in the collection plate and keep the other for yourself,” she told the girl. When they were coming out of church, the mother asked the daughter which amount she had given. “Well,” said the little girl. “I was going to give the dollar, but just before the collection the man in the pulpit said that we should be cheerful givers. I knew I’d be a lot more cheerful if I gave the quarter, so I did.”

I can almost assure you the little girl was a Baptist.

                                                                                     Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞Most every person at some point in their ministry is accused of always asking for money. My response to that is always, “Well if you’d give it voluntarily, I wouldn’t have to ask for it!” So remember it’s more blessed to give than to receive.

 

Being Responsible

Bible Reading:  Luke 15: 11-21

Key Verse: Verse 21 - "And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.”

Key Words: I have sinned 

To me there is something refreshing about hearing someone say…I have sinned, or it’s my fault, or I did that!

I guess it’s refreshing to me because I hear it so seldom.  Normally we hear… It’s not my fault or they made me or I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to do that.

Taking responsibility for our mistakes; how refreshing!

Prussian king Frederick the Great was once touring a Berlin prison.  The prisoners fell on their knees before him to proclaim their innocence-except for one man, who remained silent.  Frederick called to him, “Why are you here?” “Armed robbery, Your Majesty,” was the reply. “And are you guilty?” “Yes indeed, Your Majesty.  I deserve my punishment.”  Frederick then summoned the jailer and ordered him, “Release this guilty wretch at once.  I will not have him kept in this prison where he will corrupt all the fine innocent people who occupy it.” 

                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do: 

✞If you take responsibility for your wrongs, mark yourself as a part of a small group of people.

 

Excuses

 Bible Reading:   Luke 14: 15-24

Key Verse: Verse  18 - "And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.”

Key Words: And they all with one consent began to make excuse 

Nothing makes us look as bad as ‘excuses’.

Here according to a Bits & Pieces article are the top ten excuses as to why people didn’t do their job.

1.       I forgot.

2.      No one told me to go ahead.

3.      I didn’t think it was that important.

4.      Wait until the boss comes back and ask him.

5.      I didn’t know you were in a hurry for it.

6.      That’s the way we’ve always done it.

7.       That’s not my department.

8.      How was I to know this was different?

9.      I’m waiting for an O.K.

10.   That’s his job-not mine.

Deion “Prime Time” Sanders, once an outfielder for the Atlanta Braves and cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons, is the only athlete to have hit a Major League home run and scored an NFL touchdown in the same week.  Sanders grew up on the mean streets of Fort Myers, FL., where exposure to some would-be athletes spurred him to make a success of himself.  He explains: “I call them Idas. ‘If I’da done this, I’d be making three million today.  If I’da practiced a little harder, I’d be a superstar.’  They were as fast as me when they were kids, but instead of working for their dreams they chose drugs and a life of street corners.  When I was young, I had practice; my friends who didn’t went straight to the streets and never left.  That moment after school is the moment we need to grab.  We don’t need any more Idas. 

                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

✞Do what you are supposed to, where you are supposed to; when you are supposed to and do it that way all the time – with no excuses.

 

Disagreeing Without Being Disagreeable

Bible Reading:  Acts 15: 36-41

Key Verse: Verse 39 - "And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and

sailed unto Cyprus;”

Key Words:  And the contention was so sharp between them 

If the Lord was to line all the believers up in a straight line both Paul and Barnabas would be so far ahead of me that I would never see them.  But with that said, I can’t fathom these men of God having such a sharp contentious disagreement.

Disagreements come because two or more people see things differently and both demand to have their own way.

I do believe that Satan and the world smile with delight at believers arguing and belittling one another.

The two key elements in solving a disagreement are humility and more humility.

Although George Whitefield disagreed with John Wesley on some theological matters, he was careful not to create problems in public that could be used to hinder the preaching of the gospel.  When someone asked Whitefield if he thought he would see Wesley in heaven, Whitefield replied, “I fear not, for he will be so near the eternal throne and we at such a distance, we shall hardly get sight of him.”

                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

✞It’s always best to disagree without having a disagreeable spirit.