It is Dangerous to Fall in Love with the World

Bible Reading:  I John 2:15-20

Key Verse: Verse 15 & 17 – " Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” “And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever...”  

Key Words:  Love not the world 

Becoming attached to this world is a dangerous thing. Let me explain with an illustration:

Dr. George Sweeting wrote in Special Sermons for Special Days: “Several years ago our family visited Niagara Falls. It was spring, and ice was rushing down the river. As I viewed the large blocks of ice flowing toward the falls, I could see that there were carcasses of dead fish embedded in the ice. Gulls by the score were riding down the river feeding on the fish. As they came to the brink of the falls, their wings would go out, and they would escape from the falls.

“I watched one gull which seemed to delay and wondered when it would leave. It was engrossed in the carcass of a fish, and when it finally came to the brink of the falls, out went its powerful wings. The bird flapped and flapped and even lifted the ice out of the water, and I thought it would escape. But, it had delayed too long so that its claws had frozen into the ice. The weight of the ice was too great and the gull plunged into the abyss.”

The finest attractions of this world become deadly when we become overly attached to them. They may take us to our destruction if we cannot give them up. And as Sweeting observed.  “Oh, the danger of delay!”

                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

 What to do: 

✞It’s always wise to obey God and “love not the world.”

 

Respect is Earned

Bible Reading:  Genesis 4:1-8

Key Verse: Verse 4  – "And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:”

Key Words: And the LORD had respect unto Abel 

Respect comes from doing the right things. If you consistently do people right, you’ll earn their respect.

In an unscientific survey I asked some of our youth to name “the reason they respect others.” The number one answer, and I might add, the only answer was, “Because of the way they treat me; right or with love.” Then I asked, “Why do you not respect some people?” The answer will not shock you, but it was, “They do not treat me right.”

How we treat others has everything to do with how they respect or disrespect us.

Waiting to board a plane, on which he had a reservation, Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., overheard the plea of a private at the ticket window: “I’m going overseas in three days. I want to see my Ma before I go. I can go home and back only if I travel by plane!” It was explained to him that every seat on the plane was taken. Just then, Brigadier General Roosevelt stepped forward and said, “I’ll surrender my seat to him!” “But,” protested a fellow officer to the general, “this is a matter of rank!”  “That’s right,” quickly replied General Roosevelt, “he’s a son, I’m only a general!” God conferred the highest honor upon us when He called us His sons!

                                                                                 Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

      ✞ Give respect and you’ll reap it in return.

  

Problems are an Opportunity

Bible Reading: Daniel 3: 13-25

Key Verse: Verse  20 - " And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.”

Key Words: Cast them into the burning fiery furnace 

            Now I think you would agree with me that being cast into a fiery furnace is a problem, but it’s also an opportunity. It’s an opportunity to see God work, it’s an opportunity to show others the supremacy of our God, and it’s an opportunity for promotion (vs. 30).

Some years ago an energetic young man began as a clerk in a hardware store. Like many old-time hardware stores, the inventory included thousands of dollars worth of items that were obsolete or seldom called for by customers. The young man was smart enough to know that no thriving business could carry such an inventory and still show a healthy profit. He proposed a sale to get rid of the excess stuff. The owner was reluctant but finally agreed to let him set up a table in the middle of the store and try to sell off a few of the oldest items. Every product was priced at ten cents. The sale was a success, and the young fellow got permission to run a second sale. It, too, went over just as well as the first. This gave the young clerk an idea. Why not open a store that would sell only nickel and dime items? He could run the store, and his boss could supply the capital.

The young man’s boss was not enthusiastic. “The plan will never work,” he said, “because you can’t find enough items to sell at a nickel and dime.” The young man was disappointed but eventually went ahead on his own and made a fortune out of the idea. His name was F. W. Woolworth.

Years later his old boss lamented, “As near as I can figure it, every word I used in turning Woolworth down has cost me about a million dollars!”

Problems are an opportunity. We just have to have wisdom and discernment from God to see it.

                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do: 

✞Remember opportunities look a lot like problems! 

Everyone Has Their Own Definition of Faithfulness

Bible Reading:  Revelation 2:1-10

Key Verse: Verse 10 – “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”

Key Word: Be thou faithful unto death 

We would all agree that God commands us to be faithful to Him. The thing that I have found is that we don’t all define faithfulness the same way.

Faithful is:

·         Doing what I am supposed to do,

·         Doing it when I am supposed to,

·         Doing it the way I am supposed to, and

·         Doing it that way all the time.

Don’t make excuses for not doing what you are supposed to do. Don’t make excuses for not doing it when you are supposed to do it. Don’t make excuses for not doing it right.

Norman Geisler, as a child, went to a VBS because he was invited by some neighbor children.  He went back to the same church for Sunday School classes for 400 Sundays.  Each week he was faithfully picked up by a bus driver.  Week after week he attended church but never made a commitment to Christ.  Finally, during his senior year in High School, after being picked up for church over 400 times, he did commit his life to Christ.  What if that bus driver had given up on Geisler at 395?  What if the bus driver had said,  “This kid is going nowhere spiritually, why waste any more time on him?”

                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

      ✞Be faithful to God.

God Loves You and Me

Bible Reading:  John 21: 1-18

Key Verse: Verses 15,16,17 – “ So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.” (vs 15) “He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.” (vs 16) “He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.” (vs17)

Key Words: Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these 

The question is not, “Does God love me?” for the very essence of God is love (I John 4:8). The question is, “Do I love Him?” for there is no doubt of His love for us.

God’s gift of Christ seems even more significant when you consider the vastness of our universe and our small role in it. If we were to experience a holocaust that destroyed our entire solar system, the massive inferno would be barely visible from the Andromeda galaxy. It would look like a match flaring faintly in the distance, then imploding into permanent darkness. Within this solar system which seems so large and incomprehensible to us, there lives roughly 7.6 billion people. To put that in further perspective, all of these people could stand shoulder to shoulder in an area about the size of Jacksonville, Florida (800 square miles). From the viewpoint of one galaxy among many, we are but a small spark on a flickering match. Yet, it was for this miniscule speck of humanity that Jesus Christ wrapped Himself in flesh so that we could unwrap the bounty of God’s unlimited love.

                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

✞ Let your love for God show through your life - for there is no doubt He loves you, but how much do you love Him? 

God's Grace is Amazing

Bible Reading:  Ephesians 2:1-10

Key Verse: Verse 8 –  "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”

Key Words: For by grace 

No matter what we have in life, health, possessions, positions, or salvation. When we say we have these things we always need to add these words: for by grace, not just any grace but the grace of God.

When a person works an eight-hour day and receives a fair day’s pay for his time, that is a wage. When a person competes with an opponent and receives a trophy for his performance, that is a prize. When a person receives appropriate recognition for :is long service or high achievements, that is an award. But when a person is not capable of earning a wage, can win no prize, and deserves no award –yet receives such a gift anyway – that is a good picture of God’s unmerited favor. That is what we mean when we talk about the grace of God.

                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do: 

      ✞Always remember – for by grace.

The Ministry is About People

Bible Reading:  John 3:1-16

Key Verse: Verse 16 – "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Key Words:  For God so loved the world 

The world involves three “Ingredients”.  First, there is the materialistic world (1 John 2:15).  Secondly, there is the world system (1 John 5:4).  These surely are not the things God loves; you can see that by the way he cautions us against these three ingredients of the world.  The third ingredient is people and that is what God loves… the people.  Ministry isn’t about things; it is about people.

In the 1950s, marketing whiz Stanley Arnold was working at Young & Rubicam, where he was asked to come up with a marketing campaign for Remington Rand.  The company was among the most conservative in America.  Its chairman at the time was retired General Douglas MacArthur.  Intimidated at first by a company that was so much a part of America, Arnold also found in that phrase the first inspiration for a campaign.  After thinking about it, he went to the New York offices of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Beane, and placed the ultimate odd-lot order.

“I want to purchase,” he told the broker, “one share of every single stock listed on the New York Stock Exchange.”  After a vice president tried to talk him out of it, the order was finally placed.  It came to more than $42,000 for one share in each of the 1098 companies listed on the Big Board at the time.  Arnold now took his diversified portfolio into a meeting of Remington Rand’s board of directors, where he argued passionately for a sweepstakes campaign with the top prize called A Share in America. The conservative old gentlemen shifted around in their seats and discussed the idea for a while. “But Mr. Arnold” said one, “we are not in the securities business.”  Said another, “We are in the shaver business.”

“I agree that you are not in the securities business,” said Arnold, “but I think you also ought to realize that you are not in the shaver business either. You are in the people business.” The company bought the idea.

If we fail to see that the ministry is people then we totally fail.

                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

      ✞Love people, use things, for when you love things you will use people.