Adrian and I were on a first name basis, though we never met. He was like a wonderful father or grandfather to many. He was so gifted at taking a passage and presenting it in such a simple yet powerful manner. Many places in my Bible you will find some of his points with his name by it. Today's passage, Ecclesiastes 11, is an example. So in honor of Adrian, I'd like to give you his six word outline of Eccles.11:1-6, followed by my comments. In his message, he applied the passage to one's financial fitness, but the passage can also be applied to one's spiritual fitness, which is what we will do here.
1. Invest- 11:1. Invest in the lives of others. Like casting God's seed, God assures that you will reap according to how much you sow or invest in others. It will come back to you. Aren't you glad you're sharing God's word and the gospel seed (such as Greatest mini-movies) with others? Only those who don't will regret it. Adrian said, "I'm a nobody telling everybody about Somebody who can save anybody."
2. Diversify- 11:2. "Give portions to seven, yes to eight" Don't keep what you have. Give. Many see a cross reference to Jesus' parable in Luke 16:1-9. When the "disaster" of death occurs, you will be very glad you gave to others. They will welcome you into eternal dwellings. May I challenge you to give to seven, yes to eight men. Strive to recruit seven or eight men over the next few years and give them lots of encouragement. They will create for you such a huge family tree as they give the same to others as well. Don't tell me you're too insignificant for God to use you in this way. Adrian said, "You can be too big for God to use, but you can never be too small for God to use."
3. Prepare- 11:3. Prepare for the certainties of life. "Where a tree falls, there will it lie." Duh! One of the certainties of life is that there will be uncertainties. That's why people buy insurance and have an emergency fund. Look down the road of your life. What do you see that you may need to prepare for? Paul saw "terrible times" coming (see 2 Tim.3:1). I think one of the best ways to prepare for such terrible times is to be in a strong band of brothers. So glad we are! Prepare. Mean business for God. "God does business with those who mean business." Adrian
4. Risk- 11:4. "Whoever watches the wind will not plant." Some will always find excuses not to improve their life or advance God's kingdom. They may fear possible failure or rejection, so they don't sow into their future or into the lives of others. Too many watch the wind, looking at people, trying to decide if they would be interested in spiritual things, rather than planting seeds. The power is in the seed of God's word. Risk sharing it with others. Take rejection as a badge of honor. The apostles were beaten for taking the risk to share God's word. They left the Sanhedrin "rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name" Acts 5:41. They said, "Yes" to the Lord's will. "Two words that will change your life- Yes Lord." Adrian
5. Trust- 11:5. Solomon reminds us again that there is so much we don't know. So how then could we possibly know or understand the work of God? Thus, we need to trust. As it's been said, "When you can't trace His hand, trust His heart." When you have sought to do what's good and right and everything seems to be going wrong, "trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding" Prov.3:5. You will discover God can be trusted. "Our great need is to discover that Jesus is all we need." Adrian
6. Work- 11:6. "Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle..." Farmers had more than one field of endeavor. So do you and I. We need to work at our job and then come home to work on our marriage and family as well as our spiritual life. If a man is not liking his sparse harvest, he often just needs to increase the quantity and quality of the seeds he is sowing. "It's what you sow that multiplies, not what you keep in the barn." Adrian
Adrian worked so long and hard for the Lord. Here's a video tribute in honor of him. May his life inspire us as well.
1.- If you have a favorite radio pastor, please share who it is and where his broadcast can be found.
If you don't typically listen to sound biblical preaching apart from church, please take advantage of so much that is available to you via the radio and the internet. Check out what your other brothers are enjoying.
2.- What is one thing that strikes you from our passage, Eccles.11:1-6, and what we covered about it on the blog today? As always, write that down and look for opportunities (take risks) to sow that good seed in others lives today.
You will note that we didn't cover all of chapter 11 today. That's because I believe that 11:8-10 actually begins a new thought that goes into chapter 12. So we will look at all of that together tomorrow.
You may recall that chapter divisions were not introduced into the Bible until 1227 AD by Stephen Langton. These weren't always the best placed, as we noted today. The Hebrew Old Testament was divided into verses by a Jewish rabbi, named Nathan in 1448. Robert Stephanus did the same for the NT in 1555. Thank God for the work of these men. How easy they've made it for us to quickly find any passage. Otherwise we would be constantly saying, "somewhere it says." Note that is what the author of Hebrews said about the words of God in an Old Testament passage, "Somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words, 'And on the seventh day God rested from all his work.'" We know those words can be found in Gen.2:2.
PS- Adrian Rogers was also a master quote-smith. Enjoy!
"Death is just a comma to a Christian, not a period."
"Some people brighten up a room just by leaving it." :)
"I'm not always what I think I am, but what I think, I am."
"Failure in the past does not nullify purpose in the future."
"The weakest ink is stronger than the best memory. Study with pen in hand."
"What you are alone is what you are."
"Meditation gives you knowledge about God. Obedience gives you knowledge of God."
"You can save a lot of time waiting on God."
"You are free to choose; but you are not free to choose the consequences of that choice."
"Light refused increases darkness."
"Never give the devil a ride. He will always want to drive."
"Discipline says, 'I need to." Duty says, 'I ought to.' Devotion says, 'I want to.'"
"We're to love people and use things, not love things and use people."
What if you could see yourself age from early childhood to old age in short order? You'll see that happen to a man tomorrow. How does that morphing man tie in with what you'll face tomorrow? Come back and see
No comments:
Post a Comment