Sermon Central
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Go Mad
Contributed by Johnny Creasong on May 27, 2005 (message contributor)
Summary: The Choice to live an ordinary life is no longer an option! How you can go from ordinary to extraordinary!
Go MAD
“Be very careful, then, how you live-- not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”
(NIV)
Go
MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Everyone wants to have a certain degree of SUCCESS.
Accolades and awards, tributes and trophies may grace your trail. But these things do not equal success.
Real success is found when you MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
“...Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
(KJV)
What does it mean to “REDEEM the TIME”?
To redeem means to BUY BACK.
The Latins used the phrase: “Carpe Diem”, meaning “seize the day”. God is telling us, “This day is a never to be repeated creative act of God. The same day is measured out in tears and laughter to the world’s millions. The same day lavishly given to the concert pianist and the cockroach, to the fish and the physician.
To redeem the time is like making a monetary investment and getting back more than you put into it. Since we brought nothing into this world, we will always get more back than we put in! We need to look for opportunities to “seize the day”.
Why do some people see opportunities others miss? In the book Did You Spot the Gorilla? psychologist Richard Wiseman describes an experiment that provides a clue:
Volunteers watched a 30-second video of two teams playing basketball. They were asked to count the number of times one of the teams passed the ball. What they weren’t told was that halfway through the video, a man dressed in a gorilla suit would run onto the court, stand in front of the camera, and beat his chest. Amazingly, only a few of the volunteers spotted the man in the gorilla suit. Most were so intent on counting passes that they completely missed the gorilla.
Wiseman concluded that most people go through life so focused on the task at hand they completely miss "gorilla" opportunities.
He gives the example of a team of 3M researchers who were trying to develop a high-strength adhesive. One of their attempts produced a product that was actually the opposite—a very low-strength adhesive. Most of the team thought the result was a failure, but one saw it as an opportunity. That failure became the glue on 3M Post-It Notes.
How can we redeem the time? Go MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Peter Parker was just an ordinary guy – actually, a slightly geeky teenager. Then he got bitten by a radioactive spider. According to the comic strip, “Spiderman”, anyway. Suddenly, Mr. Ordinary Guy began to have amazing powers, which he ultimately decided to use to fight evil and do good. In the movie version of the “Spiderman” saga, Peter Parker – now realizing the power he has to make a difference – makes this thought-provoking statement: “For me,
“The Choice to live an ORDINARY life
is no longer an option!”
The same is true for you and me! The choice to live ordinarily is no longer an option. There are worlds to conquer and dreams to turn into realities. But if we aren’t careful we will find ourselves a year from now, or maybe a decade from now, looking back to find nothing gained but debt, dust, and disappointment.
If we aren’t careful, we can be so fixated on the mundane, that we miss God-given opportunities of significance.
How can we go from ORDINARY to EXTRAORDINARY?
Go MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Ephesians
5:15 -16
“So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!”
(The Message)
The call to redeem is a call to REMEMBER!
Brigadier General Hunt Downer said in a speech Friday to the students at Airline High School: “No matter how big you think you are, there will always be someone else who is in control!” Never forget Who’s really in charge!
“So be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise.
Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days.” (NLT)
Ken Hatfield at one time was coach of the University of Arkansas Razorbacks. In 1964 he played for the team when they won the national championship, beating University of Nebraska. The day after the big game, Ken Hatfield read the headline he dreamed of: “Arkansas #1!” He said, “At that moment of my greatest achievement, I was so disappointed. My God had died!” So often we pour ourselves into achieving what we deem to be success, only to find ourselves with the goal in hand and a hole in our heart!
Don’t let your “GOD” Die!
Make sure your God is bigger than your goal! And make it your goal to
Go MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.
(NIV)
