Illus: Dr. Odell Belger’s wife is a cat lover. They have a big beautiful white cat that has taught them a lot of things about cats.
• Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods; cats have never forgotten this
• In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats
• Every cat owner knows, nobody owns a cat
• Dogs come when they're called; cats take a message and get back to you later
• Cats are rather delicate creatures and they are subject to a good many ailments, but I never heard of one who suffered from insomnia
• Some people say that cats are sneaky, evil, and cruel. True, and they have many other fine qualities as well.
• One lady said, "I got rid of my husband. The cat was allergic to him."
• Another lady said, "My husband said it was him or the cat... I miss him sometimes."
• Another lady said, "People that hate cats, will come back as mice in their next life."
It is believed that God placed many things in our life to teach us valuable lessons. The Bible talks about the clouds, mountains, rivers, and trees as things we can learn from.
God even put the ants here, so they could teach us some valuable lessons. For example, God’s Word says in Proverbs 6:6, “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.”
I believe God put GEESE here because they can teach us so much about life. Every time we hear a group of geese coming in our direction, most of us stop and look up at them as they fly over.
They can teach us many valuable lessons.
Illus: This reminds me of a group of biologists that were discussing the migration tactics of Canadian geese.
They were particularly interested in applying for a $100,000 Federal grant to investigate the "V" formation of flying geese.
It had been observed that one side of the "V" is always longer than the other side. This group would put together a research proposal to apply for the $100,000 grant and hopefully find out why this happens.
After several hours of discussion, one of the biologists got up from his seat and began to walk out of the discussion.
He was asked why he was leaving. He said, "I've heard enough. No one has to give me $100,000 to find out why one side of the "V" is longer than the other side. I know why! It is longer simply because there are more geese on that side!"
Geese are fascinating creatures that God has placed on earth to teach us many valuable lessons. What are some lessons that the church can learn from the geese?
I. THEY TEACH US ABOUT THE NEED FOR FELLOWSHIP
Sometimes we hear people say, “I am a Christian but I do not attend church, I just worship the Lord at my home. “
To hear them talk, you would think that the Bible tells us we have a choice of worshiping God at home or going to church and worshiping God there.
Church attendance is not an option; it is a command.
God’s Word says, in Hebrews 10:25, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
This verse of scripture teaches us a number of things, such as:
(1) IT REVEALS HOW OFTEN WE SHOULD ATTEND CHURCH
God’s Word says we are to assemble as the MANNER OF SOME IS.
Most Bible churches believe that it is good for us to meet at least THREE TIMES a week. That is the manner in which most Bible churches meet.
God’s Word says we are to be faithful in attending church in that manner.
(2) IT REVEALS WHY WE SHOULD BE FAITHFUL TO THE HOUSE OF GOD
The scripture says, “…SO MUCH THE MORE, AS YE SEE THE DAY APPROACHING.”
God’s Words teaches that before Christ comes back, things are going to deteriorate spiritually.
2 Tim. 3: 1-5, we read, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”
This is a description of how bad things are going to be before the Lord returns for His Church.
The Word of God said that when He returns, things will be as they were in days of Noah.
Listen, it was so bad then, that the Bible says men thought only evil continually. It was so bad, that God wiped evil man from the face of the earth.
But many believe that if the Lord does not come back soon, He will have to apologize to the generation of Noah because we live in a very wicked society.
So the Bible tells how bad things will be, and that reminds us how important it is for us to attend church. It says, “…SO MUCH THE MORE, AS YE SEE THE DAY APPROACHING.”
Today, as the evil days approach us before Christ returns, the devil is closing down churches all over this nation on Sunday night and Wednesday nights.
But when the New Testament church faced the evil of their day and time, the Bible says, in Act 2:42, “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”
Notice, they continue in the Apostle’s doctrine and prayers, and also in FELLOWSHIP.
WHAT IS FELLOWSHIP?
Fellowship means, “To have in common”, “to share”, “to participate for a common cause”.
This is where we learn some valuable lessons from the geese.
WHY DO THE GEESE GET TOGETHER BEFORE THEY HEAD SOUTH FOR THE WINTER?
The geese get together because they have enough sense to know that together the journey is easier.
Now I do not have any scientific facts about this, but I believe that one of the reasons they fly in a “V” shape is because they encourage each other.
Illus: Have you ever stood outside and seen a gaggle of geese fly over you? Before they ever get to where you are, you can hear them “Squawking” to each other.
Now I am not a goose, but I think I can figure out what they are saying to the geese ahead of them:
• “Come on John, get the lead out, we will never get home the way you are using those wings.”
• “Come on Harry, put the pedal to the medal so we can get home for supper.”
I do not know what they are saying but I believe it is something like that.
There are times we need a brother or sister in the Lord to put their arms around us and say, “You can do better than that…let’s get the job done for the Lord.”
There has been some scientific research done on why geese fly in a “V” shape, and research has revealed that as each bird flaps its wings, it creates uplift for the bird immediately behind it.
That is, by flying in a "V" formation, the whole flock adds at least 71 percent greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.
And listen, when a church shares in a common direction, they are going to get a lot more done than the bird that is trying to fly alone!
As we embark on our journey to heaven together, the journey becomes easier if we will FELLOWSHIP together.
The geese TEACH US ABOUT THE NEED FOR FELLOWSHIP and -
II. THEY TEACH US ABOUT THE NEED TO SHARE THE WORKLOAD
God did not put the church down here just to have a few people do everything.
(1) A good home is where everyone in the home recognizes that they have a job and they do it.
A lot of children today are not learning that lesson.
They have the idea that HOME LIFE is like staying at the Holiday Inn; adults pay and children stay free!
One of the difficulties of life is trying to teach YOUNG PEOPLE things they need to be taught. This is very difficult to do to say the least!
Illus: A father was trying to teach his young son the evils of alcohol.
• He put one worm in a glass of water and another worm in a glass of whiskey.
• The worm in the water lived, while the one in the whiskey curled up and died.
• "All right, son," asked the father, "what does that show you?"
• "Well, Dad, it shows that if you drink alcohol, you will not have worms."
Any parent can tell you that one of the biggest jobs we have is teaching children things they need to learn.
A good home is where every member of the home recognizes they have a responsibility to carry the workload.
(2) A good country is where all the citizens recognize that they have a responsibility in carrying their share of the load.
History reveals that it is only a matter of time before a nation is destroyed, if the citizens decide it is the responsibility of other citizens to feed and clothe them.
One of the fastest ways for a nation to be destroyed is for the citizens to want everyone to do for them what they will not do for themselves.
(3) A good church is where all the church members recognize they have a responsibility to the Lord’s Work.
A general rule regarding giving and getting work done in the church is that about 80% of the work and giving gets done by 20% of the people or less!
This rule applies to churches that are not really growing. Growing churches are active churches. The more people get involved in the work of the church, the more gets done.
What happens when 80% of the work gets done by 20% of the people? The people who are doing the work become discouraged and sometimes get burned out.
Again, we can learn from the geese that the Lord put here. When the geese fly in their “V” shape, and the lead goose gets tired, he rotates back in the "V" and another goose flies the point. (It pays to take turns doing hard jobs.)
What would happen to the geese if only 20% of them would take the lead? The geese would not achieve their goal of survival.
• Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all of our Sunday School teachers poured their hearts into doing the best they can do for the Lord? It would be wonderful if they put so much into their work, that after six months we had to rotate them to the rear and put someone else up at the front for a little while.
• Wouldn’t it be great if our deacons were so on fire for the Lord that they exhausted themselves serving the Lord? After about one year, we would have to rotate them to give them some rest while someone else took the lead.
By instinct, geese share the workload among all the geese. As a church, we should do the same thing.
The geese TEACH US ABOUT THE NEED FOR FELLOWSHIP, ABOUT THE NEED TO SHARE THE WORKLOAD and -
III. THEY TEACH US ABOUT THE NEED TO SHARE BURDENS
This last concept is one that is desperately needed in the church: the concept of sharing one another’s burdens.
When a goose gets sick, or is wounded by gun-fire and falls out, two other geese fall out of formation and follow it down to help and protect it.
They stay with the goose until it is either able to fly again or dies, and then they launch out on their own or with another formation to catch up with their group.
Too many times we shoot the brother who stumbles. We need to stay with them until they heal or die.
• Galatians 6:2 “Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”
• Rom. 15:1 “We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.”
People need to know that when they need someone, they have a brother or sister in Christ that they can reach out to. We all need encouragement.
Conclusion:
There are many things that we can learn from God’s creation. The lessons that we can learn from watching geese are lessons that can help make the church stronger.
We learn from the geese:
I. THEY TEACH US THE NEED FOR FELLOWSHIP
II. THEY TEACH US THE NEED TO SHARE THE WORKLOAD
III. THEY TEACH US THE NEED TO SHARE BURDENS
