WHEN? WHEN? TRY AGAIN? KEEP TRYING! READY?
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com (Check out Wade Hughes YouTube)
DANGER, DANGER… STAY AWAY: CHANGE YOUR COURSE… CHANGE YOUR DIRECTION… THERE WAS A LIGHTHOUSE STANDING TALL BY THE ROUGH WATERS AND ROCKS ON THE OCEANS SHORE LINE.
WARNING! WARNING! LIGHTHOUSES SERVE TO WARN MARINERS OF DANGEROUS SHALLOWS AND PERIOLOUS ROCKY COAST. Many ships have been aided by the TRUSTED NAVIGATION AID…
There was an oil tanker on the ocean carrying 2,000,000 barrels of oil. It was listed as a SUPERTANKER… 1,504 FEET LONG… (longer than 5 football fields.) The radio warning was CHANGE YOUR COURSE… YOU MUST CHANGE YOUR COURSE. The captain of the oil tanker said: NO, YOU CHANGE YOUR COURSE. Again the warning came over the radio, PLEASE, CHANGE YOUR COURSE… The captain of the TANKER, SAID: I TOLD YOU, YOU MUST CHANGE YOUR COURSE, WE ARE A HUGE OIL TANKER, YOU CHANGE YOUR COURSE you are a smaller vessel. The voice on the radio said: WARNING, WARNING YOU MUST CHANGE YOUR COURSE IMMEDIATELY. YOUR VESSEL IS IN GREAT DANGER. The captain of the ship said: WARNING WE ARE A SUPER TANKER… YOU MUST CHANGE YOUR COURSE TO AVOID US. The man came back: WARNING, WARNING WE ARE THE LIGHT HOUSE. YOU ARE APPROACHING HUGE BOULDERS, PERILOUS ROCKY COASTLINES AND SHALLOWS. SOON YOU WILL SEE THE LIGHTS AND HEAR WARNING FOG HORNS: STAY AWAY, DANGER, WARNING. IF YOU COME THIS WAY YOU WILL FIND GREAT PERIL. IMMEDIATELY THE CAPTAIN GAVE OUT A LOUD WARNING TO HIS CREW AND THE OIL TANKER CHANGED THEIR COURSE AND THEY ESCAPED THE DANGER OF THE ROCKY SHALLOW WATERS. The vessel had to change… CAN WE HEAR THE LIGHTHOUSE WARNING US TODAY TO CHANGE OUR WORDS, ATTITUDES AND DEEDS?
HOW MANY HAVE DIED IGNORING THE LIGHT IN DARK TIMES.
Matthew 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
This is a fair question to ask Jesus: Jesus we know you are coming again. Will you tell us when will these things happen? Tell us what are the signs of your coming?
Jesus gives us clear signs that will signal the END OF TIME, THE LAST DAYS THINGS WILL INTENSIFY the closer we get to the end. EVIL, LOW LIFE, NADIR WILL START THE BEGINNING OF SORROWS… and TENDER MERCY and GRACE as we know it will come to an end. JUDGMENT AND THE WRATH OF GOD WILL BE RELEASED. VIOLENCE AND CRIME WILL INCREASE… There is a redefining of truth and false prophets will be loosed.
HOW MANY HAVE DIED IGNORING THE YELLOW LIGHT… I HAVE PLENTY OF TIME… CAN WE SEE THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES?
TRAFFIC SIGNALS ARE INTERNATIONALLY STANDARDISED GREEN LIGHTS MEAN GO… GREEN MEANS GO. YELLOW LIGHTS WARN A CHANGE IS COMING… IT MEANS STOP IF YOU CAN SAFELY. RED LIGHTS MEAN STOP… THE RED LIGHT IS ALWAYS ON THE TOP, THE YELLOW IN THE MIDDLE, and GREEN ON THE BOTTOM…
TROUBLE, WORRY, FEAR, STRESS, DEPRESSION AND PANIC ATTACKS WILL MANIPULATE THE HEARTS OF PEOPLE.
Matthew 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Luke 21:26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
WILL WE CAST GOD ASIDE? FAILURE OR SUCCESS IS OUR CHOICE. PEOPLE TEND TO HATE AND IGNORE GOD, HIS CHURCH AND HIS WORD… GOD IS NOT SEARCHING FOR PERFECT PEOPLE THAT HAVE NEVER MADE MISTAKES AND SINNED. GOD IS LOOKING FOR FORGIVEN PEOPLE… PEOPLE THAT HAVE LEARNED AND CHANGED THEIR HEARTS AND TURNED FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS…
2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
WHEN? CAN WE SEE SOMETIMES THAT SUCCESS CAN BRING FAILURE… SOMETIMES IT TAKES FAILURE TO BRING US TO FIND SUCCESS?
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Life has a tendency of knocking us down. We cannot stop the heaviness of menial daily living. Can we see that life is full of ups and downs? Will we prepare our hearts to expect and thrive is seasons of testing? They say: ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GOLD. Just as life has seasons so we learn there are seasons to our spiritual life.
WHEN? SUCCESS MAY LIMIT LIFE… I HAVE SUCCEEDED AND NEVER FOUND GREAT SUCCESS IN MY SKILLS.
The journey as we know it started with a high school coach named: CLIFTON “POP” HERRING. This high school coach’s job depended on winning basketball games. The school had basketball try outs. Each player was evaluated by height and the ability to dribble, shoot and handle the ball. There was a MEDIOCRE young man that had talent but it was undeveloped. The young boy only had moderate qualities… he was not very good. The coach saw negative traits in the young boy. AFTER THE TRY OUTS THE RESULTS WERE POSTED… The young man did not make the cut. “POP”HERRING picked LEROY SMITH AND CUT THE YOUNG BOY. The Coach recommended the rejected boy to go play on a team at the BOYS and GIRLS CLUB.
LEROY SMITH was 6’7’’ AND THERE WAS ONLY ONE OPENING FOR A SOPHOMORE ON THE VARSITY TEAM. Leroy Smith made the team.
LEROY SMITH played high school ball in Wilmington, North Carolina. He attended college at UNC Charlotte. He never was drafted by the NBA. His career was playing basketball in England, Germany and Japan. SMITH NEVER ACHIEVED GREAT FAME AS A BASKETBALL PLAYER.
WHEN? MAYBE FAILURE CAN CHANGE OUR ATTITUDES…
After being cut from the high school team the BOY WENT HOME AND CRIED SEVERAL DAYS. He focused on dribbling and ball handling skills. He was known to practice day and night. He grew 4 inches to a height of 6’8’.’
THE YOUNG BOY LATER SAID THAT BEING CUT FROM THE TEAM HAD A GREAT IMPACT ON HIM. The boy said: ”IT ALL STARTED WHEN COACH HERRING CUT ME. WHAT IT DID WAS INSTILL SOME VALUES IN ME. IT WAS A LESSON TO ME TO DIG WITHIN MYSELF.”
Coach Herring said he was not good enough to make the team. While locked in his room failure changed his attitudes and lifestyle. He stated being cut from the team made him a better person and player. SOMETIMES WHEN WE LOSE--- WE THINK WE ARE A FAILURE… AS FAILURE CAN TEND TO BREED FAILURE. BUT WE MUST ALLOW FAILURE TO GROW A “GET UP AND TRY AGAIN MENTALITY. M.J. MADE THE TEAM HIS JUNIOR YEAR AND THE REST IS HISTORY.
NOW LET US TALK ABOUT THE BOY CUT FROM THE HIGH SCHOOL TEAM. HE WAS DRAFTED #1 IN THE NBA. HIS NUMBER WAS 23 FOR THE CHICAGO BULLS. WE KNOW HIM SIMPLY AS M.J. WHAT MADE M.J., MICHAEL JORDAN A SUCCESS?
Listen to Michael’s story: FAILURE IS WHAT MADE HIM SO GREAT. He missed over 9,000 shots in his career. He lost over 300 games. He was trusted 26 times to make the game winning shot and he missed. These missed shot made his team lose the game. JORDAN SAYS: “ I HAVE FAILED OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN MY LIFE AND THAT IS WHY I SUCCEED. He went on to say: WHERE IS YOUR WANT TO? IF YOU WANT IT BAD ENOUGH YOU WILL GET UP AND TRY, TRY AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN.”
MICHAEL SET THE SINGLE–GAME PLAYOFF SCORING RECORD IN GAME 2 OF THE 1986 EASTERN CONFERENCE. HE SCORED 63 POINTS… THE RECORD STILL STANDS… THERE IS ONE NOTE TO RECORD ABOUT THAT RECORD SETTING GAME… THE BOSTON CELTICS WON THAT GAME.
TODAY THAT BOY’S NET WORTH IS 1.7 BILLION DOLLARS. WE KNOW HIM SIMPLY AS M.J. WHAT MADE M.J., MICHAEL JORDAN A SUCCESS? FAILURE? HOW CAN THAT BE? KEEP DIGGING THE WELL… YOU WILL FIND WATER… WHAT STARTED IT ALL WAS WHEN MICHAEL JORDAN FAILED AND DECIDED TO GET UP AND TRY AGAIN…
CONCLUSION: God does not seek perfect people. God loves failures that get up and try again. Jesus is coming soon. Are you ready? Have you accepted Jesus as a personal Savior? Are you keeping the MAIN THING THE MAIN THING?
You ever play HIDE and SEEK? While one counts with eyes hidden the rest hide. 10-9-8-7-6----3-2-1… HERE I COME READY OR NOT…
THE 5 FOOLISH VIRGINS WERE NOT READY. THEY WERE UNPREPARED… THEY KNEW BETTER… ARE YOU SPIRITUALLY PREPARED?
Matthew 25:11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com Could you pass this on to others?
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