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Choose Wisely
"And when the King came in te> see the guests he saw there a man which had
not on a wedding garment. And he saith unto him. Friend, how earnest thy in
hither not having a wedding garment' And he was speechless
"Then said the King to the serv ants, bind him hand and foot and take him
aw av and cast him into outer dai kness And there shall be weeping and gnashing
ol" teeth for manv are called but few are chosen " (Matthew 22 11-14)
"And the king answered the people roughly and forsook the old men's
counsel that they gave him" tl Kings 12 1 3)
"And one of the elders saving unto me. what are these which are arrayed in
white robes'' And whence came they ' (Revelation 7:13)
Now everyone, mv friend, has been able to make right decisions Very few
people recognize thai power belongcth to God 1 here is something to be said
about "choosing wisely " Have you not heard "Boy. if I had it to go ov er with
again I would hav e never gotten married " Folks are full ol "I wish I had never
Oh. mv fnend, Jesus lakes our decisions seriously
You mav feel that all those slips ol the tongue and those decisions you are
making now are nothing but vou are called upon to render wisely your conduct
Choose wisely You and I need to make sure whatever arrangements that we
make are made at the probability of our death
One such person who knew the certainty of a chosen decision said "1 am
departing with safe conduct from the king to meet my numerous and mortal
enemies I conlide altogether in the all powerful God" In this journey, my
friend, it is wise to seek praver Prayers that arc ardent prayers That God
Himself will infuse His prudence and 1 lis w isdom into our mouth, in order that
vou and 1 mav resist those who do not make their choice wisely.
Oh my fnend. we need the 1 loly Spinl to fortify us in his truth so that we mayface
with courage, temptation and if necessary a cruel death
Jesus, my friend, suffered for his father and therefore ought we to be
astonished that He has let) us his example in order that we may ourselves endure
with patience all things for our own salvation He is God and we are his
creatures lie is the l.ord and we are His servants He is master of the world and
we are contemptible mortals Yet he suffered When then should we not suffer
also? Suffering, my friend, is for our purification
You and I. my friend, need to be aware of making right decisions, to choose
wisely, to be sure that we are not guilty or be found guilty that we have
suppressed one little of the truth of the gospel in order to leave behind an
excellent example to followSo
now. my friend, as we are the clay and God Himself is the potter, choose
wisely in order that we know the mind of your Creator.. When once upon this
wheel of life. He will look for every lump of wrong decision
Now let us look at Rehoboam whose name means enlarged-make room- to
open and wide. Rehoboam had been king for seventeen years. He had been told
to fortify the cities against Egypt, but we are told that he neglected the advice
of the elders Rehoboam chastised the division of the tribe which had been
restrained by the government of Solomon and because he failed to choose
wisely, because he failed to heed the adv ice of the elders, he was forced to give
up the treasure of Solomon
The elders said to Rehoboam "If thou be a servant unto this people this day,
and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them then they
will be thy servants forever" (I Kings 12:7)
What the counsel had come to Rehoboam about was the cast of their support
to maintain Solomon's Kingdom. The provision for one day was thirty measure
of fine flour and three score measures of meal (I Kings 4:22-30)
. . ?$!?r xvords- Rehoboam had inherited from his father a verv expensive life
^ 3SS^^nr^?V'o" and.sear^h' Solomon's provision costs per vear it is
.., ,w. u r? PeoPle tvhen told they could expect more of the same
even the possibility to be enlarged, the folks said to Rehoboam "Your father
1d5.0i|r -voke grievous, now therefore make the griev ous service of thv father
n I xyh!ch he Pul uPon us lighter and we will serve vou." (1 Kings
. .7 u . forsook4he counsel of the old men and he turned to his voung men
that he had grown up with and stood before them He asked of these voung men.
What say ye about me making the yoke lighter that mv father put upon them0"
(VCTseTo)"16" "M> llMle flngCT Sha" bC lhicker 11,811 m>' facer's loin."
1" otl1" xvords- Rehoboam, you tell them they have not seeif anvthing vet
this1??' yolmg jnen were telling Rehoboam Was this: man, We can't give up
this life style your dad left us Man, we've got it made. Tell theft we are going
to increase from their little finger to the size of their loins "
Rehoboam failed to make a right decision and he lost it all
The old men who had stood u ith Solomon had seen the leak in his lite as he
became defiant of God's word In Det 7 1 God had told the people ol God who
to mam and who not to mam God also had said the king which I will set over
you shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Hgypt
"Gcxi said for them not to return there " (Deuteronomy |7 14-17) "Beware that
' thou forget not the Lord thy God in not keeping his commandments, lest when
thou art full and hast built houses ye forget And when thy herds, thy flocks,
multiply and thy silver and gold is multiplied, then thv heart be Idled up and
thou forget God " (Deuteronomy 8 11-21) "And I said in my heart come now.
1 will test thee with myth therefore enjoy pleasure, behold this was v anity "
(Ecclesiaslcs 2 11
Rehoboam like Solomon his dad. defiled God's word Both had failed to
separate and to investigate God's word but were caught up in a world that silver
and gold was common (1 Kings 10 27) He ignored God's warning about who
to marry (Deuteronomy 7 1-3) "Rehoboam. speak good words Make our yoke
lighter, be a serv ant and we will be your serv ant We can't go on this way For
40 years we took care of Solomon's 700 wives and 300 concubines We stood
by and said nothing Even after Solomon loved many strange women, although
the L.ord said unto the children of Israel, "ye shall not go in to them, neither shall
they come in unto you for surely they will turn away your hearts after their
gods " (I Kings 11:1-2)
Some w eeks ago a survey was done on the salaries of ministers Many were
asked how much did they earn as a pastor Of course, only a few replied, but
their salaries ranged from $115.000 to over $300,000 a year Has this been a
w ise decision0 Solomon had it all. but it brought a leak in his life, a defiance
in God's word. Solomon w as full of unrest and reigned in the pre-occupation
of sex He had many wives, like some ministers you know of today who have
passed from higher to lower types of conditions Solomon started crumbling to
decay from his style of living Do you not sec the high rate of divorce among
ministers, from low rent to high rent, from used cares to new. from regular
television to satellite? Can you not see that we are finally up with the Joneses''
Our kids have their motorcycles and now we are like Solotnon America's
churches are ready to throw up
Now let's look at the day of visitation of Jesus. "And when the king came in
to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment" The
king came to see the guests to see if all were attired in the wedding garments
The king was looking for a robe of character w ashed and made whole The king
found a man there without a garment He was found there naked (II Corinthians
5:3). And because he was found naked he was cast out Not only was he naked,
he was speechless You see, my friend, this man failed to choose w isely Like
Rehoboam he heeded not to the old men's counsel He failed as a serv ant His
words were words of deceit and lies Now the order was given to cast him out.
out to a place of darkness and weeping and gnashing of teeth
My friend. God kept a record of Solomon's life and his works.
You and I know works can't and do not save you. but works will describe
your character (James 2:26) Your life is an open book Everyone of us will one
day sit at this table. The king will look for a robe of righteousness "The books
will be opened." One such book will be "The book of remembrance " (Malachi
3:16) Those things you thought didn't matter and you forgot them. Brother Paul
said, "Therefore, judge nothing before the time until the Lord come." (I
Corinthians 4:5) Those things you have been hiding The king when he comes
in will bring to light the hidden things of darkness There are those who have
in the past and now who will give the Lord's supper, knowing they do not war
this robe of righteousness There is coming a day you will be speechless. What,
you don't know is the Lord heard and hearkened to it and a book of remembrance
was before him "Behold he declares it is written before me. I will not
keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom." (Isaiah
65:6) May I ask you a question? How you chosen wisely? Are you aware that
the book of life will contain names, names of all who have entered his vineyard
of service?
If you have ever been saved, you will appear before God to give an account
of stewardship. All un-filled duties, every secret sin, those secret meetings
behind closed doors For some of y ou it is too late to ask a person who has died
to forgive you. But Jesus won't forget. My friend, if dying vvas just dying there
would be no need for judgment. And the dead were judged out of those things
which were written in the book, according to their work. (Revelation 20:12)
Paul said, "Judge nothing before the time, when those things shall come to
pass." It vvas here where the king entered in and found this person without a
wedding garment Write, he said unto me, they which are called unto the
marriage supper of the lamb. (Revelation 19:8) I ask you again, have you
chosen wisely? Before you speak a word, my friend, against thy brother or
sister, make sure your departure will be one of a safe conduct Make sure what
you speak and say has been infused by his prudence and of his wisdom in thy
mouth that you will be able to resist and to choose wisely. You need to pray that
the Holy Spirit will fortify you in his truth, so that on that great day of visitation
you will be of good courage and not ashamed. Remember He is God and we are
His creatures.
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What People Secretly I.ook for in a Sweetheart or Spouse
Psychologists have discovered some very intriguing truths about what
attracts people to each other, especially what makes one person marry another
The most important qualities in drawing people together are trustworthiness,
lot altv. and commitment . These characteristics override every other consideration
in what we are rally searching for in a sweetheart or spouse
Trustworthiness, loyalty , and commitment are just as important to God as
thet are us In this Search for Truth lesson Elder Joseph Bullard explains how
God can help each of us to become trustworthy, loyal, and committed
sweetheart or spouse
Three basic needs...
1. A need for admiration. Knowing that someone receives great joy and
pleasure from being in our presence helps us feel important, thus, fulfilling tins
need
2. A need for respect When someone esteems us highly for exactly who we
are. our need for respect is satisfied
3. A need for affection. The demonstration of kindness, tenderness, and
compassion meets our need for affection
He should love one another. I Corinthians 13: J- 7: "Charity suffered! long,
and is kind, chanty envieth not. chanty vaunleth not itself, is not puffed up.
Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked,
thinkcth no evil: Rejoiceth not in iniquity , but rejoieeth in the truth. Bcareth all
things, believeth all things, hopcth all things, endureth all things "
What does the Bible tell us about God? I John J:16: "And we have known
and believed the love that God that to us God is love: und he that dwelleth in
love dwelleth in God. and God in him."
The Bible says that we are created in the image of God. Genesis 1:27: "So
God created man in his own image, m the image of God created he him. male
and female created he them "
h'oman was crated from a part of man. Genesis 2:23: "And Adam said.
This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh, she shall be called Woman.,
because she was taken out of Man "
God set a good example for us to follow. He loved us so much He gave His
Son for us. John 3:16: "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 "
He even loved us when we disappointed Him. Romans 5:8: "But God
commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us"
As we look at Christ's life, we see that He went about doing good, healing
all that were made sick and destitute by Satan There were entire villages healed
by Christ In these villages there was not one cry of pain
Love, joy, peace: patience, kindness and goodness: faithfulness, humility,
and self- control were shown in every acts of His life People from all walks of
life were drawn to Him.
His life demonstrated true and genuine love.
His life demonstrated respect for each human being.
1 le did not live to please Himself, but He had thoughtful care for others I
would encourage you to read each of the Gospels However, let me sum up
using the Apostle John's own words John 21:25: "And there are also many
other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one,
I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be
written. Amen."
Why should we love one another? 1 John 4:19: "We love him, because he
first loved us"
Therefore, we come back to our first question. What do people secretly look
for in a sweetheart or spouse? The answer, my friend, is that we are secretly
looking for God in our sweetheart or in our spouse However, do not forget that
they, too, are looking for God in our lives.
Electric fans available
RALEIGH- Operation Fan-Heat Relief, a special project that provides
electric fans to the elderly, is now underway across North Carolina.
The fans are purchased through donations from Duke Energy Foundation
($40,000), Carolina Power and Light Company ($20,000), North
Carolina Power ($2,500) and \hlassis Communications, Inc. ($250). Many
counties also accept private donations from individuals or civic groups
to purchase additional fans.
The project, which began in 1986, is managed through the Division ol
Aging in the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
Karen Gottovi, director of the Division of Aging, said the elderly are
particularly vulnerable to heat exhaustion in the summer heat and humidity,
"Chronic health problems in older persons require medication which
affects the body's natural defenses against heat,' said Gottovi. "These
fans provide the comfort and relief to cope with the heat and allow an
older person to remain healthier in his or her own home."
Last summer. 4071 older adults received fans through Operation FanHeat
Relief. Older residents across NC who meet the program's guidelines
may obtain fans through local council or county departments on
aging. Operation Fan-Heat Relief runs through September of each year.
For more information on the program, contact your local aging office
or Reggie Durham at the Division of Aging, (919) 733-0440 _
Notice to Taxpayers
This is to advise Taxpayers that the Real Estate Unpaid
Taxes will be advertised during the week of June 10,2001.
Any unpaid Real Estate Taxes for the Year of 2000 that
remain unpaid at the close of business on Friday, June 1,
2001, will be included and advertised. To avoid additional
cost, Taxpayers should make immediate payment of all
outstanding Taxes.
Robeson County Tax Department
Robeson County Courthouse
Lumberton, NC 28358
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(910) 521-4797
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I Family Day I
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j All Descendants by blood and marriage 1
1 The Brooks children: Mary Brooks Locklear; James Ollen "Bud" 1
\ Brooks; Raymond Brooks; Betty Brooks; Edmond Brooks; Malinda f
f Brooks Chavis Dial; Effie Jane Brooks Oxendine; Andrew W. Brooks; f
J Alexander "Sandy" Brooks, Jr.; Margie Brooks Deese; John J. J
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j SATURDAY, JULY 7th, 2001 J
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