Apples of Gold
Radio Script for July 14, 2008
“Will I Be Worldly to Get the World’s Rewards?”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
“The more worldliness you embrace, the more rewards of the world you receive.”
That’s what Leo Giovinetti said on his “Real Life Radio” broadcast today.
How many times have you heard of great singers who got their start in church? Why didn’t they stay in church? Why did they start singing secular music instead?
Because the more worldliness you embrace, the more rewards of the world you receive.
Millions of Christians are in business. Why do many of them camouflage their Christianity while passionately pursuing their business?
Because the more worldliness you embrace, the more rewards of the world you receive.
My son was talking yesterday about some Christian bands that water down their lyrics. Why do they do it?
My opinion is, they just haven’t caught the fire. They haven’t really experienced Jesus Christ, because once you have, He becomes everything. Like Colossians 3:11 says, “Christ is all.”
You no longer embrace worldliness, because you don’t care about the rewards of the world. Your mind is set on “things above, not on earthly things.”*
Colossians 3:12 says we are God’s chosen people.
Colossians 2:6 talks about receiving Christ Jesus as Lord.
If Jesus is my Lord, then He is my authority. I am His servant, all the time.
Colossians 2:20 says I died with Christ to the basic principles of this world. So from now on, I don’t embrace worldliness and I don’t care about worldly rewards. Instead, whatever I do, in word or deed, I do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.
What this does is it brands you as a Jesus freak. Jesus keeps popping up in your conversations. When you sing, He’s in your songs. When you write, He’s in your writing. He’s in your business. He’s in your home. He’s in your social life.
When Jesus is your Lord, and when you do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, He permeates everything.
More and more, when people look at us, they see Jesus. Colossians 3:10 says we are being renewed in the image of our Creator.
Instant of babbling on and on about any old thing, we start speaking the words of Jesus. Colossians 3:16 talks about the word of Christ dwelling in us richly. When we speak, we find ourselves teaching and admonishing each other with all wisdom. When we sing, we sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. When we work, we know it is the Lord Christ we are serving, as it says in Colossians 3:24.
Why don’t we care about worldly things? Because we died! Our life is now all about Christ. We have no reason to embrace worldliness, because we don’t care about the rewards of this world. Jesus is our all-in-all.
A woman told me one time that she had spent all of her life serving her children. Then when they grew up, they moved away and didn’t care about her. She was bitter, and regretted what she had done. She said, “I’ve spent my life serving other people. Now it’s time to start serving myself.”
You know what I said? I said, “No. Now it’s time to start serving the Lord.”
Some Christian parents think their children simply must go off to a big university somewhere and get their education. It doesn’t bother them much that their children might be brainwashed into the ways of the world. It’s just important that they get that education so they can receive the rewards of this world.
How much worldliness will we embrace in order to receive the rewards of this world?
Yes, our children need an education, but ponder Colossians 2:3. It says that in Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
If they go to that university, but walk away from Christ, they actually walk away from a good education. All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ, not in that secular university.
Some parents want their children to enjoy the rewards of this world. But how much worldliness are you willing to embrace to get them?
We are told to not set our minds on earthly things. As Christians, we are dead to this world. Instead, our life is in Christ. He is our Lord. Everything we do, we do in the name of the Lord Jesus. His word dwells richly in us. Our work is for Him. Our songs are for Him. We have been given fullness in Christ, and “Christ is all.”
Are you tempted by the rewards of this world? Are you willing to be worldly to get them? Then it’s time to catch the fire. It’s time to get a vision of who Jesus really is. And you can read all about it in the book of Colossians, where all these scriptures came from today.
Because when we really grasp who Jesus is, we won’t care about being worldly, because the rewards of this world just won’t matter anymore.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
* Colossians 3:2
© 2008 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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