Great Words, Difficult Crowd
9 I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it; it will turn sour in your stomach, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.”
10 I took the little scroll from his hand and ate it, and it tasted sweet as honey in my mouth. But after I swallowed it, it turned sour in my stomach. 11 Then I was told, “Once again you must proclaim God's message about many nations, races, languages, and kings.”
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Being invited to speak at a high school
was an honor to me. I was excited, so I prepared my words carefully. When I got
to the room I was supposed to speak in, I was met with a classroom full of
students similar to a comedy movie where no one wanted to pay attention. The
class was forty minutes and it took the teacher 20 minutes just to get things
quiet.
- At first I felt discouraged that I was not going to be able to motivate anyone like the invitation warranted.
- I had to keep my composure and keep the main message top of mind.
- I used the motivational words in hopes that at least one person would hear and go on to do some wonderful things!
John, the disciple JESUS loved,
was told by the voice, perhaps JESUS, to eat the little scroll from the angel
who stood on the land and the sea. The scroll tasted sweet, but turned his
stomach. The voice then told him to proclaim GOD’s message about “nations, races, languages, and kings.”
My Observations:
- GOD’s message of love is sweet, but difficult to deliver because of disbelief.
- Racial and country tension can prevent people from hearing a sweet message from GOD, because of someone who does not look like him or her.
- GOD wants you and me to proclaim HIS message to all nations, not just one.
Saying “GOD loves
people from every nation” is unpopular. I mean, it is easy to make excuses to
not love someone who GOD loves. The way “they” act or look or eat or live can
cause a sense of pause when it comes to treating people with the love GOD expects
from us. Fortunately GOD has a remedy.
GOD tells us to
not be ashamed of the gospel and for us to go and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything HE has commanded us. GOD will
reward you and me for preaching HIS message, even to a world that may scoff at
the words.
Challenge
- Why do you think the scroll was sweet as honey but turned the writer’s stomach?
- Do you think GOD knows HIS message is difficult to hear?
- Will you preach GOD’s message to people, even if they are unwilling to listen, so you will be rewarded by GOD for doing so?
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