Emmanuel Assembly of God

Dr. Robert SJ Coutts
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Dr. Robert SJ Coutts

Are you Taking A Risk?

 

Back just before I entered high school (in the 60’s) there was a group of women in the United States that banded together and tried to have all competitive team sports, especially football, removed from public schools. Their big complaint was that team sports were too traumatic. The children, they argued, should not be led to believe their team could win, and then suffer the trauma of losing. They claimed the children should only play games where everyone wins. If they had won their argument and got their way, these women would have set a precedent for all schools in North America.

But, in my estimation, they did not stop to think that there could be no victory where there was no possibility of defeat! Who among us, no matter how we voted in our National Election, did not hurt for the losing side as their leader stood beside family and friends and in the most gracious way they could possibly muster, conceded defeat. Yet the man who tries, even though he fails, is never a loser!

Those ladies in the early sixties were right about one thing: defeat is definitely traumatic. But so is childbirth, and graduation and marriage. Yet all are a part of life. To eliminate them simply because they are risky would mean the cessation of life.

The risk free life is a victory free life. It means a lifelong surrender to the mediocre, and that is the worst of all defeats.

In politics the risk free life leads to Marxism, where all risks are removed. In religion it leads to dead institutionalism. The man who is guaranteed against failure will never know the sweet smell of success.

Take today’s youth for example. They are deathly afraid of risk. Yet, in what must be one of history’s great ironies, desiring safety, they escape into drugs, which is guaranteed failure and death.

Freedom demands risk. Eliminate the risks of freedom and you establish a slave state. Even then, if the risks of freedom are banned, tyranny takes over. Ask the Poles, the Czechoslovaks, the Yugoslavians, the Serbs, The Cubans and so many more too numerous to mention here.

Today’s Liberal is constantly crying for justice. But the question is not justice; it is freedom. Most definitions of justice call for the elimination of risk. Capitalists love monopolies which eliminate risk. But in the process monopolies kill the wonderful creativity birthed [as with team sports], through competition.

Those who have the most to lose however, are those least prone to risks and to bold actions. Take the banks for instance. Banks do not like risk takers. In fact, they are constantly asking what the ‘risk factor’ is in a loan. Therefore bankers invest in established success, which means banks invest in the past, not the future. Visionaries and entrepreneurs do not have a chance.

A case in point happened some years ago with a Christian producer for TV. Mr. Bob Johnson, chairman of Dominion Network from the USA had great difficulty getting ‘Christians’ to back him and his innovative idea of television and radio broadcasting through direct broadcast satellites. Mr. Johnson was then the only licensee approved to launch a Christian owned and controlled direct broadcast system. What he did then has revolutionalized Christian Television, but not one single Christian TV or radio network was even willing to even talk to him about the marvelous concept on the air.

Religious broadcasters were afraid they would have to share both their control and their financial base with someone else, so no one took the risk, except Mr. Johnson. Because he did, today we have a plethora of Christian programming!

There are many movements afoot today. The major political and social impact of recent years came from student movements and minority uprisings, from those who had little to lose and hence, were ready to lose it. Their causes were far more important to them than any penalties that the risks would have involved.

Jesus was such a man. So was Martin Luther and John Wycliffe, and Martin Luther King and many others. They were all risk takers, courting defeat while taking extraordinary risks.

To dream of a risk free world is to imagine a creation without hell. But a creation without hell is also a creation without heaven.

God made us to be creatures who are forced to choose between good and evil and it is time we took the risk of choosing good so we can see the difference it makes in our lives.

Then we will see it was no risk at all!

I trust you have made a decision to trust the Lord and invite Christ into your heart. The only risk involved in that act is not doing it and risking an eternity in hell. Invite Him in today, you will be making the best investment ever. God Bless You. Pastor Dr. Robert Coutts


Thank you for visiting my Pastor Page.  I trust you will take advantage of what you find on it.  You can even listen to a salvation message directly from me (Pastor Coutts) – it’s about four minutes long.  Click on the link that will take you to the sermon player where you can hear the latest message from Emmanuel Assembly of God or even download one to listen to later.  You can also click on the email link drrobertsjc@gmail.com that will let you email directly to me where you can share your comments, thoughts, or even let me know you have just accepted the Lord as your Savior.  Another feature I’ve just added is what I have called "Talk To Me".  You can interact, share comments, speak your mind on the issue and have a debate.  Great place to fellowship in the spirit.  Try it out.

If you are in the Allentown area and you have been searching for a church, then I invite you to come and check us out in person.  You are going to find that the Spirit of Christ is present here and the congregation of Emmanuel Assembly of God loves the Lord and would love to have you be a part of our family.  There is so much going on here and if you take a few minutes you can click on some of the pages listed in the menu bar and you will get an idea of what life is like here at Emmanuel.  There is even a page you can go to that gives you the rundown on what a typical service would be like here and it is complete with a few pictures.

If you are from the Spanish community, there is even a Spanish page just for you.  It also has much to offer if you will take the time to click on their links and check it out.

So stop in...say hi and enjoy your stay.  If you need prayer or you would just like to talk, I would welcome you to stop in for a visit.  I trust you will be blessed and that you will find something here that meets your particular need.  I'd love to see you on Sunday.

Blessings.  Pastor Robert Coutts