A FORTUNATE FALL

Daniel Kottke (L), an early Apple employee, and Ron Wayne (R) are shown after the premier of the doucumentary film "MacHEADS" at Macworld 2009. ALJAWAD/CC BY-SA 3.0/WIKIMEDIA

Steve Jobs. Steve Wozniak. Ron Wayne. Wait, who?

Yup, there was a third co-founder of Apple Computers, an Atari colleague of Wozniak's named Ron Wayne. In 1976, Jobs and Wozniak were two whiz kids in their 20s with no real business experience, so they brought in the 40-something Wayne to provide "adult supervision" and help with engineering documentation.

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It was Wayne who typed up the very first Apple contract, delineating each man's role in the company and their cut of the shares: Jobs (45 percent), Wozniak (45 percent) and Wayne (10 percent). Wayne even created the first Apple logo, a woodcut-style depiction of Newton under the famed apple tree.

But just 12 days later, Wayne called it quits. He knew he didn't quite fit in with the energetic boy geniuses and didn't see a place for himself — or his own ideas — in the future of the company. Plus, he was worried that he might have to use his personal assets to pay any debts they incurred (unlike the other two, he had a house). So he sold back his shares for a total of $2,300 — $800 immediately and the remaining $1,500 later [sources: Martin, Wayne].

Those shares, if Wayne had held on to them for the past 40-plus years, would now be worth close to $100 billion. That's a lot of lost zeros.

Overall, Wayne says he doesn't regret his decision and would likely have quit long before Apple reached its record-breaking $1 trillion valuation. But in a Facebook essay, he admitted that he probably should have stuck around at least until 1980 when Apple went public and Jobs and Wozniak became instant millionaires.

And then there's more bad luck for Wayne concerning his original Apple contract. Wayne kept the document in a dusty file cabinet for decades until he finally sold it to a collector in the early 1990s for $500. That very same contract sold at auction in 2011 for $1.59 million [sources: Martin].

Acts 20:7–11 NASB95

7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together. 9 And there was a young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead. 10 But Paul went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, “Do not be troubled, for his life is in him.” 11 When he had gone back up and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left.

Eutychus = Well Fated or Fortunate.

What do we learn through this church service?

I. He had good “intentions” but needed to pay better “attention.”

a. He wanted to hear the word and enjoy Christian fellowship.

b. How do you prepare yourself to meet with God, His Word and His people?

Get a good night’s sleep or binge watch Netflix/video games?

• When was the last time someone got tired at an athletic event?

• Do party people leave after two hours?

• Do people get tired of hearing the music at the juke joint?

• Do we want a picnic to start at 8 and end at 11?

• Do we complain about a great game that goes into overtime?

Average NBA game 2- ½ hrs.

Average NFL game 3 hrs.

Average Movie 1½-2 hrs.

Average Major League Baseball Game 3 hrs.

TV Basics: Time Spent Viewing – Persons

Do you arrive early or rush into fellowship?

Do you read ahead so you can share what God has taught you or hope you catch something by accident?

c. True blessing goes to the prepared!

1 Corinthians 15:58 NASB95

58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

II. God and Paul LOVE to Restore the tired and the fallen!

a. When you think you have gone too far, you discover a Father who will go to any lengths to reach you!

Luke 15:32 NASB95

32 ‘But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’ ”

b. When you are tired or burdened, Jesus wants to lift you and carry you.

Luke 15:4–5 NASB95

4 “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 “When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

III. When you are alive in Christ, you hunger and thirst for the Word and Christian Fellowship. (v. 11)

WHY DO PEOPLE TEND TO GET TIRED QUICK AT THE HOUSE OF GOD?

1. They seldom realize the importance of God’s word.

2. They are attracted to a certain kind of preacher.

3. They have minds that are inundated with worldliness.

4. The devil convinces them that the bible is insignificant.

5. They have never experience the power of God’s living word.

Matthew 5:6 NASB95

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Food for thought:

1. How much time do you spend in the word of God?

2. How much time do you spend sharing the word?

3. How much time do you spend visiting the sick?

4. How much time do you spend encouraging others?

5. How much time do you spend feeding the hungry?

6. How much time do you spend praising and worshipping God?

7. How much time do you spend in prayer?

8. Who do you think is trying to stop people from hearing the word of God?

But he answered and said, it is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (Matt. 4:4)

Conclusion: When you sleep on the PREACHING of the gospel; you are sleeping on the SPIRIT not the preacher. “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” — Revelations 2:7