Good morning everyone. I come to you this morning to proclaim that Jesus is more than enough. As a statement this may seem unclear but the meal will explain it all.
Today’s Prayer
Father, on behalf of my brothers and sisters in Christ I come to you to ask you to help us to remember that although Your grace and love are free, You really want to build a relationship with us and restore a “oneness” with You. Whether that happens or not depends upon our response, doesn’t it? For only if we repent of our sins and shortcomings and want to turn our lives around, will we be ready for Kingdom-living now. Each time we slip or stray, we need to repent anew, for faith without repentance is not truly sincere, is it? Help us in the name of Jesus, we pray, Amen.
Let’s eat.
Being Choked by Wealth
Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. – Ecclessiastes 5:10
We as believers are especially susceptible to a trap in our spiritual lives – one to which others may not be so susceptible. That trap is wealth. Scripture tells us that if we are having our basic needs met for food and clothing, we are considered to have riches. Jesus cautioned us against living a lifestyle that required more than our basic necessities. However, it is clear that Jesus was not against wealth, but against a dependence on wealth. Jesus continually taught that a dependence on anything other than God was evil. Whenever Jesus determined that money was an issue for an individual, He addressed it and found that the individual could not let go. This was true for the rich young ruler. When talking about what he must do to inherit the Kingdom, Jesus told him to do the one thing that would be the most difficult – to give away his wealth and follow Him. Jesus was not saying this was what every person must do, only the rich young ruler, because Jesus knew this was his greatest stumbling block. For others of us, it could be something else Jesus would ask us to give up (see Matthew 19:16-30).
In the parable of the sower in which He describes four types of people, Jesus also gave us another example of the problem money creates for any follower of Jesus.
A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop – thirty, sixty or a hundred times what was sown (Matthew 13:3-8).
The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful (Matthew 13:22).
If we are not careful we gradually begin to acquire and walk the treadmill of material gain. Those around us begin to expect more and more. Soon we begin expanding our lifestyle. Before we know it, we are worrying about how to take care of what we acquire. Our emphasis becomes what we own versus our relationship with Jesus and His Kingdom. One day a few years back, I woke up and realized I had a cold heart toward God. My Apathy toward the things of God became apparent. I was still going through the motions of service toward God, but with no power. I was giving God partial credit for what I had achieved but still pretty stuck on myself. God then took me to a place where I was down to almost nothing so that I would realize that all that I really had was Him and that through Him I could have all I needed.
We wake up to realize Christ is no longer Lord of our lives, much less of our money. The greater independence money gives us, the less dependence on God we need. Christ talked much about money in the Kingdom because He knew how much of a problem it was. This is why we have so few who are bearing 30, 60, or 100 times what is sown.
Do you have the same hunger for God that you once had? Has financial blessing had an adverse effect on your passion for Jesus Christ? Ask Him today if your heart has grown cold as a result of financial blessing. Ask Him to keep you hungering for more of His presence in your life and less on material things.
Quote of the Day
Faith is not what some people think it is. Their human dream is a delusion. Because they observe that faith is not followed by good works or a better life, they fall into error, even though they speak and hear much about faith. “Faith is not enough,” they say, “You must do good works, you must be pious to be saved.” They think that, when you hear the gospel, you start working, creating by your own strength a thankful heart which says, “I believe.” That is what they think true faith is. But, because this is a human idea, a dream, the heart never learns anything from it, so it does nothing and reform doesn’t come from this `faith,’ either.
Martin Luther
WITH HOPE AND FAITH; follow us on the foundation community site: http://facebook.com/gckrshhfops
Rev. ELDER G E STERRETT
FOUNDER
GCKRS HELPING HAND FOUNDATION