Day #201: Proverbs 3:7-10

BACKGROUND:

Young people who acquire wisdom need to remember that they did not become wise by themselves; wisdom comes from God. A heart awareness of this and a proper response to God help prevent the evil of pride (Romans 12:16). As a result God gives health and vigor to a life of one who makes the choice to humble themselves.

Honoring the Lord with the first fruits of all one’s crops was a way of expressing gratitude to Him for His provisions. It was and is a way of acknowledging God and His help. In return, God promised to fill the barns (with grain) and the vats... with new wine. Bottom line: When you honor God - He honors you.



SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)

Reading Proverbs 3:9-10 - "Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine." Three things come to mind when it comes to the issue of How God wants me to use my wealth…

#1. You use ten percent to honor God.

Of course the Bible calls this tithing and it’s taught all through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. “Tithing” means “ten.” Ten percent. One tenth. Why did God say “Give ten percent back to Me off the top?” Why did He choose ten? Beats me! He could have said two percent, five percent. He could have said eighty percent and you live on twenty. Why He said ten I have no idea. That’s one of the things on my list to ask God when I get to heaven.

But He said I want you to take the first ten- percent and give it back to Me for three reasons. First it shows your gratitude that you realize it all came from Me in the first place. Second it shows your priorities are right in the present.
Third, it shows you’re going to trust Me to take care of your needs in the future.

God says you will succeed in life if you honor me with the money I gave you. Did you know that there are more promises in the Bible about giving and tithing than any other thing? Why? Because God wants you to become like Him. And God is generous. “God so loved the world that He gave…” Everything you have is because of God’s generosity. Everything I have is because of God’s generosity. He wants us to be like Him.

Dueteronomy 14;23 says, - “The purpose of tithing is…” because God is poor and He needs your money." No, I messed that up. The purpose of tithing is to show that God is first in your life. Obviously God doesn’t need my money. He doesn’t even want my money. What He wants is me. He wants my heart. The Bible says where your treasure is your heart is. He says I want you and I want you to show it to Me in a physical, material way. He says I want you to put Me number one. “The purpose of tithing is to teach you to always put God first in your lives.”



That’s the first thing. I put God first. You pay God first.
#2. Use some of your wealth to provide for family needs.

I didn’t say use it all to provide for family greeds. There’s a difference between needs and greeds. Is that plasma screen really a need when you can’t afford it at this point? Can you delay gratification and wait two more, three more years while the prices come down? Or do you have to have it now? A need and a greed are not the same thing.

Guys, if you’re a husband, if you’re a father, you’re a dad you are commanded by God to provide for the needs of your family. “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” Wow! That’s pretty strong.

God says money is a test and money is a tool and I’m watching you. Are you providing for your family’s needs? Or are you blowing it on gambling? Or are you blowing it on drinking? Are you blowing it on all kinds of stuff and your family’s suffering from that? He says you need to provide for your family’s needs.


#3. Use some of your wealth to help others.

God is watching. The Bible says this in 1 Timothy 6 “Tell people to use their money to do good [remember it’s a tool]. They should be rich in good works and should give happily to those in need, always ready to share with others whatever God has given them. By doing this they’ll be storing up real treasure for themselves in heaven - it is the only safe investment for eternity!”

The Bible says when you give to other people to help meet their needs, that’s like banking it in heaven. That’s one of the ways you store up treasure in heaven.

There’s one group of people God says He especially cares about. The poor. There are over two thousand verses in the Bible that talk about the poor. And God cares about the poor so much He says, Whenever you help the poor I guarantee you I’m going to help you. Over and over God says when you’re generous with the poor, I’m going to be generous with you.

In fact the Bible says this “Suppose you see a brother or sister that needs food or clothing and you say, ‘God bless you. Stay warm. Eat well.’ But you don’t give them any food or clothing. What good does that do? Faith that doesn’t show itself by good deeds is no faith at all. It’s dead. It’s useless.”


The Bible says this in 2 Corinthians “You will honor God through this genuine act of service because of your commitment to spread the good news of Christ and because of your generosity in sharing.”

Ponder these things in your heart today. Here's a thought for you. We have about 20 kids who are in need of a scholarship to attend VBS these next two weeks. Why don't your pray about using your wealth to help one or more of them attend?

I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.

Day #200: Proverbs 3:5-6

BACKGROUND:

To trust in the Lord wholeheartedly means one should not rely (lean) on his understanding, for human insights are never enough. God’s ways are incomprehensible; yet He is trustworthy. All the wisdom a person may acquire can never replace the need for full trust in God’s superior ways.


As a person trusts in the Lord and acknowledges Him (this is not a nod of recognition but an intimate knowledge of God) in all his ways, he finds that God makes his paths straight. This means more than guidance; it means God removes the obstacles, making a smooth path or way of life, or perhaps better, bringing one to the appointed goal. Proverbs teaches that those who follow wisdom have an easier, less problematic life (Proverbs 3:10, 16, 24-25).


SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)

Faith is a word that you hear a lot in church. But, when it comes to living a life of faith how does it work, this thing called faith. What does it feel like? How does it act? What does it do? How do you know the difference between somebody who’s living a life of faith and someone who is not?
.

I’d like to take a swing at giving you a simple and clear picture of what the life of faith looks like. As I began thinking about that I realized my definition wouldn’t be good enough. It would just be a definition to add on the pile of definitions. So I looked in the Bible for a simple definition of faith. There is in the book of proverbs, chapter 3, a couple of verses that are for many their favorite verses of the Bible. They’re amongst the greatest verses in the Bible, the greatest verses in the book of Proverbs. They tell us what real faith is all about, how it works in our lives.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Folks, thtat's faith.

Whether you’re checking out Christianity and trying to figure out how does it work and is this the kind of life you might want to live. We’re going to walk through this simple verse together today.


Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

What does it mean? Trust. Any time you trust it involves a four-letter word. You might be thinking, “love” and most of the time it does involve love but I’m thinking a different word. Any time you trust it involves the word “risk”. You have to risk in order to trust. All of life is a risk.

Ecclesiastes 10:8 says, “There is risk in each stroke of your ax.” Whatever you do in life, whatever work you do, every time you get into life rather than try to escape life there’s a risk in that. But the greatest risk of all is the risk of a relationship. And the greatest risk in a relationship is relating to God because that takes faith – pure faith.

Jesus talked about the risk of that in Mark 12:30 when He said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” The greatest risk and adventure in life is that of relationship and a relationship to God. Is the risk worth it? You’d better believe it is! Jesus taught us, reminded us – that the greatest mistake in life is to play it safe, to not take the risk of relating to God.

Matthew 16:25 says, “If you try to keep your life for yourself you will lose it. But if you give up your life for Me you’ll find true life.” If you try to play it safe you’ll lose all you want in life. But if you risk it. If you risk it in a relationship with God you’ll find everything you ever wanted.

Faith is risking. Remember the scene in the third Indiana Jones movie where he has to go through all those traps in order to save his father. The last one as he comes up to the edge of a cliff, a deep chasm in front of him, and he’s told to take a step forward in seeming nothingness. He steps forward and he lands on a rock ridge.

It’s not a bad picture of faith. God tells us to step forward. We don’t know where we’re headed but we land on solid rock. Some people call faith a leap in the dark. I guess you could call it that. I’d rather call it a step into the light. God gives you the next step but not the step after that so it’s a little bit scary. You can’t see where you’re going. That is the risk of faith.

There are moments in our lives when we come right up to that cliff, right up to that edge, where we have to take the risk of faith. What risk of faith are you right on the edge of right now?

Maybe it’s the risk that you’ve been coming to church for a few weeks and hearing about Jesus Christ and realizing there’s something to this. There’s something happening in my heart. There’s something to this. I’m being drawn to it. You want to keep finding out more. But there’s also something in you that wants to retreat from it. It’s a little scary. But to the point you’ve found that He’s a God who loves you, this church is a church that cares about you and there’s something practical that fits into your life. Are you going to retreat or are you going to run away or are you going take the risk of faith and follow this through to the end. That’s the risk.


Maybe it’s the greatest risk of faith God is challenging you to take right now in your life. To step over that line where you say to Jesus Christ, Jesus, I want to live my life for You. I want to give my life to You. I need You to forgive the wrong things that I’ve done. I need You to direct and guide my life. I want to step over that line that says no longer am I someone who’s on the fence, on the sidelines. I’m coming into the light and saying I want to believe in You, I want to live my life for you. It’s not just an intellectual belief. With all my heart, all my soul, all my mind, I want to love You Jesus Christ.

That’s the risk of faith. That’s that step. Maybe it’s the risk of trusting God for some area of life, some relationship in your life.


Lean not on your own understanding

Proverbs 14:12 says that in the opposite way “There is a path before each person that seems right but it ends in death.” How many of you have had the experience of knowing for sure that you were right only to find out you were dead wrong. That happens so often in our lives. We think we know what’s right but we end up dead wrong. Because our reasoning, our thinking isn’t always enough.

Charles Kettering, when he was at General Motors, when he brought his engineers in to solve a difficult problem, he put a little sign in the door that said, “Leave calculators and slide rules here,” and put a little table below it. He knew that if those engineers came in with their slide rules and calculators he’d say “Here’s a solution,” and they’d say, “No! Can’t work. Here’s why.”

That’s what we do with God a lot of times. There’s a moment in all of our lives when we need a sign that says, “Leave human reasoning here.” It’s not that God doesn’t use our reasoning, use our intellect. He uses every bit of it. But He has a reasoning, an intellect because He’s God. It’s greater than ours. There’s a moment in our lives when we have to trust Him even more than the way we can figure life out. God knows our heart. He knows what we need. But He often has a different way of giving us what we need than we would expect.

Look at Mark 10:43 - “Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If one of you wants to be great you must be the servant of the rest.’” That’s not how I’d do that one. That’s not how I’d figure that one out. But God says I have a different way than your way. There’s a moment of life when you say, “God, I’m going to trust Your way.” That’s the way of faith.

Faith is relying. It’s relying on God. It’s leaning on Him. It’s saying, “God’s way not my way in life.”

Faith is not about your personality. A lot of people think faith is about being optimistic. It’s not about being optimistic or pessimistic. It’s not about being all positive all the time so that means you’re a person of faith. Some of you are pessimists. The problem with optimists is those pessimists are right a lot of the time. So how do you handle that? Faith is not about whether you’re an optimist or a pessimist. The optimist sees the glass as half full. The pessimist sees the glass as half empty. The person of faith sees the glass as firmly held in the hands of God. He knows that no matter what happens in life, I can rely on Him. I can trust in Him. It’s not about your personality. It’s about where you’re leaning in life, who you’re trusting in life.

With all the resources that we have and struggle with and have to manage, here’s a practical first step for many of us. I’m going to lean on God and not on my own understanding.


In all your ways acknowledge Him.

In all your ways acknowledge Him. What does it mean to acknowledge God for who He is? If a friend walks into a room, you acknowledge them by waving at them. If the president walks into a room, you acknowledge Him by standing. When God walks into your life how do you acknowledge Him?

You acknowledge Him by obeying Him. You acknowledge Him by doing what He says because He is our maker. He is the manager and Lord of the universe. Proverbs 28:14says, “Always obey the Lord and you will be happy.” If you’re stubborn you will be ruined. Why does God want us to obey Him? He doesn’t want us to obey Him to make our lives miserable. “Always obey God and you will be miserable?” No! You’ll be happy. In fact it’s when we are stubborn we are ruined, when we become miserable in life. Who hasn’t been on that side of the verse? I’ve got my way my stubborn way. We learn this one pretty early.


James 1:22 says, “Remember it’s a message to obey and not just listen to. If you don’t obey, you’re only fooling yourself.” It’s not just about coming to church and hearing the music. It’s about doing what God moves you to do through that song. It’s not just about listening to someone talk about the Bible. It’s about doing what God shows you to do in the Bible. Here is the risk of faith that some of you need to take today. Allow into your mind the thought, to set aside the stubbornness and allow yourself to admit and think, “I’m just fooling myself. I’m coming to church week after week. I’m listening to someone talk about the Bible but I’m just fooling myself. I’m not doing anything about it.” If you’ll allow that thought, let go of your stubbornness long enough o allow those kinds of thoughts to enter your mind, the end result is God doesn’t ruin your life. When you begin to obey He makes your life happy. Faith is obeying. It’s doing what God says. Faith is activated when you act.

Colossians 3:17 says “Everything you do or say should be done to obey Jesus your lord. And in all you do, give thanks to God the Father through Jesus.” Let me ask you today, what’s the one area that God hasn’t been allowed into? Maybe you haven’t even thought about it before that you haven’t been letting Him into that area of life. Maybe it’s your business – “God, I’ll handle that one. Maybe it’s some habit in life – “God, don’t mess with that one.” Maybe it’s your sexuality. Maybe it’s a relationship. “God, that is mine!”


He will make your paths straight

What does that mean, “Make your paths straight”? That doesn’t mean a perfect life. It doesn’t mean a problem free life. It means a life that works, that gets from Point A to Point B in God’s way. He’ll make your life work. He doesn’t say He’ll make you healthy and wealthy. He doesn’t say He’ll make you comfortable, popular and thin. That’s not what this verse means. He’ll make your paths straight.

Psalm 34:8 says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who trust in Him.” Whenever we come up to that moment of trust, that risk if faith in our lives, there’s something in every one of us, myself included, that think, if I take that risk, if I step over that line, if I trust God with that, if I trust God with my life what will I have to give up? It is true that there are things we have to give up to have faith.

But I’d like to turn that question the other way for just a minute and ask this. If you do not take that risk of faith, what are you going to be giving up? If you don’t take that risk of faith, what love from God are you giving up? What security and peace in your heart are you giving up? What adventure that God wants to take you on, satisfaction in life, are you giving up? If you don’t take that risk of faith, what joy are you giving up in your life?

I’m certainly not a perfect person. I struggle to have faith each day just like you struggle. But as I look back over my life I think if I hadn’t taken even those small risks of faith that God challenged in my life, what could I have given up? I wouldn’t have the wife that I have, the family that I have – the relationship we have. It’s not perfect but I wouldn’t have the joy that is there. I wouldn’t have the growth, the changes that I see in my life. They’re not perfect but there has been some growth. I wouldn’t be standing here right now looking at you enjoying what God’s doing in all of our lives. None of that would be a part of my life.

If you don’t take this risk of faith, what are you giving up? Faith is expecting. Expecting God to act.

I was reading a story in the newspaper several years ago. Lloyd Scott a runner in the London Marathon. Out of 32,875 runners he finished 32,875th place, behind a 90-year-old grandmother by the way. The reason is he ran the entire race encased in a 130 pound 1940s deep-sea diving suit. He ran the entire race wearing 22 pound led soul boots. He ran the marathon wearing a 40-pound copper helmet and 15 pound weight tied around his neck. Throughout this marathon he had 16 helpers running along with him mostly so when he fell flat on his face they would come and pick him up and get him running again. He started the race on Sunday, April 14th 9:45 a.m. He clanked across the finish line on Friday, April 19th 6:15 p.m. London officials called it the world’s slowest ever marathon races.

Why did he do it? He’s a former cancer patient who ran the race to raise money for cancer patients. He said, “Somebody’s going to be diagnose with cancer, with leukemia today and will think, If this nutty guy can do the marathon in a diving suit then there’s hope for me too. Someone cares enough about me to run a marathon in a diving suit.”

How do you know that God cares about you? He didn’t put on a diving suit. But let me tell you what God did for you. He put on human flesh. He left heaven and came to earth in the form of a man, Jesus Christ. He put on a human suit. He did it to say, I love you, I care about you. I want relationship with you. I want to be at work in your life. He didn’t run a marathon but He did go to a cross. He suffered the physical, emotional and spiritual anguish on that cross because He loves you. Because He wants to be at work in your life. Because He has a plan for your life. He wants you to know that you can rely on Him and trust Him.

Jesus didn’t raise any money but He did raise Himself from the dead. He did it to say to you, “I can give you new life! A kind of life that you never expected. You can expect Me to act in your lie because of My love for you. I came to this earth to show you, to shout to you in the clearest way possible I love you, I care about you. You can have faith in Me.” That’s why Jesus came to this earth.

What day, what problem, what relationship, what step of faith? What is the next big step of faith that you need to take? That’s where the risk is. That’s where the trust is. That’s where the obedience is. That’s where the expectation is. That’s where you can expect God to act. Proverbs 3:5-6 from The Message paraphrase “Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He’s the one who will keep you on track.”

Ponder these things today. I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.

Day #199: Proverbs 3:1-4

BACKGROUND:

This passage from Proverbs 3 begins with an appeal to follow your father’s teaching.
The son is urged—both negatively (do not forget) and positively (keep)—to heed what he was being taught. If these instructions are part of one’s inner life, two benefits will be realized: longevity, a sign of God’s blessing, and prosperity. The word for prosperity is often translated “peace.” Though it includes peace and prosperity, it is broader in meaning. It also suggests wholeness, health, and harmony.

Love, along with dependability should grace one’s life like a neck chain and should be written, figuratively, on one’s heart. The results of such adherence are favor and a good name (good reputation).


SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)

If God were to tell you, "You can have anything you want. I'll give you one wish." What would you ask for? To win the lottery? A new body? A new husband?

One guy in the Bible got that opportunity. Solomon. His father was David. He was the third king of Israel. In 1 Kings 3, God said, "Solomon, I've been watching your life. You can have one thing. What do you want? Fame? Pleasure? Power? Possessions? What do you want?"

Solomon said, "I want wisdom." God was so pleased with that He said, "Not only am I going to give you wisdom, but you're going to get everything else too that you didn't ask for." And Solomon became the wisest man who ever lived. He wrote a book -- the book of Proverbs. We're going to look at it for the rest of this week - learning wisdom.

The book of Proverbs looks at things… money and sex and power and family and friends, career, success, failure, aging and conflict and we're going to look at it from a topical viewpoint -- the major themes of the book of Proverbs.

Solomon said the key to really having it all is to wise up. Proverbs 4:7-8 say this -"Getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do. Whatever else you get, get insight! Love wisdom and she will make you great!"

What is wisdom? It's not knowledge. We're in a knowledge explosion in today's world. There's a lot of information. You can be an educated fool. You can have a lot of degrees and not make any sense. Just watch the talk shows! Can you have a high IQ and not be wise? Sure. You can have a high IQ and make dumb decisions! It's not IQ and it's not intellect. It's not knowledge. It's not even common sense. It's much more than that.

A definition I heard about 20 years ago I think really applies. Wisdom is seeing and responding to life from God's perspective. An attitude and an action. It is a skill that you can develop.

The problem is that we don't usually respond to life from God's perspective. In fact, Proverbs 14:12 says "There is a way that seems right to a man but it ends in death." Have you ever heard anybody say, "I just go with my natural inclinations. I do what I feel." The Bible says that's dumb. The Bible says that your natural inclinations are normally wrong. There is a way that seems right but it ends in a dead end.


Proverbs 3:16-18 says, "Wisdom is more valuable that precious jewels; nothing you could want can compare with it. Wisdom offers you long life, wealth and honor. It can make your life pleasant and lead you safely through it. Those who become wise are happy." What will wisdom do for me? A lot more than you think! That's what we spend our lives trying to get -- long life, wealth, honor, pleasure, security and happiness. God says they're all wrapped up in learning to be wise.


How do I get it? By reading The National Enquirer? By watching Hollywood Squares? By buying a New Age crystal? By listening to Oprah? Primal scream therapy? MTV? Miss Manners column? There is only one reliable source of wisdom. If you want to be wise you've got to go to the source: God's Word.


#1. Read God's word.

Proverbs 1:2 (LB)says,"(Solomon) wrote these Proverbs to teach his people how to live -- how to act in every circumstance."


When it comes down to it there's really only two sources of wisdom in life -- the Word or the world. You will get your insights on life from one of two places -- what God says or what the world says. The world will tell you all kinds of contradictory things. All the founders of modern psychology -- Freud and Maslow and Jung and Rogers and James and every one of them would disagree with each other. The wisdom of the world, the Bible says, is like foolishness to God. You have a basic source of wisdom in God's word.

How many of you believe everything you watch on television? How many of you believe everything you read in the newspaper? the radio? the Bible? Why do we spend more time listening to and reading what we don't believe than reading what we do believe? It doesn't make sense. You read God's word! This is the owner's manual for life. When in doubt read the instructions. It helps a lot. If you want to be wise you've got to get into this book.

But it takes more than reading the book. It takes more than studying it. I know people who are walking encyclopedias of Bible knowledge. They read it, study it, memorize it. They can quote scripture and they're as neurotic as they can be. They've got a walking knowledge of the Bible, but they're nuts! It takes more than Bible knowledge. That's why you have to go to Step Two.


#2. You do what it says.

Proverbs 7:1-2 says, "Never forget what I tell you to do. Do what I say, and you will live. Be careful to follow it." This book is worthless to you if it just sets on your coffee table. It's worthless to you even if you just read it. It's worthless if you don't apply it in your life.

He says two things; First, never forget. Remember. Memorize. When was the last time you memorized a verse in the Bible? Have you ever memorized a verse in the Bible? Why do you think you have so many problems? God's Word is wisdom but it does no good setting on the shelf. There are all kinds of practical insights here. Never forget.

Then he says, do what it says, follow it, apply it. You've got to become a living Bible. First commit it to memory then commit it to action. That's how you become wise. You read God's Word and then you do what it says.

Let's say you were going to go on an airplane trip to London. The flight from LA goes over the Arctic cap -- Canada, Greenland. Let's say over the Arctic circle the plane crashes and miraculously you survive. Right before it crashes the stewardess passes out to everybody a little booklet on how to survive in a snowstorm. So you're there in the Arctic circle with yourself and a book on how to survive in the Arctic circle. You could read the book over and over and still freeze to death. You've got to do what it says.

James 1:22 says, "Don't merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves, do what it says." If you want the secret to an effective life in one sentence, that's it. Don't just listen, don't just hear it. Do what it says. A lot of Christians, a lot of church attenders, are deceiving themselves. They think they're making it. They come to church and set and hear all these good things and it goes in one ear and out the other. They walk out and they've forgotten it by the time they've got home, much less tried to apply it.

The Bible says when I do that I'm deceiving myself. I'm kidding myself. It takes more than reading it or coming to church and hearing it on Sunday. I've got to apply it in my life. I've got to practice it. That's what helps me become a wise person.

#3. I get to know God.

Proverbs 1:7 says, "How does a person become wise? The first step is to trust and revere the Lord." It's foolish to try to live your life ignoring the One who made you. You were made for a purpose, for a reason. Your creator has a plan for your life. It's ridiculous to try to live life ignoring the very One who made you. You ought to trust the Lord. That's the starting point in becoming wise. Trust the Lord. Circle that.

Who are you trusting? What are you trusting to give you daily guidance? Horoscope? Stock market projections? Your own natural instincts? The Bible says that is a dead end. It seems right but it leads to all kinds of problems.

Why do people make foolish financial decisions? Why do people walk into marriages that are doomed from the start? Why do people start habits that they know eventually are going to kill them? Why do people take more on in their schedule than they can handle? Why do people buy things they don't need with money they don't have to impress people they don't even like? Why do people have an affair and think it won't matter? Why do people fail to prepare for death when they know it's inevitable? Why do people procrastinate accepting Christ when He offers them tremendous benefits and they know it?

Proverbs sums up all those questions with one answer in one phrase -- a lack of wisdom. When you lack wisdom you make dumb decisions and you pay the results. Proverbs 9:10 "For the reverence and fear of God are basic to all wisdom. Knowing God results in every other kind of understanding."


He says "Knowing God results in every other kind of understanding." Do you know God? Not, Do you know about God? but Do you know God? Knowing God means more than knowing facts about God. You believe God exists? Big deal! So does the devil and you won't find him in heaven. I believe in Lenin but I'm not a communist. I believe in Hitler but I'm not a Nazi. I believe in John Birch, but I'm not a John Birch-er. I believe in Jesus Christ and I am a Christian. Why? Because it's more than knowing about Him. I know Him! I have a personal relationship to Him. I've committed my life to Him. That's what it means to know God. You can do that today. You can have that same relationship. It's so simple. Jesus made it so simple, nobody could say it was too hard to understand. Say "Yes" to God. "Yes, be number one in my life. Yes, help me know and understand Your plan."

If God were to give you one request what would you ask for? I hope now you'd ask for wisdom. It says that nothing you could ever want could compare with wisdom. It offers long life, wealth, honor. It will make your life pleasant. It will lead you safely through life. Those who become wise are happy.

I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.

Day #198: Luke 16:25-31

BACKGROUND: (part 2)


Abraham explained to the rich man that he couldn’t send Lazarus because between them and him was a great chasm and no one can cross over. The ultimate fates cannot be changed. God’s decision upon death is final. There is only one life on this earth, and that is the time of decision. People cannot wait until eternity to make their relationship right with God—it will be too late. The judgment will have been made on the basis of their choices, and it will be irreversible.


The rich man still thought Lazarus could be sent on messenger duty. If Lazarus could not come to help him, then he wanted Lazarus sent to warn his five brothers about the place of torment so they wouldn’t have to go there when they died. Abraham simply explained that they could read the words of Moses and the prophets (that is, the Old Testament) and there find the warnings about the place of torment. If those brothers hadn’t heeded the major message of God in his word, they would not heed a messenger.


Perhaps the rich man knew his brothers only too well. The suggestion that they read God’s word (or listen to it read in the synagogue) met with a no. It just wouldn’t happen—probably for the same reasons that the rich man himself never had heeded the warnings therein. So the rich man begged that someone from the dead go back to them. Surely, then, they would turn from their sins. Abraham answered that if these brothers did not listen to Moses and the prophets, then they won’t listen even if someone rises from the dead and appears to them.


Notice the irony in Jesus’ statement; on his way to Jerusalem to die, he was fully aware that even when he had risen from the dead, most of the religious leaders would not accept him. They were set in their ways, and neither Scripture nor God’s Son himself would shake them loose.


SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)


Romans 10:9 says, "That if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it's with your mouth that you confess and are saved." This is one of the clearest passages on how to become a Christian in all of Scripture.


In this passage, we see the possibility of salvation. Notice the word "if". Salvation is only a possibility. "If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Paul lists the two conditions for being a Christian- Both of these are important -- confessing with your mouth and believing in your heart. To confess without believing is not enough. A lot of people will say, "Sure, I'm a Christian! I believe in God and Jesus."


There are a lot of famous people who profess to be Christians. They have half of it right. But they don't believe in their heart. To confess without believing is not enough. Titus 1:16 says, "They claim to know God but by their action they deny Him."

The word "believe" in Greek means "to trust in, to cling to, to rely on, commit to." The Bible says even the devil believes and trembles. But you're not going to find him in heaven. He hasn't committed himself to Christ. A lot of people have a head knowledge about God but not a heart knowledge. They're going to miss heaven by 18 inches. It's a head knowledge. "They claim to know God but by their action they deny Him." It means to commit yourself. I believe in Hitler but I'm not a Nazi. But I believe in Jesus Christ and I am a Christian. I've committed myself to Christ. Commitment is the difference.


What do you believe? That He died on the cross? It doesn't say that. It says you believe that God raised Him from the dead. The resurrection is the central issue in Christianity. In our faith that is the most important thing. Paul even says in 1 Corinthians 15, if there were no resurrection then everything we're doing is hogwash! That's the issue.


It's important that you not just confess but that you believe in your heart. On the other hand, to believe without confessing is not enough either. To believe without letting others know is not enough. There are no secret agent disciples. "We are to confess with our mouths Jesus is Lord." You hear a lot of people talking "Jesus is my Savior" but the word "Savior" is only used six or eight times in the New Testament. The word "Lord" is used around 640 times.


God expects us to verbalize our faith. Sometimes people are Arctic River Christians -- they're frozen at the mouth. They're afraid to talk, to confess anything. That is one of the importance of baptism. Baptism is a public confession of your faith. Baptism is saying to the world, "I'm not ashamed of Jesus Christ.... I'm a believer." Baptism is like the wedding ring of the Christian life.



When William Carey the first modern missionary suggested he go to Burma, one man said, "If God wanted to save the heathen he'll do it without you." That guy hadn't read Romans 10. 10:14 says "How then can they call on the One they have not believed in, and how can they believe on the One they have not heard, and how can they hear without someone preaching to them, and how can they preach unless they're sent?"


This is one of the great missionary texts in the Bible. Why do we have missionaries? Reach out? Why do we have evangelism? He says here, they're not going to be saved if we don't tell them.



The point he's making is that God uses people to reach people. All of us came to Christ because of somebody, one way or the other. Even if you read a book, somebody had to write the book. Even if you watched a TV program, somebody had to produce the program.


Romans 10:15 says, "As it is written `How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good new'" Normally the feet are not the most attractive part of our body. Paul is talking about walking - taking - sharing - the Good News to your world. Your neighbors. Your co-workers, your family, your friends, your enemies - whoever God has placed in your life. Go! Share! Time is short!

I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.

Day #197: Luke 16:19-24

BACKGROUND:

Regarding the Pharisees’ attitude toward money, Jesus gave an illustration that vividly portrays the value of money in light of future judgment. This Lazarus should not be confused with the Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead in John 11. Incidentally, this is the only person in any of Jesus’ stories who is given a name. The rich man in this parable lived out the lifestyle afforded to the wealthy who lived in the Roman Empire. Splendid clothing, delicious food of all types, and days lived in luxury could be had by those with enough money.


In contrast, there is a poor diseased beggar. Ancient Rome had no middle class—there were the very rich and the very poor. Often the poor were reduced to begging in order to survive. This man, Lazarus, was sick, hungry, and abandoned, so he lay at the rich man’s door, longing for scraps from the rich man’s table. Leftovers were all he desired, and the rich man could easily have shared from his extravagance by sending a servant out with a plateful.


But the rich man chose to spend his money on himself, refusing to share, probably not even taking notice of the poor man at his door. His wealth was not sinful, but his selfishness was. While he had everything he could possibly want, Lazarus lay hungry with even the dogs licking his open sores.


In time, both the rich man and Lazarus died, for death takes everyone regardless of social station or wealth. The rich man ended up in torment in the place of the dead, the destiny of those who have refused to believe. Added to the torment was the rich man’s ability to see paradise, with Abraham and Lazarus in peace and luxury. The role reversal is obvious—as Lazarus once lay in pain outside the door of the rich man’s house watching him feast, so here the rich man was in torment watching the joy far away in heaven.


In contrast, Lazarus must have been a God-fearing man, despite the fact that God had not allowed him an easy or pleasant lifetime on earth. When Lazarus died, the angels carried him to be with Abraham, another way of describing the Kingdom.

Not only could the rich man in this story see into heaven’s bliss from his torment, but he could call out to those in paradise as well. He spoke to Father Abraham, a title any Jew would use for Abraham, the father of their nation. The request for Abraham to send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water shows that the rich man’s basic attitude had not changed. For all his deference to Abraham, he still thought of Lazarus as no more than a messenger who could be sent by Abraham to do the rich man a favor.


Abraham sent an answer, but not the one that the rich man wanted or even expected. The rich man may have thought there was a mistake. He had been rich, and if wealth was a sign of God’s blessing, why would he be in agony? Abraham explained that, during their time on earth, the rich man had everything, but Lazarus had nothing. While the rich man could have helped the poor within his reach (such as Lazarus), he chose only personal pleasure. The roles for eternity would be reversed. Lazarus went from pain and hunger to comfort; the rich man went from pleasure and merriment to anguish. This would have unnerved the Pharisees who were listening to this parable. To them, wealth was a sign of God’s blessing, poverty a sign of God’s disfavor. So they enjoyed their wealth and did not attempt to bridge the chasm that separated them from the “disfavored ones.” But Jesus was explaining that another chasm would develop, and they would find themselves on the wrong side.


SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)

How important is it to do everything we can to get people into Heaven? It's the most important thing in life.


Jesus said a lot of outrageous things. For instance, Jesus said - You’ve got to lose your life to save it. He’s the guy who said, “You’ve got to love your enemies… Pray for those who persecute you… It’s better to give than to receive… The meek shall inherit the earth.” He said all kinds of outlandish things that cut against the grain of human nature.

But by far the most outrageous thing He ever said, the most politically incorrect words ever to come from the lips of Jesus are found in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me.” This verse outrages many people.

Some of you who are sort of investigating Christianity, this is claim by Jesus, to be the only way to God, it’s an impediment to you, it’s an impediment to others. Why is it so controversial? Because this statement strikes at the heart of three great myths about Christianity. Let’s look at the myths.

Myth #1: All religions are basically the same.

When you get right down to it, when you strip away all the surface level distinctions, when you get them down to their essentials, many people believe that all religions basically teach the same thing. So it doesn’t matter which one that you believe. All spiritual paths, in other words, lead up the mountain to God in one way or the other.

Yet with this one outlandish assertion, Jesus Christ boldly takes Christianity and He puts it in a separate class by itself. If the only real path to God is through Jesus Christ, then the reality is this: Christianity cannot be reconciled with any other religion.

Acts 4:12 says, “Salvation is found in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” The uniqueness of Christianity is rooted in the uniqueness of Jesus Christ.

For hundreds of years, people have tried to harmonize the different religions of the world. But there are drastic and irreconcilable differences between Christianity on the one hand and all other belief systems on the other hand.


As I’ve studied world religions, what I found is that all religions other than Christianity are basically based on the idea of people doing something through their struggling and through their striving to somehow earn the good favor of God. You’ve got to use a Tibetan prayer wheel or you’ve got to go on pilgrimages or you’ve got to give alms to the poor or you’ve got to avoid eating certain foods or you have to pray in a certain way or you have to go through a series of reincarnations. They are all attempts of people to reach out to God. All other religions are spelled “DO”. You have to DO something to earn heaven.


But Jesus Christ is God’s attempt to reach out to people. Jesus taught the opposite of what these other world religions taught. He said that nobody could earn their way into heaven so you might as well stop trying. Christianity says you can never do enough to earn your way into heaven. Christianity is spelled “DONE.” Jesus Christ has done what we could never do. He lived the perfect sinless life and He went to the cross to pay for the sins of the world.


The Bible says in Titus 3:5, “God saved us. It was not because of any good works that we ourselves had done but because of His own mercy that He saved us.”


Myth #2: All religions have equal claims on the truth.


In other words, let’s say Christianity is different than other religions. It’s still one philosophy among many. It’s only valid as any other religious systems. Even if there are some differences they all have equal claims on the truth. You have your truth. I have my truth. They’re both equally true.


This has a certain amount of appeal in the United States because we live in a tolerant and pluralistic society and our constitution protects the right of any human being to believe whatever they want to believe. You can believe anything in this country. Some people make the erroneous assumption that because the laws of our country protect every belief that therefore every belief must be equally true. And that’s not the truth.


We live in a world, where anybody can make the claim that they are the way and they are the truth and they are the life and that no one comes to the father but through them. The interesting thing is that through the centuries people have made that claim. Jesus isn’t the only one to say He was the only way to God. Lots of folks have made that claim.


My favorite one was a woman born in 1752 in Rhode Island. Her name was Jemima Wilkinson. Jemima Wilkinson was able to convince about 200 people that she was the daughter of God, that she was their ticket to heaven, that she was the one and only way to the Father. Her little movement was destroyed though in 1820 when she died. She told her followers “Don’t bury me, just lay out my body because on the third day, I'm going to come back from the dead.” So they didn’t bury her. They just set her there and they waited and nothing happened and slowly one by one they sort of trickled away and that was the end of Jemima Wilkinson’s claim to being the way, the truth and the life. She wasn’t and she was proved to be someone who was lying.


But how do we know that Jesus was telling the truth? Anybody could say this. How do we know that Jesus was telling the truth? The reality is this: Only Jesus backed up His claims with unique credentials that gave Him unique credibility. Lots of credentials. I’ll mention quickly just four of them:


Proof #1. First, Jesus Christ is the only individual in the history of the world to fulfill dozens of ancient prophecies that were written hundreds of years before He was even born on this earth in Bethlehem. Nobody has been able to do this except Jesus Christ.


One ancient prophecy predicted the exact moment in history when the Messiah would be born, which He fulfilled. He couldn’t have arranged for how He was put to death. It was predicted hundreds of years before crucifixion was ever adopted as a method of execution by the Romans. It describes crucifixion hundreds of years before it was even used. There’s no way He could have done it on His own. And He fulfilled these prophecies against every mathematical odd. People have done computer studies and looked at the odds of any human being able to fulfill these prophecies and they show not just that it could be difficult, not just that it would be unlikely. But it would be mathematically impossible for any human being in history to fulfill them. Jesus Christ did.


Proof #2. He validates His claim by His unprecedented character. So many times when you get to know someone, better and better, you see their shortcomings more and more obviously. But the opposite was true of Jesus Christ. As His followers spent more time with Him, got to know Him more, they increasingly marveled at His purity and His holiness and His integrity. In fact, nobody was closer to Him than Peter and John and listen to what they said after spending three years with Him in close proximity.


John said, “In Him is no sin.” Can you imagine somebody living with you and getting to know you really well for three years, what would they say about whether or not you ever did anything wrong? John said about Jesus, nothing, no sin. Peter said, “He committed no sin and no deceit was found in His mouth.” So His unique character validates His claim to being the one and only way to God.


Proof #3. He validated His claim by performing miracles. Jesus said in John 10:37, “Don’t you even believe Me unless I do miracles of God.” In other words, anyone can claim to be the Son of God but unless I do miracles supernaturally to show you, don’t even believe Me. And He did perform miraculous things. And they weren’t done in some dark room in the quiet with just a couple of people there. He did them in broad daylight. He did them in front of skeptics and cynics. As a matter of fact you can look in books of ancient history of people who are opponents of Jesus Christ in ancient Jewish writing, in the Koran of Islam, they all admit that Jesus did the miraculous. So His ability to do the miraculous further validates His claims of who He was.


Proof #4. The most spectacular demonstration of His deity: Three days after He was put to death He was resurrected from the dead. And He was encountered by more than 500 eyewitnesses. Who else but the Son of God could spend three days in a tomb and then come forward and establish that He had returned to life.


Several weeks after the resurrection of Jesus, Peter told a crowd in Jerusalem, “Jesus of Nazareth was a man whose divine mission was clearly shown to you by the miracles and wonders and signs which God did through Him.” He said, “You yourselves know this because it took place right here among you.” Those people looked at him and said, “We know you’re telling the truth.


We knew Jesus too. We saw it. We know that that’s true. And we have put to death the Messiah.” And 3000 of them that day turned away from their sins and put their trust in Jesus Christ and the church was born. Folks, Jesus didn’t just claim that He’s the one and only way to God. He validated His credentials and fully established His credibility.

Myth #3: Christians are arrogant when they say that Jesus is the only way to heaven.


Let me paint a picture for you that may help in debunking this myth. Picture two country clubs. One country club represents every other religious system that you’ve ever heard of. And this country club says, “If you want to come into our country club, if you want to have a membership you have to pay for that membership if you want in. You have to achieve a certain level of spirituality. You have to perform a certain number of religious rituals. You have to accomplish a certain number of good deeds and then maybe we will let you in. That’s what every other religion I’ve ever seen essentially says.



Christianity is different. Christianity is like a country club with the doors wide open: “You want in, come on in. You don’t have to buy your membership. Jesus Christ has already bought and paid for it with His death on the cross. Coming into our country club is not based on your qualifications. It’s just merely based on you accepting the invitation of Jesus. The doors are open. I don’t care if you’re rich or poor. I don’t care if you’re black or white. I don’t care what part of the country you’re from. I don't care what you age is. You decide if you want to come join our country club. It is your decision. It’s your choice.



That is what Christianity is about. You tell me which approach is snobbish. Which approach is arrogant? I don’t think it’s Christianity. In fact, Jesus in the Bible tells us very clearly as Christians we’re to be anything but arrogant in what we believe. We’re to be humble. The Bible says in 1 Peter 3:15-16, “Always be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have.”


What that means is all Christians should be able to tell people about the credibility and the credentials of Jesus Christ and why it is that He is their hope for eternal life. But then it says, “Do this with gentleness and with respect.” We are to respect people of all cultures, in all places. We’re to love them and we’re to be humble, while at the same time confident in who Jesus Christ is.



All that brings us to a commonly asked question. If Jesus is the only way, what about those who live on some isolated island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean somewhere who don’t hear about Jesus? Are they going to go to hell because they’ve never heard about Jesus Christ? That doesn’t seem fair? That’s a very commonly asked question. Let me give you some answers:


First, God puts each person in the place where they might reach out to Him. Acts 17:26-27 says “From one man God made every nation of men that they should inhabit the whole earth. And He determined the time set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.”



If you’re on some island somewhere, you’re there because God wanted you there. That is the place, it says, where you will perhaps reach out for Him. And it says He’s not far from each one of us. He’s not making it hard for us to find Him. He’s not playing cosmic hide and seek. He’s not far.


Second, everyone has a moral standard written on their hearts and that everyone is guilty of violating. Romans 2:15 says, “… the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness…” We all have a moral standard written on our hearts. Want proof? Has your conscious ever bothered you when you’ve done something wrong? Of course. That’s because you have a moral standard written on your heart and you violated it.


Third, everyone has enough information from observing creation to know that God exists, but people reject God anyway. Romans 1:20-21 says, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse… For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him…” Creation alone shows that God exists -


But, we also know from the Bible that every person who sincerely seeks God will find Him. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek Me and you will find Me when you seek Me with all of your heart.” The Bible says it is the Holy Spirit who first seeks us, making it possible for us in the first place to seek God.


This suggests to me that people anywhere in the world who respond to the understanding that they have and who earnestly seek after the one true God are going to find an opportunity in some way to receive the eternal life that God has graciously provided to Jesus Christ in Him alone.


The truth is nobody is going to be excluded from heaven because they’ve never heard the name Jesus Christ. The reason people will be denied admittance is because they’ve told God their entire life that they can live just fine without Him.
They don’t need Him. So when they die God will say to them, “Based on your own decision to live your life separate from Me, I'm going to honor the decision that you made and I'm going to seal it right now and you will live with that decision for eternity. You’ll be separated from Me forever.” God isn’t going to violate our free will. He’s going to honor the choice that you make and that I make as to whether or not we want to be reconciled with Him.


One final point to be made. You need to get this, God is scrupulously fair. Genesis 18:25 says, “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” He will. It is so comforting for me to know that every human being who’s ever lived is going to be uniquely judged by God, fairly judged by God. The way I understand it from scripture is that there will never be one individual in all of history after they have been judged by God who will genuinely be able to shake their fist at God and say, “That was unfair!” Even though they may not like the results, they will ultimately see God is scrupulously fair.

Day #196: Luke 16:16-18

Jesus emphasized that his Kingdom fulfilled the law; it did not cancel it (Matthew 5:17). The Good News of the Kingdom of God was not a new system but the culmination of the old. The same God who had worked through Moses was working through Jesus. John the Baptist’s ministry was the dividing line between the Old and New Testaments (John 1:15-18). Up until his time, the only revelation of God available to people came through the laws of Moses and the messages of the prophets. The Good News was the culmination of all that the Law demanded and the Prophets foresaw. Those who recognized his true identity realized that the Kingdom had come and were forcing their way in, so desiring to be part of it.

Jesus had just made the point that his coming fulfilled the law and the prophets. That did not mean, however, that the law was no longer valid. In fact, in many cases, Jesus took the law and required even higher standards for those who would follow him.

Divorce was a hot topic of debate. Stricter than any of the then-current schools of thought, Jesus’ teachings shocked his hearers, just as they shake today’s readers. Jesus stated in no uncertain terms that marriage is a lifetime commitment, and he explained that divorce dissolves a divinely formed union.

He also explained that marriage after divorce is adultery. While the application of Jesus’ words requires interpretation to specific situations, one truth is inescapable: God created marriage to be a sacred, permanent union and partnership between husband and wife. Anyone who takes this lightly forgets God’s law and his plan for marriage from the very beginning.

Through this statement about divorce, Jesus was showing the unbelieving religious leaders that his words do not violate the law. He also wanted to point out to them their hypocrisy in attempting to keep the letter of the law while failing to fulfill its moral obligations.


SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)

You hear many people today saying that the Old Testament is irrelevant or some nonsense along that line. Usually they propagate this heresy to avoid a commandment found in the Old Testament. The reason they give is that Jesus came to do away with the law. But here in this passage today Jesus sets the record straight. His life and coming fulfills the law.

What's the point? 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)- "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

Since all of the Bible is ALL of God's Word, we submit our lives to come into conformity with it. I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay thew course. Happy Birthday my daughter Katie!!!

Day #195: Luke 16:1-15

This passage of Luke begins a section dealing with the wise use of one’s possessions. This parable is difficult to interpret, but it explains how Jesus’ followers ought to use worldly wealth. Jesus was pointing out that everyone, fully warned of the coming divine judgment, should follow this manager’s example. All people are in a worse predicament than this manager because their eternal destinies hang in the balance. Instead of frantically holding on to possessions which soon will disappear, possessions should be given away, especially to those in need.

Money will not last, but people, God’s word, and his Kingdom will. Will your investments reap eternal dividends? This manager handled financial matters for the rich man. He had extensive authority over the rich man’s financial affairs, even the ability to make contracts in the master’s name. A person in such a position should have complete integrity. Unfortunately, this manager did not. He was thoroughly dishonest. Having been informed of the problems, the rich man called him in and demanded a financial report. As a consequence, the rich man would strip the manager of his authority, but first he required that the steward prepare the documents. This would take some time, and the manager used this time to his advantage.

The manager just lost his livelihood, but he had a window of time before being fired. So he thought about how best to handle his coming unemployment. Having been a manager, he did not want to dig ditches, he had too much pride to beg, and his mismanagement of his master’s funds would cause no one else to hire him for such a position. So he came up with a plan whereby others would take care of him. By plying upon the code of reciprocity, the manager could find food and housing and possibly a job from those whose debts were reduced.

Much discussion has arisen around exactly what this money manager was doing in this situation. Some commentators suggest that what the manager was doing was removing the interest and his own earnings from each of the debts. Most likely, this manager was acting very shrewdly in figuring out a way to put his master’s debtors in his own debt. The debts here involved are very high, thus these probably would have been commercial transactions—perhaps involving lease arrangements on pieces of land. The manager summoned all his master’s debtors and reduced their debts by a substantial amount. In this fraudulent way, the manager earned their good will. Once the debts had been dishonestly reduced, the master could do nothing, but social custom would require these debtors to reciprocate such kindness to the manager.

The commendation for the dishonest rascal raises questions. Why would dishonesty be commended? The manager had cut down the debts, legally made them binding with a third party, and indebted others to him. Thus, there was nothing left for the master to do than to commend the manager for his shrewdness. He had solved his problem—albeit at expense to his master. The commendation seems odd, unless the master was simply appreciating the farsightedness of the plan.

Actually, Jesus wanted His listeners to focus on the lesson to be learned, which he includes here. The citizens of this world are more shrewd than the godly are. Citizens of this world refers to unbelievers, who are neither committed to God nor his eternal standards. The godly refers to the disciples and followers of Jesus. The shrewd manager sized up his situation, made some decisions, came up with a strategy, and did what was needed. Jesus was not commending dishonesty, but rather the manager’s foresight and diligence to follow through and make friends. The manager did not profit directly in reducing the debts, but he used the principle of reciprocity to gain favor with the debtors. By doing a favor for them, the manager could require a favor from them.

Then Jesus added, “I tell you, use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. In this way, your generosity stores up a reward for you in heaven.” If believers use their money to help those in need or to help others find Christ, their earthly investment will bring eternal benefit. Those who obey God will find that the unselfish use of their possessions will follow. Soon Jesus would spell out some of the applications for gaining friends.

SO WHAT? (what will I do with what i have read today?)

If your mailbox is similar to Sharon and mine, at least once or twice a week, we get an opportunity to invest in something. The truth is, there are more opportunities for investment than there is money to invest. Today's passage helps us understand God's Investment Strategy. This passage is all about stewardship.

You might ask what exactly is stewardship? Stewardship is simply this - "it is the responsibility of managing some assets or affairs or property of someone else's." As followers of Christ we are stewards or managers. What are you to manage? Everything that God has given you. What has God given you? Everything!

I have shared with you that Jesus spoke more about money than He did about heaven. Jesus spoke more about money than He did about hell. One of every six verses in the gospels deals with money. So, the natural question is WHY? I think it's because God knows the tremendous influence and power money has over our lives. We spend so much of our time earning it, making it, and spending it, that He needs to tell us how to use it wisely.

I pray that today, maybe more than ever before, you'll understand money from God’s perspective, and what HIS investment strategy is.

KEY VERSE: Luke 16:11 "If you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?"

Why is this verse so key? Because in God’s economy, money and possessions are not what is most important – people are. People are the true riches that Jesus is talking about here. The truth is, if you don’t get anything else today, get this. God entrusts us with worldly wealth, so we can use it to impact people. You’ll hear me say this several times, but the greatest impact we can make on people, the greatest use of our money is to get people into heaven.

Now, the key to understanding this parable, a parable is a story which uses symbolism to underscore a eternal truth, is v. 18 where Jesus says, "The people of this world are more shrewd than the people of the Light." He's talking about believers.

What is Jesus saying? Jesus is not commending this man for being dishonest but He does say there are some things He did that we ought to learn from. v. 1-2 "Jesus told his disciples `There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, "What's this I hear about you? Give an account of your management because you cannot be a manager any longer."

Remember what we said a steward was? A manager of someone else’s possessions! The guy in this story is a steward. He is us! The Bible is saying that God is the owner of everything. You don't really own anything. You get to use it for 60, 70, 80, 90 years but then it will pass on to somebody else

The Bible says that this man had to give an account to his master! Folks, One day God will ask me to give an account of what I did with the money I had on earth. That's the final test, the big final.

In this particular situation the man was a crook. The manager knew he'd lose his job because of his dishonesty, so he plans this clever scheme. In the next few verses he goes out to some creditors who owe the manager money and says, "How much do you owe?" One guy says, "I owe 800 gallons of oil." He says, "Cut the bill in half. We'll call it even." That was illegal. He goes to the next guy and says, "What do you owe?" "A thousand bushels of wheat." He says, "Cut that down to 800." One guy he gives a 50% break and another guy 20% break. I don't know why he didn't make them both fifty, but he had his reasons.

So he's cheating his boss. Why did he do that? A couple of reasons. He was making friends with these guys so that when he was on unemployment, these guys would take him in. They'd remember that he cut their bill.

v. 8 "The master commended the dishonest manager because he acted shrewdly." He doesn't commend him for his dishonesty but he does say he was shrewd. Some of us may bristle at that word. Remember though, this is Jesus who is talking. Get mad at him. What does it mean to be shrewd? Jesus tells us to be wise and discerning. This guy was wise and discerning. He did some things right. What did this guy do that was right? Two things.

1. He looked ahead and planned. v.3 & 4 "The manager said to himself, `What shall I do now? My master has taken away my job. I'm not strong enough to dig and I'm ashamed to beg.'" He said, `I know what I'll do when I lose my job here so people will welcome me into their house.'" He has a plan. Many Christians only live in the here and now. They never look ahead. They never plan. Many Christians are doing absolutely no financial planning. They don't look ahead. They don't plan ahead.

2. He acted quickly. He called in each one of his master's debtors and says "How much do you owe? Eight hundred gallons?" He says, "Take your bill, sit down quickly." Notice the word "quickly". He did it while he had the time. He acted quickly. He looked ahead and he planned ahead.

Jesus says to us as believers, "In light of everything that's going to happen in eternity, you ought to do the same thing with your money. You ought to look ahead, you ought to plan ahead and you better do it while you've got the opportunity." That's God's investment strategy.

In light of that, Jesus then gives four lessons about money. Fortunately, he interprets the parable for us. I want us to look at verses 9-13. He gives us a purpose, a pattern, and a priority. He says, "This is what you need to do if you want to know God's money management plan."

#1. THE PURPOSE OF GIVING.

v. 9 "I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings." Does that shock you? Use worldly wealth to gain friends so that when you get to heaven they'll welcome you in. What is He talking about?
He is not saying, Buy your way into heaven. He is not saying, Pay for your salvation. He's not saying, bribe God to get to heaven. Obviously, the Bible says salvation is a free gift. You just accept it. What is He saying?

The greatest use of my money is to invest it in getting people into heaven. That's by far the highest and best use of my money -- to invest it in getting people into heaven. He's saying use your money to build relationships that are going to last forever.

When I give to a ministry, when I give to a church, two things happen: One, I help people come to know the Lord and I make friends, maybe not here on earth but for eternity. And then I get eternal rewards. Eternal friends, eternal rewards. We're going to spend a lot more time on that side of death than on this side. So the best use of your money is to invest it in something that's going to outlast it. Use your temporary resources for permanent good.

#2. THE PATTERN FOR LIVING

God expects us to be responsible with the way we manage our money, the way we save it, the way we spend it, the way we give it. v. 10 "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much."

God says if I am faithful with what I have then God can trust me with more of it. If I am faithful with what I have right now, then God can trust me with more of it. He says if you're faithful in little things, you'll be faithful in more. That applies to every area of life. If you've got a little talent and you develop it, it will get bigger. If you've got a little responsibility, you be determined and dependable at work, you'll probably get a promotion. You got a little money, you manage it wisely, it will get bigger.

I'm not a believer in the health and wealth gospel. But the issue is, whatever you manage carefully, success comes from faithfulness in the little things. When you manage and are faithful in little things, you get big results. Faithfulness in the little things is what counts. Ask any athlete, ask any musician, ask any salesman, ask any craftsman. God says, you take care of the dimes and He'll take care of the dollars. Faithful in little things.

#3. THE PRIORITY OF LOVING.

Jesus summarizes it all in v. 13 "No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." Have you ever tried to work for two bosses? That's a fiasco -- trying to please two different guys at the same time. You're guaranteed an ulcer.

Jesus lays it out in black and white. He is definitely not vague in this verse. He says, When it comes to money management, the heart of the problem is really a problem of the heart. It's inside. Here is what Jesus is saying:

I must choose what I will love most in life. It's a choice. You can't love two masters. Jesus says, really when you get down to it the choice is very simple because it comes down to two things. (I didn't say this; Jesus said it.) The choice really comes down to two things about what I'm going to love most -- God or money. I've got to choose what I'm going to love most in life.

The very first commandment in the Ten Commandments is "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." God wants first place. Anything that takes most of my time and most of my thought and most of my energy has a tendency to become a god. Money is a great servant; it is a lousy god. Is there any scripture in the Bible that teaches us how you can know that God has first place in your life?

Deuteronomy 14:23 (LB) says, "The purpose of tithing is to teach you to always put God first in your lives." Tithing means ten in Hebrew -- ten percent. The principle of tithing says I give the first ten percent of everything I make back to God. Some people get hung up on that number 10%. They say it’s an old testament law and believers today are not under the law. Really? Theological that is just not accurate, but let’s pretend it is.

What’s the New Testament principle for tithing? Remember the Widow in Mark 12:41-44? What percentage did she give? Do you remember? Let’s read it. “And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the multitude were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. And calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”

What’s “all she had” mean? Folks, that’s 100%. So you choose. Old Testament = 10%. New Testament = 100%.What it really comes down to say is, if I'm not tithing, how can I say God's first place in my life?


Matthew 6:20-21 says, "Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

How do you lay up treasure in heaven? By investing it in people who are going there. The purpose of giving, he says, is to reach other people -- as many as you can --

Folks that is what we are all about here at Church of the Valley. We are not trying to see how much money we can save and put into interest bearing accounts. We are not about building great cathedrals or monasteries. We are not about trying to be cool or clever or chick’. We are about changed lives. I promise you that everything we do here related to finances will be about trying to win people to Christ. To build and train them and send them for Christ!


Now the question is - what will you do with this foundational truth from today?
I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.