Your Gift

Solomon tells us that life is not about hoarding finances and treasure for ourselves, but use it to bless others. It is possible to give freely and become more wealthy, but those who are stingy will lose everything. - Proverbs 11:24 The main purpose of wealth is being able to generously give it away. The more we give, the more God allows His resources to flow in our direction. You cannot separate financial health from generosity.

Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best. Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over.  Proverbs 3:9-10 The first and the best belongs to God.

Solomon offers us 3 reasons why we should give our first and best: 1. He should be honored. 2. He already owns everything! 

3. He wants to bless us.

The principle of giving God your first and best is also shown in Exodus 13:2, Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether man or animal.

Whatever is done with the first of our finances or possessions determines what we do with the rest. The truth is that God doesn’t need our sheep or money, but He puts this principle in His Word to remind us that He should be first in our lives in all areas.

David knew this principle: I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. Psalm 50:10
A.W. Tozer explains it this way; I am obliged to tell you that God doesn’t need anything that you have. He does not need a dime of your money. It is your own spiritual welfare that’s at stake. You have the right to keep all that you have to yourself. But if you do, it will rust and decay, and ultimately ruin you.  

What are you giving to God? Allow God will bless your giving. He will multiply it beyond your wildest imagination. Amen?

Being Rich

Do you know how the Lord wants you to deal with your finances and possessions?  Contentment is a big part of that process. Indulging in luxuries, wine and rich food, will never make you wealthy...Proverbs 21:17

Ecclesiastes 6:9 says that it is better to be satisfied with what you have than to always want something else. Buy now – pay later is not part of God’s plan!

I love this quote, Contentment is not a destination; it is the journey.
Take a look at the 10 Commandments. The first nine Commandments deal external behavior – actions others can see in your life. The tenth Commandment to not covet is a sin that is rarely spoken of, and kept hidden. The desire for more and what isn’t ours is one that must be dealt with before you can attain the wisdom God desires.

Consider what Paul shared, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13 Many times we use this verse when we have a crisis or great need in our lives. This verse on a day to day basis has more to do with being content with what you have and not to covet. 

Paul instructs us on being satisfied. I have learned to be satisfied with what I have. I know how to get along happily whether I have much or little. I have learned this secret, so that anywhere, at any time, I am content, whether I am full or hungry, whether I have too much or too little. Philippians 4:11-12
 

Jesus wants us to learn contentment. He spoke of the sin of coveting when the young rich man came up and asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus looks at this rich young ruler and says…“You know the commandments, ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” Mark 10:19
 

Which of the commandments did Jesus not quote? “Do not covet.” Why did Jesus leave it out? He goes on to say; And the young ruler said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.” And looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” Mark 10:20-21 The young man kept up a good public persona as a righteous and religious man. Jesus left out coveting because He knew this was a commandment he did not keep. He had a problem with his love of money. At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. Mark 10:22
 

Solomon’s wisdom tells us to learn to live within our means, and to learn to be content with what we have. The world’s measure of wealth and the Lord’s measure is very different. There is one who pretends to be rich, but has nothing; another pretends to be poor, but has great wealth. - Proverbs 13:7
We need to live within our means, not our imaginations! A simpler God focused life is the best way to live and find true contentment. Amen?

Money Talk

Jesus taught more on money than any other subject. If it is that important to God then we can be sure that it would be part of our search for wisdom. Paul teaches on this subject in 1 Timothy 6:3-10:

3 If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, 4 they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions 5 and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.  6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

 The subject of money is a sore point for many of us, so today let’s let go and let God teach us what His Word has to say on the subject. Solomon tells us the secrets of financial wisdom throughout Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.

We’ve all tried dealing with finances in our own way. 

Are you ready to hear what God has to say about the subject?

 Say Amen to God's direction.

Foundational

Everyone builds on some kind of foundation, but not every foundation is a good one. Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:24-27 the parable of 2 men who built on different foundations: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

The wise man built upon a foundation of rock and withstood the storm, but the foolish man built his house on a foundation of sand and it fell. God expects us to build properly on the foundation he has prepared to withstand the storms of life.

1 Kings 4:29-34

 29 God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. 30 Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser than Heman, Kalkol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. 32 He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. 33 He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. 34 From all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.

The Lord gave Solomon all he needed; wisdom, great insight, and a breadth of understanding that was limitless. Because he used it wisely his famed spread to all the nations who came to sit under his teaching and great wisdom. We should do the same. The wisdom, gifts, and talents that God gives to us should be used for His glory, and shared with the world around us. Amen?

Temple Care

Paul writes about us being God’s temple in 1 Corinthians 3:10-17 (The Message);

   Or, to put it another way, you are God's house. Using the gift God gave me as a good architect, I designed blueprints; Apollos is putting up the walls. Let each carpenter who comes on the job take care to build on the foundation! Remember, there is only one foundation, the one already laid: Jesus Christ. Take particular care in picking out your building materials. Eventually there is going to be an inspection. If you use cheap or inferior materials, you'll be found out. The inspection will be thorough and rigorous. You won't get by with a thing. If your work passes inspection, fine; if it doesn't, your part of the building will be torn out and started over. But you won't be torn out; you'll survive—but just barely. You realize, don't you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you? No one will get by with vandalizing God's temple, you can be sure of that. God's temple is sacred—and you, remember, are the temple. 

The call here is that we cannot build anything of lasting value unless it is based on Christ. Jesus Christ is the foundation to our life and ministry. What we build on this foundation is of most importance. At the end of our life everything will be revealed, and Scripture says it will be revealed with fire. If the things that have been built survive this test then the builder will receive a reward for their faithfulness.

The materials mentioned in this passage shows that we can choose to build with things that have value and last, or revert to what is easy and don’t. When Christ through the Holy Spirit comes to live in us then we become God’s temple. We should revere and respect what belongs to God. We must take care of His temple – physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Amen?

If Who?

In 2 Chronicles 7 we see that the Temple built in Jerusalem is now complete. Solomon has followed God’s plan, built on His foundation, and now all of Israel is at the dedication of the Temple.

    11 When Solomon had finished the temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the LORD and in his own palace, 12 the LORD appeared to him at night and said: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.  13 “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. 16 I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.

God heard Solomon’s and the people’s prayers, accepts their offerings, and showed up in their presence. He also had a warning that there would be a time in the near future that they would turn their backs on Him. There would be a response to their sin in the form of a drought, plague, sickness, or death. In God’ infinite grace and mercy he offers a way to reconciliation and forgiveness. His heart’s desire is that we will not leave Him, because He will never leave us. He will always be there for you. Amen?

Telling

We were born to reproduce. Jesus tells us:

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. - John 15:5–8

Jesus calls reproducing other believers “bearing fruit.” And he says we can only bear fruit if we remain in him. This means, if we spend time with him by reading what he’s written to us (the Bible), listening to him, and talking with him through prayer.

God gets glory when we bear fruit. Let's grow and go share the Good News of Jesus with the world around us. Amen?

Tell someone God's story - it's the best thing you'll ever do. Amen?