Tag Archives: Values

Solid Ground

by • on 9:35 AM • in Journaling, Life Journal

 

 

Scripture

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. Mark 13:31

 

Observation

Everything in this world is unsure, everything – the future, the economy, our government, world peace. Everything is like shifting sand and is set to pass away. Even as God has set an appointment for man to die, so too He has set a time that this present heaven and earth will pass away.

Jesus says that nothing is secure but His Word. He said that the world will pass away. Not “it might” or “it could”, but “it will pass away”. Only a fool puts his trust in that which is unsecure. The Bible says that ‘the foolish man builds his life upon the sand’ and when the storms come, he will experience total loss.

For a man to build his hope upon this life and the luxuries it affords is like a man investing his entire life in a beach home just before the tsunami hits.

 

Application

My trust must always be in the Word of God alone. What God says He means and I can take that to the bank. I can confidently build my entire life upon the promises of God’s Word.

The Word of God has always been and it will always be. Nobody can destroy it, and nothing can nullify it and what God promises, will happen in His time. It is the only way to live secure with peace in this world, and the wise man will build his house upon its promises.

I must constantly remember that I am a pilgrim passing through this world. I brought nothing into this world and I will certainly bring nothing out of it. My life is secure in Christ and in the world to come and I must keep my priorities straight.

I must guard my heart against the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches so that the Word of God is never choked out of my life. It’s a battle that I will always face – a battle between the temporal (and insecure) and the eternal absolute rock of security. What feels right now must never be allowed to overrule the truth of God’s Word. God’s Word is a rock that will not pass away, while my emotions may change, God’s Word remains the same.

No amount of ‘fixing up’ of this old world will make it any more secure (Government; economy; social good) – “it will pass away”. Man will never stabilize that which God intends to destroy and it’s a shame that so many Christians waste their lives trying to ‘prop up’ and ‘store up’ that which will pass away.

The only thing stable today in this otherwise unstable world is the Word of God. Jesus Christ warns us “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away”…so don’t build your security upon this passing world.

 

Prayer

Father, daily remind me to build my life upon the promises of Your Word. Thank You that Your Word never changes and it will never pass away.

In You, on Your Word I am secure. I love You and it is my joy to take you at Your Word and to build my life upon Your promises that will never pass away. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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“The Rich & Their Coming Remorse”

by • on 8:37 PM • in James

 

James 5:1-6 (Part 2)

 

 

 

INTRO:

 

1. Last week we began our study in James 5:1-6

A. And we LOOKED AT TWO of the FOUR —

a. CARDINAL SINS of the RICH

 

2. In Verse 1 James said:

 

James 5:1-6

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!

 

*WHO are the RICH?

     1. Normally, it’s easy to envision some SAUDI shiek!

     2. But according to world standards…

     3. WE AMERICANS are the ones who are THE RICH!

 

“If you are an Americans, then you are more wealthy than 80 % of the REST of the WORLD! To live in AMERICA, the rest of the world considers us RICH!”

 

Somebody sent me this great QUOTE in an EMAIL last week after hearing my message on line, they quoted—

 

Matthew 19:23-24

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man (American) to enter the kingdom of heaven.

24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man (American) to enter the kingdom of God.”

 

Matthew 6:24

24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

 

NOBODY can LIVE for the TREASURES of this WORLD and for the LORD at the SAME TIME…it’s IMPOSSIBLE.

 

You are EITHER living for GOD or LIVING for the THINGS of this WORLD…

 

NOBODY can SERVE two masters…

 

Problem is, so many Christians are SO CARNAL, that they don’t even realize that they are SERVING worldly values and IDEALS.

 

They don’t really REALIZE that with THEIR LIPS, they say they LOVE GOD, but with their LIVES, they are LIVING for this WORLD.

 

 

J. In Verse 2, James went and gave us the 1st of 4 —

(CARDINAL SINS of the RICH)

 

 

 

#1. HOARDING

 

2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.

 

A. There is a TIME and a PLACE to INVEST what God has given us

1. He PLACES TREASURES in our HANDS for ONLY a SEASON

 

B. Once that SEASON is OVER –

1. If we have FAILED to INVEST our STEWARDSHIP in eternity

2. It’s TOO LATE

 

C. You and I will NEVER be allowed to –

1. Come back to THIS SIDE of ETERNITY and

2. DO with our FINANCES what we should be DOING NOW

 

D. I think of LAZARUS and the RICH MAN, in –

 

Luke 16:19-31

19 “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.

20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate,

21 desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.

23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24 Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’

25 But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.

26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’

27 Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house,

28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’

29 Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’

30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’

31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ “

 

E. NONE of us will be ABLE to RETURN to this LIFE

1. Once GOD CALLS us HOME — it’s over

 

Hebrews 9:27

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,

 

F. The CALL of GOD upon every one of our lives this morning is:

1. ‘DON’T WASTE YOUR LIFE PURSUING RICHES’

 

Wealth is a MIRAGE. You never really attain unto a true FULFILLMENT. You always are CHASING the POT OF GOLD at the END of the RAINBOW. And you just NEVER QUIT get there.

 

Once you achieve your goal, if WEALTH is your GOAL; then you’ll never really be SATISFIED. You’ll always want MORE and MORE. Enough is NEVER ENOUGH.

 

And so SATAN snares MANY CHRISTIANS into wasting their lives, chasing this FLEETING VAPOR!

 

Matthew 16:24-28

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

 

The TRUE MEANING to life is not found in TREASURE/wealth. It’s found in LOSING your life FOR the sake of JESUS CHRIST!

 

You see, people who are the COVETOUS/ HOARDER type are never really satisfied.

 

There is NO MEANING to life, even as a CHRISTIAN, unless you’ve DIED to yourself and are LIVING for CHRIST.

 

You can see this in:

     * FINANCES

     * TIME

     * PERSONAL VALUES

 

25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.

28 Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

 

* I’d say, ‘I think that there are some sitting here who will not die, until you see the return of Jesus Christ!’

 

G. Concerning HOARDING

1. James also went on to say in verse 3 —

 

 

3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days.

 

A. Again, the BEMA SEAT JUDGMENT will be –

1. A TIME OF GREAT TEARS FOR MANY BELIEVERS

a. (James says WEEPING and HOWLING)

 

B. For MANY CHRISTIANS,

1. I believe that that will be the 1st time that –

a. They really REALIZE how much they WASTED THIS LIFE

 

HOARDING is a FORM of COVETOUSNESS

 

COVETOUS PEOPLE are HOARDERS

 

* What’s the difference between a HOARDER/COVETOUS person…and a CONSERVATIVE person? Is there a difference?

 

HOARDER/COVETOUS is CHEAP; frugal; don’t spend money on themselves or anyone else.

 

While a CONSERVATIVE person is like the PROVERBS 31 woman—wise is the use of money and GENEROUS in HELPING OTHERS with what God has placed in their possession.

 

C. the 2ND CARDINAL SIN of the RICH is

 

 

 

#2. Acquiring Wealth by failure to pay proper wages

4 Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.

 

A. A lot of WEALTHY EMPLOYERS got their RICHES by -

1. DISHONEST GAIN

2. They FAILED to PAY their EMPLOYEES a PROPER WAGE

 

B. I think that what James is talking about here goes beyond—

1. Employer / employee relationship to:

a. Cheating on Income Tax

b. Weights and Measures

c. Bribing local officials

d. Falsifying Expense accounts

 

C. ANYTIME we profit from DISHONEST GAIN;

1. We are SINNING against God!

 

‘At the end of the day, we may end up with more $ in our pocket, but if it was acquired by NOT PAYING our fair share, it is a sin against God, and He hears the cries of those you take advantage of.’

 

 

(PART 2)

 

D. The 3RD CARDINAL SIN of the RICH is

 

 

#3. LUXURIOUS LIVING

5 You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter.

 

A. What is LUXURIOUS LIVING?

* Expensive JEWELRY

* Elegant CLOTHING

* Epicurean FOODS

* PALATIAL homes

 

The WORD OF GOD says that it is a SIN to live a lifestyle of SELF-INDULGENCE, when the rest of the world lives in DESPERATE need

 

William McDonald writes:

“How can we justify the affluence and extravagance of the church and of Christian people? We live in a world where thousands die daily of starvation. Over ½ the world’s population has never heard of the Lord Jesus Christ. In such a world, how can we justify our sports cars, limousines, speed boats? How can we spend the Lord’s money in expensive hotels, in high-class restaurants, in any form of self-indulgence?

The clear teaching of the Scriptures, the appalling need of the world, the example of the Savior, and the simple instinct of compassion tell us that it is wrong to live in comfort, luxury, and ease as long as there is a single soul who has not heard the gospel.

Those who live in pleasure and are unrestrained in luxury are likened to those who nourish their hearts as in a day of slaughter-like animals, fattening themselves just before their execution, or like soldiers who spend their time looting when others are perishing around them.

 

B. God never gives RICHES to be WASTED on LUXURIOUS living;

1. Or to be HOARDED

 

C. Everything that God places within our STEWARDSHIP is to be:

1. INVESTED BACK INTO the KINGDOM of God

 

D. Every DOLLAR we EARN, must be made HONESTLY;

1. And SPENT with the KNOWLEDGE of knowing that ONE DAY –

a. We will give an ACCOUNT for it

 

Many people make a LOT OF MONEY and the WASTE it on THEMSELVES, living in the LAP of LUXURY.

 

Those who SQUANDER their WEALTH LIVING in LUXURY will one day STAND in SORROW before GOD

 

 

E. This past week in ACTS 4, we all read in our JOURNALING:

 

Acts 4:32-35

32 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.

33 And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.

34 Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, (genuine Christianity is generosity!)

35 and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.

 

CHRISTIANITY is NOT about being CHEAP; Nor is it about HOARDING; Nor is it about living a LIFE OF LUXURY.

 

Christianity is all about GIVING YOURSELF AWAY to JESUS CHRIST and a LIFESTYLE of SERVING and HELPING others

 

That’s why when Jesus told the RICH YOUNG RULE to “GO and SELL all that you have and GIVE IT TOO the POOR”, he couldn’t do it; because FOLLOWING CHRIST is all about GIVING UP THIS LIFE in EXCHANGE for the LIFE to COME.

 

 

F. The 4th and FINAL CARDINAL SIN of the RICH James lists is they:

 

 

#4. CONDEMN & MURDER THE JUST

6 You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.

 

A. The rich will give an account one day for having abused the POOR

1. The rich murder the just by:

a. OVERWORKING them & UNDER PAYING them

 

 

B. The INNOCENT offer no RESISTANCE

1. To protest might end in BRUTALITY, PERSECUTION

2. Or being LET GO from their JOB

 

 

CONCLUSION:

What are some of the ways that we can be RICH?

* FINANCES (obviously)

* How, where, on what we spend our money

* TIME

* Rich in Time, LOT of EXTRA TIME to spend

* Where do you spend it?

* Do you waste your EXTRA TIME on self?

* Or, EXTRA TIME…SEEK to serve/help others?

* GIFTS / ABILITIES

* The greater your GIFTS, the greater your

responsibility is to God

 

 

Any and ALL of these areas of our lives we can:

 

HOARD or WASTE on ourselves

 

James says: “Come now you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!”

 

Let’s NOT WASTE our lives ANY LONGER!

 

If you have thus far wasted the TREASURES that God has given you; REPENT and CHANGE today!

 

GO AND SELL everything in your life that keeps you from BEING A DEVOTED FOLLOWER of JESUS CHRIST, give the PROCEEDS to the POOR, and FOLLOW JESUS CHRIST!

 

 

4 Cardinal sins of the rich:

#1. Hoarding

#2. Failure to Pay proper Wages

#3. Luxurious Living

#4. Harm the Just

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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“Living For What Really Matters” 4.29.11

by • on 5:19 PM • in 320, Life Journal

Scripture

Matthew 16:24-27 (NKJV)
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.

 

Observation

I note here that Jesus is speaking to His disciples. He is not addressing the lost – those who have rejected Him, but rather, Christ is speaking to His disciples – those who say that they belong to Him. Jesus said that anyone who seeks to be His follower must do three things. 1) He MUST DENY HIMSELF. That is, he must give up the rights to his life. A disciple of Jesus Christ no longer has any authority over his body, mind and will. A disciple of Christ will deny himself at the moment of salvation. He is no longer his own, but he now belongs to Jesus. 2) The disciple of Christ must TAKE UP HIS CROSS, which means he must make it his total goal in life to fulfill the call of God upon his life. The call of every Christian is to serve God by proclaiming the gospel and make other disciples. I have died to my old nature, my self-centered lifestyle. I no longer live for myself, but I now live for Jesus Christ. I have died to this world and all its allurements and enticements have died to me. 3) A true disciple of Christ must FOLLOW HIM. Pretty hard for a person to claim to be a disciple of Christ if they don’t even follow Jesus. That would be like claiming to be an employee but never showing up for work. Many people are trading their eternal rewards and destinations for the temporary pleasures and trinkets of this world. Many people today claim to be a disciple of Christ, yet they refuse to deny themselves, take up their cross and follow Jesus. Many people today, even in the church do not realize all the false gods that they are living for. ‘Gods’ that cannot forgive sin, or heal or comfort, yet so many people in the church today are living for these false ‘gods’. These false gods have stolen their allegiance to Jesus Christ. Instead of serving Him, many today are busy serving idols. Paul said that many false Christ’s will arise and John said that the spirit of the antichrist will prevail in the last days. Jesus Himself declared, “Will I find faith when I return?” The term ‘antichrist’ does not mean – ‘the opposite of Christ’; rather it means “to take the place of Christ”. An antichrist can be anything that takes the place of Jesus Christ and our 1st love for Him.  As they say “We worship what we serve, and we serve what we worship.” That could be possessions, money or even entertainment – constantly living for the new ‘thing’, or buried in debt trying to pay for the last cheap thrill. Travel, hobbies and even entertainment can rob a believer from being a true follower of Christ. Jesus says, ‘want to know who or what is really the lord of your life?’ ‘Then look at where you spend your time, money and talents. Look at what it is that you are serving. Anything in life that keeps a person from denying themselves, taking up their cross and following Jesus should be immediately dealt with because Jesus is coming back soon and His reward is with Him.

 

Application

I believe that many people today honor God with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him, and in vain they do worship Him. What a danger to be self-deceived. To be consumed by materialism or financial gain or worldly entertainment. God wants my full un-divided heart. He doesn’t want me to split up my loyalties between Him and the things of this world. In order for me to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ, I must deny myself, take up my cross and follow Jesus. As I am doing this, I must remember that God examines my motivation. I must keep a good heart and a short account with my Lord. Jesus said that if I love Him, I must follow Him. I must obey His commands and love others even as He loves me. It’s not always easy, but where He calls me to obedience, He also provides the ability to obey Him. Every decision I make today matters. What I choose to live for today will form my future and eternal rewards. Great will be the rewards of those who love the Lord as seen in the lives of those who deny themselves, take up their cross and follow Jesus. Though no one follow, still I will follow, no turning back, no turning back!

 

Prayer

Father I pray that You will guard my heart. I long to live for You alone! Remove far from me a covetous heart. Help me to remember that if I’m not satisfied in You alone, then I will never find satisfaction in anything in life. Remove far from me a covetous heart. Teach me to be content in all that You have blessed me with. May I find my true reward in denying myself, taking up my cross and following You. You alone are my LORD, my master, my God and today, I willing choose to live full-out for Your glory. I love You and I claim a fresh filling of Your Spirit upon my life so that I might live in total victory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

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