Right to be children… Only right I can think of (john 1:12) implies choice
Before going further, talk about MMBS and shame of riches… For what do we seek wealth and gift?
God gives wealth so you can focus on Him and fix your gaze on Him. What os the purpose of life when you’ve all you want and need? Where can you go to get a large enough vision for a blessed life?
Da truth gives the anthem for my life. “I ain’t got no horror story, God kept me in my youth I give Him all the glory!”
We glorify the struggle without a vision for wealth. Trust in him, he’s there. Trust in wealth, he withdraws. (Samuel) when Samuel was called, God had not been speaking for some time…
(3:1 Now the young man Samuel was ministering to the LORD under Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.)
We see the withdrawal in our lives. Poor=religious, rich=self reliance
We don’t invest in God. Have you ever missed work to pray or read the Bible? Have you ever been late to a meeting because you were in prayer or study? Have you ever sacrificed time with work or hobbies to get just a little more time with God?
We are not necessarily creatures of habit more than we are creatures of investment. (use 10 miler training or Ty bodybuilding as an example) what are we consistent in? What are we investing for? I noticed for me, it was nothing! Not physical endurance, not academic excellence, not my family, and certainly not God. If it is so hard to invest in God, what are we really saying we want from Him?
Use exponential growth or new wealth payoff as an example. You don’t get wealthy by saving… Someone gives as a result of valuing your integral contribution. Likewise, God renovates your heart, then honors your disciplined integrity. We can’t control the result, but we can disqualify ourselves!
Why important? What to do? Principle of talents applies.
Principle prism of my life…
Benton harbor, bawlmer, gentrification, taxes, profs
Take one, give to ten
When you have one, you have grace because giftedness is low… With ten you need persistent conviction and faith because giftedness and, conversely self reliance/righteousness, is high… The vision is so far beyond anything you’d imagined
Let me point out that everything needed os supplied by God. Question is, what are you asking for? What are you doing with it?
Prof, business, parenting
In OT God dictatez, in NT God invites
When God brings prosperity, God must be enough… Without God, life of wealth run by fear
So what’s the model? Ps 16
1 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”
3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.
4 The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips.
5 The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
7 I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.
8 I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.
11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
or 84.
1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts!
2 My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.
3 Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion.
8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
9 Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed!
10 For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.
12 O LORD of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!
Does your heart look like this? My life is free of economic struggle, full of clutter and fear. Witnesses or emptiness at death? Does God truly have a place in my heart?
Need less celebration, more simplicity and power. Is God my enough?