Category: Saturday Study

Saturday Study

Proverbs 7 (5-6-17)

**I want to say thank you to one of my long time disciples and fellow ministers of the Gospel, Steve Obert, who is a faithful brother who loves God’s word and has blessed us by writing this weeks Saturday Study. You will be blessed by what Steve has prepared.

Grab your bibles and let’s go deeper into Proverbs 7.

This proverb repeats some of the teaching from chapter 5.  There seems to be intentional details brought up here that were left out of chapter 5, though.  It begins much the same way:

[1] My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you; [2] keep my commandments and live; keep my            teaching as the apple of your eye; [3] bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. [4] Say to   wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call insight your intimate friend

Many times, the details provided give insight into the one sharing them.  Solomon had over 100 wives and over 300 concubines.  Solomon was not a man unfamiliar with physical lust and sexual temptation.  Often the wisest man is the one the most experience.  Solomon was not only the wisest man to ever live because of God’s blessing (2 Chronicles 1:7-12), but he also had it in his heart to chase out every temptation under the sun only to find that they are vain (Ecclesiastes 2:1-11).

Those who have struggled with sexual temptation see quickly that the author of this proverb has personal insight into the deceptiveness of the sin of lust.  This is why it so very helpful.

Solomon begins this proverb with his normal warning to the reader/the son (or less mature one) to KEEP and TREASURE his commandments.  Notice the connections he makes for us in verse 2: if we keep the commands we live; so how do we keep them? He goes on imploring the reader to make them the apple of your eye, bind them on your finger, write them on your heart, and make them an intimate relationship to you one like you would have with your sister or family member.  The clear call here is to meditate on the commands, not just the teaching that Solomon is giving in the proverbs, but the commands of God throughout all of Scripture.  Now notice he doesn’t just say what we should do; he is wise enough to tell us how to do it.  Memorize the commands, think about them daily, study the word, and let it become second nature to you.  Make it intimate; be in such a close relationship that it appears to be your relative.  When we store up God’s word in our hearts, it gives us great strength and wisdom in the hour of temptation.

Solomon then turns his focus to one of the things you’ll avoid if you heed his warning:

[5] to keep you from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words.

What will be the fruit of immersing yourself and memorizing the Scriptures? It will keep you from the forbidden woman.

The next section describes what the temptation looks like and the characteristics of the person who falls for the             temptation:

[6] For at the window of my house I have looked out through my lattice, [7] and I have seen among the simple, I have     perceived among the youths, a young man lacking sense

Here are the first characteristics of the one who fails to treasure the word of God.  He is spoken of as a young man (again this is not necessarily in age but maturity), and the man is LACKING SENSE!

[8] passing along the street near her corner, taking the road to her house [9] in the twilight, in the evening, at the time of night and darkness.

Wow, how revealing the Scriptures are of our sin and how we pursue it.  Notice the action that the one who lacks sense takes.  He goes toward the house: he seeks it out and knows where it is.  In the Proverbs 5 lesson, you were told about accountability and encouraged to pursue steps to remove temptation.  These are not the actions of the one who lacks sense.  No, the one who lacks sense seeks out his sin; he goes in the dark of night and hides his sinful desires, as if it is not known to the only One who truly matters.

[10] And behold, the woman meets him, dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.

Satan is at work in this world.  He is an adversary who prowls around like a lion seeking to destroy.  If you are chasing after sin, if you are even flirting with it and in your mind deceiving yourself that it is harmless, the adversary will take advantage of your lack of sense.  Satan will meet your sinful desires with the temptation and when you give in… Well, let’s look and see what happens:

[11] She is loud and wayward; her feet do not stay at home; [12] now in the street, now in the market, and at every    corner she lies in wait.

Again, the temptation for sin just lies in waiting.  If you flirt with it, it will be there.

[13] She seizes him and kisses him, and with bold face she says to him

Those who have experienced sin (all of us, right?) in various degrees know what this seizing feels like.  There is a moment when your desire meets with the temptation to sin, and the moment of giving in to it is when it seizes you.

[14] “I had to offer sacrifices, and today I have paid my vows; [15] so now I have come out to meet you, to seek you       eagerly, and I have found you. [16] I have spread my couch with coverings, colored linens from Egyptian linen; [17] I     have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. [18] Come, let us take our fill of love till morning; let us delight   ourselves with love.”

After it seizes you, it is unashamed in its talk.  It (sin) has now seen the hold it has, and it no longer flirts; its aim is to take you further than you ever wanted to go and do more damage than you ever imagined you would.  Notice the first step, though, is you flirting with it instead of putting it to death.  Then it seizes you, then when you’ve allowed it to take hold of you it gets extremely bold with its enticing alluring.  “Come in I made sacrifices, I fully intend to sin with you and it will be ok because we can make sacrifices again.”  Notice the deception of sin and how quickly it says whatever you want to hear and whatever will make you pursue it.  In verse 15 the woman says. “I have come out to meet you, to seek you eagerly, I have found you.”  This is again a lie. The story just said that the young man was the one looking for it; however, you feel more special if the sin has sought you out eagerly.  Unfortunately, this is the same thing that’s said to every young man passing by looking for her.  Sin is so deceitful; it is always aiming to take your life.  Please be aware of the deceitfulness of sin.

[19] “For my husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey; [20] he took a bag of money with him; at full moon    he will come home.” [21] With much seductive speech she persuades him; with her smooth talk she compels him.

Let’s ramp up the excitement by adding some danger and more sin.  Sin begets sin.  The more you sin, the more sin you find, and the more you sin.  Sounds silly, right?  It is the proverbial snow ball effect: as it rolls downhill, it grows larger and larger until it hits something and explodes.  This is how sin works.  If it wasn’t enough for the sin of sexual immorality, let’s add in the excitement of possibly getting caught and the allure of having something that does not belong to you, for she has a husband.  This is the seductive speech and the smooth talk that seduces the young man, because he lacks sense.

[22] All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast [23] till an arrow pierces its liver;             as a bird rushes into a snare; he does not know that it will cost him his life.

And just like that, he gives into the temptation and brings himself to the death of true life in God in trade for momentary pleasures that if unrepented of will lead to eternal suffering and separation from our great God.  As any of you who may have been a part of FFA growing up or were raised on a farm knows, the animals led to the slaughter go willingly.  They have no idea of what’s about to happen.  They allow you to take them there.  This is what is being said of the young man.  Consider this: the average weight of an ox that would be slaughtered is around 1500 lbs.  If that animal knew you were walking it to its death, couldn’t it stop you?  Of course; however, because it is ignorant of what is about to happen, it willingly goes along.  Here is the problem: the deceitfulness of sin says like Satan did in the garden to Eve, “Surely you will not die.  If you do this, you will gain.”  And even though we have been told by God who cannot lie that we will die if we do this, we still buy into the sin and pursue it.  This is what happens to those of us who lack sense and do not treasure the word of our God.  Let’s continue:

[24] And now, O sons, listen to me, and be attentive to the words of my mouth. [25] Let not your heart turn aside to her    ways; do not stray into her paths, [26] for many a victim has she laid low, and all her slain are a mighty throng. [27] Her            house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death.

Solomon pleads with the listener again to avoid the sinful woman.  Her way leads to death.  This can be said of all sin: its ultimate aim is to kill you eternally.  For the saints, we may take heart.  Since it is God who saved you (not you yourself), you cannot lose salvation.  However, we can lose life, in a sense of the quality of our life, the effectiveness of our life for God’s glory, the joy that we could have in God in this life is robbed by sin, etc.

I remember standing with Pastor Joshua in my early 20’s as God was doing a work in my heart.  I was sharing with him my struggles with lust and saw another young man who was coming out of drug addiction.  I said to Josh, “Man, here I am complaining about lust when this guys has to deal with true addiction and the fight of that.”  Josh responded to me, and I will never forget his words, as they have rung true in my life of ministry: “I have seen more men fail and fall because of women or lust than I have ever seen from addiction.”  Solomon finishes the chapter by saying that “many a victim she has laid low, and all her slain are a mighty throng”.  Do not be wise in your own eyes: the temptation of lust, particularly sexual lust, is very powerful and always aims to take life from you; if not eternal life, then as much life now as is possible.  Do not be fooled; you are not the one who can withstand it.  Instead, treasure up God’s commands within your heart.  Memorize Scripture that in times of temptation you may see through the deceit of sin and stand strong in the grace and mercy of our Lord!

By His grace and for His glory,

Pastor Joshua Kirstine

Disciples Church

Saturday Study

Proverbs 6 (4-29-17)

Grab your bibles and let’s go deeper into Proverbs 6.

Read again: Proverbs 6:1-8

Verse 1-8 are most pointedly a charge to work hard.  We are in a battle in this world and time.  We are strangers in this land and among a people to whom we do not belong as Christians.  We will have to work hard to avoid the temptations of the evil one and to avoid the entrapment of self seeking neighbors.  We will need to wake early and go to work even when we don’t have to and not being told to. We will need to make the most of every minute God gives us under the sun to steward well what he has entrusted to us.

Read again: Proverbs 6:9-15

Then in verse 9-15 he calls the lazy man what he is; a sluggard who selfishly and lazily slides into a mode of poor stewardship. It is the man who has succumbed to the ides of retirement.  That we work until we retire and then we do nothing. Or it’s the man who is on disability or unemployment and uses that free time to do nothing eternally useful.  We do not retire from the work God has called us to do in this life until he says this life is over.  Even from a hospital bed you can minister and disciple.  Even from home you can volunteer for kingdom work.   Let us not be ones who make excuses and deceive others, for poverty and calamity will come upon us and wreck us.  Beyond the warnings of calamity let us be mindful of the teachings of Jesus who in parables spoke of condemnation for those who were poor stewards with what they were entrusted.  It is God we are ultimately working and living for.  Even when there is nothing else to work for or no one else to live for, there is God almighty.

God is not giving you another day on earth even in a broken physical state for no reason. He has an eternal purpose for giving you another day or another 10 years.  Let us trust him in this.  Let us wake each day and press on to win the prize.  To tend to the harvest and to making disciples who go unto the nations.  We do this not to build ourselves a retirement or good life but to make much of his Holy name!  What do you need to repent of doing lazily or passively?  What excuses have you been making lately?  How do you need to rewire the days God gives you under the sun to be used better for him, to work hard and to obey his commands on your life?  Who do you need to talk to so that you can have some accountability in these things?

Read again: Proverbs 6:16-19

In verse16 Solomon says,  “There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him”

Then in verse 17-19 he list them:

1. haughty eyes
2. a lying tongue
3. hands that shed innocent blood
4. a heart that devises wicked plans
5. feet that make haste to run to evil
6. a false witness who breathes out lies
7. and one who sows discord among brothers.

Take a few moments and really meditate on these 7 things that God hates.   Don’t be so quick to dismiss them as not something you struggle with.  Are there some that you do practice or struggle with?  Recognize that the redeemed should have ne dealings with these things and surely no practice of them.  WHY?  Because the Holy Spirit is now within you and empowering you to not only avoid such things but to have a God given desire to honor him by not doing them.    Now, will we still get caught up in sin?

Yes, but none of these should be a regular practice or undealt with reality.  So, what are you doing to make war with these things?

Let us have nothing to do with them?  Let us follow Christ and point to God in all we do and say, no matter the cost or consequence.

Read again: Proverbs 6:20-23

I have found over the years that these are some of the very best words of counsel to anyone who is young and under their parents God given authority.  We are so smart in our youth.  We are so longing to cut free form what God has determined is best which is to be under the authority of our parents.  Our sin wants to rule our own lives.  This plays out different for the toddler then it does the teenager but the sin of rebellion is still the same.  Instead, Solomon says, bind them to you! In other words, hold fast to their counsel and teachings.  They will be a lamp to you in life.  The discipline you receive is for your good.

I would say this same counsel applies to the authority of Pastors and Elders who God has put over us as the church.

All too often we want to rule our lives on our own, but even as adults we are under authority and it is counted by God as good for us to have counsel and teachings from those whom he has put over us.  Do you see your pastors and elders this way?

Hebrews 13:17 says, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”

Read again: Proverbs 6:24-35

Under the umbrella of listen to your parent’s teachings is made now specific back to the very real temptation of sexual immorality.

The consequences of adultery are life wrecking.  The ways in which sexual sin tears us apart are so very real.  Avoid it.  Run from, it.  Do not be swept up in the eyelashes or look of a seductive woman.  Look away. Run away. It will literally save your physical life.   May we honor God in all we do. Even with the most simple thought or action.  I am thankful to be running this race with you and for our Lord’s faithfulness in our lives.

By His grace and for His glory,

Pastor Joshua Kirstine

Disciples Church

Saturday Study

Proverbs 5 (4-22-17)

I can’t begin to tell you how instrumental this 5^th proverb has been in my 17 years of pastoral ministry.   One of the very real temptations of our flesh is lust for the things God created instead of honor for these things.  Our selfish flesh wants to consume and have what it selfishly wants, many times with no regard for what or who it hurts or betrays.   We are flooded with imagery and constant temptation to adulterate our eyes or body.   God’s word tells us to “FLEE from sexual immorality” (1 Corinthians 6:18) for its consequences are greater than any other to the body God has given us.  Whether you are a man or a woman, everyone is susceptible to the lust of the eyes and/or sexual immorality with our bodies.   We must arm ourselves with right thinking and daily godly practices that keep us from these temptations.  This week’s proverb goes straight to the heart of this fight. I pray you are not just hearers, but doers after reading today’s study.  Do whatever is needed to make war with any sin you are caught up in or susceptible to.  The name of Jesus, the purity of our minds and souls, the protection of our marriages and families is all on the line.

The Warning

Proverbs 5:1-2 My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding,

2 that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge.

Here, Solomon is driving home the need to be attentive to the counsel he is about to give.  Lean in, son!  Don’t miss this. You will surely need this.

The topic is brought forth in verse 3.  “For the lips of a forbidden woman”.  What I have come to see in practical life is that the “lips of a forbidden woman” here can be any sexual temptation that is outside of God’s will for your life.  It could be any person who is not your spouse (this applies to single people too). If they are not your spouse, then you have no business engaging the temptation before you.  It also can be any image or scene in a movie, or picture, or person walking by.  It can surely be pornography.  I have sat with many men and women over the years in pastoral counsel to look to this proverb as a great help in their need to wage war on addiction to porn.    So, as you read the rest of this counsel consider that “the lips of a forbidden woman” can be any of these sexual immoral things you may struggle with.
Solomon goes on to clarify how seductive sexually immoral things are. They “drip honey” & “her speech is smoother than oil”.

In that culture, honey was the sweetest thing you could enjoy so it was very desirable.  One who is smooth in speech is also very seductive and enticing.  He is saying be alert and aware how entrapping her presentation is.

The Consequences

In verse 4 & 5, we are given insight into the reality of what she actually brings, “but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol;”.

This is no casual consequence.  The division that a two-edged sword brings is very real. The road she takes you to is death and suffering.   This is the con of all cons.  You think you are getting pleasure and comfort, but you are really getting bitterness, breakdown in life, and consequences that lead to death and great suffering.

In verses 7 & 8 he says listen up again.

“And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth. Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house”.  LISTEN TO ME… do not depart from this counsel or it will wreck your life.  Stay far away from such temptation. Do not allow it near.  Do not wander into places where this kind of temptation resides.   This gets very practical for us.

What conversations are you having or relationships are you flirting with that are set in a foundation of innocent intentions but are really on the door step of great blunder?  He says stay away.  To practice this in life and ministry I have found that we should not engage the opposite sex in any unaccountable space.  I don’t care how long you have known them or how much they love the Lord.  One on one time together, phone calls, text or email messages can all have the greatest intentions and might practically be helpful, but are often the doorway to greater intimacy to be formed.  It is worth it to take steps to keep these kinds of interactions in accountable space where others can see and keep accountability really happening.

Another application of this is where is sexual immorality accessible?   Do you have cable in your home, internet access on your computer or phone where sexual temptation is present and a click away?  In order to stay far away, as the counsel is given, it can be wise to remove such access.  Block certain channels on your cable (let someone else set the code), have accountability software on your computer or phone whereby a trusted person can see what you are seeing.  XXX Church and Covenant Eyes are both great resources for such software.  I have many brothers who simply don’t have a personal computer or smart phone simply for the fact that they don’t want the temptress on their door step at all times.  Now, you might be telling yourself, that would greatly affect my life to not have such access.  I get it. But I would also ask, how much your life would be affected if you don’t take the steps to prevent sexual immorality from manifesting itself in your life and marriage?  That is the point of Solomon’s next words.

In verses 9-11, he says, “lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless, lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner, and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed”.  He is saying here, that the consequence of the fall out that comes with this kind of sinful engagement will steal your life away.  To give your honor and respect to others opens the door for them to:

-“take your strength” – this is what addiction does to your life. You lose your ability to say no. You become weak and at the mercy of the master you have succumb to.

-“ your labors go to the house of a foreigner”-  this is the sad reality of marriages that fall apart and families that are destroyed as a result of addiction or adultery.  All you have worked for in life is stripped away.

Regret

In verse 12 & 13, the reality of the fallout is finally understood.  The problem is that it is too late. The destruction has happened and the consequences have taken their toll.  The listener is remorseful as he says, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors.”

This is the gift of good counsel ahead of time.  Hopefully, you don’t have to be the one who says, “WHY DIDN’T I LISTEN? WHY DID I MAKE EXCUSES AND DO WHAT I WANTED?”  This is the gift of this proverb.  Hopefully, you take it seriously!  Even if you are already engaging in forbidden things.  STOP. REPENT NOW. Before you delve in deeper.   Humble yourself to ask for accountability from a brother who is close to you and can walk with you.   Don’t wait until it’s too late and be the one saying, “Why didn’t I listen to godly counsel when I could?”

In verses 18-20, Solomon turns to bring encouragement to enjoy the provisions God has given in marriage.  Marriage is worth investing in. Even if you have come to a dry place in your marriage, it is worth whatever it takes to reboot your intimacy and enjoy what God has given as good and right.

The Holy Lord of glory is our audience in all things

Finally, in verse 21, Solomon reminds us to never forget that God is always with us and everything we do is before his eyes.

“For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the Lord, and he ponders all his paths.”   Let us look to honor Him above all else in these things when alone or just in our own thoughts.  God is with us and we are to honor him in even the most private moments of this life.  He is worthy of our praise and fight for righteous living.

I am praying for you as you fight this fight. It must be fought.  Sin must be overcome.  Bring what is in the dark into the light. Get the accountably that is needed to overcome these things.  God is able to restore and heal and sanctify.  Trust in him. Listen to his word and let us glorify him with the days he entrust to us under the sun.

By His grace and for His glory,

Pastor Joshua Kirstine

Disciples Church

Saturday Study

Proverbs 4 (4-15-17)

In Proverbs 4, we are given more insight into the counsel of a father for his son.  We are given more encouragement to take hold of good godly counsel and to let its many blessings lead you in life.

Solomon, mentions many of the blessings that holding fast to good, godly counsel will give us in this life.

For example:

Proverbs 4:6 says that this kind of wisdom “will keep you; and she will guard you.”

Proverbs 4:8-9 says that this kind of wisdom “will exalt you; and honor you if you embrace her. And she will place on your head a graceful garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.”

Proverbs 4:10 says that this kind of wisdom will “make the years of your life many.”

Proverbs 4:12 says that this kind of wisdom “will cause your step to not be hampered, and you will not stumble.”

So there are practical benefits to hearing, keeping and walking in good, godly counsel.  We will be guarded, rewarded, it will prolong our days and cause us to walk without stumbling.

This is so practical and true, but somehow we are guilty of missing its application in our lives.  Many of us are quick to say, “Amen and yes; I find that to be true,” but then we are guilty of not applying it to our daily lives.  Instead, we set the godly truths we have learned aside, and we end up in jeopardy; or instead of being rewarded, we are penalized; instead of our days being plentiful, they are cut short, and we end up stumbling because we look to sinful desires within ourselves, or we head the counsel of the wicked or step into the temptations of the worldly.

The good news is that Proverbs is going to keep driving this point home again and again. Are you seeking and valuing wisdom?  Are you heeding it and applying it?  Because you will falter and sin and stumble if you do not.

James said this so well in his letter: “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”  James 1:22

Sunday church is not enough.  You are not done with your eating of the truths of God when church is over. No, your diet of God’s truths should just be beginning.  Your pastor’s teaching the word should be a catalyst for your walking in and mediating on and living out the word of God all week long.    But all too often what we end up doing is hearing it on Sunday and then never doing it throughout the week.

Same thing with our daily Bible reading.  Is it just a moment in your day? You read it and then you are done and on to other things?  Or does it wreck you, propel you, slow you down, cause you to truly be changed and motivated to live out the truths you have learned and the wisdom God has given you?

In the second part of Proverbs 4, we are admonished to avoid the path of the wicked.

Warnings to avoid what is sinful and evil in the sight of the Lord are a great gift from God.

Do you regularly invite mature godly brothers and sisters to speak into your life: to love you enough to bring warning;

to walk with you in life so they can have eyes on you to help you see what you are not seeing.

I have found this to be a great gift in our lives in the body of Christ. We are all susceptible to sin and therefore blessed to be warned to avoid sin and evil that we just don’t see ourselves.

Proverbs 4:14 Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil.

15 Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on.

The writer goes on to highlight the way of the wicked and how it practices lawlessness and stumbles in the darkness.

But the way of the Lord is life in the light, which is a blessing and a great provision of good.

Finally, in verse 24, he brings his counsel to a close in this chapter by specifically calling for his listeners to put away the specific practice of crooked speech and devious talk.  To keep your eyes looking ahead at the prize and not at the wicked things of this world. To be mindful of the steps of your feet so that you do not swerve and turn into evil.

Brothers and sisters, this is important counsel that we need to be reminded of often, as we will as we read through Proverbs this year.  Sin is tempting, acting like the world is always before us to gain laughter or acceptance by those with whom we do life.

We must heed this counsel to avoid acting like or walking with the world.  We must not set down our testimony of Christ and become loose with our daily and moment by moment practices.

So take inventory this morning so you are not just a hearer but a doer.

Are you constantly valuing the counsel of the word of God and of mature believers in your life? Inviting them in?  Feasting on God’s word daily?

What are you looking at lately?   Other people, media on the commuter or phone?

What are you saying with your mouth?   Course jokes, teasing others, cutting remarks, language that doesn’t exalt God?

What are your habits or practices?  The things you do daily?  The places you go and the things you do?  Are they of the world, or do make much of the name of Jesus?

As you contemplate these this morning, don’t consider making changes alone. Go to God in prayer and share with a trusted brother or sister so they can walk with you and hold you accountable.  May the Lord be glorified, and may our lives be better for the practical application of these things.

By His grace and for His glory,

Pastor Joshua Kirstine

Disciples Church

Saturday Study

Spiritual Disciplines- Financial Stewardship (4-8-17)

Definition:

The spiritual discipline of stewardship is our privileged opportunity to be faithful managers of God’s provisions for God’s glory!

God has called His redeemed people to respond to the gospel and His ongoing provisions with faithful stewardship.

This week we focused on Scripture that deals with the commands of God on us to be good financial stewards.

One key Scripture we have about our stewardship of the stuff and money God has entrusted to us is:

1 Timothy 6:17-19 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

As you read this you may be thinking, “I am far from rich.” But I want to ask, compared to whom?  Because compared to the rest of mankind, many of us are truly rich.

One of our favorite American sayings is, “God Bless America”

Every time I see this on a bumper sticker or hear someone say it, I think, “God has. God has blessed America.”

Do you realize how blessed by God we are?

Do you know that America is approximately 6% of the world’s population, but we consume 40% of the world’s resources.  Even though we have so much, we cling to it as our HOPE– our refuge. 

Most of us have a car!  Some of us own more than one.

Do you realize that only 8% of the people in the world own a car?  That means 92% look at us and see wealth.

I was in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in 2013 on a mission trip where there are 6.5 million people (the same amount of people in one city as the entire state of Arizona), but only a tiny group of people own cars.  The Vietnamese travel their families of 4 and sometimes more mainly by moped, because there is no way they can afford in a lifetime to buy a car.

780 million people in the world don’t have access to clean drinking water. That is 3.5 times the population of the United States. This is the reason why 3.4 million people die EVERY Year from water related diseases.

You and I are so wealthy that we can literally go to any hose bib in our city and open it up and safely drink from it, but most of us won’t even do that, because it tastes bad; it’s not because it’s contaminated, but because chlorine is gross.

Do you realize millions of people in this highly advanced world don’t even know what it’s like to turn on a water source– any water source– and have something come out for them to drink?  They don’t know what this is like.

How many freshly prepared meals and yummy snacks will you consume today?  

Over 800 million people will not eat anything today.  Even the homeless in America can beg and get food in their bellies.

Our homeless are more wealthy then 800 million people around the world.

We are so RICH!  

Consider our favorite shopping day of the year, Black Friday.  

Do you know the annual amount we consumers spend each year in one day on trinkets and the latest gadgets and toys?

10 billion dollars.   That amount of money would solve half of the hunger needs of the entire world!   We spend it in one DAY!

So when we say, “God bless America!”  When we cringe at the thought of our comfort and abundance being messed with, we need to heed the words of Paul here when he says, “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment” (1 Timothy 6:17).

What we need to be saying is, “God, may America bless You by falling on our faces in gratitude for entrusting us with so much and then instead of asking for more, may we learn to manage it in such a way that we bless others.”

WHY?  HOW?

Because as redeemed children of God, our joy and our hope is not in our stuff but in GOD!

Who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

Look further at this Scripture with me for a moment:

1- “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds…”

The word “good” here is the Greek word, “Kalos”. It means “beautiful.”

The question is when people see your deeds, do they see the beauty of Christ?  Do they say “Amazing”?

We are saved by the grace of God through faith in Christ in order to do “KALOS” deeds-good deeds– beautiful deeds.

2- “…and to be generous and willing to share…”

Are you generous in your lifestyle?

How do you know you are living generously or sacrificially?

Because it costs you something.  It changes your lifestyle.   You feel it!

3- “In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”

Jesus taught us that the way to true life is narrow. He said it is difficult for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God.

WHY?  Why is it hard?  Why is the way to life narrow?

Because we don’t need a wide road so we can carry all of our trophies and money and possessions and pictures and diplomas to eternal life; we just need Jesus.

Why is the road to eternal destruction wide?

Because all that stuff has to fit as we pack it, worship it, and cling to it straight to hell!

Why is it hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God?

Because he wants to have his own kingdom now, and if entering God’s Kingdom means being generous and living for God’s glory and fame and not his own, then he will pass.

See, here is the true test. Many of us wealthy, gifted, healthy people have said yes to Jesus’ invitation to the feast,

but we have our arms so full of this world that we have no time to help anybody else get there with us.

Praise God, Jesus Christ is the door, and it is not by my good deeds that I am saved!

But hear me today, brothers!   When the gospel takes a hold of you, you will set down the treasures of this world and “be faithful managers of God’s provisions for God’s glory,” and in doing so, take hold of the life that is truly life.

In Luke 16:10 Jesus said, “Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won’t be faithful in large ones. If you cheat even a little, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.”

2 Cor. 9:6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

If we hoard what we are given, we can only handle so much, but if we continue to give, we are able to be entrusted by God with more; not so we can be rich, but so we can keep giving it away for His glory and others’ salvation and growth.

In 1 & 2 Corinthians, Paul tells the New Testament church about how we are to be faithful in our giving what God has entrusted us with.  It is a very specific counsel to how you and I are to be great stewards of the money and stuff we have!

1. Give Joyfully:

2 Cor. 9:7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

To reluctantly give means, “I really do not want to, but oh, I better.”

The world “cheerful” in the Greek is “hilarion.” It’s where we get our word hilarious from.  God loves a hilarious giver.

Now, we need to understand what God is trying to teach us about the amazing flow of kingdom living is that when we live an open-handed life, it should bring us an immense amount of JOY and God an immense amount of glory.

2. Give Regularly:

Your faithfulness is more important to me than the amount you are able to give.

1 Cor. 16:1-2   Now about the money being collected for the Christians in Jerusalem: You should follow the same procedures I gave to the churches in Galatia. [2] On every Lord’s Day, each of you should put aside some amount of money in relation to what you have earned and save it for this offering. Don’t wait until I get there and then try to collect it all at once.

The Christians in Jerusalem were suffering from poverty and famine, so Paul was collecting money for them.  He suggested that believers set aside a certain amount each week and give it to the church until he arrived to take it on to Jerusalem.

Are you to only give to the church you belong to?  NO

But the Bible says here and in other places to bring your regular commitment to God to support the ministry and ministers that you are partnering with in life and ministry. So we give our first fruits of our income to our home church, and then extra giving to other causes or people.

3. Give Generously:

2 Cor. 8:2-3 Though they have been going through much trouble and hard times, their wonderful joy and deep poverty have overflowed in rich generosity. [3] For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford but far more. And they did it of their own free will.

What is generous living?  Let’s look at Jesus; He gave sacrificially.

How do I know I am giving sacrificially? Generous giving changes your lifestyle: You feel it!

If you are trying to figure out a minimum number required to give, your giving is already from a heart that is more about how much you can keep for you and less about how much you can give others in the name of the One to whom it belongs!

Jesus!   I love the statement that God will do way more with what you have left than you can ever do with the full amount.

4. Give Proportionally:

1 Cor 16:2 On every Lord’s Day, each of you should put aside some amount of money in relation to what you have earned and save it for this offering.

There is not a required percentage as to how much one should give after the Cross.

      The requirement is a Christ-like life.

One that is consumed by Him and overflowing with His character. This can only equal a sacrificial steward.

The key to our being good stewards of the money and stuff that God has entrusted to us is to first know that it is all His.

And that it is our utter privilege to be entrusted with this life and the gifts and the abilities that He has given us.

Our kingdom mindset is to be open-handed with His stuff and his money to be faithful to bless others and continue the kingdom work that is happening in our local church and ministries we are a part of.

I pray that if you have been negligent in faithfully managing what He has entrusted to you that you repent and begin to give joyfully, regularly, generously and proportionally.  That you let your good deeds shine bright and let God work through you as you steward well in all He has entrusted to you.  For His glory we live!

By His grace and for His glory,

Pastor Joshua Kirstine

Disciples Church