How Do You Become Rich Toward God Religion Essay

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Dr. Derek Stringer is our Bible Teacher.

Derek Teachs and preaches around the universe. Go and listen to him if you can. But listen now for what God will state to you.

I ‘ll be back from clip to clip. But, here ‘s Derek to present today ‘s programme.

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Thank you.

Person has re-written a common supplication that captures our compulsion with roll uping material:

Part of it goes like this:

“ Now I lay me down to kip

I pray my money will I maintain.

I pray my stocks are on the rise,

And that my analyst is wise.

I pray my Mobile phone still works,

That my calling wo n’t lose it ‘s fringe benefits.

If I go broke before I wake,

I pray my new auto they wo n’t take! ”

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We ‘ve all heard the look, ‘money ca n’t but you happiness. ‘

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Actually, person has said, ‘Money ca n’t purchase you happiness, but at least it lets you take your wretchedness. ”

That ‘s cunning, but it ‘s non true. I ‘ve known wealth people who were reasonably suffering – and I ‘ve known hapless folks who were suffering, excessively.

Misery is no respecter of individual or net worth. The Tee-shirt message summarizing our civilization is: “ The 1 who dies with the most toys wins. ” However, person much wiser revised that message to state, “ The 1 who dies with the most toys – still dies!

Real success is non attained when you have a fat bank history or a house full of appliances. Success in God ‘s eyes is found when you have a good relationship with Him, which produces a good relationship with other people.

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Listen to the manner God describes success in Jeremiah 9:23: “ The Lord says, ‘Let non the wise adult male self-praise of his wisdom or the strong adult male self-praise of his strength or the rich adult male self-praise of his wealths, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justness and righteousness on Earth, for in these I delight. ”

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Jesus has a different definition for success than our mercenary civilization has. He said true success is to be enjoyed when you have ‘life ‘ . And he clearly states a individual ‘s life is non determined by the copiousness of his ownerships.

When Jesus radius of life, He did n’t utilize the word bios, which means physical being ; we get our word biological science from that. He uses the word zoa, which means a quality of life.

True success is cognizing God and loving God.

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And that ‘s the message of a narrative Jesus tells that we ‘re traveling to look at today.

We have begun a short series we ‘re naming The Master Story-Teller, because it ‘s based on some cardinal narratives that Jesus told. Today ‘s narrative in Luke 12 replying the challenging inquiry How Do You go Rich Toward God?

Back to Derek.

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The spine on the dorsum of a Porsche read, “ The 1 who dies with the most toys wins. ” Talk about stupid! He who dies, still dies.

Unfortunately that auto spine seems to depict the hedonic doctrine of a batch of people in our twenty-four hours. The acquisition of “ things ” and the chase of pleasance is, for many, the driving force and mensurating rod of a successful life. And it was that manner in Jesus ‘ twenty-four hours, excessively.

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In Luke 16 we read that the Pharisees were lovers of money, and they sneered at Jesus when He taught that we can non function both God and Money.

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Their instruction was that “ whom the Lord loves He makes rich, ” and they saw no contradiction between godliness and greed.

But Jesus replies here with a doctrine that is the polar antonym: “ A adult male ‘s life does non dwell in the copiousness of his ownerships. ” This statement is given within the context of the fable of the Rich Fool. It ‘s found in Luke 12, and I want us to get down our reading in verse 13:

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Person in the crowd said to him, “ Teacher, state my brother to split the heritage with me. ”

Jesus replied, “ Man, who appointed me a justice or an supreme authority between you? ” Then he said to them, “ Watch out! Be on your guard against all sorts of greed ; a adult male ‘s life does non dwell in the copiousness of his ownerships. ”

And he told them this parable: “ The land of a certain rich adult male produced a good harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I make? I have no topographic point to hive away my harvests. ‘

“ Then he said, ‘This is what I ‘ll make. I will rupture down my barns and construct bigger 1s, and there I will hive away all my grain and my goods. And I ‘ll state to myself, “ You have plentifulness of good things laid up for many old ages. Take life easily ; eat, drink and be merry. ” ‘

“ But God said to him, ‘You sap! This really dark your life will be demanded from you. Then who will acquire what you have prepared for yourself? ‘

“ This is how it will be with anyone who shops up things for himself but is non rich toward God. ”

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If you look back at the early portion of this chapter, you find that Jesus is learning a crowd of many 1000s. His topics include lip service, snake pit, God ‘s Providence, the unpardonable wickedness, and persecution-serious topics for serious adherents to believe about. But right in the center of this of import discourse one adult male in the crowd raises his manus to acquire Jesus ‘ attending: “ Teacher, state my brother to split the heritage with me. ”

I do n’t cognize where this adult male ‘s head is, but he evidently is n’t tracking with Jesus. I suspect he is obsessed with this struggle with his brother, and during a intermission in Jesus ‘ discourse he seizes the chance to acquire this popular rabbi ‘s attending and inquire Him to work out his job for him. The difference most likely has to make with an heritage of land. I suppose his male parent had died and left the farm to this adult male and his brother. They worked the land for a piece but finally got into a difference, so this boy decides to divide. But he ca n’t afford to unless he gets his portion out of the land. The brother does n’t desire to sell portion of the farm because there wo n’t be adequate left to do a life.

The suppliant is so certain he ‘s right he does n’t inquire for justness ; he does n’t even inquire for arbitration ; he merely asks Jesus to govern in his favor and settle the difference. But Jesus declines.

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He says, “ Man, who appointed me a justice or an supreme authority between you? ”

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What He means is that He did non come as a justness of the peace to settle everyday differences. He came to indicate the manner to God and to do certain people knew how to do peace with Him.

( At His Second Coming He will so go the righteous and concluding Judge over all worlds and all their differences, but this is non His naming during His embodiment ) .

Jesus, nevertheless, does non disregard the adult male ‘s inquiry wholly ; alternatively He seizes upon it as a docile minute and instantly turns His discourse to the topic of greed. He sees the adult male ‘s inquiry as caused by a spirit of greed for the things of this universe. Alternatively of merely covering with the symptom, he goes to the root job.

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This is a instead jarring narrative, and instantly our defense mechanisms tend to travel up when we sense person is messing with our billfold.

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I would n’t be surprised if person right now is n’t intelligent, “ Derek ‘s traveling to state us that if we ‘re successful and salvage for the hereafter, we ‘re non swearing God, and that we ought to give everything to the church before we die and lose it anyhow. ”

Well, that ‘s non what this is all about, and to turn out it I want to get down by sharing with you what this fable does n’t learn.

First, it does non reprobate wealth.

There are a batch of affluent people in the Bible who are commended, non rebuked. Job, Abraham, David, Solomon-there ‘s quite a list. Wealth per Se is ne’er treated as a liability in the Bible.

Second, it does non reprobate success.

There was nil innately incorrect with this adult male ‘s determination to draw down his barns and construct bigger 1s. Initiative, planning, success-these traits are ne’er condemned by the Lord. God gives some people ambition, thrust, and creativeness, and we do n’t necessitate to apologize for success in the concern universe or in church work if we have been honest and maintain our precedences straight.

Third, it does non even reprobate the enjoyment of wealth.

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This rich adult male ‘s advocate to himself to “ take life easily ; eat, drink and be merry, ” is non that far from what Paul suggests in 1 Timothy 6 when he says that God “ amply provides us with everything for our enjoyment. ”

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This rich adult male does non hold to experience guilty about the good things his wealth provides to do his life pleasant.

But evidently Jesus is utilizing this adult male as a negative illustration of something.

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What was his job, if it was non that he was affluent, or that he wanted to see continued growing in his concern, or that he wanted to bask the fruits of his labor?

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Well, that ‘s a good inquiry and I will seek to reply it, but first I want to be certain we understand that this fable is non about affluent successful people. Or possibly I should state, it ‘s non merely about such people. It ‘s about you, and it ‘s about me.

Jesus is talking to a crowd of many 1000s of ordinary people, harmonizing to verse 1 of chapter 12. He ‘s non turn toing Jerusalem ‘s Business Leaders Banquet or the Top Earners Club. He ‘s turn toing all of us.

Now I realise there is likely no 1 hearing to me who thinks of himself or herself as financially loaded, because we ever reserve such nomenclature for those more affluent than we are, but the fact is that if we shared out the universe ‘s problems every bit between us, we would be inquiring for our personal problems back once more.

So, allow ‘s look at what this parable does learn.

Wealth is a gift from God.

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“ The land of a certain rich adult male produced a good harvest. ”

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Make you see that? The land of a certain rich adult male produced a good harvest.

This adult male was n’t needfully a mastermind ; he may non even have been a peculiarly difficult worker. He was merely blessed in that God gave him an abundant harvest. God is the 1 who makes the land rich, who sends the rain, and who produces a crop. Farmers understand that.

Let ‘s rephrase the message: “ The pattern of a certain doctor was increasing ” , or “ the committees of a certain salesman were traveling through the roof, ” or “ the investings of a certain retired individual were crushing the market by a important border. ” That ‘s the scene.

Affluent people tend to take the recognition for their success, but I ‘m ever troubled when I hear narratives about self-made people-fabulously affluent people who were born in poorness and yet made it large. These are unusual people who deserve to be admired for their thrust, fortitude, inventiveness, willingness to take hazards, and competency.

But, these are perfectly non self-made people. No manner. Which of them take their ain IQ ‘s? Who decided in which state they would be born? How come they had parents who wanted them alternatively of a female parent who decided to abort? Who gave them healthy organic structures alternatively of spina bifida or cystic fibrosis?

These are all issues over which they had no influence at all. They did n’t take their fatherland or their parents or their cistrons or their basic personalities. These are all gifts from their Godhead.

Everything we have, including wealth, is a gift from God.

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James 1:17 says, “ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the celestial visible radiations. ”

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Not merely is wealth a gift from God.

Wealth complicates one ‘s life.

This is expressed by the adult male in our narrative when he asks, “ What shall I make? I have no topographic point to hive away my harvests. ” You say, that ‘s a good job to hold ; it ‘s certainly better than the alternate. Possibly, but it ‘s a job however and a existent 1. He ca n’t merely allow the harvests putrefaction ; he has to make something. His life has become more complicated by his success.

I think the mean individual sees the wealthy as life on easy street ; nil could be farther from the truth. Oh, they may hold more comfortss, they may possess more playthings, and they may be able to go to put the remainder of us ca n’t, but their lives are anything but easy.

Check out the narratives of many affluent people and do you cognize what you will detect? Their wealth purchased as much hurting as pleasure-tax jobs, jurisprudence suits, household feuds. They could ne’er be certain their friends were existent friends or possibly merely wanted a press release.

There are other complications that wealth can bring forth.

It forces a individual into a higher revenue enhancement bracket, so he has to engage a attorney to happen out how to reassign some of it into a revenue enhancement shelter, which puts him under the examination of the Tax Man, which mandates the hiring of an comptroller.

Wealth besides dramatically increases the figure of solicitations a individual receives from those who want to acquire into his pockets. If you and I get frustrated sometimes by the petitions for parts by phone and by mail from assorted and assorted charities and Christian administrations, you ca n’t conceive of what the truly affluent put up with.

Further, wealth can sometimes take to awful solitariness.

Chuck Swindoll wrote a small booklet a figure of old ages ago addressed to the curious demands of Chief Executive Officers and other successful people. Its rubric is, “ The Lonely Whine of the Top Dog. ”

Here are a few lines:

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“ If I were to inquire you to depict person who is lonely, opportunities are good you would non take person who is busy. It is besides dubious that you ‘d choose person in a top direction place, the main executive officer in a turning corporation, or the prima, well-paid sales representative in an aggressive, competitory administration. “ Not them! ” we think. “ They ‘re successful. They ‘re fulfilled. They ‘ve got it made. Furthermore, with all those people around, they have n’t got clip to be lonely! ”

Do n’t wager on it.

More frequently than non, those who find themselves nearing or at the top of the steep ladder of fiscal success have few friends ( if any ) , battle to maintain peace at place, and live on the ragged border of disenchantment, even desperation.

Loneliness is the pestilence of the lone wolf. . . and, by and big, “ top Canis familiariss ” are lone wolfs. Either by design or by default, most executives operate in a really private universe where felicity eludes them. Contentment and interior tranquility are rarely found in the penthouse. Alternatively, there is ennui and blunt feelings of emptiness.

As Thoreau states so good, these are ( frequently ) people who ‘lead lives of quiet despair. ‘ ”

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Could it be that the rich sap of our parable suffered from solitariness? Well, expression at verse 17: “ He thought to himself, ‘Self, what shall I make? ‘ ” This adult male is so stray he does n’t hold anyone to speak to, so he talks to himself. Notice the personal pronouns found in merely two poetries, 18 and 19: “ What shall I make? I have no topographic point to hive away my harvests. This is what I ‘ll make. I will rupture down my barns and construct bigger 1s, and there I will hive away all my grain and my goods. And I ‘ll state to myself. . . ” He ‘s a lone wolf if you of all time saw one.

You know, the bottom line is that wealth is n’t ever what it ‘s cracked up to be. It can perplex one ‘s life awfully.

Wealth can take to stashing and selfishness. It does n’t hold to, but it has a inclination to, and it necessarily happens when wealth is combined with a love for money.

Please understand that non every affluent individual is a lover of money. By the same item, non every hapless individual is free from the love of money. Wealth is an economic issue. The love of money is a character issue.

In 1 Timothy 6 the Apostle Paul trades really otherwise with those who are affluent and those who want to go affluent. He speaks really positively but carefully to those who are rich, but he speaks really negatively to those who want to acquire rich, i.e. to those who are consumed with greed.

The rich sap in our narrative is a individual who is non merely affluent but is obsessed with going even wealthier. He says, “ This is what I ‘ll make! I will rupture down my barns and construct bigger 1s, and there I will hive away all my grain and my goods. ” Tear down and construct bigger. Familiar as the forenoon paper, is n’t it?

Look around at any metropolis. You see that concern leaders are in the procedure of rupturing down and constructing more luxury boxes!

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A Roman adage from the clip of Jesus says, “ Money is like sea H2O ; the more a adult male drinks the thirstier he becomes. ”

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And frequently a barbarous rhythm is set in gesture. Dad works longer hours so he can do more money so he can purchase more things so his household can be happier. But the household ‘s non happier, because they see less of Dad, so he works harder to purchase even more things to do up for non being at that place. And relationships are torn down while bigger and better things are substituted in their topographic point.

But our rich sap goes one measure further.

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He adds, “ And I ‘ll state to myself, ‘You have plentifulness of good things laid up for many old ages. Take life easily ; eat, drink, and be merry. ‘ ”

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He thinks all these things are traveling to fulfill the deep demands of his psyche. But he ‘s incorrect. There is a God-shaped vacuity in every psyche that can non be filled with things, particularly wealth. Merely God can make full it and supply the peace that passes apprehension.

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One author said, “ If God is n’t in first topographic point, you ca n’t manage success, ”

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Or wealth, I might add. God surely is n’t in first topographic point in this adult male ‘s life. God is n’t even in sight. Wealth hoarded is ever left buttocks ( and non ever for the intents we desire ) .

All of a sudden God enters our narrative in poetry 20, possibly in the signifier of an beatific courier. He walks right into the adult male ‘s office where he ‘s tilting back in his leather reclining chair speaking to himself and says, “ You fool! This really dark your life will be demanded from you. Then who will acquire what you have prepared for yourself? ” The universe would name him a great success and highly bright, but God calls him a sap ; he ‘s nescient ; he ‘s stupid. He planned good for this life but wholly ignored the life to come. That is the prototype of folly.

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You are listening to Word Alive with Derek Stringer. Today ‘s message is based on the narrative Jesus told in Luke 12. Dr. Stringer is replying the inquiry: How Do We Become Rich Toward God?

Recordings and transcripts of this series are available. I ‘ll state you at the terminal of the programme more about that.

Let ‘s travel back to Derek.

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You know, reading verse 20 I ca n’t assist but believe of a truly nice adult male. He was a top executive with a major company. He had a gorgeous place and an extended investing portfolio, and he was thirstily looking frontward to early retirement. But he did n’t hold clip to function or to be involved in anything other than Sunday forenoon worship ; even that was instead sporadic. Finally he had his fiscal portfolio sorted out and he retired early. He was set. He could now go around the universe with his married woman, do up to his kids what they had missed because of his brainsick work agenda, and even possibly get down to function the Lord. But less than six months after retirement, in his early 60 ‘s, he died of a monolithic bosom onslaught.

That narrative is repeated a 1000 times a twenty-four hours. We all know we ca n’t take it with us. But we must besides come to clasps with the fact that we ca n’t even command it after we ‘re gone.

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Jesus asked, “ Who will acquire what you have prepared for yourself? ”

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How many estates have fallen into the custodies of despised enemies of the 1 who accumulated them? How many legacies have been squandered by an irresponsible kid or dissipated by a disreputable legal guardian? Wealth hoarded is ever left buttocks, and non ever for the intents we desire.

Now Jesus does n’t go forth it up to us to make up one’s mind what the point of this parable is. In verse 21 He provides His ain application. So what?

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“ This is how it will be with anyone who shops up things for himself but is non rich toward God. ”

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It is highly of import that we read that poetry in its entireness. God does non name the individual a sap who shops up things for himself. He calls the individual a sap who shops up things for himself but is non rich toward God.

There ‘s nil incorrect with salvaging ; there ‘s nil incorrect with hive awaying up for a showery twenty-four hours. But there is something awfully incorrect with stashing while we ignore our duties toward God.

In fact, we should non merely be concerned about run intoing our duties to God ; we should seek to be rich toward Him. What does that intend? I think it means puting for eternity-investing our clip, our endowments, our money, our Black Marias in worship and in functioning people and in making them with the Good News that Jesus loves them plenty to give His really life for them.

As I have travelled around to prophesy, there have been times when I have met with trusters in awful poorness. . . by the universe ‘s criterions. I have found so many of these trusters manner in front of me in their religious penetration and Christ-likeness. They are really rich toward God.

Of class, one does n’t hold to go a missional and travel to the jungle to be rich toward God. It can go on when any one of us recognises that our ownerships are truly God ‘s, He has loaned them to us for a brief period, and He desires a good return on His investing.

Make you cognize the narrative of Yussif, the Terrible Turk? He was a large giant of a adult male. A wrestling title-holder in Europe several coevalss ago. After he won the title in Europe he sailed to the United States to crush their title-holder, whose name was Strangler Lewis-a small cat who weighed merely around 3rd of the Turk.

Strangler had a simple program for get the better ofing his oppositions. He ‘d set that monolithic arm of his around the cervix of his opposition and he ‘d pump up his biceps and cut the O off. Many an opposition had passed out in the ring when Strangler Lewis put the headlock on him.

The job he had when it came to contending the Turk was that the European giant did n’t hold a cervix! He merely went from his caput to those monolithic shoulders. Lewis could n’t of all time acquire the clasp, so it was n’t long earlier Yussif threw Lewis on the mat and pinned him.

After winning the title the Turk demanded all $ 5,000 of his bag in gold. He put the title belt around his huge center, stuffed the gold into the belt, and boarded the following ship back to Europe. He was now the proud owner of America ‘s glorification and its gold. He had won it all.

He set canvas, but midway across the Atlantic, the ship sank. Yussif went over the side with his gold still strapped around his organic structure. The added weight was excessively much for the Turk, and he sank like an Fe anvil before they could acquire to him with the lifeboats.

“ What a sap! ” you say. Sunk by his ain gold. Yes, but how many of us are figuratively in the same boat as Yussif, with our things wrapped around us firmly, ready to strangulate the life out of us? You say, but this has nil to make with me. I ‘m non affluent and I do n’t hold plenty gold to drop a plaything boat. Possibly non, but the fact is, the words of this narrative are merely as applicable to the covetous people contending their manner up the ladder as they are to the top Canis familiariss that are seeking to keep their topographic point in the penthouse of success.

The issue is non one of ownerships but of position.

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May God assist us to see one time once more that while we ca n’t take it with us. . .

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But, if we invest it sagely, we can direct it on in front.

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Thank you Derek.

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Word Alive will be back once more and I hope that you can be after to fall in us.

Derek Stringer will convey out the truths from another narrative that the Master-Story Teller told.

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Thank you for being with us today. And make delight, acquire in touch. Your encouragement means a batch to us as we Teach the Word and Touch the World through wireless.

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Good-bye for now and God bless you.