{All scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are from the King James Version of the Bible}
1Timothy 4v12, “Let no man despise thy youth, but be thou an example of believers IN WORD, IN CONVERSATION, IN CHARITY (love), IN SPIRIT, IN FAITH, IN PURITY.”
Let us first look at what Jesus said in Matthew 5v13-16, particularly verse 16, “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is heaven.” The Lord said we are the light of the world and our light should SHINE, hence we must live lives that are above reproach in the world – lives that profess godliness, (1Timothy 2v10) lives that are exemplary to everybody. Philippians 3v17, “Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. (or pattern)” Paul is saying here, “Follow my example” and “you have us for an example”. So, a believer must live by example. Peter urged pastors / elders to “be examples to the flock”. 1Peter 5v3, “Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.” If you are a leader, you must be an example of/to your followers. A believer must be an example to fellow believers and the world. Paul says, “Let no man despise thy youth, but be thou an example…”, this clearly shows us that it is up to us to let people despise or honour us. The way we present ourselves or the example we set before people will determine whether they will despise us or not.
In our text (1Timothy 4v12) we are told to be examples in six ways (according to the KJV):
1. In word
2. In conversation (way of life)
3. In charity (love)
4. In spirit
5. In faith
6. In purity
[1] IN WORD
“Let no man despise thy youth, but be thou an example of believers, IN WORD…”
· Genesis 2 v19, “…God …brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.” We see the word of Adam being final / authoritative. Know that what you speak whether good or bad will come to pass like what God did in the creation process, He spoke and it was so. Your word has authority to make things happen and to the perception that people have about you. God in the creation process said, “Let there be…” and things came into existence. Words are creative. So, your words “create things” in your life whether positive or negative, whether for you or against you. They determine your destiny. Job 22v28 says, “Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee…”
·Joshua 9v15-20, “And the man took of their victuals, and ASKED NOT COUNSEL AT THE MOUTH OF THE LORD. And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them. …And the children of Israel smote them not, because the princes of the congregation had sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel …This we will do unto them; we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we sware unto them”. 2Samuel 21v1says, “Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David inquired of the Lord. And the Lord answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.” The princes of Israel made haste to swear or make a league with strangers, the Gibeonites. They vowed to them hence they could not change and destroy them. Proverbs 6v2 says, “Thou art snared … thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.” Proverbs 20v25, “It is a snare … after vows to make enquiry.” Ecclesiastes 5v2, 4-7, “Be not rashy with thy mouth … suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin…” What you speak rules you – watch your words! Many a times people stay within the boundaries of their words. You might not go beyond the boundaries of your words. What you say is legally binding in the realm of the spirit. We see in Joshua 9, the princes of Israel making vows, many years later Saul went against those vows and killed those people but justice could not allow. By so doing, he (Saul) invoked a curse upon the children of Israel. You words may be binding to generations after you, so, be exemplary in your speech, do not just speak anything, it may affect other people. If people really understood the significance of their words, they would not say the things that they speak. We should not be loose in our words, vows or promises. God, people and the devil hold you responsible for your words! I think your words witness for or against you. They open and or close certain doors in your life. So, be careful about what witness your words make and what doors they close or open. Many a times people talk themselves out of God’s blessings and into curses by their words!
·Psalms 15v1, 4, “Lord who shall abide in Thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in Thy holy hill? …he that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.” A man of integrity swears to his own hurt and changes not. Stand by your words. We should stand by our words. Do you have confidence to stand by your words? God says, “… for I watch over My Word to confirm it…”, Jeremiah 1v12. When God says something, He makes sure He performs it, He does not just speak. God identifies Himself with His Word. What He says is what He is. If you want to know God, look at His Word or listen to what He says. Are you able to identify yourself with your words? If not, then there is something wrong with your words. A man of integrity stands by his words. If he says something, like God, he makes sure he fulfills it. It is far much better not to say anything than to speak or say out things and not fulfill them. False promises tarnish your image. The bible says “Let your yea (yes) be yea (yes) and your nay (no) be nay (no)”, Matthew 5v37 & James 5v12. You are not a good example when you always make promises or say things, which you never fulfil. Are you an example of believers in word? Some people are known, if they say anything, you never bother to remember it or follow it up, they always make false promises! On the other end, some people are known also, if they say something, you know they will fulfil it! That is the group that I want to identify with myself!
·Psalms 37v30, “The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgement (justice)” People should find wisdom and justice from our words. Many a times what people profess to be and their words do not match or correspond. They profess Christ but Christ is not in their words! That is very ridiculous and amazing. What they profess and their words are totally incompatible. Such people should first try and mix water with oil before they try to convince us to accept that nonsense! The bible says Christ is our wisdom (1Corinthians 1v30), if Christ then is our wisdom, if He is in us, His presence should be evident in our word. Is there wisdom and justice in your words or there is just foolishness and corruption? If people want to hear wisdom and justice, they should run to us. Why? Because those two should be found in our mouths / words. Let us endeavor to preserve wisdom and justice in our words.
·Proverbs 10v19-21, “In a multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise. The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth. The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.” Limit your words; let your tongue be as choice silver (expensive & scarce, not simple or common – speak when necessary). Let your lips feed others and not curse, discourage or disappoint them. Somebody said “show me somebody who is always talking and I will show you somebody who is always sinning.” I believe this statement is true. Proverbs says where there are many words; sin is guaranteed to be present. All it means is that when you talk too much, you increase your chances of sinning. Actually most of the volumes of words that are spoken are useless if not harmful. There is nothing wrong with being quiet, and there is everything wrong with talking too much and unnecessarily. Do you know choice silver? Have you ever handled or owned some? But who has never handled soil? Let people look for your words as they would choice silver. But other people’s words are just like dust, which we do not need and sweep away every day! The Word (and not me) says the sign of wisdom is to refrain one’s lips and what is the sign of foolishness if not talkativeness? Be careful of this “yep yep” business!
·Proverbs 18 v20-21, “A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth: and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” The living bible says, “Those who love to talk will suffer consequences, MAN HAVE DIED FOR SAYING WRONG THINGS.” This is more “blunt” and sobering, isn’t it? I believe the bible means what it says, do you? Discipline yourself to speak life with your lips. (Let your words give healthy to yourself and to others.) Your own belly or life will be filled with what you speak, whether sweet or bitter. Many people push the blame on others for the things that happen in their lives but little did they know that their words are their first enemy and culprit! Do you want to be full of life, healthy and blessings? Then let that be what your lips will speak.
·Proverbs 21v23, “Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue, keepeth his soul from troubles.” Proverbs 14v3, “In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them.” There is great need to keep your tongue/mouth; it will preserve you from a lot of troubles. Many troubles and intricacies that people find themselves in are a direct result of failure to keep their tongues. Your lips can preserve you either by your keeping quiet when and where necessary or by speaking the right things that are healthy. Some people’s words are a reproach to themselves much more to others! Do you want to stay out of trouble? Then keep or bridle your tongue. It’s the little tongue and the little words that get many into trouble. Ecclesiastes 10v1 says, “Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savor (smell): so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour.” Let us also look at Songs of Solomon 2v15, “Take us the little foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.” Many a times it’s the little things that seem insignificant that put many in troubles.
·Proverbs 13v3, “He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.” To keep your tongue is to keep your life and to let loose your tongue is to invite destruction. Your words and life (or death) are inseparable.
·Proverbs 12v17, 19, 22, “He that speaketh truth showeth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit. The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment. Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are His delight.” Speak the truth and no lies. Truth shows righteousness, it is God’s delight and it shall be established. Ephesians 4v25, “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another.” We need to speak the truth strictly. It is an abomination before the Lord to speak lies but it delights Him when we speak the truth. I do not know about you but I want to be a delight to the Lord, and one of the ways is to speak the truth!
·Proverbs 12v18, 25, “There is that speaketh like the pearcings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health. Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.” A good word is health and maketh glad the heart. There is great need to speak health words both for ourselves and for others.
·Proverbs 23v16, “Yea, My reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.” Speaking right things is not only good for our reputations but it also pleases God our Father. So, how valuable it is to speak right, if it pleases my heavenly Father, I will endeavor to pursue it!
·Proverbs 14v23, “In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury (poverty).” Do not be a talker only, learn to labour or work. It is far much better to do work than be just an idle (vain) talker! There are those who spend their time “idling around” they won’t reap anything. When a car is idling it does not move, the engine will be on, but it won’t move, same with idle talkers they don’t move to anywhere in life!
·Ecclesiastes 9v17, “The words of the wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.”
·Proverbs 18v13, “He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.” The simple translation of this scripture will be “He that answers or responds to a matter or issue before he hears it is a fool.” I wonder how many fools we have!
·Proverbs 17v27-28, “He that hath wisdom spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit. Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace (keeps quiet) is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.” If this verse said, “…and he that openeth his lips and speaketh a lot is esteemed a man of understanding”, we were going to have many people who would be esteemed man of understanding! But unfortunacle the opposite is true. It is amazing that the Word says even if one were a fool, if he/she learns to keep quiet and not speak unnecessarily, he would be acting wisely and would be esteemed or rated with the wise. The wise speaks only when it’s necessary.
·Isaiah 50v4-5, “The Lord hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: He wakeneth morning by morning, He wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. The Lord hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.” We need to speak as the learned, and to speak as the learned; we have to hear from God. We need to speak words in season to encourage the weary. Ours is to encourage and not to discourage or dishearten the beloved. If we are to be of help and our words of value to others, we need to take time to hear from God directly and through the Word.
·Matthew 12v33-37, “Either make the tree good, and his fruit (will be also) good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit (will be also) corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement. For by thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” These words of our Lord are very sobering. He says every loose or idle word people speak will have to be accounted for. It is our words that justifieth or condemneth us, both in this life and in the judgement day! I think Jesus meant exactly what He said when He said “…That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement. For by thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned” We would rather be careful and mind our tongues or words. You see, what you speak is what you think or what is in your heart, when you are full of filthiness, that is what you will speak – filthiness! When you are full of the Word of God, that is what you will speak. James in his letter in chapter 2v12 echoes almost the same statement, “So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.” When we speak, we should not forget that there is judgement.
·Mark 11v23, “For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shalt not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he sayeth shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he sayeth.” You will have what you say. Words that you speak build some things in your life whether good or bad. If you believe and speak negative things, that is what you will have – negative things. Things that you do not want do not speak or confess them, say out only those things that you want. For instance if you do not want fever, do not say, “I believe I will catch fever, actual it is a family disease everybody in our family has it.” If you speak like that, fever is what you will get. Say, “I do not care everybody in my family has been sick of fever but it will not come near me for I was healed by the stripes of Jesus and the Word of God is health to all my flesh and bones.” (1Peter 2v24, Proverbs 2v20-22)
·Roman 10v10, “…with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” We know and use this scripture when leading people unto salvation or to accept Christ. We say confess the Lord Jesus, when they do that we say, “now you are saved”. The same principle applies everywhere. Confession is made unto everything we say, if it is salvation, it is made unto salvation, if it is healing, confession is made unto healing.
·Ephesians 4v15, 29, “But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” We need to speak not only the truth but the truth in love. Our motive when we speak is very important. We also need to speak things that are good for edifying others, if it won’t edify your brother, then you mighty as well not say it.
· Colossians 4v6, “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how to answer every man.” Ephesians 5v4, “Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting (joking), which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.” We need to speak words that are seasoned (skilled, knowledgeable), with grace. We need to ask ourselves, “Is this the best word to speak, what impact does it have on the next person and on my life or image?” Paul says we shouldn’t have foolish talking in the church and jesting / joking. I do not want to be dogmatic, but I hope we all agree that according to Ephesians 5v4, joking is not convenient in the house of God.
·Titus 2v7-8, “In all things showing thyself a PATTERN of good works: in doctrine showing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.” We need to show ourselves a good pattern in our speech. Our speech should not be condemned, it should be above condemnation. Even those who oppose us should not have anything in our speech to condemn us on. Mark 12v13, “And they sent Him certain of the Pharisees and Herodians, TO CATCH HIM IN HIS WORD” The devil want our words, people want our words, so let us be on guard. They tried to pin Jesus on His words but they failed because His speech was beyond reproach or condemnation.
·James 1v19, “Wherefore my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.” You see, many times people practice this scripture in reverse order, they are slow to hear and swift to speak! Somebody said, “The reason we have two ears and one mouth is that we should hear twice and speak once.” All this means is that our ratio of speaking should be half our ratio of listening. We should do more listening than talking.
·James 3v2, “For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and also able to bridle the whole body.” James says there are many chances or many things in which we offend but if we know how to control our words, we can control our whole body. Ability to control your words, is a sign for maturity. Test for maturity is not in many words, it is not in how we are used of God to manifest Spiritual Gifts, but it is in our ability to control our words not to offend. How many times in a day do you offend others by your words? But if you would control your tongue you would minimize your chances of offending.
·1Timothy 5v13, “And withal they learn to idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busy bodies, speaking things which they ought not.” Jude 8-10, “Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves." We should be careful not to speak things that we ought not. Jude says, sometimes people speak evil of things that they don’t even know about. It is said that Michael, the archangel, when contending with the devil didn’t speak many things against the devil, he just, “The Lord rebuke thee Satan.” Sometimes we bail the devil out by our words! Do not speak a lot of words against the devil just speak the Word.
·Isaiah 33v15-17, “He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; …He shall dwell on high …thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty…” For us to be able to fellowship with God, we need to speak uprightly. We will dwell on high, our defence will be certain, our bread and water will be sure.
·1Peter 3v10, “For him that will love life and, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile.” Do you want to have a good life and see good days? I want to! The way there is to refrain your tongue.
·1Thessalonians 4v11, “And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you.” Many a times people spend time talking about other people’s businesses, criticising this or that and you wonder when will they attend to their own things! They like complaining and criticising other people’s businesses but they are not doing anything themselves. Learn to mind your own business, if you do not have any to attend to then sleep and not spoil other people’s! Study to be quiet!
·Proverbs 6v16-19, “These six things doth the Lord hate; yea, seven are an abomination to Him: a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.” God hate a lying tongue and false witness that telleth lies. Actually, these things are an abomination to Him. I don’t know of anything that causes discord among the brethren more that words.
·Isaiah 58v13, “If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy own pleasure on My holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord, hounorable; and shall hounor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words.” We are instructed here to delight ourselves in the Lord and not to speak our own words. There is a benefit or promise for that, Isaiah 58v14, “…and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee …for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”
·James 1v26, “If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but decieveth his own heart, this man’s religion is in vain.” We definitely need to bridle our tongues. James says if anybody seems religious, the way to test him is to see whether he is able to bridle his tongue, if not, then know that his religion is in vain or he is a hypocrite.
·James 4v11, “Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.” We do not need to speak evil one of another and judge one another. If there is nothing good to talk about in a brother, then shut up!
·2Timothy 2v23-26, 14, “But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender (cause) strives. And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient; In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” “Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words (which leads) to no profit, but to the subverting the hearers.” We should not strive, quarrel or be involved in foolish, stupid or unlearned discussions but in turn we should be gentle and instruct in meekness. Are you a servant of the Lord? If so, then you should not strive.
·Colossians 3v16-17, “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the Name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.” We need the Word to dwell in us richly in order for us to be able to teach and admonish one another in wisdom. Whatever we speak must be “fit” to be in the Name of the Lord.
·1Timothy 4v6, “If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shall be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, where unto thou art also attained.” We need to speak words of faith.
·Isaiah 58v9, “Then shat thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shall cry, and the Lord shall say here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting of the finger, and speaking vanity.” Stop making false accusations and spreading vicious rumors, don’t talk idly, stop judging and accusing others.
· Psalms 106v32-33, “They angered him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes: because they proved his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.” Numbers 20v10, “And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch ye water out of this rock?” God told Moses to gather the children of Israel and speak unto the rock, but he spoke unto the people and hit the rock! Why? He was angry and spoke unadvisedly or foolishly – he did not think or plan his words and that costed him entrance to Canaan! It is best not to speak when you are angry, you might say things you shouldn’t.
·Psalms 145v5-11, “I will speak of the glorious honour of Thy Majesty, and of Thy wondrous works. And men shall speak of the might of Thy terrible acts: and I will declare Thy greatness. They shall abundantly utter the memory of Thy goodness, and shall sing of Thy righteousness. The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works. All Thy works shall praise Thee, O Lord; and Thy saints shall bless Thee. They shall speak of the glory of Thy kingdom, and talk of Thy power.” Ours is to declare the greatness of our God, speak of His goodness, the glory of His kingdom and of His mighty power. We are to continually magnify our God, for that is our full time and eternal call! Hallelujah!
Remember we are still talking about being exemplary in our speech. “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of believers, in word…’ As I said before, it is you who determines whether people will honour you or not, by the way you present yourself, and one of the ways is through your words or speech.
[2] IN CONVERSATION (WAY OF) LIFE OR CONDUCT
“Let no man despise thy youth, but be thou an example of believers, …IN CONVERSATION…”
·Psalms 37v14, “The wicked have drown out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.” We need to be of an upright conversation or simple put, we need to live or walk uprightly. This grieves the wicked (the devil and his agencies – people or devils) and in turn they will fight against us but God will preserve us. We need to be exemplary in our way of life and uphold uprightness. It does not necessarily mean that when we live uprightly, we will sail and be in good books with everybody - no! We might even suffer for being upright.
·Psalms 50v23, “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth Me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God.” We need to order our conversation aright, God assures us of His salvation if we do so. Our ways should be right or straight.
·Philippians 3v20, “For our conversation (citizenship) is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Our conversation or citizenship is in heaven, hence we need to live and conduct ourselves as heavenly citizens.
·1Peter 1v15-16, “But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, be ye holy for I am holy.” The Word does not say, “Be ye holy in part or some of your conversation.” No! It says be ye holy in all manner of your conversation. We need to pursue holiness in all our dealings and way of life.
·Galatians 1v13, “For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the Church of God, and wasted it.” There has to be clear cut or distinct change and difference between your old way of life and the new after you accept Christ. Paul before being born again was persecuting the church and wasting or destroying it, after his conversion he could look back and say, “You know my old way of life”. Some people continue with their old way of life, I wonder why and how. Ephesians 2v3, “Among whom also we all had our conversation in the times past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” Before were we born again, we went about fulfilling the desires and lusts of the flesh, but we should leave that behind the cross. Our conversation, way of life or conduct should change.
·Ephesians 4v1, 17, 22, “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation (call) wherewith ye are called, This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.” There is an old man and a new man. We need to mortify and put off the old man and walk after the new man that is created after (the image of) Christ. Our former way of life was corrupt because our old man was corrupt, now we need to put on the new man. If we continue following the old man, our ways wills continue being corrupt, that is where comes the so-called “carnal Christians”. Walk worthy of our call.
·Philippians 1v27, “Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come to see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” We need to live worthy of the gospel of Christ. Some people’s lives are completely opposite with what they preach. And that is ridiculous. “Do what I tell you and not what I do”, they say. That’s rubbish! If you can’t do what you teach then sit down or keep quiet. They try and misquote the Word and say Jesus said that. Jesus was speaking about the Pharisees, He said the Pharisees teach the law but they do not practice it, therefore you might do what they teach (for they teach the law) but they themselves do not do it. He never said we should go around saying, “Do what I teach and not what I do.” No, practice what you teach. These are the hypocrites that bring reproach to the gospel, for they are holy in the pulpit, but when they come down from there (pulpit) they are something else!
·Hebrews 13v5, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Do you know what covetousness means? It means, excessive desire for more than one needs or deserves, resentful or painful desire for another’s advantages. Our way of life should be free of such. If we really know and understand that God will take care of us and our needs will be met then there is nor need to envy other people.
·Hebrews 13v7, “Remember them that have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the Word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.” We need to follow the faith and way of life of our leaders after considering the end of their way of life or the outcome of their way of life. On the other hand, we need to realise that there are people who are following our way of life and should we not set a good example before them, we will destroy innocent lives that are following us.
·James 3v13, “Who is a wise man and endured with knowledge among you? Let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.” Our conversation has to be coupled with meekness and wisdom.
·1Peter 1v18, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers.” Our old way of life was vain and empty, but after being redeemed by the blood of Christ, our way of life should show the difference. Evil way of life or conversation can also be inherited from fore fathers. We should always remember that our redemption was costly, it costed the blood of Jesus!
·1Peter 2v12, “Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak evil against you as evil doers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation."” We need to lead a honest life that is above reproach before unbelievers. Our way of life will determine whether those who see us as Christians will glorify God or not.
·1Peter 3v1, 2, 16, “Likewise, ye wives, be in submission to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; while they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as evil doers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.”
·2Peter 3v11, “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in holy conversation and godliness.” We are awaiting the coming of the Lord of which we are warned that it will be “unexpectedly”, then, we need to maintain a holy conversation or way of life. We should live in holiness and godliness and be a manner of people that when the Lord comes at time, we will be ready and worthy to meet Him in the air!
·1Thessalonians 2v12, “That ye would walk worthy of God, Who hath called you unto His Kingdom and glory.” We need to live and walk in a way that is worthy of God or we can say God should be able to identify with our way life. We should walk by His standard. Worthy means “satisfying the requirements”, so, in our walk we need to satisfy the required standard of our God. He has called us unto His kingdom and glory hence we should walk worthy of that call.
·1Thessalonians 4v12,”That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.” We need to walk honestly towards them that are without the Kingdom or simple put; we need to show ourselves honest towards unbelievers. It would hard in not impossible to convince unbelievers to accept the gospel in those who profess Christianity are not being honest.
·Ephesians 5v15-17, “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” We need to order our conversation wisely. We need to be wise, redeem the time and understand what the will of the Lord is. The only way to walk wisely is to walk in the will of the Lord, and to walk in the will of the Lord, we have to understand that will!
·2Peter 2v7-8, “And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;” If you see yourself comfortable with the conversation and or company of the wicked, then know certainly that there is something wrong with you if you are a Christian! Lot dwelling in the midst of the Sodomites, was always troubled and grieved when he saw and heard their wickedness, he was never comfortable. That is the reason why it makes me wonder for those who have infidel friends, they are always with them, and they go with them to beer gardens. “When they buy castle, I buy coke”! They say. But when they speak all that filthy language how will one be feeling? But the righteous of old could not afford to be comfortable in such a conversation. Today’s Christian are civilized and more advanced maybe!
·Ephesians 5v8, “For you were sometimes darkness, but now you are light in the Lord: walk as children of the light.” We need to live and walk as the children of the light. All our doings and or dealings should be done in the light. Jesus had this to say, in John 3v20-21, “For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. If you like to operate in the dark, check your deeds!
·Colossians 2v6-7, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him: rooted and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.” We need to walk in Christ; our way of life or walk should be worthy to be “walk in the Lord”. If one is to walk in Christ, then one has to be rooted and built up in Him.
· 1Timothy 5v6, “But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.” 1John 2v15-17, Love not the world neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.” James 4v4, “… know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” Love not the world and its pleasures; know that you are not of this world. We do not need to have any fellowship with this world (and its woks of darkness) Be not in harmony with the spirit of the world lest you wound up being in enmity with God! Jesus said, “I have given them thy Word; and the world hateth them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. They are not of the world even as I am not of the world.” John 17v14,16
· Genesis 17v1, “And … the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before Me, and be thou perfect.” Other translations say “… and be blameless” God requires us to walk before Him, He instructs us to be blameless if we are to walk before Him.
[3] IN CHARITY (LOVE)
· 1Corinthians 8v1, “… we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up but charity edifieth.” Love edifies you and other people. If you walk in the love, the results will be edification.
· 1Corinthians 14v1, “Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.” The Revised Standard Version says, “Make love your aim…” while the N.I.V. says, “Follow the way of love…” We need to make love our wall mark or standard. Pursue love.
· 1Corinthians 16v14 “Let all your things be done with charity.” We need to do all things in or with love. Love should motivate all that we do. We should do all things the love way. Paul in 2Corinthians 5v14 says, “For the love of Christ constraineth us…” Even preaching should be out of love constraining or pushing us!
· Colossians 3v14 “And above all things, put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.”
[4] IN FAITH
·Rom 14:23 But the man who has doubts (misgivings, an uneasy conscience) about eating, and then eats [perhaps because of you], stands condemned [before God], because he is not true to his convictions {and} he does not act from faith. For whatever does not originate {and} proceed from faith is sin [whatever is done without a conviction of its approval by God is sinful]. You cannot have an impact as a believer without faith
·James 2:14-17 What is the use (profit), my brethren, for anyone to profess to have faith if he has no [good] works [to show for it]? Can [such] faith save [his soul]? If a brother or sister is poorly clad and lacks food for each day, And one of you says to him, Good-bye! Keep [yourself] warm and well fed, without giving him the necessities for the body, what good does that do? So also faith, if it does not have works (deeds and actions of obedience to back it up), by itself is destitute of power (inoperative, dead).
[5] IN SPIRITY
·Num 14:24 But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.
·Deut 34:9 And Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands upon him; so the Israelites listened to him and did as the Lord commanded Moses.
·Dan 5:12 Because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, clarify riddles, and solve knotty problems were found in this same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.
·Luke 9:55 But He turned and rebuked {and} severely censured them. {He said, You do not know of what sort of spirit you are,} What spirit are you of, Forgiving or avenging?
·2 Cor 4:13 Yet we have the same spirit of faith as he had who wrote, I have believed, and therefore have I spoken. We too believe, and therefore we speak,
·1 Pet 3:4 But let it be the inward adorning {and} beauty of the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible {and} unfading charm of a gentle and peaceful spirit, which [is not anxious or wrought up, but] is very precious in the sight of God.
·Prov 16:32 He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, he who rules his [own] spirit than he who takes a city.
[6] IN PURITY
·Matt 5:8 Blessed (happy, enviably fortunate, and spiritually prosperous--possessing the happiness produced by the experience of God's favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His grace, regardless of their outward conditions) are the pure in heart, for they shall see God!
·Job 1:1 THERE WAS a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who [reverently] feared God and abstained from {and} shunned evil [because it was wrong].
·We need to be holy in all our being. We are to be holy:
1.In our conduct or way of life, 1Peter 1v15
2.In our speech, Ephesians 4v19
3.In our thinking, Romans 12v1
These are just some of the ways we can have an impact as believers, it is up to you and me to choose whether we want to live as Christ expects or command. I believe we will be accountable on the judgment day pertaining to the example that we have set before people in days on earth. Some people might go or have gone to hell because of our failure to set a right example before them.
Friday, June 22, 2007
EXERCISE THYSELF UNTO GODLINESS
{All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from the Kings James Version}
1 Timothy 4v7-10, “But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, [silly myths, godless charter – having nothing to do with them] and EXERCISE THYSELF RATHER UNTO GODLINESS. For bodily exercise profiteth little but godliness is profitable unto ALL things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acception. For therefore we both LABOUR and SUFFER reproach, because we trust in the living God who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those who believe.”
Exercise / train thyself rather unto godliness, train yourself to be godly or train yourself in godliness.
EXPLANATION OF KEY WORDS
TRAIN means: to give teaching and practice to [e.g. child, soldier, animal] in order to bring to a certain standard of behaviour, efficiency or physical condition – spiritually, prayer. (This is a dictionary meaning)
EXERCISE means: walking, running, jogging, e.t.c. Repetition of an action so as to develop or maintain one’s skill, to subject to forms of exertion in order to train, strengthen or condition.
DISCIPLINE means: training especially of mind and character to produce self-control, habits of obedience. Set rules for conduct, methods by which training may be given, train and control mind and character.
GODLY means: loving and obeying God, deeply religious, deeply concerned about beliefs and practices of religions, holy, religious, pious, devout, divine, heavenly, God-like.
OBEDIENT means: willing to do what one is told to do, willing to do the wishes of others, submissive, compliant, complying.
Note that it is you who exercises or trains yourself. Nobody can do it for you, you have to take the initiative. So, we can paraphrase verse 7 and say, “Give teaching and practice to yourself in order to bring [yourself] to a certain standard of behaviour or efficiency spiritually, to [be] deeply loving and obeying God, being holy, devout, heavenly and God-like.” Training or exercising yourself unto godliness is done almost the same way as physical training. There are things that you have to do and things that you do not have to do. For instance, you may have to run, jog, lift weights eat or not eat certain types of food, etc. This can be the same spiritually, there are certain things you have to do and things that you do not have to do. To exercise yourself effectively, you have to be disciplined, strict and obedient. If we may use a natural example, it may not always be easy to run or jog every morning say because of weather (rain, sun, cold), being physically exhausted, etc but if you are disciplined, you have to. Spiritually speaking, it may not always be easy to exercise yourself, but you have to teach yourself to be strict and disciplined. Exercise or training does not work overnight. You cannot train or exercise yourself today and expect to be a giant tomorrow morning! It does not work that way. It takes time, and usually it is costly and painful, especially in the first days.
Let us look at some of the ways by which you can exercise or train yourself.
1. READ AND STUDY THE WORD.
(a) 1 Peter 2v2, Desire the sincere spiritual milk of the Word that you may GROW thereby. GROW means: become more deeply rooted, a habit that grows on you, come to have a greater attraction for, full development, mature, increase in size, height or length. Paraphrase, “Desire the sincere milk of the Word that you may become more deeply rooted, come to have a deeper attraction for (e.g. God), and be fully developed and mature, spiritually and increase in godliness, Christianity or the things of God.” You have to desire the Word to grow.
(b) Acts 20v32, (…Word of His grace that is able to BUILD you up…” BUILD means: general shape or structure, characteristics and proportion, make, acquire, steadily and gradually (strengthened), parts put together, produce, mold, frame. Paraphrase, “… Word of His grace that is able to strengthen, acquire steadily and gradually, produce in you, mold and frame you (your parts put together) to have a godly shape or structure proportional with godly characteristics.” Abide in the Word of God to be built up and to be spiritually in shape. Read also Romans 10v17, 2 Timothy 3v15-17, Psalms 119v50.
(c) Matthew 4v4, “Man shall not LIVE by bread alone but by every Word that comes out of the mouth of God.” LIVE means to: have existence, be alive, live on, continue to live, live through or survive, (e.g. through wars), have reality of life, live by or earn one’s livelihood by doing something. Paraphrase, “Man shall not have existence, be alive, live on, continue to live, have reality of life, live through, survive or earn his livelihood by bread alone but by every Word that comes out of the mouth of God.” Feed on the Word to live. Neglect of the Word starves your spirit man the same as neglect of natural food is to your body. The spirit man lives on the Word just as the body lives on food. A corpse cannot exercise, so, for you to exercise yourself, you have to be alive, John 6v63, 1 John 2v14.
(d) Joshua 1v8, “This Book of the law shall not depart out of thy MOUTH but thou shalt MEDITATE upon it day and night that thou mayest be careful to DO according to all that is written therein, FOR THEN thou shalt make thy way PROSPEROUS and thou shalt have good SUCCESS.” MEDITATE means to: think about, consider, give ones’ self up to seriously, consider carefully & at length, reflect, weigh, ponder, revolve, think over, think through, turn over or chew over. DO means to : to perform, or carry out an action , progress or perform adequately especially in difficult circumstances. DELIGHT means: great joy, or pleasure, find pleasure, source of great pleasure, greatly pleased. PROSPEROUS means: improving, growing or succeeding steadily, flourishing, a life of happiness, financial security. SUCCESS means: gaining of what is aimed at, good fortune, gain one’s purpose, accomplishment. DEPART means: cease living, pass, go, die, drop, expire, perish, succumb, pass away.
Paraphrase, “This Book of the law (Word) shall not cease living, pass, go, die, drop, expire, perish, succumb or pass away out of thy mouth, but though shalt think about it, consider it, give yourself up to it seriously, consider it carefully and at length, reflect, weigh, ponder, revolve, think over, think through, turn over and chew over it day and night that thou may be careful to perform, carry out, progress or perform adequately even in difficult times according to all that is written there in, for then thou shalt make thy way improve, grow and succeed steadily, flourish, full of happiness and financially secure and thou shalt gain all that you aim at, accomplish and gain all your purposes.”
So, to successfully train your self or exercise yourself and to prosper in your spiritual or godly life, you need the Word, Deuteronomy 5v29. Speak, meditate upon and do or practice the Word. Delight in the Word, Psalms 1v1-3, 1Kings 2v2-3. Keep the charge of the Lord and walk in His ways to prosper and to have good success (note, it is not only success but good success)! Read also James 1v22. The Word also helps you to keep your way pure, Psalms 119v9, Hebrews 4v12, 1Thessalonians 2v13, Micah 2v7, 2Timothy 2v15.
2. PRAYER
PRAYER means to commune with God, offer thanks, make requests known, an earnest or urgent request, appeal, suit, plea, entreaty or supplication.
(a) Philippians 4v6-8, do not be anxious about anything but instead – pray. ANXIETY means: emotional condition in which there is fear and uncertainty of the future, worry, care, uneasiness or distress. Let your requests be known to God for He cares for you. Do not bear your burdens. For you to excel spiritually, you have to be “care or anxious free”. You only experience the peace of God after practicing what verse 6 says. Read also 1 Peter 5v7, Psalms 55v22, 84v11, it is not easy to avoid anxiety, but only possible if you know or believe that God is going to take care. If you truly believe the Word or what God said from your heart – you will not fear. Believe the Word the same way you would Jesus were He to appear to you in Person, you cannot obey Him in Person when you do not obey His written Word. PEACE means: rest, quiet and calm (peace of mind) not excited or emotional, undisturbed. John 14v1,27, Isaiah 26v3-4.
(b) Mark 14v38, pray that you may not enter into TEMPTATION. Temptations are sure to come but you must not enter into them, Matthew 18v7. Pray for yourself (always) and not lose, suffer the loss of forfeit, mislay or misplace your hope, Luke 18v1, 7-8, 1 Corinthians 10v13.
Luke 21v36, Pray that you may escape and attain unto the kingdom of God.
(c) 1Timothy 2v1-2, pray for your leaders and those in authority. (Note that the Bible says pray for and not pray against) Ephesians 6v18 pray for all saints. Galatians 6v2, bear each other’s burdens in prayer. Luke 22v31-32, Genesis 25v21, Isaiah 56v10, 59v16, 63v5, Ezekiel 22v30, Luke 11v8, Acts 12v5.
(d) Praise & Worship God. Prayer has to be coupled with praise and worship, Psalms 8v2, 147v1, 148v11-13, 149-150, Matthew 21v26. In all things give thanks to Him, Acts 16v25-26, Ephesians 5v20, Hebrews 13v15. Worship means: to reverently adore, regard with great awe and devotion, to feel deep-devoted love for. Praise means: to magnify, exalt, glorify and extol.
(e) Romans 8v26, the Holy Ghost helps us in all our INFIRMITIES. Infirmity means: physically, mental or morally weak, not purposeful, undecided, fault or shortcoming. In our prayer life we depend on/upon the Holy Ghost bearing in mind that we get or receive what we ask for in prayer if we ask according to the will of God which He (the Holy Ghost) knoweth. Isaiah 5v14-15, John 15v7. Read also 1Corinthians 14v2,4, Jude 20. Pray in the Spirit or in tongues to get edification.
(f) Isaiah 1v18-19, 43v25-26, Pray the Word. Remind God his Word or promises and plead your case before Him. God honours and will confirm His Word Jeremiah 1v12.
3. FELLOWSHIP
Hebrews 10v25, Matthew 18v19-20, Acts 4v23, 32-34, Daniel 2v17, John 17v20-23. Fellowship with other saints. We are to exhort and edify one another as we are of the same body, members one of another and of the same family – we are one! Read Ecclesiastes 4v9-12, Genesis 11v6, Psalms 133.
4.WALK IN LOVE AND FAITH
Galatians 5v6 says faith worketh by love. Hebrews 10v39-40, 11v6 shows that without faith it is impossible to please God. 2Corinthians 1v24, 5v7, 4v13, Romans 1v17. Faith covers every area of our lives and Romans 14v23 says whatever is not of faith is sin. Train yourself to walk , stand, speak and live by faith, i.e. in God and in His Word. LOVE is the royal new convenant law, John 13v34-35, James 2v8, 1John 3v14-15. Lover never fails, 1Corinthians 13v4-8. The Word says we are to “follow the way of love or follow after charity or make love your aim”, 1Corinthians 14v1, 16v14. Be forgiving. Grudges, hatred and anger are a hindrance to your Christian walk. Learn or train yourself to be always forgiving. Avoid the comparison trap – do not compare yourself with others, be a Christian that God wants you to be, 2Corinthians 10v12. Know that hatred is not of God and is anti-Scriptural hence you cannot walk in hatred and expect to prosper spiritually, Jude 3, Philippians 1v27. You must train yourself to obey and do what God says despite what is on the natural. Read Ecclesiastes 11v4, Romans 4v19, 2Corinthians 4v18, walk by faith – do not be limited by your senses, i.e. do not be always on the sense realm. FAITH means: trust or strong belief, unquestioning confidence, belief in divine truth without proof.
5.PRESS ON
Philippians 3v13-15, do not dwell on the past either good or bad. Press on! Do not be discouraged by your past mistakes. When you fail God, miss it or sin repent and confess, (1John 1v9) and press on – refuse to be held or locked up by your failures, 1Corinthians 15v57-58.
6.REJOICE IN THE LORD
Philippians 3v1, 4v4, 1Thessalonians 5v16, Galatians 5v22 & Nehemiah 8v10. REJOICE means: feel great joy, show signs of great happiness over victory or success. Habakkuk 3v17-19, joy is not conditional – do not walk by feelings or sight but by what God said. Rejoice because – 1Corinthians 15v57, 2Corinthians v11, Romans 8v37-39 & 1John 4v4.
7.CHRISTIANITY A RACE
Hebrews 12v1-4, “Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us LAY ASIDE every WEIGHT, AND the SIN which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with endurance or patience the race that is set before us, LOOKING unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith; Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of God. For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest you be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not resisted unto bloodshed striving against sin.” Lay aside every weight and sin and run with patience or endurance the race that is set before you – do not lose heart, neither be discouraged. Usually, when the going somehow gets tough, “victory is just by”. Be prepared for the race! A Christian life is likened to SOWING, RUNNING and FIGHTING, which you must do till the Lord comes. He said “… OCCUPY TILL I COME”, Luke 19v13. PATIENCE means: power of enduring trouble, suffering, inconvenience, without weakening or complaining, ability to await results, to deal with problems calmly and without haste. As the Word says, train yourself to be TEMPERATE in all things, 1Corinthians 9v27. Read also 2Timothy 2v5, Isaiah 40v31, train yourself to wait upon God. TEMPERENCE means: moderation, self-control, in speech, behaviour. Fix your eyes upon the Lord and heavenly things – Colosians 3v1-3, Matthew 6v33 and Philippians 3v19-20. Also, you need to discipline yourself not to be given to much talking, it saves you from many chances of sinning, James 3v2-12, Ephesians 4v29 and Colosians 4v5-6.
8.WALK OR LIVE WORTHY OF THE LORD
Colosians 1v10, “That you might WALK WORTHY OF THE LORD unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and INCREASING IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD;”
Your SPEECH. Speak of the glory of the kingdom of God and of His power, read Psalms 145v11.
Your WAY OF LIFE. Be holy 1Peter 1v15-16, Genesis 17v1, Romans 12v1-2.
FEAR GOD and SUBMIT yourself to Him, James 4v7(a). RESIST the devil, James 4v7, 1Peter 5v8-9, Ephesians 4v27. BE SEPARATE from the world, John 15v19, James 4v4, 1John 2v15-17. RESIST SIN, SUBDUE and discipline your FLESH, Romans 6v12, Galatians 5v16-17, 24, 1Corinthians 9v27. Listen to and obey your conscience, 1Timothy 4v2, 2Corinthians 1v12. ABIDE IN HIM, KNOW who you are in Christ, John 15v7. You can do all things through Christ, Hallelujah! Philippians 4v13. Read Acts 24v16.
I encourage and exhort you in Christ that you hold fast your faith and walk in love. Be determined to seek the Lord and wait upon Him. Seek, understand and walk in the call of God upon your life. Fight the good fight of faith. The Lord is IN you, WITH you and FOR you always. Do your part, obey and do the Word, and God will do His part to accomplish it in your life. God does not change and He has called us to partake in His divine nature and learn to change not. Read Malachi 3v6, James 1v17, 2Peter 1v4.Find out the nature of God in His Word and exercise yourself to be like Him. We are called to be like our Master and Lord, Matthew 10v25 and Luke 6v40. I tell you things may seem to be hard on the way but it is worthy enduring. Surely, the Lord Jesus is coming very soon and though He may “tarry”, train yourself unto godliness. He may come in your lifetime or after you have passed from this life, but what is needed is to WATCH! Be faithful, trustworthy, loving, steadfast, holy and just like your Father. I beseech you to follow these principles and others from the Word and they will help you. May the grace, mercy, peace and love of our Lord Jesus be with you, to Him be glory, praise and honour both now and forever more, Amen! Be sure not to miss heaven, we are called to be there!
EXERCIXE THYSELF RATHER UNTO GODLINESS, IT IS PROFITABLE UNTO ALL THINGS.
1 Timothy 4v7-10, “But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, [silly myths, godless charter – having nothing to do with them] and EXERCISE THYSELF RATHER UNTO GODLINESS. For bodily exercise profiteth little but godliness is profitable unto ALL things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acception. For therefore we both LABOUR and SUFFER reproach, because we trust in the living God who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those who believe.”
Exercise / train thyself rather unto godliness, train yourself to be godly or train yourself in godliness.
EXPLANATION OF KEY WORDS
TRAIN means: to give teaching and practice to [e.g. child, soldier, animal] in order to bring to a certain standard of behaviour, efficiency or physical condition – spiritually, prayer. (This is a dictionary meaning)
EXERCISE means: walking, running, jogging, e.t.c. Repetition of an action so as to develop or maintain one’s skill, to subject to forms of exertion in order to train, strengthen or condition.
DISCIPLINE means: training especially of mind and character to produce self-control, habits of obedience. Set rules for conduct, methods by which training may be given, train and control mind and character.
GODLY means: loving and obeying God, deeply religious, deeply concerned about beliefs and practices of religions, holy, religious, pious, devout, divine, heavenly, God-like.
OBEDIENT means: willing to do what one is told to do, willing to do the wishes of others, submissive, compliant, complying.
Note that it is you who exercises or trains yourself. Nobody can do it for you, you have to take the initiative. So, we can paraphrase verse 7 and say, “Give teaching and practice to yourself in order to bring [yourself] to a certain standard of behaviour or efficiency spiritually, to [be] deeply loving and obeying God, being holy, devout, heavenly and God-like.” Training or exercising yourself unto godliness is done almost the same way as physical training. There are things that you have to do and things that you do not have to do. For instance, you may have to run, jog, lift weights eat or not eat certain types of food, etc. This can be the same spiritually, there are certain things you have to do and things that you do not have to do. To exercise yourself effectively, you have to be disciplined, strict and obedient. If we may use a natural example, it may not always be easy to run or jog every morning say because of weather (rain, sun, cold), being physically exhausted, etc but if you are disciplined, you have to. Spiritually speaking, it may not always be easy to exercise yourself, but you have to teach yourself to be strict and disciplined. Exercise or training does not work overnight. You cannot train or exercise yourself today and expect to be a giant tomorrow morning! It does not work that way. It takes time, and usually it is costly and painful, especially in the first days.
Let us look at some of the ways by which you can exercise or train yourself.
1. READ AND STUDY THE WORD.
(a) 1 Peter 2v2, Desire the sincere spiritual milk of the Word that you may GROW thereby. GROW means: become more deeply rooted, a habit that grows on you, come to have a greater attraction for, full development, mature, increase in size, height or length. Paraphrase, “Desire the sincere milk of the Word that you may become more deeply rooted, come to have a deeper attraction for (e.g. God), and be fully developed and mature, spiritually and increase in godliness, Christianity or the things of God.” You have to desire the Word to grow.
(b) Acts 20v32, (…Word of His grace that is able to BUILD you up…” BUILD means: general shape or structure, characteristics and proportion, make, acquire, steadily and gradually (strengthened), parts put together, produce, mold, frame. Paraphrase, “… Word of His grace that is able to strengthen, acquire steadily and gradually, produce in you, mold and frame you (your parts put together) to have a godly shape or structure proportional with godly characteristics.” Abide in the Word of God to be built up and to be spiritually in shape. Read also Romans 10v17, 2 Timothy 3v15-17, Psalms 119v50.
(c) Matthew 4v4, “Man shall not LIVE by bread alone but by every Word that comes out of the mouth of God.” LIVE means to: have existence, be alive, live on, continue to live, live through or survive, (e.g. through wars), have reality of life, live by or earn one’s livelihood by doing something. Paraphrase, “Man shall not have existence, be alive, live on, continue to live, have reality of life, live through, survive or earn his livelihood by bread alone but by every Word that comes out of the mouth of God.” Feed on the Word to live. Neglect of the Word starves your spirit man the same as neglect of natural food is to your body. The spirit man lives on the Word just as the body lives on food. A corpse cannot exercise, so, for you to exercise yourself, you have to be alive, John 6v63, 1 John 2v14.
(d) Joshua 1v8, “This Book of the law shall not depart out of thy MOUTH but thou shalt MEDITATE upon it day and night that thou mayest be careful to DO according to all that is written therein, FOR THEN thou shalt make thy way PROSPEROUS and thou shalt have good SUCCESS.” MEDITATE means to: think about, consider, give ones’ self up to seriously, consider carefully & at length, reflect, weigh, ponder, revolve, think over, think through, turn over or chew over. DO means to : to perform, or carry out an action , progress or perform adequately especially in difficult circumstances. DELIGHT means: great joy, or pleasure, find pleasure, source of great pleasure, greatly pleased. PROSPEROUS means: improving, growing or succeeding steadily, flourishing, a life of happiness, financial security. SUCCESS means: gaining of what is aimed at, good fortune, gain one’s purpose, accomplishment. DEPART means: cease living, pass, go, die, drop, expire, perish, succumb, pass away.
Paraphrase, “This Book of the law (Word) shall not cease living, pass, go, die, drop, expire, perish, succumb or pass away out of thy mouth, but though shalt think about it, consider it, give yourself up to it seriously, consider it carefully and at length, reflect, weigh, ponder, revolve, think over, think through, turn over and chew over it day and night that thou may be careful to perform, carry out, progress or perform adequately even in difficult times according to all that is written there in, for then thou shalt make thy way improve, grow and succeed steadily, flourish, full of happiness and financially secure and thou shalt gain all that you aim at, accomplish and gain all your purposes.”
So, to successfully train your self or exercise yourself and to prosper in your spiritual or godly life, you need the Word, Deuteronomy 5v29. Speak, meditate upon and do or practice the Word. Delight in the Word, Psalms 1v1-3, 1Kings 2v2-3. Keep the charge of the Lord and walk in His ways to prosper and to have good success (note, it is not only success but good success)! Read also James 1v22. The Word also helps you to keep your way pure, Psalms 119v9, Hebrews 4v12, 1Thessalonians 2v13, Micah 2v7, 2Timothy 2v15.
2. PRAYER
PRAYER means to commune with God, offer thanks, make requests known, an earnest or urgent request, appeal, suit, plea, entreaty or supplication.
(a) Philippians 4v6-8, do not be anxious about anything but instead – pray. ANXIETY means: emotional condition in which there is fear and uncertainty of the future, worry, care, uneasiness or distress. Let your requests be known to God for He cares for you. Do not bear your burdens. For you to excel spiritually, you have to be “care or anxious free”. You only experience the peace of God after practicing what verse 6 says. Read also 1 Peter 5v7, Psalms 55v22, 84v11, it is not easy to avoid anxiety, but only possible if you know or believe that God is going to take care. If you truly believe the Word or what God said from your heart – you will not fear. Believe the Word the same way you would Jesus were He to appear to you in Person, you cannot obey Him in Person when you do not obey His written Word. PEACE means: rest, quiet and calm (peace of mind) not excited or emotional, undisturbed. John 14v1,27, Isaiah 26v3-4.
(b) Mark 14v38, pray that you may not enter into TEMPTATION. Temptations are sure to come but you must not enter into them, Matthew 18v7. Pray for yourself (always) and not lose, suffer the loss of forfeit, mislay or misplace your hope, Luke 18v1, 7-8, 1 Corinthians 10v13.
Luke 21v36, Pray that you may escape and attain unto the kingdom of God.
(c) 1Timothy 2v1-2, pray for your leaders and those in authority. (Note that the Bible says pray for and not pray against) Ephesians 6v18 pray for all saints. Galatians 6v2, bear each other’s burdens in prayer. Luke 22v31-32, Genesis 25v21, Isaiah 56v10, 59v16, 63v5, Ezekiel 22v30, Luke 11v8, Acts 12v5.
(d) Praise & Worship God. Prayer has to be coupled with praise and worship, Psalms 8v2, 147v1, 148v11-13, 149-150, Matthew 21v26. In all things give thanks to Him, Acts 16v25-26, Ephesians 5v20, Hebrews 13v15. Worship means: to reverently adore, regard with great awe and devotion, to feel deep-devoted love for. Praise means: to magnify, exalt, glorify and extol.
(e) Romans 8v26, the Holy Ghost helps us in all our INFIRMITIES. Infirmity means: physically, mental or morally weak, not purposeful, undecided, fault or shortcoming. In our prayer life we depend on/upon the Holy Ghost bearing in mind that we get or receive what we ask for in prayer if we ask according to the will of God which He (the Holy Ghost) knoweth. Isaiah 5v14-15, John 15v7. Read also 1Corinthians 14v2,4, Jude 20. Pray in the Spirit or in tongues to get edification.
(f) Isaiah 1v18-19, 43v25-26, Pray the Word. Remind God his Word or promises and plead your case before Him. God honours and will confirm His Word Jeremiah 1v12.
3. FELLOWSHIP
Hebrews 10v25, Matthew 18v19-20, Acts 4v23, 32-34, Daniel 2v17, John 17v20-23. Fellowship with other saints. We are to exhort and edify one another as we are of the same body, members one of another and of the same family – we are one! Read Ecclesiastes 4v9-12, Genesis 11v6, Psalms 133.
4.WALK IN LOVE AND FAITH
Galatians 5v6 says faith worketh by love. Hebrews 10v39-40, 11v6 shows that without faith it is impossible to please God. 2Corinthians 1v24, 5v7, 4v13, Romans 1v17. Faith covers every area of our lives and Romans 14v23 says whatever is not of faith is sin. Train yourself to walk , stand, speak and live by faith, i.e. in God and in His Word. LOVE is the royal new convenant law, John 13v34-35, James 2v8, 1John 3v14-15. Lover never fails, 1Corinthians 13v4-8. The Word says we are to “follow the way of love or follow after charity or make love your aim”, 1Corinthians 14v1, 16v14. Be forgiving. Grudges, hatred and anger are a hindrance to your Christian walk. Learn or train yourself to be always forgiving. Avoid the comparison trap – do not compare yourself with others, be a Christian that God wants you to be, 2Corinthians 10v12. Know that hatred is not of God and is anti-Scriptural hence you cannot walk in hatred and expect to prosper spiritually, Jude 3, Philippians 1v27. You must train yourself to obey and do what God says despite what is on the natural. Read Ecclesiastes 11v4, Romans 4v19, 2Corinthians 4v18, walk by faith – do not be limited by your senses, i.e. do not be always on the sense realm. FAITH means: trust or strong belief, unquestioning confidence, belief in divine truth without proof.
5.PRESS ON
Philippians 3v13-15, do not dwell on the past either good or bad. Press on! Do not be discouraged by your past mistakes. When you fail God, miss it or sin repent and confess, (1John 1v9) and press on – refuse to be held or locked up by your failures, 1Corinthians 15v57-58.
6.REJOICE IN THE LORD
Philippians 3v1, 4v4, 1Thessalonians 5v16, Galatians 5v22 & Nehemiah 8v10. REJOICE means: feel great joy, show signs of great happiness over victory or success. Habakkuk 3v17-19, joy is not conditional – do not walk by feelings or sight but by what God said. Rejoice because – 1Corinthians 15v57, 2Corinthians v11, Romans 8v37-39 & 1John 4v4.
7.CHRISTIANITY A RACE
Hebrews 12v1-4, “Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us LAY ASIDE every WEIGHT, AND the SIN which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with endurance or patience the race that is set before us, LOOKING unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith; Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of God. For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest you be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not resisted unto bloodshed striving against sin.” Lay aside every weight and sin and run with patience or endurance the race that is set before you – do not lose heart, neither be discouraged. Usually, when the going somehow gets tough, “victory is just by”. Be prepared for the race! A Christian life is likened to SOWING, RUNNING and FIGHTING, which you must do till the Lord comes. He said “… OCCUPY TILL I COME”, Luke 19v13. PATIENCE means: power of enduring trouble, suffering, inconvenience, without weakening or complaining, ability to await results, to deal with problems calmly and without haste. As the Word says, train yourself to be TEMPERATE in all things, 1Corinthians 9v27. Read also 2Timothy 2v5, Isaiah 40v31, train yourself to wait upon God. TEMPERENCE means: moderation, self-control, in speech, behaviour. Fix your eyes upon the Lord and heavenly things – Colosians 3v1-3, Matthew 6v33 and Philippians 3v19-20. Also, you need to discipline yourself not to be given to much talking, it saves you from many chances of sinning, James 3v2-12, Ephesians 4v29 and Colosians 4v5-6.
8.WALK OR LIVE WORTHY OF THE LORD
Colosians 1v10, “That you might WALK WORTHY OF THE LORD unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and INCREASING IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD;”
Your SPEECH. Speak of the glory of the kingdom of God and of His power, read Psalms 145v11.
Your WAY OF LIFE. Be holy 1Peter 1v15-16, Genesis 17v1, Romans 12v1-2.
FEAR GOD and SUBMIT yourself to Him, James 4v7(a). RESIST the devil, James 4v7, 1Peter 5v8-9, Ephesians 4v27. BE SEPARATE from the world, John 15v19, James 4v4, 1John 2v15-17. RESIST SIN, SUBDUE and discipline your FLESH, Romans 6v12, Galatians 5v16-17, 24, 1Corinthians 9v27. Listen to and obey your conscience, 1Timothy 4v2, 2Corinthians 1v12. ABIDE IN HIM, KNOW who you are in Christ, John 15v7. You can do all things through Christ, Hallelujah! Philippians 4v13. Read Acts 24v16.
I encourage and exhort you in Christ that you hold fast your faith and walk in love. Be determined to seek the Lord and wait upon Him. Seek, understand and walk in the call of God upon your life. Fight the good fight of faith. The Lord is IN you, WITH you and FOR you always. Do your part, obey and do the Word, and God will do His part to accomplish it in your life. God does not change and He has called us to partake in His divine nature and learn to change not. Read Malachi 3v6, James 1v17, 2Peter 1v4.Find out the nature of God in His Word and exercise yourself to be like Him. We are called to be like our Master and Lord, Matthew 10v25 and Luke 6v40. I tell you things may seem to be hard on the way but it is worthy enduring. Surely, the Lord Jesus is coming very soon and though He may “tarry”, train yourself unto godliness. He may come in your lifetime or after you have passed from this life, but what is needed is to WATCH! Be faithful, trustworthy, loving, steadfast, holy and just like your Father. I beseech you to follow these principles and others from the Word and they will help you. May the grace, mercy, peace and love of our Lord Jesus be with you, to Him be glory, praise and honour both now and forever more, Amen! Be sure not to miss heaven, we are called to be there!
EXERCIXE THYSELF RATHER UNTO GODLINESS, IT IS PROFITABLE UNTO ALL THINGS.
SERVING IN THE HOUSE OF GOD!
Rom 12:1-8, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, {which is} your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, {each of us is to exercise them accordingly:} if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.” NASB
Rom 12:1-8, “I APPEAL to you therefore, brethren, {and} beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service {and} spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, {even} the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]. For by the grace (unmerited favor of God) given to me I warn everyone among you not to estimate {and} think of himself more highly than he ought [not to have an exaggerated opinion of his own importance], but to rate his ability with sober judgment, each according to the degree of faith apportioned by God to him. For as in one physical body we have many parts (organs, members) and all of these parts do not have the same function {or} use, So we, numerous as we are, are one body in Christ (the Messiah) and individually we are parts one of another [mutually dependent on one another]. Having gifts (faculties, talents, qualities) that differ according to the grace given us, let us use them: [He whose gift is] prophecy, [let him prophesy] according to the proportion of his faith; [He whose gift is] practical service, let him give himself to serving; he who teaches, to his teaching; He who exhorts (encourages), to his exhortation; he who contributes, let him do it in simplicity {and} liberality; he who gives aid {and} superintends, with zeal {and} singleness of mind; he who does acts of mercy, with genuine cheerfulness {and} joyful eagerness.” Amplified
1 Pet 4:10-11, “As each of you has received a gift (a particular spiritual talent, a gracious divine endowment), employ it for one another as [befits] good trustees of God's many-sided grace [faithful stewards of the extremely diverse powers and gifts granted to Christians by unmerited favor]. Whoever speaks, [let him do it as one who utters] oracles of God; whoever renders service, [let him do it] as with the strength which God furnishes abundantly, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ (the Messiah). To Him be the glory and dominion forever and ever (through endless ages). Amen (so be it).”
Ex 35:30-35 36v1-4, “And Moses said to the Israelites, See, the Lord called by name Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; And He has filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability {and} wisdom, with intelligence {and} understanding, and with knowledge and all craftsmanship, To devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, In cutting of stones for setting, and in carving of wood, for work in every skilled craft. And God has put in Bezalel's heart that he may teach, both he and Aholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. He has filled them with wisdom of heart {and} ability to do all manner of craftsmanship, of the engraver, of the skillful workman, of the embroiderer in blue, purple, and scarlet [stuff] and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of those who do or design any skilled work. BEZALEL AND Aholiab and every wisehearted man in whom the Lord has put wisdom and understanding to know how to do all the work for the service of the sanctuary shall work according to all that the Lord has commanded. And Moses called Bezalel and Aholiab and every able {and} wisehearted man in whose mind the Lord had put wisdom {and} ability, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work; And they received from Moses all the freewill offerings which the Israelites had brought for doing the work of the sanctuary, to prepare it for service.”
We all have God ordained purposes/ ministries/ duties or things that we need to accomplish.
It is our responsibility to find out God’s purpose for our lives
There is divine enableness/ or grace that God’s has given us to accomplish His purpose
We need to develop or perfect the ability or gift/ talents that God has given us
Being faithful and practicing or exercising the small gifts we have will develop them
We are all supposed to be useful / productive and be assets in the house of God
We need to find out and pursue God’s purpose for our lives not what we fill like or want
You do best when you are in the position that God created you to be in than being where you want
We are the body of Christ and parts of the body don’t all have the same function
We are not all called to be pastors or have public ministry
If you do not have a public ministry, you need to serve under other (your) leaders in the house of God
Our calling or gifting is not limited to what we think are seemingly spiritual things
Some are called or skilled to be engineers, ushers, musicians, teachers, decorators, counselors, intercessors, givers, administrators, exhorters, children church ‘s teachers, out reachers, writers, librarians, deacons, builders, helps, etc
Bezalel was not a prophet in Israel but God anointed him to do art work
Docus was not an apostle or pastor in the house of God but she was an asset and valuable in the church by sowing and giving widows clothes. After her death those who benefited from her talent cried and the church had to look for Peter to raise her from the dead. She had something to be remembered for. What can you be remembered for? What can people hold and even pray God to raise you from the dead because of?
We are only told that Luke was a doctor / physician and we do not hear about him preaching or teaching but Paul speaks well of him. Colossians 4v14, 2Timothy 4v11 Philemon 24
Do the “little” that you can, be faithful and excel in it, God will reward and promote you.
If you cannot be faithful in little, you cannot be trusted with much, Luke 16v10-12
People many a times loose out God’s best because of wanting a name for themselves. If God has not sent you to be in public ministry or to start your ministry, serve under your leaders. What is better to serve under somebody and be an usher or Sunday school teacher of 100 people than be start your own ministry and pastor 5 people?
Commitment, diligence, faithfulness, dedication, submission will increase the anointing in your life.
You may not be recognized or known by others or by leadership but if you faithful in serving at that which God called you, you will be rewarded and sooner or later you will be recognized. (Give my example that when I came to Lobengula, I was not known, people even called me “Michael” or “Michael’s boy” because they did not know my name. Even Pastor Gegana once asked me when I greeted him at Tm Hyper and tried to introduce myself as “Michael’s boy”, “Why are you not coming to church?”)
People may sometimes not recognize your importance or the gift that you are having. Do not push things or fight to be recognized.
When you are assigned to do something, be quick and diligent to respond, do not say, “This is not my area or this is too low for me.” For instance, I do not like counting money, but the fact that part of my responsibility as church committee vice chairman involves counting money, I do it.
At the same time I am not saying you need to do everything by yourself. There was a time when I was 1. cell group chairperson 2. youth committee secretary 3.young man’s fellowship chairman 4. all cell group leaders secretary 5.social needs committee chairman 6.Sunday school teacher. Sometimes if you do everything you might end up destroying yourself whilst again the main cause for one person to do a lot of things will be others not being available.
As part of the body of Christ, as Lobengula BICC, we need people who will give and avail themselves to serve in; ushering, stewardship, Sunday school teaching, volunteers, out reaching, decorating, cleaning, intercession, giving, counseling, exhorters, cell group leaders and many other responsibilities that may arise.
We need people who will give themselves to the leadership and God to serve. Not complicated people, not “special” people but people willing to serve in any level that may be assigned. 2 Corinthians 8v5
Rom 12:1-8, “I APPEAL to you therefore, brethren, {and} beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service {and} spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, {even} the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]. For by the grace (unmerited favor of God) given to me I warn everyone among you not to estimate {and} think of himself more highly than he ought [not to have an exaggerated opinion of his own importance], but to rate his ability with sober judgment, each according to the degree of faith apportioned by God to him. For as in one physical body we have many parts (organs, members) and all of these parts do not have the same function {or} use, So we, numerous as we are, are one body in Christ (the Messiah) and individually we are parts one of another [mutually dependent on one another]. Having gifts (faculties, talents, qualities) that differ according to the grace given us, let us use them: [He whose gift is] prophecy, [let him prophesy] according to the proportion of his faith; [He whose gift is] practical service, let him give himself to serving; he who teaches, to his teaching; He who exhorts (encourages), to his exhortation; he who contributes, let him do it in simplicity {and} liberality; he who gives aid {and} superintends, with zeal {and} singleness of mind; he who does acts of mercy, with genuine cheerfulness {and} joyful eagerness.” Amplified
1 Pet 4:10-11, “As each of you has received a gift (a particular spiritual talent, a gracious divine endowment), employ it for one another as [befits] good trustees of God's many-sided grace [faithful stewards of the extremely diverse powers and gifts granted to Christians by unmerited favor]. Whoever speaks, [let him do it as one who utters] oracles of God; whoever renders service, [let him do it] as with the strength which God furnishes abundantly, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ (the Messiah). To Him be the glory and dominion forever and ever (through endless ages). Amen (so be it).”
Ex 35:30-35 36v1-4, “And Moses said to the Israelites, See, the Lord called by name Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; And He has filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability {and} wisdom, with intelligence {and} understanding, and with knowledge and all craftsmanship, To devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, In cutting of stones for setting, and in carving of wood, for work in every skilled craft. And God has put in Bezalel's heart that he may teach, both he and Aholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. He has filled them with wisdom of heart {and} ability to do all manner of craftsmanship, of the engraver, of the skillful workman, of the embroiderer in blue, purple, and scarlet [stuff] and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of those who do or design any skilled work. BEZALEL AND Aholiab and every wisehearted man in whom the Lord has put wisdom and understanding to know how to do all the work for the service of the sanctuary shall work according to all that the Lord has commanded. And Moses called Bezalel and Aholiab and every able {and} wisehearted man in whose mind the Lord had put wisdom {and} ability, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work; And they received from Moses all the freewill offerings which the Israelites had brought for doing the work of the sanctuary, to prepare it for service.”
We all have God ordained purposes/ ministries/ duties or things that we need to accomplish.
It is our responsibility to find out God’s purpose for our lives
There is divine enableness/ or grace that God’s has given us to accomplish His purpose
We need to develop or perfect the ability or gift/ talents that God has given us
Being faithful and practicing or exercising the small gifts we have will develop them
We are all supposed to be useful / productive and be assets in the house of God
We need to find out and pursue God’s purpose for our lives not what we fill like or want
You do best when you are in the position that God created you to be in than being where you want
We are the body of Christ and parts of the body don’t all have the same function
We are not all called to be pastors or have public ministry
If you do not have a public ministry, you need to serve under other (your) leaders in the house of God
Our calling or gifting is not limited to what we think are seemingly spiritual things
Some are called or skilled to be engineers, ushers, musicians, teachers, decorators, counselors, intercessors, givers, administrators, exhorters, children church ‘s teachers, out reachers, writers, librarians, deacons, builders, helps, etc
Bezalel was not a prophet in Israel but God anointed him to do art work
Docus was not an apostle or pastor in the house of God but she was an asset and valuable in the church by sowing and giving widows clothes. After her death those who benefited from her talent cried and the church had to look for Peter to raise her from the dead. She had something to be remembered for. What can you be remembered for? What can people hold and even pray God to raise you from the dead because of?
We are only told that Luke was a doctor / physician and we do not hear about him preaching or teaching but Paul speaks well of him. Colossians 4v14, 2Timothy 4v11 Philemon 24
Do the “little” that you can, be faithful and excel in it, God will reward and promote you.
If you cannot be faithful in little, you cannot be trusted with much, Luke 16v10-12
People many a times loose out God’s best because of wanting a name for themselves. If God has not sent you to be in public ministry or to start your ministry, serve under your leaders. What is better to serve under somebody and be an usher or Sunday school teacher of 100 people than be start your own ministry and pastor 5 people?
Commitment, diligence, faithfulness, dedication, submission will increase the anointing in your life.
You may not be recognized or known by others or by leadership but if you faithful in serving at that which God called you, you will be rewarded and sooner or later you will be recognized. (Give my example that when I came to Lobengula, I was not known, people even called me “Michael” or “Michael’s boy” because they did not know my name. Even Pastor Gegana once asked me when I greeted him at Tm Hyper and tried to introduce myself as “Michael’s boy”, “Why are you not coming to church?”)
People may sometimes not recognize your importance or the gift that you are having. Do not push things or fight to be recognized.
When you are assigned to do something, be quick and diligent to respond, do not say, “This is not my area or this is too low for me.” For instance, I do not like counting money, but the fact that part of my responsibility as church committee vice chairman involves counting money, I do it.
At the same time I am not saying you need to do everything by yourself. There was a time when I was 1. cell group chairperson 2. youth committee secretary 3.young man’s fellowship chairman 4. all cell group leaders secretary 5.social needs committee chairman 6.Sunday school teacher. Sometimes if you do everything you might end up destroying yourself whilst again the main cause for one person to do a lot of things will be others not being available.
As part of the body of Christ, as Lobengula BICC, we need people who will give and avail themselves to serve in; ushering, stewardship, Sunday school teaching, volunteers, out reaching, decorating, cleaning, intercession, giving, counseling, exhorters, cell group leaders and many other responsibilities that may arise.
We need people who will give themselves to the leadership and God to serve. Not complicated people, not “special” people but people willing to serve in any level that may be assigned. 2 Corinthians 8v5
REAPING / HARVESTING - BY CHIPO
REAPING / HARVESTING
Reaping is when one gathers or collects ripe fruits or crops
Psalms 126v5-6, KJV-R (Webster) Psalms 126:5 “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”
·Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy
·He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing (precious) seed for sowing shall doubtlessly come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
Some things to note about reaping
1.There has to be a seed which was sown for one to be able to reap. John 12v24
2.It is only that type of seed which was sown that can be reaped. E.g. if you sow maize, you reap maize and not millet. In others words, there is sowing 1st and then reaping 2nd, or seed 1st then harvest, Galatians 5v6.
3.There is a season / time for harvest or reaping since there is time for everything. Ecclesiastes 3v1, Genesis 8v22.
-Sometimes people hurry or rush to harvest before it is time. As it is in the natural, so it is in the spiritual.
-Imagine a farmer after sowing some maize seed and soon after germination, he carries a basket expecting to gather some green mealies!
-We need to be patient and wait for harvest time, James 5v7.
4.It is only ripe or mature fruits that are harvested, those that are ready for harvest.
-If you reap or gather unripe fruits they decay or rot. They do not last long. They might not even have good taste. Sometimes some may even be harmful or not good for your health.
-When harvest time is ready you do not need to be told or to carry out an experiment, you can just tell.
-Need to wait for the fulfilling of your ministry / calling to be ready. When the time comes, you do not need to be told; you can see or tell on your own.
-Wait for that day when the weeding ring will be put on your finger at the instruction of the marriage officer. It will be ready and you will not need to be told, you will know!
-Do not rush to gather unripe fruits, you will run at a loss if you do.
5.You reap according to the measure you have sown. If you sow sparingly, you also reap sparingly, if you sow bountifully, you will also reap bountifully. 2Corinthians 9v6
6.Harvest is always more than seed. You move from seed to sheaves, Psalms 126.
7.There is joy in harvest. Isaiah 9v3, Psalms 126v5-6. It says, “… shall reap in joy … come again rejoicing”
·most of us have heard about sowing and reaping and we know that when we sow, we will reap
·We have done the sowing and have gone sowing in tears
·With tears … when sowing, it does not seem to be sweet.
·We have done many sacrifices and have painfully sown our seed. In this time of hardship, where the situation in our economy is not favorable, we have sacrificed in pain
·We have given our money, possessions, time and our prayers in the sense of sowing. But at times it seems as if there is no harvest at all.
·Does that mean that the principle of God of sowing and reaping does not work? Or does it mean that all our seed has not been ripe yet/
·You may be sowing & sowing but at times seems to be no positive change in your life.
·Some have given away their clothes expecting to reap clothes two years or so years back but today you still remain with one shirt or skirt, why?
i) At times it might means that your harvest season is not yet ready
ii)The other reason which makes most people not to enjoy their harvest is that they did not go out to reap. Reaping is something that you do, its an action, you are the one who does the reaping.
·If a farmer does not go out to the fields to reap or harvest that which he sowed, he will starve at his home while there is plenty of food in the fields.
·Birds, termites and thieves will enjoy your harvest if you do not go out and do the reaping in the fields.
·Sowing and reaping are two jobs that needs to be done
·If you went to the fields to sow your seeds, then return to reap in due season
·Some Christians sow and forget that they have to reap. Sometimes you expect your harvest to rain on you while you are seated, who would have harvested for you?
·Maybe it is because of lack of knowledge that you are starving, you may not be knowing that out there, there are fruits ready to be harvested
·Do not blame the animals, birds and thieves if they enjoy that which you sweated for, if you do not reap.
·Psalms 126 v6, says “… he shall ... bringing his sheaves with him…”
·Nobody is supposed to do the reaping for you. You need to go yourself and bring your sheaves!
·You did the sowing, then ask God to show you your harvest and help you understand the due season for reaping
·Some have been shown their fields but the harvest is not yet ready, yet they have rushed to reap unripe fruits. Some are struggling with impatienceLastly, if God has shown you your harvest and you are sure that it is ready, then stand up and delay not, go and reap. Do not be lazy, Proverbs 6v6-11, 10v5.
Reaping is when one gathers or collects ripe fruits or crops
Psalms 126v5-6, KJV-R (Webster) Psalms 126:5 “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”
·Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy
·He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing (precious) seed for sowing shall doubtlessly come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
Some things to note about reaping
1.There has to be a seed which was sown for one to be able to reap. John 12v24
2.It is only that type of seed which was sown that can be reaped. E.g. if you sow maize, you reap maize and not millet. In others words, there is sowing 1st and then reaping 2nd, or seed 1st then harvest, Galatians 5v6.
3.There is a season / time for harvest or reaping since there is time for everything. Ecclesiastes 3v1, Genesis 8v22.
-Sometimes people hurry or rush to harvest before it is time. As it is in the natural, so it is in the spiritual.
-Imagine a farmer after sowing some maize seed and soon after germination, he carries a basket expecting to gather some green mealies!
-We need to be patient and wait for harvest time, James 5v7.
4.It is only ripe or mature fruits that are harvested, those that are ready for harvest.
-If you reap or gather unripe fruits they decay or rot. They do not last long. They might not even have good taste. Sometimes some may even be harmful or not good for your health.
-When harvest time is ready you do not need to be told or to carry out an experiment, you can just tell.
-Need to wait for the fulfilling of your ministry / calling to be ready. When the time comes, you do not need to be told; you can see or tell on your own.
-Wait for that day when the weeding ring will be put on your finger at the instruction of the marriage officer. It will be ready and you will not need to be told, you will know!
-Do not rush to gather unripe fruits, you will run at a loss if you do.
5.You reap according to the measure you have sown. If you sow sparingly, you also reap sparingly, if you sow bountifully, you will also reap bountifully. 2Corinthians 9v6
6.Harvest is always more than seed. You move from seed to sheaves, Psalms 126.
7.There is joy in harvest. Isaiah 9v3, Psalms 126v5-6. It says, “… shall reap in joy … come again rejoicing”
·most of us have heard about sowing and reaping and we know that when we sow, we will reap
·We have done the sowing and have gone sowing in tears
·With tears … when sowing, it does not seem to be sweet.
·We have done many sacrifices and have painfully sown our seed. In this time of hardship, where the situation in our economy is not favorable, we have sacrificed in pain
·We have given our money, possessions, time and our prayers in the sense of sowing. But at times it seems as if there is no harvest at all.
·Does that mean that the principle of God of sowing and reaping does not work? Or does it mean that all our seed has not been ripe yet/
·You may be sowing & sowing but at times seems to be no positive change in your life.
·Some have given away their clothes expecting to reap clothes two years or so years back but today you still remain with one shirt or skirt, why?
i) At times it might means that your harvest season is not yet ready
ii)The other reason which makes most people not to enjoy their harvest is that they did not go out to reap. Reaping is something that you do, its an action, you are the one who does the reaping.
·If a farmer does not go out to the fields to reap or harvest that which he sowed, he will starve at his home while there is plenty of food in the fields.
·Birds, termites and thieves will enjoy your harvest if you do not go out and do the reaping in the fields.
·Sowing and reaping are two jobs that needs to be done
·If you went to the fields to sow your seeds, then return to reap in due season
·Some Christians sow and forget that they have to reap. Sometimes you expect your harvest to rain on you while you are seated, who would have harvested for you?
·Maybe it is because of lack of knowledge that you are starving, you may not be knowing that out there, there are fruits ready to be harvested
·Do not blame the animals, birds and thieves if they enjoy that which you sweated for, if you do not reap.
·Psalms 126 v6, says “… he shall ... bringing his sheaves with him…”
·Nobody is supposed to do the reaping for you. You need to go yourself and bring your sheaves!
·You did the sowing, then ask God to show you your harvest and help you understand the due season for reaping
·Some have been shown their fields but the harvest is not yet ready, yet they have rushed to reap unripe fruits. Some are struggling with impatienceLastly, if God has shown you your harvest and you are sure that it is ready, then stand up and delay not, go and reap. Do not be lazy, Proverbs 6v6-11, 10v5.
UNLOCKING YOUR DESTINY - ACADEMICALLY
IMPROTANT THINGS TO UNLOCK YOUR DESTINY
Know and understand who you are
Know and understand your destiny or God’s purpose for your life
Seek God’s leading and help to achieve or attain your destiny
Work towards your destiny
Expect challenges and distractions on the way
Do not look at or consider your history or current situations, look forward to your destiny
Do not be discouraged, let challenges be your source of motivation instead of them being source of discouragement
Sometimes you need to break the circle of failure or curses that might be in ‘your family blood line’ Galatians 3v13
Look forward and associate or study the lives of people of like faith. Study and learn from those who have gone before you or have achieved what you seek
Keep sight of your destiny, do not be side tracked, do not walk aimlessly. 1Cor 9v26, keep focused. Do not settle for anything less.
Do not let situations or people define you or you destiny.
Live a balanced life. Use or manage your time well. Allocate your time properly. Know how to balance spiritual and physical things. Do not move in either extreme
Study, read, pray and diligently pursue your destiny
MLB Proverbs 19:15 Laziness makes one sleep heavily; an idle person will suffer hunger.
ASV Proverbs 19:15 Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; And the idle soul shall suffer hunger.
Young's Literal Proverbs 19:15 Sloth causeth deep sleep to fall, And an indolent soul doth hunger.
Amplified Prov 19:15 Slothfulness casts one into a deep sleep, and the idle person shall suffer hunger.
Young's Literal Proverbs 20:4 Because of winter the slothful plougheth not, He asketh in harvest, and there is nothing.
MLB Proverbs 20:4 In the autumn the sluggard will not plow; he will search at harvest time and have nothing.
KJV-R (Webster) Proverbs 20:4 The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.
ASV Proverbs 20:4 The sluggard will not plow by reason of the winter; Therefore he shall beg in harvest, and have nothing.
Amplified Prov 20:4 The sluggard does not plow when winter sets in; therefore he begs in harvest and has nothing.
The root meaning of LC¸ˆÆis “to be sluggish,” “stupid.” The English word “slug” is said to be “allied to slack” (Webster).
IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING & EXCELLING ACCADEMICALLY
There are doors or opportunities in life that you cannot access unless you are educated
Without proper level of education and understanding, you are limited
Failure to upgrade your academic life will limit your potential
There are systems in this world that are locked or can be accessed with a certain level of academic qualifications.
People in the bible that had a good level of education excelled more than others
Examples
a) Moses – Acts 7v20-21
b) Daniel – Daniel 1v20
c) Paul – Acts 26v24
HAVE A CLEAR AND WRITTEN DOWN PURPOSE
·Proverbs 16v1-9
·Psalms 37v4
·Ephesians 3v20
Know and understand who you are
Know and understand your destiny or God’s purpose for your life
Seek God’s leading and help to achieve or attain your destiny
Work towards your destiny
Expect challenges and distractions on the way
Do not look at or consider your history or current situations, look forward to your destiny
Do not be discouraged, let challenges be your source of motivation instead of them being source of discouragement
Sometimes you need to break the circle of failure or curses that might be in ‘your family blood line’ Galatians 3v13
Look forward and associate or study the lives of people of like faith. Study and learn from those who have gone before you or have achieved what you seek
Keep sight of your destiny, do not be side tracked, do not walk aimlessly. 1Cor 9v26, keep focused. Do not settle for anything less.
Do not let situations or people define you or you destiny.
Live a balanced life. Use or manage your time well. Allocate your time properly. Know how to balance spiritual and physical things. Do not move in either extreme
Study, read, pray and diligently pursue your destiny
MLB Proverbs 19:15 Laziness makes one sleep heavily; an idle person will suffer hunger.
ASV Proverbs 19:15 Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; And the idle soul shall suffer hunger.
Young's Literal Proverbs 19:15 Sloth causeth deep sleep to fall, And an indolent soul doth hunger.
Amplified Prov 19:15 Slothfulness casts one into a deep sleep, and the idle person shall suffer hunger.
Young's Literal Proverbs 20:4 Because of winter the slothful plougheth not, He asketh in harvest, and there is nothing.
MLB Proverbs 20:4 In the autumn the sluggard will not plow; he will search at harvest time and have nothing.
KJV-R (Webster) Proverbs 20:4 The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.
ASV Proverbs 20:4 The sluggard will not plow by reason of the winter; Therefore he shall beg in harvest, and have nothing.
Amplified Prov 20:4 The sluggard does not plow when winter sets in; therefore he begs in harvest and has nothing.
The root meaning of LC¸ˆÆis “to be sluggish,” “stupid.” The English word “slug” is said to be “allied to slack” (Webster).
IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING & EXCELLING ACCADEMICALLY
There are doors or opportunities in life that you cannot access unless you are educated
Without proper level of education and understanding, you are limited
Failure to upgrade your academic life will limit your potential
There are systems in this world that are locked or can be accessed with a certain level of academic qualifications.
People in the bible that had a good level of education excelled more than others
Examples
a) Moses – Acts 7v20-21
b) Daniel – Daniel 1v20
c) Paul – Acts 26v24
HAVE A CLEAR AND WRITTEN DOWN PURPOSE
·Proverbs 16v1-9
·Psalms 37v4
·Ephesians 3v20
Monday, June 18, 2007
BIBLICAL VIEW OF MONEY AND RESOURCES
{All scriptures quotations unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Amplified Bible. Also note that for the purpose of this study, I will use the words; money, riches, wealth & resources interchangeable.}
There has been a lot of opinions about money & riches said in the church. Some beliefs are that money is evil, the root of all evil, to be poor is being humble or righteous, etc. But we need to find out what the Word/God says about riches, wealthy or money. Let’s go through some few principles that the bible teaches.
WE NEED MONEY/ RESOURCES
(a) As individuals
- we need money for our needs, food, clothes, etc
- we need money to glorify or serve God, giving to the church and others
- we need money for our children. Prov 19:14, “House and riches are the inheritance from fathers, but a wise, understanding, {and} prudent wife is from the Lord.”
(b) As the church
- we need money to pay bills for the church and for the livelihood of God’s servants
- we need money for reaching out or spreading the gospel
- without money our impact, effectiveness and efficiency is limited. We need buildings, equipment, furnisher, PA system, etc
(c) We cannot do without money both as individuals and as a church
(d) Money is not evil
GOD EXPECTS US TO HAVE MONEY
(a) He expects us to give tithes & offerings
(b) He expects us to give to the poor
GOD WANTS US TO HAVE MONEY
(a) He tells us how to get riches, wealth & prosperity. Deut 8:18, “But you shall [earnestly] remember the Lord your God, for it is He Who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.” Deut 28:1-11, “IF YOU will listen diligently to the voice of the Lord your God, being watchful to do all His commandments which I command you this day, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you if you heed the voice of the Lord your God. Blessed shall you be in the city and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your body and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your beasts, the increase of your cattle and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading trough. Blessed shall you be when you come in and blessed shall you be when you go out. The Lord shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. The Lord shall command the blessing upon you in your storehouse and in all that you undertake. And He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you. The Lord will establish you as a people holy to Himself, as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. And all people of the earth shall see that you are called by the name [and in the presence of] the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. And the Lord shall make you have a surplus of prosperity, through the fruit of your body, of your livestock, and of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you.”
(b) He made others rich / wealth.
· Abraham – Gen 13:2, “Now Abram was extremely rich in livestock and in silver and in gold.” Gen 24:35, “And the Lord has blessed my master mightily, and he has become great; and He has given him flocks, herds, silver, gold, menservants, maidservants, camels, and asses.”
· Isaac - Gen 26:13-14, “And the man became great and gained more and more until he became very wealthy {and} distinguished; He owned flocks, herds, and a great supply of servants, and the Philistines envied him.”
· Jacob - Gen 30:43, “Thus the man increased {and} became exceedingly rich, and had many sheep {and} goats, and maidservants, menservants, camels, and donkeys.”
· Job - Job 1:1-3, “THERE WAS a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who [reverently] feared God and abstained from {and} shunned evil [because it was wrong]. And there were born to him seven sons and three daughters. He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very great body of servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the East.” Job 42:10-12, “And the Lord turned the captivity of Job {and} restored his fortunes, when he prayed for his friends; also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then there came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and they ate bread with him in his house; and they sympathized with him and comforted him over all the [distressing] calamities that the Lord had brought upon him. Every man also gave him a piece of money, and every man an earring of gold. And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.”
· Solomon - 1 Kin 3:13, “I have also given you what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there shall not be any among the kings equal to you all your days.” 1 Kin 10:25-27, “Every man brought tribute: vessels of silver and gold, garments, equipment, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year. Solomon collected chariots and horsemen; he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, which he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars as plentiful as the sycamore trees in the lowlands.”
(c) He created money. Hag 2:8, “The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine, says the Lord of hosts.” Rev 4:11, “Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive the glory and the honor and dominion, for You created all things; by Your will they were [brought into being] and were created.” Ps 50:12, “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are Mine.”
(d) He is rich and we are His heirs. Gal 4:7, “Therefore, you are no longer a slave (bond servant) but a son; and if a son, then [it follows that you are] an heir by the aid of God, {through Christ.}”
JESUS WAS NOT “POOR”
(a) The bible does not say Joseph & Mary did not have money for booking in the hotel, but says there was no room in the hotel. Luke 2:6-7 “And while they were there, the time came for her delivery, And she gave birth to her Son, her Firstborn; and she wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room {or} place for them in the inn.”
(b) Jesus had money to take care of the needs of the twelve disciples and Himself. John13:29 “Some thought that, since Judas had the money box (the purse), Jesus was telling him, Buy what we need for the Festival, or that he should give something to the poor.” Mark 14:12-15, “On the first day [of the Feast] of Unleavened Bread, when [as was customary] they killed the Passover lamb, [Jesus'] disciples said to Him, Where do You wish us to go [and] prepare the Passover [supper] for You to eat? And He sent two of His disciples and said to them, Go into the city, and a man carrying an [earthen] jar {or} pitcher of water will meet you; follow him. And whatever [house] he enters, say to the master of the house, The Teacher says: Where is My guest room, where I may eat the Passover [supper] with My disciples? And he will [himself] show you a large upper room, furnished [with carpets and with dining couches properly spread] and ready; there prepare for us.”
(c) Jesus had a treasurer for His money which means it was a lot of money because no one would have a treasure for small moneys. The treasurer was also a thief but still money was enough. John 12:4-6, “But Judas Iscariot, the one of His disciples who was about to betray Him, said, Why was this perfume not sold for 300 denarii [a year's wages for an ordinary workman] and that [money] given to the poor (the destitute)? Now he did not say this because he cared for the poor but because he was a thief; and having the bag (the money box, the purse of the Twelve), he took for himself what was put into it [pilfering the collections].”
(d) Jesus had enough money to have bought bread for the five thousand. Luke 9:13, “But He said to them, You [yourselves] give them [food] to eat. They said, We have no more than five loaves and two fish--unless we are to go and buy food for all this crowd”
(e) Jesus used to give to the poor, John 13:29, “Some thought that, since Judas had the money box (the purse), Jesus was telling him, Buy what we need for the Festival, or that he should give something to the poor.”
(f) Jesus and His disciples could have been rich (implied) because if they were poor they would not have been amazed but would be happy when Jesus talked about it being difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom. Mark 10:23-26, “And Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, With what difficulty will those who possess wealth {and} keep on holding it enter the kingdom of God! And the disciples were amazed {and} bewildered {and} perplexed at His words. But Jesus said to them again, Children, how hard it is {for those who trust (place their confidence, their sense of safety) in riches} to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. And they were shocked {and} exceedingly astonished, and said to Him {and} {to one another}, Then who can be saved?”
(g) Jesus’ clothes were worthy or of value for the soldier to worry about sharing them. Surely no one would worry about getting a poor man’s robe! John 19:23-24, “Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, one share for each soldier, and also the tunic (the long shirtlike undergarment). But the tunic was seamless, woven [in one piece] from the top throughout. So they said to one another, Let us not tear it, but let us cast lots to decide whose it shall be. This was to fulfill the Scripture, They parted My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots. So the soldiers did these things.”
GOD’S WAY(S) FOR HARNESSING / GETTING RESOURCES.
(a) God will not send money from heaven. We cannot pray and see God dropping money from heaven. He gives us money which is in the system. For instance, in Zimbabwe money has serial numbers, if God were to rain money from heaven that would be fake money and that is illegal in our country, God is wise and smart. There is one incident in the bible where Jesus instructed Peter to go get money from the mouth of the fish, I do not have any answer for that one. Matt 17:27, “However, in order not to give offense {and} cause them to stumble [that is, to cause them to judge unfavorably and unjustly] go down to the sea and throw in a hook. Take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find there a shekel. Take it and give it to them to pay the temple tax for Me and for yourself.”
(b) God established the principle of sowing and reaping. Gen 8:22, “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” That means we cannot change that principle same as we cannot change the principle of day and night. Whether we want it or not, there will always be day and night (in this age). In the same way, God has established the principle that there has to time when one sows and then at another season reap. The only way that I have seen in scripture for getting money / resources is to sow and await harvest! 2 Corinthians 9:6, “[Remember] this: he who sows sparingly {and} grudgingly will also reap sparingly {and} grudgingly, and he who sows generously [that blessings may come to someone] will also reap generously {and} with blessings.” Gal 6:7, “Do not be deceived {and} deluded {and} misled; God will not allow Himself to be sneered at (scorned, disdained, or mocked by mere pretensions or professions, or by His precepts being set aside.) [He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God.] For whatever a man sows, that {and} that only is what he will reap.”
i) Tithing
· God instructs us to tithe. Mal 3:8-12, “Will a man rob {or} defraud God? Yet you rob {and} defraud Me. But you say, In what way do we rob {or} defraud You? [You have withheld your] tithes and offerings. You are cursed with the curse, for you are robbing Me, even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes (the whole tenth of your income) into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now by it, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer [insects and plagues] for your sakes and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine drop its fruit before the time in the field, says the Lord of hosts. And all nations shall call you happy {and} blessed, for you shall be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.”
· Tithing was before the law. Gen 14:20, “And blessed, praised, {and} glorified be God Most High, Who has given your foes into your hand! And [Abram] gave him a tenth of all [he had taken].” Gen 28:20-22, “Then Jacob made a vow, saying, If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go and will give me food to eat and clothing to wear, So that I may come again to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God; And this stone which I have set up as a pillar (monument) shall be God's house [a sacred place to me], and of all [the increase of possessions] that You give me I will give the tenth to You.
· Tithing is found in the New Testament. Matt 23:23, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites)! For you give a tenth of your mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected {and} omitted the weightier (more important) matters of the Law--right {and} justice and mercy and fidelity. These you ought [particularly] to have done, without neglecting the others.” Heb 7:1-8, “FOR THIS Melchizedek, king of Salem [and] priest of the Most High God, met Abraham as he returned from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, And Abraham gave to him a tenth portion of all [the spoil]. He is primarily, as his name when translated indicates, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, which means king of peace. Without [record of] father or mother or ancestral line, neither with beginning of days nor ending of life, but, resembling the Son of God, he continues to be a priest without interruption {and} without successor. Now observe {and} consider how great [a personage] this was to whom even Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth [the topmost or the pick of the heap] of the spoils. And it is true that those descendants of Levi who are charged with the priestly office are commanded in the Law to take tithes from the people--which means, from their brethren--though these have descended from Abraham. But this person who has not their Levitical ancestry received tithes from Abraham [himself] and blessed him who possessed the promises [of God]. Yet it is beyond all contradiction that it is the lesser person who is blessed by the greater one. Furthermore, here [in the Levitical priesthood] tithes are received by men who are subject to death; while there [in the case of Melchizedek], they are received by one of whom it is testified that he lives [perpetually].”
ii) Offerings. Prov 3:9-10, “Honor the Lord with your capital {and} sufficiency [from righteous labors] and with the firstfruits of all your income; So shall your storage places be filled with plenty, and your vats shall be overflowing with new wine.
iii) Alms / giving to the poor. Gal 2:9-10, “And when they knew (perceived, recognized, understood, and acknowledged) the grace (God's unmerited favor and spiritual blessing) that had been bestowed upon me, James and Cephas (Peter) and John, who were reputed to be pillars of the Jerusalem church, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, with the understanding that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised (Jews). They only [made one stipulation], that we were to remember the poor, which very thing I was also eager to do.” Acts 10:4, “And he, gazing intently at him, became frightened and said, What is it, Lord? And the angel said to him, Your prayers and your [generous] gifts to the poor have come up [as a sacrifice] to God {and} have been remembered by Him.” Prov 19:17, “He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and that which he has given He will repay to him.” Prov 21:13, “Whoever stops his ears at the cry of the poor will cry out himself and not be heard.” Prov 22:9, “He who has a bountiful eye shall be blessed, for he gives of his bread to the poor.”
iv) Giving to the saints and God’s servants. Gal 6:6, 9-10, “The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches {him.}Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.” (NASB)
v) Working (hard). Prov 14:23, “In all labor there is profit, but idle talk leads only to poverty.” Prov 18:9, “He who is loose {and} slack in his work is brother to him who is a destroyer {and} {he who does not use his endeavors to heal himself is brother to him who commits suicide}.” Prov 19:15, “Slothfulness casts one into a deep sleep, and the idle person shall suffer hunger.” Prov 22:29, “Do you see a man diligent {and} skillful in his business? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.” Prov6:10-11 “Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to lie down {and} sleep-- So will your poverty come like a robber {or} one who travels [with slowly but surely approaching steps] and your want like an armed man [making you helpless].”
vi) Seizing opportunity that God gives us. Prov 20:13, “Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes and you will be satisfied with bread.”
vii) Living right & being obedient to God. Lev 26:3-5, 10, “If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments and do them, I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase and the trees of the field yield their fruit. And your threshing [time] shall reach to the vintage and the vintage [time] shall reach to the sowing time, and you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely. And you shall eat the [abundant] old store of produce long kept, and clear out the old [to make room] for the new.”
6. RIGHT ATTITUDE TOWARDS MONEY
(a) Acknowledge that God is the giver or source of wealth. Prov 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.” Deut 8:10-18, “When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for all the good land which He has given you. Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His precepts, and His statutes which I command you today, Lest when you have eaten and are full, and have built goodly houses and live in them, And when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all you have is multiplied, Then your [minds and] hearts be lifted up and you forget the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, Who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, but Who brought you forth water out of the flinty rock, Who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. And beware lest you say in your [mind and] heart, My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth. But you shall [earnestly] remember the Lord your God, for it is He Who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”
(b) Share and give as God blesses you. Prov 3:28, “Do not say to your neighbor, Go, and come again; and tomorrow I will give it--when you have it with you.” Prov 11:24-25 “There are those who [generously] scatter abroad, and yet increase more; there are those who withhold more than is fitting {or} what is justly due, but it results only in want. The liberal person shall be enriched, and he who waters shall himself be watered.”
(c) Do not let money rule you or be your god. Prov 11:28, “He who leans on, trusts in, {and} is confident in his riches shall fall, but the [uncompromisingly] righteous shall flourish like a green bough.”
(d) Do not waste money. Prov 21:17, “He who loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.” Prov 21:20, “There are precious treasures and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a self-confident {and} foolish man swallows it up {and} wastes it.”
(e) Do not get money in corrupt/wrong means. Prov 10:2, “Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, but righteousness (moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation) delivers from death.” Prov 11:4, “Riches provide no security in any day of wrath {and} judgment, but righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God) delivers from death.” Prov 13:11, “Wealth [not earned but] won in haste {or} unjustly {or} from the production of things for vain {or} detrimental use [such riches] will dwindle away, but he who gathers little by little will increase [his riches].”
There has been a lot of opinions about money & riches said in the church. Some beliefs are that money is evil, the root of all evil, to be poor is being humble or righteous, etc. But we need to find out what the Word/God says about riches, wealthy or money. Let’s go through some few principles that the bible teaches.
WE NEED MONEY/ RESOURCES
(a) As individuals
- we need money for our needs, food, clothes, etc
- we need money to glorify or serve God, giving to the church and others
- we need money for our children. Prov 19:14, “House and riches are the inheritance from fathers, but a wise, understanding, {and} prudent wife is from the Lord.”
(b) As the church
- we need money to pay bills for the church and for the livelihood of God’s servants
- we need money for reaching out or spreading the gospel
- without money our impact, effectiveness and efficiency is limited. We need buildings, equipment, furnisher, PA system, etc
(c) We cannot do without money both as individuals and as a church
(d) Money is not evil
GOD EXPECTS US TO HAVE MONEY
(a) He expects us to give tithes & offerings
(b) He expects us to give to the poor
GOD WANTS US TO HAVE MONEY
(a) He tells us how to get riches, wealth & prosperity. Deut 8:18, “But you shall [earnestly] remember the Lord your God, for it is He Who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.” Deut 28:1-11, “IF YOU will listen diligently to the voice of the Lord your God, being watchful to do all His commandments which I command you this day, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you if you heed the voice of the Lord your God. Blessed shall you be in the city and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your body and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your beasts, the increase of your cattle and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading trough. Blessed shall you be when you come in and blessed shall you be when you go out. The Lord shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. The Lord shall command the blessing upon you in your storehouse and in all that you undertake. And He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you. The Lord will establish you as a people holy to Himself, as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. And all people of the earth shall see that you are called by the name [and in the presence of] the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. And the Lord shall make you have a surplus of prosperity, through the fruit of your body, of your livestock, and of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you.”
(b) He made others rich / wealth.
· Abraham – Gen 13:2, “Now Abram was extremely rich in livestock and in silver and in gold.” Gen 24:35, “And the Lord has blessed my master mightily, and he has become great; and He has given him flocks, herds, silver, gold, menservants, maidservants, camels, and asses.”
· Isaac - Gen 26:13-14, “And the man became great and gained more and more until he became very wealthy {and} distinguished; He owned flocks, herds, and a great supply of servants, and the Philistines envied him.”
· Jacob - Gen 30:43, “Thus the man increased {and} became exceedingly rich, and had many sheep {and} goats, and maidservants, menservants, camels, and donkeys.”
· Job - Job 1:1-3, “THERE WAS a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who [reverently] feared God and abstained from {and} shunned evil [because it was wrong]. And there were born to him seven sons and three daughters. He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very great body of servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the East.” Job 42:10-12, “And the Lord turned the captivity of Job {and} restored his fortunes, when he prayed for his friends; also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then there came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and they ate bread with him in his house; and they sympathized with him and comforted him over all the [distressing] calamities that the Lord had brought upon him. Every man also gave him a piece of money, and every man an earring of gold. And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.”
· Solomon - 1 Kin 3:13, “I have also given you what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there shall not be any among the kings equal to you all your days.” 1 Kin 10:25-27, “Every man brought tribute: vessels of silver and gold, garments, equipment, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year. Solomon collected chariots and horsemen; he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, which he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars as plentiful as the sycamore trees in the lowlands.”
(c) He created money. Hag 2:8, “The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine, says the Lord of hosts.” Rev 4:11, “Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive the glory and the honor and dominion, for You created all things; by Your will they were [brought into being] and were created.” Ps 50:12, “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are Mine.”
(d) He is rich and we are His heirs. Gal 4:7, “Therefore, you are no longer a slave (bond servant) but a son; and if a son, then [it follows that you are] an heir by the aid of God, {through Christ.}”
JESUS WAS NOT “POOR”
(a) The bible does not say Joseph & Mary did not have money for booking in the hotel, but says there was no room in the hotel. Luke 2:6-7 “And while they were there, the time came for her delivery, And she gave birth to her Son, her Firstborn; and she wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room {or} place for them in the inn.”
(b) Jesus had money to take care of the needs of the twelve disciples and Himself. John13:29 “Some thought that, since Judas had the money box (the purse), Jesus was telling him, Buy what we need for the Festival, or that he should give something to the poor.” Mark 14:12-15, “On the first day [of the Feast] of Unleavened Bread, when [as was customary] they killed the Passover lamb, [Jesus'] disciples said to Him, Where do You wish us to go [and] prepare the Passover [supper] for You to eat? And He sent two of His disciples and said to them, Go into the city, and a man carrying an [earthen] jar {or} pitcher of water will meet you; follow him. And whatever [house] he enters, say to the master of the house, The Teacher says: Where is My guest room, where I may eat the Passover [supper] with My disciples? And he will [himself] show you a large upper room, furnished [with carpets and with dining couches properly spread] and ready; there prepare for us.”
(c) Jesus had a treasurer for His money which means it was a lot of money because no one would have a treasure for small moneys. The treasurer was also a thief but still money was enough. John 12:4-6, “But Judas Iscariot, the one of His disciples who was about to betray Him, said, Why was this perfume not sold for 300 denarii [a year's wages for an ordinary workman] and that [money] given to the poor (the destitute)? Now he did not say this because he cared for the poor but because he was a thief; and having the bag (the money box, the purse of the Twelve), he took for himself what was put into it [pilfering the collections].”
(d) Jesus had enough money to have bought bread for the five thousand. Luke 9:13, “But He said to them, You [yourselves] give them [food] to eat. They said, We have no more than five loaves and two fish--unless we are to go and buy food for all this crowd”
(e) Jesus used to give to the poor, John 13:29, “Some thought that, since Judas had the money box (the purse), Jesus was telling him, Buy what we need for the Festival, or that he should give something to the poor.”
(f) Jesus and His disciples could have been rich (implied) because if they were poor they would not have been amazed but would be happy when Jesus talked about it being difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom. Mark 10:23-26, “And Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, With what difficulty will those who possess wealth {and} keep on holding it enter the kingdom of God! And the disciples were amazed {and} bewildered {and} perplexed at His words. But Jesus said to them again, Children, how hard it is {for those who trust (place their confidence, their sense of safety) in riches} to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. And they were shocked {and} exceedingly astonished, and said to Him {and} {to one another}, Then who can be saved?”
(g) Jesus’ clothes were worthy or of value for the soldier to worry about sharing them. Surely no one would worry about getting a poor man’s robe! John 19:23-24, “Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, one share for each soldier, and also the tunic (the long shirtlike undergarment). But the tunic was seamless, woven [in one piece] from the top throughout. So they said to one another, Let us not tear it, but let us cast lots to decide whose it shall be. This was to fulfill the Scripture, They parted My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots. So the soldiers did these things.”
GOD’S WAY(S) FOR HARNESSING / GETTING RESOURCES.
(a) God will not send money from heaven. We cannot pray and see God dropping money from heaven. He gives us money which is in the system. For instance, in Zimbabwe money has serial numbers, if God were to rain money from heaven that would be fake money and that is illegal in our country, God is wise and smart. There is one incident in the bible where Jesus instructed Peter to go get money from the mouth of the fish, I do not have any answer for that one. Matt 17:27, “However, in order not to give offense {and} cause them to stumble [that is, to cause them to judge unfavorably and unjustly] go down to the sea and throw in a hook. Take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find there a shekel. Take it and give it to them to pay the temple tax for Me and for yourself.”
(b) God established the principle of sowing and reaping. Gen 8:22, “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” That means we cannot change that principle same as we cannot change the principle of day and night. Whether we want it or not, there will always be day and night (in this age). In the same way, God has established the principle that there has to time when one sows and then at another season reap. The only way that I have seen in scripture for getting money / resources is to sow and await harvest! 2 Corinthians 9:6, “[Remember] this: he who sows sparingly {and} grudgingly will also reap sparingly {and} grudgingly, and he who sows generously [that blessings may come to someone] will also reap generously {and} with blessings.” Gal 6:7, “Do not be deceived {and} deluded {and} misled; God will not allow Himself to be sneered at (scorned, disdained, or mocked by mere pretensions or professions, or by His precepts being set aside.) [He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God.] For whatever a man sows, that {and} that only is what he will reap.”
i) Tithing
· God instructs us to tithe. Mal 3:8-12, “Will a man rob {or} defraud God? Yet you rob {and} defraud Me. But you say, In what way do we rob {or} defraud You? [You have withheld your] tithes and offerings. You are cursed with the curse, for you are robbing Me, even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes (the whole tenth of your income) into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now by it, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer [insects and plagues] for your sakes and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine drop its fruit before the time in the field, says the Lord of hosts. And all nations shall call you happy {and} blessed, for you shall be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.”
· Tithing was before the law. Gen 14:20, “And blessed, praised, {and} glorified be God Most High, Who has given your foes into your hand! And [Abram] gave him a tenth of all [he had taken].” Gen 28:20-22, “Then Jacob made a vow, saying, If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go and will give me food to eat and clothing to wear, So that I may come again to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God; And this stone which I have set up as a pillar (monument) shall be God's house [a sacred place to me], and of all [the increase of possessions] that You give me I will give the tenth to You.
· Tithing is found in the New Testament. Matt 23:23, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites)! For you give a tenth of your mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected {and} omitted the weightier (more important) matters of the Law--right {and} justice and mercy and fidelity. These you ought [particularly] to have done, without neglecting the others.” Heb 7:1-8, “FOR THIS Melchizedek, king of Salem [and] priest of the Most High God, met Abraham as he returned from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, And Abraham gave to him a tenth portion of all [the spoil]. He is primarily, as his name when translated indicates, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, which means king of peace. Without [record of] father or mother or ancestral line, neither with beginning of days nor ending of life, but, resembling the Son of God, he continues to be a priest without interruption {and} without successor. Now observe {and} consider how great [a personage] this was to whom even Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth [the topmost or the pick of the heap] of the spoils. And it is true that those descendants of Levi who are charged with the priestly office are commanded in the Law to take tithes from the people--which means, from their brethren--though these have descended from Abraham. But this person who has not their Levitical ancestry received tithes from Abraham [himself] and blessed him who possessed the promises [of God]. Yet it is beyond all contradiction that it is the lesser person who is blessed by the greater one. Furthermore, here [in the Levitical priesthood] tithes are received by men who are subject to death; while there [in the case of Melchizedek], they are received by one of whom it is testified that he lives [perpetually].”
ii) Offerings. Prov 3:9-10, “Honor the Lord with your capital {and} sufficiency [from righteous labors] and with the firstfruits of all your income; So shall your storage places be filled with plenty, and your vats shall be overflowing with new wine.
iii) Alms / giving to the poor. Gal 2:9-10, “And when they knew (perceived, recognized, understood, and acknowledged) the grace (God's unmerited favor and spiritual blessing) that had been bestowed upon me, James and Cephas (Peter) and John, who were reputed to be pillars of the Jerusalem church, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, with the understanding that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised (Jews). They only [made one stipulation], that we were to remember the poor, which very thing I was also eager to do.” Acts 10:4, “And he, gazing intently at him, became frightened and said, What is it, Lord? And the angel said to him, Your prayers and your [generous] gifts to the poor have come up [as a sacrifice] to God {and} have been remembered by Him.” Prov 19:17, “He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and that which he has given He will repay to him.” Prov 21:13, “Whoever stops his ears at the cry of the poor will cry out himself and not be heard.” Prov 22:9, “He who has a bountiful eye shall be blessed, for he gives of his bread to the poor.”
iv) Giving to the saints and God’s servants. Gal 6:6, 9-10, “The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches {him.}Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.” (NASB)
v) Working (hard). Prov 14:23, “In all labor there is profit, but idle talk leads only to poverty.” Prov 18:9, “He who is loose {and} slack in his work is brother to him who is a destroyer {and} {he who does not use his endeavors to heal himself is brother to him who commits suicide}.” Prov 19:15, “Slothfulness casts one into a deep sleep, and the idle person shall suffer hunger.” Prov 22:29, “Do you see a man diligent {and} skillful in his business? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.” Prov6:10-11 “Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to lie down {and} sleep-- So will your poverty come like a robber {or} one who travels [with slowly but surely approaching steps] and your want like an armed man [making you helpless].”
vi) Seizing opportunity that God gives us. Prov 20:13, “Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes and you will be satisfied with bread.”
vii) Living right & being obedient to God. Lev 26:3-5, 10, “If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments and do them, I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase and the trees of the field yield their fruit. And your threshing [time] shall reach to the vintage and the vintage [time] shall reach to the sowing time, and you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely. And you shall eat the [abundant] old store of produce long kept, and clear out the old [to make room] for the new.”
6. RIGHT ATTITUDE TOWARDS MONEY
(a) Acknowledge that God is the giver or source of wealth. Prov 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.” Deut 8:10-18, “When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for all the good land which He has given you. Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His precepts, and His statutes which I command you today, Lest when you have eaten and are full, and have built goodly houses and live in them, And when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all you have is multiplied, Then your [minds and] hearts be lifted up and you forget the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, Who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, but Who brought you forth water out of the flinty rock, Who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. And beware lest you say in your [mind and] heart, My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth. But you shall [earnestly] remember the Lord your God, for it is He Who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”
(b) Share and give as God blesses you. Prov 3:28, “Do not say to your neighbor, Go, and come again; and tomorrow I will give it--when you have it with you.” Prov 11:24-25 “There are those who [generously] scatter abroad, and yet increase more; there are those who withhold more than is fitting {or} what is justly due, but it results only in want. The liberal person shall be enriched, and he who waters shall himself be watered.”
(c) Do not let money rule you or be your god. Prov 11:28, “He who leans on, trusts in, {and} is confident in his riches shall fall, but the [uncompromisingly] righteous shall flourish like a green bough.”
(d) Do not waste money. Prov 21:17, “He who loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.” Prov 21:20, “There are precious treasures and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a self-confident {and} foolish man swallows it up {and} wastes it.”
(e) Do not get money in corrupt/wrong means. Prov 10:2, “Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, but righteousness (moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation) delivers from death.” Prov 11:4, “Riches provide no security in any day of wrath {and} judgment, but righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God) delivers from death.” Prov 13:11, “Wealth [not earned but] won in haste {or} unjustly {or} from the production of things for vain {or} detrimental use [such riches] will dwindle away, but he who gathers little by little will increase [his riches].”
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