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Revelation 18
LESSON 3
TRUE WEALTH IS ONLY IN JESUS
OWNERSHIP: GIVING GOD ALL
HEBREWS 11:13
These all died in faith, not having received the promises,
but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them,
and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers
and pilgrims on the earth.
Once a wealthy Christian plantation owner invited John Wesley to his home. The
two rode their horses all day, seeing just a small part of all the man owned. At
the end of the day the plantation owner proudly asked, “Well, Mr. Wesley, what
do you think?” After a moment of silence, Wesley replied, “I think you’re going to
have a hard time leaving all this.” The plantation owner was attached to the
world he was in. Wesley was attached to the world he was going to.
Money, Possessions and Eternity. Ownership: Giving God All
DO WE HAVE THE PILGRIM MENTALITY? Open with me to
Heb 11.13
I have held many things in my hands and I have lost them all. But whatever I have
placed in God’s hands, that I still possess. Martin Luther
John Bunyan wrote his classic ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’ from an English prison cell to
which he was condemned for unlicensed preaching of the gospel. This is how he
interpreted the words of Christ and Paul: Whatever good thing you do for Him, if
done according to the Word, is laid up for you as treasure in chests and coffers,
to be brought out to be rewarded before both men and angels, to your eternal
comfort.
John Wesley said, “I value all things only by the price they shall gain in
eternity.”
Similarly David Livingstone stated, “I place no value on anything I possess
except in relation to the Kingdom of God.”
God’s Kingdom was the reference point for these men. They saw all else in light
of the Kingdom. They were compelled to live as they did not because they
treasured no things, but because they treasured the right things.
We often miss something in missionary martyr Jim Elliot’s famous words, “He is
no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” We focus
on his willingness to go to the mission field. That willingness started when he
relinquished his hold on things as MINE!
Doesn’t that remind you of Hebrews 11:13
These all died in faith, not having received the promises,
but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them,
and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers
and pilgrims on the earth.
DO WE HAVE THE PILGRIM MENTALITY?
And so it is that when a man walks along a road, the lighter he travels, the
happier he is; equally, on this journey of life, a man is more blessed if he does
not pant beneath a burden of riches. Tertullian
Let temporal things serve your use, but the eternal be the object of your desire.
Thomas A Kempis
J. H. Jowett once said the true measure of our wealth is how much we would be
worth if we lost all our money.
Hosea 13:6
According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled,
and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me.
Today: We will be hiking the great passages describing
MONEY, POSSESSIONS AND ETERNITY. Our four messages will be covering:
1. OWNERSHIP: GIVING TO GOD ALL IN THIS LIFE
2. STEWARDSHIP: Giving to God His in this Life
3. MATERIALISM: Giving to God First in this Life
4. CONTENTMENT: Giving to God A Place in this Life
Why talk bout money? Because Jesus did! That is why one in seven words Christ
spoke are about money and possessions.
1. Sixteen of His 38 Parables focus upon the handling of money.
2. Of the nearly 2,800 verses in the Four Gospels, 288 direct our use and
possession of money.
3. Fifteen percent of the Teachings of Christ are about proper and improper
handling of our stewardship.
4. In all the New Testament we find there are:
• Over Five hundred PRAYER references
• Just under 500 references to FAITH
• But over 1,000 references to money and possessions
He accorded to money an astounding prominence in His teaching. An analysis
reveals that it figured in sixteen of His thirty-eight parables. One verse in six in
the synoptic gospels has the same theme. Why did He give it such prominence?
* Because money is one of the central realities of life, and affects us all from
cradle to grave. Jesus would have been unrealistic had He not given it due
prominence.
* Because money is an acid test of character. Whether a person is rich or
poor, discover his attitude to money, and you gain a deep insight into his
character. One cannot be neutral where money is concerned.
* Because of its potential for good or evil. This obvious fact needs no
elaboration.
FIRST – OWNERSHIP
God owns the UNIVERSE
* Deuteronomy 10:14
Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD’S thy God,
the earth also, with all that therein is.
* First Chronicles 29:11-12
11 Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory,
and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and
in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art
exalted as head above all.
12 Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all;
and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to
make great, and to give strength unto all.
* Job 41:11
Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him? whatsoever is under
the whole heaven is mine.
* Psalm 24:1-2 1
(A Psalm of David.) The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof;
the world, and they that dwell therein.
2 For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.
* Psalm 50:10-12
10 For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.
11 I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine.
12 If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.
* Haggai 2:8
The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts.
* Job 31:24-28
If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold,
Thou art my confidence; 25 If I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and
because mine hand had gotten much; 26 If I beheld the sun when it shined, or
the moon walking in brightness; 27 And my heart hath been secretly enticed,
or my mouth hath kissed my hand: 28 This also were an iniquity to be
punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above.
* Psalm 147:4
He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their
names.
* God owns the PAST the PRESENT and the FUTURE FINISH LINE!
* Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
* Psalm 90:2
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst
formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to
everlasting, thou art God.
* Isaiah 44:6
Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer
the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and
beside me there is no God.
* Revelation 1:17-18
17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he
laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not;
I am the first and the last:
18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am
alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and
of death.
* 2 Corinthians 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every
one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath
done, whether it be good or bad.
* Romans 14:7-12
7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die,
we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are
the Lord’s.
9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that
he might be Lord both of the dead and living.
10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at
nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment
seat of Christ.
11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall
bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
GOD OWNS YOU!
The Conclusive Proof of Spiritual Change is seen in an altered perspective on
handling money and possessions. Note:
* Luke 3:7-14
Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of
him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to
come? 8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to
say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you,
That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 10 And
the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? 11 He answereth and
saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none;
and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. 12 Then came also publicans to
be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? 13 And he said
unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. 14 And the
soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, and what shall we do? And he
said unto them, do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be
content with your wages.
* 2 Corinthians 5:15
And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live
unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
* That is precisely Paul’s point in
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which
is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body,
and in your spirit, which are God’s.
The believers in Corinth were doing what they pleased with their bodies and their
lives. And why not? They said, “It’s my life.” Paul said, “No, it’s not your life.
You own nothing, not even yourself. When you came to Christ you
surrendered the title to your life. You belong to God, not yourself. He is the
only one who has the right to do what he wants with your life-your body, your
sexual behavior, money, possessions, everything. You owe him your full
obedience.”
The point is, God is not just the owner of the Universe in general, but the owner
of me in particular. In fact, I am twice his-first by creation, and second by
redemption. Ownership is living in the light of this overriding truth. It is living life
with the acute awareness that we are managers, not owners; that we are
caretakers of God’s assets, which he has entrusted to us, while we are on Earth.
How we handle our money and possessions will be determined by whom we
really believe to be their true owner-and ours.
TRANSFERRING THE TITLE DEED TO GOD.
God owns all things, whether we recognize it or not. But life becomes much
clearer-and in some respects much easier-when we consciously and
continuously choose to recognize it.
• The question is not whether we theoretically affirm God’s ownership.
• The question is whether we have deliberately transferred the ownership of
all our assets and ourselves to him.
• Have we invited him to be what Scripture says he is-the CREATOR,
OWNER, and CONTROLLER of our family our possessions, our money,
and us? And have we extended the invitation again after we have taken
things back into our hands? This self-surrender to God is the beginning of
true stewardship.
When we come to grasp that we are stewards, not owners of our money, it totally
changes our perspective. Suddenly I’m not asking, “How much of my money
shall I, out of the goodness of my heart, give to God?” Rather, I’m asking, “Since
all of ‘my’ money is really yours, Lord, how would you like me to invest your
money today?”
When I truly realize that God has a claim not on a few dollars to throw in an
offering plate, not on 10 percent or 50 percent but 100 percent of “my” money, it
is revolutionary. Suddenly I am God’s Steward, God’s Money Manager. I am not
God. Money is not God. God is God. He is in His place, and I am in mine.
Not only does God own everything, God controls everything. Again, the
implications are enormous. I don’t have to own everything. I don’t have to
control everything. It is in better hands than mine. And when catastrophe strikes
I can honestly adopt the posture of John Wesley, referred to at the beginning of
this chapter, when he said, “No. The Lord’s house burned down. That means
one less responsibility for me.”
As Wesley did, I must remind myself of both God’s role and mine to gain
perspective in the face of loss or turmoil. What a life-changing and freeing
perspective is God’s ownership and sovereignty when the house is robbed, the
car is totaled, the bike is stolen, and even when the diagnosis is cancer.
To yield to this vital concept in your mind, I suggest you sit down and actually
draw up a title deed, or use this one if you wish:
Date:
I hereby grant to the Lord my God myself, all of my money, possessions and all
else I’ve ever thought of as mine, even my family. From this point forward I will
think of them as His to do with as He wishes. I will do my utmost to prayerfully
consider how He wishes me to invest His assets to further His Kingdom. In doing
so I realize I will surrender certain temporary earthly treasures and gain in
exchange eternal treasures, as well as increased perspective and decreased
anxiety.
Signed:
Witness:
When we come to Christ, God puts all His resources at our disposal. He also
expects us to put all our resources at His disposal. This is what stewardship-and
life-is all about.
“Only one life to live and soon is past
Only what’s done for Christ will last!”
Hoping to make the time I have left count for the glory of God.
Revelation 18 LESSON 3 TRUE WEALTH IS ONLY IN JESUS OWNERSHIP: GIVING GOD ALL
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