Defining Moments-The Road To Riches Or Ruin Series

DEFINING MOMENTS – PART TWO

THE ROAD TO RICHES OR RUIN

MATTHEW 6:24 - DR. LARRY L. THOMPSON (2015)

Introduction:

Defining moments occur when we come face to face with a truth we didn’t know, or a truth we have chosen to disregard, and yet when confronted with the truth and we choose to accept it, receive it, and live it, our lives are transformed forever!

We have all been at the place where we see those, warning signs, some people call them the red flags waving in front of our eyes warning us that something is wrong. It could be in your marriage or with your kids or your business or your spiritual life…but we chose to ignore the red flags because we want to continue to believe that everything is wonderful and nothing needs to change. BUT we all know differently…And yet we rationalize, “Maybe if I ignore the truth long enough it won’t be the truth; maybe if I ignore the problem long enough it won’t be a problem; maybe if I just don’t talk about our marriage then our marriage will be fine; maybe if I just come to church and hear the truth but never act on the truth then I can be okay!” “Maybe if I just ignore what God says about the way I handle money or my credit cards then I’ll get a pass from Him.”

DO YOU REALLY WANT TO CREATE A FALSE SENSE OF REALITY? Where did we get this twisted idea that God will conform to us instead of us conforming to HIM!

Instead of having a DEFINING MOMENT we play “LET’S MAKE A DEAL WITH GOD”

“I have been faithful in church my whole life so nothing bad will ever happen to me.”

“We have been happily married several years; our marriage will always be great.”

“I don’t tithe money but I give my time so I will never have any financial problems.”

“I send my kids to church; So I know they’ll be faithful when they are college.”

“Our kids know that we were both Christians when we married so they will marry a Christian”

“My sins are small compared to other people; I know God won’t be concerned about my small sin.”

DID YOU KNOW THAT EVERYTIME WE BELIEVE A DISTORATION ABOUT GOD THERE IS A CORRESPONDING CONSEQUENCE FOR OUR LIVES; AND THAT CONSEQUENCE THAT WILL CAUSE US TO PAY A PRICE IN LIFE GOD NEVER INTENDED FOR YOU TO HAVE TO PAY.

• If you believe that you have to have EVERY QUESTION ANSWERED before you’ll trust God; then you’ll never trust God.

• If you believe that God heals every illness; you will live with a great sense of disappointment in life.

• If you think you are going to be good enough to get to heaven by your own good works; you will be eternally disappointed because it is not what you do…but what HE HAS DONE.

• If you believe, you have done something so bad you will never be forgiven…you will never find true peace or know true forgiveness.

• If you believe that you can tip God and ignore His tithe then you will never know the full joy of receiving all that God has promised to those who obedient.

Have you ever noticed that GREED IS NO RESPECTER OF INCOME? It doesn’t matter if you make $25,000 or $5 million a year, materialism affects everyone. It is interesting we rarely consider ourselves materialistic. We simply CONVINCE ourselves we are just trying to attain a better life. It’s always other people who have the problem of being materialistic. WE ARE CAUGHT IN ONE OF THE GREATEST BATTLES A CHRISTIAN WILL FACE. THIS DEFINING MOMENT WILL IDENTIFY WHICH WORLD HOLDS YOUR HEART AND DIRECTS YOUR DECISIONS. The battle we face is the titanic struggle between what I call the ‘THINGDOM’ and ‘KINGDOM.’

KINGDOM LEADS TO RICHES, THINGDOM LEADS TO RUIN…BE VERY CAREFUL WHICH ROAD YOU CHOOSE.

I. DEFINING MOMENT ONE: WHEN YOU IDENTIFY THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN KINGDOM/THINGDOM (Matt. 6:24)

Jesus gave this distinction between THINGDOM & KINGDOM LIVING:

“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Matthew 6:24 (NLT)

His Kingdom is the place God wants us to reflect His NATURE, His CHARACTER, and His GENEROSITY! This is goal of all believers is simple: WE LIVE IN A KINGDOM AND THEREFORE WE LIVE FOR AND SERVE THE KING.

One word that best describes people of THINGDOM…MATERIALISM. MATERIALISM BEGINS WHERE YOUR INCOME ENDS. THINGDOM RESIDENTS HAVE a PREOCCUPATION with things.

MATERIALISM IS NOT A TANGIBLE COMMODITY. IT’S AN INTANGIBLE CONDITION OF THE HEART. If you make $30,000 a year…You think the person making $60,000 a year is materialistic. You say, “They are materialistic.”