John 6:19-21 & :28-29,
:28 When the diciples asked Jesus, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? John 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
Am I robbing God or is the church robbing me?
This is the first sermon that I have preached concerning money, ever. I stayed clear from this subject for the longest time, but one day, one day I was praying and I asked the Lord “Please give me a message to preach” I opened my Bible and started reading this portion of scripture. The Holy Spirit helped me with the interpretation and I penned it according to my life experiences. And I would like to give the Holy Spirit all of the credits.
Robbing God is more than just neglecting to give money:
Let me start by saying this: The truth will set you free but the truth can condemn you!
Are you taking advice from the world?
Let’s take a closer look at the parable of the “Shrewd Manager” you might discover something you never saw before. Just don’t jump to conclusions – look at the hidden spiritual application - check it out! That’s the least you can do!
Jesus called the disciples and He explained a very important principal by means of a parable. according to this parable, the manager wanted a comfortable lifestyle. He wanted to enjoy the salary without working too hard - and he used his Master's resources for his own purposes: (I think it would be wrong for us to show up in heaven, claiming the reward; without being part of the fight!) what do you think?
Luke 16:1-12
He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. 2 So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’
(Remember we are Gods stewards, managing His riches but be careful a day of reckoning is coming).
3 “Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me.
Stewardship is not limited to money only. Looking at Matt 16:9 we discover that Jesus expanded this message to include salvation. The verse indicates that the steward needed a way of escape, yes. He needed to redeem himself from the inevitable judgment of His earthly Master. But, this message has a deeper application. It is more than just being saved from His master. This stewards way of dealing with His masters resources are compared to our own responsibility towards Salvation. We are Gods stewards, we must take care of what He entrusted to us and we must be fruitful when it comes to working the works of God and doing what He asked us to. We notice a switcheroo: the emphasis is transferred from the homes of worldly people and it is applied to our eternal Home in Heaven.
So, if we compare this to our Spiritual responsibilities we read that Matthew 5:14"You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden …When we read what is said about our generation, we become concerned about Rev 2:4 I am against you; you have left your first love. - repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to remove your lampstand out of its place-- unless you repent...
So, the steward scrambled and He said “I cannot dig; or I am ashamed to beg. How does this apply to us? (We find ourselves in a situation where we can’t to depend on my works and we refuse to A.S.K) (Ask Seek and Knock).
So, he reasoned: 4 I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’
This is just like us (We reason) I know God won’t put up with my rebellion. It is about to come to an end (So, we determine ourselves to work out our own salvation by being slick and become charlatans.)
5 “So, he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred measures[b] of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’
What is happening here? Look what the servant did; He reduced their debt in different ways to divert the master’s attention from his guild.
Are we doing this? Are we hiding behind excuses? Are we trying to justify our sin and our responsibility by trying to divert Gods attention from the real problem we have. Guess what? God knows anyway!
Form past experiences, I can attest to the fact that we disguise our sin with our crafty little tricks. Why? We want to depend on our own power. What are the consequences? We appear to look good before God, but it is form of godliness without to power of it. We Seek security by befriending and seeking the world’s acceptance & we become their servants. We rely on their riches to save us. (Spiritually & financially)We are dishonest to our Master and we leave Him) (We cheapen the message for the world’s affection. To live free from any restraints)
This servant did everything he could to divert his manager attention, accept repenting and being faithful that is! We hide our motives and we effectively become hypocrites. Guess what? His manager knew anyway. (God knows)
“8 So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. (The master was not happy with Him. He just recognized that he was Bright and crafty in his act of dishonesty. He wasn’t noble, but persistent to the end.) For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light. What do we learn from this: (Worldly people are manipulators but they get what they want because they pursue their dreams and they get along with each other, but Christians don’t, we should take a hint without compromise.)
9 “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. Use your unsanctified money to make friends. Your money can be used to support Gods cause and to care for others. If you use your money for the right purposes it would attract people to the message. You are worried about yourself don’t be too concerned. If you become bankrupt God will supply your every need. You might not think it, but God could use those same people you helped to help you. And your eternal mansion is waiting
10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. 11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own? (Be trustworthy with the riches and the authority which God entrusted to you) (Don’t use Gods wealth and His resources for personal gain. It is meant for the church, the poor, and to support God’s work, and to sustain yourself of course)
Conclusion:
Jesus is saying: If you want to inherit eternal life you must be trustworthy, even when it comes to the insignificant little things, such as worldly wealth. If you are dishonest with small things, you will also be dishonest when it comes to big things, unable to be Gods servant, hence, you could not be trusted in Gods kingdom and you won’t be there! Be trustworthy when it comes to Gods gifts and his property (Money is Gods property) don’t expect God to give you a mansion in the New Jerusalem if you cheat Him on earth.
Return to Me, and I will return to you,”
Says the LORD of hosts. “But you said,
‘In what way shall we return?
And this is what we do. We are clueless; We still think money is a small and insignificant little thing and we refuse to accept its spiritual application.
This is why God said it plainly:
8 “Will a man rob God? (This is just unimaginable!)
Yet you have robbed Me! Wow! We did??
But you say,
‘In what way have we robbed You?’ This is where we pretent to be ignorant.
In tithes and offerings. It’s in my face. Duh, Hallo!
9 You are cursed with a curse, God says it like it is. (Or, It is what it is!)
For you have robbed Me, (Ouch!)
Even this whole nation.
10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
Let me ask you this Question? Is the Lords house bankrupt because of you? Pointing a finger at the prosperity Gospel may be a valid argument, but don’t call every cause the prosperity Gospel. Be truthful and sincere.
And try Me now in this,”
Says the LORD of hosts,
“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it. This is what God will do for you, Do you actually believe this?- You should.
12 “And all nations will call you blessed, Is it possible?
For you will be a delightful land,”
Says the LORD of hosts. Can He be trusted, what about you?
Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another,
And the LORD listened and heard them;
So a book of remembrance was written before Him
For those who fear the LORD. (God won’t forget)
And who meditate on His name. Are you doing it?
17 “They shall be Mine,” says the LORD of hosts,
“On the day that I make them My jewels.
And I will spare them God is talking about you
As a man spares his own son who serves him.” (This chapter is dealing with the small stuff - money)
Look at Gods feelings when it comes to your free love offerings:
18 Then you shall again discern
Between the righteous and the wicked,
Between one who serves God
And one who does not serve Him. (He will give you the spirit of discernment)
11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, and authority who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?
Then He goes on to say:
13 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” So, when it comes to serving God, Love and Honesty is your first priority, and if you chase after money, money is your God.
I
14 The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15 He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight? Do you justify it when you use Gods money for yourself?
Jesus said: The way in which you handle Gods money will determine and it will prove your loyalty trustworthiness and acceptance.
