January 22, 2017

“You must cancel your debts at the end of every seventh year. This is the way to conduct remission: every creditor must cancel the loan that his friend borrowed, and he must not pressure his friend or brother to repay it,because remission to the Lord will be proclaimed. You may exact payment from a foreigner, but cancel whatever your brother owes you. Moreover, there will be no poor person among you, for the Lord will surely bless you in the land that he is about to give you to possess. Only be certain to obey the voice of the Lord your God. Carefully observe all of these commands that I’m commanding you today, because the Lord your God will bless you just as he promised. You are to lend to many nations, but not to borrow. Also, you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you.” “If there should be a poor man among your relatives in one of the cities of the land that the Lord your God is about to give you, don’t be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your poor relative. Instead, be sure to open your hand to him and lend him enough to lessen his need. Be careful not to think this wicked thought to yourselves: ‘The seventh year, the year of remission, is drawing near…’ and you show ill will toward your poor relative and not give to him. He may then call to the Lord on account of you, and you will be guilty of sin. You must certainly give to him and not feel regret for doing so. Because of this, the Lord your God will bless all your works and everything you do. Since poor people won’t cease to exist in the land, I’m commanding you: Be sure to display generosity to your poor and needy relatives in your land.” “When a fellow Hebrew male or female slave is sold to you and serves you for six years, then in the seventh year you are to set them free. But when you set them free, don’t send them away empty-handed. Provide for them liberally from your flock, threshing floor, and wine vat. As the Lord your God has blessed you, so give to them. Don’t ever forget that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, yet the Lord your God redeemed you. Therefore, I’m giving you these commands today." Deuteronomy 15:1-15

Here God is getting ready to set up His nation on earth. It is important to note how He planned to set up the economy of that nation and how it would relate to His future plans for His spiritual kingdom on earth.

Moses, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit offers four progressive steps to help gain a giving heart.

Deal with a greedy heart. 

“Be careful not to think this wicked thought to yourselves: ‘The seventh year, the year of remission, is drawing near… and you show ill will toward your poor relative and not give to him. He may then call to the Lord on account of you, and you will be guilty of sin.” 15:9

At every significant event between God and His people He makes known His intention to bless them so they can become a blessing to others in the land where they dwell.

No one has been blessed like Adam and Eve!

God's call to Abraham included a Covenant to bless him and make all the nations through him.

A Christ-follower cannot afford a greedy heart because a greedy heart can't receive God's blessing or become a blessing to others.

Greed equals selfishness! God warned that greed is a wicked thought! And He referred to it as "ill will". Finally, He pronounces it a sin!

You may have a greedy heart if you are calculated in your giving.

Deal with  a grieving heart.

“You must certainly give to him and not feel regret for doing so. Because of this, the Lord your God will bless all your works and everything you do.” 15:10

Give freely with no strings attached. God doesn't bless regretful giving.

How do you feel if someone gives you a gift and you can tell they are reluctant about giving it? 

And how can God bless others through you if you give with a grieving heart?

Develop a generous heart.

“Provide for them liberally from your flock, threshing floor, and wine vat. As the Lord your God has blessed you, so give to them.” 15:4


God expects you to give in the same measure that He gives to you! 

This is the same truth Jesus emphasizes in the Sermon on the Mount as characterized in Matthew 6:21 - "For where your treasure is there will your heart be also."

Don't wait to feel generous before you give. Your heart follows your treasure, so give generously and you will begin to feel generous!

                                        

Develop a grateful heart. 

^“Don’t ever forget that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, yet the Lord your God redeemed you. Therefore, I’m giving you these commands today.” V. 15

I think this is the most powerful of the four helps to a giving heart. Here Moses says, "Whenever you start feeling a little possessive Remember where you came from!"

A generation ago they were slaves and had nothing. There have have still been some among them who bore the marks of slavery on their backs. Then God sent Moses to deliver them and set them free. God led them and fed them and protected them and blessed them in every way so they could be a blessing to others.

You will live under a blessing or under a curse.

If you can live under God’s blessing why wouldn’t you?

It’s all about having the heart of a giver and God’s Word offers clear counsel on how to have a giving heart.

It’s all about the heart!

How is it with your heart?

Where are your treasures?

January 21, 2017

“Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But accumulate for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21

There are moments that mark our lives and become forged in our mind as memories. 

For instance, I'm sure you remember the day you put your child on the school bus for the very first time. You choked back a big gulp and watched the bus until it disappeared over the horizon. Your whole world was on that bus! You prayed for you child and you also offered one up for the bus driver!

And then as your child reaches those mid-teen years and obtains a driver's license your anxiety level reaches never before imagined levels. You never forget the day when you hand the keys to your kid and he backs the car down the driveway, onto the street and off your radar. A huge check of your world has just headed into a world of potential disaster.

While you pray and fight back your fears and tear, you just hope that you have prepared his heart and mind to handle this responsibility. You hope your long discussions about the potential dangers and risks of driving have lodged somewhere in his thought process. You pray that his driver's education experience has trained him adequately.

Then, there's the time you drop him off at college and you unload his things, get him settled in his dorm room, resist the urge for one final lecture, hug him tight and head the car toward home feeling like you've been clubbed with a ball bat.

All the way home you review all the discussions you and your spouse had with him trying to prepare him for the potential pitfalls of college campus life. You pray that you have successfully shaped his heart and mind to make responsible decisions and avoid devastating ones.

Parenting is all about preparing your child(ren) for those moments when they step into new freedoms and responsibilities. You hope you have put their heart and mind in a good place. You pray they have learned to make decisions based on long-term success not short-term temptations.

This is what is going on in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is beginning to prepare His disciples for the day when He will hand over to them the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is where Heaven touches earth and the temporary connects to the eternal. The Kingdom of God is living on earth with heavenly values. The Kingdom of God is about using the temporary things of earth into eternal treasures! It is what Jesus came to bring us and succeeded in doing! And it is what he came to call and prepare His disciples to do. He knew He had three years to shape their hearts and mold their minds before He handed off the keys to God's Kingdom.

The verses above are taken from the middle of this message. Jesus is instructing His disciples to keep their focus fixed on eternity and eternal values. Money and material possession will tug their hearts toward selfishness and greed so they must consciously and intentionally have eternity in their hearts.

Jesus knew the powerful pull of materialism. He needed to impress that on His disciples, warn them of it's dangers and try to turn their hearts toward eternity.

If you are a follower of Christ this morning, you have been given the keys to the Kingdom of God. Your assignment today is to "lay up treasures in heaven" by how you handle the material things and relationships with people you interact with today. "Treasures in heaven" refers not just to stuff it refers to souls as well!

So, how do you want God to feel today as you take the keys to His Kingdom and head off to live life on planet earth today? Will you make choices that will help His Kingdom to come and His will to be done?

Will you lay up treasures in eternity or gather up things than bind you to this world?

January 20, 2017

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:21

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33

Today is a big day in America as it always is when we inaugurate a new President. Hundreds of thousands will pour into Washington D.C. for this great event that celebrates the peaceful and orderly transfer of power. Some will come to participate in this significant event, some will come to peek in on it and some will come to protest.

Donald J. Trump will be sworn in as the 45th President of the United States on the steps of the U. S. Capitol Building. One of the primary reasons he was elected had to do with the weak economy and his promises to strengthen it. I hope he succeeds in that goal.

Everyone is concerned about the economy because everyone is affected by it. No wonder that when Christ began His public teaching ministry He taught about God's economy. In case you are wondering, that is the central theme of the Sermon on the Mount. God does business far differently than we do and with a different currency. He wants you and me to do business with Him in a way that brings the Kingdom of God to earth.

The currency of God's economy is love!

His business is transforming selfish sinners into surrendered saints! He is very good at it! Every sinner who trusts Jesus to be his savior is a net profit for God!

I know this because I am one of those who have been changed, by His love and His mercy and His grace!

And I gladly give Him everything I treasure most so I can know His love and enjoy living in it!

Where is your heart this morning?

Do you treasure anything more than you treasure Him?

Where your treasure is there you will find your heart!

January 19, 2017

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Luke 6:38

When you hear this verse what do you think it is asking you to give?

Probably money, right?

That's how it is usually presented when pastors preach on it. But let's look at it in context with the previous verse:

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Luke 6:37-38

Maybe it's not just about money.

How about even more context.

“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:27-38

Hmmmmm.......doesn't really talk about money at all does it? It talks about having a generous heart and a giving spirit. 

Would money be included in that? Sure it would but that is not the primary point of this teaching.

Let's look at a parallel passage and see what we can learn.

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Matthew 7:1-2

Again, nothing is said about money is there?

You may recognize these passages as from the Sermon on the Mount. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus is describing what the Kingdom of God is like and what people are like who live in that kingdom.

The Kingdom of God exists in the hearts and minds of God's people. It is about how they live and how they think. Through His people God seeks to connect the limitless resources of Heaven with the seemingly limitless needs on earth. Therefore, God's people are to give according to the needs of others not according to their own resources understanding they are channels or conduits through whom God gives. 

Think about it. God can only be as generous as your generosity permits Him to be!

"With the measure you use it will measured to you."

You give generously so God will generously give through you!

January 18, 2017

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:21

In the middle of His first great public teaching that came to be known as The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gets to the heart of a central issue with the human heart - MATERIALISM. Your heart and my heart is drawn to money and material possessions.

You have no interest in a certain bank. You drive by bank buildings everyday without even noticing. But that changes when you open a savings account and put your money in there. All of the sudden you find yourself drawn there frequently to make deposits or withdrawals. You want that bank to be secure and financially solid.

The New York Stock Exchange has no significance to you until you buy a stock or invest in a mutual fund. Then you will go online every day and track how your money is doing.

You know you need a place to live. Everyone needs shelter and safety and privacy. So, you begin looking at houses and you try to keep your emotions at bay so you can make a rational and intelligent decision. After you have searched for awhile you find a house that meets your needs and fits in your budget so you put money down and buy the house. Immediately, your attitude changes toward that house! It is no longer a house it is a HOME - your HOME! 

Why?

What changed?

You put a lot of your treasure into that house and your heart followed your treasure! Right?

That's the reality than Jesus knows about you and wants you to understand about yourself! Your heart follows your treasure. So if you want to get your heart in the right place put your treasure there and your heart follows!

So, let's go back to Matthew 6:21 and put it into context. I mentioned that this verse comes out of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. And what is the main topic of the Sermon on the Mount?

Here's a hint from several verses later in this chapter:

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33

Jesus, in Matthew 5, 6 and 7 is describing the Kingdom of God. AND, He is calling you and me to be a part of that Kingdom because within that Kingdom is the blessed life!

How do I get into that Kingdom, Brad?

You throw your heart and your treasures into His Kingdom, His Kingdom principles and His Kingdom purpose. 

A high jumper was interviewed by a reported following his world record leap. The reported asked, "How did you manage to jump higher than any human being has ever been able to jump before?"

The new record-holder replied, "I just threw my heart over the bar and my body followed."

That's what Jesus is saying! Throw what you treasure most into the Kingdom of God and your heart will follow. And then keep doing it! That's what Jesus means when He said, "Seek first His Kingdom...." put your first things and best things and most precious things into God's Kingdom and your heart will be invested!

By the way, there is a promise Jesus tossed in there at the end did you get it?

"and all these things will be added to you as well."

What are "all these things"?

If you back up to the previous few verses you will discover that "all these things" refers to food, clothing, shelter - the things we naturally treasure with our hearts. When you get your heart in the right place He will be able to place the right things in your heart and also in your hand!

So, where is your heart this morning?

The better question is, "Where is your treasure because that's where your heart will be."

January 17, 2017

"Love must be honest and true. Hate what is evil. Hold on to what is good. Love each other deeply. Honor others more than yourselves." Romans 12:9-10

"Love each other deeply" says the Scripture. The word that is used is the word for "brotherly love". Within the fellowship of the church you are to love others like family. The "phileo" type of love is the highest measure of love which human beings are capable of sharing. It refers to a genuine warm emotional feeling of fondness and familiarity. In other words, when you love a fellow Christian give it all you've got. Don't hold back.

Why should you not love your fellow believers like you love family? After all, you have the same Father. If you love God you certainly should love those in your church fellowship who also love God. You love them because God, your Father loves them. You love them deeply because they are spiritual family.

And why should you not love your fellow believers who not only share you Father, but also share your faith. Faith is a powerful force in the life of a believer. Faith is a set of beliefs about Who God is, how He operates, how He loves you and what He wants you to do and to become. A common system of beliefs and values can form a strong bond for friendship and fellowship among believers in a local church. Sharing strong beliefs at the core of your being with other believers is a strong uniting factor.

Also, when you worship and work together within the fellowship of a church you share the same focus. You want that fellowship to prosper and grow. The people and the pastors and the ministries of that church has inspired you and instructed you and invested in you over the years and it has become an important part of your life. Because you value that you value others who share your passion for the the health of that church. You are a team, you are members of the body who are working together to achieve shared goals. That is a strong common bond.

Love one another deeply as you would a brother or a sister. Live in unity and harmony with them. Share spiritual community as you worship together , serve each other and reach out to the needs in your city.

Having the same Father, the same faith and an identical focus are important factors in loving each other deeply (like brothers or sisters) within a local church fellowship. It is a powerful bond! It will bless you in your spirit and build you in your spiritual development!

Do you have a brotherly love for those who worship with you? 

If not, why not?

January 16, 2017

"Love must be honest and true. Hate what is evil. Hold on to what is good. Love each other deeply. Honor others more than yourselves." Romans 12:9-10

Who doesn't want true love? Who wouldn't benefit from it? What church couldn't use more of it?

True love is hard to find. Maybe that is because it is hard to do.

In these two verses Paul gives us perhaps the most concise description of true love found anywhere - even more concise than I Corinthians 13.

Life is all about relationships and therefore, love is essential. God wired you to thrive within loving relationships but sin infected your nature with selfishness and selfishness is the great "anti-love".

So, the reason why it's hard for you to love others is because you love yourself more. Until you want to love more than be loved you will struggle with true love. Wow, that's honest!

Perhaps that's why this verse describing true love begins by demanding honesty. Until you are honest about your lack of love how can you ever hope to honestly love?

Selfish love is manipulative. It always look for an edge or an angle to get what it wants. When you are angling for what YOU want you will not be interested in what others want. Self-love is the "anti-love". Insincere love uses people rather than serves them. When others feel used by you not only do they not feel loved by you, it is demeaning to them. No one wants to feel like an object.

How do you get over the self-love so you can love others with a sincere love?

Back to the honesty! True love begins with repenting to God for your self-love. Call it what it is - SIN. The root of all sin is selfishness and that must be dug out by the root! Only the God of perfect love can do that.

The antidote for self-love is God's love. Maybe that is why Jesus commanded us to "Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself". Until you love God more that you love yourself it will be impossible to love others and not try to manipulate them. Actually, you will try to manipulate God, too!

Get over it! Root out SIN and get sincere!