Friday, May 28, 2021

Being Good Stewards Part II


PRAY OVER THIS


“Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.” Malachi 3:8

 

READ THIS


Yesterday, we looked at part one of the stewardship principle, today we will consider part two.


God is not raising money; God is growing Christians. God wants us to grow in grace and knowledge and to love Him.


By biblical definition, tithing is ten percent given to the temple of God (church), for the work of the temple. Giving to charities or ministries is good, but it is not a replacement for our tithes.


When we learn to give back to God freely, there will be a spiritual renewal. God will renew our faith, rebuke our foes, and restore our fruitfulness. Our offerings are like seeds for a crop—when we sow bountifully, we will reap bountifully.


CONSIDER THIS


In what way is giving to the Church like sowing a crop?

How does the way we spend our money impact our spiritual growth? Think of some examples.


DO THIS


This week, take time to consider how you regularly give to the church. Is there anything that needs to change?


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Payout for Patience


“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive.” (Genesis 50:20)


The story of Joseph in Genesis 37–50 is a great lesson in why we should have faith in the sovereign, future grace of God.


Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers, which must have tested his patience tremendously. But he is given a good job in Potiphar’s house in Egypt. Then, when he is acting uprightly in the unplanned place of obedience, Potiphar’s wife lies about his integrity and has him thrown into prison — another great trial to his patience.


But again things turn for the better, and the prison keeper gives him responsibility and respect. But just when he thinks he is about to get a reprieve from Pharaoh’s cupbearer, whose dream he interpreted, the cupbearer forgets him for two more years. Another painful trial to his patience.


Finally, the meaning of all these detours and delays becomes clear. Joseph is raised up to be the leader of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. He ends up saving from starvation the very brothers who sold him into slavery. Joseph says to his long-estranged brothers, “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. . . . As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive” (Genesis 45:7; 50:20).


What would have been the key to patience for Joseph during all those long years of exile and abuse? The answer is: faith in God’s sovereign, future grace — the sovereign grace of God to turn the unplanned place and the unplanned pace into the happiest ending imaginable.


That’s the key to our patience as well. Do we believe that God is working for us in the strangest and most painful turns of our lives?


John Piper 

Bible Study


Acts 15:17-19


    [17] that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord,

        and all the Gentiles who are called by my name,

         says the Lord, who makes these things  [18] known from of old.’


    [19] Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God,


Romans 9:25-33


[25] As indeed he says in Hosea, 


    “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’

        and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’” 

    [26] “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’

        there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”


    [27] And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, [28] for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” [29] And as Isaiah predicted, 


    “If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring,

        we would have been like Sodom

        and become like Gomorrah.”


    [30] What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; [31] but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. [32] Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, [33] as it is written, 


    “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;

        and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”


Ezekiel 9:4-11


[4] And the LORD said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” [5] And to the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. [6] Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one on whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the house. [7] Then he said to them, “Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out.” So they went out and struck in the city. [8] And while they were striking, and I was left alone, I fell upon my face, and cried, “Ah, Lord GOD! Will you destroy all the remnant of Israel in the outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?”


[9] Then he said to me, “The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. The land is full of blood, and the city full of injustice. For they say, ‘The LORD has forsaken the land, and the LORD does not see.’ [10] As for me, my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; I will bring their deeds upon their heads.”


[11] And behold, the man clothed in linen, with the writing case at his waist, brought back word, saying, “I have done as you commanded me.”


Romans 11:5-6


[5] So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. [6] But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

Thursday, May 27, 2021

Being Good Stewards | Part I


PRAY OVER THIS


“Yet from the days of your fathers you have gone away from My ordinances and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts. “But you said, ‘In what way shall we return?’” Malachi 3:7

 

READ THIS


At its core definition, stewardship is our relationship with money: how we obtain, save, invest, spend, and give our wealth. God is interested in this relationship, as is Satan—our enemy who would love to keep us in financial bondage.


If money increases our worries, or if we have plenty in the bank but we have no treasure in Heaven, we are in financial bondage. We all want to be free from the curse of debt, but freedom is only found when we are faithful in stewardship.


In order to obtain financial freedom, we must first personally return to God; He does not need our money, but He wants our fellowship. When we remember tithing is God’s way of revealing our priorities to ourselves, we will see tithing as a great blessing. It is our privilege to show God that He is first in our lives and everything else is second.


CONSIDER THIS


Why might Satan be interested in how we spend our money?

How can we bring God glory in the way we spend our money?


DO THIS


Do something concrete regarding your giving this week to show that God is your first priority.



LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Authentic vs. Phony Faith

Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:28)


The question before us all is: Are we included in the “many” whose sins Christ bore? And will we be saved at his second coming?


The answer of Hebrews 9:28 is, “Yes,” if we are “eagerly waiting for him.” We can know that our sins are taken away and that we will be safe in the judgment, if we trust Christ in such a way that it makes us eager for his coming.


There is a phony faith that claims to believe in Christ, but is only a fire insurance policy. Phony faith “believes” only to escape hell. It has no real desire for Christ. In fact, it would prefer if he did not come, so that we can have as much of this world’s pleasures as possible. This shows that a heart is not with Christ, but with the world.


So, the issue for us is: Do we eagerly long for the coming of Christ? Or do we want him to stay away, while our love affair with the world runs its course? That is the question that tests the authenticity of faith.


Let us be like the Corinthians as we “wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:7), and like the Philippians whose “citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).


That’s the issue for us. Do we love his appearing? Or do we love the world and hope that his appearing will not interrupt our plans? Eternity hangs on this question.



John Piper 

Bible Study


Ephesians 2:19-22


[19] So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, [20] built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, [21] in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. [22] In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.


Acts 1:11


[11] and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”


1 Corinthians 1:6-9


[6] even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—[7] so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, [8] who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. [9] God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.


Philippians 3:20-21


[20] But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, [21] who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.


Wednesday, May 26, 2021

The Priority of Evangelism


PRAY OVER THIS


Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. Psalm 126:5-6

 

READ THIS


The wisest thing we could do in the eyes of God is to remain faithful in evangelism. The soul is of great worth; Jesus died upon the cross, paying the price with His blood and agony to show how much He desired our souls.


Our souls are also valuable because of their durability. When God made the human soul, He made it in His own image, therefore, it is endless, timeless, dateless, and measureless.


Every soul has the potential to be transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ or to spend eternity in the pits of Hell.


We would be wise to evangelize because it is the command of Christ. We remember that we are programmed to go forth (Psalm 126:6); nothing takes the place of going. It’s not enough to “live good lives,” because our lives are not what save souls—salvation through Jesus’s death and resurrection is what saves souls.


CONSIDER THIS


What stops you from going to others with the good news of the Gospel?

How does it change your perspective on evangelism to remember that every person is made in the image of God and will spend eternity either with God or in Hell?


DO THIS


Ask God who He is calling to you to go to this week. How will you live out that call?



LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers