Hello again, friends; Welcome back to St Enoch's Pulpit. As you can see, we've returned to the "Money Questions" series.
So: We've established that the offspring of the system of Mammon are better at working their system than we are. (All together now: "Well, Duh!")
We've also established that there is more to it than that. The "Mammonites" are better at working their system than we are at working our system. ("Huh?" or "Say What?")
And that, we've established, or at least that was what I was going for, is the problem. We, the children of light, didn't know we had a system! How are we going to succeed in God's financial system if we don't know that such a system exists?
"...and the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous." (Prov. 13:22b NKJV)
There is a Word from God Himself, giving us in no uncertain terms His intentions where finances are concerned. Read those words over again. Do you see that it is not His will that the World have all the wealth? Is it not obvious that the wealth the World accumulates is supposed to be transferred to "the just?" So why isn't that happening? What stops us from partaking in the transfer of wealth from Mammon to the Kingdom of Light?
Once again, it is ignorance of God's financial system. We've mentioned before the so-called "lottery curse," whereby many who win huge jackpots very quickly find their lives and fortunes heading straight down the drain. If you were wondering, that's why God doesn't just answer our carnal prayers and dump tons of cash in our laps. He isn't interested in giving us yet another excuse to go to hell. The vast majority of Christians in this country just aren't ready for that kind of pressure.
What we need is a combination of education and attitude adjustment. First, we need some solid teaching on what God's financial system is and how it operates. The days are past when God "winked at ignorance;" He demands of us serious financial repentance if our circumstances are going to change. Second, we need to shuck off the old poverty, or victim, mentality. It is high time for the children of light to stand up and begin acting like the children of light, not like some orphans pressing our noses against the World's window, watching the Mammonites making and spending money, and feeling like our Christianity was a financial disadvantage. If God has declared that we should be the head and not the tail, why oh why, fellow pilgrim, are we so ready to settle for being the tail?
If, as I contend, we are in the shape we're in primarily because of ignorance, then the question remains to be answered: Ignorance of what? How to make the money? How to transfer the wealth of the World into the hands of the just? No, or not yet. First we must deal with something else.
Our problem is, indeed, ignorance. We have always, it seems, been ignorant of just how suseptable we are to the power of wealth. And it doesn't take a lottery jackpot, either. We've all heard stories about how just a small amount of money has ruined ordinary people like you and me. An insurance policy or a piece of real estate will do the trick. The detective novels and television police dramas are full of that kind of thing. Truly, if we're going to be the head and not the tail financially, we're going to have to be "dead to the power of wealth."
As we wrap it up for this installment, let me leave you with one more verse of Scripture to ponder until next time:
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8: 9 NKJV)
We'll take a good look at that verse, and some others, and discuss the concepts of financial freedom in the context of Christianity when next we meet. In the meantime, that's the word for now from the Pulpit. Hasta la vista, baby.
BTW, don't forget to leave comments; your feedback is always welcome.
Dave
So: We've established that the offspring of the system of Mammon are better at working their system than we are. (All together now: "Well, Duh!")
We've also established that there is more to it than that. The "Mammonites" are better at working their system than we are at working our system. ("Huh?" or "Say What?")
And that, we've established, or at least that was what I was going for, is the problem. We, the children of light, didn't know we had a system! How are we going to succeed in God's financial system if we don't know that such a system exists?
"...and the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous." (Prov. 13:22b NKJV)
There is a Word from God Himself, giving us in no uncertain terms His intentions where finances are concerned. Read those words over again. Do you see that it is not His will that the World have all the wealth? Is it not obvious that the wealth the World accumulates is supposed to be transferred to "the just?" So why isn't that happening? What stops us from partaking in the transfer of wealth from Mammon to the Kingdom of Light?
Once again, it is ignorance of God's financial system. We've mentioned before the so-called "lottery curse," whereby many who win huge jackpots very quickly find their lives and fortunes heading straight down the drain. If you were wondering, that's why God doesn't just answer our carnal prayers and dump tons of cash in our laps. He isn't interested in giving us yet another excuse to go to hell. The vast majority of Christians in this country just aren't ready for that kind of pressure.
What we need is a combination of education and attitude adjustment. First, we need some solid teaching on what God's financial system is and how it operates. The days are past when God "winked at ignorance;" He demands of us serious financial repentance if our circumstances are going to change. Second, we need to shuck off the old poverty, or victim, mentality. It is high time for the children of light to stand up and begin acting like the children of light, not like some orphans pressing our noses against the World's window, watching the Mammonites making and spending money, and feeling like our Christianity was a financial disadvantage. If God has declared that we should be the head and not the tail, why oh why, fellow pilgrim, are we so ready to settle for being the tail?
If, as I contend, we are in the shape we're in primarily because of ignorance, then the question remains to be answered: Ignorance of what? How to make the money? How to transfer the wealth of the World into the hands of the just? No, or not yet. First we must deal with something else.
Our problem is, indeed, ignorance. We have always, it seems, been ignorant of just how suseptable we are to the power of wealth. And it doesn't take a lottery jackpot, either. We've all heard stories about how just a small amount of money has ruined ordinary people like you and me. An insurance policy or a piece of real estate will do the trick. The detective novels and television police dramas are full of that kind of thing. Truly, if we're going to be the head and not the tail financially, we're going to have to be "dead to the power of wealth."
As we wrap it up for this installment, let me leave you with one more verse of Scripture to ponder until next time:
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8: 9 NKJV)
We'll take a good look at that verse, and some others, and discuss the concepts of financial freedom in the context of Christianity when next we meet. In the meantime, that's the word for now from the Pulpit. Hasta la vista, baby.
BTW, don't forget to leave comments; your feedback is always welcome.
Dave
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