Be Careful!

Don't hide the things that belong to God.

Joshua 7:1-13 But Israel violated the instructions about the things set apart for the LORD. A man named Achan had stolen some of these dedicated things, so the LORD was very angry with the Israelites. Achan was the son of Carmi, a descendant of Zimri son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah.

2 Joshua sent some of his men from Jericho to spy out the town of Ai, east of Bethel, near Beth-aven. 3 When they returned, they told Joshua, "There's no need for all of us to go up there; it won't take more than two or three thousand men to attack Ai. Since there are so few of them, don't make all our people struggle to go up there." 4 So approximately 3,000 warriors were sent, but they were soundly defeated. The men of Ai 5 chased the Israelites from the town gate as far as the quarries, and they killed about thirty-six who were retreating down the slope. The Israelites were paralyzed with fear at this turn of events, and their courage melted away.

6 Joshua and the elders of Israel tore their clothing in dismay, threw dust on their heads, and bowed face down to the ground before the Ark of the LORD until evening. 7 Then Joshua cried out, "Oh, Sovereign LORD, why did you bring us across the Jordan River if you are going to let the Amorites kill us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side! 8 Lord, what can I say now that Israel has fled from its enemies? 9 For when the Canaanites and all the other people living in the land hear about it, they will surround us and wipe our name off the face of the earth. And then what will happen to the honor of your great name?"

10 But the LORD said to Joshua, "Get up! Why are you lying on your face like this? 11 Israel has sinned and broken My covenant! They have stolen some of the things that I commanded must be set apart for Me. And they have not only stolen them but have lied about it and hidden the things among their own belongings. 12 That is why the Israelites are running from their enemies in defeat. For now Israel itself has been set apart for destruction. I will not remain with you any longer unless you destroy the things among you that were set apart for destruction. 13 "Get up! Command the people to purify themselves in preparation for tomorrow. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Hidden among you, O Israel, are things set apart for the LORD. You will never defeat your enemies until you remove these things from among you.

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Everybody likes stuff, we go to the store with the notion that we "need" something , all over the store there are temptations to get something else. This guy named Achan liked bling, he was supposed to be destroying everything in Jericho except the silver and the gold which was supposed to be given to the Lord, as he is busy doing the Lord's work he gets distracted.

Joshua 7:21 Among the plunder I saw a beautiful robe from Babylon, 200 silver coins, and a bar of gold weighing more than a pound. I wanted them so much that I took them."

Check out that sweet robe, can you see how good that is going to look on me? Achan was just one step from stupid and all of a sudden this military operation has turned into a trip to the mall. Achan wanted the things that God wanted, the very things that were supposed to be set apart for the Lord, God has been so good to this guy, he just moved his tent from the wilderness and now he is setting up camp in a land "flowing with Milk and honey."

Malachi 3:8 "Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated Me! "But you ask, 'What do You mean? When did we ever cheat You?' "You have cheated Me of the tithes and offerings due to Me.

Everybody is afraid of Israel (Joshua 5:1) except the people in Ai, these people were pumped up with courage and strength from the Lord because instead of Israel judging the nations of the Promised Land now it is Israel that is being judged. Back in Joshua chapter one God told Joshua to "Be strong and courageous" and now Joshua is on his face before the Lord wanted to know what happened. It's not hard to figure out Joshua!

It makes me wonder how much we hold back from God, how much of our everyday life is fully turned over to God, how much are we holding back and trying to hide from him? All of the blessings that he has given to me, all the riches, the talents, the stuff and most importantly all of the time that he has given to me, how much of it is "things set apart for the LORD."

I need to be open to spending my time and my treasure in a way that will please God, the Lord says that some of these things are "things set apart for the LORD" and they need to be offered back to him. I need to be willing to give my money to those in need, I need to spend my time in ways that will benefit the kingdom.

Lord help me to realize that my resources all came from you and that you want me to give back to you the "things set apart for the LORD" I need to give to those that need money and I need to give my time, I need to spend it doing something for somebody else. Help me to always give to you the "things set apart for the LORD."

Financial Ruin

SCRIPTURE

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Matthew 6:19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”

24 “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”

Ecclesiastes 2:4 I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. 8 I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well—the delights of the heart of man. 9 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.

10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.

11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.

OBSERVATION

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This life is a temporary assignment and the treasures of this world are just as temporal, for what value is it to you after you leave this temporary assignment and arrive at your eternal destination?

Every day in the news there is another loss in somebody’s temporary wealth, probably it was somebody that put great value in their treasures here on earth. Look at how much wealth that Solomon had accumulated and yet he tells us that it is all “meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”

Paul reminds those that are following Christ that we are to have a different perspective:

Colossians 3:2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

And when we “appear with him in glory” what eternal riches we will have!

APPLICATION

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I will work to have eternal treasures, I want to be "His man on His mission"

PRAYER

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Lord you are a great God with eternal riches that can not pass away, I thank you that you want to share those riches with us for eternity. I pray that I will work for what matters and be your man on your mission. I pray that you will raise up many more men that will be on your mission, storing up eternal rewards.

Where Is Your Heart?

Scripture

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15 One day some mothers brought their babies to him to touch and bless. But the disciples told them to go away.

16,17 Then Jesus called the children over to him and said to the disciples, "Let the little children come to me! Never send them away! For the Kingdom of God belongs to men who have hearts as trusting as these little children's. And anyone who doesn't have their kind of faith will never get within the Kingdom's gates."

18 Once a Jewish religious leader asked him this question: "Good sir, what shall I do to get to heaven?" 19 "Do you realize what you are saying when you call me 'good'?" Jesus asked him. "Only God is truly good, and no one else. 20 "But as to your question, you know what the Ten Commandments say--don't commit adultery, don't murder, don't steal, don't lie, honor your parents, and so on." 21 The man replied, "I've obeyed every one of these laws since I was a small child." 22 "There is still one thing you lack," Jesus said. "Sell all you have and give the money to the poor--it will become treasure for you in heaven--and come, follow me."

23 But when the man heard this he went sadly away, for he was very rich. 24 Jesus watched him go and then said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God." 26 Those who heard him say this exclaimed, "If it is that hard, how can anyone be saved?" 27 He replied, "God can do what men can't!"

28 And Peter said, "We have left our homes and followed you." 29 "Yes," Jesus replied, "and everyone who has done as you have, leaving home, wife, brothers, parents, or children for the sake of the Kingdom of God, 30 will be repaid many times over now, as well as receiving eternal life in the world to come."

31 Gathering the Twelve around him he told them, "As you know, we are going to Jerusalem. And when we get there, all the predictions of the ancient prophets concerning me will come true. 32 I will be handed over to the Gentiles to be mocked and treated shamefully and spat upon, 33 and lashed and killed. And the third day I will rise again." 34 But they didn't understand a thing he said. He seemed to be talking in riddles. Luke 18:15-34 (Living)

Observation

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Jesus teaches three times in this chapter about the requirements of the Kingdom of God:
· A trusting heart full of faith like a child has for his parents
· A heart with the correct attitude
· Jesus has to make the way available to us

It is amazing how much faith a child has for a parent, the child will do things and go places that they could never do alone. That’s how we should be about following God, wherever we are asked to go and whatever he ask us to do we should be able to do with Him by our side. Sometimes the parent doesn’t give the child any information about what or where but the child still believes.

It is time to go back to the lessons of Luke 12 again. A really good man comes to Jesus and wants a guarantee that he has been good enough to get into the Heaven. Well he had been pretty dog gone good but he had an attitude problem, just like almost every other good Pharisee. Jesus even gave the man a great deal “Sell all you have and give the money to the poor--it will become treasure for you in heaven” you still get to have treasure but first help these poor people and show me where your heart is. Remember what Jesus said “ Wherever your treasure is there your heart and thoughts will also be.”

None of this talk about getting into Heaven would be possible if it were not for Christ making it available to us through His suffering. No man was treated with so much contempt and scorn because the Prince of this world was making his final attack on our Messiah but it did him no good for in three days he rose from the grave, exactly like he said that he would do!

Application

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I will follow with a blind faith and do as you ask me to do.

Prayer

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I will do my best to trust you and follow wherever, even when you do not supply the answers about where we are going. Thank you for meeting my needs and allowing me to help meet other peoples needs from the riches you have given to me. Thank you for loving me and making the way for us to have a relationship.

What God Thinks About Your Stuff

Scripture

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Luke 12:13 – 34

Observation

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The acquisition of earthly treasure is a desire we all have from childhood, it is a desire that we must learn to suppress. I talked about the lack of respect for Jesus that the crowd had back in Luke 7 but this is unreal, a man in the crowd tries to use Jesus for financial gain. Well maybe that isn’t so unreal seeing how prevalent that thinking has become through the centuries.

The give me more attitude that this guy was living by caused him to have a grudge against his older brother. Jesus told him not to be jealous because having all the toys and money isn’t what matters:

Luke 12:15, 23 Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

23 For life consists of far more than food and clothes.

These things seem pretty important to us, without them we are pretty unhappy.

Man is always tempted with wanting more, but the writer of Hebrews says that we should be content with what we have because we have something better than money, God is always going to be there for us.


Then Jesus tells us about the man who has an abundance and what he should do with it.

Luke 12:21  "Yes, every man is a fool who gets rich on earth but not in heaven."

How do I get rich in heaven? What should my abundance be used for?

Luke 12:33  Sell what you have and give to those in need. This will fatten your purses in heaven! And the purses of heaven have no rips or holes in them. Your treasures there will never disappear; no thief can steal them; no moth can destroy them.

Fatten your purses in heaven because this life and its riches are temporary,

Luke 12:19-20  And I'll sit back and say to myself, "Friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Wine, women, and song for you" '! 20 "But God said to him, 'Fool! Tonight you die. Then who will get it all?'

This is an opportunity for Jesus to show us the practical application for the message of love that he has been teaching. No better way to show love than with a gift, that is how Christ showed us his love.

1 Peter 1:4  And God has reserved for his children the priceless gift of eternal life; it is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.

Just like we saw in verse 33, the purses of heaven have no rips or holes in them.

Everybody likes a gift, but to the person that has unmet needs financially or physically your gift is a demonstration of Christ love and an opportunity to give a witness to how his love has affected you.


Luke 12:31   He will always give you all you need from day to day if you will make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.

It matters what we do with all of this stuff because the way we use our money and our stuff affects the kingdom of God. If our primary concern is the kingdom of God, then our attitude towards what we have been blessed with on this earth will change. We cannot look at any of these things the same as the rest of the world; my money, my stuff, my time, my vacations will all be used to build the kingdom of God. When the kingdom of God is our primary concern then we will not be lacking in our day to day needs. You may be thinking vacations? Why not use them for a mission trip.

Application

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I will use my resources of time, talent and treasure for the kingdom of God. I have been blessed with resources that I must use to show God’s love to others.

Prayer

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God I give to you my time, my vacations, my money, my stuff and my talents for you to use.