Monday, November 07, 2011

Choose You This Day

I heard a preacher say this yesterday:

If I take my money and give it to the poor that is charity. If the government takes my money and gives it to the poor that is socialism.”

The devil du jour is now socialism? Why? Because men’s hearts are evil and where their treasure is, that is where their hearts are. Let us be frank with one another. None of us - NONE OF US - gives to the needs of others as we could and surely not as we should. Of course the preacher that made that statement is of the prosperity variety, however his attitude is reflective of much of the western evangelical mindset.

It is disgraceful how much time the church spends teaching about money and how to get it, keep it, and teaching us that God wants to rain prosperity upon us. And instead of looking into the mirror of God’s Word and see how attached we are to our money, we castigate the government as a clever diversion to our own sins. That is like saying, “At least we are not like Hugh Hefner!”

Democracy has robbed the church of believing in God’s sovereignty. We no longer accept things with joy and contentment. Anything that is unpleasant must be met with political force and the church now believes it can change things by the democratic process while giving lip service to prayer. The gospel is an aside and a perfunctory appendage to our outward behavior.

We no longer believe in Christ’s own words.

Matt.6:24-34 - No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.


We are commanded not to worry. Do we?

I Cor.10:10-11 - Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
11 Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

Phil.2:13-15 - For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;


We are commanded not to murmur or complain. Do we?

I Thess.5:17 - Pray without ceasing.

We are commanded to pray without ceasing. Do we?

I Tim.6:7-8 - For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content
.

We are commanded to be content with food and clothing. Are we?

Matt.6:19 - Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

We are commanded not to store up money. Do we?

We as believers should be suspicious of all earthly systems, from capitalism to socialism to communism, since they were spawned from the fallen hearts of men. It is time for us to realize they have no part in us nor we in them. The kingdom of God operates apart from any worldly systems, and capitalism is just as poisonous to us as is socialism. On some level we must live outwardly within the system to which we now live, but we are in it but not of it.

And the distinction between God’s kingdom and the kingdoms of this world has eroded so significantly until the church has openly embraced what the world offers. Our allegiances have been compromised, our finances have become idols, our success is measured by earthly standards, and we seem willing to die for earthly freedom but not willing to live in Christ’s freedom with any pronounced difference or conspicuous brilliance. It’s time to reject terms like socialism, capitalism, nationalism, democracy, and all the rest of the man made terms designed to exalt man. We cannot serve two masters, so we must choose just one.

I choose the Lord Jesus Christ.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Where are we commanded not to store up money? And why refrain from use of the wording? Are you sure?

Rick Frueh said...

Matt.6:20But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

21For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Anonymous said...

Luke 12:33
Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves moneybags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.

Matthew 19:21
Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."

Luke 3:11
He (John) answered and said to them, "He who has 2 tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."

Luke 6:30
Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.

Luke 6:35
But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For he is kind to the unthankful and evil.

Matthew 5:40
If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.

Luke 14:33
So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

Acts 2:44-45
Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.

See also:
2 Corinthians 8:9-15
2 Corinthians 9:6-9,13
Galatians 6:10
James 2:5
Luke 4:18-19
Luke 6:20
1 Timothy 6:6-11;17-19
Luke 12:15
Hebrews 13-5
Matthew 10:8b
Luke 14:33
Matthew 25:31-46
Ephesians 4:28


1 John 3:17
But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

Philippians 4:19
And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

There is the parable of the rich farmer in Luke 12. A great example of not storing up.

And the parable of the talents in Luke 19.
We should be good stewards of all we own but - that's not the point of the parable.
If the Master is Jesus and the servants are His followers and the talents (money) are the gospel of the kingdom of God...
then what are we to be doing?
"Spending" the gospel.

See if you can find the book "The Doctrine of Non-Accumulation". I don't remember who wrote it, but I took notes. That's how I was able to find so many verses about non-accumulation so quickly.

One of my favorite verses in God's word:
Matthew 6:33
Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Great article, Rick...
Lisa

Anonymous said...

I doubt Lisa has now sold her computer, on which she posted, and given to the poor. Can either one of you truthfully state they have only one coat in their closet? Thanks Lisa.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous -
Paul didn't give away his tent making supplies...he used them to make tents to pay his way in life.
Tabitha (Dorcas) didn't give away her sewing supplies...she used them to sew clothes for the poor.

It's not that we can't have things. What matters is...are we being covetous? Are we serving the Lord with them? Are we holding on to our things with an open hand?

The question was asked - where are we commanded not to store up money...and I attempted to answer the question.

Lisa

Anonymous said...

Upon further review, CHOOSE YOU THIS DAY seems even more ridiculous. You cut and paste as well as any. Yet it appears you murmur and complain as well also. If you are praying w/o ceasing, are your writings the outpost? If so that's frightening. I also desperately choose the LORD JESUS. I just hope w not as much self righteousness as you and Lisa. And if mammon is my idol, as your article states, then my idol is extremely small. I am bankrupt, work for nearly minimum wage, my career gone, my house is crumbling, I drive a car w +170k miles, yet I now must part, for righteousness sake w my other winter coat. Not sure that's what my LORD meant. He remains all that is holding me even now.....

Anonymous said...

Obviously Lisa has not sold her computer. Nor have I. Nevertheless, I must be careful not to compare myself among others, because Jesus is the standard and model, and obedience to Him by the promptings of His Holy Spirit within the guide of the Scriptures, is what each of us is called to.

It is tempting to dismiss a challenge in our own hearts by noting the shortcomings of others, or by looking for inconsistencies or hypocrisies, but to do so is folly; my obedience is between Him and me. Each of us is on our own journey of obedience and ever-growing faithfulness with our Lord. The questions is: Am I increasing in faithful obedience to the radical requirements of Christ?

I must have my mind renewed in my entire mind-set, culture, presuppositions about money and wordly goods if I am to obey Christs's commands. Rick is challenging us to evaluate our minds and hearts toward money and materialism against the teaching of Holy Scripture. Any obedience must begin with the right mind and heart.

And just because we may not have come into perfect obedience yet to all of the Lord's radical teachings on money, does not mean that the ways in which we are conforming, are not worthwhile or not pleasing to God.

Easy to see what others are NOT doing, but do we see what they ARE doing? The Lord looks to the heart.

Victoria

Rick Frueh said...

I am sorry you took the post as a personal condemnation. Every preacher, including myself, teaches things about which he falls short. No one has arrived, but if we only challenge ourselves with things that we already grasp, then why preach.

Even a poor person can have the love of money in their hearts. Money continues to be a great idol and a stumblingblock in the western church. There is a difference between murmuring and complaining and the correction of the Spirit. I pray my post falls into the latter.

Anonymous said...

Dear Anonymous...I'm very sorry if I sounded self-righteous to you. To communicate thru computer isn't at all the same as communicating face to face.
I reach out my hand to you (metaphorically) and say - I understand, to a degree, what you're going thru. My husband lost his job 2 years ago and since then I have gained a greater trust in Him by leaning on the Lord for our needs. When we lost our water pump I admit I grumbled for a day. Then I repented and remembered that I had water - I just had to walk to the neighbor's down by the road to get it. And it's good well water - not like the water so many in the world have access to. When our stove quit working I wondered how I would manage. The Lord provided an electric frying pan from one person and a free crock pot from another - because the dial was missing - but it worked. And we counted our blessings and adjusted.

We kept the computer because that is how we paid the bills for a long time - by selling things on ebay and craig's list - until my husband's band started playing again.

Thru it all I've learned to count my blessings - even though we have so much less than the average American - we have so much more than the average poor person in the world - because we live in a relatively rich country we can easily live off of what other people throw away.

We live next to a brush dump and I've gotten all sorts of things from there! Walnuts, apples, old garden stuff that I can give to the chickens, sunflowers and squash and pumpkins grow there. Sometimes people throw out straw that I can either lay on the garden or put in the coop. Sometimes there are lumber scraps...wood that can be cut up to burn. Clover and dandelions grow there in abundance and I pick some almost every day in decent weather for the chickens. Nettles, also, are good for humans and animals to eat - if you know how to pick and eat them.

I get all of our clothes from a local charity that takes donations and sells things very cheap. They also have a free box where I look for salvageable things to wear or make into quilts to give away. To get personal...I take home t-shirts from that box and cut them up to use instead of tp. And that works much better. We don't have indoor plumbing so I can just throw the soiled clothes down the outhouse hole.

I pray I am not sounding self-righteous again! I am learning to lean more on the Lord for our needs thru this - we don't have insurance anymore and that was scary at first but...again...I must take a deep breath and trust that He will see us thru. My daughter and I both have health issues and my husband's not getting any younger. But we have a little house that we built ourselves and a little piece of land and a car that continues (at least for today) to run - even tho winter is coming and the defroster has quit. We have family and friends and most of all we have each other and we all believe in Jesus as our Savior.

People talk of a coming economic collapse - but for a lot of people that day has come. I pray you will come to see what the Lord has in store for you and it pleases me so when you say "He remains all that is holding me even now..."
Ultimately - Jesus is all we have. If we lose all He has given us in this world - if we have Him that is enough. He is the Creator of the universe and everything in it - and He loves you.

It doesn't make sense to me that He loves us - because I don't usually find us so lovable - myself especially. But He does. Seek Him, grow closer to Him...trust Him.

What else might I say that might be of encouragement to you?
With God's love, Lisa

Anonymous said...

I meant "soiled cloths" not "soiled clothes"!
A big difference...
Lisa

Anonymous said...

Amen.

My eyes have been opened to this these last few years. Trying to understand where the western church was going was foggy, but at present we are witnessing a falling away from the true gospel.

It's not the New Ageism, or alternate religious people, socialism, elitism, atheism, environmentalism and science that are perverting the message, it's the very ministers of the gospel themselves that are watering down, twisting, exploiting the gospel. It's men like this that are dangerous. Forget ultra-liberal mindsets, and Hollywood values, and provocative music videos and the rest. It's believers that are swayed by pastors and churches to vote for the "right" candidate, that make themselves unattractive to unbelievers. They create their own persecution. It's well-known evangelists who publicly take political sides with political celebrities, or pro-life religious charities that turn politicians into icons and idols. Or prayer conventions that mix worship with political icons. It's the exploitation of a watered-down Jesus that they use to get votes, sway minds, make lucrative profits from book sales, etc.

Thank you Mr. Frueh for keeping these fires burning and continuing to post.

Rick Frueh said...

May Christ receive all the glory!