Saturday, December 3, 2011

THE TREASURE WITHIN US

And someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” But He said, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbiter over you?” And He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions. Luke 13:15

Two brothers came into an inheritance and one decided to defraud the other of the money. The jilted brother went to Jesus and asked him to tell his brother to give him what belongs to him. Jesus told him that he was not appointed to be a judge or arbitrator over the carnal things of this earth. In other words, we would say it like this, “my name is West and I ain’t in this mess.” He simply would not allow Himself to become involved in the squabbling of this world, for He came to build the Kingdom of God and He had a short time to do it.

Now we would say, well Jesus, this is a really important issue, for I am entitled to a part of this inheritance and my brother isn’t being fair. You are Christ so please fix this and tell my brother to do the right thing. Jesus turned and told the man to put his guards up against every form of greed. The money means nothing and brings no importance to his life. There are really two points to this text; one is that we who are Kingdom minded should mind the things of God over the things of the earth or in other words, stay focused and the other point is to beware of discord over material things and greed.

If we are called to build and represent the Kingdom of God, then we can’t become distracted by carnal things and arguments over nothing. When we commit ourselves to serving God, we are hit with every dart of distraction there is. Since we live in a physical world, with physical needs, the things that are physical becomes vitally important to us. It takes money to live and we are taught from childhood that the more we have, the more comfortable we become so we learn to seek more money and things in order to live. Ultimately, these things become the trap. The very things we seek become our personal bondage.

As a small child, my father would bring cheap jewelry home to me on pay day telling me that I deserve nice things because I am a girl. My father couldn’t afford to shower me with expensive gifts, but he put it in my heart that one day I would have what I wanted. So, as I grew older and began to work, I sought out nice things. I wanted the best clothes, shoes, purses and jewelry. But, one thing my dad didn’t tell me was that the more you acquire, the more you want. We are never satisfied with what we have because that is always a sale or the latest item to be bought. The desire to acquire more things produces an insatiable appetite to acquire more and more. The nations of this world are now struggling due to this issue of coveting and debt. Having things are not wrong if they are balanced with having what we can afford.

A co-laborer in Christ told me that he was having a “Prophetic Mood Swing (P.M.S.),” and I laughed when I read it. The truth is most of us are having P.M.S. at this time. We tell ourselves that we won’t get caught up in this holiday drama, but we are being enticed by the TV. computer, and stores to go to the sales or to just do a little window shopping. We say, “I won’t buy, but find ourselves getting caught up in the hoopla.” Remember this, January will roll around and it will be time to pay for your purchases. Our economy is not getting better, no matter what is said on the News. 2012 will see rising food prices, clothing (cotton is higher) and struggles to make ends meet. We say we are not surviving by the standards of our society, but we are being caught up in the drama. It can’t be kingdom living when we put ourselves in debt to have more things.

Truth is, the more money you have, the more your sorrows are increased. People spend lots of time trying to get your money from you and you spend lots of time trying to keep it and to make more. People struggle to keep things in balance.
But, Jesus wasn’t even talking about having things in balance. He was totally focused on the things of the Kingdom. He came to reveal and build the Kingdom of God and to redeem that which was lost. He was totally focused on His mission on earth. He said that our lives do not consist or is defined by what we possess or how much we possess. The value of our lives consists in being filled with Him. The knowledge of value is in knowing our position in Christ, and possessing the riches of His glory. The possession of our knowledge and relationship in Christ is what brings us our ultimate value. We can’t measure glory; we can only bask in it and carry it. We can’t measure love, peace and joy, but, these awesome fruits far excel anything beyond the realms of this world, if we possess them.

Jesus could have come to this earth possessing the finest things this earth has to offer, but that was not His mission. He came not to acquire possessions, but to teach men that there is a realm far beyond the realm of this world. He taught that Father is the source and provider of our physical needs, and we should have what is sufficient for the time. Jesus did not possess or store up material things to feel important, which is the reason why we desire to possess an abundance of things, so that people will see how important we are and we feel a false sense of importance for owning them. We think that material things give us worth and value. The nations of this world teach that the more we have, the greater our possessions; the greater our value. The world runs after those who possess great wealth, but so do the Church. In the past season, preachers boasted on television that they possessed great wealth, airplanes, houses and churches, which proved their worth in the kingdom. That dog hunted until our nation fell into recession and many lost the things they valued.

You are the temple of the living God and the carrier of an immeasurable treasure! Nothing on this Earth or the entire Universe compares with the wealth that you possess within you. You are the carrier of the precious Holy Spirit; God within you. I will dwell in them and walk among them, I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
2 Cor 6:16


God has given us the riches gift in the Universe and that is Himself. …that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Eph. 3:17-19

What a promise! God Himself loves us so much, that He pours Himself into us, to fill us up with Himself…to the full; immeasurable glory. If we can wrap our minds around this powerful truth we would never covet nor lust after anything again.
Wow, our society is built on money. Our very existence is filled with what money can buy us. We are constantly thinking of way to get more money. We are in the season that things to buy are paraded in front of our eyes all day long. We see a sale here and sale there. Even ministries are even putting their books, cd’s and items on sale so that we can buy, buy, buy. Everything is set to get that last dollar out of your pocket.

We are called to keep our minds on the things of the kingdom. We are not to get distracted by the things of this world.

You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but by the Spirit of the living God not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. 2 Cor 3:2-3

1 comment:

  1. Freely give; freely receive... We have the treasure of the Holy Spirit. He leads us into all truth. Everything we need can be found in Father.

    I pray that the eyes of our understanding are opened this season. If we can look at what God has already blessed us with, we will see that we are abundantly blessed.

    Is there peace in the home? Thank God! Is there health in the body? Thank God! Is there love in the family? Thank God! Give and it shall be given unto you....

    Thank God for an on-time Word....

    ReplyDelete