Riches
Pastor J. R. Wilhite, author
Close Window
There is a big misunderstanding about being rich or having wealth. To be rich or have wealth is no problem as long as they do not have you. We should all be striving for more, to show the world that God is not a God of the poor, but of all. We are blessed, so we can bless others. We should use our wealth to help others, get the word of God out to all parts of the world, and take care of our own. Psalms 112 1. Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his comandments. 2. His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed. 3. Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever. 4. Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. 5. A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion. 6. Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. 7. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. 8. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies. 9. He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour. 10. The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish. The desires of the wicked shall pass, but not that of the righteous. To fear the Lord is to have reverence for Him, to know that He is, and is to be feared by those who are not of Him, but reverenced by the rest. I John 2 15. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. As long as you do not seek wealth or allow wealth to over take you, you can have the wealth. Matthew 6 14. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 16. Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 17. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 18. That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. 19. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 22. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! 24. 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. Here we have several messages being taught. One is to give, and if you don't the church or ministry will close. As far this message they are sending out goes, maybe it is time a few do close in order to get it right. Then there is the message to get you to give for the wrong reasons, just people trying to get your money. This is also wrong. The only reason to give is the following: The Tithe is a tenth, the first tenth of your income. If you gross $200 but clear only $170 you do not tithe what you clear; you tithe on the gross, so the tithe would be $20. You tithe to where you are fed. So you tithe, give from your heart, and sow. From your tithe God will protect your ground and open the heavens to pour out a blessing. You give from the love of God or your love of God to bless others. If you do not have enough, you sow more in your giving to reap a harvest to give more, not to have more. 1 Timothy 6 1. Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed. 2. And they that have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren; but rather do them service, because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit. These things teach and exhort. 3. If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; 4. He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, 5. Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. 6. But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7. 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. 9. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 11. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. 12. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. 13. I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession; 14. That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: 15. Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of Lords; 16. Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen. 17. Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; 18. That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; 19. Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. The love of money is the root of all evil, not money but the LOVE of MONEY. We believe in God, He supplies our needs and we obey Him. 2 Corinthians 8 7. Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also. 8. I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love. 9. For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. "that ye through HIS POVERTY might BE RICH" - Was Jesus poor? Matthew 2 1. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 11. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. John 1 38. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? 39. He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. Luke 23 34. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. Jesus' one passion was to die for us, to take all sickness, illness, poverty, sadness on to Him and spare us (Luke 4:18-20). So we would be healed, not poor, and not burdened. Why was He in the grave for 3 days? Remember the story of the rich man and Lazuras how the rich man asked Abraham to allow Lazuras to dip a finger in water and put it on his tongue, but Abraham said he could not because there was a great gulf between them. The rich man was in Hell, and Abraham and Lazuras were in paradise. Remember Jesus told the thief on the cross with Him they would be in paradise that day. So Jesus got to Hell dropped the sin off in Hell crossed over to Paradise and spent 3 days preaching, one for each year of His earthly ministry. What happened next? Matthew 27 52. And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53. And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. Why did they go into the Holy city? Romans 10 9. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. The Holy city was Jerusalem, full of the same people who 3 days earlier yelled, "Crucify Jesus!" Now here come relatives & men of God from the past all saying one thing, "Jesus is Lord!" Like with everything God does, it was meant for all who would listen and accept. And how do we please Him? Hebrews 11 6. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Matthew 6 33. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. By seeking God you are showing your belief in Him; it takes faith to please Him. Belief without faith, is empty belief, but faith without belief does not exist. To truly be blessed by God you must believe and in your belief have faith. If you tithe and give, believe now that you are rewarded by God (not man), then start watching for that reward. Malachi 3 10. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. 11. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.
Sponsors
Copyright (c) 1996-2008
H.O.M.E.
All Rights Reserved.
1-27-04-139