Money

Money:

Matthew 6: V19- V24

Treasures in Heaven

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin 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 healthy,[c] your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy,[d] 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 you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money

There are some scriptures in the bible which will make most of the Christians uncomfortable while reading them. Verse 24 is one of those.

why is it uncomfortable:
1) we want to serve God, 2) we want to serve money also
So this is the main problem for the christians.

Whenever bible talks about money it is crystal clear, it does not hide, it is radical.
lots of verses in bible:
keep yourselves from the love of money
love of money is the root of all evils.
verse 24 says you love God and hate money or love money and hate God.
when you are loving God, you are saying money i hate you
when you are loving money, you are saying God i hate you.
so it is very clear to your heart what you love and what you hate.

so how do we know that we try to serve both God and money.

some symptoms to know where your treasure is

a) Compromising

Balaam wants to serve God and also wants money.
Numbers 22:4-6
verse 9 , God said "dont go with them"
verse 16,17 - "trap of money comes consistently"
verse 19 - some where there is desire that God might change the plan
Revelation 2: 14 
Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality

Whenever you compromise on Godliness for a worldly gain, then it is a clear symptom of serving both.
When you love money , it says you hate God.

b) Uneasiness in giving money is one good symptom of loving money
Ananis and sappira
Acts 5:2  - not a cheerful giver is one symptom.
you may give money, but is it cheerfully. or you are trying to just act.

1 timothy 6:10 says - Paul says, love of money is the root of all evils.

c) cheating people.

Proverbs 20:14 -  Have you ever tried to bargain by saying this is not worth not worth, but after going out you say i get a big deal..

Man tries to cheat in lot of ways, .. income tax, medical bills.

Getting away from love of money

1) Sharing - getting rid of Sense of possessing.
Deutronoomy 15:7
If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfistedtoward them.

Sense of posessing:  By 2015 i must buy this car, 
                                   i must by this house.
                                   i must buy this gold.
But the sense of possesing is dangerous
      Acts 4:32-25 - time and again people sold off what they have and brought it to peter.
                           - today just to give building fund, it is so difficult. how about giving everything.
       Acts 2:44,45 looking for people who are in need.
     
2) Contentment
         Hebrews 13:5
         Philipians 4:11-13 says Paul was content man.

3) Investment
Many people invest in stocks, share market, real estate.
suppose you buy a land in india, say for 5 lakhs, by 20 years it might become 2 cr or 3 crs.
1 Timothy 6:17-19 
17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.


4) Using money where you cannot be benifited
Luke 14:12-14
Luke 14:12-14 (NIV) "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous

Many times we think its impossible to get away from love of money.
but with God its possible ( Mark 10:31)
Mark 10: 21-27
Many times we think we are doing good in our godly lives , but is the heart dwelling on money.
What bible teaches ways to get away from love of money.

Finally
Ecc 5:10-15 (NIV) Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them? The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep. I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner, or wealth lost through some misfortune... Naked a man comes from his mothers womb, and as he comes, so he departs...

Leaving a Godly legacy

2 Peter 1: 12 - 16 

12 So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 13 I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 14 because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.

Before these verses, Peter was talking about goodness, self control,godliness and love.
If you go to a believer who is already well established and say have self control, have godliness, you know you get bored of hearing the same thing again and again.

In this context he is saying these words which we read.
Lord Jesus revealed to Peter that his death is nearer. And Peter knowing that his death is nearer, started telling the Church - not about mysterious things, but about simple teachings again and again.
He desires to make sure that they follow this teaching even after he leaves.
He is making every effort to make sure they remember these things.
He wants to pass on a legacy.

Passing on legacy.

we all pass on legacy, whether we agree or not.
some pass on their legacy to their children, some to strangers, some to generaitons.
you may be thinking oh i am not that significant to talk about big words like legacy.
it doesn't matter how significant you are,how unknown or how famous you are, you will pass on legacy.
some way or other, somethings related to you will be talked about in next generation after you passon.
In this world, there are many who left legacies and people still talk about them.
whenever you talk about dance, people think about michael jackson.
whenever these is a discussion about freedom struggle - gandhi, mandela.
these people have left legacies in their own fields on the earthly matters.

Some one said "The life that you live is the legacy that you leave"

Jonathan Edwards
       Loved the Lord
       Made sure his children went to church even when they did not want to go
       1877 - 929 desc
       430 - ministers
       86- profes
       13 - univ presodent
       75- authors
         5- congree
         2- state
         2- state govers
      1 became vice president
       tremondous contribution to society
      not liable to government

Max Dukes
       Didnot believe in the Lord Jesus
      Did not allow his children to goto church even when they wanted to attend
     1877 - 1026 desc
     300 - prison avg 13 years
    190 - public prostitues
    680 - admiitted alcoholics
    27 - murderers
    by 1877 - 1.25 million dollars cost to government
none made contribution to society


So we are all responsible on what we pass on.In a relay race, we pass on the stick to the next runner.
Almost all of the people sitting here are quiet established in Word. But what are we passing on to others make big influence and leaves a legacy.

Greatest legacy is of our Lord
Romans 10:9 - 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved

The work that Lord Jesus did on the earth, left a great a legacy.
you know whoever confesses and believes in him will be saved for eternity.
He endured a humiliation through out his life time.
Jesus was humiliated throughout his lifetime, starting from his own family,leaders,teachers,romans, and his own friends. His situations were difficult. He has to go through death. But His obedience to the calling of His Father left a legacy for generations.
Many people left great legacy in the world, but there is none like our Lord. Any person in this world can leave legacy for only present and future generations, but what Lord Jesus done had left legacy for not only present  and future, but also past generations.
There is none like Him. Even after 2 thousand years if a person comes and accepts the Lord , that person is saved for eternity.

Hezekiah's legacy. 2 kings 20- 12-21

Hezekiah was given extra 15 years of life. and at the end he says what is it for me.

Instead of being thankful, he did not care about his future generations.

Hezekiah's inheritance is from David. But he forgot about what his ancestors passed on and he did not care for future generations.
look in the 15 years that God had given him, he produced Mannessah.

Remember how many servants of God sacrificed their lives for our lives.

William Carey and many other missionaries.
Are we like Hezekiah saying its not happening to me, i am saved, not concerning about others.
Have concern about everyone whom you come in contact with.
My friend wherever he goes, and whomever he gets in contact with , he will share the gospel.

Noah's legacy

Genesis 6:5-8
5 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

Do you think you are so insignificant that you can not have legacy.
After Jesus, if there is one man who had biggest legacies, it is Noah.
Just because of him, the whole world, humans, all creatures are living.


How to leave a good legacy.

1) Revealing the Father
                                 John 17:6 - Jesus revealed who the Father is .
The world is in need of people who reflect who the real God is.
Jesus did it in His time, Apostles have done it in their times. Many servants of God did in their time.
But Now it is our turn to show the world who the Father in Heaven is, who the real God is.
Reveal the Father to who the Father has given you.

     
The key for this is Listening to God.


2) Genuine concern for others 
           1 kings 2:1
                         even on death bed, passed on Gods legacy.
                         be strong and keep the word.
                        even unbeliever can say be strong.only godly man can say...follow God.
            Philippians 2:20 - genuine concern for others
            2 Timothy 1:3 - pray for each other
                                    Jesus is example - day and night interceeding for us.

3) Focused life.  Matthew 24:44
Jesus always focused on the hour that is coming. he mentioned many times.
he kept teaching his disciples that an hour is coming. He had focus about that hour always.

         As a christian, we need to have a focussed life on God and his Kingdom.
         For some believers, Christianity is a routine stuff.
         come to church on sunday, sing 4 or 5 songs, say hi to everyone, and go.

        but they lose focus as soon as they go out into the world.

 Sussane wesley had focus on teaching their kids  godly lives. Her husband was a pastor and was busy, but it was Sussane who revlead who God is to their children and see how John and Charles Wesley have become.

        Deuteronomy 6:6-9
         Speak to your children about God all times.

          The greatest legacy parents can pass to children is to love God than all ministries.
            your obedience to faith impacts others to live for God.
             It is not our glory , but the Glory of God reflected through us.

For one mans disobedience, curse came upon generations
For one man obedience, life came to millions.

Hebrews 11: V32 says
32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword;whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.37 They were put to death by stoning;[e] they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.

For all these saints, The world is not worthy for the people of God. they are longing for eternal life with God.
and God is not ashamed to be called as thier God because they did not live for world.

May the Spirit of God help us to live a life that leaves a legacy for future generations, a legacy not for people to talk about us, but a legacy for the Glory of God.
Amen.

Pastor Jones.

Joshua 24:15

15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices, and choices determine our actions.” - Dallin

Western union story

God has given us freewill to make choices.
We don't have a choice when we are palace born, where to be born, to whose parents we should be born.and 

even as a kid, we don't have much choice. its the parents who feed the baby what to eat and what not to eat. But as we grow, we get this freedom to make choices.
But the choices we make have a great impact on our lives.

Turn to Romans 12:1-2
“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:1-2). 

Do not be conformed to this world-  
       There is a model/pattern in the world  where what majority people will do , the rest will follow that.
       For example: The worlds pattern is that it goes with majority. After i finished my 10th standard. i used to have a desire to become an IAS officer, because they allot a big bungalow to IAS officers, but since all my friends are going for computer science engineering, i also studied computer science engineering.

The Word says don't blindly follow the worlds pattern of living. But let there be renewal of mind.
When there is renewal of mind , and when we are always faced with options, we can make godly choices.

This world offers a lot in every aspect.

choosing a career - engineer or medicine or you want to go for ministry or missionary.
if you are looking for a job - job 1 or job 2
choosing a life partner for marriage - you will get many matches with rich, attractive,poor.
you want to buy a car - you have 25K car, 30kcar, 40k car, 50k car.

The world offer you lots of choices.
Everyday , in one way or other you will be facing to choose between options to make decision of your life.
but are you making godly choices?

Jacob and Easu:
Genesis 25:29 - 34

In a Hebrew family, a first born is very significant, especially in the old testament times.
First born significance:
                        1)opener of the mothers womb
                        2)the one who starts the paternal lineage and maternal lineage.
                        3) double portion inheritance.
                        4) Successor head of the family ( royal family then successor king)

A first born clearly knows what his blessing are.
Esau was very hungry and was almost fainting when he came home he saw this red hot soup. 
you show biryani to Indian when he is hungry , you know all the feelings and how you respond to it. you will put aside all the spoons and you will start eating happily with hand.

Esau here came with so much of hunger and Jacob is saying this
"First sell me your birthright" 
I was thinking how did Jacob got this idea of asking for birth right.
He was cooking his stew. How come i missed Gods double portion of blessings just by being born after my brother. Oh, how to get these blessings. Even though he is cooking, his mind is deeply set on things of God. 
"Church, Whatever you do , constantly set your mind of things of God"
I dont know how many sisters here think of Gods blessings,Gods inheritance while cooking.
Here is Jacob constantly thinking of God , and when brother asked for stew, he asked for blessings.
See the reply of Esau."What use this birthright is when iam so much in hungry "

Esau is faced with 2 options:

either stay hungry until your mother gives food and have the birthright
or
sell birth right or have your stomach full.

Sadly, Esau chose to sell birthright, he thought what is the use of birthright when iam so hungry.
he chose for a temporary satisfaction and lost eternal blessings.
Turn to Genesis 27:30-34, v38
Hebrews 12:16,17
Esau wept aloud.
The choice you make for temporary things would rob of eternal blessings.
A person who cannot make God as priority is being called godless.
Sometimes, we are faced with lots of temptations for temporary enjoyment.
   for some it might be drinking, 
   for some it may be making fun of others. 
   for some it is pornography 
all these give temporary pleasure, and they cause long term effects.
Eskimos Trap
Church, When you are faced with temptation of temporary satisfaction, do you give in like Esau or make a Godly choice.

Noah and sonsGenesis 9:20
Noah drank wine and has no clothes.
Ham the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his brothers outside.
Noah is inside his tent, so when Ham might accidentally stepped in and saw his fathers state,
now Ham has two choices
a) cover his father
b) go and tell it outside.

But he chose to go and tell to his brother.  
A private matter of a person became public news.
Many of us have this tendency to talk about the private matters of others or gossiping about others private matters. 
If  a brother or sister has weakness in some area, and you go tell to other people, you are just like Ham , exposing the spiritual nakedness of that person to public world.

Shem and Japheth did, the turned backwards and covered their father.
What a character is not to look at or point out at the weakness of the other person, but to just cover the persons weakness with love.
Love covers multitude of sins.
When Jesus did not accuse a woman who was caught in the very act of adultery who are we to accuse others. 
When we have little bit of knowledge from bible, we start judging other people. But the knowledge of God should always makes us humble and relate to other people.
Story of person in Alaska and son and faithful dog

Jesus went to tax collecters house, he spoke to Samaritan woman who was divorced five times,
i really thank Jesus Christ because he is not like us, He humbles himself so much that he sits with people of different weaknesses and shares the Love of God and forgives them.

You come across lots of people with various weaknesses, 
and  you face these options of choosing 
whether to point out their weakness/spiritual nakedness 
or 
Like Shem - Dont look at the weakness of the other persons, But share the love of Christ, that Love that is shown on the cross removes every stain.

Abraham and Lot
Genesis 13: 8-13
Choice of Lot.
Abraham asked Lot to make a choice of where he wants to live.
So, what options does Lot have? Abraham clearly told him if he wants to go right he will go left and vice-versa.
a) Sodom
b) Hebron where Abraham later went
c) He could have pleaded Abraham to live with him only.( Ruth had pleaded Naomi )

So in verse 11, Lot chose for Himself Jordan. which is like Land of Egypt,garden of the Lord.
Can you imagine whats going on in Lots mind when he has to make a crucial decision of his life.
He was thinking where he can be without any problem. He saw the plain was well watered.
A well watered plain shows that there will crops all the time throughout the year. No fear of famines.
no fear of lack of food.
Lot related happiness is related to where there is more wealthy and full of food.
you know why there is so much sin in Sodom . 
Turn to Ezekiel 16:49 - abundant food was one of the sins of Sodom.They neglected God in so much abundance.
And lot choose to go there.
You know before you decide to go to a place, you will enquire about that place , how it will be, how are the people there. like that.
if you have to goto Las vegas , you know that it is full Casinos and the world gathers there for gambling.
But Lot pitched his tent near Sodom. 
Lot when making his choice he did not think of godly things. but he thought about his comfort.
He did not realize that if God is with him, even if he lives in a famine land, God would have provided food for him. He was Abraham for some years and he has clearly seen the providence of God to Abraham.
I always wonder, if Lot could have said, Dear Abraham uncle, i dont want any posessions, but let me be like a servant in your household. that would be great for me. because God is with you.
When Naomi asked her DILs, Ruth pleaded with her that she would not leave her. you know what the result is Ruth came into the lineage of Jesus Christ.
Lot chose an option and went nearest to the sin city. and you know what hapenned later.
many times we all make decisions like Lot just looking at worldly things about her jobs, our place of living , our friendships and ends up in disasters.

you know there are plenty of examples in bible who made best choices and worst choices.

you can say, brother all this is fine, but how to make a godly choice. there are somethings that I will share with you which helped me i think will help you also.  Trust me, i made lot of bad choices in the past and i confessed it, but over the years God taught me so patiently by disciplining me.

     1) All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable.
         1 Corinthians 10:23 

this is one verse that has encouraged me whenever i am in confusion to take a decision.
All the choices that are presented before you might look legal. but question yourself, whether the choice you are making is  it profitable to your soul.
lot of people have these questions whether i can do this or dont do this.
ask yourself- whether its profitable for my soul.

         2) Stewardship
Check if you are good steward of the choice you are making. what that means are you good caretaker of the choice you are making.
Sometimes you ask God for something and God blesses you in that and you are lazy in taking care of that blessing. be it children or be it your job. some people are lazy and sluggish in taking care of what God has blessed with. if you are one of those who is lazy to take care, be careful with choices you make.

  3) Spending quality time with God.
          exploring scriptures, quality prayer time. 
          there is no shortcut for godly lives.
          Invest quality time in Word, and prayer. 
         The Holy Spirit God looks at genuinely seeking people and guides them.
         if you are not interested in seeking HolySpirit help whats the use then. 
         Deligently seek Holy Spirits guidance and you will see making wonderful choices in life                   which moulds you into Image of Christ.

Story of a boy who asked God:
              what is  million years for you - Just a sec
              what is million dollars for you - just a penny
              Can I have a penny -  just a sec

God is looking for people who will standup to the world and say, I wont be conformed to the pattern of the world.
He is looking for people to build His kingdom. 
He is looking for people who make Godly choices like Daniel who gave up kings food.
When the world offers so many temptations in the form of TV,laptops and gadgets.
When the rest of the world tries to accuse and point out others weakness like Ham did ,God is looking for people like Shem who will cover others sins with the love of Christ. 
even when the world says this is okay to do, you get up and say like Joseph, 
Iam King's Son , Iam Kings daughter, I will live like prince.



Thank you Jesus

Lonely Spiritual person vs Family Spiritual person

For the past couple of months as I was going through the bible, one aspect that has been constantly reminding me is being spiritual as a family.

Many church going Christians are good in bible reading(quote verses), prayers(anytime,anywhere can pray),
have their quite time, good in evangelism. But when it comes to the family life, a lot of  Christians have issues in various aspects.
example:
1) Although both Husband and wife are individually good born again Christians, they can have problems in dealing things together as a family ( money aspects,family relationships).
2) Sometimes either parent (husband/wife)/child is a believer and comes to Church , but struggles in bring their family to the church.

I started looking at various families in bible both who are successful and also who failed.
Looked at some successful families and whats their success.
Looked at some families that failed and whats are the main reasons that they failed as family.

I will share the things that I learned.

Owning up the responsibility:
if you are the head of the family, ( you could be father, or if father is not there then mother is the head of the fmaily), then own the responsibility of the family.
Many times we try to throw the blame on wife. See how others wives are behaving. See how others children are behaving. we try to compare. But we fail to own the responsibility of spouse or children.
if our children are not behaving, then we may not realize that they might have learnt these qualities from  us, while we argue with our spouse. these are everyday issues. we got these qualities from Adam.

See how Cain responds when God asks where is Cain

Genesis 3:12,13 - Eve blamed it on serpent, Adam blamed it on Eve.
Genesis 4:9 "Am I my brothers keeper"

i know of a brother who is very good in scriptures and preaches, but his wife and kids are not behaving so he keeps blaming his wife for his children.

We see wife and husband blaming on others and Cain learned from it, the son went one step ahead and question God if i am my brothers keeper. we see a total disaster in the first family of mankind.
If Adam or Eve or Cain have confessed their mistake, God would have forgiven them and would have been a different story altogether. If we dont accept our mistakes in leading the family, that reveals our pride and would never see the grace. Because God gives grace to the humble who accepts their mistakes.

2 chronicles 33:10-13 On the other side , we can see Manasseh the king of Judah who was more evil but when God humbled him, he repented and turned to God and we can see how God blessed Manasseh's lineage, his grandson Josiah was one of the best kings of Judah.

Desire for the family to be saved and Work for family to be saved.

Noah, Rahab.

Eli.
Eli was a priest, and he judged people. He even prophesied about Samuel. His sons were acting wickedly, He just told them not to do it.
1 Samuel 3:17 - He is God , let Him do whatever it is.
He could have confessed it before God and repent about it and could have fasted and prayed. but he simply left it and the family vanished.
Donot get too occupied with work or ministry that you dont have time for family.

Rahab:
Joshua 2:12 - longing for family to be saved - father mother,brothers,sisters and their families.
Joshua 6:22 - and they are all saved. its very less time from the day the spies went out and jericho got attacked, but she made sure everybody came into that house. some may not have listened or rebelled, but she worked it out and everybody got saved. you might face challenge from your family, but work it out and get them under the house of salvation.

what adifference between Eli( who knows God) and Rahab( who belives God)

Bonding as a family.
although both everyone in the family might be good christian(husband,wife,kids), many Christians suffer in family lives because they don't have bonding.

David.- individually, David was man after His own heart, great worship,wrote many songs, but as a family, there is no one along with him, only at the end of Davids reign, we saw Solomon taking up the mantle.
Psalm 102:7
Psalm 142:4
Forget about others, but his own blood relationship with him.

Noah. -
Genesis 6:18,19,20
On the other hand we see Noah and his family working together to get saved.
it would be impossible for Noah to do all these things alone. he needs his wife,sons and DIL to work with him.  how do they believe their father when the whole world around them did not believe.
they knew their father was a godly man and they knew that He hears from God and directs them.
they might be praying and worshiping as a family.He commands that respect from kids. do your kids know that you are a godly person and you hear from God. do they respect you.

Noah's wife name is not mentioned, but what a woman that she supported her husband in all that he does apart from raising 3 young boys. for all the women on phone line, you can take great inspiration of godly life from Noah's wife.

Teach like Joshua. Declare like Joshua.


whats your desire for your family.

Lot:
Genesis 13:8-11
When Abraham said let us get separated, he looked around and saw the whole plain was well watered.where you can have plenty of crops, no lack of food,shelter. v12 says he went and pitched the tent near Sodom. People around Sodom might have heard about their sins and even Lot might have heard about it, but he went near them in search of prosperity and we know the rest of the story. Lot with good intentions about his family, children went to greener pastures and lost his family. Even when Lot was with Abraham,he had plenty. where do you desire to be, where do you want your kids to be? do you take them close to sin and leave them to be destroyed. or keep them in the company of righteous.

having prosperity is not wrong, but compromising godliness is wrong.

Zebedees sons mother:
Matthew 27:55,556
Matthew 20:20
Although this request looks selfish, but you see the desire and intention of a mother . she is not asking for something earthly. she is longing for something that is heavenly. and you can see how great apostles are John and James. She is one of the woman who closely follwed Jesus to take care of his needs during Crucifixion,and not only that she wants them to be always in the company of Jesus

Lot desiring his family to be soaked in prosperity even when sin is nearby and we see Zabedess sons mother wanting their sons to be in the company of Jesus.

what you desire for your family makes difference

Many of us might be good believers, but God has placed us in our families with purpose. He wants us to serve Him as a family. Our ministry starts with our families.
if you are husband, take responsibility of your household and if things are not going well first confess your part and ask Gods intervention. He gives grace to the humble.
if you are a wife, support your husband , pray for him, if he is looking to ministry works, extend your support. Don't be nagging wives, your nagging will bring down your family.
as a family, pray together, worship the lord together. Long for heavenly things for your family. and if you find your kids are near danger sin zone, bring them out before it gets too late.

As Joshua declared, Let us declare
"But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."

Amen.

Lukewarmness

Revelation 3:15-16

¹⁵ I know your deeds,that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

This is written to the Church.
In Laodicea, the people know very well what is Lukewarm water.
Jesus is the best preacher that the world ever heard of. You see His parables, the examples, how He relates to the people. Mountain Waters coldness and Hot Springs warmness become lukewarm by the time it reaches for the people to drink.
Jesus says you are neither cold nor hot.
cold - against the gospel.
hot - fiery for Christ.
lukewarm - want to be called as christian, but there is no inner fire for Christ. Lives just like the world, but still want to be called as Christian. Jesus say I know your deeds. How are our deeds today?
Question for each one of us today?  Am I Hot,Fiery Christian or Am I Lukewarm Christian.

Acts 5:3,4
³ Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? ⁴ Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”

Here we see Ananias and Sapphira are in a Church where Peter is like the pastor and all the apostles and all the disciples where Church is vibrant. miracles are taking place. Shadows and HandKerchiefs bringin healings. disciples are selling everything and bringing to their feet. In the midst of all these wonderful things, there is a couple who saw everything and liked it very much and want to be among the group, and want to be called as christians, but inside their heart, they still have past life, their desire for money. their desire for name to be called as christian. they want to show that are the money givers.
Lukewarmness - cause 1: Hyprocrasy is one of the worst enemies of mankind. It kills people. You want to show off to be something when you are not. You want to show off in Church that you are super spiritual but when you go home and in your personal life you are just like the world. you quarrel with your wife, you want all the worst stuff on internet. but in Church people see you and say this brother or sister is very spiritual.

Hypocrasy brings luke warmness - Jesus was so harsh on pharisess because He hated hypocrasy in them. buy whoever comes just like the tax collector that Lord I am sinner He forgave. but whoever acted then He rebuked.
What is our condition today? Are we acting in Church on sundays and go back live the rest of the week like everybody in the world.

Jesus I wish you be cold not luke warm.
At the time of Ananis and Sapphira, there is another man called Saul of Tarsus, who was a cold man fervently opposing gospel. and Jesus liked his honesty and showed grace and saved Saul who became biggest preacher. but on the other hand we see this couple coming to Church,giving offering and still died.

This teaches us to live  lives of honesty. Never talk/boast off  about your own spirituality, but let it displayed through the deeds. Jesus says I knew your deeds.

-I have a friend who liked the fellowship and people and wanted to be like one among us and soon after he fell out and entered yoga.

Lukewarmness - cause 2:  Prosperity
Jesus you are rich. acquired wealth, good car and you think you are well off.
Most of the luke warmness is because of the prosperity.
For Christians here in America, all the worldly blessing is more important than God. Blessing for house, blessing for car, blessing for health. the word blessing is completely changed and suited to the world.
You can call yourselves as  blessed if you have true faith in Christ. how is our faith when we have 5000$ in account and how is our faith when we have only 500$ in account;
You can call yourselves as  blessed if you are able to overcome sexual lust, if you can overcome anger, then you are truly blessed. Dont look at a person who has big house and say he is blessed.
Prosperity has brought down the spiritual level of Christians - We cannot server two masters - 

Is Christ the more valuable to you than any other thing. Prosperity is one of the biggest problems for us.

In middleeast, muslim countries, china, where there is persecution, then Christ is everything to them. In persecuted countries, there is fire in them to live for Christ. For everything they depend on Christ. they are always in constant danger of their life and for them every day is a new life and for the new day they are always on their knees. I have a habit of reading persecution.com, In China there is a pastor who was arrested and he turned the jail into a church, by the time he was released after many years there is big church inside the jail.  there is brother named Boun, he spent so many years in jail for preaching Christ and for many initial days, when jail authorities asked if he want to request anything  from family member, he said,"Please tell my wife, ‘Would you please help me? Bring me a Bible. I cannot live without the Bible. I have to read the Bible."

Here we have many versions available on phone, tablets, books, how much time we spend.

But here in America, we have TV to watch, we have to watch laptop/ipad/iphone, we have NBA, football to watch. There is so comfort so much we have to plan for long weekends, where we will be going long weekends.

So much of prosperity, so little of spirituality. 

The problem of Sodom and Gomorrah is they have too much prosperity. Ezekiel 16:49

Everybody knows about what Iphone is , but few people know about who the Great IAM is.

Mark 10:23-24

²³ Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”

²⁴ The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is^[e] to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

How big camel is? How small an ant is?

Lukewarmness - cause 3 -Broad way - 

Matthew 7: 13,14

¹³ “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

In my engineering, i have a classmate . he was not very intelligent. but an average guy. and there are many other people who are more intelligent than him, but at the end of four years, this guy became the topper of the class. When everybody was sleeping in the morning, he used to get up at 4 and read the chapters in text book, and have bunch of long white pages and used to write every quesiton 20 , 30 times on those white pages. by the time he writes an exam, he wont even forget a single word, when everybody is going for movies, he used to sit and study. when everybody is making fun, he silently goes to library and reads.

When all people are walking on the broad way, he chose the narrow thing, getting up in early morning, leaving small small fun things like entertainement for becoming class topper, how much more narrow way we should be walking.

Not only the gate is small, but the road is narrow.

The broadway indicates the long road where you can walk freely, you can live freely without caring about godliness. broadway is where you can talk any trash, you can dressup like anything, broadway is just the way to hell.

Donot judge, or you will be judged.
liars will goto hell
forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors
Galatians 5:19 - Will not inherit the kingdom of God,
 sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like


we claim to be born again but are walking in the narrow way every moment of our life. Let us check for ouselves,if every walk of our life is a narrow way. 

Overnight we wont become perfect, but is there a struggle within us to overcome sin.are we sensitive to sin, sensitive not to hurt Holy Spirit. sensitive not to hurt the Father. When we sin, is there a deep repentance in us.

Proverbs 29:1 

Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed--without remedy.

If there is any area in our  life thats not  pleasing to God, HolySpirit speaks to our heart continously.disciplines us, rebukes us that too many times.But let us never ever get into  a position where Holy Spirit gives up.

Romans says God gave them over to their lusts.

Matthew 7:21 

Not Everyone who says Lord,Lord - but only who does the Will of the Lord.

Luke 13:23,24 - not be able to enter 

I never knew you?

Doing the Will of the Lord is practicing the Law of the Spirit. getting away from every lawlessness.

Does Jesus knew you? Did you walk with him during your life? Is Jesus reality in your life? 

Can a anyone see us and say Yes he is like Christ in everything he is. Can Jesus see us and say Yes I knew him/her.

Church, its time get away from Lukewarmness and live  a life guided by Holy Spirit and have passion for Jesus Christ.