TRUST NOT IN YOUR RICHES!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY JUNE 15, 2024.

SUBJECT : TRUST NOT IN YOUR RICHES!

Memory verse: “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy” (First Timothy 6 vs 17).

READ: Luke 12 vs 16 - 21:

12:16: Then He spoke a parable to them, saying, “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.

12:17: And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’

12:18: So He said, ‘I will I do this: I will pull down my barns, and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.

12:19: And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years, take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry.”

12:20: But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’

12:21: So is he that lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

INTIMATION:

Riches are entrusted to us by God—the Owner of the world and everything therein (Psalm 50 vs 12). The Lord ensures this by giving us the power to get wealth (Deuteronomy 8 vs 17 - 18). The primary purpose of bestowing on us riches is for us to serve Him with them. He told Abraham, “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.” (Genesis 12 vs 2.) The only condition God attached to Abraham’s blessing after fulfillment is that ‘he will be a blessing.

Consequently, riches comes with great responsibility. If you have been blessed with riches, then thank the Lord. Don’t be proud and selfish and trust in your riches. Use your riches to do good. Be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share. No matter how much riches you have, your life should demonstrate that God controls the wealth that He has placed under your care. Remember, you wouldn’t have received anything if He didn’t give you (John 3 vs 27).

In the passage we read today, Jesus told the story of the rich man, whom God has blessed, and expecting to be a blessing to others. Instead, he became selfish; planned to keep all his riches to himself, expanded his storage to accommodate all his crops and goods, he would then relax and enjoy his riches. God saw that as foolishness. He called the man a fool who had forgotten his source and relied on his riches for pleasurable years ahead. God saw him as a poor man for laying up treasures for himself. 

The rich man died even before he could begin to use what was stored in his big barns. The man carefully and skillfully planned his pleasurable life and retirement leaving God out of his plan. Planning for retirement—preparing for life before death—is wise, but neglecting life after death is disastrous. If you accumulate wealth only to enrich yourself, with no concern for helping others, you will enter eternity empty-handed. Jesus challenges us to think beyond earthbound goals and to use what we have been given for God’s kingdom. Faith, service, and obedience are the way to become rich toward God. 

Just like the rich man, many of us plan what we intend to do or achieve, leaving God out of the plan. We may subsequently come to Him for help to actualize our plans. It is good to have goals, but goals can disappoint us if we leave God out of them. There is no point in making plans as though God does not exist because the future is in His hands. The beginning of good planning is to ask yourself such questions as: “What would God want me to do today? What would God say of this my plan? When you ask such pertinent questions, it indicates that you are seeking God’s guidance, and approval. 

Again we can ask, “What would I like to be doing ten years from now? One year from now? Tomorrow? How will I react if God steps in and rearranges my plan?” We can plan ahead, but we must hold on to our plans loosely. If we put God desires at the center of our planning, He will never disappoint us.

We have heard of so many rich people dying of one thing or the other. Even among the rich, many near—incurable sicknesses abound such as cancer, high blood pressure etc. In the midst of their riches, survival from the illnesses is very slim, which indicates that their riches couldn’t help them. But we have heard of so many miraculous healing and deliverance among the poor who put their trust in God. 

We should not trust on the created riches, but rather on Him who created them. The Creator controls all circumstances and determines events and purposes in our lives. Riches are only means to an end, and not an end itself. God demands that we please Him in all things, not to please ourselves. Pleasing God is accomplished by all acts of obedience to Him. Strive to serve Him with the riches He put under your care. Ensure to be a blessing when you have been blessed. 

Prayer: Abba Father, my trust is in You. You bless us to be a blessing. Endue me with the spirit of trust in and obedience to You, and that I may bless others after being blessed by You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!