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Hebrews 5:13-6:1a
Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity
We need to be good stewards of what God has given us – time, money, health, gift
- Matt 25:14-30
- God can call us home at any time
- For example: Dave Wilkerson passed away in a car accident this week
- The only reason we’re still alive is the grace of God. He is graciously waiting for us to use our gifts and do what we were made to do. However, He will not wait forever.
- He knows even now when your time is to come to an end.
- What are you going to do with this time?
- God has given us our provision/money
- God provides everything, including our money
- Those of us who have jobs only have them because God has given them to us
- Those of us who don’t are depending on Him for every penny we get
- What we get is not ours, it’s God’s. He gives it to us to use for Him.
- We act like it’s ours and we use it for ourselves.
- Do you really think you can take care of yourself better than God can? Do you really think that you can do more with that money than God can? God can do more for you with 90% of your money than you can do with all of it. Why not give that 10% to Him and see if it’s so.
- God has given us our health
- He can take it away
- We give doctors the credit. We give medicine the credit.
- Someone can have an illness, be treated by a doctor and recover. Someone else can have the same illness, be treated the same way and die.
- It’s not the treatment. It’s not the medicine or the doctor. It’s God. He’s in charge.
- If He has given you health, how can you not take advantage of this and serve Him while you have it? He may take it away one day and then you will wish you had done something when you could have.
- God has given us our talents
- He has gifted each of us with a spiritual gift
- These gifts were given to us specifically. Not to someone else.
- He is waiting for you to use that gift.
- Too many people go to church for themselves. That was never the purpose of church. Church is for you to help others.
- When you don’t go to church, you are not using your gifts, you are not helping others, you are being self-centered.
We are too comfortable
- Brother Yun gives an example of a small church of farmers giving everything they have in their pockets to help one of their members go to the mission field.
- “Multitudes of church members in the West are satisfied with giving their minimum to God, not their maximum. I've watched men and women during offering time in church. They open their fat wallets and search for the smallest amount they can give. This type of attitude will never do! Jesus gave his whole life for us, and we give as little of our lives, time and money as we can back to God. What a disgrace! Repent!
This may sound strange, but I even miss the offerings we used to give in China. On numerous occasions the leader of a meeting would announce, 'We have a new worker who is leaving tomorrow to serve the Lord'. Immediately every single person would completely empty their pockets of everything they had. With that money the worker would buy a train or bus ticket and leave the next day.
Often this money was not just everything we had in our pockets at the time, but everything we owned in the whole world.”
- We give out of the comfort of our situation, not out of the need for others situation
- We look to give the least we can instead of the most we can
- We will spend time at church if it’s easy, I don’t have anything else to do
- We need to stop acting like rich Americans who have more than 95% of the world. We need to start remembering that we are ambassadors for Jesus and live by the laws of his country, of which we are citizens
Excuses
- I’m too busy
- I don’t have enough money, time, health, talent
- I’ve never done that before
- I’m afraid
- I don’t know how
- We’re not big enough
Real problem
- You really are lazy and self-centered and afraid
- You don’t have enough faith
- You don’t really trust in God
- You don’t really think God can do these things
No Worries – God can take care of this
- The eyes of God are searching to and fro for hearts that are his
- 2 Chronicles 16:9 The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.
God is looking for people to do great things
- Gideon from 30,000 soldiers to 300 soldiers
- Judges 6:14-16 The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” The LORD answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”
- Judges 7:2-8
- Judges 7:10 – there were originally 135,000 Midianites
- It’s not the numbers, it’s the power of God
- Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
- Daniel 3:13-18
- They had faith that God would do exactly what was right, even if it wasn’t comfortable for them, even if they had to suffer.
- Better to suffer than to do wrong in the eyes of God
- Yet God miraculously provided
- George Mueller
- Illustrations of churches (attached)
We need 12 passionate people ready to be uncomfortable, to have great faith, to do God’s call, to use their gifts and be great stewards – 12 people can change the world
- We need to have a change in priorities
- We need to get real about spending our time, energy, money and talents at the church
- We need to delve deeper into faith
- knowing God more through prayer and bible study,
- becoming Christ-centered,
- trusting in Him recognizing that His arms are not too short
- Monthly prayer concerts
- Retreat
- Outreaches
Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire – Katherine of Siena
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A Long Island Church Reaching People and Growing Deeper for Christ 
