What Does The Bible Say About Prosperity_ _ Dr. Jeff _ Christine Miller Discuss

We are going to talk about a very exciting and controversial subject. Because of that very reason, it's a topic that must be discussed. We also agree that there has been some abuse and excess in the church world. What we're going to talk about today, dare I say the word, is... Hello everybody, this is pastors Jeff and Christine Miller, and we're coming to you today to give you some good news. We are going to talk about a very exciting and controversial subject. That's right, and many in the body of Christ consider it to be controversial, and maybe even would consider it almost to be a four-letter word. But because of that very reason, it's a topic that must be discussed and taught from the biblical perspective. So what we're going to talk about today, dare I say the word, is prosperity. Yes. And please do not... No, I'm not going to be looking at the camera. We're going to just talk about this, but you that are listening, please do not shut us off because you have preconceived ideas with the word prosperity or with the word prosper, because the word prosper is in the Bible. So it is the biblical word. But we want to attach biblical definitions to the biblical word, not what people preconceive. Many will... There are a lot of terms out there that are used called the prosperity gospel, or the faith message, or the name it and claim it, the blab it and grab it, the confess it, possess it. Many have said, well, that is a false gospel. We are going to deal with Scripture. We're going to deal with what the Bible talks about. And coming from somebody who's been exposed to this teaching, not just somebody who heard something from somebody else, who heard something from somebody else. And so there's a lot of hearsay out there that gets touted, whether it's on television, radio, and people will just take the first thing they hear about it and run with it. But if people don't really know about you, they don't really know what you believe, they jump to wrong conclusions, they get riled up about it. But you and I would be the first ones to admit, and I think this is important for our audience to hear, that we also agree that there has been some abuse and excess in the church world that would have lent itself to people coming to wrong conclusions. So today we just want to share with our audience a balanced approach. And we want to set the record straight on that. Don't turn the channel because I believe you're going to hear some things today that you haven't heard before. And this perspective will agree with what you already believe more than you thought. Amen to that. I want to start by reading a scripture from the New Testament. I'm reading from the New King James Version from 1 Timothy 6, verse 17. It says, Command those who are rich in this present age. I think the King James Version says, Charge those who are rich in this world not to be haughty. Nor to trust in uncertain riches. Now I want to stop there just for a moment. Notice it did not say, Command those who are rich in this world or in this present age to sell everything they have and give it to the poor. Now you might think, Well, Jesus told that to the rich young ruler. Well, we may talk about that later as well. This is something in scripture. Actually, it's Paul writing to Timothy, but it applies to the church. It's not to an individual. It is to a group of people who are those who are rich in this world or in this present age. And the charge is, Don't be haughty. Don't be proud. Don't think you're better than someone. Nor to trust in uncertain riches. Then it goes on to say, But in the living God. So we're not to trust in our riches, our money, our possessions. Frankly, we're not to trust in our abilities, our education, our savings, our investments. But in the living God who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Verse 18 says, Let them do good. Who are them? Those who are rich in this world. He didn't say liquidate everything you have. He didn't say give everything you have. It's interesting because he's writing to people. And the assumption is there are rich people in the church. That's a good point. Because if everybody in the church was broke. You wouldn't have to give that explanation. Then he would say, well, you know, those sinners. Yes. No, there are obviously are rich Christians. And some people are wrong. Just from this, we haven't even read two full verses yet. Just from this verse or two in the New Testament, we see the fact that, okay. It's okay to be rich, but you have to be careful that you don't get lifted up or pride. You not be haughty, not to look down upon people. And maybe more importantly than that, though, that is important, not to trust. Put your trust in the money, the savings, the riches, the possessions, but to make sure you keep it in God. It says, trust in the living God who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, verse 18, that they may be rich in good works, ready to give. Now, it doesn't say don't give. He didn't say give everything. He said, let them do good, be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share. Now, I want to read this from the Passion Translation, which, you know, is not in every way the best, but if you use it as a supplement, I mean, I think there's a lot of good things in the Passion Translation. Passion Translation says, to all the rich in this world, I command you not to be wrapped up in thoughts of pride over your prosperity or rely on your wealth, for your riches are unreliable and nothing compared to the living God. Trust instead in the one who lavishes upon us all good, all good things, fulfilling our every need. Remind the wealthy. Now, again, it does not say you should give everything you have and sell everything you have and give it to the poor. It says, remind the wealthy. Remind them. So, if you're wealthy, I'm reminding you. And you know what? If you live in America, you're wealthy. You are wealthy. Remind the wealthy. Most people think in America, we think, well, I'm not wealthy. Well, compared to the world, we are wealthy. Even if you're on the bottom in America, you're better off than most of the world. So, remind the wealthy to be rich in remarkable works of extravagant generosity. I'm preaching the extravagant generosity gospel. Our church has given over $2 million since our founding, and we're not a huge church, and I would consider that extravagant. We put, a lot of times, our own projects on hold because the Lord puts it on our heart to send money to different missionaries. We support missions every month. We give out way over 10% of everything that comes in. Way, way, way over 10% of what comes in. So, that's generosity. And personally, we do the same as well. Matter of fact, I believe that all Christians should be tithers. All Christians should be givers above and beyond the tithe. I believe all churches should be a tithing church. How can you preach tithing? How can you tell people to give their tithes if you don't as a pastor and as a minister, even though you're serving God, but you should tithe. You should be one of the biggest givers in your church. Maybe not amount-wise, but you ought to be giving a bigger percentage than anybody. Why? You're the leader. But the churches ought to give, and even if you're a missionary, missionaries that receive support, they should tithe. You're on the foreign field. I don't care if you're in another country. Well, we're a poor country. These biblical principles are for everybody. They're not just for Americans. They're not just for people that are well off. God's word is for everyone. The New Testament wasn't written to Americans at the time. Well, exactly. There was no American press here. The Bible was not written to Americans. It was written to people. And if it's the gospel, it will work everywhere. If it doesn't work everywhere, it's not the gospel. Or maybe a better way to say, it will work everywhere if it's the gospel. If it only works in America or some places, then it's not true. No, the word works. But anyway, remind the wealthy to be rich in remarkable works of extravagant generosity, willing to share with others. These spiritual investments will provide a beautiful foundation for their lives and secure for them a great future as they lay their hands upon the meaning of true life. Somebody said, you know, there's a difference between giving to live and living to give. Christians ought to be the most generous people. And you can be generous even if you are not what would be considered prosperous. And, you know, really, when we talk about provision or talk about finances, some people don't even like the word money in church to be used. It's almost like a dirty word. Well, we'll call it finances. We won't. There are Christian publishers that will not allow a book to be published if it has the word prosper or prosperity in it. Why? Because if it's associated with certain things, but yet how can you say that when there's a word that is in the Bible, you just need to define it. So what is prosperity? Well, you know, let me just make a comment for a minute based on something you said, that Christians ought to be the most generous people on earth. We know the Bible tells us to imitate God as dear children. And so who is the greatest giver that has ever lived? It's God. He gave something far greater than money. He gave his only begotten son, Jesus. And so when you look at it in light of that, if we're to imitate God, who is the most generous being of all time, then we're to be generous just like him if we're going to imitate him. And when you see someone who says, I'm a Christian, I'm a believer, and they're stingy, you know that they're capable of being generous, but they're yielding to the wrong spirit, because the spirit of grace or the Holy Spirit of God would never lead us to be stingy. So I just wanted to make that comment that generosity is our nature when we're in Christ. R.B.S. And it is also a biblical principle, Jesus is the one who said, give and it shall be given unto you good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over. And of course it goes on. Paul said that he who sows, and of course he wrote, you know, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he said, he who sows bountifully will reap bountifully. He who sows sparingly will reap sparingly. In other words, God does not mock whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Now that doesn't mean, and I don't want to get into this today, but that doesn't mean all we have to do is tithe and sow seed and then money just shows up. No, there's so many truths that we teach one aspect, but they're all combined. We have to work. God blesses the work of our hands. We need to be led by the Spirit. We need to be, we need to walk in love. We need to not be selfish. We need, I mean, the Bible teaches against idolatry, teaches against covetousness. Something that a minister who was one of my mentors who's passed away, he's in heaven now, but he had a saying or something he would say periodically when he's preaching, you know, God wants to give you the desires of your heart, but you can't buy everything your beady little eyes see. In other words, we need, even if you have the money to buy it, we need to be led by the Spirit, led by, you know, act on the Word, live the Word, but we need to be led by the Spirit in our, not just in our giving, in our living, in our purchases, in our, you know, where we get a job, where we, you know, if we buy a home, we need to have the witness of the Spirit when we're buying that home. We need to be in the right church. We need to, when we're buying a vehicle, we need to consult God. It's not even just a matter of, can I afford this? What is the Lord saying? And I know some people think, well, that's just over-spiritualizing. I'm not saying you have to pray about what you're gonna wear in a particular day or, you know, some of the mind, well, should I have coffee today or should I have tea today? I'm talking about decisions that affect your life. We are to be led by the Spirit of God, and we're to go by the written Word, but then we need specific instructions. Yes. And that is part of the prosperity. It's important, too, that depending on our audience today, maybe they're coming from all different backgrounds, but to just make note of how much good has been done in the earth because of people that had money. You know, I'm thinking right now of Samaritan's Purse, Franklin Graham, which, if they didn't have the finances coming in to the degree that they do, they would never be able to bless the children and the villages of the world with the gospel message, and everybody knows it takes money not only to put those packages together, but to get them to their destination, and then they have to follow up and create systems so that people can be taught the Word of God. We think about the owner of Hobby Lobby that we've heard is a very generous man. He'll pay off church buildings. How would he do that if he was poor or barely making it financially? And so I think anybody watching that would call themselves a Christian would have to acknowledge that a lot of good can be done if you have the money. But just like you started out talking about, it's a matter of your motive. What is the purpose of the money? How are you going to use the money? And then, of course, we need to go ahead and define, really, what is biblical prosperity? Because some people think, when you say the word prosperity, that all you're trying to do is teach people how to get rich for their own benefit so that they can live in huge houses and drive fancy cars and buy airplanes and live in luxury. Well, that's not the true prosperity gospel, although you'll be able to enjoy some of what you take in as you're prosperous toward other people. But how would you define biblical prosperity? I would say biblical prosperity is having everything you need with an abundance left over to do the will of God for your life and to carry out your assignment. That's good. It's not just what's the minimum I could get by on. A conversation I had with a church member many years ago who has gone on to heaven, he was a retired college professor. And early when we started our church, he attended our church in the beginning years. And I think he was still working, but he was about to retire. And one of the things he told me, he said, you know, my house is paid for. I have a good pension. You know, I don't remember if he said, I don't consider myself rich, but I mean, I have everything I need and I don't need any more. And he even told me how much his pension was and that with his situation in life, he could, you know, he was fine. Because I was talking about prosperity that God wants you blessed. God wants you to prosper. Then he's just more or less saying, well, I'm content with where I'm at. And then I said something to him that kind of shocked him. I said, how selfish. You're assuming that when we're talking about prosperity, we're talking about, you know, prosperity for you. We're talking about prosperity for your needs met. I'm happy with my house. I'm happy with my vehicle. If I wanted to, I could go buy a brand new Cadillac or, you know, a luxury car. And I have enough money coming in. I'm fine. Okay, so that means you can't pay a church off. You can't give $20,000 to a missionary. You can't put an addition on your church building or do something. Well, no, I can't do that because I'm not rich. God wants us to prosper for more than one reason. First off, Jesus paid for it. That's, you know, we will take some time and maybe to get into that today. If not, we'll get into it in the future. Jesus paid for our sins on the cross. He paid for our sicknesses and diseases to be healed. And his redemption included provision for our lives. Everything that Adam's disobedience brought into the world, Jesus obedience and his death, burial, resurrection, his substitutionary work on the cross. Undid everything that Adam's disobedience brought. Now, some things are relegated to the future, but not very many things. A lot of Christians think, well, yeah, we'll be prosperous in heaven. We'll have more than enough in heaven, which of course we will. That when we get over into the promised land being heaven. No, there's a promised land in this life. Because if you try to say, you know, the promised land is the type of heaven, the promised land, they had adversaries. They had giants that they had to fight. They had to, you know, they had a, they, it wasn't just a walk in the park where they just walk in and there was no battles. There was a promised land flowing with milk and honey, but there was a battle. That cannot be a type of heaven. That is a type of our inheritance in Christ. God has given us, provided everything we need for every area, including the financial area. Why? Because he loves us. He wants us to enjoy life. Jesus said, I've come that you might have life and have it more abundantly. I didn't say you're going to be a multimillionaire. But you know, we need some, we need some multimillionaires. We need, we need people who can pay off churches. We need people who can build churches. And, you know, my wife mentioned something. My mother told me a story and I grew up in Batavia, Illinois, and my mother was raised in the Episcopal church. My father was raised in the Catholic church. Well, anyway, my mother told me the Episcopal church in Batavia, Illinois, I don't know who it was, but a wealthy man, you know, in the eight, somewhere in the 1800s. I don't know if he bought the land, but he paid for the entire church to be built and that church is still there today. Now, I don't know how much of the gospel they're preaching, but, you know, there, we need, we need, thank God for that. I'm not saying you can't, you can't give your way to heaven. I mean, I'm not saying because someone's generous, they're going to go to heaven. No, that is not how you get to heaven. We get to heaven by putting our trust in Jesus. And I want us to go to, because I had in my heart today, just this morning, praying and studying and meditating. I wanted to go to this verse we read where it says, charge those who are rich in this world, not to trust an uncertain riches, not to be haughty, high-minded, you know, but to trust in, or to trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God. Now, I want us to go to the story of the rich young ruler, and I'm trying to find, which account did I say I was going to go to? Mark? Is it Mark's account? Or Luke, I'm sorry, Luke. We'll find out in a minute here. Let's see. One of the accounts, and I'm trying to think which one it is. I'm pretty sure I marked it. Let's see if, here we go. It is Mark's account. In Mark's gospel, the 17th verse, now the heading of my Bible, you know, which is just put in by the translators, says Jesus counsels the rich young ruler. So he was a ruler, he was young, and he was rich. Now, each account, you know, it's in Matthew, it's in Mark, and I think it's in Luke as well. But anyway, Mark's account brings out something that Matthew's account doesn't bring out. So I want to just read this real quick. It says, now as he was going out on the road, one came running and knelt before him and asked him, good teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? Now, when we're going to study this account of the rich young ruler, instead of just going right to what Jesus said to him, that is the question that he asked Jesus. And so then we're going to look at how did Jesus answer that question. This is very important. He says, the question to Jesus, he came to him, he ran running, knelt down. So he was submitting to him. I mean, he was honorable, good teacher. What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? Now, Jesus said, why do you call me good? No one is good but one, that is God. You know the commandments. And he quotes a portion of the Ten Commandments. Now, of course, we know that we don't get to heaven by keeping the Ten Commandments. Now, if we're a Christian, we ought to keep the Ten Commandments, but we don't get to heaven by keeping commandments or keeping the law. But Jesus said, you know the commandments. Don't commit adultery. Do not murder. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Do not defraud. Honor your father and your mother. Now, Jesus didn't quote all of them, but he was just saying, hey, basically. And this was also Old Covenant. This was also Old Covenant. So you couldn't get to heaven through Jesus. Well, that's true too. And he answered and said to him, teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth. Now, if that was a lie, Jesus would have called him on it. Why do you think he was rich? Because he kept the law. Well, some people would say, well, because he was dishonest and he was just after money. Well, you could be rich because you're dishonest and you're after money. But you can also be rich because you've honored God and God has blessed you. Kept the commandments. So he said, I've kept these commandments from my youth. I think that's one of the reasons why he became wealthy. But then Jesus, looking at him, loved him. And remember, the question is, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus looked at him, loved him, and said to him, one thing you lack. Now, whenever I read that or whenever I read this passage and preach on it or talk about it, it always strikes me as, wouldn't it be wonderful if Jesus could look at us, now we know he loves us, and say, there's only one thing you lack. Now, usually some people have a wrong thinking and an unrenewed mind is that rich people are bad. And that poor people are good. And you know, the devil likes it that way. He does like it that way. Bad thinking originated with the devil. Okay, rich people are not, I mean, all rich people, there are bad rich people and there are good rich people. Exactly. There are bad poor people. Yes. And there are good poor people. There are saved rich people and unsaved rich people. There are saved poor people and unsaved poor people. But the good news is, if you're saved, you don't have to stay poor. And that is the good news. Matter of fact, one of the, now I want to finish this in a minute, but one of the redemptive names in the Old Covenant, there are many different names of God, and there's at least seven of what some have called redemptive names, Jehovah Shalom, Jehovah Sidkenu, Jehovah Rafa, Jehovah Jireh, and whether that's the way you pronounce it or not, is God is a provider. God is my provider. He is my healer. He is my peace, and so on and so forth. He is my Savior. I mean, that is part of the character of God, that God revealed that part of his character when Abraham was ready to sacrifice Isaac. That's right. And the Lord, and he was willing and the Lord had told him, and there's a lot in that story, which we're not going to get into today, but when he was about ready to take his son's life on that altar, the Lord, the angel of the Lord stopped him, and God, and he heard a noise, and there was a ram caught in the bushes, and God provided the sacrifice, but he wanted Abraham's willingness to obey him fully, but then God provided the sacrifice. He revealed it's his nature. He is a provider. And we see the connection all throughout the Bible between honor and obedience to God and prosperity. You don't see that God's people enjoyed any type of prosperity when they rebelled against him. Exactly. I'm thinking of the verse in the Old Testament. Uzziah, who became a king at the age of 16, said, as long as Uzziah sought the Lord, God made him to prosper. But see, it was conditional. Yes, and that's what's happening with the rich young ruler here. He sought the Lord and that he obeyed the commands. And Jesus said, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. It's seeking first the kingdom of God. Exactly. In our time, in our finances, in our prayers, in our affection. You know, some people that say, oh, I don't believe in that prosperity gospel. I don't believe in prosperity. And they will take their family out of a good church. They'll move halfway across the country for an extra $10,000 a year. But they say, oh, I don't believe in prosperity. Why are you leaving the church that your family is blessed in, leaving your other relatives possibly, going somewhere for an extra 10 grand, or I don't care if it's $20,000. Right. You better have the leading of the Lord if you can do that. See, you could say you're not, you know, some people say they don't believe in prosperity. But they're looking for increase anyway. They're looking for increase and they're working real hard to prosper. But I don't believe in prosperity. What they're really saying, they may not realize that what they're really saying is, no, I don't believe in everything associated with that term. We're talking about what the Bible says. We're talking about, we're not talking about what this person says, that person says. We're talking about what is the scripture say. God's perspective, not man's perspective. God's perspective. So back to the story of the rich young ruler, Jesus said, one thing you lack, one thing. So don't think he's a rotten person. When God can only say there's only one thing you need to change, that's pretty good. Now, I'm not saying he didn't need to change it because God said one thing you lack. Go your way, sell whatever you have, and give to the poor. And a lot of people will quote this. And it's true. I mean, it's in the Bible. They will quote this basically that if you're rich, like the rich young ruler, that you should just, you know, you shouldn't have all those riches. But we already read to you from the epistles where the Holy Ghost said, charge those who are rich in this world to give everything they have. No. What did he say? Not be haughty. Right. Not to trust in uncertain riches. So just remember that, not to trust in it. Well, the love of money is the root of all evil. But some of these people are so short-sighted and not strategists at all. Because if you're a strategist and you just tell everyone who loves Jesus and follows him to sell everything you have, then who's going to finance the plan and purpose of God in the earth? So then God gets shortchanged by that thinking, which is why I believe that thinking originates with our enemy because he would love to keep God's people poor so that this gospel doesn't get out as much as it should. So yeah, sell all that you have. Wouldn't that be a great strategy for the devil to get into the church because he could keep God's people poor and ineffective? Well, and here's the other thing. If you give, it will be given unto you. But here's what I believe is the meat of this. It's not even a parable. This was an actual man that came to Jesus. That took place, right. So it's not a parable. It is a real-life illustration in Jesus' ministry where he brought out spiritual truth and revelation. He said, to this man, one thing you lack, in other words, God's will for you is go your way sell whatever you have, give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. And come, take up thy cross, and follow me. Jesus was calling this man into the ministry and to follow him. And to follow him, you can't have your farms or whatever he had. We don't have any description of what he did or his business, if he had properties, if he had crops, if he had livestock. But Jesus said, sell what you have, give it to the poor, you'll have treasure in heaven, and come take up your cross, and follow me. That was a specific word to a specific person. Now, I'm not saying God couldn't tell somebody to sell what you have and give to the poor. I mean, there's been numerous times in our life, especially in our earlier years, where the Lord has had us just give away everything. We have our, I should say, empty out our accounts. But our expectation was that it wasn't going to stay empty. Well, no, we didn't just think, well, I guess we just won't have it. No, because if you're doing what the Lord's putting on your heart, I believe God is going to make it up to you. Right. May not happen next Friday, may not happen the end of the month, may not happen even within that year. But again, Jesus said, given it shall be given unto you. I mean, if you're truly obeying God, you're going to be blessed in the long run. God never does anything that causes us to be shortchanged. So he said, give to the poor, you'll have treasure in heaven, come follow me, or come take up your cross, follow me. And it says, but he was sad at this word or this saying, he went away sorrowful for he had great possessions. And so here's what some people will say. Okay, see, if you have great possessions, one, God wants you to sell it all. No, we know we've already disproved that. Now, for him, yes, that was the will of God for him, because Jesus said, sell everything you have, give to the poor, take up your cross and follow me. And guess what? The people that follow Jesus, they did not go without. No, they didn't. Jesus did not have, I mean, you say, well, you know, they didn't have food. And hey, Jesus had to feed them all. Jesus had, you know, I'm sure the disciples, well, maybe they didn't in the case where the food was multiplied. But Jesus' disciples did not go without. Matter of fact, when he sent them forth, he said, don't take an extra coat. Don't take an extra staff. Don't take a money bag with gold, with silver, and with copper. Well, you don't tell that to people that don't have any gold, silver, or copper. He said, leave it at home. Why? Because the labor, when you go out, I am going to take care of you. Well, Jesus was sending them out. He said, but when you go out, you go into an area. If they receive you, fine, they're going to take care of you. If they don't receive you, you leave and you shake the dust off your feet. So anyway, he said, come follow me. The man made a decision not to follow Jesus, not to liquidate his assets. And because possessions had a wrong priority in his life. And that was the thing he lacked. The thing he lacked was the possessions were more important to him than God. Because here is the thing. Again, let's go back to the question where I'm helping you meditate in this passage. What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? Okay. No, you don't inherit eternal life by keeping the commandments. No, you don't inherit eternal life by selling everything you have and giving to the poor. You can't get saved by giving everything to the poor. And you don't, but what do you, how do you inherit eternal life? By putting your trust in Jesus. Now, we're going to see that as we go on. Now, after he left, then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, now people quote this verse a lot. And it's true and it's in here. He said, now this is a Mark's account. How hard is it for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God? So if we focus on just this and we don't read the rest of the passage, we will not have the full accurate interpretation. We have a partial interpretation. We're talking about what the word says. So he, after the man left, he looked at his disciples. How hard is it? He didn't say it was impossible. He said, how hard is it for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God? And so that would be a, what I would call a warning scripture. But now here is the reaction of the disciples in verse 24. Now, let me just, before I read the reaction, I'm going to just give you a false reaction. In other words, I'm going to make something up the way they didn't react. Okay, let's assume if the disciples of Jesus and Jesus himself barely had enough to eat and to travel and to make it. And they were all just, I'm not even going to say poor, but let's just say they're just kind of like middle class, what we would call in America anyway, middle class or lower middle class. I'm not poor. I'm not on, you know, I'm not, I mean, I've worked, you know, I don't need any assistance from the government per se, but I'm paying my own way, but I'm, you know, I don't have a lot of extra, but I'm okay. If the disciples were like that, then when this rich man said, I'm not going to sell everything I have and he hung his head down and I'm not going to follow you, Jesus, I just can't. We don't know what he said. All we know is he left. And then Jesus said, how hard is it those that have riches to enter the kingdom of God? His disciples didn't say, yeah, that's right. Those rich people, they should get rid of their riches. They got too much anyway. They should help other people. You know, they're so selfish. They're just, they're just dishonest. They're just crooks and thieves. No, that's the disciples did not at all. It's right. If they were, if they were broke, they might've reacted that way. Right. Because then you, then you see like that someone who's got more than you that really it's covetous, the covetousness that, okay, they got more than me. Well, why do they have more than me? Why don't you know, you should, you should give some of what you have. Our society today, more than ever before is filled with people that think if someone has something that they should give some of it to you, right? That goes against the parables. That actually is what you call socialism. That is what you call socialism. And it's not biblical. And the book of Job definitely deals with that, doesn't it? So we're going to talk about that too. If we, if we get to it today. Okay. So Jesus said, how hard is it for those who trust have riches to enter the kingdom of Yes. I don't know what the word astonished is. I guess I need to look it up, but the word comes to mind. They were flabbergasted. They marveled. I mean, they, they, they were like, what? They were surprised. What? I mean, so what's, what, what is the statement that astonished them? How hard is it for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God? Why do you think they were astonished at it? Because I think because they were not broke, Jesus was not broke and there were godly people who were not broke. And so they're thinking, are you kidding me? Well, let me just say this about that, which I've mentioned in the past. We have the 2023 American mindset, but the Jewish people have never believed in poverty. It's a foreign concept to Jewish people. And like I've shared, I grew up around a lot of Jewish people and I never met one Jew who believed in poverty or believe they shouldn't have things. And so they were always aspiring. They actually would raise their children with a belief system that you were created to be rich. That's also one reason why they receive so much persecution worldwide, because anywhere they go in the world, they prosper. And it is because of the blessing of Abraham, but it's also because of a mindset. So these are Jewish people and they're astonished, of course, because they've never been taught to be poor. Tom Hanks That's right. So the disciples were astonished at his words. Now, here is right after that phrase in verse 24, the last half, very key to understand this whole true happening in scripture, Jesus' interaction with the rich young ruler. He clarified. First, he said, how hard is it for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God? And that doesn't mean he didn't mean what he said. Obviously, when you have things, you can be focused on those things. So it would appear that it is harder because you have to be willing to lay everything down at the feet of Jesus. And you need, as a Christian, not only to be a tither and a giver, but we need to be, as we read in Timothy, ready to distribute. Not just once in a while, but where our lifestyle is a lifestyle of giving. Now, it doesn't mean we're just liquidating everything we have, but we're living sensitive to God. So here's where he brings clarification. And again, the question was, what do I do to inherit eternal life? Well, you put your trust in God. You put your trust in Jesus. And he said to them, or he said, yeah, he said to them, children. So he's clarifying because they misinterpreted what he said. That's why they were astonished because they were, I believe they were well off. And we'll talk about that later. Was Jesus poor? That's another subject, but we can talk about that, but not today because we don't have time to talk about it today. So the disciples were astonished at his words. And he answered again and said to them, children, how hard is it? And he's using the same terminology before, how hard is it? How hard is it for those? Now, he said before, those who have riches. He's saying those who trust in riches. And if we think about it, Matthew 6, where we quote Matthew 6, 33 a lot, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all of these things will be added unto you. Well, earlier in Matthew 6, it talks about you cannot serve God and mammon. You cannot serve God and money. So what is that passage in Matthew 6? What is that talking about? People are either serving God or money. You cannot serve money and serve God. That's right. You can't trust in money and trust in God. Why did the rich young ruler, why did Jesus tell him to celebrate? One thing you lack, sell everything you have, liquidate your assets, give to the poor and follow me. Well, one, given it shall be given unto you. He wouldn't have just been poor the rest of his life if he gave everything away. God would have multiplied it back. But God was asking him to do something drastic because he had a stronghold in his life and he was putting his faith and his trust and his dependency on the wealth. That God had blessed him with. So the answer for him, plus he was called to travel with Jesus, was you're only lacking one thing. You've got to disconnect your trust in material things. Put your trust in God. And it says, and enter into the kingdom of God. You're transferring your trust into, and you know, even a lot of Christians, there's nothing wrong with saving for retirement. You ought to save for retirement because whatever the government provides is not going to be enough. And it's going to be less and less. And that's if it stays intact. But we don't get into fear and stop doing what the word says, stop being led by the spirit, stop being a giver, stop being generous so we can just blow up our retirement account and then retire and then just goof off and forget the local church, forget the kingdom of God. I'm not saying you can't retire. I'm not saying you can't even move, but you better make sure if you move out of state and you leave your church, this is a little side note here, but just because you've thought about it your entire life, some people, their life gets ruined when they retire or it gets ruined when they relocate to another part of the country. And again, not saying you can't, but you better be praying about it and seeking the Lord. Just like my wife and I, as far as I know, we're going to be here until Jesus comes. And if we have to be here, why shouldn't other people have to be here? Now, I'm not saying everyone has to, but if God said, I want you to go somewhere else, then we're going to go. But if God doesn't ever say another word. Well, because the purpose of our life is not to retire from working and then just live a life of ease until we die. But that's the American dream, which is a wrong dream. Our purpose is to live for Jesus and carry out his plan and his will while we have breath in us and strength in us. And I say this, that as we get older, we need to refire. And our youth is renewed like the eagles so that we can go the extra mile. You know, a lot of people, they work their whole lives like a slave to their job. They set all this money aside. And then after they retire and they get ready to just enjoy their life of leisure, some drastic thing happens where they don't even live their life out because their priority was wrong. And so I think this is so good because it's showing us the emphasis is always on the heart, not on the money. Right. And I think people that they get all riled up about money, they have to examine where their own heart is at because getting riled up is not a spiritual response to a scriptural teaching. And we do want to mention to you today that we've been talking on a subject that comes from my husband's book, Thou Shalt Not Lack. And this is available on Amazon. The link should be available in the description section. And you might want to get a copy of that because this book covers the subject in such a thorough manner that it refutes arguments. It brings up the what-ifs. What about this? What about that? In far more detail than we could do it just to sitting here today. We could talk about this really every day for an hour for a whole year and not exhaust the subject. So he said, children, how hard is it for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God? And it says, for it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. But I'm adding, I put it in my margin, one who's trusting in riches. And it says, and they were greatly astonished again, even though he's trying to bring some clarification amongst themselves. And here's what they said. Well, then who can be saved? Because they had that Jewish mindset. And think about it. In the old covenant, look at the patriarchs. They were not broke. They were blessed. I'm not saying they were perfect. They had plenty of flaws, but part, you know, we're not under the old covenant. We're under the new, but the new covenant is a better, a new covenant. A better covenant has better promises. And it's not based on the blood of bulls and goats. It's placed on the blood of Jesus Christ, the son of God, the lamb of God, which takes away the sins of the world. It's a new and better covenant. And it's better. I mean, we are the Abraham, the covenant God made with Abraham, which, you know, was the beginning of the Jewish people, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, you know, the sons of Jacob or sons of Israel, house of Jacob. That covenant, even though we're under the new, is still in effect in the new. Now, I'm almost getting ahead of myself, but, you know, Galatians 3 talks about that. But now let me, I want to finish this story. And they were astonished again. And then Jesus looked at them and said, with men it is impossible, but not with God, for with God, all things are possible. Then Peter began to say, Peter always has something to say. Well, we've left all. Now, see, someone say, well, see, that means they don't believe in prosperity because they left off. You know what? See, that's, God can cause you to leave things and leave the, let's say, leave the comforts of America to go to some other country that is less comfortable. I'm not saying prosperity means you always go for whatever gives me more comfort, whatever gives me more pleasure, whatever I want to do. Today is our day off. But we are here. Why are we here taping today? Well, we needed to do it today. Now, we- Because we put first the kingdom of God. Well, we do put first the kingdom of God. Now, we don't work every day, you know, every day off, but today we are. And then, so Peter said, but Lord, we, you know, kind of almost like, well, hey, we've left everything. And follow you. And Jesus answered, surely I say to you, there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, fathers, or mothers, or wife, children, or lands for my sake and the gospels. There's no inherent value of just giving up things unless it's for a purpose. Give up evil things. Give up things, you know, maybe they're not even evil. Maybe they're just a distraction in your life. And you, the Lord might lead you to just get rid of that hobby, sell that item, or lay it aside for a time until your life gets back in balance. I know when I went to Bible school, might seem like a minor thing, but I had a, you know, I played drums. I had a drum set. And it was, it was a, you know, important part of my life. But I felt like the Lord wanted me to sell that drum set. And this was when I was like 21 years old. Sell that drum set and not to be, not to have that, not to bring it to Bible school, just not because there's anything wrong with playing the drums. But for me, that was God's instruction for me to just get that out of my life. And then if I would have, you know, not been willing to do that, I had that prompting to do it. Well, see, then I'm, I'm attaching my affections to things more than, more than, you know, more than following God. So he's saying, hey, we've left everything. And then, and then Jesus said, there's no one who's left house, brothers, sisters, father, mother, wife, children, lands for my sake and the gospels who shall not receive a hundredfold. And then interesting thing. I know that's another controversial thing, but Jesus said this now in this time. Now, not all the accounts of this passage use the terminology now in this time. I was talking years ago, decades ago to a graduate of Wheaton College, who was the youth pastor at the Batavia Covenant Church is the name. Now it was back then it was called the Evangelical Covenant Church. That youth pastor, I was sharing this verse about the hundredfold. And he was saying, well, yeah, that's in heaven. And when I read this verse to him, it says now in this, in this time, I think King James says now in this present time, he just couldn't believe. Well, because it came against wrong thinking, the scriptures of God attacked the wrong thinking, and he got God's perspective and didn't know how to handle it. He couldn't believe it. And he said, so God said, you know, whatever you give up in obeying me. Now, this is not the wording that Jesus used, but this is in essence what he's saying. God is going to make it up. He's going to not only make it up, he's going to multiply it back to you. And, you know, and here's the thing to summarize all of this for today. This is the truth. This is the essence of what God's getting at is he wants his people blessed, but he wants us to do it his way. We have to have our all on the altar. We have to be willing to be led by the spirit. We have to be willing to obey the things he tells us to do. And then the blessing is for those that will follow him. And we're going to have to continue this along these lines in our next episode. But I just want to remind you again that everything we've talked about today and a whole lot more is in this book, Thou Shalt Not Lack. And you can get that on Amazon. So I think that we have given a whole lot today and we need to continue this next time. So we encourage you to tune in next time to hear more about the subject of God's prosperity for your life. Thanks for joining us. God bless you.