Spreading the Wealth!
Have you ever thought about what you would do if you struck it rich? Won the lottery, rich uncle died and left you a fortune? What would you do? Pay off bills, new home, new car, clothes?
Expression: ÒFROM RAGS TO RICHES.Ó
ThatÕs a common American expression, isnÕt it?
We know what it means---someone began life in virtual poverty and grew to become wealthy and/or successful.
They did on their own. They did it through sheer determination, ingenuity and hard work.
They are those who pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps.
Many people want to ÒLive THE AMERICAN DREAMÓ
What is the American Dream?
Freedom, wealth, new home, new car, nice family, comfortable life?
We can buy what we want, when we want, any quantity we want?
Are you living the American dream? Are you rich?
Boston Globe reported: WorldÕs average (mean) income is $7K; median is $1700
Please help me out by completing this sentence,
Compared to most people in the world, ÒI am rich, becauseÉ..Ó
Health? Family? Friends? Stuff? American? Educated? $$$? Investments? Real Gold, Silver in my SAFE?
Are you rich? Depends on the measuring stick doesnÕt it?
Church marqueeÕ: We are NOT rich because of what we own,
We are rich because of who owns us!
1 Timothy 6:17
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.
ÒRich, RichlyÓÉcomes from a Greek word- Òpla see ous Òwhich means incredible abundance,
extreme wealth, enormous affluence, great prosperity, immense riches, extravagant lavishness.
Paul to TimothyÉ GodÉ pours out on us incredible abundance, extravagant lavishness
Colossians 3:16-3:16
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
God pours out on us as incredible abundance, extreme wealth, enormous affluence, great prosperity, immense riches, and extravagant lavishness through His riches in Christ. What are we suppose to do with those riches? ÒTeaching and admonishing one another.Ó
Spread the wealth aroundÉletÕs do it!!!
Titus3:4-6
4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;;
Did you get it? He pours out on us incredible abundance, extravagant lavishness through Christ!
What is this lavishness?
2 Peter 1:11
11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
You may be thinking, ÒI am not worthy.Ó
ÒAll my righteousness is as filthy menstrual rags.Ó Isaiah
ÒI have sinned and come short of the glory of God.Ó
ÒI realize the wages of my sin in death.Ó
If you are, then you may be getting a little glimpse of this abundance we have in Christ.
So WHAT gives me this lavishness, this abundance, an entrance into this everlasting kingdom?
Romans 7:23-25
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
We are asking the wrong question. It is not WHAT gives me this lavishness, itÕs WHO!
The answer is Jesus the Christ!
Ephesians 1:1-14
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he[b] predestined us for adoption to sonship[c] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and willÑ 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of GodÕs grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding,
9 he[d] made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillmentÑto bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
11 In him we were also chosen,[e] having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.
13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are GodÕs possessionÑto the praise of his glory.
These blessings come from GRACE, MERCY, FORGIVENESS, BLOOD OF CHRIST,
HEARING AND BELIEVING THE ÒGOSPEL OF YOUR SALVATION.Ó
CANÕT EARN SPIRITUAL WEATH, CANÕT EARN SPIRITUAL RICHES,
DONÕT DESERVE IT, CAN EARN IT, ITÕS A GIFT.
Too good to be trueÉstarting to get a sense of what spiritual wealth is all about!
CAN YOU EARN A GIFT? Not at all.
Someone says, ÒI have a gift for you. ItÕs a hundred dollar bill. But first, you need to work for me for 8 hours and I will give you this gift.Ó Is the $100 bill a gift? No, it is earned.
THE ONLY THING YOU CAN DO WITH A TRUE GIFT IS ACCEPT IT.
Just read, all spiritual blessings are IN CHRIST!
Continue with just a smattering of some of the scriptures in the NT about being in Christ!
Acts 24:24
Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus.
Romans 6:11
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
1 Corinthians 1:4 I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.
1 Corinthians 1:30
It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from GodÑthat is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
1 Corinthians 15:22
For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
2 Corinthians 2:14
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
Ephesians 1:3
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
Ephesians 1:9
And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,
Ephesians 2:7
in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:10
For we are GodÕs workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:13
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
Ephesians 3:11
according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Ephesians 3:21
to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Philippians 3:14
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Colossians 2:9
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,
1 Thessalonians 4:16
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud
command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in
Christ will rise first.
1 Timothy 1:14
The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
2 Timothy 1:13
What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus.
2 Timothy 2:10
Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
Philemon 1:6
I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.
Hebrews 3:14
We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.
1 Peter 5:14
Greet one another with a kiss of love.
Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
WOW! So many blessings in Christ. So many promises for those who are in Christ.
Salvation
Eternal life
The Eternal Kingdom
Grace
All Spiritual blessings
A full understanding
The Holy Spirit
Life is in Christ
The most important question you can be asking is, ÒHow do I get into Christ?Ó
Galatians 3:25-28
25 Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law
26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
28
There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Talk about The ETERNAL dream which Peter sums up in 2 Peter 1:11,
11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Talk about being RICH!
Talk about SPIRITUAL WEALTH
Spiritual wealth is compared to a treasure---Mt. 13.44-45
ÒSeek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and everything will be added to you as well.Ó
On Judgment Day no one is going to be comparing their retirement plans.
There are no U-HaulÕs behind hearses!
No one will be pulling loads of Gold and Silver bars behind them.
WonÕt need a thingÉbecause
Philippians 4:19
And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
ÒRich, Riches, RichlyÓÉcomes from a Greek word- Òpla see ous Òwhich means incredible abundance, extreme wealth, enormous affluence, great prosperity, immense riches, extravagant lavishness.
We were all so very poor in the sense thatÉ
¥ We lost the glory and dignity with which we were bornÉpurity
¥ We were enslaved to sinÉALL have sinned.
¥ We could not meet the demands of the LawÉ(Walk before me and be PERFECT)
¥ Our understanding was darkened, our future was bleak
¥ We were destitute, without hope
¥ Stay that way without JESUS
2 Corinthians 8:9
9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that though he was rich,
yet for your sakes he became poor,
so that you through his poverty might become rich.
SoÉwhen by faith we repent of our sins and invite Jesus Christ to be the Lord of our lives as we reenact his Death, Burial & Resurrection (Romans 6)
He makes us richÑrich in our spirits---rich in forgiveness, peace, joy, contentment, in a future in heaven.
RichÉincredible abundance, extreme wealth, enormous affluence, great prosperity, immense riches, extravagant lavishnessÉ.ALL IN THE SPIRITUAL REALM!
Conclusion:
In a little country village a doctor was noted for his kindness and charity.
After his death they found written across many of his accounts the doctorÕs scribblingÉ
ÒBill forgivenÑtoo poor to pay.Ó
Jesus offers to forgive our debt in full if we will admit that we are Òtoo poor to pay.Ó
There are many in our world today who are living well below the poverty level, spiritually.
They are homeless, destitute, without hope, without Christ.
Wealth beyond measure, for all eternity, is available to everyone.
ItÕs time to spread the wealth.
