KNOW YOUR CURRENCY?
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
WILL YOU TRADE THAT FOR THIS?
LIFE HAS A WAY OF BREAKING OUR HEARTS, CRUSHING OUR SPIRITS, ANDIT CAN BECOME VERY HEAVY.
DID YOU KNOW THE ENEMY HAS A PLAN TO BREAK YOU?
Matthew 24:43 But know this, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
I always wanted to be a COWBOY. I love horses… Have you ever seen the Clydesdales? Appaloosa? Arabian? Morgan? Tennessee Walking horses? I love horses. One hot day, I was riding a horse bareback years ago. We came to the river and stopped. The horse started drinking water out of the river. Might I add I was BAPTIZED again.
I was watching TV. This wild, independent horse was so beautiful. The wild horse seemed to enjoy his freedom. Until one day a cowboy captures the horse and puts the wild horse in a pen. Then later into a barn stable. The wild horse gradually gets used to humans being around. One day the cowboy ties a rope around the horse’s neck and the horse gets angry and runs and jumps. They leave the rope on the horse several days until he gradually accepts it. One day the cowboy gets the rope and leads the horse into a fenced area. Again the horse gets angry and jumps and kicks, but the cowboy patiently works and feeds the horse. A few days of being lead around and then the cowboy carefully places a saddle on the horse. Wow, the horse bucks and kicks and tries to break free but the horse is tied to a pole. They leave the saddle on the horse several hours. He grows adjusted to that. So several days in a row they saddle the horse while he is tied up. Then they will let the horse walk around with the saddle on its back and the horse quits kicking and bucking and accepts the saddle.
You know what comes next? The cowboy saddles the horse with little resistance. He then walks around with the horse all bridled up and the cowboy places his foot in the stir-up and the cowboy tries riding the horse. The horse is very angry and bucks and kicks and throws the cowboy off. Now the cowboy knows he has to get in the saddle again, and again. Finally the horse accepts this as a way of new life. THEY BROKE THE HORSE. THEY BROKE THE HORSE’S SPIRIT. THEY BROKE THE WILD, FREE HORSE …
SOME ARE FREELY BROKEN BY CHOICE?
I remember the Lone Ranger and his horse: SILVER. The story goes something like this SILVER WAS A WILD HORSE ROAMING THE PLAINS. THE LONE RANGER SAVED SILVER FROM A HUGE ANGRY BUFFALO. So Silver was so thankful, he made the choice to GIVE UP HIS WILD LIFE TO CARRY THE LONE RANGER.
Jesus loves us so much, that he came and was broken for us.
1 Corinthians 11:24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
BROKEN AND SPILLED OUT … NOT BY ACCIDENT BUT BY SUBMITTING VOLUNTARILY TO GOD’S PLAN.
We give ourselves because we desire to, we come to God by choice. We come to God intentionally. We consent by
choice. We must understand life is not like Burger King, have it your way.
Mark 14:3 And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.
WILL YOU TRADE THAT FOR THIS? PRICE--- VALUE --- WORTH--- LOVE GIVES --- LOVE DOES NOT ALWAYS COUNT BY LOGIC.
Mark 8:35 (MSG) Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. 36 What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? 37 What could you ever trade your soul for?
Mark 8:35 (KJV) For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. 36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
WHAT IS MY VALUE SYSTEM? DO I UNDERSTAND PENNY, NICKEL, DIME, QUARTER, HALF-DOLLAR, DOLLAR, 5 DOLLARS, 10, 20, 100? NO, I AM NOT TALKING MONEY, I AM TALKING ABOUT SPIRITUAL VALUE…
A little child does not understand value? A coin is worth as much as green?
Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Few humans understand temporal verses eternal. We build sand castles on the sea shore and when the high tide comes in, all the work is lost.
Matthew 7:26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
WHAT CURRENCY WILL WE ACCEPT AS OUR VALUE SYSTEM… FOR WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING? WHAT ARE YOU EXPECTING?
CURRENCY: the money that a country uses, the quality or state that is being used and accepted by many people.
Value of something exchanged...
When I was in Haiti no one wanted Haitian money not even the Haitians. They wanted USA dollars. There were brightly painted little booths where people bought New York Lottery Tickets. I always wondered did the people really buy a lottery ticket or was that person just selling nothing. There were booths set up where men would come and buy a shot of whiskey. Men would squat and place money in a ring and gamble or fight chickens. Outside the government building stood a businessman in the shade. He had a TV tray and 3 packs of cigarettes, differing brands, and the workers would come out and buy one cigarette and smoke it and go back to work. Seems they could not afford to buy a pack at a time.
There were men that stood in certain places that exchanged money. The leader of the church would take our money and exchange it for Haitian money. I gave him $40 and he came back with a whole stack of Haitian money. It looked like MONOPOLY MONEY. Their money was called GOURDE. A ONE GOURDE is worth about 1 cent, maybe about 1.4 cents. So a two gourde is worth about 3 cents, a $5 Gourde is worth about 15 cents, a $10 Gourde is worth about 30 cents, a $25 Gourde is worth about 75 cents, A $50 Gourde is worth around $1.50, a 100 Gourde is worth about $3.00. So $40 USA dollars would get you roughly $1,333 Gourdes. I felt like a rich man with $1,333 Gourdes. My pockets were full. Again nobody wanted Gourdes they wanted dollars.
It cost $75 (USA) and 100 Gourdes tax to fly out of Haiti. I want you to know, I hid several $75 in different places. There was no way I wanted to stay trapped in Haiti. When I landed in Miami, I bought a cold coke. I went to the Money exchange booth to turn the Gourdes I had left over back to USA currency. The man in the booth laughed at me and he said: THAT IS WORTHLESS, ABSOLUTELY WORTHLESS. There was no exchange rate.
Some of my missionary friends would buy coffee bean necklaces 5 cents apiece and in their USA travels would sell them for $10 and keep the money? Wow?
We must understand VALUE, WORTH, PRICE? DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS GOURDE COST ME? All my clothes? Tickets?
WHAT ABOUT YOUR ATTITUDE
2 Corinthians 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A COWBOY? I LIKE COWBOY STYLE LIVING? DRIVE THE CATTLE? USE A WHIP? YOU RIDE A HORSE… You brand your cattle.
What am I looking to receive? What am I expecting?
Blessed is the persons that expects to receive nothing, for he shall receive exactly what they expected.
DO I HAVE A VICTIM SPIRIT? NO ONE LIKES ME? I AM BULLIED?
A victim has been harmed, hurt, injured, robbed or even killed… a person that has been cheated or fooled, something unpleasant has harmed, adversity…
Matthew 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
I KNOW MY VALUE SYSTEM IS FROM OUT OF THIS WORLD… DO WE HAVE A VICTORS HEART? REMEMBER FROM WHERE WE HAVE COME…
Romans 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
A winner, one who defeats the enemy… conqueror, one that is successful in a struggle, overcomer…
To conquer means take control, to defeat, to take control, to overcome obstacles,
CONCLUSION: DO WE UNDERSTAND
**> GREATER THAN
**< LESS THAN
THE BOOMERANG OF LIFE… LET US DISCUSS ATTITUDE DETERMINES ALTITUDE?
I heard a story many years ago about TWO CERTAIN MEN THAT OWNED CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES. Both men were very successful and made millions of dollars. The one contractor was que sera, sera, what will be will be. He made huge money and he spent more money than he made. He had fancy cars, several fancy houses and borrowed thousands of dollars from the bank. He was satisfied to make enough money to make his payments. He would buy more and more on credit. He wasted thousands of dollars and gambled on a regular basis. He might win a fortune today and lose it all at the poker table the next night? But to everyone’s eyes he was successful and had it all.
The other contractor was very successful also. He had a nice home and a good car. He made mega bucks with his business. He was very careful where he invested his money. He spent his money wisely. He loved his family and he spent many hours with them. He saved his money and controlled his wants and desires in a balanced way.
One day the newspapers were delivered and the two successful men read a message from the President of the USA. There had been a PANIC and a RUN on the banks. Those in debt lost everything. People were jumping out of windows and killing themselves because everything was lost. The happy go lucky man was crushed. His friend loved him and they had been friends from school years. So the man that had invested cautiously and used wisdom had lost nothing. The crash never had any effect on him. The foolish man lost his home and cars, he was broken.
The man with good attitudes called his friend over and they cried together. He had lost it all and feared losing his family. They prayed together and the hardworking man explained to his friend. I have several acres over on the other side of town. I want you to design a big house and build it for me. Spare no expense, I want a fancy mansion. I will hire you and your crew to work for me daily and I will send a check every Friday until this market crash passes.
So the “unlucky man” designed and started building the mansion. He weekly ordered the material and they worked. He was faithfully paid every week. The good friend never went over to inspect the house. HE TOTALLY TRUSTED HIS FRIEND. He never asked to see the blueprints, or the building. So his friend noticed no one was holding him accountable, so he started fudging on the price of the wood and material. The boss never questioned him. He was getting paid and was stealing money by over pricing the material. Wow, what a fool he thought.
So after a few weeks the man thought, I WILL BUILD THIS MANSION OUT OF CARDBOARD AND PAINT IT REAL GOOD AND HE WILL NEVER KNOW. So for a little over two years the man worked and took his friend for all he could out of him.
The house was built as cheap and corner cutting as possible. Much of the inside of the house was card board stapled to 2 by 2’s. While everyone was suffering his friend took care of him.
After 2+ years the financial crisis was passed and his friend called him over to his house and the evil friend said: IT IS FINISHED. I NOW HAVE WORK. THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME. The evil man turned the keys over to his friend and said: HERE IS THE KEYS TO YOUR NEW HOUSE. His dear friend said: I DON’T NEED THAT HOUSE, I HAVE PLENTY. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU HAVE DONE FOR ME OVER THESE TWO YEARS. Wow, the lazy worker really felt bad. The man took the keys and cried. He said: YOU KNOW WHAT, SINCE YOU ARE SUCH A GOOD FRIEND AND HAVE WORKED SO HARD AND USED THE BEST MATERIALS… HERE, THE KEYS TO THE HOUSE, IT IS YOURS. THIS BRAND NEW HOUSE IS YOURS FREE OF CHARGE, I LOVE YOU AND MAY THIS HOUSE BECOME HOME TO YOUR FAMILY FOR MANY YEARS... YOU TALK ABOUT NOT UNDERSTANDING CURRENCY? Jesus has ask you “ BUILD THE HOUSE …”
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
