"The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; 2 it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God." Isaiah 35:1-2 "Beauty, goodness, hope and joy are whispers of God from the Garden of Eden of what is to come." Tessa Morrell When anticipation of the Messiah fades things go awry in people's lives. It did for God's people in the Old Testament. They "fell asleep." They weren't living alert. The Oracle of Balaam: "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead[a] of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth. 18 Edom shall be dispossessed; Seir also, his enemies, shall be dispossessed. Israel is doing valiantly. 19 And one from Jacob shall exercise dominion and destroy the survivors of cities!” Numbers 24:17-19 God spoke through a pagan prophet! "Why do the nations rage[a] and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” 7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you." Psalm 2:1-7 God spoke through a king! What are we anticipating? “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard, keep awake.[a] For you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants[b] in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows,[c] or in the morning-- 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.” Mark 13:32-37 We should be living in anticipation of Jesus Christ's return as the Warrior King! How Do We Do This? Stay awake! You've got things to do for the King! 11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in[a] blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule[b] them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty." Revelation 19:11-15 "7 Be patient, therefore, brothers,[a] until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand." James 5:7-8 Establish your Heart -- you are 100% ready! Rooted deep in Jesus! Establish it in: Mercy: "3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." 1 Peter 1:3-5 Belief: "6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls." 1 Peter 1:6-9 Longing: "18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God." Romans 8:18-21 All of Creation is anticipating the return of Christ! Hope: "23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." Romans 8:23-25 Live like today is the day Christ will return! "He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. 2 And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ 3 And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ 5 So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He said, ‘A hundred measures[a] of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures[b] of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8 The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world[c] are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light." Luke 16:1-8 This is a strange parable on the surface. Why would Jesus have a crooked manager as the subject of this parable? What are we to learn? First, he is telling us something about the use of money. When the manager had the clients lower their bills, this was very possibly where he had already overcharged them (and he would have pocketed the excess). They thought he was doing them a favor when in fact he was just correcting the books. By doing this he was covering his tracks. The boss still fired him but he now couldn't take him to court. Neither could the clients for overcharging them. The audience Jesus is speaking to is a diverse audience: "Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” Luke 15:1-2 Tax collectors, sinners, pharisees and scribes were listening to this parable. All had different perspectives. So, what is being shrewd about? "He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. 2 And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’" Luke 16:1-2 This guy no longer had a future. He figured out how to make it right on both sides -- for clients and boss. 8 The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world[a] are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth,[b] so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. 10 “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much." Luke 16:8-10 "unrighteous wealth" just refers to money -- as in earthly wealth (as opposed to heavenly wealth). Make friends with the money/the resources you have. The people we affect by our generosity we will see a return on it in heaven. Everything we have is from God. Are we using all the stuff he gives us for His purposes or for our own. What are we called to be? Fishers of Men -- "17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”[a]" mark 1:17 Our goal is not to increase ourselves/business etc -- but our goal is supposed to be to increase the kingdom. 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’" Matthew 25:24-25 How many of us are burying our gifts and stuff -- hoarding it in fear? We are called to be wise managers of God's stuff (which includes everything we have). The first Christians took care of each other -- gave what they had. The Israelites had to be taught how to give. Am I using what I have to do what I can for Jesus? We must not allow our hearts to be stingy. Give not expecting a return. Give with abandon. Don't be stingy. 9 Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your eye look grudgingly[a] on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the Lord against you, and you be guilty of sin. 10 You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake." Deueronomy 15:9-10 Give for the kingdom. "Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; 10 then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine." Proverbs 3:9-10 Naturally we are stingy and greedy. You gotta get over this. Don't worry about the little things. You can't outgive God. This is the one area God tells us to test Him in. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need." Malachi 3:10 GIve with a generous heart. We do the kingdom work -- God will take care of all the details of the practical life. Where is your treasure? |
Shannon HinrichsDupree Baptist Church Pastor If you would like to donate to this ministry, send your donation via check or money order to Dupree Baptist Church PO Box 372 Faith, SD 57626 Thank you!! All donations are tax deductible.
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