Untitled Sermon (5)

A FINANCIAL PROPHECY--ECONOMIC CHAOS

BY DR. DAVID JEREMIAH

CHAPTER 4

“NO ONE MAY BUY OR SELL EXCEPT ONE WHO HAS THE MARK OR THE NAME OF THE BEAST.” REV. 13:17

JOWAN OSTERLUND IS A PHYSICIAN IN SWEDEN WHO IMPLANTS MICROCHIPS INTO A PERSON’S SKIN THROUGH BIOHAX INTERNATIONAL. HE ESTIMATES THAT HE HAS CHIPPED MORE THAN 6,000 SWEDES DURING THE 6 YEARS HIS COMPANY HAS BEEN IN BUSINESS. SIMILAR CHIPS ARE INJECTED INTO PETS TO TRACK THEM. HUMAN MICROCHIPPING HAS A BROADER RANGE OF APPLICATIONS. WITH THE WAVE OF THE HAND USERS CAN TRANSFER FUNDS, OPEN DOORS OR LOG INTO COMPUTERS. IT OFFERS A WORLD WITHOUT KEYS, WALLETS,ETC. WHERE EVERYTHING IS ACCESSIBLE WITH JUST A TOUCH.

OF COURSE, IN THE WRONG HANDS IT COULD BE USED TO TRACK YOUR MOVEMENTS, REVEAL YOUR SECRETS AND INFORM A GOVERNMENT WHAT YOU ARE FEELING AND SAYING. ALL THIS STILL FRIGHTENS MOST OF THE WORLD BUT IT IS RAPIDLY SPREADING.

DOESN’T THIS REMIND YOU OF THE SCRIPTURE ABOVE? THIS EVOLVING BIOMETRIC CHIP TECHNOLOGY WILL SURELY HAPPEN DURING THE TRIBULATION BUT IS ALREADY IN PROGRESS. IT HAS APPEAL AND IS CONVENIENT TO A VERY BUSY WORLD.

INSTEAD OF BEING CAUTIOUS IT SEEMS OUR WORLD IS MOVING RAPIDLY TOWARD THIS INNOVATION DESPITE THE DANGERS IT HOLDS.

THE MOVE TOWARD ELECTRONIC FINANCES BEGAN IN THE EARLY 1900’S WHEN DEPARTMENT STORES AND A FEW GAS COMPANIES BEGAN ISSUING THEIR OWN PROPRIETARY CARDS. IN 1946 CHARGE-IT CARDS WERE INTRODUCED AND THE DINERS CLUB CARD SHOWED UP IN 1950. AMERICAN EXPRESS CAME ALONG IN 1958 AND FROM THERE IT EXPLODED.

TODAY MOST WORKERS RECEIVE THEIR SALARIES AS DIRECT DEPOSITS INTO THEIR BANK ACCOUNTS WHICH ARE ACCESSED THROUGH WEBSITES AND SMARTPHONE APPS. CASH AND CHECKS ARE BECOMING OBSOLETE. A GROWING NUMBER OF CHURCHES COLLECT TITHES THROUGH DIGITAL PLATFORMS. IN FACT THIS WAS CRUCIAL DURING THE SHUTDOWNS OF THE PANDEMIC.

NOW THERE IS THE RISE OF ALL-DIGITAL CURRENCIES KNOWN AS CRYPTOCURRENCIES. THEY ARE DECENTRALIZED AND DON’T HAVE A PHYSICAL FOUNDATION IN GOLD OR OTHER TANGIBLE ASSETS. THEY EXIST ENTIRELY IN THE WORLD OF CYBERSPACE. THEY ARE PRODUCED ONLINE, STORED ONLINE AND SPENT ONLINE. THERE ARE NOW MORE THAN 6500 CYPTOCURRENCIES CIRCULATING IN THE WORLD TODAY. THE MOST FAMOUS IS BITCOIN. MANY ARE EVEN DECLARING THE NEED FOR A CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCY WHICH WOULD BE GOVERNMENT BACKED AND DESIGNED TO BE THE LEGAL TENDER OF A NATION.

ALL THIS SEEMS MORE SINISTER THAN SPECTACULAR. THE IDEA OF GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS BEING ABLE TO ACCESS YOUR PERSONAL FINANCIAL RECORDS AND POSSIBLY BEING ABLE TO HACK, WITHDRAW OR FREEZE YOUR FUNDS IS TERRIFYING.

FOR MOST OF US THIS TECHNOLOGY IS STILL OUTSIDE OF OUR HAND, IN OUR SMARTPHONE. BUT IT’S ONLY 2 MILLIMETERS FROM WHERE OSTERLUND WOULD LIKE IT TO BE--UNDER OUR SKIN.

WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN FOR OUR FUTURE? AND IS A SIGN OF THE END TIMES? HOW DOES THIS AFFECT THE FOLLOWERS OF THE LAMB RIGHT NOW. LET’S TURN TO SOME SCRIPTURES FOR SOME ANSWERS.

I. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

MONEY WILL PLAY AN ESSENTIAL ROLE IN FUTURE EVENTS, INCLUDING THE END TIMES. BUT WE MUST BE CAREFUL ABOUT PREDICTING SPECIFIC THINGS ABOUT PEOPLE, PLACES AND EVENTS.

MONEY HAS ALWAYS BEEN IMPORTANT AS IT DRIVES OUR WORLD. SO WE CAN ASSUME MONEY WILL REMAIN IMPORTANT TO THE FUTURE. IT WILL DOMINATE OUR WORLD EVEN MORE IN DAYS TO COME.

THE BIBLE IS RICH WITH INFORMATION ON THIS TOPIC. THERE ARE AT LEAST THREE IMPORTANT FINANCIAL SIGNS OF THE END TIMES.

A. THE ADDICTION TO MONEY

MOST OF US WOULD BE ELATED IF SOMEONE OFFERED TO GIVE YOU $3.6 MILLION. BUT SAM POLK, A WALL STREET TRADER, WAS OFFERED THIS AMOUNT AS HIS YEARLY BONUS. HE WASN’T ELATED--HE WANTED $8 MILLION AND WAS ANGRY AT THE SMALLER OFFER. THE REASON HE WANTED MORE WAS THAT HE WAS ADDICTED TO MONEY. HE WAS 30 YEARS OLD, NO CHILDREN TO RAISE, NO DEBTS AND NO GOAL IN MIND FOR HIS LIFE. SO HE LEFT WALL STREET, STARTED A FAMILY AND LAUNCHED A BETTER LIFE FOR HIMSELF.

ONLY GOD KNOWS HOW MANY SAM POLKS THERE ARE IN THE WORLD--PEOPLE WHO ARE ADDICTED TO MONEY, WEALTH,POSSESSIONS AND POWER. THERE IS SOME SAM POLK IN ALL OF US BUT AN OVERRIDING LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST WILL KEEP US BALANCED.

HERE IS WHERE BIBLICAL PROPHECY COMES IN. ACCORDING TO SCRIPTURE, PEOPLE WILL BECOME INCREASINGLY GREEDY IN THE LAST DAYS. THE BIBLE SAYS: “BUT KNOW THIS, THAT IN THE LAST DAYS PERILOUS TIMES WILL COME: FOR MEN WILL BE...LOVERS OF MONEY.” 2 TIM. 3:1-2

WE MUST GRAPPLE WITH THIS PERSONALLY. PAUL SAID THE END TIMES WILL BE A PERIOD DEFINED BY REJECTING WHAT IS GOOD AND RUNNING TO EMBRACE WHAT IS EVIL, MUCH OF WHICH WILL BE CENTERED ON AN EVER-INCREASING APPETITE FOR MONEY.

THAT MATCHES WHAT PAUL HAD PREVIOUSLY WRITTEN TO TIMOTHY: “FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY IS A ROOT OF ALL KINDS OF EVIL, FOR WHICH SOME HAVE STRAYED FROM THE FAITH IN THEIR GREEDINESS, AND PIERCED THEMSELVES THROUGH WITH MANY SORROWS.” I TIM. 6:10

JOHN PIPER WROTE: GOD DEALS IN THE CURRENCY OF GRACE, NOT MONEY. MONEY IS THE CURRENCY OF HUMAN RESOURCE. SO THE HEART THAT LOVES MONEY IS A HEART THAT PINS ITS HOPES AND PURSUES ITS PLEASURES, AND PUTS ITS TRUST IN WHAT HUMAN RESOURCES CAN OFFER. SO THE LOVE OF MONEY IS VIRTUALLY THE SAME AS FAITH IN MONEY THAT IT WILL MEET YOUR NEEDS AND MAKE YOU HAPPY.

MANY PEOPLE TRY TO INSULATE THEMSELVES BEHIND A FORTRESS OF MATERIALISM. THEY WEAR MONEY ON THEIR SLEEVES SO OTHERS WILL THINK MORE HIGHLY OF THEM. THEY INVEST EVERYTHING IN WHAT IS TEMPORARY AND COMPLETELY IGNORE WHAT IS ETERNAL.

DON’T LET IT HAPPEN TO YOU. THIS IS OUR CULTURE, IT CANNOT BE OUR CHARACTER.

B. THE ACCELERATION OF INEQUALITY

NEAR THE BEGINNING OF THE TRIBULATION WE READ IN REV. 6, “WHEN HE OPENED THE THIRD SEAL, I HEARD THE THIRD LIVING CREATURE SAY, COME AND SEE. SO I LOOKED AND BEHOLD A BLACK HORSE AND HE WHO SAT ON IT HAD A PAIR OF SCALES IN HIS HAND. AND I HEARD A VOICE IN THE MIDST OF THE FOUR LIVING CREATURES SAYING, A QUART OF WHEAT FOR A DENARIUS AND THREE QUARTS OF BARLEY FOR A DENARIUS, AND DO NOT HARM THE OIL AND THE WINE.” REV. 6:5-6

THIS DESCRIBES THE THIRD SEAL OF JUDGMENT DURING THE TRIBULATION. IT PAINTS A PICTURE OF WORLD-WIDE FAMINE. RESOURCES WILL BE SPARCE FORCING MANY INTO POVERTY, HUNGER AND DESPAIR. IN THOSE DAYS A DENARIUS EQUALED A DAY’S WAGES. AND A QUART OF WHEAT WASN’T MUCH. NEITHER WAS THREE QUARTS OF BARLEY. THE NLT SAYS, “A LOAF OF WHEAT BREAD OR THREE LOAVES OF BARLEY WILL COST A DAY’S PAY. AND DON’T WASTE THE OLIVE OIL AND WINE.”

BASIC STAPLES WILL BE OUTRAGEOUSLY EXPENSIVE BUT NOT EVERYONE WILL BE AFFECTED EQUALLY. WHEAT AND BARLEY WERE FOOD FOR THE COMMON PEOPLE BUT OIL AND WINE WERE PRIMARILY RESERVED FOR THOSE WITH MORE RESOURCES.

IN SHORT, THE TRIBULATION WILL BE A PERIOD OF EXTREME ECONOMIC INEQUALITY. THE POOR WILL STRUGGLE WHILE THOSE WHO HOARDED GREAT AMOUNTS OF WEALTH FOR THEMSELVES WILL PROSPER.

AND CONTINUE TO LIVE IN A LUXURIOUS LIFESTYLE.

WE SEE THESE TENDENCIES TODAY BOTH IN THE U.S AND AROUND THE WORLD. ONE PERCENT OF THE WORLD’S CURRENT POPULATION OWNS ABOUT 44 PERCENT OF THE WORLD’S WEALTH. IN THE PAST 40 YEARS WAGES FOR AVERAGE WORKERS HAVE RISEN ABOUT 11 PERCENT WHILE WAGES FOR CEO’S HAVE RISEN 1,000 PERCENT. CEO’S EARN 278 TIMES WHAT THEIR EMPLOYEES EARN IN A GIVEN YEAR.

DURING COVID-19 WHILE MILLIONS OF AMERICANS LOST THEIR JOBS THE NET WORTH OF AMERICAN BILLIONAIRES ROSE 35 PERCENT. THE WEALTHIEST SAW THE BIGGEST PROFITS DURING THE CRISIS. JEFF BEZOS SAW HIS PERSONAL FORTUNE RISE $86 BILLION IN JUST OVER A YEAR TO BECOME THE FIRST PERSON IN THE WORLD TO BE WORTH MORE THAN $200 BILLION. THERE IS AN OLD SAYING, “THE RICH GET RICHER AND THE POOR GET POORER.” WE WILL SEE EVEN GREATER LEVELS OF INEQUALITY AS WE DRAW CLOSER TO THE TRIBULATION.

C. THE ADORATION OF THE ANTICHRIST

THE 20TH CENTURY WAS LITTERED WITH SOME OF THE WORST DECEIVERS AND CULTISTS IN HISTORY--JIM JONES, DAVID KORESH, CHARLES MANSON AND MARSHALL APPLEWHITE.

A RECENT EXAMPLE IS KEITH RANIERE, LEADER OF NXIVM CULT IN NEW YORK. IT WAS BRANDED AS A SELF-HELP ORGANIZATION TO RAISE HUMAN AWARENESS AND CELEBRATE WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HUMAN. BEGINNING IN THE 1990’S HIS SEMINARS REACHED 18,000 PEOPLE AND BROUGHT IN TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. BUT BELOW THE SURFACE HIS ENABLERS PLAYED A MORE SINISTER GAME. THEY USED THEIR SEMINARS TO IDENTIFY VULNERABLE WOMEN--SOME AS YOUNG AS 15--WHO WERE DESPERATE FOR CONNECTION AND HEALING. RANIERE WAS A SEXUAL PREDATOR WHO TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THESE WOMEN EMOTIONALLY, FINANCIALLY AND PHYSICALLY. HE EVEN BRANDED HIS OWN INITIALS IN THE WOMENS’ SKIN.

THE CULT WAS EVENTUALLY DISCOVERED AND HE WAS SENTENCED TO 120 YEARS IN PRISON.

THESE CULT LEADERS FORESHADOW THE INTENSE ADORATION PEOPLE WILL FEEL FOR THE ANTICHRIST AND HIS MINIONS DURING THE TRIBULATION. THE MAN OF LAWLESSNESS WILL BE THE PERSONIFICATION OF CHARISMA. PEOPLE WILL DO ANYTHING FOR A GLIMPSE OF HIM.

THE BIBLE GIVES A CLEARER GLIMPSE OF HIM. REV. 13 CALLS HIM “A BEAST” RISING UP OUT OF THE SEA. REV. 13:1 THIS DICTATOR WILL RULE THE WORLD DURING THE LAST DAYS. HE WILL NOT BE ALONE. JOHN SAW A SECOND “BEAST”, THIS ONE COMING UP OUT OF THE EARTH...THE FALSE PROPHET. HE WILL HAVE ONE SUPREME DUTY--TO POINT HUMANITY TOWARD THE ANTICHRIST. HE WILL BE A TWISTED INVERSION OF HOW THE HOLY SPIRIT POINTS PEOPLE TOWARD JESUS CHRIST. THE ANTICHRIST WILL BE THE POLITICAL LEADER AND THE FALSE PROPHET HIS SPIRITUAL AND ECONOMIC LEADER. THE FALSE PROPHET WILL BRING THE ANTICHRIST BACK TO LIFE AFTER A MORTAL WOUND AND ENABLE HIM TO SPEAK. HE WILL ALSO LEAD PEOPLE INTO THE WORSHIP OF THE ANTICHRIST. HIS INFLUENCE WILL BE SUPERNATURAL AND DEMONIC.

CONSIDER THE FALSE PROPHET’S ECONOMIC POWER: “HE CAUSES ALL, BOTH SMALL AND GREAT,RICH AND POOR, FREE AND SLAVE, TO RECEIVE A MARK ON THEIR RIGHT HAND OR ON THEIR FOREHEADS, AND THAT NO ONE MAY BUY OR SELL EXCEPT ONE WHO HAS THE MARK OR THE NAME OF THE BEAST OR THE NUMBER OF HIS NAME. HERE IS WISDOM. LET HIM WHO HAS UNDERSTANDING CALCULATE THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST, FOR IT IS THE NUMBER OF A MAN: HIS NUMBER IS 666.” REV. 13:16-18 ECONOMIC ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITY WILL VANISH FOR ANYONE RESISTING THE ANTICHRIST AND THE FALSE PROPHET.

WHAT WILL THIS MARK BE? COULD IT BE A MICROCHIP?

THE BACKGROUND OF THE MARK WAS MEANINGFUL TO JOHN AND THE EARLIEST CHRISTIANS. IN THE GREEK THE WORD MARK WAS CHARAGMA. IT WAS ALWAYS USED WITH THE EMPEROR OF ROME AND THE YEAR OF HIS REIGN. IT WAS NECESSARY FOR BUYING AND SELLING AND WAS AFFIXED TO ALL KINDS OF DOCUMENTS AS AN OFFICIAL SEAL. IN A SIMILAR WAY, THE MARK OF THE BEAST WAS SOMEONE WHO SUBMITTED TO HIS RULE.

EVEN MORE FRIGHTENING, SATAN AND ANTICHRIST WILL CREATE A UNION BETWEEN RELIGION AND ECONOMICS DURING THE TRIBULATION. THERE WILL BE NO ROOM FOR FREEDOM OF WORSHIP. NO FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION OR IDEAS, NO FREEDOM OF CHOICE. THE WHOLE WORLD WILL BE FORCED INTO A CULT WITH THE ANTICHRIST AT THE TOP AND THE FALSE PROPHET BY HIS SIDE. THEIR LAW WILL BE “WORSHIP ME OR DIE.”

II. WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

WE ARE EXPLORING FUTURE EVENTS THAT WILL BE TERRIBLE. WE CAN ALREADY SEE THE OUTER WAVES OF THE COMING STORM. TECHNOLOGY ALREADY EXISTS THAT MAY MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR THE ECONOMIC AND RELIGIOUS UNION OF THE BEAST. ADDICTION TO MONEY IS ALREADY A PROBLEM. THE CULTURE IS READY FOR A CULT-LIKE FIGURE TO EMERGE.

FEAR IS NOT OUR ONLY OPTION. AS A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD, A CHOSEN MEMBER OF HIS KINGDOM, HIS DISCIPLE AND HIS FRIEND. YOU ARE PART OF THE FAMILY DEDICATED TO CHANGING THE WORLD THROUGH THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST.

YOU CAN RESPOND TO APOCALYPTIC DANGER WITH EMPHATIC DETERMINATION AND TIMELY WISDOM.. HERE’S HOW:

A. DETERMINE TO COUNT THE COST

ONE OF THE WORLD’S BEST ATHLETES, ALEX HONNOLD, ON JUNE 3, 2017, DECIDED TO CLIMB THE EL CAPITAN IN CALIFORNIA’S YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK. IT IS A 3,000 FOOT HIGH WALL OF GRANITE IN THE YOSEMITE VALLEY TALLER THAN ANY SKYSCRAPER ON EARTH. HE CHOSE TO DO IT “FREE SOLO”--NO ROPES,NO SAFETY HARNESS, NO ANCHORS. HIS ONLY TOOLS WERE HIS HANDS AND FEET AND A SINGLE BAG OF CHALK. THE CLIMB TOOK NEARLY 4 HOURS, BUT WHEN HE REACHED THE SUMMIT, HE MADE HISTORY.

ALEX DID NOT APPROACH THE CLIMB WITHOUT YEARS OF PREPARATION AND PRACTICE. HE HAD TO OVERCOME HIS OWN FEAR TO DO IT. THE ONE LESSON HE TOOK FROM IT WAS PREPARATION AND PUTTING IN THE WORK--NOT BEING STOPPED BY SOMETHING THAT SEEMED IMPOSSIBLE. HE COUNTED THE COST BEFORE HE PUT HIS LIFE ON THE LINE.

JESUS ADVISED HIS FOLLOWERS TO DO THE SAME:

“FOR WHICH OF YOU, INTENDING TO BUILD A TOWER, DOES NOT SIT DOWN FIRST AND COUNT THE COST, WHETHER HE HAS ENOUGH TO FINISH IT--LEST, AFTER HE HAS LAID THE FOUNDATION, AND IS NOT ABLE TO FINISH, ALL WHO SEE IT BEGIN TO MOCK HM, SAYING, “THIS MAN BEGAN TO BUILD AND WAS NOT ABLE TO FINISH?” SO LIKEWISE, WHOEVER OF YOU DOES NOT FORSAKE ALL THAT HE HAS CANNOT BE MY DISCIPLE.” LUKE 14:28-30,33

FOLLOWING JESUS CARRIES A COST. MANY HAVE PAID WITH THEIR LIVES, REPUTATIONS, CONVENIENCE, RELATIONSHIPS, FREEDOM AND EVEN HEALTH AND WEALTH. WHEN CHRIST IS EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING ELSE IS NOTHING IN COMPARISON.

MANY OF US HAVE PAID A MINIMAL COST BUT AS THE END NEARS IT MAY BECOME MORE COSTLY TO PROCLAIM THE NAME OF JESUS--MAYBE EVERYTHING.

TO COUNT THE COST, PLACE ON ONE SIDE OF THE SCALE ALL THE TRAPPINGS OF THE AMERICAN DREAM--RICHES, POSSESSIONS, COMFORT, CAREER, ETC. ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SCALE PLACE THE INCREDIBLE, UNTHINKABLE BLESSING OF ETERNAL LIFE IN THE PRESENCE OF OUR SAVIOR. WE SURELY CAN SAY WITH PAUL,”OH, THE DEPTH OF THE RICHES BOTH OF THE WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE OF GOD.” ROM. 11:33

B. DETERMINE TO BE CONFIDENT

THE WONDERFUL NEWS ABOUT LIVING FOR JESUS IS NOT ONLY CAN WE EXPERIENCE THE RICHES OF THE WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, WE CAN ALSO FEEL CONFIDENT IN THE REALITY OF GOD’S PRESENCE RIGHT NOW. NO MATTER WHAT COST WE MAY PAY TO FOLLOW CHRIST, WE WILL NEVER SACRIFICE OUR CONNECTION TO HIM. THE AUTHOR OF HEBREWS SAYS, “FOR HE HIMSELF HAS SAID, “I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU. SO WE MAY BOLDLY SAY: THE LORD IS MY HELPER; I WILL NOT FEAR. WHAT CAN MAN DO TO ME?” HEB. 13:5-6

NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS IN YOUR LIFE, GOD WILL ALWAYS BE THERE. HE WILL NEVER ABANDON YOU. YOU CAN DECLARE YOUR CONFIDENCE IN GOD AND IN HIM ALONE. HE IS YOUR HELPER, YOUR SUSTAINER, AND YOUR PROVIDER. HE WILL ALWAYS BE THERE.

THE CONFIDENT CHRISTIAN KNOWS HOW HE STANDS IN A PLACE OF SECURITY. HE CANNOT BE TOUCHED BY ANYTHING THE LORD DOES NOT ALLOW. HE KNOWS GOD IS ENOUGH FOR ANY AND EVERY SITUATION HE MIGHT EVER FACE.

DAVID SAID,”THE LORD IS MY LIGHT AND MY SALVATION, WHOM SHALL I FEAR? THE LORD IS THE STRENGTH OF MY LIFE; OF WHOM SHALL I BE AFRAID?” PS. 27:1

SINCE WE HAVE THE LORD, WE CAN NEVER BE LEFT WITHOUT A FRIEND OR A TREASURE OR A DWELLING PLACE. THIS SHOULD HELP US FEEL INDEPENDENT OF HUMANITY AND ALL ITS SCHEMES. WHEN WE STAND IN AWE OF THE LIVING LORD,THE LYING WORLD LOSES ITS POWER ON US.

DON’T SETTLE FOR ANYTHING LESS THAN THE RICHES OF GOD’S GOODNESS, LOVE, MERCY, AND PROVISION,WHICH HE CAN POUR INTO YOUR LIFE LIKE RIVERS FROM HEAVEN. MAKE UP YOUR MIND TO BE CONFIDENT IN GOD, FOR THE BIBLE SAYS, “IN QUIETNESS AND CONFIDENCE SHALL BE YOUR STRENGTH.” ISA. 30:15

C. DETERMINE TO BE CONTENT

WE CAN BE CONTENT WITH WHAT WE HAVE. THE WORSHIP OF WEALTH WILL ACCELERATE BUT THE BIBLE CAN KEEP US FROM YIELDING TO THESE PRESSURES. ON THE AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE WE CAN DISTANCE OURSELVES FROM A MATERIALISTIC LIFESTYLE BY DEVELOPING ONE, SIMPLE BIBLICAL ATTITUDE: CONTENTMENT.

“LET YOUR CONDUCT BE WITHOUT COVETOUSNESS; BE CONTENT WITH SUCH THINGS AS YOU HAVE.” HEB. 13:5

“HE WHO LOVES SILVER WILL NOT BE SATISFIED WITH SILVER; NOR HE WHO LOVES ABUNDANCE, WITH INCREASE. THIS ALSO IS VANITY.” ECC. 5:10

COVETOUSNESS IS SUBTLE BECAUSE IT’S A CONDITION WITHIN OUR MINDS. IT’S THE INVISIBLE VIOLATION THAT NO ONE ELSE SEES. YOU CAN HAVE YOUR ACT TOGETHER ON THE OUTSIDE, BUT INSIDE YOU CAN BE BEING CONSUMED BY THE DESIRE TO HAVE WHAT SOMEONE ELSE HAS. IF NOT CHECKED IT WILL EVENTUALLY MANIFEST ITSELF EXTERNALLY.

CHRISTIAN CONTENTMENT IS THE GOD-GIVEN ABILITY TO BE SATISFIED WITH THE LOVING PROVISION OF GOD IN ANY AND EVERY SITUATION. CONTENTMENT IS SOMETHING WE LEARN. PAUL SAID, “NOT THAT I SPEAK IN REGARD TO NEED, FOR I HAVE LEARNED IN WHATEVER STATE I AM, TO BE CONTENT: I KNOW HOW TO BE ABASED, AND I KNOW HOW TO ABOUND. EVERYWHERE AND IN ALL THINGS I HAVE LEARNED BOTH TO BE FULL AND TO BE HUNGRY; BOTH TO ABOUND AND TO SUFFER NEED. I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME.” PHIL 4:11-13

PAUL WASN’T BORN A SAINT. INSTEAD, HE LEARNED THROUGH EXPERIENCE. HE LEARNED TO VALUE HIS CONNECTION TO CHRIST RATHER THAN TO THE WORLD.

SAM POLK WHO WAS ON WALL STREET GAVE THAT UP BECAUSE NO AMOUNT OF MONEY COULD FILL THE HOLE INSIDE HIM. HE SAW THE DANGER OF WHAT HE WAS BECOMING AND LET GO OF HIS PRECIOUS MONEY IN ORDER TO FIND FREEDOM. HE LATER FOUNDED A NOT-FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATION CALLED GROCERYSHIPS, WHICH ALLOWED HIM TO PROVIDE HEALTHY FOOD AND A PLAN TO ESCAPE FROM OBESITY FOR RESIDENTS OF IMPOVERISHED NEIGHBORHOODS.

YOU CAN TAKE THE WORLD, BUT GIVE ME JESUS.