Kingdom Economics Worship
Kingdom Economics • Sermon • Submitted
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God is provider joke
Every morning the lady would go out on the porch and she would exclaim “Praise the Lord”
Atheist lived next door and would shout there is not a God
(Repeat)
One morning she needed groceries and she went to the front porch and she praise the Lord. I need groceries
Atheist bought the groceries
Atheist laughs and says I told you that there was not a God
Lady shouts thank you Jesus for the groceries and you even made the devil pay for them!
This morning we take a look at the Kingdom of God. Jesus prayed in His model prayer Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Our desire is to reveal the Kingdom of Heaven here on Earth.
A Kingdom principle is that God is the provider of all things. Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father above.
Let’s take a look at Kingdom Economics this morning
Economics:
The science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of commodities
Commodities:
a raw material or primary agricultural product that can be bought and sold, such as copper or coffee
The History of the economy of Rockaway Beach...
1913-1958
1958 Table Rock Dam
1965 Riot (Rick Reding)
1965-2005 Rick said this place used to be pretty bad
The economy the science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of commodities had struggled and some might even say it had failed.
2005 Casino (Planting of Bridge of Faith)
Neighbor who lived here before me. Said homes are doing what they should be in our town and it is a big thanks to the church.
This church has viewed the failure of the economy of Rockaway Beach as an opportunity to make the name of Jesus great.
You all have seen this as an opportunity to institute and new way of economics and to lead the way in the present and in the future.
Circulate a dollar 3 times (3 people)
People continue to open their hearts to the Good News of Jesus because of God restoring the economics to a way of the Kingdom. God has used this restoration of Economics to restore callous hearts back unto Himself.
1 Kings 18 we see the Lord moving in the Economics to declare that he alone is Lord and the provider of all things.
20 So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and gathered the prophets at Mount Carmel.
21 Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If Yahweh is God, follow Him. But if Baal, follow him.” But the people didn’t answer him a word.
22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I am the only remaining prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men.
23 Let two bulls be given to us. They are to choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and place it on the wood but not light the fire. I will prepare the other bull and place it on the wood but not light the fire.
24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of Yahweh. The God who answers with fire, He is God.” All the people answered, “That sounds good.”
So how does this passage tie into Biblical Economics?
To understand the economics of the passage we must look at some things that are happening in the passage.
Several Kings have reigned over Israel and then we meet King Ahab and scripture tells us he did evil in the Lord’s sight more than all who were before him.
30 But Ahab son of Omri did what was evil in the Lord’s sight more than all who were before him.
31 Then, as if following the sin of Jeroboam son of Nebat were a trivial matter, he married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and then proceeded to serve Baal and worship him.
32 He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he had built in Samaria.
33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
We must understand a little about this god little “g” Baal in order to understand the economics of the passage.
Baal
Was said to appoint the season of rains
Clouds were thought to be his entourage
Lightening was his weapon and thought to be his invention
The windows of Baal’s palace were thought to correspond with the clouds in which the rain would pour through. When the clouds would open up it was as if the Baal’s palace windows were opening to bring rain
He was thought to be the god of fertility
Baal’s battles that he supposedly fought and won causes him to rank first
Asherah
She who treads on the Sea
She is the partner of Baal
Notice the connection of these two as we continue to move forward in this passage. They both are associated with water. This is important when we look at the economics of this passage.
So we need to think about the importance of water when it comes to producing crops and agriculture. They did not have a Wal-Mart during this time period in which their produce came from. They had to have someone producing it. Just like we have to have someone producing it. In order to produce the food they had to have water. They could not run out and turn on the spigot to get water. The water that caused the food to grow was rain. They did not have huge irrigation systems in order to grow the food.
So we ask ourselves what is going on economically at this point?
We don’t have a lot of indicators to this point. We do know that the Lord is about to impact the economics in just a moment, but we don’t have anything telling us that it is bad or drought or anything else. So perhaps things are ok and they are worshipping Baal and Asherah as a result of what is happening in their economics.
The Economy or science that deals with consumption, production and distribution of products or food relied heavily on water. Now check out what happens in chapter 17.
1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, from the Gilead settlers, said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, I stand before Him, and there will be no dew or rain during these years except by my command!”
2 Then a revelation from the Lord came to him:
They are worshipping the god that supposedly brings the rain and God big “G” says I will not let it rain except by my command
The Lord feeds Elijah by ravens bringing him bread and meat in the morning and in the evening and he drank from the wadi.
7 After a while, the wadi dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
Verses 8 through 16 the Lord uses the widow to provide for Elijah.
12 But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I don’t have anything baked—only a handful of flour in the jar and a bit of oil in the jug. Just now, I am gathering a couple of sticks in order to go prepare it for myself and my son so we can eat it and die.”
14 for this is what the Lord God of Israel says, ‘The flour jar will not become empty and the oil jug will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the surface of the land.”
The flour jar did not become empty and the oil jug did not run dry.
1 After a long time, the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year: “Go and present yourself to Ahab. I will send rain on the surface of the land.”
2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria.
Now what is happening to the economics in this passage?
Scripture tells us there was a famine. The production, distribution, and consumption of products had dried up. There was nothing to produce, distribute or consume. The lack of rain was affecting the economics and everyone was facing the consequences from it.
Elijah risk his life being obedient to the Lord by presenting himself to Ahab. Obadiah is a man who greatly fears the Lord and in charge of the Kings palace.
He has hid the Lord’s prophets from the Kings wife Jezebel who slaughtered the Lord’s prophets.
Elijah meets with Obadiah and tells him to go tell the king that Elijah wants to meet him and Obadiah questions Elijah on this and says what did I do that I should be killed. I will go tell him that you are here and then you will disappear and I will be killed because I told the king you was here.
The King’s response to Elijah
17 When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is that you, you destroyer of Israel?”
Elijah’s response
18 He replied, “I have not destroyed Israel, but you and your father’s house have, because you have abandoned the Lord’s commands and followed the Baals.
They call on Baal
26 So they took the bull that he gave them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “Baal, answer us!” But there was no sound; no one answered. Then they danced, hobbling around the altar they had made.
27 At noon Elijah mocked them. He said, “Shout loudly, for he’s a god! Maybe he’s thinking it over; maybe he has wandered away; or maybe he’s on the road. Perhaps he’s sleeping and will wake up!”
28 They shouted loudly, and cut themselves with knives and spears, according to their custom, until blood gushed over them.
29 All afternoon they kept on raving until the offering of the evening sacrifice, but there was no sound; no one answered, no one paid attention.
Elijah Repairs the Lord’s Alter
32 and he built an altar with the stones in the name of Yahweh. Then he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold about four gallons.
33 Next, he arranged the wood, cut up the bull, and placed it on the wood. He said, “Fill four water pots with water and pour it on the offering to be burned and on the wood.”
34 Then he said, “A second time!” and they did it a second time. And then he said, “A third time!” and they did it a third time.
35 So the water ran all around the altar; he even filled the trench with water.
36 At the time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and said, “Yahweh, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that at Your word I have done all these things.
37 Answer me, Lord! Answer me so that this people will know that You, Yahweh, are God and that You have turned their hearts back.”
38 Then Yahweh’s fire fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.
39 When all the people saw it, they fell facedown and said, “Yahweh, He is God! Yahweh, He is God!”
Worship is key when it comes to Biblical economics. Israel worshipped Baal because they thought it Baal could make the crops grow and keep the cows from getting sick. God used Elijah to dry up the economics in this chapter to show that it was God who has authority over water and it is God who makes the crops grow and provide for the birds of the air.
Jesus taught that money can become an idol of our worship in Matthew 6:24
24 “No one can be a slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot be slaves of God and of money.
Jesus commanded his disciples to worship God alone. Baal nor money provides security for us. You might think if I just had more money I would be all set. It is God who provides rain for the ground and money for us.
Jesus taught us how to avoid money becoming an idol to us in Matthew 6:19-21
19 “Don’t collect for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.
20 But collect for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Paul says to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6.
9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.
11 But you, man of God, run from these things, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.
17 Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy.
18 Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, willing to share,
19 storing up for themselves a good reserve for the age to come, so that they may take hold of life that is real.
Christians must give up their idols of money, wealth, and possessions, and anchor our economic activity in a commitment to worship and trust God alone.
It is God who provides, it is God who gives, It is God who sustains we must trust him and strive to place a Biblical economic system in place and the first step is to worship God not Baal to provide.
This is a part of our culture here at Bridge of Faith. Recognize that God is our provider.