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Pastor Rev. Stephen Coates
Great Gain & Contentment
6Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, 7for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.
IN OUR SOCIETY TODAY, DEBT IS OFTEN SEEN AS A NORMAL WAY OF LIFE.
Not only are individuals wrestling with debt, but we see whole nations are now dependent on debt financing for the very basic provision of life.
8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
7
The rich rules over the poor,
and the
borrower is the slave of the lender.
IN THE SCRIPTURE, THE PATTERN OF LIVING IN DEBT IS SEEN AS ONE OF BONDAGE AND SLAVERY!
12The LORD will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them,
WE HAVE HOPE IN A KINGDOM ECONOMY, WITH CHRIST AS KING!
Great Gain and Contentment show us pathways of deliverance.
6For the LORD your God will bless you, as he promised you, and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow, and you shall rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over you.
SO DEBT – IS THAT WHICH ONE PERSON IS BOUND TO PAY OR PERFORM FOR ANOTHER.
Our Desire – may be to express a wish to possess or obtain something.
But – Extravagance is excessive or exceeding appropriate bounds.
Debt is generally pride based.
4"Behold,
his soul is puffed up; it is not
upright within him,
but the righteous
shall live by his faith.
5"Moreover,
wine is a traitor,
an
arrogant man who is never at rest.
His greed is as wide as
Sheol;
like death he has never enough.
He gathers for himself all nations
and
collects as his own
all peoples."
6Shall
not all these take up their taunt against him, with scoffing and
riddles for him, and say,
"Woe
to him who heaps up what is not his own—
for
how long?—
and loads himself with
pledges!"
7 Will
not your debtors suddenly arise,
and those awake
who will make you tremble?
Then you
will be spoil for them.
HERE THE PROPHET GIVES A CLEAR PICTURE OF THE DESTRUCTIVE STEPS IN THE DECLINE OF INDIVIDUALS AND NATIONS WHO HAVE FALSELY BUILT UP THEIR WORTH BASED ON DEBT.
This of course is NOT talking about prudent home mortgages or similar investments.
4"Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him…
We are discussing here a pride – based phenomenon.
Pride will cause a person:
To go places
To do things
To buy things
Without being satisfied with what they have.
Their tastes are:
Extravagant
Their desires are insatiable
Always wanting more
4"… but the righteous shall live by his faith.
THE RIGHTEOUS – IS THE PERSON WHO IS:
THE JUST
THE HONEST
THE LAWFUL
THE RIGHT BEFORE GOD
The implication here being that the prideful man looks for ways of providing for his inflated lifestyle outside of trust in the faithfulness of God to fulfill His promises.
This lifestyle or this “HIGH FLYER” often:
Manipulates People
Manipulates funds
Are providing for their pride and greed
No desire they have is controlled
No want they have is disciplined
Only control
More power
Driving satisfaction
Motivates their goals
44 He shall lend to you, and you shall not lend to him. He shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.
45 "All these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you till you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you. 46They shall be a sign and a wonder against you and your offspring forever. 47 Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things,
21
The wicked borrows but
does not pay back,
but the righteous
is generous and gives;
22for those blessed by the LORD
shall inherit the land,
but those
cursed by him shall be cut off.
ECONOMIC DECLINE QUICKLY REVEALS WEAKNESSES.
6Shall
not all these take up their taunt against him, with scoffing and
riddles for him, and say,
"Woe to him who heaps up what is not his own—
for
how long?—
and loads himself with
pledges!"
7 Will not your debtors
suddenly arise,
and those awake who will make
you tremble?
Then you will be spoil for them.
8
Because you have plundered many nations,
all the
remnant of the peoples shall plunder you,
for the blood of man
and violence to the earth,
to cities and all who
dwell in them.
NOTE:
Those manipulated and controlled by debt
Rise and point out the flaws in the proud one’s quest for exaltation
They will scorn and despise him
They reveal plans based on debt not on true wealth or strength
They show that there is no real substance to the exaggerated lifestyle of the proud man
39 You shall plant vineyards and dress them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm shall eat them. 40You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives shall drop off.
NOTE:
Repayment requirements of debt seriously impact the proud man’s ability to support his appetite
Now new ways must be found to finance the debt based lifestyle
Harassment by people, serves to urge the angry proud man on to more cunning and destructive techniques
Fraudulent plans are devised as cover – ups
9
"Woe to him who gets evil
gain for his house,
to set his nest
on high,
to be safe from the reach of harm!
10
You have devised shame for
your house
by cutting off many
peoples;
you have forfeited your life.
11For
the stone will cry out from the
wall,
and the beam from the woodwork respond.
SOME …
Plans maybe untruthful about facts
Exaggeration of assets
Understatements of liabilities or required payments
Or revealing debt that far outreaches the value of total assets or projected profit
IN THE DESIRE TO PERPETUATE THE PROUD LIFESTYLE, EVEN THE POSSESSIONS WILL CRY OUT AGAINST THE PROUD MAN’S PRETENSES.
5) Violence is now unleashed as a coercion tactic
12
"Woe to him who builds a
town with blood
and founds a city on iniquity!
Violence is a violation of trust, by a person driven with frustration and anger, upon a victim
Violence is the next step of a desperate debtor
Violence can be used to coerce assets to support the proud man’s needs
Violence is a destructive force against a victim, as the debtor’s desperation mounts
36"The LORD will bring you and your king whom you set over you to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known. And there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone. 37 And you shall become a horror, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples where the LORD will lead you away. 38 You shall carry much seed into the field and shall gather in little, for the locust shall consume it. 39 You shall plant vineyards and dress them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm shall eat them. 40You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives shall drop off. 41You shall father sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours, for they shall go into captivity. 42 The cricket shall possess all your trees and the fruit of your ground. 43 The sojourner who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. 44 He shall lend to you, and you shall not lend to him. He shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.
45 "All these curses shall come upon you
and pursue you and overtake you
till you are destroyed,
because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God,
to keep his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you.
46They shall be a sign and a wonder against you and your offspring forever.
47 Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart,
because of the abundance of all things,
6) Finally people grow weary of the sham represented by the debtor
a) Frustration of the oppressor, causes a reaction
b) The oppression is not from God, but because you did not serve the Lord with joyfulness and gladness of heart
13Behold,
is it not from the LORD of hosts
that peoples
labor merely for fire,
and nations weary
themselves for nothing?
14 For the
earth will be filled
with the knowledge of the
glory of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.
c) Desire for the knowledge of God and the glory of God, bring God’s blessings and God’s provisions without enslaving debt
15
"Woe to him who makes his
neighbors drink—
you pour out your wrath
and make them drunk,
in order to gaze
at their nakedness!
16You will have your
fill of shame instead of glory.
Drink, yourself, and show your uncircumcision!
The
cup in the LORD’s right hand
will come
around to you,
and utter shame will come upon
your glory!
17 The violence done to Lebanon
will overwhelm you,
as will the destruction of
the beasts that terrified them,
for the blood of man and violence
to the earth,
to cities and all who dwell in
them.
7) Discrediting others will follow:
a) Failure in coercion will cause even more vindictive, revengeful reactions.
b) False accusations are a cover up for guilt and iniquity.
c) Lack of remorse for his actions, only intensify his pursuits.
8) Deception plots will be exposed and the glory of the Lord will be revealed:
a) Disgrace will come as empty accomplishments are taken or attempted to pay off debts.
b) The modern idolatry of possessions propped up through debt and exalted by man.
18
"What profit is an
idol
when its maker has shaped
it,
a metal image, a teacher of lies?
For its
maker trusts in his own creation
when he
makes speechless idols!
19 Woe to him who
says to a wooden thing, Awake;
to a silent
stone, Arise!
Can this teach? Behold, it
is overlaid with gold and silver,
and there is
no breath at all in it.
Debt filled pursuits will be:
Empty
Futile
Temporary
Worthless
20But
the LORD is in his holy
temple;
let all the earth keep
silence before him."
14
For the earth will be
filled
with the knowledge of the glory of the
LORD
as the waters cover the sea.
d) The holiness of the Lord will be revealed in great and dynamic ways.
e) In the Kingdom of God:
Knowledge of Him and …
His Truth
Will provide leadership in …
Uncovering human idolatry on the earth.
The Lord is gracious and merciful to those who put their trust in Him.
SELF EXAMINATION QUESTIONS:
Am I living a life of pride beyond my provisions?
Do I have debt beyond my ability to pay, or the value of my assets?
Am I deceptive in order to hide my debts?
Is debt a problem in my life?
How do I respond to those who are indebted to me?
CONCLUSIONS:
18
Pride goes before
destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall.
23
One’s pride will
bring him low,
but he who is lowly in spirit
will obtain honor.
WHEN PRIDE BASED DEBT IS TORN DOWN, PEOPLE WILL TURN TO THE WAYS OF GOD!
God will reveal His grace and glory!
6Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment,
Great gain and contentment is available to your family today!
Today I release an impartation of truth and godliness to you and your family in Jesus Name!
Today if you and your family desire great gain in godliness with contentment, I encourage you to respond in Faith believing NOW!
Come for Prayer – together we will agree for this impartation to you in Jesus Name!
Compiled by: Pastor Rev. C.E. Stephen Coates
August 14th, 2010 www.churchonthego.ca
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