Honor the Lord

Proverbs three verses nine and ten. Again, Proverbs chapter three. We the first two chapters were more broad, broadly encouraging the readers to seek after what? To seek after wisdom, the wisdom of God. And it is filled with good things that will happen if you seek and follow after the wisdom of God and bad things that will happen if you run away from the wisdom of God.

We get to chapter three and there's some more, slightly more specific counsel from God here, concerning what actually the wisdom of God says to us. Okay? So not just wisdom as a category, but specifically what is the counsel of God. Because that's what true wisdom is. It's God's counsel and God's enabling us to take that counsel and to make good, God honoring decisions with it.

We read some more of this counsel, guidance from the Lord in chapter three. So we're gonna start back at verse one, and we're gonna read down through verse 10. So start back at verse one, read down through 10. My son, forget not my law, but let thine heart keep my commandments. For the length of days and long life and peace shall they add to thee.

Of course, that reflects one of the 10 commandments. Honor thy father and mother that thy days may be, what, long upon the earth. So similar counsel there, but not only from Solomon, but from God. Verse three, let not mercy and truth forsake thee. Bind them upon thy neck, write them upon the table of thine heart, so shalt thou find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

So number two, let not mercy and truth forsake thee. Don't forsake mercy and love in your life. Don't let bitterness and anger take that away from you as it does to so many, making such a mess of their life. And let not truth forsake you. And sad to say, there's a lot of people out there, this people we know who have been misled, have not been careful to allow truth to lead them and not their feelings to lead them.

Or the the most charismatic, eloquent leader to lead them. We need to make sure that we are embracing the truth in our life even when it hurts and that we are people of mercy and grace and forgiveness and love. It will affect our relationship with God. It will also affect our relationship with other people greatly. Number five, trust in the Lord with all thine heart, lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes own eyes. Fear the Lord and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel and marrow to thy bones. Okay?

That means that it'll be very helpful and healthy and all of these things. In verse eight, it means that. But going back to verse five, what is the next counsel? Trust in who? The Lord and his word and not entirely in your own intellect, in your own reasoning, because sometimes what we want or what we think we want is not in line with what God wants.

And if we go with what we want, it can lead to some very bad places. And we see that, for instance, in in the story of Lot. He followed his heart. He followed his heart. He followed his eyes.

He did what seemed right in his what? In his own eyes, and it did not lead to blessing. It led to ruin. Trust, instead, in the Lord with all your heart, and he will direct you. Be not wise in your own ours own I can't say eyes.

In your own eyes, fear the Lord and depart from evil. Fear the Lord means listen to who? Means listen to the Lord. Trust in the Lord. Be not so smart that you think you know better than who?

And you know better than God. There's a way that seems right unto a man at the end thereof the ways of death. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Trust him with your soul. Trust him with the decisions you have to make.

Trust him that what he tells us in our word is good for us is good for us. And depart from evil from things that might seem good for us, but really are not good for us. And then tonight, verses nine and ten, honor the Lord with thy substance, with your material possessions, money, all that, and the first fruits of all thine increase. You that's a farming term. The first fruits, the first part of the harvest, usually the best part of the harvest.

So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. Now, see, that doesn't make sense to the world. In other words, the Lord says the Bible says, honor your Lord with the best part of what you have. Don't forget to give to the Lord, and under the law, they had to give a tithe, and they had actually had to give in a total of about 20 some percent a year of what they brought in to the Lord, the temple, so forth and so on. It was actually more than just a tithe.

The tithe was just the foundational part of that. But the world says looks and says, what what are you talking so you in order to get to to to feel to be secure and and to have joy and you don't keep it, you give it away. But you know something? I'm 56. Yeah.

I'm 56. And I look at her for that and our anniversary, which is 30. Okay. Never mind. Anyway, I think we're working on 33.

But but my personal experience along with the word of God is that this works. This works. Honor the Lord and the Lord will take care will take care of you. Now it may not you may not have money coming out your eyeballs and and you may not be wealthy in the eyes of the world, but we have never lacked. We have never wanted.

We've always had what we needed, and and I we're gonna keep giving like we have been for the past thirty some years since we've been married, and the Lord, I am sure, will continue to take care of us. So let's look at let's take this apart just a little bit before you go this evening. So let me read it again. Honor the Lord with thy substance and with the first fruits of all thine increase. So shall thy barns be filled with plenty and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

So honor the Lord with your wealth, basically. How? Well, there are many ways one should honor the Lord with our accrued wealth and your regular income. K? Number one in honoring the Lord with our wealth is first that we do as we are told in verse five, and that is trust in who?

The Lord. And not in what? And not in yeah. And not in this verse, specifically what? And not in riches.

Okay? How do you honor the Lord with your wealth? You choose to trust in the Lord and not in what? And not in riches. Okay?

That's one way that we honor the Lord with our wealth is we do not put our faith in our bank account. That's what happened to a lot of wealthy people during the depression, and several of them jumped off the top of skyscrapers because they put all their eggs in one basket, and that basket was their bank account and their investments. And when it all it all went away, they had what? They were left with with nothing because all of their life was bound up with that wealth that they lost. So first of all, how do we honor God with our wealth?

Trust in God and not in riches. Money is a tool. That's what money is. Money is simply a tool. It is a tool that we use, that we are granted from God.

Yes, we have to work for it. But in all all in all, everything comes from who? Everything comes from God. Money is just a tool to be used in God's service, to be used to minister to other people, to be used to take care of our family, to be used to help our neighbor, to be used to take care of the ministry of our church. Money is a a tool to be used in God's service in service and not an idol or a means to happiness in life, either by hoarding it or lavishly spending it.

Now, I don't have any problem with hoarding it. I have a little more of an issue with spending it, and I have to still work in my brain of going, I can't spend what I don't have. And thanks to my wife, she keeps me in check. And as you can tell, I spend a whole lot of money on clothes. I wear the same white dress shirt and the same coat every so not spending it on that.

I do like my Clark shoes. They cost a little much, but they last for about three years, so that's pretty good. But money doesn't bring happiness. You honor God by trusting him and not in money, not in hoarding it, and not in lavishly spending it. And most people in our world are are either doing one or the other.

They're either hoarding it for a rainy day that never comes, or they're lavishly spending it on stuff that just isn't going to make them want. Just isn't going to make them happy. You know, I have an iPad. Do you know how often I use this iPad? Yep.

I use this iPad at church. This iPad is a what? It's a tool. Okay? It costs a little bit of money.

It was worth it because I use it every Sunday and sometimes on Wednesday, but other than that, it sits in my bag. It is a tool. I have tools in my shed. Some of them, I use. Some of them sit there and make me scratch my head and maybe my wife's head as to why I bought them.

But but money is a tool to be used for the Lord. It's not something to worship. It's not something to to think it's going to make us happy. So let's look I wanna look at some other verses in Proverbs real quick. Proverbs eleven four.

So Proverbs eleven four, just over a few pages. We see this reflected in several verses in Proverbs. We'll do this as we go through Proverbs because some of these similar proverbs show up several places in the book. Proverbs 11, for riches profit not in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivereth from death. Okay?

Now, why is it speaking of the day of wrath? Well, probably the day of God's judgment. However, there are other days of wrath, that come to people, in this life as well. And a lot of times, your money isn't just isn't gonna do you any what? Any good.

A matter of fact, you're more likely to get robbed or mugged if you're walking down the sidewalk with a lot of jewelry and a lot of nice clothes on because, hey, that means you probably have a lot of money in your what? In your wallet. Okay? And so riches profit not in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivereth from death. Righteousness righteousness towards God and man, that delivers us particularly from eternal death, if we have put our trust in the Lord.

Okay? So, verse 28, same same chapter. He that trusteth in his riches shall, what? Fall, but the righteous shall flourish as a branch. He that trusteth in his riches shall fall.

The riches are only going to trip him up. That is if those riches particularly are his or her idol, if you're putting your trust in them. He that trusteth in his riches shall fall. They cannot hold you up, but the righteous shall flourish as a branch. Those who pursue after righteousness will mature, will grow, will prosper, will experience joy that riches cannot bring.

Proverbs 23 verse five. Proverbs twenty three five. I'm gonna have to get another drink of water. We'll set this over here somewhere. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not?

For riches certainly make themselves wings, and they fly away as an eagle toward the heaven. Ain't that interesting metaphor? For the riches certainly make themselves wings and fly away as the eagle toward heaven. Few verses from the New Testament. I think I read these recently in a sermon probably around missions conference.

Charge them that are rich in this world that they be not high minded nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy for the love of money is the root of all evil, while some coveted after they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. Not money per se, but the what? The love of money. It trips us up. It it steers us away from, the Lord.

And, so next verse, Hebrews eleven six. I'm gonna read it. You tell me who it's talking about. Esteeming the reproach of Christ, greater riches than the treasures of Egypt for he had respect into the recompense of the reward. Who's the subject?

You're close, not pharaoh because that would be the opposite of this verse. Moses. K. Moses. Moses esteemed not, did not highly respect or honor.

He esteemed rather the reproach of Christ. He saw as something to be valued Jesus Christ and the rewards that the Lord gives above the treasures of what? Above the treasures of Egypt. And so he left those behind. He left them to join his his people.

Things didn't go the way he thought they were going to go, and he ended up having to go off to spend forty years as a shepherd on the backside of the desert. But that's where he he gained true what? Riches spending time with the Lord. And he grew to be the leader, the humble leader that God needed him to be. I mean, he probably had it 40 years old in the palace of Egypt.

He had a lot of money. He had a lot of wealth. He'd had he literally lacked for absolutely nothing. And, he also learned to be a great leader, I am sure, but, God had to get rid of that pride that was in his heart and humble him so that he really could be the leader and he really could receive the rewards that came with that. Let's see here.

Matthew six, Jesus said, lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust doth corrupt, where thieves break through and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. And, man and just a few verses later, no man can serve two masters for he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Okay?

Doesn't mean you can't have mammon money. You gotta have money. We need money. However, money is a what? Money is a tool.

It is not an idol. It is a tool. Who is the one we worship? God. Who is the one that is going to redeem us?

Who is the one who watches over us? K. The bank account can't do that. Can't do any of those things. Only God can.

It is foolish to serve wealth, especially coveted after wealth and rather than serving the living God. Secondly, second way to honor God with your money is to give your first fruits back to who? Back to God. Okay? The second way to honor God is by giving your first fruits back to God.

So here on the screen over there, the only thing about meeting over here, you all gotta look away from me, but that's alright for a minute. Numbers eighteen, twelve, and 13. K? All the best of the oil, all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the first fruits of them, which they shall offer unto the Lord, them have I given thee. Given thee who?

The priest. And whatsoever is first ripe in the land, which they shall bring unto the Lord shall be thine. Everyone that is clean in thine house shall eat of it. This was God's way of providing for the priests and the Levites was through the tithes and first fruits that came in to the temple that were given not to the priests and Levites, they were given to who? They were giving to the Lord and the Lord used them in order to provide for the needs of those who ministered to the people in his behalf.

Okay? And so that's what it's talking about here. They were given unto the Lord. It says that twice, which they shall offer unto the Lord, which they shall bring unto the Lord. Okay?

They were bringing them to the Lord, and the Lord was using them to provide for the ministers who served him. But they were an offering, a first fruit offering unto the Lord. And it was the first of the harvest, not the what? Last. It was the best of the harvest and not the the least or the worst.

Not the leftovers, but the tithe off the what? Off the top. Mhmm. The first fruits. If what we give to the Lord is whatever we just happen to have left over at the end of the month, we're kind of missing the what?

We're missing the point because really, it's not about the money. It's it's it's not about the amount. It's about what? It's about our heart. It's about our heart.

Malachi three ten, I think that's up here. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be meat in mine house, that's the temple, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts. If I will not open you the windows of heaven, we'll pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it. Now, under the law, they had to bring a specific amount at a specific time of the year. We're not under the law.

We're under what? Grace. But the principle is still the same. The principle is still the same. Yes.

We're under we're under grace. We're not under the law. However, the principle remains. We need to be willing for the purpose of demonstrating gratitude and trust in the Lord. We need still to give him not our least, but to give him our what?

Our best. Not to give him the leftovers, but to give him the first the first of the harvest. This comes forth from an attitude of trust and of gratitude. What if the Israelites gave God the first part and then a famine then a a drought came, and the rest of it was just very poor. K?

What were they doing? They were trusting in God that they give they gave God the best that God was gonna do what? That God was going to take care of them. It was an expression of faith and trust in the Lord that he was going to take care of them. Second Corinthians nine seven, every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give not grudgingly or of necessity for God loveth a cheerful giver.

God loveth somebody who gives cheerfully. They give they they see giving not as a chore and not as a burden, but as a way of rejoicing and praising. They do it cheerfully because they look forward. It is a privilege to what? It's a privilege to give.

It's a privilege to give. I think sometimes we tend to to, especially at Christmas, kinda teach our kids unwittingly the other way rather than it is more blessed to give than to receive than it is more blessed to receive than to give. And because it is certainly more blessed to give, and it is a privilege to do so, especially to who? To God. Especially to God.

The fact is God does not want your money. He needs your trust, your gratitude, and your devotion. Entrusting God with our resources demonstrates trust, gratitude, and devotion to him. Holding these things back because, well, we just don't know if we give it if we're going to have enough at the end of the month. Holding these things back demonstrates a lack of trust and gratitude and devotion, like refusing to bring the offering to the Lord.

Turn if you would to Psalm 50. This was an interesting Psalm that was written here kind of explains. Verse seven. Verse seven. Psalm 50.

Hear, O my people, I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against thee. I am God, even thy God. I will not reprove thee. I will not oh, see where am I? I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings to have been continually before me.

I will take no bullock out of thy house nor he goats out of thy folds. For every beast of the forest is mine and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee, for the world is mine and the fullness thereof. Will I eat of the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?

In other words, God said, you don't give me this, these sacrifices because I need them. It's not like I don't own the cattle until you bring it for an offering. It's mine. It's all mine from the day that I created it. It's not like I need to eat or or I need to drink and that's why you're bringing me an offering.

Verse 14, offer unto God what? See, there's the point. It's not about God needing the bull or God needing the sheep or or God needing this or God needing that. God doesn't need any of it. It it all belongs to him anyway.

He doesn't need our money. He doesn't need our food. He what he does need, what he desires is our thanksgiving. Offer unto God thanksgiving and pay thy vows unto the most high, And call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. I said, really, it's about thanksgiving.

Okay? Giving is about an attitude towards God. That's why we give, not because God needs it, but because God deserves it, because it is a way for us to praise and worship and show our gratitude towards God. Now, in the church I grew up in, in most Baptist churches, they passed the plates during the service, and you have the opportunity to put something in the plate. It's part of our worship service because giving is part of our what?

It's part of our part of our worship. Now COVID hit, and we quit passing the plates. However, money keeps going in the plates even though we're not what? Even though we're not passing it. And you giving and dropping your offering in there when you come in or when you go out or while we shake hands or when Ryker is running across going to children's church, that's all part of thanksgiving and worship to who?

To God. And I dare say that most of the people that put money in those offering plates do it with a cheerful heart. They do it, not because they have to, because they want to. We don't put it in your face and go, okay. Okay.

Come on. Where's your offering? Because you're not giving it because I want you to, you're giving it and thanks to the Lord. And there they are, and they get filled up. And our our bills get paid, our missionaries get supported, and your pastor is not worrying where his next meal comes from.

The Lord is good. And giving is not about the the percentage. It's about showing the Lord, honoring the Lord because he deserves it. Showing gratitude to the Lord for he gives again and again and again and trusting in the Lord. Our budget does not contain what goes in that plate every week.

It doesn't it's not it's not our money. It hasn't been our money for thirty three years. And our bills get paid, and our our sons got through Christian school, and David went through college, and and Joshua's got a good job. And and anyway, it it all works out. The Lord knows what he's doing.

Thirdly, there's a third and a fourth way you can honor God with your money. Third, it means giving generously to those in need. Some of that money was called alms that came into the temple. That money was distributed to the poor. Giving, honoring God with our money means that it's not our money, and therefore, there are times that God gives us opportunity to help somebody else.

Okay? It doesn't have to go in this plate and then go out. You can just take the money in your wallet out and hand it to somebody who needs it and who you think is going to do something good with it. You know? I wouldn't hand too much money to every person that walks in the parking lot and say, here's a 20 because 20 is just the right amount of money to go buy what the fix they need or the bottle they need.

So I'd be a bit careful about just but there are neighbors, there are friends, there are coworkers, and there are times when I do give money to somebody or I do help to pay their bill or the church does. Honoring God with our money means using it as a what? A tool to help others and to bring glory to who? And to bring glory to God. Yeah.

In Acts chapter two I don't think I have that on here. Look in Acts chapter two. Acts chapter two verses 42 through 45. Then I'm going get another drink of water. Verse 42, and they, that is those that were saved on the day of Pentecost along with those that were in the upper room.

When they and they continued steadfast in the apostles doc, doctrine, and fellowship, and breaking bread and prayers and fear camp on every soul. Many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. All that believe were together and had all things common, sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men as every man had need. Now is that communism? No.

Why is it not communism? Because communism is forced. It is the government taking the money and then redistributing it by force. This is not communism. This is charity.

This is generosity. This is despite the fact that we are not the Christian nation that we once to the extent we once were, we to this day are the most generous people to ever live on the face of this earth. Not just through the government, but but people giving willingly of themselves by the thousands, by the hundreds of thousands, by the millions goes out to the hungry, the poor, and the needy of this world, when there is a natural disaster, who is on the scene? The United States Of America to pull the people out of the rubble, to bring them food and water to help rebuild their infrastructure. Sometimes, even the people we are forced to bomb, we go back in a year later and we help them to rebuild what we bombed.

But but we are a generous people. And why is that? Well, I believe that has a lot to do with our heritage as Christian people, and it certainly should be true of Christians. When we see an area we can help, we can help. We do it cheerfully.

It is a privilege to be a blessing to somebody else. And by the way, money is not just the only way. You can be a blessing to somebody else. Pastor, I don't have a lot of money to help, but there are other ways. You can pray for them.

You can encourage them. You can pray with them. You can send them a card. You can send them a note. There are many ways for you to show the compassion of Christ.

And honoring God with our wealth means being willing to part with some of that at times to help other people to share the love and the compassion of Christ. I like this verse. I think yeah. There it is. Ephesians four.

It should say yeah. Ephesians four. I'm not sure if the verse reference is right, but it says, let him that stole steal no more. But rather, what? Let him labor, working his hands the thing which is good.

Why? That he may have to what? To give that him that needeth. What does that verse mainly say? It says this, don't be a taker, be a what?

Be a giver. Don't take from other people. Don't steal from other people. Go out and work, and with labor of your hands, you will have not only to provide for your own needs, but to help to take care of the needs of somebody else. So that may be actual dollar bills or that may be a turkey on Thanksgiving, or if you're a farmer and they were farmers back then, a lot of them, then, they had something that you needed, you had something that they needed, they gave to you, you gave to them, and, everybody had enough.

Everybody had enough. This involves compassion like we see in Luke chapter 10 with the good what? The good Samaritan. So the Samaritan finds the man along the side of the road. He stops because of his compassion, his human compassion for someone who is hurt and bleeding and needs help.

And he doesn't care if what the man is. Is verse twenty two? Twenty eight. 28. Okay.

I thought. I had one that said twenty two and one said 28. We're talking about Ephesians four. But in Luke chapter 10, the good Samaritan asked the guy if he was a Jew, if he was a Samaritan, if he was a Gentile, he just went over. He picked him up.

He bound his wounds. He used, the wine he had in order to, help treat those wounds from infection. He picked him up. He took him to, an inn, a place where he could stay. He paid his bills.

And when he left, he told the innkeeper. He said, whatever else that he accrues, bills that he accrues, when I come back through, I'll pay them I'll pay them too. That is an example of honoring the Lord with our what? With our substance. And then, fourthly, it means being wise.

What what wise with what has been given to us as stewards. K? It's not just about the giving, it's also about the using. Okay? Be good stewards of what you have been been given.

And one of the reasons, we're we're in a a somewhat of a financial bind, so many people are, is because we just don't know how to be good what? Good stewards. Okay? Rather than putting money into things that are needy or necessary, we we buy this car and we spend thousands and thousands of dollars modifying it and putting fancy wheels and some kind of glistening paint. And it has shocks that go up and down in the back.

And it has lights underneath. And it has a sound system inside that you can hear from three blocks away. Now, is that being a good steward? I I don't think so. That's just one of the obvious things.

Know, be a good steward. You know, don't waste what God has what? Don't waste what God has given on things that are passing away. Lay up treasure in heaven and not on earth, and use it wisely to pay your your bills so you don't have to be a burden onto somebody else. Ecclesiastes five nineteen says, every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth and hath given him power to eat thereof and to take the portion and to rejoice in his labor.

This is the gift of what? The gift of God. If God has supplied you with the ability, then then use it. But use it what? Use it wisely.

Use it on things that are necessary. Use it to help others. Use it to honor and give thanks to the Lord. Use it use it wisely. Be a good steward.

Be responsible. Take care of your family. Invest it wisely. Don't invest it foolishly. Investing is not the same as gambling.

It can be if you invest foolishly. Invest it wisely, whether in a home or in something else that gains money or or in a business. Don't throw it away on lottery tickets from the convenience store. And I know there are Christians who do that. And I know there are a lot of people that do that because whenever I go inside to buy something at a convenience store, I have to wait because they have to go and pull out those lottery tickets and, you know, and anyway, part of that's my problem because I'm just not patient.

But but the the buying the lottery tickets, that's just not a wise what? It's just not a wise investment. It is gambling. You can lose everything you put into it and get absolutely nothing back in return. That is being foolish, not being responsible.

Invest wisely your money, your talents, your time, your energy, even your praise. One day, we will give an account. Remember the parable of the talents? To one, he gave one, another two, another five. The one that had five, he invested his wisely.

And when his master came back, he gave him what? Remember? Twice as much. Five five times two is 10. Alright.

Come on, Jules. Oh, you're looking at me. I I'm looking at someone else. Well, you're the one who said something twice. Okay.

What time twice is? I mean, somebody could've helped you out, but they just wanted you to sit there and Yeah. Alright. Thanks, guys. Yeah.

So, ten. And the guy who had two got twice as much and that's what? Thank you, Gary. Four. And the one who was given one, what did he do with it?

He did it. He absolutely did Nothing. Nothing with it. When his master came back, he said, here, you have what is yours. How sad that is.

So God invested himself in this man's life, and this man did absolutely nothing with it and had nothing to show. And that should not be the Christian. How do we honor God with our wealth? We honor God with our wealth by trusting in God and not riches. We honor God with our wealth by giving him the first fruits out of gratitude and in trust.

We honor God with our wealth by wealth by giving generously to those in need. We honor God with our wealth by investing it, how? Wisely for his glory and on eternal things that matter. And what is we what does it say at the end of this passage in in verse we all of that, that whole sermon was from verse nine. So now that you think we're bound over, we get to verse 10.

So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. There is a wine. There is a reward. What's the reward? Well, God's gonna multiply.

You enjoy and hope in in necessities so that you will not have less than you would have had had you not given. You would have what? More than if you had not given. That's not the prosperity gospel, and that's not all just money and bills in the bank. But God says, if you will honor me, I will certainly do what?

I will certainly take care of you. Not only with food and with housing and with clothes, but with joy and contentment and hope and peace and those things that we truly desire and those things that the rest of the world thinks they can buy with money that they cannot buy. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. You will not want for the blessings of God. You will not want in fulfillment and contentment.

The Lord will provide those things in so much greater way than those who are putting their trust in riches when you realize that riches are just a tool to bring honor to who? To bring honor to God. Let's pray. Dear heavenly father, thank you, Lord, for the opportunity that you have given us, the the jobs, the the work, the pay, but also the love, the companionship, all of these things that we have in you and and you give us and and in others as well. And we thank you, Lord, for the peace that we have when we put our head on our pillow at night because we are secure in our savior and not in our bank account, not in our 401, not in the not in welfare and not in the government, but in the Lord.

Lord, thank you for being there for us. Thank you for dying for us. Thank you for preparing a place for us. Thank you for the promise you'll never leave us or forsake us down here. And, Lord, help us to take inventory of the things that you have provided us, whether they be jobs or wealth or opportunities, family, and, Lord, help us take inventory of our time and of our talents and and invest those things and things that are not passing away and to honor you with them, to use them for tools in our service to the king of kings and the Lord of lords who is worthy of our gratitude, our trust, and our praise each day.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.