The Sower Sows the Word (VI)

Yesterday we looked at the deceitfulness of riches. Before moving to discuss “the lusts for other things” tomorrow, I just want to make 3 simple points about the deceitfulness of riches:

1. You listen to those things you spend the most time with. If you listen to money more than you listen to God, you are spending more time with money than God.

2. You listen to those things you hold precious. If you listen to money more than you listen to God, you hold money more precious than God.

3. You listen to those things that you consider more intelligent. If you listen to money more than you listen to God, you think money is more intelligent than God.

Blessings,
Ben

God’s Chat Room

Here is a link to 5 wonderful 12-15 minute radio programmes on prayer.

http://precepts.com/radio/RadioWeek122908.html

This is some beautiful and Biblical teaching on this subject. Enjoy!

Blessings,
Ben

Dark Diamonds

This is a wonderful proof that the Bible is true and was written by inspiration of God. I would say more but I don’t want to spoil the surprise!

Blessings,
Ben

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4 Powerful Sermons

http://hilton-sutton.org/audiodownloads.htm

This link will lead you to 4 wonderful, powerful sermons by Hilton Sutton. The first is a real challenge to the selfishness and worldliness that has moved into the church, especially the charismatic church.

Blessings,
Ben

Imitate God

In Ephesians 5.1-2 Paul told us that we are to imitate God. Now Paul says to “imitate me.” Paul could not say that unless he was an imitator of God.

What does it mean to imitate God? It means to walk in love.

1 Cor. 13 tells us that love seeketh not its own. Love beareth all things. The marginal rendering is “covers closely all things” so that no-one can see or hear the unsightly scandal. And above all things, love never fails.

Sense knowledge has failed, but here is something that cannot fail. Children brought up in the atmosphere of the new kind of love never become criminals. You cannot find a criminal in any of our penal institutions today whose father and mother walked in this new kind of love before that child was born and in its early years; for this Jesus kind of love does not produce criminals. Hatred and selfishness produce criminals. Love produces beautiful people.

Ephesians 1.4, “Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before Him; in love having marked us ut for the position of sons through Jesus Christ to Himself.”

You see, the believer is a love creation. Away back before the foundations of the earth or heaven were laid, Love said “I will have a family.” And then Love said, “Whosoever will may come into that family. That is going to be a new kind of folk.”

God was unhappy over His first creation. so He brings in a new Creation created in His own Son.

The failure in Christianity is not the failure of the nature of God in man, but it is because man has substituted church organization for the New Creation.

Sense knowledge has gained the supremacy in the church, and Jesus is no longer Lord or Head of the Church. Worldly-minded men rule most of the churches.

2 Corinthians 2.17, “For we are not as many, corrupting the Word of God (or, as it reads in the margin, making merchandise of the Word of God).” That is preaching for a living, making money out of the Gospel.

Conybeare says, “For I seek not profit like most by setting the Word of God to sale (or by selling by retail), but I speak from a single heart, from the command of God, as in God’s presence, and in fellowship with Christ.”

It must be fully understood that the Ten Commandments were never given to the New Creation, and that the New Commandment was never given to natural men. This, if it were known, would save much confusion among those who are teaching the Law today.”

– E W Kenyon

The Sower Sows the Word (embedded video)

Finally I found a bit of software called Vodpod which has allowed me to embed this video. I am preaching on Mark 4, and being beautifully introduced by a good friend and wonderful man of God, Pastor Emmanuel. Enjoy!

Vodpod videos no longer available.

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The Sower Sows the Word (V)

The Deceitfulness of Riches

Mark 4.19 tells us that one of the things that will choke the Word of God out of you and that will stop it producing results in your life is the deceitfulness of riches. Today we will look at the deceitfulness of riches and find out what it is and how to stop it choking your prosperity and success in every area of your life.

Firstly, it is vital to understand that it not riches that will choke the Word. The Word working in your life and producing a harvest has nothing to do with how much money you have. A rich person can have the Word of God produce in their life and so can a poor person. A famous quote that isn’t even in the Bible is: “Money is the root of all evil”. The correct reference is “The love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Tim. 6.10). Even a poor person can love money. Money is a great slave, but a lousy master.

It is vital to understand this because a lie infiltrated Christianity that says that money is evil. It lead to many horrible situations and caused many dreadful things to happen. It has many faces that I simply cannot go into due to time constraints. Some Christians have even taken vows of poverty. This is ridiculous – God is a good God and a giving God. Poverty is a curse, it is a horrible thing to be in. But praise God, Christ redeemed us and set us free from poverty.

The problem is not having money, but listening to it. Even the world is bright enough to know that “money talks”, but what the world has failed to tell us is that money lies. You can have as much money as you like – prosperity is part of your inheritance in Christ – but just don’t listen to it.

Wealth is deceitful. You could say it this way: money lies. The main lie that money will tell you is that it is all you need. Money will lie to you. It will tell you that it will make you happy and that without it you will fail in life. It is a lie.

You might be in a situation where your boss wants you to tell a lie, and money will tell you to do it because otherwise you will lose your job and lose your money, so you break the Word of God because you listened to money. You ignored God to listen to money.

Money will tell you to accept a promotion several hundred miles from home when you know there is not a strong Word-teaching, love God love people church anywhere near there and you are part of a great church. You ignored God to listen to money.

Money will tell you not to spend time in prayer, in intimacy with the Father, but rather worry about how your bills will be paid or how you will feed the children. You ignored God and listened to money, and worried rather than meditated on the Word.

A young preacher is struggling to survive so at offering time he makes a long drawn out offering, highlighting Scriptures on giving and the benefits of giving.

The Scriptural truths might be true, but using them to manipulate people to give when the Lord loves people who are cheerful givers, not those who walk out the church feeling they just had a wallet extraction, is plain wrong. Money talked, and the preacher listened. And this goes on all across Christianity, even in major ministries. Here is a rule of thumb I have: I never give to a ministry that preaches faith for finances unless they appear to actually have faith for their own finances! And if they are begging for bread, they do not have faith for finances, simple as.

This is how the deceitfulness of riches works: it lies to you and makes you make wrong choices. Choices based on mis-information.

The solution is threefold:

1. to spend time in the Word of God. If you can hear the voice of the Lord clearly and know His Word, you will not be deceived by the lies of money. Learn the Scriptural truth about money. Find out what Jesus said about money, and study it out.

2. to cultivate a generous spirit. If you are continually giving money away, it cannot speak to you. Ensure you are generous to your local church and to Christians who are lacking or going through difficult times.

3. Speak back to money. If it says “if you give that in the offering you will go broke”, tell it to shut up. Tell it that if you give it will be given to you, pressed down, shaken together and in good measure (Luke 6.38). If the bill comes in and you cannot pay it, say out loud “God will provide the money.” You may think it is strange to speak to money, but I think it is a lot stranger to listen to it, and many Christians do.

Deal with this issue and you will allow the Word of God to multiply in your life and produce results. A life of victory and peace is on its way – so get excited.

Blessings,
Ben

Without Faith it is Impossible to Please God

I was listening to a radio preacher this week who quoted Hebrews 11.6: “Without faith it is impossible to please God.”

The preacher then said after reading this Scripture that he didn’t know why it was that we needed faith to please God.

That surprised me because I always considered that it was obvious why it is that you need faith to make God happy: you need faith to please anyone you are in a love-based relationship with.

Can you imagine marrying a wonderful person who says that they will love you always, serve you without hesitation, tell everyone I meet how wonderful you are, always cook your favourite meal for you, go on holiday where you want and let you control the remote every night? But – they will not believe a single word you say!

That would not please you, and it wouldn’t please anyone. We all want people to know when we speak that our words are honest and we can be trusted.

But that is how many Christians treat God – I will serve Him with all my heart, I will go to church, I will pray and fast and work and serve, I will evangelize, I will do this and that and this and that, but I refuse to believe His Word.

Don’t do that, because you won’t please God. If He says that “By His stripes you were healed” then you were healed and you are healed. Take Him at His Word! If He says “I will supply all your needs” then get excited – your needs WILL be met. If He says He will be your Shepherd then you don’t ever have to worry about getting lost.

Not only will you please God, but if you take Him at His Word, then you will simply walk in peace in your life. Now that makes God really happy – you being at peace. He loves you so much and you having peace makes Him really happy,

Blessings,
Ben

The Sower Sows the Word (Video)

You can now watch the full sermon of me preaching at Worshipville Christian Centre here.

I have tried to embed the video into this blog and completely failed. If anyone has the wisdom to help me achieve this, then I would be grateful.

The camera man has a job to follow me during the preaching – I do like to move around when I preach. In the next week I hope to add the sermon, and some others I have previously preached, to the church website as mp3 downloads.

Blessings,
Ben

Man of the Heart

“Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the HIDDEN MAN OF THE HEART, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet SPIRIT, which is in the sight of God of great price” (1 Pet. 3:3-4).

No one knows what you look like! They may think they do, but they don’t. You, “the real you,” are a hidden man. You are a spirit; you have a soul; and you live in a body (1 Thess. 5:23).

What people see is only the “house” you live in.

I’ve heard ministers quote two-thirds of First Peter 3:3 and say that women shouldn’t fix their hair and shouldn’t wear gold. But if that’s what Peter meant, then women shouldn’t wear clothes, either!

Because if Peter told women not to plait their hair and not to wear gold, then he also told them not to put on apparel. (Apparel is clothing.) No, Peter is really saying “probably because women are more prone to do this, don’t spend all of your time on your hair, on your clothes, and on the outward man.

See to it, first of all, that the hidden man of the heart that’s the spiritual man, the real man, the inward man, is adorned with a meek and a quiet spirit.”

Confession: I am a spirit. I am a child of the Father of spirits. I have a soul. And I live in a body. I see to the adorning of the real me, the hidden man of the heart.

– Kenneth Hagin