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10250 North Freeway @ West Road
Houston, Texas 77037
Tel: (281) 447-8484
KEEPING HOUSE FOR
THE LORD
Written by H. Frank Fort
This material is copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced without the express written permission of the Berean Baptist Church.
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House for the Lord,
please visit our Publications section.
Throughout
God's Word, we are constantly reminded of His ownership of things, persons and
time. Every reward God shall give is in consideration of what persons do with
things in time.
·
"Every
man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor"…"if any
man's work abide…he shall receive a reward"
1 Cor. 3:8,14.
·
"God...giveth
us richly all things to enjoy" 1
Tim. 6:17)
·
"Today
if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts" Heb. 4:7
·
The ideal
arrangement:
·
"Many
of them which heard the word, believed" Acts 4:4, and were thus "added to the Lord” Acts
5:14
·
"Neither
said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own" Acts
4:32
·
"Daily…they
ceased not to teach and to preach Jesus Christ" Acts 5:42.
Here we have men, things and time, properly related.
·
The
Christian concept of man, things and time.
·
"By
the grace of God I am, what I am" 1
Cor. 15:10
·
"What
hast thou that thou didst not receive?" 1 Cor. 4:7
·
"What
is your life? It is a vapor that appeareth for a little time" James
4:14
Now, for the proper use of things in time, God works
through redeemed man. Paul said, "ye are not your own. For ye are bought
with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit" 1
Cor. 6:19,20. To such as these are the commandments addressed, too
·
"redeem
the time" Eph. 5:16, Col.4:5 and
·
"A
performance also out of that which ye have"
2 Cor. 8:11.
Time
and possessions (talents, intellect, wealth, influence, etc.) are given to man
with which to glorify God. Man is obligated under God to use the time and things
allotted him, as a faithful steward. A wise steward will ask:
·
"Lord
what wilt thou have me to do?" Acts
9:6
·
"What
shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me". Ps.
116:12. And
·
"Teach
us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom" Ps.
90:12.
·
The
separated portion.
We are all familiar with those things, which God has
reserved for himself, that he might keep before the minds of men his title to
ownership.
·
"all
souls are mine" Eze. 18:4
·
"The
earth is the Lords, and the fullness thereof Ps. 24:1
·
The ages
(margin) were framed by the word of God"
Heb. 11:3, thus "he (God) changeth the times and seasons"
Dan. 2:21.
Thus the Psalmist said, "My tunes are in thy hand" Ps.
31:15; thus God could, and did, say to Hezekiah, "I will add unto thy
days fifteen years" Isa. 38:5.
Now let us notice the division of thing, times, and
people in consideration of "the portion" which is designed to keep
before God's people his claim on things, on time, and people.
·
In
Eden" of every tree…but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
thou shalt not eat of it" Gen.
2:16,17. Here God separates one tree from all others. Disobedience
concerning the reserved tree resulted in the curse, which affected all creation.
·
Among
Israel "Sanctify unto me all
the first born among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is
mine" Ex. 13:1. "All the
first born are mine" Num. 3:13.
God said, "Every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is
male" (is mine) Ex. 34:19. The
Ass, which represents the nature of natural man Job 11:12, thus was not to be worked with an ox Deut.
22:10. It must be redeemed "with a lamb" or killed, and "all
tile first born of thy sons thou shalt redeem" Ex.
34:20. In Numbers 3:12, God says,
"I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all
tile first born…among the children of Israel: therefore, the Levites shall be
mine". Here, notice possession is claimed for the separated portion to be
used in a spiritual sense, yet to keep before Israel the truth that "all
the first born are mine" Num. 3:13.
The Levites stood related to the spiritual promotion of all the other tribes.
This is the purpose of the separated portion, to constantly remind of God's
ownership.
·
The Time.
"Six days shall work be done, but in the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn
rest. Holy to Jehovah whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall
surely be put to death. Ex.
31:12‑15. All time belongs to God, but God appointed a portion of it
for a "solemn rest", that men might apply their hearts unto wisdom as
to the disposition they make of it.
·
Possessions.
"All the tithe of the Land; whether of the seed of the land, or the fruit
of the tree, is Jehovah's; it is holy unto Jehovah…and all the tithe of the
herd or the flock, whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy
unto Jehovah" Lev. 27:30,32.
This portion is designed to keep before Israel the fact that what God permits
them to use for themselves is none the less to be used in consideration of God's
ownership. For it is written, "Every beast of the forest is mine, and the
cattle upon a thousand hills…for the world is mine, and the fullness
thereof" Ps. 50:10,12. Notice
that this ownership is
the basis of the commandment which follows,
"offer, unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most high: and
call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify
me"
Now let us consider the result of failing to
recognize God's ownership in the case of Achan. God said to Israel "ye are
to pass over the Jordan to go in to possess the land: which Jehovah your God
giveth thee, and ye shall possess it, and dwell there" Deut.
11:31. Joshua, however, was told by God to tell them concerning the City of
Jericho, "the city shall be accursed even it and all that are
therein…only Rahab, the Harlot shall live…and ye, in any wise keep
yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye
take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble
it" Joshua 6:17,18. Disregarding
these instructions, "Achan…took of the accursed thing". Josh.
7:1, and Israel suffered defeat at Ai until Achan was judged. So is it
always. That, which prevents God blessing us, must be judged and put away. Achan
was covetous. So are many of God's people today, and this idolatry, regarding
things, must be put away before God can bless the people. Paul said,
"Covetousness, which is idolatry" Col.
3:5 is classified with "fornication, uncleanness", etc. Giving, in
the scriptural way is the greatest deterrent to covetousness there is, for God
has so ordained it. He who recognizes God's title to ownership will honor it, by
submitting to its claim, as to self, time or possessions. For failure to do
this, God's last words in the Old Testament to Israel, were, "ye are cursed
with a curse: for ye rob me" Mal.
3:9 "Ye rob me". Think of it. He who made us what we are, gave us
what we have, yet has to say, "ye rob me".
Where God's ownership is not recognized, self is
enthroned, and we have the record of the result in Luke 12:15-21. Christ said, "Take heed and beware of
covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things
which he possesseth" vs. 15.
·
When a
man confuses life with things, in the losing of his things, he despairs of life.
·
When
things are employed by one who is willing to act as a "faithful
steward", in the scriptural sense, though the things be lost or destroyed,
such an one is able to take ",joyfully the spoiling of goods, knowing that
(they) have in heaven a better and an enduring substance" Heb.
10:34
Job,
in the light of his estimation of things, could say, "Naked came I out of
my Mother's womb and naked shall I return thither; the Lord gave and, the Lord
hath taken away: blessed be the name of the Lord” Job. 1:21. One may talk of all the suffering that Job endured, and
forget the one statement that blots it all out; Notice, "after this lived
Job an hundred and forty years" Job
42:16. How? "So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his
beginning" Job. 42:12. It is
said that "Job died, being old and full of days" Job. 42:17. Just as "Abraham…died in a good old age, an old
man, and full of years" Gen. 25:8.
The "OLD" has reference to the longevity of life while the expressions
"full of days" or “full of years” refers to the manner of life.
These not only lived long they lived abundantly. Christ said, "I am come
that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" Jn.
10:10. The abundant life depends on the truth which properly evaluates
things, and the Christian is to "lay hold on that which is really
life" 1 Tim. 6:19. But some are
"destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness" 1
Tim. 6:5. It was this false concept of things which prompted a man to say
"Master, speak to my brother that he divide the inheritance with me" Luke 12:13; even while Christ was discussing eternal issues. Christ
said, "Life is more than meat, and the body more than raiment Luke
2:23. The rich fool of this parable, however, did not believe it. He
believed that things possessed must measure life, and success by that standard
will always cause one to exalt self. hence, he who thus reasoned, "thought
within himself, saying; What shall I do…I will pull down my barns and make
bigger ones…saying thou hast much good's…many years" Luke
12:17‑19. This is self without God; but God's description of such a
life is this; "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee,
then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?" Luke 12:20. God says, "So is he that layeth up treasures for
himself, and is not rich toward God" vs.
21. Paul said, "We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain
we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment, let us be there with
content" 1 Tim. 6:7‑8.
Why? For "godliness with contentment is great gain" 1 Tim. 6:6, but only he who is able to esteem "the reproach of
Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt" Heb. 11:26 will so reason.
Now what must take place in a man who is "rich
in this world" that will enable him to be "ready to distribute,
willing to communicate" 1 Tim.
6:17,18, and what does giving have to do with it? In our next lesson help,
we will show what proportionate giving will do for a Church where the
responsibility is equally shared. God is not against his people doing well
financially, but he wants them to recognize that all things belong to him, and
that portion entrusted to us demands a stewardship in recognition of that fact.
Prepared
by:
H.
Frank Fort, Minister
Berean Baptist Church,
Houston, TX.
Nov. 21, 1956.
"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"