What is Sacred? by Pam Clark By Pam Clark Holy (from Dictionary) - Of, relating to, or associated with God or a deity; sacred. Endowed or invested with extreme purity or sublimity. Devout, godly, or virtuous Sacred (from Dictionary) - Exclusively devoted to a deity or to some religious ceremony or use; holy; consecrated. Worthy of or regarded with reverence, awe, or respect. Protected by superstition or piety from irreligious actions. Connected with or intended for religious use: sacred music. Dedicated to; in honor of. One of the reasons that many churches have financial problems is because of the way they receive the offerings. Notice I didnt say take the offering, but its so I can make my point. We should not take Gods offering, when we should receive it. Its sacred. I am not trying to be legalistic. When the offering ceases to become sacred, as in devoted to GOD, there is a breakdown in the finances and economy of the Church, its members and in the world. Now I can tell you right now we have a problem, so I am not going to act like its not there. In some places things are too strict, and in other places, things are way too casual or cavalier. One can be a religious spirit, but I think even worse is the cavalier because that spirit then carries over into the world and how they look at the Church and at God. Jesus said this, so I believe I can hold on to its truth. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Written in red, in Matthew 6:21 & Luke 12:34. Out of the Issues of Our Hearts, Our Life Flows We dont want a religious spirit that takes the joy out of life or that cant crack a smile or even have a good belly laugh, but then again Esau was hated by God because he took his spiritual birthright as something considered insignificant. So did a number of others whose histories are recorded. So we need to be careful since this involves the heart issues. Out of the issues of our hearts, our life flows. So many Christians live in defeat and many come into the Kingdom NEEDING help in this area, and they have trouble finding it. Do we want them to go back to the world? No! Some are even robbed or taken advantage of by how some offerings are presented. Many voices have risen up in complaint and God is going to deal with it, but He will do it in kindness first if at all possible. We already see how the world makes fun of Christians, and their bottom line IS money or mammon. That IS their source of power, or their god. Without Jesus, it is their bottom line! We might see that small as Christians, but they do not. But greater things are expected of us by God and we can find and do them. It is the believers who change the world for the better. Even the world is inspired by the Spirit in us. If the Church is inspired by the world, then it really is in trouble, because they have no stabilizing force but money, which can change or disappear, but we have stability in the Lord. We just have to apply ourselves to it. We must have wisdom with money. In the Bible and in current day life, finances are seen to be a challenge to many. For those who have learned to find their contentment in the Lord, finances are just needed for needs and to help others. It doesnt mean people dont enjoy nice things, its just that Christians are not compelled and driven by it. They can even allow God to come in and deal with their finances to get on their best Spiritual track. It doesnt consume them, He does. Finances can distract and will bless/multiply what is hiding in your heart - both good and bad. But we want to come out ahead on this and it is going to take a Body effort. Some serious and advantageous needs can be met if the resources are there and if people have the right heart and blessing to give. God can watch over the money and bless it and direct it! Treasures in the Body God is after our heart and our treasure often speaks of where we are going in life. If we have treasure, we as individuals and the Church will use it for the directions we want it to go into. If you are like me, you have a thousand ideas, but when it is actually there, you do have to make decisions and we want those decisions to work wisely with life, and with the PLEASURE of being able to love others BECAUSE we have first loved ourselves - even enough to turn us to the Living God who daily loads us with benefits. This makes us more like Him who loved the world so much that He gave Himself to us and even laid down His life for us. God has treasurers in the Body who are good householders (guardians of the House). Dont let Judas Iscariot give them all a bad name! Its the good that will separate the false. They are part of the gifts of administrations mentioned in the Scriptures. God has supplied them for us if they will do their assignments. 1 Corinthians 12:28 And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. But to give our monies their right destination and management, we first have to get the money! Money is not evil, its the love of it, the lust for it, that is. We have to guard our hearts and that even involves how we give in offerings, and the spirit in which the offerings are collected. Proverbs 16:7 When a mans ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. What you sow you reap! If you have casual offerings, they will work for casual needs. It will work! But we also need the basic needs and serious needs and the serving needs met at home and church. God wants to give us our manna every day. We can store up some for practical wisdom, but if too much is stored, it could turn to worms, if not used when it should have been used and the extra given away to a real needy situation. If we feel right and good and serious about giving our money, the Spirit of God will bless that. But if we dont feel that because we cant feel that by the way the offering is taken or received, then the blessing of our money offerings become vulnerable to outside attack because they are not being covered by God. Some people think the Church is a sideline hobby - the world certainly thinks that - or they think we can just worship any old way we please, because its looked at as something we do to entertain ourselves and find comfort and solace from what we know is a fallen world wanting to be fully redeemed. Worshipping Through Giving When we give our offerings to the Lord, it should be in a spirit of worship and practicality. Practical because it is going for good redeeming purposes, and worshipful because it does make a difference if God blesses it or not! Giving just to be giving, or giving because we are a fan of the church or the preacher is not worshiping God. That is cavalier and on the border of being despised. However, when our hearts are right, and we want to see good and we do see it through our offerings, it becomes a lifestyle that blesses us, but God will test our hearts so both He and we can see the directions it is going in. We have to try new things because that is how growth happens, and we do learn, and sometimes make mistakes, or we gain wisdom from what we didnt know which makes us do it better the next time. Sometimes we can get too self-focused, and sometimes we can fail to focus enough on ourselves! God wants balance for us - spirit, soul and body, and when we lose control over that management, He will step in until we can walk this thing the right way. Hopefully we will hear well enough to get the blessing. We love Him because He first loved us. We love others because He loves us. There is a flow, and a Fountain Head. When we are blessed, and we give it back to Him, there is a supernatural union and a multiplication that goes on, that multiplies like a seed! We may have to wait for it, or some of it will spring up quickly, but our personal blessing has been because of the giving of others before us. Parents have loved children they didnt even see yet and gave for a future generation. Missionaries serve to change nations from being impoverished. And when we tear that Life down, it makes it harder for everyone to live. If we want everyone else to be right while we are not, we arent on a good foundation. Because our minds are human, there are some traditions that do us well and worship is one of those. God knows the ministry in the Spirit that we need! And He wants us to appreciate Him too, as He labored over this creation and rested on the seventh day. God knows how to stash funds for His children. When tax money was needed, He had money in the bottom of the ocean that some fish thought was a real treat! He can hide it and He can release it. He made the abilities of it knowing that it would work for the system of ministry giftings that we live in. Not all of us can do the same thing, but coming together with our ministry gifts make an amazing organism called the Church! We can take up the offering in cardboard KFC containers or gold and velvet offering plates, but does that honor God? Are we cheap or do we have the gold for the right reasons? I hope you get my point. What can end up in a KFC bucket can do a lot of good for people if there is reverence. The gold plate can speak of honor, or arrogance, depending on our hearts and rituals. Do you view that money as a stewardship? Stewardship Does Make a Difference There is no legalism trying to be put on you here. Practical is sometimes way better than performance, if you get my drift. But cavalier can really hurt us just as much as the pride. As you know, there is the good healthy self-esteem kind of pride and then the arrogance kind that hurts everyone around it. We know what is better! The world will come to our free meals, but they wont always worship our God. Our stewardship makes a big difference in the direction the world/us is/are going into. If we dont bless our finances now, we will be looking for finances for God to bless! Read it in the book of Joel 2:11-14 11 The Lord gives voice before His army, for His camp is very great; For strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; who can endure it? 12 Now, therefore, says the Lord, Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. 13 So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm. 14 Who knows if He will turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind Him - A grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God? Pam Clark
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 04:37:47 +0000
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