Blessings in Heaven and on the Earth

Blessings in Heaven and on the Earth                 6 Nov. 2011

Good morning brothers and sisters,

Two weeks ago, some people in Hong Kong responded to the U.S occupy Wall Street movement; they initiated to occupy Central, in fact, they occupied the ground floor of HSBC as a place to discuss the path of social movement.  The demands of the participants are obviously much more than the occupation of Wall Street, some are dissatisfied about the influence of financial institutions, some are dissatisfied with the high property prices, some are dissatisfied about the cookie-cutter lifestyles , some people advocate to overthrow Capitalism, some are just asking to amend Capitalism, some people don’t even know what Capitalism is. What other types of systems are available? How to transit the current system to the Utopia? To sum up, what people care about is the living on earth.

From today’s Scripture, we can see that the greatest hope and blessing for Christians is not in this world, but in the future in Heaven, to be with Father forever.

But the Bible didn’t mention that God doesn’t bless our living on earth. In fact, from the Old Testament, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob that God loved were wealthy patriarchs at the nomadic era. Under God’s blessing, Joseph became the ruler of Egypt, David and Solomon even became the king of a country.

The Lord led the Israelites to liberate from slavery; but they still had water and food for 40 years in the wilderness. In Deuteronomy 28:11-12 He promised to give his children prosperity in the land. In Leviticus chapter 25, the Lord said to the Israelites, the land itself must observe a Sabbath to the Lord, but the Lord will send them such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years.

In Matthew chapter 25, God asked us no matter how many blessings we receive, we still have to make the best use of our money and talent that God gave us.

However, our students might say “make the best use of what? We have nothing.” And some adults may complain “A financial crisis will take everything away from me” So, how does God bless us? Or in another way of saying, how shall we live in order to receive God’s blessing?

Have we ever paid attention to the Bible teaching us how we shall live to receive God’s blessing? We all have a Bible, you can go though it later. Today, I have selected only a few keys and chapters to share with all of you.

(1)  First, we have to understand what the most important thing is.

 Matthew 6:33, in the Sermon on the Mount, God talked about we should not be anxious about the lower things, but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Pursuing material wealth in the world is much like going after a boyfriend or girlfriend -- the harder you chase, the faster they run from you. So you don’t have to worry about anything if you concentrate on doing things that God asks you to do, because God will give you those things eventually.

The most important one, is seeking His kingdom, do what the Lord asks you to do. What does this mean? What does the Lord want us to do? In Mark 12:29 Jesus answered “The most important one, is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”

We understand the meaning of “Love your neighbor as yourself,” although it’s standard is very high.  But God is a spirit; we can’t see him nor touch him, so how can we love him? In Matthew 25: 40, the king replies 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me.' So we should serve God through serving our brothers, if we serve them with our heart, then God will just give us everything we need.

The Bible also teaches us to have a frugal life and if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. So, in theory, the saving rate of Christians should be higher than non-Christians. God gives us wealth, he also asks people to be a good steward. The Bible also teaches us money management, but we should first adjust our attitude toward life.

(2) Second, we have to admit our own ignorance.

Time changes, the activity of God is unpredictable, it’s often beyond our understanding. Ecclesiastes 11:5 and Job 42:2-3 point out; we cannot understand the activity of God. Job admitted his ignorance, that he cannot understand the wonderful things of God. Then, God gave blessing to Job again. Job became wealthier than before. This is the effect of Steve jobs’ well known saying “stay foolish”.

Life is unpredictable, how can we be a good steward of God? Proverbs 21:5 says” Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty Shortcuts lead to poverty.”

The Bible often praises people who are good at planning and work hard. We all know the effect of hard-working. But how can we plan and manage the wealth that god gave us when our life is full of risks and uncertainties? Does the Bible has anything clue about this? Yes, In Ecclesiastes chapter 11 has given a clear idea about this.

(a) Put your saving in productive places. Do not bury in the ground.

(b) Divide your investments among 7 to 8 categories; do not put all eggs in one basket.

(c) Invest in different time intervals, don’t believe in your own timing.

(d) Find out the proportion of asset allocation of God, after a great challenge, re-adjust ourselves, and restore this proportion.

(3) Thirdly, we only have to manage what God gives us, do not be greedy.

Timothy chapter 6 points out the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. They fall into temptation and are plunged into ruin and destruction. And some people, craving money, will lead to destruction and fall. Proverbs 3:7 says “Don't be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the LORD and turn away from evil.” Turn away from the greedy. Be a contrarian. The Bible says there is a Sabbath after every 6 years. Before the Sabbath, the Lord will provide you enough for 3 years.

(4) Lastly, listen to Jesus’ words; store your treasures in heaven. If we follow the instructions in the Bible, manage what God give us. What’s in the long run? A famous economist in the last century called John Maynard Keynes answered this question; he said “in the long run, we are all dead.” The Bible also point out the same thing, Ecclesiastes 5:15 says “We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can't take our riches with us. “Come naked, go naked, is a necessary process for every individual.

Jesus knows we tie our heart and wealth up together. Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-21“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”

He asks us to store our heart in heaven. So he wants us to store our treasures in heaven, don’t store them in the ground. Storing treasures means make sure those treasures are under our control, and we can use them freely. Jesus didn’t point out we will leave naked, in the long run, it’s impossible to store our treasures on the ground. The problem is we won’t have the chance to store our treasures in heaven when we are dead, that’s why Jesus asks us to store our treasures in heaven before we go to heaven.

My brothers and sisters, the visit of our volunteer team today is to use action to answer Jesus’ instructions. May we all be willing to be a good steward of God, no matter how many blessings he gives us. May His words be retained in our hearts, Amen.