THE RICHES OF GOD'S PEOPLE
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THE RICHES OF GOD'S PEOPLE
By George W. Sinquefield
(2 Cor 8:9 KJV) "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich."
An elderly lady walked into an insurance office during the great depression. she wanted to know if she could stop paying the premiums on her husbands life insurance policy. He had been dead for some time. The clerk checked and discovered that the policy was worth sever hundred thousand dollars. This poor lady was rich but she did not know it. No one had ever explained to her how life insurance works.
Everyone in Christ, everyone who has accepted Him as Lord and Savior, is very rich. Many do not realize it, because no one has explained the truth to them. Now notice this again. Jesus became poor in order that you and I might become rich. How poor did Jesus become? That is answered in the following Scripture:
(Phil 2:5 KJV) "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:"
(Phil 2:6 KJV) "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:"
(Phil 2:7 KJV) "But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:"
(Phil 2:8 KJV) "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."
The lost, those who have never been saved by trusting Jesus, are the poorest of the poor regardless of how much of this world's goods they possess.
One has said, "While those non-believers who strive to fence in as much of this world's goods as they possibly can really own nothing at all."
Proverbs 13:7 puts it like this.
(Prov 13:7 KJV) "There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches."
Who is a fool according to God's Word? It is he who spends his life striving to accumulate much of this world's goods but has laid up no treasures in Heaven.
(Luke 12:15 KJV) "And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth."
(Luke 12:16 KJV) "And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:"
(Luke 12:17 KJV) "And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?"
(Luke 12:18 KJV) "And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods."
(Luke 12:19 KJV) "And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry."
(Luke 12:20 KJV) "But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?"
(Luke 12:21 KJV) "So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."
(Luke 16:19 KJV) "There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:"
(Luke 16:20 KJV) "And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,"
(Luke 16:21 KJV) "And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores."
(Luke 16:22 KJV) "And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;"
(Luke 16:23 KJV) "And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom."
(Luke 16:24 KJV) "And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame."
(Luke 16:25 KJV) "But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented."
I. Christians are rich because God is their Father.
God is not the Father of the lost. The Bible tells us that the devil is their father. Jesus in the sermon on the mount spake often of God as our Father.
(Mat 6:1 KJV) "Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven."
(Mat 6:2 KJV) "Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward."
(Mat 6:3 KJV) "But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:"
(Mat 6:4 KJV) "That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly."
(Mat 6:6 KJV) "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."
(Mat 6:15 KJV) "But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
(Mat 6:26 KJV) "Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?"
(Mat 6:32 KJV) "(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things."
(Mat 7:11 KJV) "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?"
God is our Father. He redeemed us. He bought us.
(1 Cor 6:19 KJV) "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?"
(1 Pet 1:18 KJV) "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;"
(1 Pet 1:19 KJV) "But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:"
Three men walked by a building and each of them said, "That is my house" and they were all right. The first man built the house. The second man bought the house and the third man rented the house. On the same three counts, God owns every believer. The Father created us, the Son, our Savior, bought us and the Holy Spirit indwells us.
It is good for us to distinguish between what we were when we were lost in sin and what we are now as a child of God.
We were chaff, now we are wheat; we were dross, now we are gold; we were raven, now we are doves; we were goats, now we are sheep; we were thorns now we are grapes; we were thistles, now we are lilies; we were strangers, now we are citizens; hell was our inheritance, now heaven is our possession; we were children of wrath, now we are sons of mercy; we were bond slaves to Satan, now we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Jesus Christ. -- James Bisse
(Eph 2:1 KJV) "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins:"
(Eph 2:2 KJV) "Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:"
(Eph 2:3 KJV) "Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others."
(Eph 2:4 KJV) "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,"
(Eph 2:5 KJV) "Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)"
(Eph 2:6 KJV) "And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:"
(Eph 2:7 KJV) "That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus."
An unknown poet has written:
I may be young; I may be old,
But I am somebody, For I am God's Child.
I may be educated; I may be unlettered,
But I am somebody, For I am God's Child.
I may be black; I may be white,
But I am somebody, For I am God's Child.
I may be rich; I may be poor,
But I am somebody, For I am God's Child.
I may be fat; I may be thin,
But I am somebody, For I am God's Child.
I may be married; I may be divorced,
But I am somebody, For I am God's Child.
I may be successful; I may be a failure,
But I am somebody, For I am God's Child.
I may be a sinner; I may be a saint,
But I am somebody, For Jesus is my Savior.
I am God's Child
II. Our Father will provide for us.
(Mat 6:25 KJV) "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?"
(Mat 6:26 KJV) "Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?"
(Rom 8:32 KJV) "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"
We often worry and fret. We fear that we may not have enough material things. One has said, "If a sparrow cannot fly through the heavens without attracting God's attention, surely the needs of His people cannot go unnoticed."
Dr. Kenneth Chafin, on the Baptist Hour, August 17, 1969 said:
"When our first child was born I found myself anxious to do everything that I could to make her happy. One evening I was standing over her crib and I spoke to her. 'Nancy, we are glad that you are here. We love you. We want you to enjoy life. We want to do everything we can to make you happy.' Suddenly I thought of the scripture, 'If you being evil know how to give good gifts unto you children how much more shall your Father which is in Heaven give good things to them that ask Him' (Matthew 7:11)."
He went back to his room thinking. God is my heavenly Father. He loves me and I know I can trust Him to give me that which I need.
III. We are rich because we are heirs of God.
(Rom 8:17 KJV) "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."
Someone said to a Christian woman who was very poor, "Your church is full of rich people." She replied, "Yes, and I am the richest one of them all." She knew true riches and she knew she was indeed rich because she was a Child of God.
An old black woman was walking down the road singing. She seemed to be so happy. A man said to her, "How can you sing like that? How can you be happy when you are so poor? You don't own a thing in the world."
She said, "Look to the east and to the west and to the south and to the north. My Heavenly father owns all of that and I own it too because I'm His Child."
The elder son complained that the father had prepared a banquet for the returned prodigal. The father said, "Son you are ever with me and all that I have belongs to you."
So our Heavenly Father says to us, "My child, you are always with me and all that I have is yours."
Praise God, we Christians are heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.
Many times our hearts have been made to rejoice as we sing this song:
My Father is rich in
houses and lands.
He holdeth the wealth of the world in His hands,
Of rubies and diamonds, of silver and gold,
His coffers are full. He has riches untold.
My Father's own Son, the Savior of men,
Once wandered on earth as the poorest of them,
But now He is pleading our pardon on high,
That we may be His when He comes by and by.
I once was an outcast stranger on earth,
A sinner by choice, and and alien by birth;
But I've been adopted, my name's written down,
An heir to a mansion, a robe, and a crown.
A tent or a cottage, why should I care?
They're building a mansion for me over there;
Tho exiled from home, yet, still I may sing,
All glory to God, I'm a child of the King.
I'm a child of the King, a child of the King.
With Jesus my Savior, I'm a child of the King.
The whole world mourned when John F. Kennedy was brutally cut down in the prime of his life. None of us will ever forget those four days in which history unfolded before us on our television screens.
It was not long after the funeral that our late President's will was made public. He left a fabulous fortune with wise provisions for courageous Jackie and to Carolyn and John-John. Perhaps some were envious that they should have so much, but children of God need never be envious. Just think of "an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away reserved in heaven for you."
I copied the following from a devotional booklet:
A large sum of money was given to Rowland Hill to dispense to a poor pastor. Thinking that the amount was too much to send all at once, Hill forwarded just a portion along with a note that said simply, "More to follow." In a few days the man received another envelope containing the same amount and with the same message, "More to follow." At the regular intervals, there came a third, and a fourth. In fact, they continued, along with those cheering words, until the entire sum had been received.
C. H. Spurgeon used this story to illustrate that the good things we receive from God always come with the same prospect of more to follow. He said:
When God forgives our sins, there's more forgiveness to follow.
He justifies us in the righteousness of Christ, but there's more
to follow.
He adopts us into His family, but there's more to follow.
He prepares us for heaven, but there's more to follow.
He gives us grace, but there's more to follow.
He helps us to old age, but there's still more to follow.
Spurgeon concluded, "Even when we arrive in the world to come, there will still be more to follow."
Yes, God's blessings are endless. Throughout eternity we shall enjoy the benefits of His everlasting kindness. There will always be "more to follow."
Are you ever
burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings -- every doubt will fly,
And you will be singing as the days go by.
A king once told a man who was a favorite of his, "Ask what you will and I will give it to you." The man thought, "If I should ask to be made general, I shall readily obtain it. If I should ask for half of the kingdom, he will give it to me. I shall ask for something to which all of these shall be added. So he said to the king, "Give me your daughter to be my wife." The king did so and that made him heir of all the wealth and honor of the kingdom.
(1 Cor 3:21 KJV) "Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;"
(1 Cor 3:22 KJV) "Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;"
(1 Cor 3:23 KJV) "And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's."
IV. We Christians are on our way home.
A preacher tells of standing on the platform of the depot in Columbus, Ohio talking to a group of students of the Ohio State University. They were so happy, singing, cheering and joyfully back slapping. He said to them, "What are you all so glad about?" "Oh," they said, "Its Christmas and we are all going home!" Heaven is our home and we are on our way there. Jesus said that we'll be with Him.
(John 14:1 KJV) "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me."
(John 14:2 KJV) "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you."
(John 14:3 KJV) "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."
Another great truth is that we'll, not only be with Jesus but we'll be like Him.
(Rom 8:29 KJV) "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren."
(1 John 3:2 KJV) "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."
One has said, "We do not know much about the future, but we know Him who holds the future in His hands, and for God's trusting child the future is better than the past." We would say that the future is ten thousand times better than the past or the present.
Benjamin Reaves tells about a little fellow whose mother had died. His father was trying hard to be both Mom and Dad under difficult circumstances. The father had scheduled a picnic for the two of them. The little fellow had never been on a picnic. He was excited -- so excited that he couldn't sleep. Soon there was the patter of little feet down the hall to where his father was sleeping. He shook his Dad who would have responded gruffly except he saw the expression on his little son's face. "What's the matter, son?" he asked. The little fellow said, "Oh, Daddy, tomorrow's going to be so wonderful. I just can't sleep I'm so excited."
The father laughed and said, "Son, it won't be wonderful if we don't get some sleep. Now you go back to your bedroom and try to sleep."
A while later the ritual was repeated. The father was already sleeping soundly, when the boy placed an excited hand on his shoulder. "What do you want now?" his father asked.
"Daddy," said the boy, "I just want to thank you for tomorrow."
That's our prayer, isn't it? "Father, I just want to thank you for tomorrow."
When we all get to Heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be,
When we all see Jesus,
We'll sing and shout the victory
Are you rich? You are if you are a child of God. "Amazing sight the Savior stands and knocks at every door. Ten thousand blessings in His hand to satisfy the poor."
Have you opened the door of your life to let Jesus in?
