ICS Daily Devotions
Refuse to Be Owned by Riches
Mark 10:29-30 (NJKV) So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.
The real test of whether we have a breakthrough in the area of money is through giving. When we don’t hoard money but see ourselves as stewards of God’s money, we will be willing to part with it to finance God’s work. Though we are not saved by good works, we are certainly saved to do good works! God has a heart for the poor and He will mobilise His body—the church—to carry out His acts of mercy and compassion. Therefore, the supply of money from God will be funnelled through His body, with more responsibilities expected when much is given to us.
While we expect God to fulfill His part of His covenant obligations, we should also have the same mindset if God were to call upon us as His covenant partners to sow into His Kingdom through free will offering over and above the normal 10% tithe. In fact, He might challenge us to give an extraordinary amount in order to keep us dependent on Him and to keep our faith in Him rather than on ourselves.
With men, it is impossible, but with God all things are possible because those rich and successful people who are godly and have consecrated their lives to God will be mobilised to give and support the work of the ministry. They will not allow riches to own them but allow the Lordship of Christ to instruct them in being good stewards of God’s money.
If you desire to do well, be successful, influential and rich, you mustn’t be ashamed of Jesus in the marketplace or allow money and power to own you. Your priority will be God first, family second and business third. Keep your eyes focused on God and remember that it is His power that helps you to gain wealth and influence. If we recognise that God is the source of our provision and success, we will not compromise with the world, but will seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and believe that all these things will be added to us as well. It will keep us humble when we acknowledge that God is source and we are the stewards.
Sermon Series: Are You Young and Rich
