The Seventh Commandment Gods Gift of Possessions I

The Seventh Commandment God’s Gift of Possessions

I NTRODUCTION �How many of you get an allowance or have a job like babysitting or lawn mowing? �What sort of things do you spend your money on? �It’s nice to have some money to spend on some things that are your very own. �That’s one of the things we want to talk about today. We want to answer the 2

STUDYING GOD’SWORD What Does God Teach Us About His Gifts Of Possessions? 3

STUDYING GOD’SWORD Where Do Our Possessions Come From? 4

WHERE DO POSSESSIONS COME FROM? �James 1: 17: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. ” �Ecclesiastes 5: 19: “Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God. ” 5

WHERE DO POSSESSIONS COME FROM? �OUR POSSESSIONS ARE A GIFT OF GOD TO US. �Job was blessed by God: � Ten children � 11, 000 sheep, camels, oxen and donkeys. (In those days wealth was measured by animals in the pen and not money in the bank) � He also had many servants �But in one day it was all taken away. What was Job’s response? �“The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised. ” �He knew everything he had was a gift from God. 6

WHERE DO POSSESSIONS COME FROM? �Our possessions are a gift from our gracious God. 7

STUDYING GOD’SWORD How Does God Give These Gifts To Me? 8

HOW DOES GOD GIVE ME HIS GIFTS? � Deuteronomy 8: 17, 18: “You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me. ’ 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today. ” � GOD GIVES ABILITY TO WORK. � Sometimes people complain about having to work hard in order to have even a little income. But talk to a person who has lost his eyesight or has to spend the whole day in a wheelchair. That person will most likely tell you he wishes he could work like those people do. When God gives us health so that we are able to work, that is a wonderful blessing. � God also gives people many skills, distributing them to each person as he sees fit. Here are some of the skills: artistic, athletic, mechanical, good singer or actor, the ability to, parenting skills, etc. Any skill you have, or will discover as you go on in school and then begin to work fulltime, is also a blessing from God. 9

HOW DOES GOD GIVE ME HIS GIFTS? � � Genesis 24: 52, 53: “When Abraham’s servant heard what they said, he bowed down to the ground before the LORD. 53 Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave costly gifts to her brother and to her mother. ” GIFTS FROM FRIENDS AND RELATIVES. We have lots of opportunities to give and receive gifts, like Christmas, and birthday’s. Can you think of other times when we receive gifts from loved ones? All of these are ways that God gives us 10 possessions.

HOW DOES GOD GIVE ME HIS GIFTS? � 1 Kings 21: 2, 3: “Ahab said to Naboth, ‘Let me have your vineyard � GOD GIVES US POSSESSIONS THROUGH INHERITANCE. � � to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth. ’ 3 But Naboth replied, ‘The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers. ’” Sometimes grandparents set up a college fund in their will for their grandchildren so they can go to college without going into debt too deeply. Or in a farming community the parents often leave the farm to one of their children who will run the farm. These possessions people get from an inheritance are also ways that God gives us more and more possessions. 11

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Earnings From Employment 13

Gifts 14

Inheritance 15

STUDYING GOD’SWORD What Does God Always Want Me To Remember About My Possessions? 16

WHAT SHOULD I REMEMBER? �Psalm 24: 1: “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. ” � 1 Corinthians 4: 2: “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. ” 17

WHAT SHOULD I REMEMBER? � HE STILL OWNS THEM. WE ARE JUST CARETAKERS OF THEM. (STEWARDSHIP) � Many huge dairy farms these days, may be owned by one person who hires several managers to run it. A manager might point to the farm and say, “That’s my farm. ” Would he be lying? � No, he wouldn’t be lying. It’s his in the sense that he’s responsible for caring for it. However, it really belongs to the owner. � Everything in our possession we call “ours” and that is true In the same way we are managers of our possessions, but they really belong to God has placed it into our care to use responsibly until he comes again in glory. 18

Responsible Caretakers 19

STUDYING GOD’SWORD How Does God Want Me To Use The Possessions He Has Given Me? 20

HOW DO WE USE GOD’S POSSESSIONS? � Mark 12: 41 -44: “Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. 43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, ‘I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on. ’” 21

HOW DO WE USE GOD’S POSSESSIONS? � � CHEERFULLY TO SUPPORT THE WORK OF HIS CHURCH. In the Old Testament God required that his people who had the promise of the coming Savior give ten percent of all they owned to support the worship activities at the temple. In Malachi 3: 8 -10 God says that they were “robbing him” if they didn’t do this regularly and cheerfully. During New Testament times God does not demand ten percent of us who have the fulfillment of his promises in Christ. Rather, he gives us the freedom to decide how much to give and in this way show us how much we love him. What percentage of your allowance or the money you earn on your job do you give back to God to express your thanks to him for all he has done for you? Or do you just spend it all on yourself!? Whatever is most important you do first. When you make a list you write down the most important item first. Our gifts to the Lord need to be at the top of our list. 22

� 1 HOW DO WE USE GOD’S POSSESSIONS? Timothy 5: 8: “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. ” � FOR MY FAMILY NEEDS. � Sometimes we hear a news story about parents who have neglected their children, leaving them alone and not feeding them for days. Even non-Christians are shocked by this. � How much more will we Christians realize the need to care for our families. 23

HOW DO WE USE GOD’S POSSESSIONS? � 1 John 3: 17: “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? ” � TO HELP THE NEEDY. � God wants us to help out those who are in need: the sick and injured, those unable to work, or those who have lost their home in a disaster like a tornado. � One way to do this is through the WELS Committee on Relief. 24

HOW DO WE USE GOD’S POSSESSIONS? � Romans 13: 6, 7: “This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. ” � TO PAY TAXES. � There is lots of complaining around April 15—TAX DAY! God wants us to avoid complaining and cheerfully pay our taxes, giving thanks to him for all the blessings he brings to us through our government. � Can you name some of those blessings? 25

HOW DO WE USE GOD’S POSSESSIONS? � 1 Timothy 6: 17: “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. � � � FOR OUR ENJOYMENT. If we use our possessions to do all the previous things, we might think, “If I do all those things, I won’t have anything left for my own enjoyment. ” But God also does give us possessions for us to get some enjoyment from them in life. The danger comes when we selfishly put our own enjoyment ahead of doing these other things instead of putting them on an even par so that we use our possessions both for our own enjoyment and to do all the other purposes for which God gives us possessions. 26

Family 27

Church Work 28

Needy 29

Taxes 30

Enjoyment 31

GOD’SWORD IN MY LIFE �Agree or disagree? It’s wrong to save money for yourself in a saving's account. �Evaluate: Johnny said, “We tip the waitress at the restaurant 15% to thank her. It seems to me that any decent Christian would give at least that much of his income in offerings to thank God. ” 32

GOD’SWORD IN MY LIFE �George said, “I don't have to help out the needy because I already help them by paying for welfare with my taxes. ” How do you answer George? �Agree or disagree? Giving a needy person a handout is actually harming him/her because it teaches that person to be lazy. 33

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Earnings From Employment 35

Gifts 36

Responsible Caretakers 37

Family 38

Church Work 39

Needy 40

Taxes 41

Enjoyment 42

WHAT HAVE I LEARNED? �God teaches me that my possessions are his gift to me to use in ways that please him. 43

ASSIGNMENT FOR NEXT TIME REVIEWING THE LESSON 1. Review your notes; be sure you understand them. MEMORY WORK 1. Memorize passages 451, 459 & 7 th Commandment. 44