Wealth According to God.

Matthew 5:1-10
1 Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them saying:
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

These are called the Beatitudes. It's a very common passage in the New Testament. Which Beatitude is the most meaningful to you? It's hard for me to choose but I'd have to say verses four and ten. Verse ten in a way goes along with what we talked about yesterday. God's standards don't necessarily match up to the world's standards. It's comforting knowing that God is supporting you 100 percent for those who shoot you down for doing the right thing. If you keep pursuing righteousness despite this, then we are told, "[yours] is the kingdom of heaven."

The second day we talked about being "free to share WEALTH." Often our perspective on wealth and God's perspective on wealth are completely different. What do you think of when you hear the word wealth? Wealth is "an abundance of valuable possessions or money; plentiful supplies of a particular resource." I know after taking a few mission trips I am wealthy compared to them. I am so lucky to have electricity, running water, an education, two parents, a cell phone, a computer, television, and medicine.

I can't help but at least sometimes think that wealth has to do with having an abundance of money. Really it can mean having an abundance in other resources and having vast opportunities.

Try living your life realizing that wealth isn't about having all the money in the world. Did you ever think of wealth as having a lot of time to be a blessing to others? Did you ever think of wealth as having God in your life?

No matter what you have, try and be generous going the extra mile to give. It can be to give money to the homeless. In the same way, it can also be sharing your faith with someone who is unsaved. It can also be helping someone get through a very difficult time in their life. It can also be getting to know someone a little better. Wealth and giving is unique and everyone can do spread their wealth in some way.

Our youth works devotional book that we read from last week said, "You may not have a lot of money or things to give away, but you can still share your time, your skills, and your love."

Give to someone today so that they can "Cry Out To Jesus" (by Third Day). Get everyone to have a reason to cry out to him.



P.S. If you have trouble with the video stopping and starting, keep the video paused, and let it "buffer" (load) as it's called for a while. You will see the red bar along the bottom advance (speed depends on your Internet connection). Wait until that bar gets pretty far along (I'd say more than halfway) before you play the video and it shouldn't pause.