No Shortcuts Part IV - Rhody - March 25, 2012 -

NMatthew 4:8-11 - Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” 11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him. [ESV]

- again Satan takes Jesus to a high place
- Jesus ran from it and so should we
- we have he same authority to deal with sin that Jesus did
- satan tempts Jesus With not only stuff but to bow down to stuff
- Jesus knew his mission was to trade his crown for a cross
- we have to transition from valuing stuff two valuing Jesus
- generosity breaks the cycle of materialism
- If Jesus had to tell Satan to get away how fast should we do the same?
- Luke 12:15 - Jesus says that life does not consist in the abundance of possessions
- eat, drink, and be merry is code for I can enjoy my life by myself now
- our stuff needs to look like mud in comparison to Jesus
- sin is always an issue of our heart
- Jesus hits this in Luke 12:21 saying we need to be rich toward God
- am I willing to serve Jesus on His terms or does it have to be mine?

Recognizing STUFF for what it is:

1st: We recognize where it comes from, therefore we desire to give it
- this goes for everything in life. Time, talent, treasure

2nd: We recognize responsibility for what God has given us, therefore we save
- good stewards should save and not be greedy or worship their savings

3rd: We recognize debt as slavery, therefore we have a plan to pay it off and to pay our bills
- don't take shortcuts
- pay your bills and don't be a slave to debt
- freedom in Jesus brings us happiness

4th: We recognize authority, therefore we pay our taxes
- Jesus said pay to Caesars what is Caesars
- don't go thru life complaining. Submit to authority and find ways to bring God glory in it.
- authority issues will destroy all relationship issues you have. Job, family, friends, etc...

5th: We recognize our freedom from worry, therefore we have freedom to spend
- manage your money well

Imagine This:
Watching God use our temporal stuff for his eternal glory

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