We will all be remembered: by someone...by others...for something. So....
What will we be remembered for? What will our LEGACY be?
Will we be remembered for preaching RIGHTEOUSNESS...or for preaching RICHES? Will we be remembered for preaching CONSECRATION to The LORD...or for preaching COMFORT to the LOST? Will we be remembered for preaching FAITH...or for preaching FAVOR? Will we be remembered for preaching HOLINESS...or for preaching HAPPINESS?
Will we be remembered for seeking the KINGDOM of GOD...or for seeking the KINGDOMS of MAN? Will we be remembered for seeking GOD...or for seeking GAIN? Will we be remembered for seeking CHRIST...or for seeking CROWDS? Will we be remembered for seeking ETERNAL BLESSINGS...or for seeking EARTHLY BLESSINGS?
When we are remembered...will we be LOVED for the Gospel we preached...or will we be LOATHED for the gospel we preached?
When we are remembered...will those who heard our message LIVE IN JOY or LIVE IN JUDGMENT?
We will all leave a LEGACY...and our CHILDREN...and FUTURE GENERATIONS...will be a RESULT of all that we have trained them to believe and to pursue.
"But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness..." (Matthew 6:33 NKJV)
The Kingdom of God is measured by RIGHTEOUSNESS.
The Kingdoms of Man are measured by RICHES.
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" (Mark 8:36 NKJV)
What you PREACH is what you SEEK. What you PREACH and SEEK will be your LEGACY. And...your LEGACY will be what you leave your CHILDREN and FUTURE GENERATIONS.
Our MESSAGE leads to PURSUIT...and that PURSUIT is in one direction or the other. There is no middle ground. Will our LEGACY be that we LED people to pursue HEAVEN...or that we LED people to pursue HELL? Will our LEGACY be that we LED people to pursue CHRIST…or that we LED people to pursue COMFORT? Will our LEGACY be that we LED people to pursue RIGHTEOUSNESS…or that we LED people to pursue RICHES?
Our MESSAGE does MATTER. It will be our LEGACY.
But...more than that...it is our ETERNITY.
Will we be remembered for PREACHING CHRIST...OR...will we be remembered for ENTERTAINING a CONGREGATION? Will we be remembered for PREACHING TRUTH…OR…will we be remembered for MAKING MERCHANDISE of the FLOCK? Will we be remembered for actually SPREADING the GOSPEL…OR…will we be remembered for PREACHING COVETOUSNESS?
Matthew 6:19-33 NKJV
19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 "The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. 25 "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 28 So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Note the distinct focuses in this passage:
1. Laying up treasures here on earth VERSUS laying up treasures in Heaven. (verses 19-20)
2. Wherever we are amassing treasures, there will be found our HEART. (verse 21)
3. What we focus on (“the eye”) determines if we are “full of light” or “full of darkness.” (verses 22-23)
4. We cannot focus on TWO things at once. Therefore…a choice must be made. (verse 24)
5. We are not to worry about POSSESSIONS or WEALTH here on earth. God will provide if we are simply faithful. (verses 25-31)
6. God is FULLY aware that we must have a place to live, food to eat, and clothes to wear. We are NOT to put our FOCUS on these things. (verse 32)
7. We are to seek God and His righteousness…making God alone our FOCUS. If we do, God will make sure that we have the necessities mentioned. (The word “things” does NOT refer to a wide variety of WANTS: it references the “things” which had just been mentioned.) (verse 33)
The Bible is consistent in this teaching. Throughout the word of God, we are told that we are NOT to make our FOCUS…our PURSUIT…earthly wealth and riches. Look again at the passage above…and ask yourself:
If God does not want us to FOCUS on the NECESSITIES of life…then how can ANYONE preach and teach that God wants us to FOCUS on and PURSUE our WANTS in life?!?! How can the TRUTH of this reality become so TWISTED in the mouths of those who are a part of the PARADE of FALSE TEACHERS who fill the airwaves on Christian Television?!?!
To even DARE to preach and teach the PROSPERITY GOSPEL is to preach and teach COVETOUSNESS! There is simply no other way to evaluate it. No matter how you package it…no matter the flowering words which surround it…no matter how many passages of Scripture are quoted (our of context, it must be noted)…it boils down to one thing:
THE PULPIT IS PREACHING COVETOUSNESS!
Even as the FALSE TEACHERS twist passages regarding “the wealth of the wicked”…THAT FOCUS on getting “the wealth of the wicked” is COVETOUSNESS! The Bible does NOT teach us that it is OK to COVET things IF those THINGS belong to the WICKED! To COVET is to SIN: PERIOD. If you struggle with that thought…ask yourself this:
If God wants CHRISTIANS to come into POSSESSION of “the wealth of the wicked”…then why did God not apply that principle in the OLD TESTAMENT?? You see…God would tell Israel to take NOTHING when they defeated their enemies! No oxen…no goats…no sheep…no riches! And…when Israel became COVETOUS and GREEDY, disobeying God and KEEPING the SPOILS of their enemies…God’s ANGER was kindled against the King and the people!
Then…many FALSE TEACHERS misuse the passages of Scripture which discuss Israel coming out of the land of Egypt as their “proof” that God wanted His people rich. Again…I shake my head at the SERMONIZING…as the passages are STRETCHED and APPLICATION is made based on SUPPOSITION…and on Scriptures AGAIN taken out of context. If the purpose of Israel leaving Egypt with various POSSESSIONS and some amount of RICHES was to teach us “the wealth of the wicked” principle…then we again run into major issues when Israel FINALLY gets to the PROMISED LAND and God will NOT allow Israel to take the spoils of that land’s inhabitants.
Amazingly…the proponents of the PROSPERITY GOSPEL who use the EXODUS FROM EGYPT as a “proof text” that God wants us rich simply IGNORE the REALITY of what those RICHES ended up being USED FOR:
The TABERNACLE and its CONTENTS! (Of course…that is after a foray into a GOLDEN CALF fiasco!)
The TABERNACLE and its CONTENTS were made from the “prosperity” which was brought out of Egypt! Gold…silver…even the MIRRORS which they carried were used! Go study the passages in Exodus…and there you will find it! In Exodus 3 we learn that God says the people will get these possessions from the Egyptians. In Exodus 12 we find them GETTING these possessions. Then…in Exodus 25...we find the people giving these possessions as an OFFERING which God commanded…an offering to be used to BUILD THE TABERNACLE!
NEVER does the story of the EXODUS even REMOTELY teach that God wants us RICH! It teaches us that God had a SPECIFIC PURPOSE in having Israel leave Egypt with those possessions…and that SPECIFIC PURPOSE was NOT for PERSONAL GAIN…it was for WORSHIP!! The PEOPLE were only the CARETAKERS of the WEALTH: they DID NOT and COULD NOT spend it on THEMSELVES! And…even the ANIMALS served a purpose! Many were to be SACRIFICES in that TABERNACLE!
Not ONCE do we find SELFISH INDULGENCE as the PURPOSE of the EXODUS story!
Not ONCE do we find the theme of the EXODUS is COVETOUSNESS!
Repeatedly…consistently…constantly…the Word of God teaches that SEEKING WEALTH is NOT of God! And…only BLINDNESS can believe that the PROSPERITY GOSPEL is not a gospel of COVETOUSNESS!
So…what MESSAGE will we leave behind? What MESSAGE will our children and those who come after us FIND was our FOCUS? What LEGACY will we leave them?
When our bodies are dead and buried…when we are long gone…will those who come after us discover that our words…in various forms (whether WRITTEN BY HAND or PRINTED IN BOOKS or SAVED ON A COMPUTER)…reveal a PURSUIT OF GOD or a PURSUIT OF RICHES?
Our MESSAGE today will be our LEGACY tomorrow.
What will YOUR legacy be?
