Let Go to Hold On -  Let Go of Self-Reliance to Hold On to God-Reliance

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.

How do we “deny ourselves (let go) and follow Jesus (hold on)” in the way we value and use money and wealth? 

Review
In the last message in this series, we listened to Jesus when He talked about money so He could help us “follow Him” in our thinking and doing.  His view was so different than our culture’s view of money.  Several things became clear.

·       Jesus loves us too much to let us handle money on our own!  He has something to say about the subject.

·       It is natural and normal to see money and possessions as proof of success, sources of security, and a ticket to happiness and a well-lived life.  Jesus never leads us in that direction when discussing the subject.  Rather, Jesus actually warns that although using money is necessary and a part of God’s plan it is by nature a stumbling block to faith and a seductive temptress to lure our hearts away from God.  

So with Jesus’ cautions in mind take a look at the powerful words of counsel the Apostle Paul is writing to a young pastor, Timothy, with regards to how Timothy should lead the people of the church in Ephesus.

1 Timothy 6 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
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.18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

Which word of caution in the above verses do you think most people would find convicting if they were really honest?

Which part of Paul’s message do you find most challenging?  Most encouraging?                                          

God is First – The Foundation
Armed with this “Jesus frame of mind” about money we now turn to a core principle that must be grasped or we are never going to make sense of God’s call on our lives to obey and honor Him in all things.  This “truth” is simple to say but profound to live – God is First! That’s it! God is First! He doesn’t fit in any other place in our lives. - It is one thing to say it but it is another to live it.  But, our Father in heaven knows we will struggle with this and He knows we have a tendency to say He is first but then not act like it thus losing some of the benefit of His First-ness in our lives. So He has always given practices, rhythms, and commands for His people to practically do to teach them how to actually live like He is first!

Let’s listen to Jesus first, then we are going to travel back into the Old Testament in order to see how this “God is First” principle has deep roots.

Matthew 6 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 

What does it mean to “seek first His kingdom (reign)” and “seek first His righteousness”? 
How does the promise in verse 33 entice you to trust Him?  How about obey Him? 

God is First – Deep Roots
Out of love for His sinful people God has always given “commanded” practices and rhythms in their lives so that we could actually live like He is first and get better at it.  From early on He called is people to practice Him being first in their lives by presenting offerings of whatever they produced to Him.  Sometimes these offering were burned up and as the smoke ascended is was a powerful metaphor of giving to God.  Sometimes the offering was used by those who were in charge of the faith life of the people so ministry could be done.  Sometimes the offerings to God were used to feed the poor and help the indigent.   What all those ways of offering had in common was that the offering “left” the hand of the one giving and was released to God.  There was “sacrifice” involved on the part of the one giving the offering.  They had to let go of something.  When God called for an offering He expected His word to be honored first.  He often called for the “first” to be given to Him so His people would have a practical way to live like He is first in their lives. In other words - If God is First then the First is God’s.  As you read through some of these “first” offerings and sacrifices that God required notice the step of faith it takes to honor God as first and notice why it is important people have these practical steps of faith to live out.

Genesis 4: Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth[c] a man.” 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

 What do we learn about God’s first-ness from this passage? 
Although not conclusive, what seems to be one difference between the offerings that might explain God’s response?

Exodus 13 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.” 3 Then Moses said to the people, “Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the Lord brought you out of it with a mighty hand. 
 11 “After the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as he promised on oath to you and your ancestors, 12 you are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord. 13 Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons.
14 “In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.’ 16 And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand.”

 What do we learn from this section about “If God is First then the First is God’s”? 
What happened to a leader like Pharaoh when He refused to honor the God of the Israelites as First?

Exodus 20 And God spoke all these words: 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.  3 “You shall have no other gods before me.

What is God saying about how He wants His people, who he has already saved, to live?
Notice God saves first totally by grace, then calls the saved to a new way of life living with a God who they now trust as “first” in their lives. 

Proverbs 3: 5-10 Trust in the Lord with all your heart  and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord and shun evil.8 This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.9 Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first-fruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

What steps of faith is God calling us to in these verses?   How do we “honor God with our wealth” in a practical way in light of these verses?  What promises does God graciously give which call us to trust and to act like it in real life?

Throughout the story of God and His people this “If God is First then the First is Gods” way of life is found.  Out of love for us God gives us these practical means to believe Him, trust Him and act like it.
What areas of life do you think most people struggle with acting like “God is First”? 

Beautiful Faith
Finally, let’s turn to a beautiful story which vividly illustrates God’s call to honor Him as first in every aspect of life, especially when life is hard.   Notice how the act of sacrificing self by “letting go to trust God” seems so unfair or even unwise from a human perspective.  But, in reality, the step of faith to give first to God, is part of the “backward way of Jesus”.  It is the life of a disciple who has answered the Jesus call to “follow me”!

1 Kings 17:8-16 8 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”
12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”
13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”
15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.