Current Message - The Big Rip Off 4/5/09
TKC Ministries - Leon Hagins
Luke 4:1-8 - And Jesus being filled with the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.
And the devil said unto him, if thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him saying , It is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but every word of God.
And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed (showed) unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, all this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, get thee behind me Satan: for it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
There are many people on this planet who would have taken the devil up on his offer. We live in an age where people crave power and riches. While the good Lord has no problem with anyone having power and riches, he does have a problem if it was gained in an evil manner and being used to obtain more selfish wealth along with oppressing the poor.
Of course all riches are not gained wrongfully or unlawfully. In many cases, great sums of wealth are obtained through hard work and determination. However one has to be cautious in not being sucked into believing that you are now “all that and a bag of chips” J. Oh yes my friends, many a person has had their mind blown by success. They get so whacked out of reality they get to the point that the good Lord and his Holy Word, have become just another fairy tale, something most people have heard of, but not so important to keep them interested, even though it has to do with one of the most powerful entities in existence……The Almighty, The Creator, The Ancient of Days, The Alpha & The Omega, His name is Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Prince of Peace, The Great I Am that I Am, Our Lord and Savior. He has other names. Here are a few more…
Elohim : My Creator (Genesis 1:1)
Jehovah : My Lord God (Genesis 2:7)
El Shaddai : My Supplier (Genesis 17:1
Adonai : My Master and Lord (Genesis 18:3)
Jehovah Jireh : My Provider (Genesis 22:14)
Jehovah Rophe : My Healer (Exodus 15:26)
Jehovah Nissi : My Banner and Victory (Exodus 17:15)
Jehovah Mikkadesh : My Sanctifier (Leviticus 20:7-8)
Jehovah Tsidkenu : My Righteousness (Jeremiah 23:5-6)
Jehovah Shalom : My Peace (Judges 6:24)
Jehovah Rohi : My Shepherd (Psalm 23:1)
Jehovah Shammah : My Abiding Presence, The Lord Is There (Ezekiel 48:35)
I listed as many names as I could think of to show the importance of the great and tremendously powerful supernatural being called God. And it’s sad that arrogance , ignorance, unbelief ,lust , $$$ , laziness, craziness , and a host of other things , will take precedence over getting into a relationship with our maker.
I was listening to a preacher, from one of my many gospel tapes, CDs, and DVDs I have in my possession. And this preacher was telling a story about his early years when he was first getting into the ministry. He said that one day, while walking through the park, he came across a rabbi, sitting on a park bench. He thought, “wow, what an opportunity!, a chance to get some insight from a spiritual leader”. He then greeted this man and asked him his advice concerning his desire to grow spiritually and help minister to others. To his utter disbelief the rabbi responded by saying “ Son, I tell you what you do, go to school and learn a good profession, or learn a good trade, and don’t worry too much about all that other stuff“.
Needless to say the young and hungry minister was taken back by this so called man of God’s answer to his inquiry. However the rabbi’s nonchalant answer did not deter this man, and actually it fueled his desire to seek God even more so, due to this rabbi’s warped sense of reality. We would expect someone from the secular world to think in such a manner, however we can clearly see how this thinking has worked it’s way into the church. I have never heard so much prosperity teaching coming from the pulpit, in all my life. Hey I want to be blessed of God Too! Who wouldn’t want to be? However this whole little thing we call life, it was not designed just so God could bless us.
Mark 8:36 - What doth it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul.
Mat. 6:33 - But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (one of my favorites J ) This verse of scripture sums it up. It’s short and sweet and right to the point. Before you do anything else, Seek the Kingdom of God first and his righteousness. What is righteousness?
7 acts of a righteous man - ref. DKS bible pg. 905
1 Delights in the word of God Psalm 1:2
2 Meditates on God’s word day & night Psalm 1:2
3 Consecrates to obey God’s word Psalm 1:1
4 Makes it his rule of life and conduct James 1:22-27
5 Makes it his standard of faith and religion 2 Tim. 3:16-17
6 Reads it to gain knowledge and wisdom Mt. 24:15 ; Eph. 3:4 ; Rev. 1:3
7 Feeds on it to grow spiritually 1 Pet. 2:1-3 ; Rom.10:17
1 Showed goodness to enemies Psalm 35:12
2 Had compassion on the sick Psalm 35:13
3 Fasted for sick enemies
4 Prayed for enemies
5 Showed no hatred for enemies
6 Mourned for enemies
Mat. 6:19-21 - Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be.
Pr. 11:4 - Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivered from death.
Jam. 5:1-7 - Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered:; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last of days. Behold the hire of the labourers (laborers)
1 Tim. 6:9-10 - But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition (perilous way, damnation) For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.The love of money, not money itself, is the root of all these evils of v 9-10. Even the love of it is not the root of all evil that has ever been.
Neither Lucifer nor Adam fell because of love for money (Gen. 3 ; Isa. 14:12-14 ; Ez. 28:11-17 ; 1 Tim. 3:6)
Cain (Gen. 4)
Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19)
David (2 Sam.12) and many others in scripture went into sin for reasons other than the love of money. All men do not love money. Only some covet (desire) it and reap these evils of v 9-10. Ref. DKS bible pg. 413 letter gThe next time your watching TV, just take note of how many commercials they run concerning getting a career in which you can make lots of money and live happily ever after. They talk about life insurance and securing your future and planning for your retirement. Now as I said before, there is nothing wrong with doing this. I am happy to see people do so. Everyone should plan for their future. The problem is that we become focused only on $$$$, and then tell God to catch up with us later. As important as all these things are, planning for your spiritual future has precedence over them all. It’s a very difficult thing to get across to people. They put all their faith in this temporal world and temporal things. It’s an extremely difficult thing for me to dwell on , that so many people fall for this “big rip off”. It’s tragic and irresponsible to not prepare your soul for eternity. We all know none of us are promised tomorrow. There is nothing that says you are going to live to a ripe old age. Just read the papers and listen to the news. Unfortunate as it is you’ll see that people are checking out of here on a daily basis. And not all of them are due to old age.
Ecclesiastes chapter 2 - I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth (glee, joy, mirth, pleasure) therefore enjoy pleasure: and behold, this is also vanity.
I said of laughter it is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it? I sought in my heart to give myself wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life.
I made great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards: I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kinds of fruits: I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees:
I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me.
behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.
A note from DKS bible pg. 1113 letter b - All unbridled lusts proved to be nothing but vanity when they were fulfilled (vs. 10-11). There was nothing that Solomon desired which he could not have, and there was nothing that he could have that he did not experience or possess; yet nothing satisfied him. Everything left him empty and feeling that all was vain. Thus it will always be with the man who turns from God after knowing him and being fully satisfied with his blessing (2 Pet. 2:20-22)
Take a good look at all of Solomon’s riches in - 1 Kings chapter 10
In addition to all his riches, Solomon, in today’s secular world, would be known as the “ultimate ladies man”.
And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he kept not that which the Lord Commanded yep! , I would have to say that if God shows up twice and tells you to knock it off , and you refuse , you can bet your gonna have some problems L .
Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon, forasmuch as this is done of thee,
and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes , which I have commanded thee, and I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and I will give it to thy servant. (Jeroboam)
King Solomon was a man who literally had it all, money, riches, fame, power, success women, unlimited pleasure, etc. All the things that those in the secular world find to be the most important things to obtain. However total indulgence in this type of attitude along with putting God out to pasture, and only calling on him when you are about to die, is a formula for disaster. What’s so sad about the Solomon story is that he started out a good King. Early on in his reign, God appeared to Solomon and asked him “what shall I give thee”? Solomon asked for an understanding heart to be a good judge so that he might be able to tell right and wrong between the people in his kingdom. The answer so pleased the Lord, that he not only granted it but, because he didn’t ask for riches and long life, he also gave him riches and honor.
However somewhere along the line he lost it. And as I mentioned earlier people don’t have a falling out from God , just due to the love of money. Solomon probably never knew his net worth. I don’t get the sense he was craving more $$$$. He just simply says whatever saw that he wanted he didn’t keep himself from it. As the scriptures point out, Solomon’s problem with God came about via the relationship with his multitude of lady friends he had hanging out at that palace. And God had spoken to him concerning this matter, and also warned him of the consequences. Unfortunately Solomon was unmoved, and he lost his Kingdom.
This is a matter that every human being has to make a decision about. Is God going to be a participant in your life, or are you telling God that you feel you have a little better understanding on how you want to run your life, and although you appreciate his interest in your affairs, you would like to run the show.
The “Big Rip Off” is believing that you don’t have a need for God in your live. However the word of God warns us that this way of think leads to destruction. Don’t fall for it. The most important thing in your life is at stake, your soul, don’t fall for the “Big Rip Off”.
Pr. 18:11 -12 - The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit. Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour (honor) is humilty.
King Solomon was a tremendously wise and wealthy man. However let’s read some of what he had to say, and then evaluate just how happy he was.
The possessions of the rich are their trust and as a high wall of protection to them in their own imagination. A man’s haughty spirit brings him destruction and a humble spirit brings honor. Ref. DKS bible pg. 1086
Pr. 23 4 - 5 - Labour (labor) not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.
Pr. 30:7 - 9 - Two things have I required thee; deny me them not before I die. Remove from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me. Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say Who is the Lord? Or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.
This is a most interesting statement from King Solomon. He states that he doesn’t want to be rich because he would forget God. Nor does he want to be poor because then he would steal.
who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you. Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
6 good deeds of the righteous- ref. DKS bible pg. 930
