It's that time of the week again..."Sunday's Sermon Notes"!
No, silly, I did not mean possessed that way...let me rephrase....
are you possessed by your possessions?
In other words, does your stuff take over your life?
Don't worry, you don't have to tell me your answer.
Think about it for a minute or two.
Here are a couple more questions:
Look around you, are you surrounded by stuff?
Do you find yourself buying stuff often?
Why do you buy stuff?
(By the way, my definition of stuff are things that aren't really essential to live.)
Pastor Barry talked a lot about stuff today. He related his sermon to King Solomon, the son of David and a philosopher who lived before the time of Christ.
We find in the book of Ecclesiastes that King Solomon has a lot of stuff. He had tons of concubines, slaves, irrigation systems, all sorts of the "cool" stuff back then. He was always wanting more, because something was missing from his life...
Joy. Happiness. Peace. True love.
Pause-I've got another question for ya.
Do you feel like you're missing something in life?
Well just like Solomon, when we feel like our life is incomplete or we aren't content,
we seek to to find something to fill it. Most of the time, we fill it with stuff.
The latest, biggest tv we want....because our's isn't big enough.
The latest, smartest phone...because our's isn't "smart" enough.
The latest, eco-friendly car...because our's isn't "eco-friendly" enough.
The list could go on. And on.
We may not realize it, but we our filling our lives with stuff that does not bring us true happiness. If it did, why do we always have to upgrade?
Or why do we have garage sales to sell our old stuff to get new stuff?
Obviously, we aren't content enough.
King Solomon shows us that every material thing holds no meaning. It took him awhile to realize that true joy does not come from the latest, greatest thing, but it comes from having a relationship with God.
Pastor Barry said, "God does not keep score on how much stuff you have." He continued to say, "If you think God loves you more because you have more stuff" you're wrong. God does not care if you drive a Mercedes, own an iPhone, or have a 3 story house.
I have been involved in a homeless ministry and have been amazed at how happy the people are. They have nothing. Zilch. Nada. Yet they are praising God for their lives. They are thankful. I wonder why...their lives aren't possessed by possessions.
They have time with God! They have time to take in their surroundings, talk to God, and most importantly, listen to God.
We find true joy when we are in a devoted relationship with God. No matter how much stuff you own, know this, it does not give you joy. It's much cheaper and richer (at the same time!) to be in relationship with God, than spending money on stuff that is never going to satisfy you.
Hebrews 13:5 says, " Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Philippians 4:19 says, "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." It is clear from scripture that all we need is God."
Challenge for the week: turn off or get away from your favorite possession (stuff) for at least 30 minutes and read your Bible, pray, or sing worship music.
What are you going to give up to work on your relationship with God?
Let me know how it goes!
