“Of Thine Own have we Given Thee” [podcast]

“All things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.” 1 Chronicles 29:14

All that we have in our temporary possession, comes from the hands of our God. What will happen when we stand before Him to give account? How will we explain to Him if we’ve neglected His people who were in need, when He presented us the opportunity to lay up treasure in Heaven? See Matthew 6:19-21.

“And all that believed were together, and had all things common; 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.” Acts 2:44-45

“And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. 33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. 34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, 35 and laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.” Acts 4:32-35

“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.” Hebrews 11:13-14

“For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.” Hebrews 13:14  

The two biblically stated priorities for giving:

• To Christians in need (Acts 2:44-45; 4:32-35; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2; Galatians 6:10)
• To the work and workers (“labourers”) of God (Acts 4:34-35; 1 Corinthians 9:1-14; 1 Timothy 5:17-18, etc.)

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” James 1:17

“All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers.” Deuteronomy 8:1

What did Solomon ask for? What was God’s answer?

Praying, Asking God for the Right Things

1 Kings 3:5-15

5  In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. 

6  And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 

7  And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. 

8  And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. 

9  Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? 

10  And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. 

11  And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; 

12  Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. 

13  And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. 

14  And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days. 

15  And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants. 

“As I was listening to this podcast, to this 1 Kings 3 passage, I was thinking if the Lord asked me what shall I give thee? 1 Kings 3:5. My answer would be, make me poor in Spirit!! Matthew 5:3. So I would know my need for Him and no one else! Make my spirit completely impoverished! Because this is the key to finding Jesus and the keys to eternal glory with my Lord and Saviour! I don’t need riches in this earth. I need my spirit to be broken in utter humility before God.” Karen Cochran

Knowing he would give full account for his stewardship in this life, king Solomon wisely prayed to God for His wisdom.

Comments from the body of Christ on 1 Kings 3

“The richer we have become materially, the poorer we have become morally and spiritually.” Anonymous

“Money can make people feel powerful and secure but it’s a false security. They cannot take it with them into eternity.” Susan Harrison

“Earthly riches: the flesh magnified over the care of the soul which quenches the Spirit.” Jon Crane

“Have you ever wondered where the Israelites got enough gold to make the golden calf in Exodus? Because up until that point they had been slaves for 430 years. And if you read in Exodus 3 (when Moses encounters the Lord as the burning bush), the Lord gives Moses a message to bring to the Israelites. In that message there are instructions for the Israelite women to go to their neighbors and ask them for gold and silver jewelry and for clothing. And the Lord says I’ll give you favor in their sight and I won’t send you out empty handed. Then in Exodus 12 we see the same thing again. It says that the Israelites did what Moses commanded them to do and so the Israelites leave Egypt wealthy. Now the Lord intended for the wealth to be a blessing and what happened is because they were unaware of just how good God is and how much He loves them. They elevated the goodness of the gift above the goodness of the Gift Giver, and they took what was meant to be a blessing and  made an idol out if it and worshipped that idol. For the rest of our life God is going to give us good things that are intended as a blessing, but we need to remember that the goodness of the things that God will give us will never exceed the goodness of God Himself.” Unknown

A life spent in any other place than the perfect will of God is a wasted life.

Prayer: Father, please make me a faithful, obedient steward of Your resources, a cheerful giver to Your priorities, in Jesus’ name. Amen LORD.

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