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The Sermon from a £20:00 Note
by Fenny West 'Come on! Let's hurry. We are late.' 'What is the time, daddy?' Looking at my wristwatch, it was about 11:30am. We were even much later than I had thought. It dawned on me that the wall clock I was looking at home must have been late by more than 20 minutes. It meant we would definitely miss the praise and worship in Church. 'What is the point?' my son enquired 'We are extremely late.' 'I know we are very late but we can still hear the sermon', I replied, 'and that will be better than not going to Church at all.' I knew he would rather we stayed home so that he would have more time to play on the computer. So he was rather disappointed by my response. As we got nearer the Church, my son who was looking down as he walked suddenly screamed, 'Look daddy ..20.00 note! I thought he was joking. I looked down and to my surprise there it was. 'Pick it up!' I commanded. Wow! He quickly picked it up with a wide smile. His face lit up in a twinkle of an eye. Would you have found this twenty pound note if we had stayed at home as you suggested? I asked. He laughed as he pocked it. Then the 20 Note sermon began: Fellowship 'Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together' Heb.10:25.KJV If I had heeded his pessimism that that there was no point in going to Church because it was late he would not have found the 20:00. Prayer As we were hurrying to the Church it dawned on me that whilst he rejoiced at finding 20:00 regarded as God's favour, the owner may be huffing and puffing, cursing the day he/she was born for losing the 20: just like that unless if they were rich. 'Pray without ceasing.' 1Thess 5:17 I thought we may need to pray for whoever that may be that the Lord will comfort and grant them peace. So the find whilst prompting a thanksgiving also ignited prayer for the unfortunate person. Next was: Giving to God. 'Bring all the whole tithe into the storehouse' Malachi 3:10 NAS 'You cannot serve both God and money.' Matthew 6:24 I told him of the need to give his tithe from the 20:00 windfall. I noticed he was not that impressed. But we had discussed tithing the previous day and he had 2:00 on him which he reluctantly gave as his tithe. "Giving is worship. Nothing could be more simple." Mark Vincent But like children, aren't we often like that? When we are blessed suddenly or received God's favour, we suddenly forget' every good and perfect gift comes from our Father. 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 It is God that giveth thee the power (ideas, creativity) to get wealth ( Deut 8:18) 9I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds. 10For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. 11I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. Psalm 50:9-11 Another lesson was from the perspective of whoever lost the 20:00. We do not know the circumstance under which it was lost but the word of God says: we often make money and put it in bags full of holes. It is obvious what will happen to money put in a bag full of holes. It minded me of a trouser I had which had a hole. Whenever I mistakenly put money or other mall bit it all went all over the floor. That experience certainly concretised that scripture in my mind. "You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes." Hag.1:6 One possibility is that whoever lost it may not be honouring God in their finances as we often do from time to time. Apart from throwing money away carelessly we can also lose them in unexpected bills; for example, parking or speeding fines or buy items which we never use but end up paying for with interest and for a long time. We could lose money from unexpected repairs to the house, appliances, the car etc etc On the other hand, we cold save from the wisdom that God gives us in avoiding illegal parking or obtaining favour from the Traffic Warden who spares us Wisdom could also come from not making unnecessary purchases, avoiding 'buy now pay later' thereby containing the devourer from stealing from us. God could also reward our faithfulness in honouring Him in our finances through promotion or through some business idea that sets us up for life. A windfall tax refund is also a possibility. 9Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: 10So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. Prov 3:9-10KJV It so happen that this Sunday was declared a Super Celebration Sunday when there is usually no preaching in Church but a celebration of what the Lord had done for us. All we did was to praise, worship, dance, pray for one another. We also had a good fellowship with other believers. As for me, I had a sermon from a 20.00 note in addition. So do not abandon fellowship. You never know what awaits you there or on the way to the fellowship. In His presence is fullness of joy and at His right hand there are pleasures forever. True, you can be in His presence at home but we can encourage each other when we come together. Besides,' iron sharpens iron'. Another person's testimony could recharge your spiritual battery. That 20:00 was a favour to my son. It came suddenly, without warning, ushering great elation into his life. He went shopping spree soon after Church. In the same way your blessing will come suddenly without warning as you obey and honour God in all your endeavours. It will flood your life with joy and laughter like Abraham and Sarah at the prospect of having Isaac and when he was actually born. Praise the Lord! Copy it rightly www.inspiration4generations.com [email protected] Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |