06/21/17 DON'T DESPISE YOUR WEALTH

06/21/17 DON'T DESPISE YOUR WEALTH

God called me to repentance and faith when I was very young. I did not have believing parents, and I have no idea how Biblically sound the churches were that daddy would drop me at on Sundays. I only remember one family and one school teacher that professed faith, until we moved back to Morehead when I was about ten years old. Even then, my home church usually had theological Liberal pastors. I only remember one Bible preacher in our church, and he was only there the last year or so before I went to Bible college. There were a few spiritually oriented people in our church, but none of them had been led into deeper truths through the years.

I praise the Lord for all of His goodness and care through my childhood and youthful years, without any real human ministry teaching or discipling. I sure would have liked to have had Christian upbringing and mentoring, but I did not.

Things changed considerably when I went to Bible college. I had godly and Biblical teachers, who cared for me and taught me the word of God. But after graduation, I was on my own again.

After entering the pastoral ministry, I knew a few (very few) godly and Biblical preachers (who lived distances away from me) and very few of my parishioners were spiritually advanced enough to provide the mature counsel that I would liked to have had. It was not as much the fault of those Christians as the fault of sorry hirelings that passed themselves off as pastors to those people.

As a result, I was pretty much on a discovery journey, without human help. I stayed in the word of God and close to the Holy Spirit, since those were my only sources of mentoring help. Being a pastor, a husband and a father and learning how to manage finances was a challenge. God was faithful, but there is a reason He has planned for children to be trained in the home, in the church, and by mature elders in the faith.

But these were treasures I did not have. So, what is my point? Well, I am not whining or complaining, because God did a miraculous work in me, in spite of me. My point is that others who now have the wealth of Bible training, spiritual counsel, Christlike examples to follow and strong body life, seldom take advantage of their privileges.

I am amazed at how many people would rather re-invent the wheel of Christian living than learn from someone who already knows about the trials and opportunities of life. I watch train wrecks in life take place because folks will not tune into, or take hold of sound counsel. Even when their marriages, children, finances, health, social and spiritual lives fall into total disarray, they reject sound, loving, wise, Biblical counsel and then react to Biblical leadership like it is the ranting and intrusion of a madman.

If you have access of Christian leaders who will help you grow, and go in the right direction, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR ADVANTAGE. If you do not have that kind of leadership, then find it. In the meantime, you must apply yourself to find, learn and live the truth of God. God did not design you for personal failure and spiritual disaster. Body life and spiritual accountability are Biblical tools for successful Christian living, successful living.