Rich Towards God
by Ann Robinson-Worley
One of the multitude said to him, "Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me." But He said to him, "Man, who made me a judge or divider over you? " And He said to them, "Take heed, and beware of all covetousness; for a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
And He told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully; and he thought to himself, What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops? " And he said," I will do this; I will pull down my barns, and build larger ones; and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry. But God said to him, Fool ! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be? So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." Luke 12:13-21 Jesus pointed out that our goal in life should not be to acquire an abundance of possessions but to become RICH in our relationship with God.
How do we become rich towards God?
Jesus gave us a key. “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” Matt 4:4 I believe it starts when we make a commitment to abide in the word. How do we do this ? We start reading our bible daily and seeking the Lord bring us revelation that only He can give us. In doing so, we are turning our hearts towards God and drawing near to Him. Our hearts being close to God was important to Jesus and therefore we should make it a priority in our lives every day. "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Matt 6:19-21
My Son, attend to my words; incline you ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. Prov 4:20-22 It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. John 6:63
When you read the word you give the Lord an opportunity to speak to your heart through His word. Each day the Lord gives us a choice and asks us like he asked the twelve. Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” John 6:67-69.
In today's world there are so many cares of the world that are pulling us in different directions but we must choose to spend time with the Lord and stop pulling away from Him.
"The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown; when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word which is sown in them. And others are the ones sown among thorns; they are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the delight in riches, and the desire for other things, enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful." Mark 4:13-20
Take care, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. Hebrews 3 :12
The second way that we can become Rich towards God is to pray. What is prayer? Prayer is an attitude of our hearts in which we are reverently seeking God and drawing near to Him. In doing so we are spiritually communing with God in an act of worship, thanksgiving, adoration, or confession.
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Matt 6:5-6
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:24 It is important in our walk with the Lord that we devote ourselves to prayer. In doing so we become closer to God. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. James 4:8
Guard your steps when you go to the house of God; to draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know that they are doing evil. Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven, and you upon earth; therefore let your words be few.
Eccles 5:1-3 Since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith. Hebrews 10:21-22
I believe another way that we become Rich towards God is by trusting Him despite what we are going through. Without faith it is impossible to please him. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6 The promise to Abraham and his descendants, that they should inherit the world, did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. Romans 4:12-14 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Heb 3:14
And he said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat, nor about your body, what you shall put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens; they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a cubit to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
But if God so clothes the grass which is alive in the field today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O men of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be of anxious mind. For all the nations of the world seek these things; and you Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek His Kingdom, and these things shall be yours as well. Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms; provide yourselves with purses that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Luke 12:22-34 I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging bread. Psalm 37:25
Take delight in the LORD,and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your vindication as the light, and your right as the noonday. Psalm 37-4-6 Thus says the LORD: Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his arm, whose heart turns away from the LORD. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. Jeremiah 17: 5-6 Truely, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. Mark 10:30
Train yourself in godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 1 Tim 4:7-8 His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants of the divine nature.
2 Peter 1:3-4
The day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed. Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire?
2 Peter 3:10-12
