Be Rich in the Lord
Recap of Recent Messages
A few Sundays ago, we were in James 1, beginning in verse 2, where the Bible says, “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials.” And we talked about the fact that when we are in trials and we are in difficult times, we do not feel joyful usually, do we? Trials are hard, but trials are a part of life. But we were reminded, the Bible says we can count it all joy, even when we are in trials. And one reason is God can use trials to cause us to realize we need You, Lord. God can use trials to cause us to rely on the Lord and not ourselves. God can use trials to get us to grow closer to the Lord. My salvation point came three days after one of the greater trials of my life, my dad dying. God can use trials to be a piece that He uses to lead somebody to salvation. Obviously, you got to hear the gospel, but God can use trials for good. And when we get through trials and difficulties, because there are some hard things we go through in this life—things with family, things with children, things with marriages, things with finances, things with addictions, things with depression—but God can use them for good. So if you are in a trial right now, remember what the Bible says and be encouraged by that. And remember, when God does get you through it or as He is working through that with you, God can use you to minister to others as well. Count it all joy.
Two Sundays ago, we went to James 1 or we continued in James 1 and we went there to verse 5 where it says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” So two Sundays ago, we were kind of on that topic of wisdom. We talked about Solomon, how at one point he was the wisest man on earth. The Bible says in Proverbs the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. We talked about how wisdom is—the Bible even compares it—better than gold. It is better than rubies. There is such value in wisdom. But where wisdom starts, because there are two kinds of wisdom. There is worldly wisdom and then there is wisdom from the Lord. We want wisdom from the Lord. And where true wisdom begins is with a healthy fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And we are reminded, those of us that are believers, God tells us we can ask Him for wisdom. So you need guidance and direction. Sometimes we have a tendency to go to anything and everything except God for guidance. Remember to go to God for wisdom. If you got big decisions to make, remind yourself, am I praying to God about this? Am I talking to God about this? Am I seeking God for wisdom on this area of my life? Because we can be guilty, can’t we, of going to everyone else, studying, looking at AI, looking at ChatGPT, and looking at Google. Not saying resources aren’t good. They are. But remember, the most important source of wisdom and direction is from the Lord. And sometimes we say, “Well, I’m not hearing anything.” Keep seeking. Don’t give up and wait on God.
Last Sunday, we went to the very next verse. James 1 verse 6 where right after it speaks about ask for wisdom, it says, “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting.” And we spoke about how that connects—that “let him ask in faith” connects to asking for wisdom. That connects to trials. But ultimately what we talked about last Sunday was asking in faith. We talked about that we need to be a praying people. But when we pray to God the one true God, to pray with faith. It says, “Asking in faith with no doubting.” So many times when we pray, our faith is weak. So many times when we pray, we doubt. But the Bible says, “Ask in faith with no doubting.” So last Sunday, a great reminder to be a praying people. Jesus said, “My house ought to be a house of prayer.” Amen. We ought to be a praying people. And as we are calling out to the Lord in prayer, praying with faith.
Reading James 1:9–11
Today we are going to the very next verse. We are going to read there in verse 9. The title of our message today is Be Rich in the Lord. I want to invite anybody who is able, would like to stand with me in honor of the reading of the Word of God. We are in James chapter 1 and we are going to read verse 9 all the way through verse 11. There the Word of God says, James 1 beginning in verse 9:
“Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.”
Prayer
God, we love You and we just thank You for Your Word. And Lord, as we dig into Your Word, Lord, I just ask Holy Spirit, come in our hearts. Holy Spirit, work in hearts how it’s needed today. Lord, I need Your help, God. Wherever I fall short, God, I know You can still use Your Word. And God, I pray You use Your Word today to speak to our hearts as believers to mold us, God, to shape us more and more into Your image. And of course, Lord, I pray if there’s somebody You brought here today that’s listening today and is in need of salvation. God, I pray today they’d be drawn to surrender their life fully to You, to trust in You, Jesus, as Lord and Savior of their life. We love You, Lord. It’s in Jesus’ name we pray. All God’s people said, Amen.
You may be seated.
Worldly Riches and Being Rich in the Lord
You know, James wrote at a time where there was a lot of poverty. So a lot of his audience were poor. Of course, he also had an audience that was rich. In general, the Roman Empire there was a whole lot of poverty, but there were some that were wealthy. And today, there’s a lot of poverty, and then there’s some that are wealthy. You know, in this text, you kind of get this picture of the poor, and we especially read a lot about people that have earthly riches. And that’s kind of where the Lord took me today is we are going to speak about this idea of worldly riches and what that looks like and the fact that ultimately we should be rich in the Lord.
You know, there are a lot of us, many people that seek after worldly riches. Probably to some degree, we have all been that person where our heart has been pursuing materialistic things and worldly things and riches of this world. We live in a society and a culture where that’s kind of one thing that people really look to. I want to get money, money, money. I remember years back, Crystal and I were buying her a vehicle at a car dealership in town. And I tell you, I met this car salesman. I just didn’t feel good about him. You know, man, he was saying all the right things, but man, he just seemed like he’d say anything to make the sale. But we needed a car and we knew what we’d spend. So we went ahead and we ended up getting the vehicle. Well, I saw his true colors come out the moment after we signed the papers. He walks away. He’s like, “Money, money, money, money.” Y’all remember that song? Y’all don’t want me to sing? Leave that to Chris. But I tell you, immediately he was just like, “Money,” and we all need money. We need money to pay the bills and this and that. But I tell you, I tell that story to say that sometimes we can kind of be like that where our heart is going after money more than it’s going after the Lord. I understand we need money to pay the bills, but sometimes we will get so caught up in money and worldly riches. And something that we need to realize is we need to be careful about not getting consumed in seeking after worldly riches. We have got to be on guard.
I get it. We got to pay money for things, but we got to be on guard. And what is ruling our heart? What are we seeking after most? Is it things of the world or is it things of the Lord? You know the Bible says, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith.” It doesn’t say money is the root of all kinds of evil. Although we got to be on guard against that. But it says the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. We have got to be on guard about what we are seeking after. What is driving our inner being? What is driving our heart? The Lord looks to the heart. What is driving our heart? That verse: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness.” I mean when we get to getting so consumed in wanting worldly things, worldly possessions, worldly riches, it can easily lead to someone straying from the faith.
Hey, look at Solomon. Solomon became—when he asked for wisdom, he became the wisest man. But at that time, he was fearing the Lord and he became the wealthiest man ever. But we, most of us that know the Bible know as he got older, he married hundreds and hundreds of wives, foreign wives. They led him astray to other gods. And he strayed from God. Between straying from God, going after other gods, and between riches, he strayed away from God. We have got to be on guard against what we are seeking after.
You know, Matthew 19:23 and 24, right before this, do y’all remember the story where the rich man comes to Jesus and Jesus tells him to sell all of his goods. But the rich man goes away sad because he had many goods and he didn’t want to sell his goods. Verse 23 and 24 of Matthew 19. After that, it says, “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.’” And I can’t say for sure I exactly know, but I think a big part of that is if we are not careful, we will start letting seeking after money and riches be what rules us instead of seeking after the Lord. And if we are being ruled by wanting earthly riches, we are not putting the Lord first. If we are being ruled by earthly riches, have we ever really been born again? Because if we are really born again, if we are really saved, none of us are perfect. But if we are really saved, our hearts should want to pursue after the Lord.
Worldly Riches Won’t Bring Fulfillment
You know, something about worldly riches. Worldly riches won’t bring you fulfillment. Worldly riches won’t bring you peace. Is it nice sometimes to be able to not have the stress of money? Yeah. But if our heart is driven by worldly riches, that’s not going to fulfill us. Sometimes we can have this hole in us where we are sad. Anybody been there? Where we are looking for some sort of fulfillment. Men, women, boys, girls, everybody has those moments and those times where there’s something they just don’t feel fulfilled. And sometimes people will go to things of this world. Often times we will go to things of this world to try to fill that void. People will go to a bottle of liquor and it can lead to a lifetime of trouble. Don’t be fooled. You know, we can try to act like, oh, drinking alcohol is no big deal. If we aren’t careful, we will get drunk before you know it. We will sin before you know it. We will do things we never would have thought we’d done. Guys, I have seen that time and time again with people I care about. Very recently I have seen very recently like the pretending that that stuff couldn’t lead us to a world of hurt is foolish. We get overwhelmed with alcoholism and yet the Bible doesn’t ever say having one drink is a sin but it definitely warns against drunkenness and it says be filled with the Spirit rather than wine. I mean seeking after things like that, seeking after drugs, it can lead to a world of pain. People will look to all kinds of things to try to fulfill a void. Those things aren’t going to bring fulfillment. People will also seek after, you know, things of where they are successful, which it’s good to be successful. I’m not saying it’s bad. It’s good to go after dreams. It’s good to go after goals. But what is ultimately ruling our heart? Sometimes people will go after riches, worldly riches. I want money, money, money. Be like that guy I gave you an example of. And what is ruling our heart is money. That’s what I want. I want to be rich. I want to—that’s another song. I want to be rich. I can’t remember how good, but there is a lot of songs about this, but we got to be on guard.
Worldly riches, they will not bring fulfillment. Watch what Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 5. Again, Solomon had worldly riches. The Bible says at one point, he was the most wise man and the wealthiest man. Watch what he says. “He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance, with increase.” And that’s so true. If what is driving us is getting more money or more worldly things or more worldly riches, you’ll never be satisfied. If you get that new house, next thing you know is you want a second house. If you get that second house, next thing you know is you want a mountain house. If what is filling the void is worldly riches, it will never fill it. It will never—you will never fill that void in you from seeking after worldly riches. Only a relationship with Jesus—only making the decision to trust in Jesus and seeking after Jesus daily and seeking His presence and walking with God. The enemy would love to say you don’t need to read the Bible, you don’t need to pray. The minute you don’t, you start to stray and you’re not going to have the same fulfillment. But when you’re seeking after that relationship with Jesus, that’s how you’re going to get fulfilled, walking with God, living for God, and your heart being after God. But earthly riches, they won’t bring fulfillment.
It says in Ecclesiastes 5:11, “When goods increase, they increase who eat them.” That makes me think of kids. Man, the more we get, the more the kids want. So what profit have the owners except to see them with their eyes? And it goes on to say, I love this. “The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep.” In fact, what the Bible pictures is the more riches you get, the more you’re consumed in it and the more it steals your peace. You got to be on guard because riches won’t bring fulfillment.
Earthly Riches Don’t Last
And something we see in this text that we read today, go back to what we read today, James 1:9–11. Earthly riches don’t last. A lot of times we can look at somebody, man, they got all the money in the world. They can do anything. But remember this, earthly riches, they’re temporary. Earthly riches do not last. Watch what it says, beginning in verse 10. “Because as a flower of the field he will pass away.” Verse 11 of James 1: “For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.”
It doesn’t matter how many millions of dollars somebody has saved up, it doesn’t last forever. It doesn’t matter how rich or how earthly with earthly wealth somebody has, riches, they just don’t last. Even if somebody stays rich from a worldly standpoint all of their life, at some point it’s come to an end because everybody’s going to die as it is appointed for men to die once. Unless we’re part when the Lord raptures this church. I really, it would be cool to get raptured up before I die, but if I die, I’m going to get raptured up after I die. The dead in Christ will rise first. Amen. But earthly riches don’t last. And something else, you can’t take earthly riches with you. Right? None of this stuff is going with us one day to eternity.
I get it. We need to be able to have a place to sleep and this and that. That’s not what I’m talking about. What I’m talking about is what is ruling our heart. And if it’s seeking after worldly things and earthly things, none of—you can’t take any of those earthly riches with you when you die. None of these possessions are going with us. Solomon again in Ecclesiastes 5:15, it says, “As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return, to go as he came; and he shall take nothing from his labor which he may carry away in his hand.” We aren’t taking anything with us.
I remember going to visit my grandmother, my mom’s mother. Chris and I went and she lived in Gastonia. That’s where my mom grew up. And my grandmother at this point was older. My grandfather had already passed. And she was living alone. And her health was starting to get bad. So we went to see her many years back. She’s passed away many years back, but we went to see her. She was giving me some small household things. I was like, “Grandma, you don’t need to do that. It’s okay.” And she looked at me, she’s like, “I can’t take any of it with me.” And I said, “No, you’re really—you don’t have to.” She’s like, “You’re not hearing me. I can’t take any of this with me, so I might as well give it to my grandson.” She’s right. She’s right. We’re not taking any of that. I tell you, that’s something for us to think about, too. Nobody likes to think about when we’re not here, but if we trust in the Lord, praise God, we’re going to heaven when we’re not here. Our soul goes to be with the Lord, and one day we’ll get a new body. Amen. But I mean there might be things we can pray about and think about before we do depart for people we care about. Amen. Whether it be people we care about, whatever it is, you know. But earthly riches don’t last. Earthly riches you can’t take with you.
Earthly Riches Won’t Get You to Heaven
And I’ll tell you what else. Earthly riches won’t get you into heaven. It doesn’t matter how much money you have. You can buy a lot of things with money. You can’t buy everything with money on earth. You can buy a lot of things with money, but you cannot buy a pass into heaven. God, everybody’s kind of on a level playing field with God. You get to heaven by faith in Jesus, by the blood of Jesus. You don’t get to heaven by being good. I mean, we should want to walk with God, but that’s not how we get to heaven. You don’t get to heaven by following rules. And we can’t—you don’t get to heaven by being good, because none of us are that good. There’s none righteous. No, not one. Right? None of us are that good. If we ever think we’re that good to get to heaven on our own, we’re fooling ourselves. We’re sinners, right? We’re sinners. You don’t get to heaven even by going to church. Now, I’ll say this. Biblically speaking, when we’re saved, we ought to be a part of the church.
And you know, I was talking to a guy yesterday. There was a guy that one of the companies I’m a chaplain for, a nursing home. His dad is dying, is close to death and is in that nursing home. And I’m more a chaplain for the employees there, but sometimes I’ll get a call like that and one of the employees said there’s a person who has their dad here wants a pastor to go talk to his dad. So yesterday I met that guy at the nursing home and he told me ahead of time that the son is about my age. He said my dad’s an atheist. He was a religious major. By the way, religion sometimes in colleges they’re not teaching them. It might be a religious class or a philosophical class, but they’re not teaching them the Word of God. Greenley’s going through that right now. This class she’s in. So my old professor totally against God, you know, totally against God. But I remember I went there, he told me his dad wasn’t saved and he just really had in his heart to speak to him and he was trying and I told him, I was like, I’d be glad to go now. I believe God can work through just you. But he wanted a pastor to go with him. I said, absolutely. So we went there. His dad can’t hear or it’s very hard to hear. So the son has to type out things on the phone that’s big and you can’t type too much because it’s too much to read. So you’re being very simple. You talk about trying to share the gospel as simple as you can. This was a situation where you had to. It was the coolest things. His dad’s been an atheist this and that. But everything his dad said, every way I asked it, his dad said, “Yeah, I believe He’s the Son of God.” Whenever he would read it, he would respond in words. He’s from Iran originally. He moved here when he was 18. So he didn’t grow up in the Christian faith, but he knows the Christian faith. He said, “No, I’ve trusted Jesus. If you were to die today, you know, you go to heaven based on your faith in Jesus.” He said, “Yes, I’ve trusted in Jesus.” So everything I could tell from what this man was saying, he was confessing Jesus as Lord and as Savior.
But you know, there’s no other way to heaven apart through faith in Jesus. And it doesn’t matter how much money you got, riches will not get you to heaven. But this guy that I was talking to was saying he was a believer the son, but he wasn’t in church. So I had a chance to talk to him about that and he does listen to a service from an out of town church. And I said that’s great for listening to a sermon, but you know, I just want to say from what the Bible says, it says not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. In other words, there’s something about the church coming together face to face in person worshiping the Lord. Is it good to listen to services online? Sure. Is it good to be fed with the Word of God? Absolutely. But should it replace the church and God’s people gathering together? When I read the Bible, I don’t think so. When I read the Bible, to me, the Bible pictures believers gathering together to worship, believers gathering together to pray, believers gathering together to encourage one another, to minister to one another. And that guy received that well when I shared that with him. But earthly riches won’t get you to heaven.
And what I want to say is this. You know, when we die, which unless we’re here when the rapture happens, all of us will one day. There’s one of two places the Bible tells us we can go. Heaven or hell. Now, there’s a story in the Bible that a lot of y’all probably know. It’s in Luke 16. I want to read it. And one reason I want to read it even though it’s a little long is it reminds us how very invaluable worldly riches really are. Worldly riches can seem so important to us on this earth, but in the scheme of eternity, they’re not that valuable. Watch what it says in Luke 16, beginning in verse 19:
“There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’”
There’s a lot in that passage. One thing, the end of it, the way it talks, they won’t be persuaded from one rising from the dead if they don’t hear the Word of God. That reminds me about the power of the gospel that every one of us can be used to share the gospel. Like God can work through you today to lead somebody to Christ. Not that you did it, but you’re sharing the gospel. Faith comes through hearing and hearing through the Word of God. But it also reminds me, it doesn’t matter how wealthy somebody is on this earth, that is not going to get them to heaven. There’s only one way to heaven and that way is through faith in Jesus. So as we’re thinking about worldly riches and we’re thinking about earthly type of possessions and riches, stop and remember that in the grand scheme of things, they don’t last and they won’t get you to heaven.
Glory in the Lord and Be Rich in the Lord
And I would say two challenges just to wrap up today. Don’t glory in earthly riches. Glory in the Lord. Watch what James said in verse 9. “Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation.” That’s James 1:9 that we read today. The lowly brother makes me think of the poor person. Poor on this earth. You know sometimes when somebody’s poor on this earth, one blessing that can come out of it is they can all the more say how much they need the Lord. And glory in his exaltation. To me, that’s saying, hey, if you’re poor in material things, you can still glory in the best thing. Glory in the Lord. And today, if you’re here and maybe you are struggling, maybe you’re struggling financially. Glory in the Lord. Amen. That’s far better than riches. But let our glory while we’re on this earth be in the Lord, not in earthly things. Don’t let our glory be in things that fade. You know what would people say about your testimony? Would they say what you are excited about and what you glory about is all the earthly things or would they say you glory in the Lord? What do you glory in? What has got your heart and what is something you tell people, man, I’m excited about this. Is it about worldly things or is it about the Lord? It’s a great reminder no matter where we’re at on earthly possessions, don’t glory in earthly things. Glory in the Lord.
And I want to just one final thing I want to say is let’s be rich in the Lord. Pursue being rich in the Lord. Not pursuing things of being rich in the world. Don’t that we would not get so caught up in wanting our heart to be ruled by things of the world and worldly possessions, but that we want our heart to be caught up in pursuing rich in the Lord. It says, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Which what’s going to rule your heart? Is it going to be worldly things or is it going to be the Lord? I love what the Bible says there. As a kid, my dad used to sing this one. I won’t sing it. But “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” And to me when I hear that, there’s a lot to think about. But one thing I think about is, hey, if you are hurting and you are struggling financially, remember to always, always, always seek after the Lord. Put the Lord first. Seek after the Lord and He’ll help add those things that you need. Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you. And if you got a lot in abundance, if you’re rich in worldly things, make sure you’re seeking after the Lord, putting the Lord first.
If we want to be rich in the Lord, how can we be rich in the Lord and not be rich in the world? Well, I think more than anything, it comes to what rules our heart and what we’re seeking after. I mean, I think about one way to be rich in the Lord. It starts with salvation. It starts with a moment where you know you’re a sinner and you know you need forgiveness of your sins and you know Jesus Christ and what He did—suffering for us and died for us and rising on the third day. The only way you can be forgiven and saved is through Jesus. So that’s where being rich in the Lord starts. It starts with surrendering your life to Jesus. I know Tabitha is leading the women’s book club on Saturdays. I think they’re doing a study from Priscilla Shirer called I Surrender All. I believe that’s the name of it. And I don’t—I haven’t done that study, but that’s what we got to do first. We got to surrender our lives to Jesus. And then as believers, is there something else we need to surrender to God to walk better with God?
But I think about being in church. Sometimes people say, you know, I got to go make money. I can’t. And I know some people work on Sunday. I’m not trying to discourage somebody that works. But I have heard stories about people that have prayed for ways that they wouldn’t have to work on Sunday so they could be in church and God worked it out. I’ve heard many stories about that. Where sometimes people might just say, “I’d rather go on my boat. I can be out in God’s creation.” Yeah, you can be out in God’s creation, but you can do that any day of the week. You know, there’s still God’s church to come out. So I think one way I think about being rich in the Lord is being devoted by being of worship. I also think about tithing. You know, when I think about money, one thing we can see in our lives is in our bank accounts is how much are we giving to God versus giving to other things. And the Bible speaks about tithing. That’s between you and God. I’m not going to check who’s tithing and who’s not, but what I will say is this. God has given us everything. Everything we’ve got is of God’s. And what really makes sense for us to do is give to God first. Sometimes what we say is we try to give God the scraps. We pay this bill, we pay that bill, we go out, we grab coffee, and we go out, we go to a concert, and we do this, and we do that. We buy a boat, we put gasoline in the boat, we buy a nice car, we do all these other things. You know, we go out to eat. We might buy alcohol, might buy other stuff that’s bad, and we say, “I don’t have any money. I can’t give.” What’s ruling your heart first? We’re supposed to give to God first before anything else. That’s one way that we can be rich in the Lord, that we trust God. And if who believes God saved you and go to heaven one day? Who believes Jesus died and rose on the third day? Okay, if we believe that He died for our sins and rose on the third day and now based on faith in Him, we’re going to heaven and we trust Him for eternity in heaven. Shouldn’t we trust Him with our tithes? I believe every true Christian knows the answer to that. But it’s clear across America and churches across America, a lot of people aren’t tithing. But if we want to be rich in the Lord, we trust God with that.
If we want to be rich in the Lord, we start spending more time with the Lord. Sometimes we act like, I don’t have time to read the Bible. I don’t have time to pray. But we’ll go and we’ll watch a whole Netflix series. We’ll spend five hours watching Netflix. Anybody? Nobody else. Nobody does it. Anybody watch TV? Yeah. Watch TV. No. Hey, just there’s something probably in most of our lives if we’re having a hard time making time for the Lord. And we might say, “I don’t have any time.” I bet we do. And the other thing is start first with the Lord. Crystal with the preschool, what she’s trying to teach the kids is we’re going to start our day with the Lord. So they’re going to start with prayer and Bible study in a worship song first every morning. That’s a good thing for us to do is start our days with the Lord. But if we want to be rich with the Lord, make time with the Lord, serve the Lord, tithe, be in church, and be willing to witness for the Lord. We were reading this morning in Acts where the disciples were bold. They were getting beaten for preaching the gospel. They told them, “Don’t ever speak about Jesus anymore” by the Sanhedrin of that day. And they said, “We ought to obey God rather than man.” They got beaten for it, but they were happy that they got—they were suffering for the Lord. Be bold for the Lord. You know, when we are rich in the Lord, it’ll bless us.
So I just I’ll just close just by saying, you know, let’s be a people that in all ways want to pursue and seek after the Lord more than all the worldly things. Let’s not seek to be rich in things of this world, but let’s seek to be rich in the Lord.
