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The Gospel, Poverty, and True Spirituality · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to Reform Thinking It is.
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It's fantastic to have you joining us today.
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Absolutely. So glad you were here.
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Yeah, we are looking right at you, the listener, right now,
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because today's topic hits exceptionally close to home.
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Very close to home. Regardless of what your current
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bank account looks like, or you know, what tax bracket you
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having to fall into, our mission for this deep dive is to
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investigate a compelling and frankly pretty challenging set
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of sources drawn from the book Biblical Missions.
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Right principles, priorities and practices.
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That is the one by Mark Tatlock and Christ Burnett.
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Specifically, we are going to look closely at Felly Rivola
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Hangy's chapter on poverty and spirituality, along with a
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highly practical insert on Mercy Ministry written by Lisa La
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George and Dave Phillips. It is a lot of ground to cover.
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It really is, but the goal is to understand the biblical
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framework regarding physical poverty, affluence, and the
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Christians responsibility regarding material possessions,
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and we are going to view all of this through the lens of God's
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Providence and Reformed theology.
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That framing is absolutely vital for our discussion today.
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When we approach this topic from a Reformed perspective, adhering
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to the Westminster Confession, we start with a very specific
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premise, right? For someone who might be new to
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that term, the Westminster Confession is a historical
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document from the 1600s that outlines core Protestant
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beliefs, and one of its main points is that material
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conditions are never random. Never random.
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They fall under the sovereign design and the meticulous
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Providence of God. Nothing happens outside of His
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decree. That means whether someone is
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experiencing extreme material lack or staggering affluence,
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God is actively governing those circumstances.
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He is not asleep at the wheel. Which is a huge comfort.
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It is today we are going to look at how believers are called to
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handle their resources with absolute integrity, avoiding the
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spiritual pitfalls that accompany both poverty and
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wealth, while faithfully displaying the grace of the
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gospel to a watching world. OK, let's unpack this, starting
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with the sheer scale of the situation we are talking about.
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Because the statistics provided in the source material are
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staggering. We need to spend a minute here
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so you, the listener, really grasp the magnitude.
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The numbers are definitely sobering.
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We are told that over 1 billion people globally live in what is
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categorized as extreme poverty. Now let us define that, because
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in the West we often use the word poor very loosely.
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Yeah, we throw around. We do.
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When we say extreme poverty in this context, we're not talking
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about struggling to pay a streaming subscription or having
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to buy generic brands at the grocery store.
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No, not at all. We are talking about the
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immediate daily threat of starvation.
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We're talking about a chronic lack of safe drinking water,
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utterly inadequate shelter, and 0 access to basic sanitation or
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education. And the geography of this crisis
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is highly concentrated. Very much so.
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A third of these individuals live on the African continent.
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In fact, economic reports from the year 2020 indicate that the
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12 most impoverished nations in the entire world were all
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located in Africa. Feli Ravohangi, the author of
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this specific chapter, points out that his native country,
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Madagascar, ranked 9th on that list, 9th in the entire world
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right. This is the context of his daily
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pastoral ministry, and when we look at Scripture, the Bible
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does not shy away from this harsh physical reality.
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The word poor is used nearly 200 times in the Bible, and the vast
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majority of those occurrences refer to literal physical
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material lack. It is not a metaphor.
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No, the Scriptures do not try to spiritualize this reality away.
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Think about John chapter 12, verse 8 where Jesus acknowledges
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the perpetual presence of the poor.
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The Bible deals with physical reality head on.
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It certainly does. And what's fascinating here is
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how these global realities of extreme poverty connect directly
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to the first major spiritual snare that both the affluent and
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the impoverished must avoid. A faulty view of truth.
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Right. The truth Snare.
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In First Timothy chapters one and six, the apostle Paul issues
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a severe warning about false teachers.
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Paul notes that you can recognize false teachers by
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their corrupt walk and their corrupt talk.
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They cause strife, they promote doctrines that are completely
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detached from sound biblical teaching, and, crucially, their
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hearts are motivated entirely by financial gain.
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They view religion as a business.
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Precisely, they view it as a tool to line their own pockets.
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The text points out how this false teaching manifests in a
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couple of very dangerous ways today.
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On one side, you have teachings that elevate the social needs of
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the impoverished or the political of oppressed groups
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above the Gospel itself, making those social causes the entire
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reason for the Church's existence.
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The social Gospel. Right.
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Then, on the other side, you have teachings that falsely
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label material wealth and physical possessions as a
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guaranteed sign of God's approval.
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The idea that if you have enough faith, God will make you
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wealthy. The prosperity gospel.
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Yes, from a Reformed perspective, we have to
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recognize that God's Word must remain the true compass.
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The local church has to act as a shield against these false
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doctrines, maintaining that salvation and sanctification are
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the primary goals, not a political utopia or financial
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prosperity. Wait, I need to push back on
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that for a second. To play devil's advocate, go for
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it. If someone is pastoring a church
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in Madagascar and the people in the pews are literally starving
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or they do not have clean drinking water, doesn't social
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liberation or finding immediate physical relief seem like the
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most pressing need? I mean, how does a pastor
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balance telling a starving person to focus on theology when
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they really just need a sandwich?
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It is a totally valid question it.
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Feels like the gospel might seem less urgent than immediate
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physical survival in that moment.
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That is a brilliant question, and it goes right to the heart
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of the tension Ravam Hangi addresses.
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The Gospel is absolutely not against providing the sandwich.
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As we will discuss later, the Church is commanded to meet
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physical needs. But if the Church becomes
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nothing more than a political action committee, or if it turns
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into a get rich quick seminar, it loses the eternal cure.
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It loses the main thing. Right.
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A sandwich keeps someone alive for another day, but the true
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gospel deals with eternal reconciliation with God.
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The false teachers Paul warns about in First Timothy are
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dangerous precisely because they exploit vulnerable, desperate
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people. They prey on.
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Them they do. They come into a poverty
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stricken area and say give me your last few coins and God will
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bless you with a new house. Or they say the only way God
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loves you is if we overthrow the current government.
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Those are lies. The source makes it clear that
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elevating either social liberation or material
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prosperity above the gospel is a corruption of the truth.
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And just to clarify for the listener, we are not taking
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sides on modern political debates here.
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We are simply conveying the texts warning the truth of
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Scripture is the only shield that protects A vulnerable
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congregation from being exploited by charlatans seeking
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financial gain. That makes a lot of sense.
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So if the prosperity message is a trap and the purely social
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liberation message is a trap, what is the alternative?
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How are believers supposed to view their material
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circumstances? This brings us to the second
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major pitfall, A faulty view of money and the trap of
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discontentment. Discontentment.
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The Apostle Paul's instructions in First Timothy chapter 6,
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verses 6 through 8 outline the absolute necessity of
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contentment. Discontentment is an aggressive
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spiritual disease. It has a strong way to put it.
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The text points out that discontentment leads to
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spiritual apathy because it forces a person to obsess over
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what they lack rather than what God has provided.
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It distorts how you view your past, it completely ruins your
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present reality. And it is an outright assault on
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God's character because it implies that God has withheld
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something good from you that you deserve.
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Paul does not just diagnose the disease, though he provides the
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cure. He does.
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But I want to ask you about how he defines that cure, because
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our modern culture usually defines contentment as having
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enough money in your retirement account to feel secure.
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Having a safety net. Right, Having a buffer.
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But the source identifies 3 distinct keys to biblical
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contentment that flip that entirely.
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First, you have to know what is actually valuable.
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The goal is finding satisfaction and godliness and a healthy
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detachment from material items, not upgrading your lifestyle.
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Second, you have to know what lasts.
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Material things belong exclusively to this fallen
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world. They offer zero eternal
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advantage. Our hope has to stretch into
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eternity. And 3rd you have to define what
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is enough. And Paul's definition of enough
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is pretty shocking. It is.
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He defines being biblically poor as lagging food and clothing.
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If you have those, you have enough to be content.
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But realistically, cultural worldviews can create massive
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roadblocks here, right? How does that play out in the
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specific context of Madagascar that the author describes?
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The source provides a example of this by examining the cultural
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worldview of defeatism that is highly prevalent in Madagascar.
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In that context, many individuals operate under the
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belief that poverty or prosperity is a predetermined
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fate. They believe their financial
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status is tied to their ability to please their ancestors, or
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that it is the result of accumulated good or bad fortune
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based on past deeds. Sort of like a karma system.
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Yes, a fatalistic karma like view of the universe.
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If you are poor, the culture tells you that you must have
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angered the spirits, so you just accept defeat.
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We have to contrast this defeatism with the reformed
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understanding of Providence. Which is completely different.
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Radically different. God is not a blind force of
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fate, and He is not a capricious ancestor demanding to be
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appeased with rituals. God is actively, purposefully,
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and intimately governing all things for His glory and the
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good of His people. A believer is never subject to
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blind fate. Which changes everything.
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This is incredibly vital when we look at First Timothy chapter 6,
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verses 9 and 10. The lust for money is an
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insatiable demand. It is a trap.
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And the text makes it explicitly clear that greed is a sin that
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afflicts both the affluent and the impoverished.
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All of them, yes. It involves shifting a person's
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hope away from the sovereign God and placing it onto earthly
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currency. Let's hover on that point for
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the listener for a second, because it is so easy to assume
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that greed is only a problem for the billionaire hoarding wealth
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in a mansion. Right, the guy with the yacht.
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Yeah, but what you are saying, based on the source, is that an
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impoverished person can be just as prone to the exact same sin
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of covetousness as a wealthy person is prone to pride or
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extravagance. If a person with very little
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resources spends all their time obsessing over money, deeply
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jealous of their neighbor, and putting all their hope and
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winning the lottery, they're struggling with the exact same
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idolatry as the wealthy executive who trust entirely in
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their massive stock portfolio. It is identical in the heart.
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It is a universal human issue stemming from our shared human
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depravity, not just an issue for a specific tax bracket.
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Both the affluent and the impoverished are tempted to
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forget God and trust and resources.
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So if this greed is residing in all of our hearts, how do these
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internal individual views of money leak out into how church
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members view each other? That is the third major pitfall.
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The text identifies faulty views of self and others within the
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church. When someone is in a state of
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extreme lack, they are forced to hold incredibly tightly to the
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promises of God, like we see in Matthew chapter 6 where Jesus
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tells us not to be anxious about what we will eat or where the
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impoverished believer has to anticipate the day God will
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dispense perfect justice. However, the source sternly
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warns against ever letting financial status dictate
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relationships within the church. Because that destroys unity.
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It does. James Chapter 2 addresses this
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head on. The impoverished should never
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feel like second class citizens when they walk into a gathering
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of believers. And on the flip side, the
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affluent must strive for radical generosity rather than amassing
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more and more possessions. The relational pitfalls are
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highly specific and highly destructive.
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Give me an example of how that plays out.
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While those lacking resources might harbor silent
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expectations, wondering why the well off family in the third row
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isn't paying their electric bill.
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Oh wow. Which can quickly curdle into
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quiet toxic resentment. Meanwhile, the well off
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believers might become deeply cynical, assuming their brothers
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and sisters are just grifters trying to take advantage of
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their resources. I like to think about it like a
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massive extended family Thanksgiving dinner.
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Oh OK, I like that visual. If you are hosting this huge
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dinner, the seating arrangements should never be based on who
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bought the most expensive dish. You don't put the uncle who
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bought the organic free range Turkey at the head of the table
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and then banish the cousin who could only afford a pack of
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store bought dinner rolls to the folding table in the garage.
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Right, everyone is family. Everyone has a seat at the table
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because of their shared bloodline in the church.
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Our relationships must be oriented entirely around our
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shared Savior. But practically, how do we fix
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those silent resentments and suspicions you just mentioned?
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We apply the love described in First Corinthians chapter 13.
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Believers are called to assume the best motives.
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Others If you are affluent, you give generously, and you rely on
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God to handle any true injustice or anyone who might try to
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exploit your generosity. You do not let suspicion freeze
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your charity. Precisely you impute the best
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motives to your brother or sister in Christ all.
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Right, So we know what not to do.
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We know we need to avoid false teachings, avoid discontentment,
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and avoid treating people differently based on their
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income. What are the actual concrete
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practices that believers must embrace to build a healthy
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biblical worldview regarding money?
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The source outlines 2 specific disciplines required for a
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healthy biblical worldview. The first discipline is
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righteous and diligent labor. Yes, and the text is very clear
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that how you make your money matters immensely to God.
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I'll gotten gains. Whether that is outright
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thievery, subtle dishonesty in business, cutting corners on a
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contract, or making money for forbidden purposes have
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absolutely no relation to God's will.
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None. Believers must work with
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diligence. Proverbs chapter 10, verse 4
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praises the slack hand that causes poverty, but commends the
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diligent hand that brings wealth.
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Christians are called to productivity and long term
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planning. And we are not just talking
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about tilling a garden here, right?
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This applies to the guy writing code in a cubicle, the mom
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managing A chaotic household, or the contractor building a house.
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That means practicing the delay of gratification.
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You do not spend everything you make today, you plan for the
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future. Which is hard in our culture.
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Very hard. Delaying gratification isn't
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just a spiritual idea, it is choosing not to upgrade your car
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so you can actually have the margin to be generous.
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Spot on. This touches on a robust
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theology of work. Work is not a curse.
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Work was part of God's perfect design from the very beginning
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before the fall of man. In Genesis chapter 2 verse 15,
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God puts Adam in the garden to work it and keep it.
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Before sin even entered the picture.
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Yes, industrious labor is a reflection of bearing God's
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image. We were made to create, organize
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and produce. OK, so righteous labor is the
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first discipline. Right.
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And alongside righteous labor, the second discipline is
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maintaining a wise and educated focus.
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True biblical wisdom values the knowledge of God far above any
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earthly currency. The focus must always remain on
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the giver, not the gifts. That requires trust.
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A massive amount of trust. A believer must trust the Lord
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whether he provides A lavish feast or something less than
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one's daily bread. Riches disappoint.
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They do not last. But considering God's favor as
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your greatest wealth is a focus that will never be shaken by
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market fluctuations or economic crashes and the.
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Source makes a really striking observation right here that
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caught me off guard. It points out that the bad
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influences leading a believer toward dishonest gain or a
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faulty focus can actually come from inside the church just as
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easily as they come from the outside world.
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Yeah, that is a sobering thought.
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We often think of the secular corporate world is the only
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source of financial temptation, but you can easily find someone
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in your own congregation pushing a shady multi level marketing
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scheme or encouraging a lifestyle of unchecked
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materialism. It happens all the time.
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It stresses the absolute necessity of careful financial
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partnerships and guarding who you listen to because the Lord's
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money is a matter of strict stewardship.
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If we connect this to the bigger picture, we have to look at what
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we're supposed to do with the resources we steward.
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Here's where it gets really interesting.
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Once a believer is working diligently and maintaining a
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wise focus, we get to the specific biblical mechanics of
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how believers should actually distribute their hard earned
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resources. Faili Raboh Hangi outlines 8
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principles of purposeful and sacrificial giving.
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Drawing entirely from Paul's instructions in Second
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Corinthians chapters 8 and 9. Right.
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We are going to take our time and walk through these because
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they are incredibly practical. The first principle is that
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giving is a direct result of grasping God's grace.
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In fact, the Greek word for grace, karis, is used 10 times
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in just those two chapters. Let's look at that first
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principle through the lens of reformed soteriology.
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OK, break that down for the listener.
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Soteriology is just a theological term for studying
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how salvation actually works from start to finish In reformed
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theology, the concept of charis, or grace, is the absolute
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bedrock of our salvation. It means God freely shares His
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goodness with totally undeserving sinners who could
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never. Earn it.
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We bring nothing to the table. Nothing.
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When a believer truly understands the saving and
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sanctifying grace, when they realize they were spiritually
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bankrupt and Christ paid their infinite debt, it naturally
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causes them to set their affections on things above.
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It shifts their whole mindset. It creates an internal,
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undeniable motivation to respond to God's abundant gifts with an
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abundant response of generosity. It is theology driving practice.
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You give because you realize you have been given everything.
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That perfectly sets up the second principle.
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Giving is based entirely on the disposition of the heart, not
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your financial status. To illustrate this, the author
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shares a fantastic detail from his native culture.
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There's a Malagasy proverb that says even 1 grasshopper can be
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shared. That is such a great visual.
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I want you, the listener, to really visualize that for a
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second. A single grasshopper.
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I get stressed out trying to figure out how to share a large
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pizza evenly. It puts us to shame, really.
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A grasshopper is practically nothing.
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It is a tiny, seemingly insignificant morsel of food.
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But the proverb captures a massive truth.
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Giving is a mindset, not an income bracket.
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If you have the mindset of generosity, you will find a way
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to share even the absolute bare minimum of what you possess.
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You do not wait until you have a massive surplus to become
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generous. Right.
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If you cannot share a grasshopper today, you will not
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share a stake tomorrow. It really puts our modern
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definition of having enough to share to shame.
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That is a brilliant analogy, and it leads directly into the third
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and 4th principles. The third principle is that
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giving is a true measure of spiritual maturity.
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It costs you something. It requires you to trust God's
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provision. With your money where your mouth
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is, yeah. It is easy to say you trust God.
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Giving your money away is the physical proof of that trust.
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The 4th principle is that giving must be completely voluntary and
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joyful. It is never to be coerced, never
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forced. The Macedonians are the prime
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biblical example here. The Apostle Paul writes about
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them in Second Corinthians. These believers were living in a
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region that had been ravaged by war and heavy Roman taxation.
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They were in deep, severe poverty.
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Yet Paul did not guilt trip them into giving.
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No, in fact, they actually begged him for the privilege of
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sharing in the financial ministry to help other
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struggling believers. They gave beyond their means
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voluntarily. That level of generosity is
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staggering, and it makes sense of the 5th principle which sets
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the ultimate bar Giving follows the standards set by Christ
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himself. We aren't just looking at the
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Macedonians as our standard, we are looking at Jesus.
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He is the ultimate model. He gave up the absolute,
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unparalleled splendor of heaven to take on human flesh, suffer,
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and bear our sins. He impoverished himself so that
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we could become spiritually wealthy.
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Precisely. I mean you hit the nail on the
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head. The 6th principle provides the
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practical boundary to all of this.
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Giving is proportional to what the Lord has provided.
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God does not ask His people to give what they do not possess.
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It is an act of worship in accordance with His provision.
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If you make a modest income, proportional giving will look
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different than someone who owns a massive company.
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But both are equally honoring to God if done proportionally and
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joyfully. But the 7th principle is where I
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really need you to clarify things because it is highly
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challenging for our modern sensibilities.
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It is called the equalizing principle.
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Right. This is a tough one for a lot of
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people, Paul. Teaches that the economic means
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of the affluent should be intentionally leveraged for the
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good of the week and defenseless within the congregation.
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It is meant to reduce the gap between members, creating a
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baseline of equality where no one in the local body is lacking
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basic necessities. Now to a lot of listeners, that
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sounds an awful lot like forced wealth redistribution or
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downright communism. How is this biblical principle
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different from a state mandated economic system?
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That is a crucial distinction to make.
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The difference lies entirely in the motivation and the
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mechanism. Communism, or forced wealth
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redistribution, is mandated by a secular state under the threat
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of punishment. It takes resources by force.
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It is external pressure. Exactly.
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The biblical equalizing principle is entirely voluntary.
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It is driven by the Holy Spirit and motivated by love for fellow
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believers. It is an internal desire to see
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your spiritual family thrive, not an external tax code.
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So it is relational. Highly relational, the affluent
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believer looks at a single mother in their congregation who
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cannot afford winter coats for her kids, and they voluntarily
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leverage their surplus to meet her lack.
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It is family taking care of family, ensuring no one is
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destitute while respecting personal property and the
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requirement of righteous labor we discussed earlier.
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That clears it up immensely. It is the heart behind it that
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changes everything. And finally, the 8th principle
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is that sacrificial giving is met with abounding heavenly
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blessings. Sowing generously results in
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reaping far more than monetary gain.
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It brings a spiritual harvest that blesses both the recipient
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and the donor. You cannot out give God.
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This raises an important question.
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How is this giving practically applied in real time before our
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lives end? Yeah, how do we get this done?
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That brings us to Galatians chapter 6 verses one through 10,
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which focuses on Spirit enabled Christian beneficence.
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Beneficence doing good works. Right, the text points out
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something very sobering. There is a clear termination
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point for our ability to do good works.
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God has sovereignly established the absolute boundaries of human
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birth and human death. You.
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Only have so much time. Any good service to the Lord,
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any act of charity, any financial gift must be performed
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within that incredibly limited time frame.
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It is like a ticking clock. When you think about the urgency
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of that termination point, it creates A compelling mental
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image. You only have a set number of
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days on this earth to deploy the resources God has placed in your
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hands. Once it's gone, it's gone.
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Once you take your final breath, your ability to write a check,
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drop off groceries to a sick neighbor, or physically build a
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shelter is entirely gone. You cannot do good works from
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the grave. This window of opportunity is
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incredibly brief. It really is.
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While we are here, the text says believers are called to do good
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to everyone, regardless of race, class or gender.
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But it establishes a very strict priority.
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The household of the faith comes first.
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That priority is critical. The early church modeled this
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perfectly in Acts Chapters 2 and four.
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Fellowship and mutual assistance were not rare special events
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that happened once a year at a charity drive.
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They were habitual. It was their daily way of life.
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Is just what they did. The text says they sold property
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and possessions to give to anyone who had need.
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Jesus's mandate to deny oneself was fleshed out by caring for
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highly practical physical needs, and it is the Holy Spirit who
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establishes this spiritual union it.
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Proves the theology. Yes, when you meet the physical
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needs of a fellow Christian, you are actively affirming the
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indestructible, supernatural bond that you share on Christ.
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You are proving that the theological concept of being one
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body is a physical, tangible reality.
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OK, so we know we need to help and we know we have a limited
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time to do it, but Lisa La George and Dave Phillips bring
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up this concept of mercy ministry in their insert.
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What does it actually look like when the rubber meets the road?
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It is one thing to want to help. It is another thing to do it
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effectively without causing a mess.
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The insert defines mercy ministry as the work churches do
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to meet physical and relational needs while simultaneously
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introducing people to God's love through a relationship with
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Jesus. It is demonstrating the gospel
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in both word and deed. But as the authors point out,
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doing ministry in a fallen world is rarely simple.
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Challenge One is diagnosing the specific situation of the family
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or individual in need. You cannot apply A1 size fits
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all solution. The text categorizes the help
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into 3 distinct types, relief, Rehabilitation, and Development.
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Break those down for me because I think a lot of times we assume
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all charity is just giving a handout.
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Let's look at relief first. This is the first stage.
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This is temporary, immediate physical aid for urgent crises.
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Like a natural disaster. Think of a massive hurricane
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wiping out a coastal town, or a family facing severe
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generational lack who literally has no food for dinner tonight.
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Relief is stopping the bleeding. You don't ask a starving person
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to fill out a job application before you give him a sandwich.
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No, of course not. But you cannot stop there.
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Correct. The second stage is
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rehabilitation. This is providing the skills and
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tools to help the person step away from the crisis and
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function independently in the community again.
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Give a man a fish versus teach a man to fish.
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Exactly. This could look like a church
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providing free financial counseling for someone buried in
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credit card debt, or hosting job training seminars, or providing
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literacy classes for a single mother trying to get a better
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job. It requires far more time and
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energy than just handing out a check.
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And what is the third stage? Development This is the ongoing
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long term process of discipleship and relational
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health for both the helper and the person being helped.
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It is a 10 year mentoring relationship.
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It is walking alongside someone through the messy realities of
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life. I see the source mentions
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parachurch organizations here. Explain what a parachurch is for
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someone who hasn't heard that term and how they fit into this
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process. A parachurch organization is a
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Christian ministry that operates outside of or alongside the
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traditional local church structure.
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Think of a Christian homeless shelter, an international relief
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agency, or a campus ministry. They specialize at specific
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tasks. So they are experts in their
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specific lane. Yes, the authors note that while
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Partridge organizations are fantastic at assisting with
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relief and rehabilitation stages because of their specialized
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resources, the local church is designed by God to be the
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primary engine for this overall gospel demonstration.
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Because of the relational aspect.
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Right, the local church is where biblical development, which is
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essentially discipleship, takes place within a multi
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generational family of believers.
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So if you are listening to this, I want you to mentally evaluate
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your own local community right now.
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Are there resource pantries available?
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Is there low income housing? How does your specific local
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congregation identify neighbors who are in crisis?
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It is a good audit to do. Do you know the families in your
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own church who are quietly struggling to pay their winter
27:58
heating bill? Diagnosis is the first step, but
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what happens if we get the diagnosis wrong?
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What if we try to help but we apply the wrong stage to the
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wrong problem? Well, that naturally connects
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the diagnosis phase to the highly dangerous pitfalls of
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getting the treatment wrong. Challenge 2 is attention of
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actually making a situation worse.
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Ministries must absolutely avoid creating long term physical
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dependency. Doing harm while trying to do
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good. If you provide relief
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indefinitely, just giving handouts year after year without
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any push toward rehabilitation, you rob the individual of their
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dignity and their God-given mandate to work that we
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discussed earlier. Are there specific things to
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avoid? Yes, the text lists several
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specific practices to avoid providing cash directly, which
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can fuel harmful addictions, focusing on the charitable warm
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feelings of the giver rather than evaluating the recipients
28:52
actual needs and misunderstanding the cultural
28:54
context of the person you are trying to assist.
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And there's a third challenge too, right?
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Challenge Three addresses the painful reality of recipients
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taking advantage of congregations going from church
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to church seeking handouts without any desire for
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rehabilitation or development. This is where we need to look at
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what the epistles say about work In Second Thessalonians chapter
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3 and Ephesians chapter 4. Paul is blunt.
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Work is honorable. If someone can work, they should
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work not only to provide for themselves, but so they can
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eventually become generous and help others.
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Yes, becoming contributors. But let's be realistic.
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What happens when a church is actively being taken advantage
29:32
of? Because that happens all the
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time, and it makes people want to stop giving altogether.
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Felly Rivohangi and the authors of the insert stress a highly
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comforting truth for this exact situation rooted in Reformed
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theology. Volunteers and church leaders
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are ultimately answering to Jesus as seen in Matthew chapter
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25 where Jesus says whatever you did for one of the least of
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these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.
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The audience of 1. Yes, the ministry is not
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responsible for the hidden, deceitful motives of the
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recipients. God is the one who perfectly
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evaluates the heart at the final judgement.
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Congregations are simply advised to communicate and coordinate
30:10
with other local assemblies to strategize and prevent the
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systemic misuse of resources. But the deceit of a recipient
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does not invalidate the faithfulness of the giver.
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That has to be a massive relief for anyone involved in outreach.
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Imagine a practical scenario. A church outreach volunteer has
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been pouring time, energy and church funds into helping a
30:32
specific individual pay their rent for six months, only to
30:36
find out that person has been lying and demanding resources
30:39
from three other churches in town at the exact same time.
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The volunteers going to feel burned out, cynical, and utterly
30:46
defeated. Completely drained.
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But remembering that they answer to Christ, not to the immediate
30:51
results or the recipients honesty brings tremendous
30:54
freedom and peace. They were faithful to the call
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of mercy. Christ honors that faithfulness
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regardless of the recipients deception.
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So what does this all mean? We have covered a massive scope
31:05
of material today in this deep dive.
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We started with a staggering, sobering statistics of global
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extreme poverty, defining what that actually looks like in
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places like Madagascar. Very challenging numbers.
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We looked at the traps of false teachings that either try to
31:19
build a political utopia or promise wealth as a divine
31:23
right. We unpacked the internal dangers
31:26
of discontentment, the cultural trap of defeatism, and the
31:29
external dangers of letting our tax brackets dictate our church
31:33
relationships. Keeping the Thanksgiving table
31:35
unified. Yes, we walk through the 8
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biblical principles of purposeful giving from Second
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Corinthians, marveling at the idea of sharing a single
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grasshopper. And finally, we examine the
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highly practical mechanics of mercy ministry, diagnosing the
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need correctly through relief, rehabilitation and development
31:52
while avoiding the creation of dependency.
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And through all of this, we have to return to our theological
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anchor. Christ partook in the ultimate
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physical poverty, taking on human flesh, suffering and dying
32:02
on a cross to make believers eternally wealthy with the
32:05
riches of His salvation. The ultimate standard.
32:08
Every single believer, whether they are affluent or
32:11
impoverished, will stand before God and give an account of how
32:14
their lives, their labor, and their bank accounts reflected
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Jesus's selfless love. The gospel is the motivation,
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the standard, and the goal of all are giving.
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You might be looking at your own bank account, your own calendar,
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or your own local congregation very differently today.
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The statistics of global poverty are overwhelming, but the call
32:34
to local action is immediate. How will you apply these
32:38
principles of relief, rehabilitation, and development
32:41
right there in your own backyard?
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How will you view the resources God has sovereignly placed in
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your hands for this brief ticking clock window of time
32:49
before you meet Him? I will leave you with this final
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provocative thought, building on what we have discussed today.
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If the early church in Acts view their possessions as belonging
32:57
to the community to the extent that there were literally no
33:00
needy persons among them, what specific modern cultural idols
33:04
are preventing our local congregations from achieving
33:06
that exact same supernatural bond today?
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That is a highly challenging question to walk away with and
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one we all need to seriously consider.
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Thank you so much for taking the time to join us for this deep
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dive on reform thinking. We will see you next time.