THOUGHTS ABOUT OWNERSHIP

THOUGHTS ABOUT OWNERSHIP

GOD IS THE ULTIMATE OWNER OF EVERYTHING!

• As you know, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)
• This is why God is the ultimate owner of everything! HE CREATED IT!
• Remember! ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world and all who live in it.” (Psalms 24:1)
• Remember! God also owns the heavens: “To the Lord your God belong the heavens even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it.” (Deuteronomy 10:14)

GOD CAST SATAN DOWN TO EARTH BUT SATAN DOESN’T OWN ANYTHING!

• When Satan sinned God cast him down to earth (Isaiah 14:12).
• Consequently, God allowed Satan to be the god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4).
• When left alone the whole world is under the control of the wicked one (1 John 5:19).
• Satan, however, can only do what God allows him to do (Job 1:12; 2:6).
• When Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world he said: “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.” (Luke 4:5-7) WE MUST REMEMBER, HOWEVER, THAT SATAN IS A LIAR AND THE FATHER OF LIES (JOHN 8:44).
• If left alone the devil goes about like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).
• When you resist the devil, however, he will flee from you (James 4:17).
• When you put on the whole armor of God you can resist the devil’s schemes (Ephesians 6:10- 17).
• After Jesus was baptized he went into the wilderness and was tempted for 40 days (Matthew 4:1-11). Satan, however, can never defeat Jesus!
• Jesus overcame every temptation from Satan by quoting the Scriptures! Remember! The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17).
• We too can use the Scriptures as The Sword of the Spirit to defeat Satan!
• We must be careful, however, to avoid pride. When the disciples of Jesus rejoiced that even the demons were subject unto them in His name, Jesus replied “I saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven.” (Luke 10:18). Note the connection! Pride was the very reason Satan was cast out of heaven (Ezekiel 28:17).
• The Scriptures warn - “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you do not fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12)
• God allows Satan to roam the earth, but Satan still doesn’t own anything! He is like a thief trying to steal anything he can.
• God allowed Satan to establish a throne in Pergamum (Revelation 2:13), but his residence there was only temporary. Satan will flee from truth like darkness flees from light! (James 4:17)
• God is in complete control! When God decides to do so, the devil will be thrown into the lake of burning sulfur where he will be tormented forever! (Revelation 20:10)

ABRAHAM ONLY OWNED A BURIAL PLOT

• Abraham was a wandering nomad who moved from one place to another seeking for pasture.
• Abraham believed in the One True God even though he came from a family of idolators (Joshua 24:2).
• After the flood Nimrod was a mighty hunter before the Lord. He apparently took control of much territory and “The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Uruk, Akkad and Kalneh, in Shinar. From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah—which is the great city.” (Genesis 10:10-12)
• God called Abraham away from these centers of civilization and said to him: “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:1-3)
• The book of Hebrews explains: “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” (Hebrews 11:8-10)
• Stephen said of Abraham: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran. ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’ “So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. He gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child.” (Acts 7:2-7)
• When his wife Sarah died, however, Abraham purchased land in which to bury her: “So Ephron’s field in Machpelah near Mamre—both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field—was deeded to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city. Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre (which is at Hebron) in the land of Canaan. So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.” (Genesis 23:17-20)
• As far as we know the land where Abraham buried his wife was the only land he owned!
• God had commanded Abraham to leave his country and his relatives (Genesis 12:1). Abraham apparently didn’t understand this and took his family with him from Mesopotamia to Harran. Stephen said: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran. ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’ “So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. He gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child.” (Acts 7:2-5)
• Now Abraham was separated from his father, Terah, but it was sometime later that he was separated from his nephew Lot. Their separation came because there was not enough pasture for all their animals (Genesis 13:5-13).
• Remember! “He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)
• Note that “after” Abraham was separated from Lot God gave him this promise: “The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.” (Genesis 13:14-17)
• ABRAHAM BELIEVED THIS PROMISE FROM GOD EVEN THOUGH IT WOULD NOT COME TRUE FOR 400 YEARS! (GENESIS 15:12-16)
• Remember! “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1)

THE PROMISE OF GOD CAME TRUE AND THE DESCENDANTS OF ABRAHAM FINALLY OWNED PROPERTY

• God delivered the Israelites from Egypt by a prophet named Moses. Moses delivered Israel from slavery so they could own property of their own. Jesus is a prophet like Moses who will enable us to someday own property of our own in heaven (Deuteronomy 18:15; Acts 3:22-23)
• The land of Canaan was inhabited by seven nations and all of them were larger and stronger than the Israelites. It was God who helped Israel overcome these pagan people and inherit what God had promised (Deuteronomy 7:1-6).
• The division of the Promised Land is described in the book of Joshua chapters 13-19.
• The division of the land was determined by the casting of lots (Joshua 18:6).
• Each tribe and each family inherited property of their own. The one exception was the tribe of Levi. Moses wrote: “The Levitical priests—indeed, the whole tribe of Levi—are to have no allotment or inheritance with Israel. They shall live on the food offerings presented to the Lord, for that is their inheritance. They shall have no inheritance among their fellow Israelites; the Lord is their inheritance, as he promised them.” (Deuteronomy 18:1-2)
• Each person’s property was defined by markers: “Do not move your neighbor’s boundary stone set up by your predecessors in the inheritance you receive in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess.” (Deuteronomy 19:14)
• Owning their own property gave the Israelites confidence and security.
• “During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, everyone under their own vine and under their own fig tree.” (I Kings 4:25)
• Future happiness was defined as a time when “Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the Lord Almighty has spoken.” (Micah 4:4)
• If a family became poor and had to sell their property, it was to be returned to them on the year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25:8-10).
• God obviously wanted His people to own property!
• Even women could inherit property from their deceased parents (Numbers 36:5-12).
• The ownership of property was so binding that even the king could not take away the property of the poorest peasant. For example, God had King Ahab put to death for stealing the property of a peasant named Naboth (1 Kings 21:17-19).
• It was also God who helped the Israelites to get wealth: “You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.” (Deuteronomy 8:17-18)
• As long as the Israelites obeyed God they would prosper: “The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in obedience to him. Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you. The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you. The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.” (Deuteronomy 28:8-14)

OUR EARTHLY OWNERSHIP IS ONLY TEMPORARY

• Our earthly possessions, of course, are only temporary! Everything we see with human eyes is temporary! Paul wrote: “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthian 4:18)
• Jesus told the parable of the rich fool to demonstrate that a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions: “And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:16-21)
• Not only is our ownership temporary, but even the earth is itself temporary.
• Peter wrote: “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.” (2 Peter 3:10)
• John wrote: “Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.” (Revelation 21:1)
• Peter explained: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:3-5)
• Someone observed that while we cannot take our earthly wealth to heaven when we die, we can send it ahead so it will be there when we arrive!

ETERNAL OWNERSHIP

• While our earthly ownership is temporal, Jesus made constant references to an eternal reward in heaven that will “never perish, spoil or fade”. Here are a few examples.
• To those who were persecuted because of righteousness, Jesus said: “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:12)
• Jesus taught us to love our enemies for “If you love those who love you, what reward will you get!” (Matthew 5:46)
• “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:1-4)
• If you pray to be seen by men you will only receive an earthly reward. So - “When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6)
• Jesus emphasized our eternal reward in heaven by saying: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)
• Jesus compared our earthly wealth with our heavenly wealth by saying: “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Luke 16:10-13)
• IT IS NOT AN OPTION! YOU MUST BELIEVE THAT GOD REWARDS THOSE WHO EARNESTLY SEEK HIM! “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

WE MUST LOVE GOD MORE THAN WE LOVE OUR EARTHLY POSSESSIONS

• The Scriptures are clear: “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:12)
• Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks at our heart (1 Samuel 16:7). You may be able to fool your fellow men about your priorities, but you cannot fool God!
• Jesus could also look at a man and know what he was thinking (John 2:24-25).
• Here are a few examples:
• “Knowing their thoughts Jesus said, Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your heart?” (Matthew 9:4)
• “Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself shall be ruined.” (Matthew 12:25)
• “Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? (Luke 5:22)
• Etc.
• The fact that Jesus can look into our heart and know what we are thinking is important to understanding the story of the “Rich, Young, Ruler.”

THE RICH YOUNG RULER

This story is found in Matthew 19:16-26; Mark 10:17-27; and Luke 18:18-30). Combining all three accounts we learn that the man in our story was rich, young, and a ruler. Here is the story as it is found in the Gospel of Mark.

“As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’” “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:17-27)

• As you can see. Jesus told this rich young ruler to “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor.” This seems to be the only time recorded in the Bible that Jesus made such a demand.
• Thousands of people became followers of Jesus without selling everything they had! Obviously this man’s wealth had become his God!
• Just as a pagan had to abandon the worship of his pagan god to follow Jesus, this man had to give up his wealth which had become his god.
• As we have already said: “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:24)
• Everyone must make a choice. Either you will trust God to save you, or something else or someone else to save you. You cannot choose both!

PETER AND THE OTHER APOSTLES

Following the story of the Rich Young Ruler “Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!” “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (Mark 10:29-31)

Just before he died Paul wrote to Timothy - “Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me.” (2 Timothy 4:9-10)

Peter possibly had the same temptation. After Jesus was resurrected from the dead Peter and six other of the disciples went back to fishing. As three years before they fished all night long and caught nothing. Jesus called to them from the shore and said “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” (John 21:6) Then another miracle took place and they caught 153 large fish without even tearing their net.

It is possible that Peter’s fishing business had become a temptation!

On the night before Jesus was crucified Peter had promised that he would lay down his life for Jesus. “Then Jesus answered, ‘Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” (John 13:38).

Just as Peter had denied Jesus three times, (John 18:15-27) Jesus gave Peter the opportunity to confess Him three times (John 21:15-17). Interestingly, both Peter’s denial of Christ and his confession of Christ were made before a fire. The Greek word used to describe this fire is “anthrakia”. It refers to a “heap of burning coals” and is only used two times in the Bible. First in John 18:18 when Peter denied Jesus before a heap of burning coals. Second, in John 21:9 when Jesus was cooking fish and bread on a heap of burning coals.

Just before Peter confessed Jesus , Jesus said to him - “Simon, son of John. Do you truly love me more than these.” (John 21:15) Note that Jesus used his old name “Simon” instead of his new name Peter (John 1:41-42). While scholars debate the meaning of “these” it is possible that Jesus was

referring to Peter’s boat and net which he had trusted for many years to make money to feed his family. Now Jesus gave Peter the opportunity to make clear which was the most important to him – Jesus or his business?

Then Jesus prophesied how Peter would die: “Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!” (John 21:18-190

Truly - “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life.”

THE CHURCH IN JERUSALEM

• Moses said: “Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings anywhere you please. Offer them only at the place the Lord will choose in one of your tribes, and there observe everything I command you.” (Deuteronomy 12:13-14)
• God chose Jerusalem as the place where His people would worship. “But now I have chosen Jerusalem for my Name to be there.” (2 Chronicles 6:6)
• The “Temple Mount” where the Jews worshiped is still one of the most treasured pieces of land in the world!
• Attendance at three annual feasts was mandatory for all devout Jews (Exodus 23:14-17) (1) The Feast of Unleavened Bread (Passover). (2) 50 days later the Feast of Harvest (Pentecost). (3) Six months later the Feast of Ingathering (Tabernacles).
• Since God chose Jerusalem as the place of worship devout Jews from all over the world came to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. 50 days later they were still there to celebrate the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:5-11).
• Scholars estimate that the normal population of Jerusalem when Jesus was born was from 50,000 – 75,000. During the feasts, of course, there were thousands more. Acts 2:9-11 informs us that these devout Jews came from as far away as Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Rome.
• The church, as you know, began on the day of Pentecost with 3,000 converts (Acts 2:41). More converts were made every day (Acts 47). Soon the number of men was 5,000 (Acts 4:5). Then more and more converts were made both of men and women (Acts 5:14).
• There were thousands of believers in Jerusalem from every nation under heaven. They were miles away from home without a job and no way to make a living to feed their families. Yet - “There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land

or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.” (Acts 4:34-35)

• Barnabas was given as an example of this generosity - “Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.” (Acs :36-37)

MARY DIDN’T SELL HER HOUSE

• Many days after the church began Peter was miraculously delivered from prison (Acts 12:1-12).
• When Peter realized what happened “He went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people were gathered and were praying.” (Acts 12:12)
• Mary not only still owned her house, she also had a servant girl named Rhoda (Acts 12:13).
• OBVIOUSLY MARY HAD ALREADY DEDICATED HER HOUSE TO THE LORD!
• The fact that it was called “Mary’s house” leads to the assumption that her husband was dead.
• It is possible that Mary’s home also had a large upper room where Jesus ate the last supper with His disciples (Mark 14:12-16).
• It is also possible that this was the room where the resurrected Jesus appeared to his apostles (John 20:19-23).
• It was apparently also the same house where Jesus appeared again a week later when Thomas was present (John 20:24-31).
• It may also have been the same upper room where 120 followers Jesus gathered waiting for the Holy Spirit to come (Acts 1:12-26).
• SINCE THE CHURCH IS THE BRIDE OF CHRIST WE MUST ALL USE OUR EARTHLY POSSESSIONS AS OUR HUSBAND WANTS US TO!

THE LOVE SLAVE

Moses wrote: “If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything. If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free. “But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.” (Exodus 21:2-6)

You can see from this Scripture that love is more demanding than law! The law required six years of service, but love demands a life time of service!

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.” (1 John 3:16)

When we love Jesus as He loved us – we become “joint heirs” with Jesus! Romans 8:17-18)

Jim Elliot, the famous martyr, said it in a beautiful way! “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose!

JESUS WANTS YOU TO OWN PROPERTY, BUT HE ALSO WANTS YOU TO USE IT TO GLORIFY GOD AND ADVANCE HIS KINGDOM!