What We Should Pray For: Enough

When it comes to material things, one word summarizes what we should pray for: enough.

Scriptures

• Proverbs 30:7-9
• Exodus 16:13-18
• Proverbs 10:15
• Proverbs 3:6
• Psalm 37:25
• Ecclesiastes 4:6

Partiality

Beginning Scripture

I Timothy 5:21 - I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality.

Definitions

• Strong's 4346 - Greek "prosklisis" - means "a leaning toward, i.e. (fig.) proclivity (favoritism).
• A favorable bias or predjudice (Dictionary.com, 1)
• The preferring of one person or side more than another (Dictionary.com, 2)
• An inclination of temperament or outlook; especially : a personal and sometimes unreasoned judgment (MiriamWebster.com, 3b)
• Partisan - one exhibiting blind, prejudiced, and unreasoning allegiance (MiriamWebster.com, 1)

Body Scriptures

Deuteronomy 1:16-18 “Then I commanded your judges at that time, saying, ‘Hear the cases between your brethren, and judge righteously between a man and his brother or the stranger who is with him. You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small as well as the great; you shall not be afraid in any man’s presence, for the judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you, bring to me, and I will hear it.’ And I commanded you at that time all the things which you should do.

Offeratory

Use the scriptures in Daniel 2:26-28 and 30 to explain our role in conveying the message of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God to the the world. Like Daniel, we have no more power or ability than anyone else in the world to interpret and explain the deep questions people have about what life means. Also like Daniel we can only convey the message and hope we've been given.

Use Tim Allwine's offeratory again and take it one step further:

1. We go to work and exchange a portion of our lives for money
2. Receiving the money does not make the portion of our lives that we exchanged for it useful; when you receive the money, you are only partly there.
3. What we do with the money determines whether that portion of our lives will have been useful
4. The offerings that we give ensure that the portion of our lives that we exchanged for that money will indeed have been worthwhile

Isaiah 55:2 - Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance.

God's Ability to Work with What You Have

In Exodus 4:2, God asks Moses a most interesting question in response to what Moses had said: "What is that in your hand?". Clearly, God knew what Moses was holding in his hand. The interesting point here is that God demonstrated his awesome power by taking whatever was available at the moment and using it to resolve an issue and fill a need.

It would be neat to examine the Scriptures and see if there are other scenarios like this. The case of the loaves and fishes comes immediately to mind. It would make a great message to go through those incidents and bring out the power of God, to the end that we trust in him the more.

Samson, Solomon & Israel

Samson can best be understood by viewing his life in the light of other Biblical figures, and by understanding his life as a type of the relationship between God and Israel.

Comparison to Solomon

• Samson was the strongest man to ever live, Solomon was the wisest and had great wealth
• Both loved foreign women and were led astray by them
• Both suffered great consequences in their lives because of their relationships
• Both returned to God at the end of their lives

Comparison to Israel

It may be helpful to start out this comparison by talking about what a "type" is, and why Israel is so important. Hosea's life and circumstances may be a good example.

• Both were specifically and especially chosen by God
• Both were very zealous in their youth
• Both strayed from God because of foreign influences
• Both made very foolish choices with the options and possibilities before them
• Both went into captivity
• Both learned because of the consequences of their sins and returned to God

Israel is yet to fully return to God. It may be helpful to speak about Romans 11 and the future return of Israel to God as an endcap of hope, possibly along with the Hebrews 11 reference to Samson.

Afraid of Missing Out

It is easy as young person in the Church of God to fear that you might miss out on some of the joys of life because of events at the time of the end. Generations of youth have asked themselves, will I be able to get married, have children, own a house, etc.

An encouraging thing to remember when these questions arise is the parable of those who were last and received the same as the first. Regardless of how wonderful and pleasant the joys of this life are, they do not compare to the wonderful glory of God's Kingdom.

Through this parable spoken by Jesus, we see that even those who are converted at the time of the end will receive eternal life, just as those who have endured long. Even though they might not experience some of the joys of physical life, they will receive all of the rewards and blessings of eternal life.

Fulfilling the Law

Quote from Jesus Christ: The Real Story: "Jesus, by explaining, expanding and exemplifying God's law..." (Page 93) Perhaps a good sermonette would be to read Matthew 5:17, which is the context of the discussion, and then provided specific examples of time in the life of Jesus when he explained, expanded and exemplified the law, thereby fulfilling it.