Grace not shared is grace despaired

In the OT, believers of Yehovah were subject to the Law- we were bound by strict rules- dietary rules, spiritual rules etc etc. We were then broken free from these rules when Jesus died for us.
Jesus became the only way, the only truth and the only gate. It is because of God’s mercy, His favor, His kindness, His blessing and His compassion that He has provided mankind with a salvation plan! We are saved by God’s mercy. We do not deserve the blessings God has given us.

Ephesians 2:4-9
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast.

Notice this passage says:

Ø God made us alive in Christ when we were dead—and this is God’s grace.
Ø God raised us up with Christ
Ø God expresses His grace to mankind by giving us Christ Jesus
Ø God’s grace is through faith.

God’s grace involves a bigger picture than we sometimes realize. At one point in our history, there was a rebellion in heaven in which some of the angels chose to follow Lucifer and abandoned their positions in heaven in rebellion against God. For these, God has provided no salvation plan. There is no hope for them, no chance of salvation. They will be eternally damned to hell when the Day of Judgment arrives. God has not provided a way for them to attain redemption. But for mankind, on the other hand, God in His mercy and grace has given us His Son and a way to be redeemed. He has given us a salvation plan! And this is by His grace. God did not give Jesus to the rebellious angels. He only gave Jesus to mankind. God had this salvation plan in mind from the very beginning.

You, who have been partakers of this grace, have been given the Great Commission.
And when we had sinned and were dead, and had received only what we deserved, God in His mercy and grace provided a way for us to be saved—He provided His Son, Jesus Christ.

2 Timothy 1:8-11 So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher.

Is it wrong for a Christian to want to be rich?

A lot of people I know criticize new generation churches for proclaiming the prosperity gospel. But, in actuality, what's the prosperity gospel all about? Jesus has promised each of us peace and prosperity. As the children of the King of Kings, are we not prince and princess who can lay claim to their Heavenly Fathers ' bountiful riches? We are! So can we actively pursue money generating works? But isn't money the root of all evil?

Let's take it from 1 Timothy6:6-10.

6But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.
7For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.
8If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.
9But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.
10For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Our MAIN AIM is to pursue Godliness. The way to that is CONTENTMENT or gratefulness. If you are grateful , truly grateful for what you have, then it's hard to want anything more. Once we are thus able to control our wants, we are no longer vulnerable to the trickery of our desires. Those who "want to get rich" precariously perch themselves at the edge of a BIG fall. By focusing on what money can buy us, we are taking our eyes off what is really important.

So, is it wrong to be rich? Well, the world in general considers you rich by the number of material blessings you possess. Our desire to meet this standard is what makes it so wrong. By wanting what we don't have, we express a lack of contentment.We are in fact proclaiming,"God hasn't done this right!"

The Scripture commands us on this accord to flee from our lusts for things and to seek the kingdom of God. Pursue godliness. Don't put your hope and security on a fickle master like money.Our Ever Dependable God is more than capable of richly supplying us with things to enjoy!

You are not a believer!

A disciple or believer is one who receives instruction from another and is persuaded of the truth or reality of some doctrine, person, or thing. Do you think that in all the years Jesus ministered He had only 12 disciples?

Jesus asked his disciples to do four things that churches and other training institutions rarely do. He asked them to abandon everything, to immerse themselves into a life of constant ministry, to depend on God and no one else for their resources, and to live in community.
In John 6:66, by their reactions to this radical command we can reduce Jesus’ followers into four categories:
1) The Curious
Curious disciples followed Jesus in fascination. They were intrigued by what He said. But when Jesus said to them, "Unless you are willing to affirm My total lordship in your life you cannot be My disciple or enter My Kingdom." Not willing to make a full commitment to Christ, "...many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him" (Jn. 6:66).
2) The Committed
In contrast, the Twelve showed that they were more than just followers: When Jesus asked them, "Will ye also go away?" Peter replied, "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Jn. 6:67-69). In other words, Peter said, "We're not the kind of disciples who are just curious; we're the kind who are committed. We know that You speak the truth."
3) The Convinced
These were the disciples who were intellectually convinced. Nicodemus is a classic illustration: Having listened to what Jesus said, and having seen what He did, Nicodemus came to Him by night and said, "You must be from God." He was intellectually convinced, but he didn't believe in Christ in the fullest sense then because he didn't forsake all to follow Him.
4) The Clandestine
There were some disciples like Joseph of Arimathea, who kept their belief a secret.
Which category would you classify yourself in? Why? There is a progression in the stages of discipleship. Which do you think occurs first? According to the parable of the sower, why do you think one cannot remain an intellectually convinced or a clandestine believer for very long? What will a committed believer give evidence of in his life? (Mt. 5:3-12; 13:23; Jn. 8:31) If you are not yet a committed believer, what is preventing you from being one? Find out if you don't know and make the necessary changes. If you are one, help someone you know who is in one of the other three categories to become more spiritually mature.