SERMON STARTER

Worshiping THE bull

SURVIVING THE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN

David Wilkerson Wrote 10 Years before the current Stock Market Downturn:

“I tell you, the stock market has become America's golden calf! People see it as a financial savior, and they worship it daily--trusting in it, depending on it, giving it all their energy and attention. But it's going to fall suddenly--and none of the small, individual investors will be spared. They'll suffer the most, losing their homes, their cars--everything!

I urge you: Ask the Lord to prepare you--His way--for the day "America's golden calf" comes down. Seek His Spirit of truth in your secret closet. Learn to recognize His voice above all the worldly clamor going on in His church. Then you'll truly be prepared to face the coming storm.”

AMERICA’S LAST CALL, David Wilkerson, 1998

 

Worshiping THE bull

 

          A friend asked me if I ever received an allowance. That was a laugh; our household was run tightly on a week-to-week paycheck. Early in the week we ate well, and late in the week it was dried beans and cornbread. It was even more difficult if my father decided to go on a Friday night binge drinking bout with his buddies.

          My brother Don and I became entrepreneurs after school and on weekends. If we wanted some prized object or activity, we hustled to get what we needed. Don and I explored every possible fund-raising opportunity. We scoured our neighborhoods to locate income producing possibilities.

          We sold Grit newspapers for 10 cents a copy. Six cents per paper went back to the company and 4 cents per copy sold was ours. Selling ten papers meant that we could get admission to the Saturday afternoon matinee at the local picture show, plus a box of pop corn and a coke.  It was amazing what you could get for just forty cents!

          We supplemented our income with Greeting Card door to door sales, Cloverine Salve sales and seed packet sales. On a day when we needed money quicker, we had other enterprising ways of getting income. Empty pop bottles were good for two cents at the local grocery store. Occasionally, empties could be found at the side of the road, but mostly we solicited them from neighbors. Saturday mornings we could head out with our Red Rider wagon to carry our prized bottles to the store for redemption. It took a lot of pop bottles to go to the picture show.

          It was the necessity of doing without or taking the initiative to get what we wanted that made the difference in brother Don and my generation. There were no Xboxes, PlayStations, WiiFit games, DVD movies, cell phones, Blackberrys or I-Pods in our generation. We had God’s great outdoors, our personal drive and initiative and we had each other. These were the only resources we needed to have a meaningful life.

          If our present generation is to survive the present economic downturn it will need to surrender its thirst for materialism and the stuff of this life. It will need to travel lighter and with simplicity. Unburdening ourselves from Madison Avenue’s siren call would be a good start. Finding a good church that supports one another like a family would be another way to overcome the difficult times ahead. Ultimately, we have God and we have one another.

 

Pastor Phil   <><<

 

 

hieroglyph

 

 

February 1, 2009

Sheepfold Ministries, Pastor Phil Roland

 

WORSHIPING THE Bull

SURVIVING THE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN

EXODUS 32 Americans are obsessed about their money and the stuff it buys. We cannot start our day without seeing how up or down the stock market roller-coasters. .  Pastor Phil

 

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”  Matthew 6:33

 

BULL MARKET

A prolonged period in which investment prices rise faster than their historical average. Bull markets can happen as a result of an economic recovery, an economic boom, or investor psychology. The longest and most famous bull market is the one that began in the early 1990s in which the U.S. equity markets grew at their fastest pace ever. Bull Markets are opposite of bear market.

 

BEAR MARKET

A prolonged period in which investment prices fall, accompanied by widespread pessimism. Bear markets usually occur when the economy is in a recession and unemployment is high, or when inflation is rising quickly. The most famous bear market in U.S. history was the Great Depression of the 1930s.

 

I. MOSES WAS ON SINAI A LONG TIME – Ex. 32:1

   “Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the

      mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, "Come,

      make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who

      brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of

      him."

            A. Out of Sight, Out of Mind

                        1. Moses was on the mountain to the limit of human existence

                        2. Probably on a 40 day fast

            B. When the Cat’s away, the Mice will play

                        1. People took their plunder from Egypt

                        2. Made a Golden Bull

                        3. The Bull was idol worship

                                    a. Probably Apis son of the Egyptian Sun God, “Ra”

                                    b. Pharaoh was said to be the son of Apis

                                    c. Bulls and Cows sacred in Egypt

            C. A known familiar behavior is easier than an unknown behavior

            D. People are prone to accept ANYTHING but the Word of the Lord

                        1. They are accountable for the Law BEFORE it was given

                        2. We are never content with the status quo, always want more

II. MOSES HELD THE PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR SINS

          A. Aaron is excused, God and Moses shows him mercy

                        1. Passively, Aaron Blames the people – vs. 21-24

                                    a. Gave the people what they wanted

                                    b. Let them govern themselves to their own destruction

                        2. God excuses Aaron, He has need of him

                                    a. American people have worshipped the calf

                                    b. Like Aaron, God has excused us UNTIL NOW

                                    c. We’ve worshipped the Golden Calf of prosperity

            B. We are a lawless bunch – “Nobody tells US what to do!” –

                 "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in

                   obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than

                   sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of

                  witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.1Sam 15:22-23

                        1. OBEDIENCE is as Gold in God’s Kingdom

                        2. God arranges a Two-Fold punishment

                                    a. Lose all their Egyptian gold

                                    b. Treated gold like dirt and ground it up

                                    c. Forced to consume it

                        3. Second punishment for worshipping themselves

                                    a. Forced to take the sword to one another

                                    b. Three Thousand men died in a day

                        4. God isn’t afraid to take away our stuff

                        5. He isn’t afraid to allow certain ones of us die for our sins

            C. We are like the Hebrews, a restless, thankless people

                        1. We must learn to be grateful for what we have -1 Thes. 5:18

                            “in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ

                              Jesus for you.”

                        2. Thank God for All Men and Circumstances - 1 Tim. 2:1,2

                            “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers,

                              intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,

                              for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet

                              and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.”

 

III. WORSHIPPING THE BULL HAS BEEN EXPENSIVE

          A. God is our Source, there is no other

            B. America’s Treasures are worthless in God’s Kingdom

                 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust

                  destroy and where thieves break in and steal;  "but lay up for

                  yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys

                  and where thieves do not break in and steal. “For where your treasure

                  is, there your heart will be also.”  Matthew 6:19-21

1. C.    God is not Heartless – We Reap what we Sow  - Gal. 6:7

      “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that

        he will also reap.”

D. Be content with what God has given you – 1 Cor. 10:6,7

                 “. . .we should not lust after evil things as they (the Hebrew fathers) also

                  lusted. And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is

                  written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play."

            E. God’s punishment is grievous, but He still loves you – Deut. 8:5

                 "You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so

                   the LORD your God chastens you.”

 

Egyptian Hieroglyph