Faith Baptist Church
4258 Botetourt Road
Fincastle, Virginia 24090
(540) 473-2325
Temporal blessings mean blessings in time. Some believers will excel in some of these temporal areas of blessings, but not in others for various reasons. You may excel in excellent health, or friends, but not in finances or vocational blessings and so forth. As I said last week; God does not have a maturity uniform that we all fit into alike. And we do not have a single cookie cutter pattern for God’s blessings. What we do have in common is a loving giving God who has the right to give to each believer as he sees fit. Please keep this in mind and try not to judge the other believer. If you are a mature believer you will keep a right attitude toward the blessings God gives to others and you will not judge them if they are blessed less than you in some of your areas of blessings.
Many believers measure temporal blessing from God only from a financial standpoint.
Money can be a good servant, but it can be a terrible master.
Six dangers of becoming financially wealthy as found in
I Tim. 6:9-10.
1. Falling into temptation
2. Falling into a snare (a trap)
3. Falling into many senseless and hurtful lusts
4. Drowning (sinking) in destruction and perdition
5. Wandering away from the faith
6. Surrounding yourself with many sorrows
You see, each temporal blessing has its own responsibility, so with the blessings comes accountability. Each blessing is for your good, but only you can determine if you are going to use it wisely.
Paul reminded the wealthy believers in his second epistle to Timothy 6:17-19 to not put their trust in uncertain riches.
Paul charged those who have riches to not be tight wads being afraid to let go of some of the wealth. God gives personal wealth blessings to enjoy, but also for the purpose of demonstrating his love to others. God’s intent is to use a fair portion of your financial blessings for his good works. These good works will be rewarded at the judgment seat of Christ.
Another temporal blessing is promotion, I Pet.5:5-6.
Promotion takes on a strange transformation some times. When it looks like you are taking a step backwards, it may very well be God’s way of preparing you for greater things than you are presently doing. Now granted you probably will not be tending sheep for forty years in the desert like Moses did, Exodus 3:1-12, but God may change your circumstances just to get you to him. And when the time is right you too may have your burning bush experience.
God exalts the humble, but he makes low the proud. God took Joseph, the son of Jacob and made him the second highest ranking official in Egypt, Gen.41:39-40. He had been left to die in a well by his jealous brothers, but God began his promotion program for him that day.
Prov.4:7-8 “Wisdom is the principle thing; therefore, get wisdom; and with all thy getting, get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee, she shall bring thee to honor when thou dost embrace her.”
Folks if you want to get on God’s fast track to promotional blessings take a good hold on God’s wisdom as found in his word.
Apply God’s wisdom and you will be positioned for promotional blessings. God’s wisdom will keep you out of trouble and it will make you a person of integrity.
If you work for a company that is not looking for wise men and women of integrity, then you probably need to look somewhere else for work. If a promotion is offered which will strike a blow at you reaching and maintaining your spiritual edification in your local church then it is certainly not of God. The exception is if you have to relocate and God provides a good Bible teaching local church for you and your family. My advise is to research and then find the right local church before you take the promotion. And always remember God has a greater purpose in your promotion than your employer does. God expects you to use that blessing to glorify Him. You see, the positive believer thinks along these lines. The negative cosmic entangled believer sees only money and power and more comforts for his family.
Ps.75:6-7 “For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge; he putteth down one, and setteth up another.”
God put down negative Saul, but he lifted up positive David in Israel. God put down Haman, but he lifted up Mordecai as seen in the book of Ester.
God is the source of the believer’s success. Please keep in mind that God will not promote you beyond your capacity. Timing is critical to your success and the key to knowing this timing is for you to be on God’s track to spiritual maturity where you are sensitive to His direction regarding your opportunities. Keeping your attitude right says a lot about your qualifications for promotion. Keeping your training up is also important. If you are not willing to work to qualify for your blessings then you are not ready for them.
You do not want to become the manager of a department or a company without training, but if you are a mature believer you will have what it takes to handle the stress and the people. If you are a mature believer ready for promotion you will not have to politic and tell people what they want to hear just because you think you know what they want to hear. Of course this principle applies to any area of life.
God promotes you so you can honor his name among other leaders. He may already have witnesses on the regular staff level, but he wants witnesses all the way to the top, and this is where you come in.