Looking for a Worthy Investment? Choose the Stock of Jesus Christ (w/ Audio)
1. LOOKING FOR A WORTHY INVESTMENT?
CHOOSE THE STOCK OF JESUS CHRIST
2. INTRODUCTION
We live in a world where the love of money and the
desire to gain prosperity at any cost is a prized
sentiment. Our minds tend to focus on the material
aspects of life, a great career, beautiful home, an
expensive car or exotic vacations. There are so many
get rich quick schemes out there and countless
investment opportunities. The “American Dream” is
an offer that few can resist. The pursuit of this dream
can be so time consuming, it’s no wonder that many
people in this world have little time to serve God. But
as the popular saying states, “Money can’t buy you
happiness.” More importantly, money can’t buy you
salvation.
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3. WHERE’S THE GOOD
Now, if you turn on the news, it’s plain
to see that this world and it’s moral
values are decaying at a rapid rate. It’s
depressing to watch. This is the time to
redirect our focus. To invest in the word
of God, that is, the stock of Jesus
Christ.
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4. WHAT IS A STOCK?
Now in plain and common terms, what is a stock? It
is a share of a company held by an individual or
investor. This share allows the investor to claim a
portion of earnings or assets yielded by that company.
From a spiritual standpoint, we must invest our time
in seeking the word of God. Why? This holy word is
Christ and it includes his laws, testimonies as well as
his principles and teachings. St. John 1: 1 states, “In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God.” By investing in the
word of God, we may claim the best asset or earning
there is, that is eternal life or salvation.
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5. IS SUCCESS A SIN?
By this time, you may be thinking to yourself, is it a sin
to be successful, to be ambitious or have goals?
Absolutely not, but we must place things in its proper
place. If we are to gain salvation, then we must place
God first, who is divine and holy. All other common
aspects of our life must be second to the Lord. Now
when I speak of “common aspects of our lives” I am
talking about the roles we have in life (i.e. father, nurse,
wife, teacher); the daily tasks we perform (dropping the
kids off at school); the people we interact with (i.e. coworkers, family members) and even the personal
interests/hobbies we have (i.e running, shopping,
golfing).
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6. GOD IS #1
Everything you do in life that makes you who you are
on this earth, all of which is important, but it should
never be more important than serving the Lord. Keep
this scripture in mind, “Let us hear the conclusion of
the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his
commandments: for this is the whole duty of
man,” (Ecclesiastes 12: 13). Now think about what this
scripture is saying. Our first and primary duty is to
keep the commandments of God. If there is anything
or anyone that prevents you from keeping the laws of
God, then it becomes a sin, a stumbling block to you.
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7. GOD IS #1
For example, it is not a sin to pursue a
doctorate’s degree in physical therapy. Nor
is it a sin to travel to different areas of the
world for your own personal enjoyment.
But if these aspects of your life interfere
with you worshipping on the Sabbath day or
cause you to break any other commandment
of God, then it is no longer common. It has
become a sin.
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8. ROMANS 8: 5-8
Investing in the word of God, means changing your
mindset. It is to become spiritually minded and not
carnally minded. What does this mean? Paul spoke
of this in Romans 8: 5 - 8
“For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh;
but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to
be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life
and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for
it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So
then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”
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9. THE SPIRITUAL MIND
To put it simply, the things of the spirit pertain
to God but the things of flesh pertain to this
world. A spiritually minded person is guided
by the Holy Ghost who teaches us about God
and how we must obey him. It is the Holy
Spirit who touches our hearts and causes us to
repent for our sins. Sincere repentance will
lead us to change our actions, and our behavior
so that it is pleasing in the eyes of God.
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10. FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT
When we live according to the spirit of God
we become like Christ, possessing traits such as
love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness and temperance
(Galatians 5: 22-23). The Holy Spirit helps
us put it into action what we read in the bible
and it is through obedience to the law that we
gain salvation and escape eternal death.
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11. WORKS OF THE FLESH
A carnally minded person is overly consumed with
the works of the flesh or pleasures of this world,
which are not merely common but sinful. The works
of the flesh according to Galatians 5: 19-21: “Now
the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery,
fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft,
hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the
which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that
they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom
of God.”
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12. WORKS OF THE FLESH
So the works of the flesh are synonymous
with sin. And sin is the transgression of
the law. This sin is at enmity or in
opposition with God. A carnal minded
person will disobey God, ultimately
leading them to eternal death. The
wages of sin are very high. Ask yourself
this, is this world worth my life?
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13. LESSON OF THE MONTH
During the month of January, we talk about the
blessings of Jacob vs. the blessing of Esau on our
church’s website. How is this theme relevant to what
we are discussing now? The blessing of Jacob
pertains to the laws of God and the promise of
salvation to all those who are obedient. But the
blessing of Esau pertains to the pleasure and sinful
deeds of this world. Exact details on the life of Jacob
and Esau as well as the different blessings they
received, goes beyond the scope of this presentation
(please see presentation, “Jacob and Esau: the Tale of
2 Brothers”).
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14. LESSON OF THE MONTH
Know this, Jacob represents the righteous
while Esau represents the wicked. In the
bible, God stated, “Jacob I love but Esau I
hate.” We must choose to pursue the
blessing of Jacob for it is eternal and holy.
However, the blessing of Esau, though
appealing on the surface, has an expiration
date, it is temporary and will lead you to sin
and death.
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15. JESUS SAID
Christ says it best in Matthew 6: 19 21 & 33:
“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth,
where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where
thieves break through and steal: But lay up for
yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither
moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves
do not break through nor steal: For where your
treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
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16. CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the stock of Jesus Christ,
his word, is the best investment you can
make in your life, for it leads to an asset
that is priceless indeed. The asset of
eternal life. And unlike common stocks
in this world, that change in value or
sometimes lack reliability, this stock is
constant, it’s reliable and it will
ultimately save your life. Amen.
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17. WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED
THE LESSON!
The Household
of Israel
Temple of
Jesus Christ
says hello!
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