Pray and Grow Rich - January 25, 2009

You may have heard of the book entitled, “Think and Grow Rich.” You may be surprised to learn that there are several books that have the title, “Pray and Grow Rich.”

I read a review on one of those books and this is what they say - “How many times have you said to yourself, “This is what I want to become!” ... “This is what I want to have!” NOW YOU CAN GET IT! Just by following the easy, step-by-step Secret Prayer Ritual, as revealed in this amazing book! “What kind of Prayer?” you ask. Is it Words? Is it Deeds? Is it Belief? Or is there something more that makes Prayer work? It is something more! It’s the SECRET THAT MAKES PRAYER WORK! A Secret you’ll find on the thrilling pages of this book!”

Wow! It makes you want to jump right out of your seat and run to the store to buy the book, doesn’t it. You know, the one word that is overly used today is “Secret.” Everything has a secret. There are secret ways to lose weight. There are secret ways to get rich. There are products that have a secret ingredient that makes them marvelous.

Read this book and the secret will be revealed to you. Pray and Grow Rich. What they are saying is, “Buy my book - I want your money so I can get rich!” It reminds me of that television commercial about 21st Century Insurance. They feature guy who represents the competition. He is in his executive chair telling you to buy his insurance, no matter the cost - he concludes saying, “Hey, what’s a few hundred dollars between friends?”

A secret is a mystery. A mystery that shadows over the light and makes things dark. If there is one thing that Jesus teaches us is that he was always open. He said in John 18:20-21: 20 "I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied to the High Priest. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. 21Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.”

Jesus was open to the world, yet, the world did not know him. There are many secrets of Jesus, but they are secrets because people cannot understand them. Jesus said in Mark 4:10-12, “10When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12so that, they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’”

You see, the kingdom of God is only for those who really want to hear the word of God. It is for everyone who has an open mind. It is for everyone who wants to “Pray and Grow Rich.”

Rich is a relative word. There are many kinds of richness. Most people like to think that rich is money.
Paul really says it best in 1 Timothy, 6:9-11. Listen to his words: “9People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” Paul’s Charge to Timothy is, “11But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.” Right there, we have the ingredients to our future. We have the ingredients to Pray and Grow Rich - rich in righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.

In the first verse of our hymn that we sung today, one verse is worth repeating - “Rich reward he offers free.” You don’t have to go and buy a book to find out all of the secrets of life. Well, there is one book that you need and that is the Bible. Search the scriptures, for as Paul said in Romans 15:4, “everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

Pray and Grow Rich - Rich in Righteousness.
Pastor Mark Driscoll, founder of the nondenominational Mars Hill Church in Ballard. Washington talks about righteousness. He said The real issue is not money but righteousness. There are not two kinds of people — rich and poor — but four kinds of people: the righteous rich, the unrighteous rich, the righteous poor and the unrighteous poor.

The righteous rich became rich because God blessed them; they worked hard, invested smart and did not obtain wealth through sin like stealing or taking advantage of others. Such people spend their money righteously, generously sharing their abundance with those in need.

The unrighteous rich are people who obtain wealth through sinful means such as stealing and extorting. They spend their money in sinful ways and do little if anything to help people in need. The most legendary biblical example is Judas Iscariot, who stole money from Jesus’ ministry fund.

The righteous poor are people who work hard for the little money they have, spend it wisely and share their pittance with others in need. Jesus is the most obvious biblical example of someone who was both righteous and poor.

The unrighteous poor are people with little or no money because they are lazy or spend foolishly. They do not give to God or others. The book of Proverbs has a lot to say about such people, calling them “fools” and “sluggards.”

Pray and Grow Rich - Rich in godliness.

True godliness is to be like God. When we strive to be godly, we are striving to improve ourselves to be better and better. This means we are working towards having greater wisdom, better health, more wealth, healthier minds and improve in every area in our lives that we find lacking. True godliness means a continuous process of self-improvements.

Pray and Grow Rich - Rich in Faith
When I think of rich in faith, the first thing that pops into my mind is what Jesus said in Matthew 17:20-21 “ I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Or in Luke 17:6, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.” Just a small amount of faith can do wonders for you.

Pray and Grow Rich - Rich in Love.
When I think of Love, I think of 1 Corinthians 13. This is stated at almost every marriage. “4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8Love never fails.” And the best example of love is recorded in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Pray and Grow Rich - Rich in Endurance
Endurance is “the ability to withstand hardship or adversity ; the ability to sustain a prolonged stressful effort or activity; the act or an instance of enduring or suffering. That sounds like exactly what Jesus did for us. In order for us to be rich in endurance, we must have a sound mind so we can overcome the obstacles that are placed in our way.
Paul said in Colossans 1, “We pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.”

Pray and Grow Rich - Rich in Gentleness.
Proverbs 25:15 states, “Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.” You can accomplish more with sugar than you can with vinegar.
None of these things relate to money. Everything stated here is God’s free gift to us. We must embrace it and use it.

Jesus said in our Gospel Lesson for today, “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news.” Yes indeed, believe in the good news that Jesus gave us so many free gifts for us to use and they won’t cost us one red cent. Because you see, God forgave us and so we must repent.

Repentance doesn’t just mean feeling guilty. Repentance means turning to go in a new direction. Jesus was calling these people to quit despairing –– to quit worrying. He had come to bring good news –– the good news that “the kingdom of God has come near.”

This should sound like terrific news to us. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). When God’s kingdom comes fully –– when God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven –– you won’t need locks on your doors anymore. You will be able to walk the darkest street without worrying about muggers. When God’s kingdom comes fully, we won’t need armies anymore, except perhaps to provide disaster relief. We won’t need police anymore, except perhaps to assist people in need.

Think about that when you pray the Lord’s Prayer next time. “Your kingdom come. Your will be done!”

When Jesus wants us to fish for people, He is talking to you - members of Bethlehem Lutheran Church of Pierpont, South Dakota. He is telling you to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. To spread the good news about Jesus Christ. To make a difference in someone’s life.

I have no doubt that the Lord called Percival Bryan to be a cab driver in Washington, D.C. Bryan died in 1996 after driving a cab in our nation’s capitol for more than half a century. He became quite well-known. He always carried a guest book in his cab, and he asked his passengers to sign it. Over the years, he collected signatures of senators, jazz greats –– and even a president or two. Over his career, he accumulated a collection of 312 guest books filled with signatures –– mostly the signatures of ordinary people.

But Bryan didn’t treat people as ordinary. If he saw that you were feeling down, he would try to cheer you up. He would talk to you and try to coax a smile. He told of two passengers ––two young men–– who robbed him one night. But he started a conversation with them and, before the ride was over, they gave him back his money –– and signed his guest book.

Journalist Skip Thurman asked Bryan what kept him going. Listen to Bryan’s reply. He said that what kept him going was:
“My priorities, friends, God.
He said:
“Every morning I get down on my knees and I have my little prayers.
I ask God to go with me, protect me, ride with me, and take my eyesight, my nose, my mouth –– especially my mouth –– and share him with others.
He went on to say:
“And I tell you, sometimes I feel very rich.
Don’t have nothin’, not much money in my pocket, but inside I feel like I have done my best and God has given me the wisdom and the strength to keep going?”
Did the Lord call Percival Bryan to drive a cab? I think he did. And Bryan drove that cab for half a century to the glory of God.

There’s another little piece of that story that I need to share with you. Do you know what happened to Bryan’s guest books? He gave them to the Smithsonian –– the great museum –– and they put them on display. Can you imagine that! A cab driver’s guest books on display in the Smithsonian! It happened! Great things can happen when we fulfill our calling. We might not make it into the Smithsonian, but we can make a difference.

Now, here is a little commercial: “How many times have you said to yourself, “This is what I want to become!” ... “This is what I want to have!” NOW YOU CAN GET IT! For a small investment, you can find out the secrets of life. To find out if there is more to life. Everything you need is revealed in this amazing book - The Holy Bible! You see, there is more! Repent and believe the good news.” Amen.