GOD DOESN’T BLESS SCROOGES<title>  <style>  </style>  </head> <body lang=EN-US style='tab-interval:36.0pt'> <div class=Section1> <p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-tab-count:2'> </span></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><span style='font-size:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>GOD DOESN’T BLESS SCROOGES<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><span style='font-size:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>PROVERBS 11:24-26</span></b></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoBodyText>During this Stewardship Emphasis time we are talking about generosity.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>God’s people ought to be generous people.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>Stingy and greedy people never know God’s richest blessings.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>Generosity is not the amount you give; it’s your attitude.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>God knows your heart and your attitude as you give.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>He desires that we give with a Godly and generous attitude.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>The truth of this lesson is that God doesn’t bless selfish people.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>When we withhold what God intends us to give, it will prevent us from experiencing the prosperity that He intends for us to have.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>Those that make the choice to be stingy with what God has given them will find themselves in need.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>We must realize how selfish people become that way and determine in our own lives that we will be generous givers.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span class=GramE>When we use the word “Scrooge” most of us automatically thing of the story “The Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens.</span><span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>This story is known around the world.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>The central figure, <span class=SpellE>Ebenezar</span> Scrooge, is a well-to-do businessman who makes life miserable for everyone, including himself.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>This selfish and miserly character is hated at first because he is seen as a selfish and greedy old man.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>Everyone knows him and they know that he is rich, but he is also the tightest skinflint in town.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>He hoards up his personal fortune to the point that he won’t even put coal in the fireplace and he refuses to pay his employee a decent wage.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>Every time he is asked to do something decent, he replies with, “Bah humbug.”</p> <p class=MsoBodyText>Because he is a stingy and greedy person, he is miserable and others hate him.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>He is the example of the person described in I Timothy 6:</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'>But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span><u><o:p></o:p></u></span></i></b></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'>For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><u><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'>1Timothy 6:9-10</span></u></i></b><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><u><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></u></i></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>His love of money was the root of all sorts of evil in his life and eventually led him into a destructive cycle of greed and selfishness.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>His thoughts were only about “I, Me, Mine, and <span class=GramE>Myself</span>.”<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>Because he didn’t care about anyone else, it almost cost him his own life.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>Let’s look at what the Bible says about scrooges:</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'>1 – THE SPIRITUAL SCROOGE<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'>And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life <span class=SpellE>consisteth</span> not in the abundance of the things which he <span class=SpellE>possesseth</span>.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span><u><o:p></o:p></u></span></i></b></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'>And he <span class=SpellE>spake</span> a parable unto them, saying, <span class=GramE>The</span> ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span><u><o:p></o:p></u></span></i></b></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'>And he thought within himself, saying, <span class=GramE>What</span> shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span><u><o:p></o:p></u></span></i></b></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'>And he said, <span class=GramE>This</span> will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span><u><o:p></o:p></u></span></i></b></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'>And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods <span class=GramE>laid</span> up for many years; take <span class=SpellE>thine</span> ease, eat, drink, and be merry.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span><u><o:p></o:p></u></span></i></b></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'>But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span><u><o:p></o:p></u></span></i></b></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'>So is he that <span class=SpellE>layeth</span> up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><u><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'>Luke 12:15-21</span></u></i></b><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><u><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></u></i></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoBodyText>The man that Jesus introduces us to in these verses might as well have been names, Ebenezer Scrooge.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>God has blessed him with a huge harvest that was so great his barns could not hold it.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>He never thought one time about being a blessing to someone less fortunate, all he thought of was <span class=GramE>himself</span>.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>He was so greedy that he tore down his existing barns and built bigger ones.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>Just as he thought he could sit back and take it easy and live in the luxury he graved, he discovered a sad truth.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>God called him a fool, he was more than wrong; he was dead wrong!</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>This scrooge would quickly die and lose all that he had hoarded up for himself.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>God put this in the Bible to teach us that this is the fate of all who live like this man lived.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>This is more than just a story; it is a warning to all Christians.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>We are to be careful and guard our lives against greed and always remember that our life does not consist of the things we might possess.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>We live <span class=GramE>is</span> a world where those that seek to gain a massive amount of wealth are heroes and those that are generous givers are seen as fools.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>As man always does, we think opposite of the way God wants us to think.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>God blesses us so we can bless others.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>God’s true blessings come as a result of generosity, not selfishness.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'>2 – HOW SCROOGES BECOME SCROOGES<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>Ebenezer Scrooge and most other scrooges become that way because they define success as having lots of money and power.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>Ebenezer lost the love of his life and then actively pursued wealth, hoping it would fill the void in his life.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>The same is true for the others, they lose or have never had God as the love of their lives, and so they substitute a love of money to try to fill that void.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>This deadly decision wi8ll soon wither the spirit and transform an otherwise good person into a miserable scrooge.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>Let’s look at some other ways people turn into scrooges:</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <h1>THEY ARE RAISED IN WEALTHY AND SELFISH HOMES</h1> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>Many people have never had generosity demonstrated to them by those that influenced them the most.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>All they have even witnessed was a demonstration of getting all you can for yourself and never giving or being a blessing to anyone else.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>They have never been influenced by those that scattered and watered and had their lives enriched because of it:</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'>There is that <span class=SpellE>scattereth</span>, and yet <span class=SpellE>increaseth</span>; and there is that <span class=SpellE>withholdeth</span> more than is meet, but it <span class=SpellE>tendeth</span> to poverty.<u><o:p></o:p></u></span></i></b></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'>The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that <span class=SpellE>watereth</span> shall be watered also himself.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><u><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'>Proverbs 11:24-25</span></u></i></b><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><u><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></u></i></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoBodyText>When a person is raised in an environment of withholding, clinging to, and hoarding material possessions, that person will not likely be a generous person.</p> <p class=MsoBodyText><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoBodyText>What they learn is that they are to get what they can before someone else gets it first.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>After they get all they can, they hold on to is with all they have.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>That does not mean they cannot change, but if they do, God will have to change them.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>Those that grow up with wealth must be especially sensitive to God’s leadership when it comes to generosity.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>Wealth and worldly possessions will affect their attitude toward giving.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <h1>THEY ARE RAISED IN VERY POOR HOMES</h1> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>Poverty can have many negative effects on people.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>It can beat them down, discourage their initiative, and steal their dreams.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>It can often mold a person’s attitude about money into a distasteful creed: Hang on to what little you have at any cost!</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>Giving becomes out of the question and grabbing all you can becomes a way of life.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>These people become takers all of their life.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>Some of those people have come through this Church.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>They always have their hand out and they never consider open that same hand to anyone else.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>I can’t say that this is the case every time, but many of these people are driven by a fear of never having enough, they want to hoard all they can get, just in case.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>The poverty mentality will make people stingy, even if they only have a little.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>The “Scattering and watering” mentality are foreign concepts to them.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>Just as wealth, poverty can affect the attitude toward giving and generosity.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoBodyText2>THEY GIVE IN TO THE SELFISHNESS AND GREED OF THE FLESH</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>Many scrooges have simply given in to their sinful nature.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>They let their guard down and the Devil and the flesh took over.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>Those that choose to follow the flesh instead of the Spirit will become self-centered and greedy.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>A review of Galatians five will reveal the difference in the fruits of the flesh and the fruits of the Spirit.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>He must resist the temptation of the flesh to become selfish.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoBodyText2>THEY FOCUS ON LOVING MONEY MORE THAN LOVING GOD</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>The Bible says that it is the love of Money, not money itself, that of the root of evil.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>Money can quickly become a god and it is always a greedy god.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>That is why Jesus said that we cannot worship money and God:</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'>No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><u><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'>Matthew 6:24</span></u></i></b><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><u><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></u></i></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>We will either master our money or it will master us.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>We must be honest with ourselves and ask, “Do we love God and other people more than we do money?”<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'>3 – HOW SELFISH SCROOGES BECOME GENEROUS <o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>We remember that Ebenezer Scrooge had his greedy and selfish spirit scared out of him by some frightening dreams.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>As a result, he opened his heart and his pocket book and began to be a blessing.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>But God usually does not deal with us that way; He does not scare us into submission.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>It is our personal responsibility to respond to God’s Word and the Holy Spirit and be led into a generous attitude and lifestyle.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>Stingy and greedy people can be changed when they discover and become obedient to walking by faith in God’s principles and promises.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>God’s Word is clear, “The generous person will be prosperous.”</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>God gave us the Holy Spirit to lead us in the way we need to live.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'>But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><u><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'>John 14:26</span></u></i></b><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><u><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></u></i></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoBodyText>It is God’s plan that we be influenced by the Holy Ghost, not be scared by an imaginary ghost.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>No matter what our background or training, or lack thereof, may be, we can learn to be generous givers.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>We can seek out the truth of God’s Word, ask for the help of the Spirit, and simply believe what God says.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>There is no way to be the generous person that God wants us to be unless we know what the Word of God says.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>Instead of listening to and following the world, we need to take our marching orders from God.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'>Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><u><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'>Luke 6:38</span></u></i></b><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><u><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></u></i></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'>4 – PERSONAL QUESTIONS<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>Are we selfish scrooges or the generous Christians God wants us to be?</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>Are we ruled by a scattering or withholding principle?</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>What do others say about our generosity?</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>Arte we praised for our generosity or cursed for our greedy heart?</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'>He that <span class=SpellE>withholdeth</span> corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that <span class=SpellE>selleth</span> it.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><u><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'>Proverbs 11:26</span></u></i></b><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><u><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></u></i></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoBodyText>Withholding or giving – the choice is up to us.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>Cursing or blessing – the choice is ours.</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'>The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that <span class=SpellE>watereth</span> shall be watered also himself.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><u><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'>Proverbs 11:25</span></u></i></b><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><u><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Angsana New";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></u></i></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoBodyText>PRAY!</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'>4/27/05 WED. PM</p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <br><br><br> <center><A HREF="http://landmarkbiblebaptist.net/outlines.html">SERMON OUTLINES</A></center> <br><br><br> </body> </html>