Overcoming Dragon Sickness: The Battle Against Greed
Devotional
Sermon Summary
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"Greed is an inordinate desire, it is excessive love for wealth, for possessions, for money, for the things that money can buy, even for self-esteem, security, status, and power. Greed's object is things, but it is not to be identified with those things. Greed is a misplaced craving in the heart; it is good desire gone wrong." [00:03:18]
"The problem with greed is not that we desire things, but that our desires are misdirected and out of proportion. Greed lurks in our hearts, often unnoticed, as we walk the aisles of the store or consider cheating on our taxes or how much to tip the waitress or how much to give to the church or whether to help a friend in need." [00:03:54]
"Jesus dealt Dragon sickness its death blow at Calvary. He smoked the ruin of the dragon and sin and hell and greed on the mountainside when he was nailed to the tree and broke the cords of death in his resurrection life, which we already taste and one day will soon fully possess." [00:04:49]
"Our practical path then to victory over greed will require both offensive and defensive tactics. It begins with a battle plan, call it a personal budget or family budget. It's a blueprint for generosity, for contributing regularly and sacrificially to the needs of the church and the help of others and the progress of the Gospel around the world." [00:05:13]
"Battlecry number two: giving is better. Remember the words of Jesus in Acts 20:35, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' When every sinful impulse in us wants to take and take and take, we fight back with superior pleasure. Giving is better, giving is happier than getting." [00:08:20]
"Battlecry number three: I have the great possession. Here finally is the deepest campaign against greed. The fight against greed is a fight to be satisfied not only in what is coming to us but most importantly in what we already have, whom we already have. He is the treasure hidden in a field worth selling everything to buy." [00:10:03]
"When Jesus is our great possession, Dragon sickness has lost its power, and we are finally freed to possess the kingdom our Father created us to inherit. And even on that day when we have it all materially, our greed-free hearts will gladly say, 'All I have is Christ.'" [00:11:43]
"To combat greed, we must employ both offensive and defensive tactics. This begins with a battle plan, such as a personal or family budget, that prioritizes generosity and aligns with Jesus' vision of money as a tool for eternal purposes. We must also engage in three battle cries against greed: 'I can wait,' 'Giving is better,' and 'I have the great possession.'" [00:05:16]
"Greed is not about the desire for things but about the misdirection and disproportion of that desire. It is a craving that eclipses our value for God, leading us away from His path. Recognizing this helps us realign our desires with God's will." [00:03:33]
"Blessed are the meek, he says in Matthew 5:5, for they shall inherit the earth. And the Apostle says in 1 Corinthians 3, 'All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future, all are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's.'" [00:07:40]
"Giving is better, and when we trust Jesus' own words and learn to walk in the experience, we progressively become cheerful givers like our Father, who is the constant cheerful Giver. Take something as small as tipping; it is so easy to always round down, always give just enough to get by or a little bit less." [00:09:19]
"Christian, we have a greater possession than the Arkenstone. You have a greater inheritance than all the gold in Erebor. His name is Jesus. To be at home with him is our great reward. We are our beloved's, and he is ours." [00:11:21]
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"The problem with greed is not that we desire things, but that our desires are misdirected and out of proportion. Greed lurks in our hearts, often unnoticed, as we walk the aisles of the store or consider cheating on our taxes or how much to tip the waitress or how much to give to the church or whether to help a friend in need." [00:03:54]
"Jesus dealt Dragon sickness its death blow at Calvary. He smoked the ruin of the dragon and sin and hell and greed on the mountainside when he was nailed to the tree and broke the cords of death in his resurrection life, which we already taste and one day will soon fully possess." [00:04:49]
"Our practical path then to victory over greed will require both offensive and defensive tactics. It begins with a battle plan, call it a personal budget or family budget. It's a blueprint for generosity, for contributing regularly and sacrificially to the needs of the church and the help of others and the progress of the Gospel around the world." [00:05:13]
"Battlecry number two: giving is better. Remember the words of Jesus in Acts 20:35, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' When every sinful impulse in us wants to take and take and take, we fight back with superior pleasure. Giving is better, giving is happier than getting." [00:08:20]
"Battlecry number three: I have the great possession. Here finally is the deepest campaign against greed. The fight against greed is a fight to be satisfied not only in what is coming to us but most importantly in what we already have, whom we already have. He is the treasure hidden in a field worth selling everything to buy." [00:10:03]
"When Jesus is our great possession, Dragon sickness has lost its power, and we are finally freed to possess the kingdom our Father created us to inherit. And even on that day when we have it all materially, our greed-free hearts will gladly say, 'All I have is Christ.'" [00:11:43]
"To combat greed, we must employ both offensive and defensive tactics. This begins with a battle plan, such as a personal or family budget, that prioritizes generosity and aligns with Jesus' vision of money as a tool for eternal purposes. We must also engage in three battle cries against greed: 'I can wait,' 'Giving is better,' and 'I have the great possession.'" [00:05:16]
"Greed is not about the desire for things but about the misdirection and disproportion of that desire. It is a craving that eclipses our value for God, leading us away from His path. Recognizing this helps us realign our desires with God's will." [00:03:33]
"Blessed are the meek, he says in Matthew 5:5, for they shall inherit the earth. And the Apostle says in 1 Corinthians 3, 'All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future, all are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's.'" [00:07:40]
"Giving is better, and when we trust Jesus' own words and learn to walk in the experience, we progressively become cheerful givers like our Father, who is the constant cheerful Giver. Take something as small as tipping; it is so easy to always round down, always give just enough to get by or a little bit less." [00:09:19]
"Christian, we have a greater possession than the Arkenstone. You have a greater inheritance than all the gold in Erebor. His name is Jesus. To be at home with him is our great reward. We are our beloved's, and he is ours." [00:11:21]
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