Recently I saw a tiktok video where a woman found a hamburger in her closet that had been there for twenty-four years! After almost a quarter of a century the burger still looked very much in tact. The bread had never cracked or molded and the meat had never degraded. Perhaps the food industry has focused more on food as a product than they have the nourishment value of food itself.
There is this story in the Bible about King Hezekiah that reveals how he trusted more in his own abilities to negotiate treaties and alliances with man than he trusted in God’s ability to protect him. The king of Assyria had attacked Judah and Hezekiah responds by trying to pay him off.
2 Kings 18:14-16 Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria, saying, "I have done wrong. Withdraw from me; whatever you impose on me I will bear." So the king of Assyria required of Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. 15 Hezekiah gave him all the silver which was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasuries of the king's house. 16 At that time Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the doorposts which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid and gave it to the king of Assyria. NAS
Hezekiah doesn’t have God at the center and the beauty of the Lord’s work in the earth gradually diminishes as a result. Gold is removed from the doors of the temple to pay this adversarial king off and diffuse his attacks.
Hezekiah’s confidence was not in the Lord his God. Just how much do you trust in the Lord your God? God is so interested in establishing a people who will trust in him that he developed a pattern to address this continually throughout our lives.
Giving has always been a part of worship with God. Rather than negotiating with the world’s system we are directed in Scripture to put our hope and trust in God as our provider. I found it interesting that just before preparing this message I received two messages from people in our church about the area of giving:
1: “I’ve been holding on to our tithe in savings out of fear just in case we needed it. I realized that I’m not trusting God if I’m depending on myself. Today I tithed specifically praying that the spirit of lack would be broken off of my mindset and that we would remind ourselves that our provider is not found in men but in our Heavenly Father… it’s such a simple truth.”
2: “Started paying my tithes today for the first time in a long time. The feeling of hitting the go button on the app was amazing. I felt a huge weight being lifted off of my shoulders. 90% with God’s blessing is better than 100% on my own.”
The world’s system tries to take control. God’s kingdom says to trust in God - in every area of our lives!
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. NAS
It’s pretty obvious what happens when I’m not trusting God in any area of my life. I begin taking matters into my own hands. Recently I was reading in Romans 12 and it struck me that we are clearly directed to trust God when people attack us verbally and refuse to retaliate.
As I was reading this I began being convicted over how I was dealing with a situation of feeling criticized and attacked. My attitude had been that I would “be the bigger person.” We really should never be motivated to be bigger or better than anyone, that’s the world’s system. We should grieve situations in humility rather than having any kind of lofty attitude of pride that would say, "I get it and they don't."
The world’s system keeps score, “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” The problem with this is that in the end everybody is left toothless and blind. The kingdom-of-God is about the cross of Christ, not the sword of man. We are never to return evil for evil or violence for violence outwardly in the form of action or inwardly in the form of attitude. We are to turn the other cheek, go the 2nd mile, sincerely praying for those who mistreat us.
The beauty of the church is gradually diminished when we live according to the system of the world.
Are you living by faith or do you have a “faith product” you’re trying to preserve?
We Bring GP2RL Action Point:
Search for opportunities to convert frustrating situations into opportunities to serve the Lord by sincerely blessing others regardless of what they’ve done.
THE TABLE: THE WORLD SYSTEM
DISCUSSION GUIDE
Click here for a downloadable pdf file of this guide.
UNDERSTANDING THE SEASON: A shared meal could be the activity most closely tied to the reality of God’s kingdom, just as it is the most basic expression of hospitality. It comes as no surprise that many significant stories of Jesus are centered around a dinner table.
When Jesus wanted to explain to his disciples what his death was all about, he didn’t give them an informative lecture. He gave them a relational meal.
In a society that has grown so relationally disconnected, an invitation to Biblical hospitality might be one of the most compelling and irresistible aspects of Christianity. The heart of hospitality is about creating space for someone to feel seen and heard and loved. It’s about declaring your table a safe zone, a place of warmth and nourishment.
God’s plan is for us to hear his voice together as a family. This is why we start each group with the first question:
DISCUSSION QUESTION:
1. Where are you reading in your Bible and what are you sensing from God?
Ask each person in your group to answer the discussion questions below after reading the verses. Don’t move on to the next question until everybody who is willing to share has had the opportunity to give their perspective.
2 KINGS 18:14-16 Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria, saying, “I have done wrong. Withdraw from me; whatever you impose on me I will bear.” So the king of Assyria required of Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. 15 Hezekiah gave him all the silver which was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasuries of the king’s house. 16 At that time Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the doorposts which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria. NAS
PROVERBS 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. NAS
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
2. Have each person give a 60 second summary of what these verses are saying, in their own words.
3. What do these verses teach us about God?
4. What do these verses teach us about people?
5. What should you do this week in response to what we are reading and what God is revealing?
We Bring GP2RL Action Point:
Search for opportunities to convert frustrating situations into opportunities to serve the Lord by sincerely blessing others regardless of what they’ve done.