Mark 4:19 (NKJV) And the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
There is an age group which is either missing or very small in numbers in most churches in the world today, and that is between age 24 to 35. In fact, there is a shortage of pastors across the world because there is a lack of new seminary graduates. The reason for this missing age group and why some of us are not growing in the Lord is a struggle between trusting in God or mammon. In fact, we are faced with a choice to walk in the Spirit or in our flesh daily, and it will continue to be a choice for us until we return to the Lord in heaven.
It is natural for us to want to be successful, but why is it called the deceitfulness of riches? The deception is that riches will buy us a fulfilling identity and self-worth. The truth, however, is that not only do riches not fill up the emptiness in our hearts, it also does not give us a firm foundation of who we are. We live in a broken and fallen world, and that self-worth will not be realised until we acknowledge Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour.
There are two competing worldviews about being successful. The Christian worldview is that God is the source of all our blessings, while the secular worldview is that success is purely through meritocracy. While the Bible says that if we do not work, we should not eat, the secular worldview of being successful through meritocracy is founded on graduating from the top universities, being well connected and getting the best out of all the leverages in life. Many of us have identified and associated ourselves with our merits, built our identity on this worldview, and made money and power our gods. Christians who have not renewed their minds might still have this worldview with God out of the equation. Subconsciously, many of us may even be teaching the secular worldview to our children instead of the Christian worldview.
On the other hand, mature Christians believe that God is the Creator of heaven and earth, the Giver of life, the Redeemer of our souls, and the Source of all our blessings. He has blessed us with different gifts and talents, and we are stewards of everything that He has given us. Our identity is in Christ, which is a solid foundation. We are children of the living God, and we are secure in Jesus Christ because we are seen as accepted in the eyes of the Father. We can trust God and be successful His way.
Sermon Series: Don’t Let It Be Stolen (Part 3)
你对“成功”的定义
马可福音 4:19 后来有世上的思虑，钱财的迷惑，和别样的思愁进来把道挤住了，就无法结果。
在当今世界上的大多数教会里，有一个年龄段的信徒要么缺失，要么人数少得可怜，那就是介于24至35岁 的信徒。而事实上，由于缺少神学院毕业生，全世界都面临牧师短缺的问题。造成年龄断层以及我们之间有些人没有在主里成长的原因在于：我们在“信靠上帝“与”信靠玛门“之间挣扎。事实上我们每天都面临着是要顺从圣灵而行还是屈从于肉体而行的选择，我们要不断地对此作出抉择直到我们回到天父的身边才会停止。
我们每个人都想成功，这很自然，但为什么说是“钱财的迷惑”呢？说是迷惑那是因为财富会为我们买来充实的身份和自我价值。然而事实上财富不但无法填充我们内心的空虚，也不能给我们的身份以坚实的基础。我们生活在一个破碎而堕落的世界里，只有当我们承认耶稣基督是我们的救主，我们才能真正找到自我价值。
成功观有两种不同的世界观：基督教世界观认为上帝是一切福分的源头，而世俗世界观则认为成功完全取决于个人能力。虽然圣经说”若有人不肯做工，就不可吃饭”，但世俗的成功观建立在从顶尖学府毕业、拥有优质人脉、善用一切资源的基础上。我们许多人已经将自我价值与个人成就紧密绑定，在这种世界观上建立身份认同，不知不觉中将金钱和权力当作了偶像。那些尚未心意更新的基督徒，可能仍在持守这种将上帝排除在外的世界观。更值得我们深思的是，许多人在教导子女时，潜意识里传递的仍是这种世俗的成功观，而非基督教的世界观。
另一方面，成熟的基督徒深信，上帝是创造天地的主、生命的赐予者、我们灵魂的救赎主，也是一切福分的源头。祂以不同的恩赐和才干祝福我们，而我们不过是祂所赐之物的管家。我们在基督里的身份，才是稳固的根基。我们是永生上帝的儿女，在耶稣基督里得着安稳，因为天父眼中我们已被悦纳。我们可以信靠上帝，并按照祂的方式获得真正的成功。
讲章系列：别让种子被偷走！（第三部分）
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