Unclaimed Blessings

Mark Dunagan
05/30/10 - Sunday Morning

 

Every now and then we hear about forgotten, unclaimed money owed individuals in the form of uncashed checks, money orders, bank accounts, the contents of safety deposit boxes, abandoned stocks, matured and yet unredeemed savings bonds, undelivered tax refunds, unclaimed trust payments, unpaid retirement benefits, and unpaid Social Security. It is estimated, and the estimate is a conservative one, that this pot of unclaimed money is over 30 billion dollars. I find this fact astonishing. It begs the question: “Who, besides the dead or amnesia patient, loses track of their bank account?” “Who forgets about retirement benefits?” “Who forgets to cash a check?” To me that is like forgetting you have a car to drive or a home to go to after work. Yet, that is nothing in comparison to the even greater blessings, blessings that have eternal value, blessings that God desires that each man and woman receive that go unclaimed far more often.

• Salvation: John 3:16

Just think of the forgiveness that goes unused on a daily basis, and all the people who needlessly and senselessly died unblessed, outside of Jesus Christ!

• The Scriptures: Psalm 119:97-98

Think of all the Bibles that sit idle and are never seriously studied. “Talk about ‘left behind’. Our church lost-and-found closet is overflowing with unclaimed items, mostly Bibles... the owners must be using their other Bibles for daily devotions” (Andree Seu).

• Wisdom: James 1:5

Wisdom is there for the asking – yet it is often unused. Wisdom personified is said to even cry in the streets and in the middle of busy intersections (Proverbs 1:20-22), yet is often ignored.

When it comes to spiritual blessings – be pushy

• Jacob: Genesis 32:26 “I will not let you go until you bless me.”
• Moses: Exodus 33:26 “Show me Thy glory.”
• The Daughters of Zelophehad: Numbers 27:2-7; Joshua 17:4

“If they had not been so determined and desirous – if they had not asked – the daughters of Zelophehad may well not have received an allotment among the children of Israel, and their clan of Manasseh would have died out... It’s scary to think of the things we don’t have because we don’t ask” (Andree Seu).

• Caleb asked in Joshua 14:12 “Now then, give me this hill country”
• The Syrophoenician woman received her daughter back because she asked. Mark 7:28

In Contrast – the mildly interested

• Joash asked for little in 2 Kings 13:14-19 “And he struck it three times and stopped”. He in turn received little.

Elisha gets mad at the king for striking the ground only three times. “He lacked perseverance and determination. He was content with half-measures (which is seen in his relationship with God) and incomplete achievement, and therefore the future victory over Syria would be a limited victory” (Mastering the Old Testament, 2 Kings, Dilday, p. 385). Are we content with half-measures and incomplete achievements? Are we satisfied with half-way spiritual progress? Do we have problems in our personal lives because our struggle against temptation is half-hearted? Are we determined to make it to heaven, and are we determined to share the gospel with others? Do we lack determination when it comes to resisting evil? Victory against God’s enemies does depend upon our own zeal and determination. Why should God offer spiritual success to those who are only willing to go half-way. “His lack of persistence reflected his weakness—no deep agitation over Syria’s encroachment on the Holy Land” (Winters p. 237). God will allow us to miss or forfeit great opportunities if we are lethargic. “Middling desire yields middling deliverance” (Andree Seu).

Blessings Just Waiting to Be Claimed

Salvation

• 1 John 2:2 “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world”
• 1 John 2:25 “And this is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life”

So don’t let anyone tell you that you don’t need saving or that there is no way that you can end up saved. Jesus died for all of us, His blood is available for me too.

Confidence in your Salvation

• 1 John 3:19 “We shall know by this that we are of the truth”
• John 3:21 “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God”
• 1 John 4:6 “We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error”
• 1 John 5:13 “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life”
• 1 John 5:19 “We know that we are of God”

These verses demand a couple of things. 1) That God’s revelation to mankind is very clear and understandable. 2) That we know very well whether or not we are living according to its instruction. Early Christians, with the Scriptures could know with certainly whether or not they were on the right path. Don’t let anyone ever convince you that you can never really know whether you are right or not. Remember, in the end, the concept that the Bible is too confusing, only succeeds of robbing one of any sort of confidence when it comes to their salvation. If Bible doctrine is allowed to be put in the category of “gray” – then in that category sits your confidence as well.

The Ability to know the Truth

• 2 John 4 “I was very glad to find some of your children walking in the truth”
• 3 John 4 “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth”
• Colossians 1:28 “And we proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, that we may present every man complete in Christ”

The Ability to Obey the Truth

• 1 John 2:5 “But whoever keeps His word”
• 1 John 2:29 “Everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him”
• 1 John 3:24 “And the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him”

The Ability to Remain Faithful to the End

• 1 John 2:24 “Let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning”
• 1 John 2:28 “Abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming”

Victory over Habitual Sin And Temptation

• 1 John 2:1 “I am writing these things to you that you may not sin”
• 1 John 3:3 “Everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure”
• 1 John 3:6 “No one who abides in Him sins”
• 1 John 5:4 “Whatever is born of God overcomes the world”
• 1 John 5:18 “We know that no one is born of God sins”
• 1 John 2:13 “I am writing to you young men, because you have overcome the evil one”
• 1 John 2:14 “I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one”

So when people try to convince you that you cannot understand the Bible, that you should not study it because you are not an expert, that victory over habitual sin is impossible, that it is unreasonable to expect young people to refrain from certain temptations, that we are all just brethren in error, that there is no such thing as absolute truth – remember, they are trying to stand between you and the blessings that God wants you to receive. Ask God for the things that matter most: A faithful spouse, courage to say or do the right thing, hearts in your children that love God and embrace truth, fruit from efforts to share the gospel, peace and love in the families at Beaverton and beyond, continued freedom from persecution, a renewed commitment to virtue in our country. Prayer changes things.