Sermons

 

 

When You Sit Down to Dine with a Ruler

To take or not to take (that job)

This does not have to be limited to a job setting but I believe it is just most likely to be that way.

 

Main Scripture | Supporting Scripture | Words of Jesus

 

When you sit down to dine with a ruler,

Consider carefully what is before you;

2 And put a knife to your throat,

If you are a man of great appetite.

3 Do not desire his delicacies,

For it is deceptive food.

4 Do not weary yourself to gain wealth,

Cease from your consideration of it.

5 When you set your eyes on it, it is gone.

For wealth certainly makes itself wings,

Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.

6 Do not eat the bread of a selfish man,

Or desire his delicacies;

7 For as he thinks within himself, so he is.

He says to you, “Eat and drink!”

But his heart is not with you.

8 You will vomit up the morsel you have eaten,

And waste your compliments.

 

When you sit down to dine with a ruler, Consider carefully what is before you;

 

Here we have a dinner of words. God is telling us that when we have a meeting with a superior, or a leader, that we need to carefully contemplate the choices set before us.

 

2 And put a knife to your throat, If you are a man of great appetite.

 

Realize that the danger of a great appetite is greater than that of a knife to your throat, which is considered to be better for you than going for what your appetite wants. We need to have an acute, sober-mindedness in regards to what we are being offered. If you have a great appetite, put a knife to your throat means be sure to see the seriousness of the situation and your choices. In other words a snare has been set before you because of your great appetite. James 1:13-15

 

3 Do not desire his delicacies, For it is deceptive food.

 

We are told to not desire the delicacies that are set before us. In a job setting, this is speaking of high pay (high pay or It’s not much of a delicacy) and all the perks that might go with the job. High pay and perks in and of themselves are fine if you receive them from the Lord because you put God’s kingdom first. If they are a byproduct of that; if you earn the money you’re working for and if you use the perks by walking by the Spirit (the Spirit of God may even say to never use some or all of them), then there is no problem.

 

But if you are a man of a great appetite then the delicacies are there to sway you because you have sought or craved them in your heart. If this is the case then you must decline the offer or look to the choice that God’s spirit is saying is a safe one. You must understand that when there is a deceptive food or a deception offered for you to partake that there is consequence of accepting this “food” or offer.

 

James 1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. 15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.

 

4 Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, Cease from your consideration of it.

 

This does not say to not gain wealth. It says to not weary yourself trying to get it. It is saying do not make wealth a goal, then you will not struggle (weary yourself) to gain it. This scripture says to not consider wealth or make it a determining factor for any life decisions. You go where God says, not where the money says. If God blesses you like He did many in the Old Testament, like Joseph and others, then accept God’s blessings and thank Him for them.

 

James 1:17 Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow.

 

But, if you are being offered wealth because you have sought wealth, then you are being set up for a fall. Wealth as a blessing is a byproduct of obeying God but to seek it is against His word.

 

5 When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings, Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.

 

This verse lets us know the result of seeking money: For the Godly, It will vanish (thank God or it would be a curse taking you places you do not want to go).

 

Proverbs 28:22 A man with an evil eye hastens after wealth, And does not know that want will come upon him.

 

6 Do not eat the bread of a selfish man, Or desire his delicacies;

 

We are not told to not eat these unless it is eaten from our desire or when given to us from a selfish person. In other words, if there is no desire for delicacies then it’s like holding up the serpent in faith, and it will not bite. If the money and perks are not being offered by a selfish man and you are not desiring them then the money and perks are of no consequence. If in your mind you don’t care one way or the other and you are taking a good job with perks simply because God has led you to this job and you are certain of this and God has let you know after prayer that it’s His will then obviously it is okay. In this case there is no reason to be scared off by this good job because God can and does bless in this manner.

 

Now you may not know if the man is selfish or not but God will let you know if this is a situation where this scripture fits or not. The Holy Spirit will bring it to your mind to warn you if it applies. As with everything:

 

Colossians 3:2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth

 

7 For as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, “Eat and drink!” But his heart is not with you.

 

If this man is one who tries to convince you to full your appetite (Eat and drink) with this wealth (his food and delicacies), this man is not for you. As Jesus said in Matthew 12:30, “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters. So, this man who is offering you these things, he is against you too.

 

Be warned: Just as with this man, “as he thinks within himself, so he is,” So are you. If you are trying to get rich quick the Word says you will be punished

 

Proverbs 28:20 A faithful man will abound with blessings, But he who makes haste to be rich will not go unpunished. I.E. get rich quick equals punishment.

 

Isaiah 57:17 “Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry and struck him; I hid My face and was angry, And he went on turning away, in the way of his heart.

 

If you are desiring God’s Kingdom and in your life by that path God blesses you monetarily, then great. Wealth obtained in that fashion is fine and it also can come quickly and not be you making haste to get rich quick:

 

Genesis 26:12 Now Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. And the Lord blessed him, 13 and the man became rich, and continued to grow richer until he became very wealthy;

 

8 You will vomit up the morsel you have eaten, And waste your compliments.

 

This is the best case scenario if you take what is offered after desiring it, instead of doing as you should have and kept your wealth a byproduct of being led by the Lord.

 

God in His mercy, because you are His child, blesses you to vomit up the unjust gain. So, you lose it all. Everything that you gained is gone and now you are probably even in debt because during the time you were making unjust gains you were not making just gains. You see the Bible says pay what you owe and unjust gains cannot pay what you owe. It’s like paying your debts with monopoly money.

 

So it would have been better to have made slow “real” gains than quick fake gains that you must vomit up. (like Shortcut to Internet Millions which I saw on TV: which is a trick straight from hell).

 

God is telling you to not build your life out of certain materials like unjust-gains. If you do they will be removed by God as you vomit them up and what you built with this money will be vomited up also. That’s the punishment of seeking wealth.

I believe that the pay of some jobs is so high that there is no way that it is righteously earned and it is therefore unjust gain at that point. God will let you know if that ever applies to your situation and you will need to act accordingly.

 

Luke 6:46-49 “And why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47 “Everyone who comes to Me, and hears My words, and acts upon them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood rose, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49 “But the one who has heard, and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house upon the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”

 

Build your life with just gains not made from seeking wealth which is a sin; not desiring the delicacies the boss has but rather by seeking the kingdom of Jesus Christ and His righteousness.

 

Matthew 6:33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.

 

Mark10:29 Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, 30 but that he shall receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. 31 “But many who are first, will be last; and the last, first.

 

 

If you’re not saved, Come to Jesus!