Have you ever owned a business? Have you ever thought about how businesses work? Traditionally, a business wants to make a profit. That means that they want to take in more money than they spend.
Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not speaking only to businesspeople right now. I’m speaking to you. Wherever you are, in jail, at home, at work, unemployed, on probation or parole, or just plain “down and out,” I want you to make a profit.
I could speak to you about how to start a business or how to improve an existing business. But, I’m not asking you to make a profit in that context.
I want you to…
Make a Profit
…spiritually.
A business can spend a lot of money. It can acquire the latest technology and the best equipment. It may also hire the best talent the world offers. The business might offer superior products and services. It might outperform the competition in practically every area.
Just think about that. Does it all matter? What makes it matter? At the end of the year, the business needs to prepare its financial reports. One of those documents is a “Profit and Loss” statement. That report will tell the business whether it made a profit during the past year.
I want you to know that you can excel at everything and still end up worse than when you began.
To be sure, if you want to start a business or already own a business, I wish you well. I want you to make a profit.
However, today, I want to encourage you to make a profit with God. This could involve money, but only indirectly. I believe that God now speaks to you regarding things that profit you by giving you a better physical and spiritual life. This is something everyone can do, regardless of your past, education, life situation, or background.
To begin, I want you to give you…
A reason to fear.
God uses the experiences of Israel in the wilderness to teach us about profiting (or not profiting) from God.
In the Book of Hebrews Chapter Three, scripture speaks of the nation of Israel and how unbelief kept them from God’s blessings. In fact, because of their unbelief, the people “could not enter” the “rest” which God had prepared for them (Hebrews 3:19)
In Hebrews Chapter Four, the Apostle gives us a stern warning. We can miss out on God’s “rest.” we can miss His blessings. We can lose the destiny which God has prepared for us.
That’s something to worry about.
Here’s what Hebrews Chapter Four, Verse One says,
Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
Hebrews 4:1
God doesn’t want you to fall short. I don’t want you to fall short. Do you feel the urgency? Do you feel afraid of failure? That’s good: You need to have serious intentions if you will make a profit with God.
As with any venture, you have…
No guarantee
…of success with God.
God wants fantastic things for you, but you have to “do the work,” so to speak.
As we just saw, like Israel, we have a promise. We can, in this life, enter into God’s rest. We can have all that God wants to give us…. BUT, we may fall short.
Israel fell short. This was a major failure.
Hebrews Chapter Three, Verse 17 asks us a poignant question:
With whom was he [God] grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?
Hebrews 3:17
Of all the people who came out of Egypt, only two, Joshua and Caleb, received God’s promised land. Practically everyone who came out of Egypt died without receiving the fullness of God’s purpose.
Next, I want to show you a…
A Negative Example.
We can learn from others’ mistakes. Do you doubt me? Thousands of people have published books that describe the obstacles they faced, how they failed, and how they finally achieved success.
God has done this for us.
Listen to my key text for today. Hebrews Chapter Four, Verse Two:
For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it
Hebrews 4:2
We have the same opportunity that Israel in the wilderness had. They had the Gospel preached unto them, but they did not make a profit.
If they were a business, the Israelites ended with either the same or less than they started.
Our text also mentions that we had the Gospel preached to us.
The question is, will we profit from it?
I’m asking you: “Will you profit from the Gospel that is preached to you?”
I want to tell you…
How to Profit from God.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to follow God only to have my carcass die in the wilderness without receiving God’s promises.
I want to learn from the experience of the Israelites.
I hope you feel the same.
Some people make earning a profit in business sound easy. When you actually try it, you discover that it involves a complicated mix of activities such as marketing, sales, purchasing, logistics, and customer service.
Similarly, making a profit with God seems, on the surface, easy.
First, to profit from God, you must accept that…
God did the work.
Not only did God do everything necessary for you to profit from His Gospel, He completed the work a long time ago.
See what the Bible says here in Hebrews Chapter Four, Verse Three:
The works were finished from the foundation of the world.
Hebrews 4:3
God did everything. He did it for you.
Just imagine if you wanted to go into business and someone else got the funding, hired employees, selected the products, and served customers. The business thrives, as evidenced by generating incredible profit.
After doing all that, imagine that person signing it all over to you.
That’s what God did for you and me, except on a supernatural scale.
The Bible says,
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Ephesians 2:8
You can do nothing to profit from God. God did the work. He finished it. He gave it to you.
All you need is
Faith.
Let’s look again at our text in Hebrews Chapter Four:
The word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
Hebrews 4:2
You need faith. You must believe.
It sounds easy, but…
It’s harder than you think.
Let’s face it. If entering God’s rest was so very easy, millions of Israelites wouldn’t have died without receiving God’s best.
How do you get faith?
Here’s how Apostle Paul tells us we receive faith:
Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 10:17
To have saving faith, you must hear the Gospel. But, as we’ve already seen, the Gospel preached to the Israelites did not profit them. We conclude, therefore, that faith involves more than hearing the Gospel.
It involves the Spirit of God.
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing:
John 6:63
And, may I remind you of Jesus words in John Chapter Three:
Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
John 3:3
Salvation, or what we call the New Birth, requires the Spirit. Let’s continue reading in John Chapter Three. Jesus says,
Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
John 3:5-6
Now, I want you to…
Respond.
I want you to make a profit. I want you to profit from the Word of God that’s preached to you.
Apostle Paul says in Romans Chapter Ten:
If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Romans 10:9-10
Before I leave you, let me refresh your mind about our text:
For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it
Hebrews 4:2
The Israelites didn’t profit from the Gospel. They never received God’s promise of rest.
The good news is that you can have God’s rest. You can make a profit from the Gospel.
Paul and Silas proclaimed this Good News in Acts Chapter 16:
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved
Acts 16:31
As you respond, the choice is yours. Israel failed to profit. They refused to believe. They died in the wilderness. They were ashamed.
God wants a different story for you. You can profit from the Word of God. You can live without shame…
For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Romans 10:11
More from Bruce Tyson
Bruce wants you to know God. That includes accepting salvation, growing in grace and knowledge, and shining the light of the Gospel in your area of influence. If those ideas sound good to you, please read and watch some additional Bible messages hosted right here at unprecedentedfavor.com.
