Wealth promises security. Proverbs 18:11, The wealth of the rich is their fortified city. In fact, it goes on to say, They imagine it, a wall too high to scale. People with money think that that money is somehow a barrier of protection from life’s troubles. You know who believe these things? People before the Great Recession. You know who believe this? People who had their money in things that began to tank during the COVID years. You think you’re financially secure, and that makes you secure. And what happens is when the money goes away, where is your security? It’s gone. But you know what can be a strong defense for you? The Lord. The Bible says that he is our shield, that he is our portion, that he is our protector. We’re in a Bible series, a second part of a series that we’re calling Rich, where we’re talking about what the Bible has to say about money. If you missed last week, I want to catch you up real fast. We covered some good news and some bad news. Here’s the good news. The good news is we are rich. Wow. We learned this last week that we’re incredibly blessed financially, that we have been privileged to live in the United States, that to have the income we have and to have the positions that we have and to live in the country that we live in is such an amazing blessing.
In fact, in comparison to the rest of the world, we are rich. Comparison to those who live on less than $10 a day, the billions and billions and billions of people who live that way, we are incredibly rich. That’s the good news. But we also learned some bad news. And the bad news is that even though most of us are rich, because we don’t feel like we’re rich, most of the life-altering teachings of Jesus Christ, aimed at the people who are wealthy, aimed at the people with resources go overlooked or ignored. They go overlooked, ignored, just because we don’t feel like we’re wealthy. And so the goal of our series is to teach you what the Bible has to say about money, and specifically what the Bible wants to say to those who have means. So last week, in order to get us on the same page, in order to make us feel a little bit uncomfortable, we all said this statement together. God has blessed me more than I need. I’m rich, and we can do it today. Here we go. Are you ready? One, two, three. Amen. And because now I’m speaking to a crowd of rich people, We’re able to begin first Timothy 6:17.
This is the framework for the rest of our series. Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant, not to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. ‘ Verse 18, Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way, they will lay up treasures for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age so that they may take hold of life that is truly life. Last week, we talked about that first line, but today we’re going to spend a lot more time him working on these two thoughts, really work the majority of our time on the second thought, but it says not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth. He begins by saying to command us, command the rich, that’s us, not to be arrogant. He identifies the rich with having this, well, two really superficial negative tendencies. The rich have a tendency to, one, be arrogant. This is a rare word in in the New Testament, but it’s related to another word that’s used throughout the Bible, the word haughtiness.
To be haughty is to be proud, is to believe that you are somehow special, that you have earned your own blessings. The rich, he says, are tempted to think that it’s because of their intellect or their giftedness or their talent that they have had financial success. And so they are tempted then to look down on those who have less and to believe that those who have less are are less. Paul is saying, Command those who have resources not to think of people with less as less than, not to think of the person who is homeless on the side of the road, not to think of the person who lives in other country, not to think of the person who is in a smaller home or has a worse car than you to believe that they are less. But instead, you should realize that all of us are children of God. That’s the first negative characteristic, and the second is really what our lesson is about. And it’s the ironic tendency of the rich to place their hope in something that is uncertain. Do not put your hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but put your hope in God.
The scriptures talk a fair bit about us putting our hopes in things, and almost always it’s about putting our hopes in God. Because to hope is is the condition of having expectancy. It’s to believe firmly that the thing you put your hope in will come through, that if everything else fails, this one thing will survive the storm. It’s a little bit like the end of the sermon on the Mount, where he talks about building your house upon the rock. When the storms come and the wind blows, the thing that is built on the rock will stand firm, and what is built on the sand will be destroyed. And what he’s simply saying is all All of us, typically, put our hope either on something that’s not a firm foundation or that is a firm foundation. And really, to be a Christian is simply to put our hope in God. But those who are materially blessed have a tendency to maneuver or to shift our hope away from the firm foundation of Christ Jesus and onto a foundation of sinking sand. Psalm 30 describes what it is to be a Christian. Verse 20, We put our hope in the Lord.
This is what it means to be a Christian. He is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his Holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone. This is a summary of what it means to be a Christian. Christians put their hope in the Lord. But here in the perfect tense, the wealthy are described in stark contrast against all Christians as those who put their hope or are in danger of doing so on something other than God, namely our wealth. Which leads to a major problem. Those who are rich, that’s you and me, we are in danger of substituting, of moving our hope away from the firm foundation of God onto the sinking sand of material wealth. Basically, we begin to believe along the course of time that wealth promises what only God can provide, and we start believing it. Wealth promises what only God can provide, and then we start believing it. We start believing that our material possessions can save us from heartache, that our wealth can save us redeem us, restore us, bring us joy. And Paul is saying that we are so tempted to put our hope in this stuff that we need to make sure, that I need to make sure as a preacher, that I warn you not to do it.
You might think, why would anybody do this? Everyone knows that wealth is a sinking sand. Why would anybody do this? Well, Paul’s statement here reminds us a little bit of the commandment that Jesus gives about money. In Matthew 13, Jesus tells a story about a farmer who goes out to sow seeds seeds. And he says, some fall along the good soil, some fall on thorns, some fall on the good rocks, and some fall along the path. And when he’s describing the thorny soil, this is what he says, the seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life, catch it, and the deceitfulness of wealth, choke the word, making it unfruitful. Here’s what I take from this, and here’s what I take from Paul’s word, the pursuit of wealth is deceitful. It’s a good liar because it promises what only God can provide. There are some who have traded their hope in God, the author of life, the creator of all things, the provider of all men who have substituted their hope in God for their hope in in their bank account. In fact, the Bible tells us this, that some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
They believe the lies money has to say, And then they decide, okay, I’m going to pursue it. And along the way, they pierce themselves with many griefs. As I mentioned before, wealth promises what only God can provide. And it’s my job this morning to expose the lie to you. There are a lot of lies, but I want to talk about two lies in particular, and then talk about how to get out of it, and they give you some really practical things to consider. But I want to talk about two things, two lies that wealth tells you. Here are the two lies. Ready? Money promises, wealth promises. Wealth promises the fruits of God’s spirit. Do you know the fruit of the spirit is? Galatians 5:22. But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance. It’s patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. This is what the Bible says. It says that if you are connected with God, you will have joy. That’s what the Bible promises, that if you’re connected with him, that you will have peace. No matter what happens in your life, that you can have every storm thrown your way, and you can still have joy because you’re connected to Jesus Christ.
That’s what the Bible promises you. It promises the fruit that comes from the root of God’s presence in your life. It promises all these wonderful things. And you know what wealth promises? The same stuff. But it actually can’t deliver. Wealth promises love. In an article I read this week, Done by Medium, in January of this year, when it was written, the author explains this. This is one of the direct quotes, Having more money makes finding romantic love easier. Having more money removes stress. It says, having more money resolves arguments, and having more money makes you more attractive. By the way, if someone is attracted to you because of your money, they are not attracted to you. They are attracted to your money. I mean, what in the world is this? By the way, the Beatles figured this out 50 years ago. Money can’t buy me love, right? It’s a lie. We believe believe, the world teaches that money will give you love. The world teaches that money will bring you joy. You want to find some joy, you want to find some happiness, just have a little bit of money. And I know this is anecdotal, but I know a lot of people with a lot of money who are miserable.
And I know a lot of people who would be considered materially poor, who are some of the most joyful people I have ever met. And you may say, well, there’s a study that says, happiness comes when you make X amount of money. And here’s the question for you at that point, do you trust God or do you trust that silly study? That’s the question. This is what it promises. It promises you peace. If you have a little bit money, you will have a little bit of peace. It promises you patience. If you have a little bit of money, you can take your time with your life. You can trade your money from your time or something like that. It promises you peace. If I only have a little bit more money, I will give money away. It promises you self-control. The reason I go to McDonald’s is because I can’t afford to eat at home. It’s so unhealthy or it’s so expensive. It promises you… But it’s all a lie. It’s a lie. The only thing that will give you the fruit of the spirit is the spirit. The second lie I want to mention is that money promises or wealth promises security.
Look at this text. This is from Proverbs 18:11. The wealth of the rich is their fortified city. He’s saying, they think it’s this wall around them. In fact, he goes on to say, they imagine it, a wall too high to scale. People with money think that that money is somehow a barrier of protection from life’s troubles. Do you know who believe this? People before the Great Depression. You know who believe these things? People before the Great Recession. You know who believe this? People who had their money and things that began to tank during the COVID years. You think you’re financially secure, and that makes you secure. And what happens is when the money goes away, where is your security? It’s gone. But you know what can be a strong defense for you? The Lord. The Bible says that he is our shield, that he is our portion, that he is our protector. See, it’s a liar. It’s a liar. I equate this idea to an arcade. I was at an arcade for my daughter’s birthday. We decided to go to Johnny Rockets and that arcade at the Sargass Mall. We went there. And you could pay 20 bucks and get $20 worth of Johnny arcade money, plus you can get a burger.
So we all went there, and we had a great time. We enjoyed it. And we were all going through the arcade games. And Cadence, my daughter and my son were like, We want the toys. They went to the toy area first, and they looked up. The bottom container is like the… What can I say? I’m not going to say cheap stuff. I was going to say a different word. Is the cheap stuff. And then you look up and it’s like, oh, here’s a PlayStation 5. And you’re I’m like, whoa. And I thought to myself, I’m going to get them that. That’s what I’m going to do today. So we’re walking around the store and we’re walking around the arcade and we’re playing games. And eventually we find this game where you’re dropping balls into a little bucket. You hit it and the ball dropped, and then the bucket moves and you drop some balls. And I played it once and I got all but two balls in. And I’m thinking, I can win the jackpot. I think I can do it. So the thing says jackpot hasn’t been won since January of 2011. Seven, whatever.
And so I’m going there and I’m like, I’m going to play another time. So I go and I play it and I win the jackpot. Thank you. It’s like you just go, ta, ta, ta, ta, ta. I was like, I’m a musician. I could do this. And so I win the jackpot and the and the balls are bouncing and it’s making music. And I’m gaining a little crowd and I’m calling to my children, K-Lets, Asra, I want the jackpot. And they’re running over their feet, and we’re jumping, and it’s 12,000 tickets. And we did it. And we have some more money left in the games. And the whole town thinking, hey, look at me. I did this for my children. Look at me. So we get to the front where we’re about to cash in our thing and they scan all the cards. And I had won the jackpot. And they’re like, you’d won the jackpot, 12,000 tickets. What would you want? And I start looking up there and it’s like, five million tickets, 45,000 tickets. It’s like, oh, what can you get for… It’s like, oh, you can get this. So this is what I got.
I did it. It’s like we got a slinky, a stuffed snake, and a small car. This is the thing. I thought that because I had gained these tickets, I was somehow this person of status. And I was somehow able to provide for my family, and I was going to protect them and treat them and make them awesome. But the fact is, it was just a crock. It’s a lie. And I think money is the exact same thing. You think you have a lot of it, and somehow it makes you significant? It doesn’t. Somehow it will provide for your family. Somehow it’ll really help you to lead the future. But it’s not. It’s all just an arcade game. It’s all a bunch of tickets. It’s a false God that promises you only what God can provide. And the more you are focused on it, the more that you realize that the things that really matter in life become overshadowed by the temporary material possessions that you’re trying to gain. Matthew 6, Jesus says this pretty straightforward, no one can serve two masters. Which two is he talking about? You cannot serve both God and money. I think of it this way, the pursuits of wealth will interfere with your pursuit of Jesus.
Here’s the question for you. For your children, which do you want, Jesus or more money? That’s something you have to think about. Now, maybe you will say it out loud, I want more money. I want Jesus. But your actions may show that the opposite is the case. What do you want, eternity or do you want more money? Again, your words may say, I want eternity, but your actions may show that you are pursuing a different God. You can’t serve both God and money. You cannot serve it. To serve money means that you are thinking about what money provides and striving to receive that. To serve God means you’re thinking about what God provides and you’re striving to receive that. And so when you’re striving and focused and your whole life is around, revolved around making more money, What you’re doing is substituting the goodness of God for a false, fake idol. Here’s the idea. The God we choose to worship is the God we believe will most benefit us. And in this day and age, you have two choices, money or the Lord. They both have a platform. They both have a way of doing things.
They both have a system of beliefs, a set of teachings to live by. And what Jesus says very clearly is they are incongruent with each other. You choose one or you choose the other. By the way, all of you know this, don’t you? All of us know this. It’s not like this is some surprise for us. And yet money continues to scream at us. If you have more of me, you’ll be happy. If you have more of me, you’ll be significant. If you have more of me, you’ll really be important. And so we have to guard our heart against the worship of money. So I want to just highlight for you, and maybe you’re sitting here like, I don’t worship money. That’s not me. That’s not my vibe. But I want to give you three things that may be a litmus test for you to determine if you are worshiping money or on the brink of worshiping money. Here are three things. Number one, warning signs that money has your heart. Number one, you never have enough. I ask you, are you satisfied with your income And you say, not really. I want more. Are you satisfied with what you have?
No, I want more. Ecclesiastes 5:10 is black and white. Whoever loves money, whoever loves money, that means if you love money, you They have this quality. What is it? They never have enough. Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. Whoever loves money never has enough. If you’re always wanting more, money has your heart. Plane and simple. Plane and simple. I’m not saying, Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying, Don’t work hard. I’m not saying, Don’t get a great job. I’m not saying, Don’t strive to be the best you could possibly I’m saying if there is anxiety and concern and fear in your heart because you don’t have enough zeros at the end of your statement, you are in danger of money having your heart. If you think money is the solution to the problems in your life, money has your heart. I can promise you it does. If money has your heart, it doesn’t matter how big your stack gets because you just want more. In fact, if you love money and you trust in money, how much more money do you need to feel like you’re free? The answer is more than you currently have.
And that’s the answer. That’s been the answer the whole time. If you love money and trust in money, it doesn’t matter how much you get. It will never be enough. Many of you have twice as much as you used to have or twice as much as you had 10 years ago, and you aren’t happy yet. You won’t be happy until you have a little bit more. And by the way, this idea that you have to keep going to the well to drink a little bit more is the clear sign that you’re worshiping an idol, because Jesus will fully and finally satisfy you. Everything else makes you come back for a little bit more. You’re worshiping a lie if you worship money. Honestly, you’re worshiping something that comes from the devil. How do you know money has your heart? Number one, you never have enough. Number two, you find it difficult to give it away. I know people who would love to give, but they feel like they can’t afford to give. I’m guessing there are many people in this room who would love to tithe, who would love to give 10%. They would love to give to missions or to hope worldwide.
And you believe God is doing something good in this church. You believe God is doing something good in the world, that you want to give it away But you feel like, if I let some of it go, I won’t be able to have it for myself. I won’t be able to do that thing or go on that vacation or have this thing for my own self. You feel like you can’t afford it because the idea is that money has your heart and you think it’s all for you. Money tells you it’s all about me. You’ll only be happy when you have enough. Give a little bit more, give a little bit more, give a little bit more. But here’s what the Bible tells us. Are you ready? It is more blessed to give than it is to receive. Do you believe this? You either believe it or you don’t, right? And whether or not you’re a giver determines whether or not you believe this. God says it’s more blessed to give than to receive. Money says it’s more blessed to keep. Which are you doing? That will determine who you’re worshiping. It’s plain and simple.
To state the obvious, you need to begin, if you want for money to not have your heart, give some of it away. Put it in your budget. I don’t care who you give it to. I’m not even asking you to give it to the church. I think giving to the church is great, but just give some away so it doesn’t have your heart. Third, and let me just say this as lovingly as I can, and everyone got a little quiet. I know this. I feel it. This may be a little bit in your face, but I’m saying this because I care. There are some of you right now who make more money than you’ve ever made and make more money than your parents ever made, and you’re still feeling financially strapped. And you’re still miserable. And you’re thinking, I need more, and I need more, and I need more. And you always have way more than you thought… Sorry, you already have way more than you thought you’d ever have, but you’re still strapped. And And the reason is because money has your heart. And if money has your heart, what I’ve learned is that you consume everything God has given you.
And quite honestly, there are other people who make a third of what you make who don’t feel financially strapped. And the reason they don’t feel financially strapped is because they have been blessed by spending less. And they realize it’s better to live on less and to actually not spend it all and consume it all for themselves, that it is to be somebody who just gobbles up everything that God has ever given and uses it for themselves. They’ve learned that it’s better not to buy into the deceitfulness of wealth. It’s better not to just buy a new car and then another new car and then another new car. It’s better not to swipe your credit card to get a new fridge and a new phone to spend, to spend, to spend. And I’m not saying it’s bad to have stuff. I’m not saying it’s bad to have nice things. I’m I’m not even saying that. I’m just saying I know some people in this room who are in consumer debt, meaning that you use a credit card to continue a buying addiction. And I want to say with love and respect, I love you. I’m for you.
But I’m here to say you are worshiping an idol of materialism. You’re spending it on yourself. You just consume everything. And you are strapped for cash, and you’re full of worry, and you’re full of grief because you can’t make your payments because you decided to spend it all on crap. I’m not trying to judge you. I’m simply saying that if you honestly believe that the more money will solve your problems, you have been influenced by money. What you need is to change God’s now. Throw away your idol, burn them to the ground. What you need is not more money. You need more Jesus. Jesus. That’s what you mean. I’m thankful for the enthusiastic golf clap. I mean that truthfully. People in this room, your family, they don’t need you to just provide more. They need your heart to be connected to Jesus’s heart. That’s what they need, because in the worst times in life, the questions will be, at the end of life, when your children, or in in the most challenging times of life, when things are just terrible, will your children rather you be someone who is dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ or someone who has a lot of money?
I promise you, they’d prefer for you to be dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ. They prefer for you to have given them your heart. They prefer that you would have led them in faith. Your wife would prefer that. Your roommates would prefer that. I know this sounds intense. I love you, but I hate to see people who I know love the Lord also worship an idol. Money isn’t evil. Having money isn’t evil. Buying things isn’t evil. Going on vacation isn’t evil. But if you think that having a little bit more will help you, if you don’t give any of it away, or if you consume everything you have, you are worshiping an idol. Money is not going to make your marriage better. Jesus is. Money isn’t going to save your children. Jesus is. Money isn’t going to help you in the most difficult moments of your life. Jesus will. Money will not provide you love, no peace, no security, no goodness, no gentleness. The only thing that will bring you security is an intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ. He will bring you power and purpose and allow you to have divine impact on the world.
And so if you want that in your life, don’t pursue wealth. Pursue Christ Jesus. I don’t want to trade it all for a silly slanky because I wanted to get a lot of things and help my family. And at the end of the day, it doesn’t really do anything. So, yes, get a great job. Make awesome things. Make the big sale. But don’t let money have your heart. Be responsible. Stop consuming it all of it for yourself. Give some away. I mentioned this before, and I want to say it very clearly. I’m not even asking you to give it to the church. Maybe the elders will ask you to do that. I’m not asking you to do that. I I don’t care. I just don’t want it to have your heart. Be generous. Not later when you die, not later when you make more. Be generous now. Give a nice gift to somebody. So what do you do practically? The Bible tells us in Hebrews 13:5, Keep your life free from the love of money. I want to give you some steps to helping keep your life free from the love of money. Are you ready?
These may sound like super practical because they are. Here they are. I’m going to give you 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, five steps. Here we go. Take notes. If you aren’t taking notes, listen online later. Here we go. Number one, practical steps to rid your heart from the love of money. Number one, make a budget. Why do we do this? The Bible says the generous people plan to be generous. The Bible tells us that we will be held accountable for everything we do. At the end, read the parable of the talents. At the end of the age, God will come and will ask you a simple question, what did you do with what I gave you? And if you can’t answer that question, you are in danger. What did you do? What did you spend it on? Do you want to get to heaven and be like, you know what? I did get… I got every model of Apple Watch. It was awesome. Is that what you want to say? Or do you want to say, no, look, I actually I bought some nice things, but then I gave some away. I helped my brother and sister. I helped my family.
Whatever. I left an inheritance for my children. Make a budget. Make a budget. Next. Commit. Do not commit. Do not consume more than you make. Do not consume more than you make. Make a commitment with you, with your spouse, with your roommate, that you will not consume more than you make. You will not go into debt to buy a $10 hamburger at McDonald’s. You’re not going to check your bank account right before you enter a restaurant finding how much you can spend. Do not consume more than you make. Next, commit a percentage to give away. Make a commitment. Proverbs 3:9 says, Honor God with your first fruits. That means you decide beforehand what you’re going to give away. Commit a percentage to give away. Next, Pay off all of your debts. Romans 13:18. I’m going to read it to you. Let no debt remain outstanding. What is the commandment? Let no debt remain outstanding. Pay off your ‘Pay off your debts. ‘ Pay off your debts. This is a commandment. It says the unrighteous, actually says the wicked, the wicked do not pay off their debt. Pay off your debt. If you have a debt, commit to paying it.
The last thing, leave an inheritance for your children after you pay off your debts. Proverbs 13:22, A good person leaves an inheritance for their children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous. These are five steps that you can take if you feel like money has your heart. I want to encourage you that the love of money, the love of money is an evil in your life. Money is not an evil. Money is a neutral. Money is a tool, but the love of it is a disaster. And so if you begin to take some of these steps, I hope, I pray that God will make you free from that terrible idol of money.