How would you describe your personal financial condition right now?
Are you struggling? Are you comfortable? Or are you well off?
If you compare yourself with people who are at or below the poverty line in this country,
most all of us in this room are at least comfortable.
If we compared ourselves with most people in this world, then all of us are well off.
Now right now in this room, our levels of income, the size of our bank accounts vary widely.
And I don't know what anybody has. I just know in a gathering this size, it will vary widely.
But if you compare what we have right now, all of us, to people in the first century, in the town of Ephesus,
that Paul is writing Timothy, where Paul's writing to Timothy, all of us will be considered wealthy people.
That's who Paul is addressing in 1 Timothy chapter 6, where I want us to look this morning, verse 17.
We are among the wealthy type that Paul points out.
That Timothy, you should talk to him about this.
I want them to understand this.
Paul is writing to people like us, Christians who have money,
and some of the things that money can buy.
Now I realize that we're not a church full of rich people.
In American terms, we are not a wealthy group of people in here.
But in the larger world context,
considering the money we make or have,
the kind of houses we live in,
the cars we drive,
the clothes we have packed into multiple closets,
we are wealthy people.
So what we're going to read in 1 Timothy 6, beginning in verse 17,
it applies to you and me as Christians
who are fairly well off.
Let's read it.
As for the rich in this present age,
charge them not to be haughty,
nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches,
but on God,
who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.
They are to do good,
to be rich in good works,
to be generous and ready to share,
thus storing up treasure for themselves
as a good foundation for the future
so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.
We spent about half the time last week
looking at this same chapter,
but verses 6 through 10.
And what Paul was writing there
was really a warning
to people who wanted to get rich
for the sake of being rich.
Paul warned against the temptations that come
if you're just obsessed with money
and getting it any way you can
just to make your life simpler, more comfortable,
just to live really basically a self-indulgent kind of life.
Paul was writing that
because there were some false teachers
who were trying to make money off the church.
They were taking advantage of people.
And so Paul is basically condemning
that greedy, can't ever get enough,
I gotta get rich no matter what mentality.
But here, what we've just read,
Paul's not being negative.
He is certainly not being negative about rich people.
He is addressing them who were in the church,
members of the church.
And while he's got some warnings,
he has some positive things to say about it.
And then he says, do some good things with it.
So as we look at this,
understand this is a positive word overall
to people like us, Christians,
who have some money and material things.
Number one, here's a question.
How has your wealth affected your overall attitude?
How has your wealth affected the way
that you think of yourself?
The way that you think of your future,
your security,
the way you think about God?
You know, wealth, he talks about first,
can have a negative influence on us.
Money makes some people
have an inflated opinion of themselves.
Money makes some people
think too highly of themselves.
And that's what Paul's talking about in verse 17.
He says, as for the rich in this present age,
charge them not to be haughty.
To be haughty literally means
to think exalted thoughts about yourself.
It means to think too highly of yourself,
to have an inflated opinion of yourself.
That's arrogance.
He's talking about pride.
Pride's a deadly sin
that everyone must guard against.
Pride is not something that is
especially a problem for wealthy people.
The poorest of the poor.
The total middle class.
Everyone battles pride at times
over something that we are
or something that we have.
But Paul knew that wealth
does have a way of fanning
the flames of pride in people.
Now, before we go any further,
I want to point out,
Paul's not saying
that every wealthy person is prideful.
As I was studying,
getting ready to prepare this,
I thought about,
from a day gone by,
one of the most humble
Christian leaders and servants
that I have ever known in my life
was a wealthy man.
He grew up in poverty.
But the Lord blessed him
in his work,
in his ability to save
and invest
and take care of his money.
And while I don't know what he had,
I just knew him.
Knew where he lived.
Knew some of the things that he had.
And knew some of the things
that he did with his money.
He had to be a very wealthy person.
But he didn't let anybody know.
Now, he didn't hide where he lived,
what he drove,
and that kind of things.
But he gave money
to our church,
not here,
but in another town,
another day gone by.
He would give money
for specific things in the church
that were needed.
He did it in a way
that no one knew but me.
I was his source
to get it contributed.
He never did it in a way
to try to make me impressed.
He gave of himself,
his time,
his work,
his involvement,
and his resources
to help small Christian organizations,
especially that worked with children,
did all that he could
behind the scenes.
He was a wealthy man,
but he was a humble man.
And he truly saw
what he had
as being given to him
from God.
And he wanted,
as we'll see in a little bit later,
he wanted to do all the good
that he could with it,
truly for the glory of God
and the benefit
of other people
and especially
the Christian cause,
the kingdom of God.
Now,
going back to what Paul
was talking about,
wealth can
make us proud.
Some wealthy people
pridefully think
that they have acquired
what they have
because there's something
superior
about themselves
above other people.
Some people think
they have what they have
because they're just smarter.
They've worked harder.
Or maybe they've manipulated
the system.
But for whatever reason,
some people just think
I am what I am
because of me.
And this is a warning.
One of the dangers,
what Paul's talking about,
one of the dangers
of thinking too highly
of ourselves
is that we start
thinking less
of others.
Or we stop thinking
about other people
altogether.
For a prideful person,
life's all about me.
I'm the center
of the attention.
Everyone should revolve
around me.
Everything should revolve
around me.
And it's not just
pride over money.
That's just what
a prideful person is.
Let's just think about it.
If you think
a whole lot
of yourself,
if you think
a whole lot
about yourself,
you think
that everyone
in your family,
where you work,
in all your circles,
they're supposed
to look to you,
please you,
make sure you're happy,
or at least
get your approval.
You're a prideful person.
You think too highly
of yourself.
You're arrogant.
And if this
describes you,
let it sink in
that God has
a problem with you.
You do not have
close fellowship
with God,
even if He is
your Heavenly Father,
if everything's
about you.
Both James
and Peter
warn us,
back to back
New Testament letters,
look at this,
God resists
the proud.
You can't be
close to God.
You can't serve
His purpose
when you're
jockeying for position
as being the God
of your own life
and maybe wanting
other people
to sort of
bow down
to you as well.
I want you to think,
if your money,
your material possessions,
or anything
has made you proud
like this,
life's really
all about me.
I want to encourage
you to humble
yourself now.
Don't wait
for God
to humble you.
Confess your sin
of pride.
God will forgive you.
God will help you
to change
the way you think
and act
about being
the center of attention.
God will help you
to become
a more humble
servant
and child
of His.
And I want you
to look at this,
both James and Peter,
in that same verse
they go on
to assure us
that while God
resists the proud,
God gives grace
to the humble.
You can experience
God's grace
at work in your life
helping you
just sort of
to calm down,
die to self
in this self-centered
way of life
and truly
make Jesus
your Lord
and become
a humble servant
of His
confidence
if you want
to be that.
Paul also
addresses another
negative attitude
that comes from
wealth.
Money makes
some people
too confident
about their
future.
Paul warns us
here about putting
our hope
in riches.
Look at it.
Nor to set
their hopes
on the uncertainty
of riches.
Then IV says,
nor to put
their hope
in wealth
which is so
uncertain.
The word hope
just about every
time you see it
in the Bible
does not mean
wishful thinking
but it means
confident expectation.
The word hope
in the Bible
is similar to the
idea of trusting.
So Paul is saying
don't set your
hope,
don't set your
trust,
don't set your
confidence
in wealth
because it can
give you a
false sense
of security.
Wealth is
uncertain.
Some people
understand this
better than
others.
Some of us
in here
understand it
better than
others.
Let's think
about it this
way.
If you have
always had
a good job,
a comfortable
home,
and many of
the nicer
things in
life,
you may be
tempted not
to take this
warning seriously.
You may have
only seen
where wealth
has always been
there.
I've always
had what I
needed plus
more.
And from my
experience,
why should I
not trust in
it?
I want you to
think if life's
been that
comfortable,
just thank the
Lord.
But life's not
always going to be
that way.
There are people
in this room,
some of us,
some of our
family members,
lost a job,
a house,
comforts of
what we would
call our
middle or
upper middle
class standard
of living,
through no
fault of our
own.
It happened
when we got
laid off.
The economy
tanked.
And we know
what Paul is
saying here is
very, very
true.
don't put your
hope in
wealth.
It has a
place, but it
is certainly not
eternally secure.
It's not even
promised till
next week.
You know, we
need to pause
here and understand
that Paul is not
telling us, not
telling us, that
it's wrong to
think about the
future and prepare
financially for the
future.
Wisdom, the
wisdom of God, the
wisdom found in the
book of Proverbs, for
example, tells us we
need to plan for the
future.
We need to
financially plan for
the future.
For example, everyone
needs an emergency
fund of three to six
months, monthly, three
to six months of
income set aside for
unexpected expenses.
get laid off from
your job.
Everybody needs to
have this reserve
fund that if you
need a new roof,
heating and AC goes
out, or you get
cut back or laid off
from work, you're not
going to just fold up
right then.
That is just being
wise.
And if you doubt
that, look in the
book of Proverbs, over
and over again, it's a
fool who doesn't think
about the future.
It's a fool who
doesn't wisely use
their, manage their
money.
He even says, Solomon
talks about, look at the
ant and how he works
and prepares and stores
up for the future.
Paul is warning us.
Don't put your hope or
your trust or your
confidence in money or
material things.
They have a place.
They are important.
I also wanted to point
out over, skipped over
this part.
We not only need an
emergency fund, but
everybody needs to be
saving, investing for
retirement.
That is something that is
very, very important
because most people,
there's going to come a
day where you're not
able to work or no one's
going to let you work.
How are you going to
provide for yourself?
Social security is not a
retirement plan.
It's certainly not an
adequate retirement plan.
It's designed to be a
supplement.
And most of us in this
room, we know there's no
guarantee it's going to be
there tomorrow.
We have no certainty about
that kind of thing for the
future.
And so wisdom would
dictate that we plan for
our future, seeking God's
help, his wisdom, but we
need to plan that way.
But at the same time, you
cannot be confident.
There's nothing you can do to
assure yourself, I'm going
to be financially secure.
Wealth is going to always be
there.
Nothing could ever cause me to
worry.
That's foolish.
The only proper object of our
trust and confidence is a
person.
Is God not a thing?
And when we put our focus on
God instead of money, wealth
can have a positive influence on
our attitude.
Let's look at this.
We develop a thankful attitude
when we honor God as the source
of our money and material
prosperity.
Let's don't fail to see this
positive part of Paul's
command.
Some people have the idea that
the Bible is just totally
negative about money, about
having something that always
makes people proud or something
like that.
Or, you know, you never can
depend on it no matter what.
Wealth and money and material
possessions can be great
sources of thankfulness and as
we'll see in a moment, joy.
But look at what he says.
As long as we acquire what we have
the right way.
And that's very important.
We need to look at what we have as
gifts from God.
Thank God for the wisdom that you
have to do what you do.
Thank God for the abilities that you
have and have been able to develop.
Thank God for the opportunities to
use your wisdom and abilities.
Thank God because he is the source
of it all.
As Paul says in another place in
1 Corinthians 4, what do you have
that you've not been given?
And then don't overlook the other
positive influence of wealth in this
verse.
We develop a joyful attitude when we
honor God as the source of our money
and material prosperity.
He richly provides us with everything
to enjoy.
God gives us many good things in life
for us to smile, enjoy, benefit from.
Jesus even talked about how God likes
to do this.
Look at this from the Sermon on the
Mount, Matthew 7.
If you then who are evil know how to
give good gifts to your children, how
much more will your Father who is in
heaven give good things to those who
ask him?
James, he says, every good and perfect
gift is from above.
Learn to think of the good things in
life that you have, that you've acquired
the right way as gifts from God.
That will motivate you to be thankful to
him, to acknowledge him as the giver.
And it will help us to enjoy those
gifts.
You know, think about it.
How would you feel if you gave a gift to
someone that you loved?
Say a child at Christmas.
How would you feel if you gave them a gift and
they just laid it aside and forgot about it?
Or they just took it, but there's no smile on her
face, no apparent pleasure in it.
It would disappoint you greatly, wouldn't it?
Well, think about God gives us, his children, good
gifts because he wants us to enjoy them.
They're coming from him.
Our heavenly father, they're gifts of grace and
gifts of love.
Learn to enjoy what God gives you.
You know, what Paul is saying here helps us to see that
what Paul is saying here helps us see that he is not
condemning wealth or wealthy people.
Being rich is not a sin.
It can be a blessing as long as we think about it the
right way, get it the right way, and use it the right way.
And that's what we're going to look at next.
Look at this next question.
What are you doing with your money?
That's what he's going to be talking about now in verses
18 and 19.
We have responsibility to use our money for good.
Look at this, verse 18.
They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be
generous and ready to share.
And a lot of what we've been looking at over the last few
weeks and talking about socialism, providing for
ourselves and our family falls under this category of doing
good.
I want you to understand that first.
Paul has already stressed this to Timothy, and we looked at it
a couple of weeks ago.
Look at this in 1 Timothy 6 or 5, 8.
But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and
especially for members of his household, he has denied the
faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
But that's not all he said about taking care of family.
Look on, verses 3 and 4, 1 Timothy 5 again.
Honor widows who are truly widows.
But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first
learn to show godliness to their own household.
Let them, that's their children and grandchildren, first learn to
show godliness to their own household and to make some return
to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God.
I want to make sure that my children, daughters-in-law and
grandchildren hear this.
It's important for them to get it.
But no, seriously, we do have a responsibility to our family, to our
immediate family in particular.
We can never just forget them, ignore them, act like they don't have
needs, and be pleasing to God.
Now, I want to make it clear that this does not mean that we should only do
good for our families.
There is nothing in Scripture that says, take care of your family and
forget about everyone else.
That is not what the emphasis is in this section.
The emphasis is on doing good to be rich in good deeds, period.
That means we need to keep our eyes open to people and situations around us
where there is a need, we see it, we understand it, and we have the
resources to meet that need.
You know, as Christians indwelled by the Spirit of God, I truly believe that
there are times we see needs, it's legitimate, we can meet that need.
I truly believe if we are sensitive to the Spirit of God, He will impress upon us,
you need to help, you need to give, you need to get involved.
So I want to ask you, what good are you doing with the wealth that God has given you?
What good are you doing with the wealth that God has given you?
I want you to name some of them, not out loud, but name some of the good things
that you are doing with that which God has put in your hands.
What are you doing?
And not calling attention to yourself about it.
What are you doing not to put a band-aid on somebody's problem,
but to really help someone?
You know, some of us need to think in terms of,
there may be some people that we know,
maybe they're related to work situation or just in the community,
and we know the situation, we know the real need,
and we know that unless somebody gets involved,
takes a real interest,
they're never going to be able to get up out of the hole they're in.
So it may be that if we'll truly be faithful to the Lord,
we'll make some kind of long-term investment in some people.
Maybe help them to get a job or a better job
where they can actually provide for themselves.
Maybe get some training.
Pay for them to go to Tri-County Tech.
Maybe get involved in their lives
to help them get a decent place to live.
We're not making promises we're going to keep people up.
We're helping people to get up out of the hole they're in,
to get on their feet and be productive.
And if you have the resources,
and God lays it on your heart to do that,
that's just an example of some of the good
that we could be doing for people.
Name some of the good things in your mind.
Here's what I want to ask you.
Would God call them good?
Are they pleasing to Him?
Could you say, right now,
that you are rich in good deeds in this way?
Let's look at how Paul clarifies our responsibility.
Verse 18,
we have a responsibility to be generous with our money,
to be generous and ready to share.
Are you generous in your actual giving?
Maybe to the Lord's work in and through this church,
or through other Christian ministries?
Are you generous in giving to people in need,
just on your own?
Not asking anybody else to get involved with you.
On your own.
You know, the Bible repeatedly says
that God takes a special interest
in widows, orphans, aliens,
and people who have been abused, cheated,
or ignored by wealthy and powerful people
in their lives.
These are the kind of people
that the Bible describes as the poor.
When the Bible talks about the poor,
it's not talking about people
who just won't work.
When the Bible talks about people
who could work but won't,
they're called sluggards, slothful.
Lazy people in Scripture
are not referred to as the poor.
They're referred to,
in a more derogatory term,
sluggards throughout Proverbs.
That's the kind of person
we're not supposed to help.
If a man won't work,
let him eat, Paul said.
But what it says about helping the poor people
is talking about helping people
who just are never going to be able to make it
because of life's circumstances
unless somebody gets involved
and helps them.
Are there people that you are
trying to help this way?
Are you open to being used by God this way?
Some people are getting involved
in organizations like the Dream Center.
One thing I like about the Dream Center,
their motto is they don't give handouts,
they give hand-ups.
And they really help people
sometimes get job training,
get a decent place to live,
get on their feet,
and be on their own.
Paul describes how some Christians
were generous givers in another letter,
2 Corinthians chapter 8.
He commended those Corinthians
or he commended a group of people
called Macedonians
because they were not wealthy people
but they gave so generously,
sacrificially even.
And here's the reason they gave.
Look at this in verse 5,
2 Corinthians 8.
They gave themselves first to the Lord
and then by the will of God to us.
That's the key to all our giving.
If you don't give,
the reason is you don't have the commitment
to the Lord that you ought to have.
The key to giving of our money,
the key to giving of our time and service,
the key to using the gifts and talents
God has given us
is that it is first a commitment to the Lord.
Generous givers have a close relationship
with the Lord.
And what they give,
their time, talents, and treasures
is an overflow of their commitment to the Lord.
I have all my life,
as an older teenager and as an adult,
and Lisa did too,
we have always given a tithe,
started with a tithe.
But I have never thought
in terms of giving to the church.
I love this church,
but I don't give to this church.
We've always thought,
I think every time,
I am giving to the Lord
through this church.
And that's how you should give
when you're giving
tithes and offerings,
your time, talents, and treasures
to meet people's needs.
Think of it, first of all,
I'm giving to God.
I'm showing gratitude to Him.
I'm seeking to please Him
and help this person
or help this organization.
God has blessed all of us
with something to give.
But I want you to note
the last part here
provides us with some
special motivation for giving.
We have an opportunity
to make eternal investments
with our money.
Look at this last part,
verse 19.
Thus, storing up treasure
for themselves
as a good foundation
for the future.
I want you to make a statement
and I want you to hear this,
but don't take it the wrong way.
The way we use our money
will affect our reward in heaven.
That's what he's talking about.
But let's be clear
about what this does not mean.
Paul is saying
that you can't buy
your spot in heaven.
You cannot buy favors
from God
as rewards
with what you do
with your money.
Salvation is by the grace of God
through faith in Jesus.
Salvation is a gift of God.
But what we do
with our lives,
our good works,
they give evidence
of our faith.
That includes the good works
we do with our money.
Kent Hughes
has some helpful comments
about what Paul
is talking about here.
Look at this.
Paul is emphasizing
that true riches
have nothing to do
with earthly wealth,
which is uncertain
and for this age only.
The only true riches
that will survive this world
are those invested
by God's people
through generous giving.
God reconciles us
through his free grace,
moves us to serve him,
and then accepts
our services,
flawed as they are,
and bestows on our services
a reward they do not merit.
We never want
what we deserve from God.
What Paul is saying here
at the end of this section
is essentially the same thing
Jesus taught
in the Sermon on the Mount.
Look at this.
Jesus said,
Do not lay up for yourselves
treasures on earth
where moth and rust destroy
and where thieves break in
and steal,
but lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven
where neither moth
nor rust destroys
and where thieves
do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is,
there your heart will be also.
You know,
there's many ways
we can lay up for ourselves
treasures in heaven
by the way we live here on earth.
But being generous
with our giving
is one of those ways.
As long as we're giving
for the right reason,
it's one of those ways.
What Paul and Jesus said
about laying up treasures in heaven
brings up some good questions.
What is really and truly
more valuable?
To be rich in this age
or the age to come?
What matters most?
To accumulate wealth on earth
or to have it stored up in heaven?
What is more valuable?
To take hold of a lot of money
and material things now
or as Paul says,
to take hold of that
which is truly life forever?
Do you have the right attitude
about money?
Do you look at what you have
as a gift from God?
Do you make it a habit
of thanking God
for those gifts?
Money, material possessions,
everything.
And are you without guilt
enjoying the gifts
that God has given you
because they come from Him?
You want to bring a smile
to His face
by rightly using
what He's given you.
Are you using the money
that God has given you
wisely
and responsibly?
Are you giving tithes
and offerings
as you should?
Are you giving
to meet needs
in other people's lives
that God brings
across your path
as you should?
You know,
if we're having
problems with money,
whether it be
our attitude or actions,
it may not in any way
really be a financial problem.
It could just be
a spiritual problem.
So let me ask you,
have you given yourself
first to God?
Is Jesus the Lord
of your life?
Do you have a relationship
with Him?
If you don't,
that's where you begin
this morning.
Turning from your sin,
calling upon Him
to save you
or coming back to Him
and truly seeking
to honor Him
as the Lord
of your life,
seeking to be a steward
of all that God
has given you.
What would you have
to do right now
to start thinking
and acting biblically
with your money,
with your wealth?
Well, that's what
you need to do.
Let's pray together.
Father,
show us now
how you want us
to respond
so that we can
leave here
pleasing you
by the attitude
we have
to our wealth
and by the actions
we demonstrate
in the way
that we use it.
Let's just,
in an attitude of prayer,
listen to
and respond to the Lord.
Amen.