1 Timothy 6:10-21
This morning’s message will probably be painful for most of you to hear. It will be uncomfortable. Some of you will be angry with me after this message. How do I know this? Because that is how I have felt in preparing this message. I have felt angry as the Holy Spirit has poked me right in the idol of love of money.
Because it is a trap. And we have all fallen into it. We long to be rich! Our society shouts at us “Get all you can get all you can, spend all you can, spend all you can”. All too often we willingly put our foot into the trap. Smile as we hear the click, and keep on smiling as the trap slams shut. Love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. And we willingly give ourselves over to it.
Just one note of warning. You may be thinking “oh, here we go! Christians again going on about money”. You may have seen white suited frauds, false teachers, on so-called Christian TV talking about seed giving, and releasing blessing, and how we’re royalty and royal live in the best houses and so on. Really, where was Jesus born? Where did he live?
That kind of “Christianity” is called the prosperity gospel or the name it and claim it. It’s based on New Age ideas and is completely unChristian. It is a lie. A lie based on the love of money. Because those “preachers” promising material wealth – you’ll be rich. You’ll be successful – are focussing us on the idol of money instead of God. Our eyes are on the gifts instead of the Giver. What we need to do this morning is put our eyes on the Giver, not on the gifts.
We need to stand before God and say search my heart O God. Make me clean. Take away this idol.
God is shaping us to be a church to reach Notodden, to reach Norway. That will not come without a cost, without throwing off every selfish thing that weighs us down, greed and pride and selfishness – but oh what joy to see what he will do with us – a shining light of hope and gospel glory, a church that loves each other genuinely cares for each other and for the lost, generous with money and time. That’s what we are to become.
1. Love of money destroys us and takes our eyes off Christ.
9 But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. 11 But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses.
The longing to be rich is such a trap. Why? What’s wrong with wanting to be rich? Being rich is cool!
However, why do we actually want to be rich? What lies beneath that desire? Is it not selfishness? Is it not the desire to have the world bend to your whim – to have the car you want, the house you want, to have people do things for you, say “Good evening Mr Garratt” and meet your needs? Is it not the desire to be God in your life? Not satisfied to be dependant, to be in need, to have to pray, to ask God. Oh, you may throw out a bit to the church, give a bit to gospel work – but probably a lot less than you imagined you would.
Surveys continually show that the richer people get, the less they give!
Do we really, truly, want to be rich so that we can share our wealth with others and glorify God? You know, the “I’d love to win the lotto so I could share it with everyone” fantasy.
The reality is that if that was really our desire we would already be doing it. We would already be sharing it! Why do we imagine that we would suddenly be more generous if we had more money? Does money have the power to change your heart?
Jesus says “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.” Luke 16:10
When faced with this trap of love of money, what should we do? God’s word, spoken through Paul to Timothy, and indeed to all of us who want to be a man of God, is clear: 11 But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things.
Run! Run from love of money. Oh, the “evil things” are more than just money – 1 Timothy has warned us about many more traps that we can fall into – but I think there’s a reason that Paul has placed love of money right next to the command to run from these things. It is the one we overlook so easily and therefore the most dangerous.
There’s an old Christian word which is mortification. Mortification – putting to death the sinful desires of the body. We need to put to death the love of money in our hearts.
John Wesley, a preacher and teacher in the 1700’s, and passionate about obeying Christ said this: "Money never stays with me, it would burn me if it did. I throw it out of my hands as soon as possible, lest it finds a way into my heart."
Jesus illustrates this in Luke 12:16–21 “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. 17 He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ 18 Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. 19 And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!” ’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ 21 “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”
Impossible application: flee to money. Keep all you’ve got. Gather it for yourselves, for your children, for your legacy. Save more and more against a rainy day. Build bigger barns!
But most of us live like that!
Application: Kill the love of money in our hearts. How? By having our eyes fixed on the Lored Jesus. By storing up treasures in heaven. We invest in eternity every time we give generously, every time we share our things, every time we borrow instead of buy so we have more to give away. Be generous and trust God.
Love of money destroys us and takes our eyes of Christ. Kill it before it kills you.
2. Love of money is idolatry
17 Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. 18 Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. 19 By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.
What is the temptation for rich people like us? Oh you didn’t think you were rich? Sorry, but we are. We have access to clean water, sufficient food, decent clothes, live in a house or apartment, and have reliable transport which puts us all among the top 15% of the world’s wealthy. Plus we have free medical care, free unemployment insurance, free schooling, natural beauty to enjoy, and much more. We have no worry about starvation or being homeless. We are rich beyond many people’s wildest dreams. When was the last time we sat down and thanked God for that?! Thank you for the water in my tap. We don’t see it. It is a gift from the Lord. Thank you Father for your gracious provision.
So these verses about the rich – in fact, wherever you read in the Bible about words to the “rich” think that’s me, I need to listen.
So, what is the temptation for rich people like us?
V17 To be proud and to trust our money. You know, my friend McDonald has very little, yet without hesitation opened his ONE-BEDROOMED home to another family. That’s 5 of them PLUS now a lady and her two children. Me? I would have calculated that it isn’t possible to do that. I don’t have the money. And I would have prayed a prayer like that: Sorry Lord, I wish I had the money, or Please Lord bless me with lots of money and a big house so that I can take people in.
You know what? That prayer is just greed dressed up in Christian language. If I really wanted to bless, I would.
See, what does McDonald understand? No.1 that money is unreliable (v17). You cannot trust in money. The stock market could crash. The oil price could suddenly drop… Tinfos and Hydro could close down and you lose your job. Many here in Notodden know about the unreliability of money.
Instead, McDonald v17 trusts in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.
And so he is free to share all that he has with others. 18 Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others.
And his reward? He is 19 storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.
Why is he able to do this? Is he more godly than us? Well, maybe! But he is poor. And being poor is to be vulnerable, to be dependant. And so all of MCDonald’s life is lived in dependence on God. So when the call comes to be a little bit more dependent he says sure.
But for us who are rich it is easy for us to live as if we are indepedent from God. And that is to believe a lie. And if God is gracious to us, he will take away whatever we are trusting in, in order to show us that we have placed our trust in it – that it has become an idol.
How do you know if love of money, greed, has found a place in your heart? How do you know if it has become an idol? How do you know if you place your trust in money instead of God? Try giving it away.
And see how you react. If immediately you get angry – but what about this thing I was going to buy – or worried – but what if things go wrong and I need that money – then that shows you where your trust lies. You’re trusting in money, and not in God. And that is a very dangerous place to be. V10 And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
Do we really believe that? We don’t, do we. We think that money = happiness. And that God is a killjoy.
You know what – that’s the lie of the devil. Right back in Gen 3. Did God really say. This fruit is good… God just wants to keep from you what is good. He doesn’t want you to be happy.
And we all know how that turned out.
When Christian and I were in London now we saw a beautiful Aston Martin. Ooh, it was gorgeous. And the engine. What a sound- And the man inside was beaming with the sheer joy of owning such a fantastic car…. Actually, he wasn’t. He looked utterly miserable. And the lines on his face were all down. Amazingly wealthy, fantastically unhappy.
The Beatles were right when they said “I don't care too much for money, and money can't buy me love”
If money really could make us happy the richest people in the world would be the happiest. Movie stars would be full of joy – not falling into drink and drugs and often dying broken and alone.
And yet we still believe the lie.
Only Christ can fulfil us. Only in him do we find true contentment, deep joy. Aim at happiness, pursue fulfilment, and you will fall short; give yourself to Christ, pursue Him – and you will find happiness and true contentment thrown in.
is that not true? Those of you who have been Christians for a while, is that not your experience?
Love of money is idolatry. Love God. Use money for his glory
3. We love not money, but Christ, the eternal, immortal, almighty King
This is a duty and a privilege only for Christians. Oh, giving your money away will have some benefit – the Lord has designed the universe like that and so following his moral laws has moral benefits. You may feel better about yourself. You are doing good. And maybe your good deeds will come up before the Father and he will send someone to you to tell you the gospel. Because your good deeds will not save you. Instead, they will condemn you to hell because your actions are done to glorify and satisfy...YOU, and not God. You need the perfect obedience of Christ. You need him to swap places with you, take on your sin, your idolatry, your greed – and he will give you his righteousness, his perfect love for the Father, his generosity.
To give your money and receive the many blessings of provision, contentment, and joy, you must know the Lord. Because it is an action of throwing ourselves deep into the mercy of God, saying “Father I trust you”
This is joy and privilege for us. It is a blessing for us. God doesn’t need our money. It’s not like he’s waiting thinking oh I need more money, oh I wish they’d be generous come on please.
Like prayer, like evangelism, like obedience, giving money is not to bless God to bless ourselves. Because as we give, we declare “I trust God”. It is a deep act of faith. We tear down the idols of greed, self-trust or trust in the state – and say I trust you and you alone, Father.
11 But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight for the true faith.
Oh and it’s a fight. And if you’ve tried to be faithful in giving, you know it is a fight that has to be fought again and again. But fight the good fight. Battle yourself. And you can win. Why? Because you already have the new life, the eternal life
v12 continues: Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses.
We have been saved brothers and sisters. We are declared righteous in Christ, perfect, faultless. 13 And I charge you before God, who gives life to all, and before Christ Jesus, who gave a good testimony before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you obey this command without wavering. Then no one can find fault with you from now until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.
Follow Christ. And here is our motivation. Because we do not live for now, or tomorrow – but the future. Chapter 1 of the Great Story that goes on forever. This is just the introduction.
15 For, At just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. 16 He alone can never die, and he lives in light so brilliant that no human can approach him. No human eye has ever seen him, nor ever will. All honour and power to him forever! Amen.
“The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.” ― C.S. Lewis
So let’s put some flesh now on these bones. How do we do it? How do we stop this love of money grasping at our hearts?
“Do you not know that God entrusted you with that money (all above what buys necessities for your families) to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to help the stranger, the widow, the fatherless; and, indeed, as far as it will go, to relieve the wants of all mankind? How can you, how dare you, defraud the Lord, by applying it to any other purpose?” ― John Wesley
Four implications from today’s passage
1. Give thanks. Look around at all your blessings and give thanks. It is much easier to give when you realise how blessed you are. Both physical blessings and spiritual blessings.
2. Remind yourself of where you are going. Our home is not this world. We are made for the new creation. Let us store up treasures there. And the only way we can invest in the new creation is to give away our money here to gospel work. He is coming. Amen. Come Lord Jesus come.
3. Ok. I want to give. But how much should I give? Well, as much as possible. A good place to start is with the minimum under Jewish Law: Decide to give at least 10% of your income. 10%???? Yes, 10% of what God has given us, we give back to Him as a symbol that all we have comes from him.
I’ve recently been challenged by this, as I’ve always seen it as guideline, rather than minimum. But reading Malachi 3:8–10 “8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.
For the Jewish believer, to refuse to pay the full tithe was robbing God. As believers in Christ, with so much more blessing and understanding, should we give less? Is it not robbing God to give less than 10%?
If 10% seems like a lot, then think to yourself: would I die if I had to live on 90% of my income?
It may be hard to start with 10%. Why not commit to giving 1% more every month? Build up to it.
How do we do this? Take 10% of whatever income you get in, and give it away immediately. Don’t wait until the end of the month – do it first. Set it aside, and bring it in.
And trust God. He will not abandon you.
4. Check your motivation for doing this. Thankfulness. Future focus. Obedience. But if you’re doing this in the hope that God will give you more… it will be wasted. The Lord loves you
Impossible application: Be stingy. Give nothing, or very little. Give less than 10%.
Application: Give. And as you give, rejoice. What a privilege to have money to give. How we have been blessed! Think carefully how much of God’s money we are going to keep for ourselves, and how much to give away.
All we NEED is found in v7 and 8.
7 After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. 8 So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.
Let us end by focussing not on money, but on the Greatest Treasure, the Desire of the Ages, the Beautiful One of Heaven by reading v15-16 together.
15 For, At just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. 16 He alone can never die, and he lives in light so brilliant that no human can approach him. No human eye has ever seen him, nor ever will. All honour and power to him forever! Amen.
May God’s grace be with us all.
Ingen kommentarer:
Legg inn en kommentar