Romans 15 We live for Christ

Romans 15

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Hooray. We’re back in Romans for the next three weeks. And today we finally see why Paul wrote Romans. Any guesses?

Have a look at v24: I am planning to go to Spain, and when I do, I will stop off in Rome. And after I have enjoyed your fellowship for a little while, you can provide for my journey.

Romans is a letter to ask for money!
But what a letter! It’s a magnificent summary of what we believe as Christians, a glorious celebration of the gospel. Not by law, by morals, by efforts not by ME – but by Christ, by his death and resurrection, for His glory, by the power of His Spirit waking us to life so that we trust in the cross of Christ and nothing else, and live like it. Amen!

But why such a detailed letter? Why not just write “I’m the great apostle. Going on a mission trip. Support me.”

That’s because they didn’t know him. He hadn’t been to Rome. Rome wasn’t one of the churches he planted. And he wanted to be sure they were on board with him. He needed partners in the gospel. And so he writes “this is the gospel I preach” so that they know what they’re getting themselves in for. So that after a few months of work in Spain they won’t just suddenly go “oh, I didn’t know you’d talk about sin” or “eew, judgement, the kids won’t like that”.
(By the way, if ever anyone says “eew, the kids won’t like that”, they actually mean “eew, I don’t like it”. Kids never have a problem with God’s judgement, or the fact that we are sinners. They know it all too well, and haven’t got good enough at fooling themselves yet!).

So Paul writes to say “this is what we believe” – are you with me?! Let’s get out there and LIVE it, here in Rome, out in Spain, let’s live out loud, man!

We live for Christ, Everything we do say and think should be for his glory. The glory of our God.
We were made for his good pleasure, saved by his good pleasure, and live for his good pleasure.

And so we love each other- the church, our brothers and sisters in the faith - both in the local church and beyond. We love each other like Christ.

And so we reach out with the message of Christ. We love non-Christians whether Jew, Gentile, or anything in between. Proclaiming the great gospel to anyone who will hear.

And those are our two points today:

1. Live for Christ in fellowship with your church 1-13

2. Live for Christ and win the lost 14-33

1. Live for Christ in fellowship with your church 1-13

1 We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves. 2 We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. 3 For even Christ didn’t live to please himself.

This is chapter 14. Treat each other the way Jesus treated you.
Be considerate, not self-focussed. Because it’s easy to be arrogant, especially when you’re right!
Chapter 14 uses the example of some brothers being very uptight about the Sabbath and holy days. Others concerned about food. You can’t eat blood. You can’t mow the lawn on Sunday. That’s working! Or the example my Dad used when he preached: buying alcohol.

Now we know that what we eat or drink does not matter. All foods are clean for we who are in Christ. Every day is the same: a day to glorify God. There are no holier days.
There is no Sabbath because we are not Jews!

But we who understand that, we who are strong, we who know the freedom we have in Christ – we are not to abuse that freedom. We are free to… love.
So if you have a brother who struggles, don’t eat a halaal burger in his face. Or fire up the chainsaw on Sunday at his house. Gently allow the Spirit to do His work through his Word. He will convince them when they are ready to hear. We are all at different stages in our understanding, and so we need to bear with each other.

2 We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord.

I want to take a short moment to talk about the “cage stage” Calvinist ie they should be in a cage because they’re snarling at everyone “totally depraved”, “irresistible grace” etc. Many have fallen into the trap of becoming insufferable when they’ve discovered the amazing doctrine of God’s sovereign power and grace. And get angry when others reduce God’s sovereignty because they – correctly – see it as stealing God’s glory.

But is that the right attitude? If you are strong – your strength is given to you to carry your brother, not to beat him over the head!. Be gentle. Be humble. Be like Jesus. Don’t be overbearing but let the Bible do the work. We don’t need to browbeat people into belief. The Spirit is good at that job.

And I want to apologise when I have been too overbearing, too “strong”. I know I have been guilty of this in the past. Forgive me for not being more like Christ!

3 For even Christ didn’t live to please himself. As the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult you, O God, have fallen on me.” 4 Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled. 5 May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus.

This living together in harmony, bearing with one another. It’s costly. But Jesus is our example.

In v3 notice that Paul quotes from Scripture. It’s from Psalm 69 which is about the righteous king of Israel (David) being persecuted because of his love for God. If Christ suffered that, we can suffer to hold our tongue and not criticise, to be gentle and patient, to decide to love these our brothers and sisters, so that we can live v5 in harmony, as we v4 patiently wait for the promised return of Christ.

And if our church is loving and caring for each other as v6 says with one voice, that will result in us v6 continues giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.

God is glorified when we in the church look after each other like we should. And that’s not directed at the leaders of the church. That’s us. All of us. We have an obligation to our family to love, to care for, to look after. And that love is so attractive. People notice it! When we get together as a church people SEE the love we have for each other. I have heard non-Christians remark on the love and care we show each other. It speaks volumes. And God is glorified.

Of course, the opposite is also true. A church divided into factions, where everyone is in little groups vying for power, trying to shout loudest to get their viewpoint through. When people care more about their reputation and being liked that what God says in the Bible. Oh dear. That does not bring glory to God does it? Nor is it attractive.

Now the big divide in the Roman church was that between Jew and Gentile (non-Jew). “We Jews are God’s chosen people – of course we’re better than you Gentiles. You need to listen to us”. The Holy Spirit through Paul addresses that in v8 and v9: 8 Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors. 9 He also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercies to them.

Jesus came for the Jews and the Gentiles. For both. Equally. And then he proves it by quoting from Psalm 18:49 which has David, the King of Israel saying: “For this, I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing praises to your name.” and in v10 Deut 32:43 “Rejoice with his people, you Gentiles.” And Ps117, the shortest Psalm, “Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles. Praise him, all you people of the earth.” And ends off with the great promise of the coming Messiah, the Saviour, the Christ Isaiah 11:10 “The heir to David’s throne will come, and he will rule over the Gentiles. They will place their hope on him.”

There is no division, no hierarchy in the Kingdom of God. The Pope and the newest convert are equally saved by grace, if they are saved at all. The pastor or preacher is not more holy than the tea-maker! Because we are saved by grace. So let’s remember that as we look at our brothers and sisters. We are saved by grace. Be gentle. Rebuke and correct in love, not in arrogance. And point people to Jesus, to His word, not to your great intellect. We have no gurus here. We have one Teacher, and his name is Jesus.

Live for Christ in fellowship with your church.

2. Live for Christ and win the lost 14-33

24 I am planning to go to Spain, and when I do, I will stop off in Rome. And after I have enjoyed your fellowship for a little while, you can provide for my journey.

29 And I am sure that when I come, Christ will richly bless our time together. 30 Dear brothers and sisters, I urge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to join in my struggle by praying to God for me. Do this because of your love for me, given to you by the Holy Spirit.

As Christians saved by grace we want to share what we have received with others. The word gospel means “good news” – that’s how it is translated in the NLT. Good news. Great news. Momentous news like “the war is over!”. Of course we will want to share it with others. But we need to share GOD’S Good News – not something we’ve made up or something wrong. Sin creeps in and distorts the message so easily. So quickly it can become about us. So quickly we can change the message to make it “nicer” more acceptable, better.

14 I am fully convinced, my dear brothers and sisters, that you are full of goodness. You know these things so well you can teach each other all about them. 15 Even so, I have been bold enough to write about some of these points, knowing that all you need is this reminder. For by God’s grace, 16 I am a special messenger from Christ Jesus to you Gentiles. I bring you the Good News so that I might present you as an acceptable offering to God, made holy by the Holy Spirit.

Even though we know the gospel, we need to keep being reminded. The word changes us because we are made holy by the Holy Spirit. This church is evidence of that. I SEE you being made holy as the Word is taught and the Holy Spirit takes these words and makes them come alive. It is an incredible miracle. It’s like watching plants grow as they are watered. So cool.

17 So I have reason to be enthusiastic about all Christ Jesus has done through me in my service to God.
Me too!

18 Yet I dare not boast about anything except what Christ has done through me, bringing the Gentiles to God by my message and by the way I worked among them. 19 They were convinced by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit.

In other words, not by clever words or twisting the message. Paul presented the message of the gospel of a crucified man who rose from the dead – absolutely ludicrous. We do have a ridiculous message. But it is true. And is backed by the Spirit’s power. And so we can be confident. We don’t need tricks or to hide the gospel or be embarrassed by it. Be confident because the Spirit is at work. Signs and wonders we have seen in this church. And I don’t just mean amazing healings and incredible answers to prayer – because that we believe in and that we have seen many times because we serve an awesome God. But the real miracles are you lot sitting here! Releasing Jerusalem’s brother from prison is easy. Healing Isabella. Simple. Saving you? That took the cross and all the Spirit’s life-giving power! Put your name there in v19 [Daniel] was convinced by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit.

So Paul knew the power of the Spirit. But he had a special calling, a special drive from God. After his meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus, God gave him the task: to be the apostles to the Gentiles. To take the gospel into the whole world. And you can feel his passion for the lost in these verses

19 In this way, I have fully presented the Good News of Christ from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum. 20 My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else. 21 I have been following the plan spoken of in the Scriptures, where it says, “Those who have never been told about him will see, and those who have never heard of him will understand.” 22 In fact, my visit to you has been delayed so long because I have been preaching in these places. 23 But now I have finished my work in these regions, and after all these long years of waiting, I am eager to visit you.
Why? There’s already a church in Rome.

24 I am planning to go to Spain, and when I do, I will stop off in Rome. And after I have enjoyed your fellowship for a little while, you can provide for my journey.

“Why should we do that?” they may be thinking. Well, why should we provide for Paul, or Mischeck, or McDonald, our missionaries? I mean we struggle with providing for this church and we can see them and touch and feel what we get for our money. And we don’t have enough as it is. Why should we give to those we don’t even see?

Because we are partners together. Even Gentiles in Macedonia and Achaia were giving to Jews in Jerusalem. Wow! What an example of Christian love. That’s powerful.

27 They were glad to do this because they feel they owe a real debt to them. Since the Gentiles received the spiritual blessings of the Good News from the believers in Jerusalem, they feel the least they can do in return is to help them financially.

As Christians, we are part of God’s work in the world. And our generosity is one way we show it. So Paul asks “do you want to be part of my missionary work to Spain?” It’s awesome!

28 As soon as I have delivered this money and completed this good deed of theirs, I will come to see you on my way to Spain. 29 And I am sure that when I come, Christ will richly bless our time together. 30 Dear brothers and sisters, I urge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to join in my struggle by praying to God for me. Do this because of your love for me, given to you by the Holy Spirit. 31 Pray that I will be rescued from those in Judea who refuse to obey God. Pray also that the believers there will be willing to accept the donation I am taking to Jerusalem. 32 Then, by the will of God, I will be able to come to you with a joyful heart, and we will be an encouragement to each other. 33 And now may God, who gives us his peace, be with you all. Amen.

We’re all still on the same mission as Paul. We want to magnify the name of Jesus. Here in Notodden amongst us we want to show the love of Christ to each other. We want to proclaim his name so that those around us can hear the gospel and be saved! O glorious day!

And we give generously so that this church can keep going, yes, but also to support our brothers in Kenya, in Zambia, and in South Africa. For we are all part of God’s worldwide family. They are our brothers and we owe them support. Why? Because of the love of Christ, given to us by the Holy Spirit.

Cool, hey? Praise God for His work in and through us. Oh Lord, magnify your glory and grace and love through us. Make us more and more like Jesus. Less selfish, less arrogant, more gentle, more kind, more full of truth, more full of the Spirit, more generous, more on God’s mission than our own.

Let’s live for Christ. That is, I will do, say, think what Jesus wants me to do, say, think, at every moment, rather than what I want to do, say, think. Not great deeds. But everyday moments.
Not duty but joy. Living naturally. Living out what God has placed in. With our church family. And out in the world. Amen.

Mark 12:13-44 Give to God what is his

Mark 12:13-44

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What do you owe God?

It’s a funny question isn’t it? What do I owe God?

We often think about what God owes us. We get angry because life doesn’t go our way. We lash out at God when we suffer. Why me, Lord. We say.

But the truth is that God doesn’t owe us anything. And we owe him everything.

He made us. He owns us. His imprint is on us. That is, we are made in His image. He is the original, the first, the source. He is the Emperor on the coin. He is Supreme. And we are derivative, secondary, the created. Our life is dependent on him. Every breath we take is a gift from Him. Without Him, we cease to exist. We are utterly dependent.

How then should we live?

How then should we think about God our Father? How should we approach His Word, the Bible? If we are God’s image-bearers, if his mark is on us, what should we do? Give to God what belongs to God.

1. We belong to God

2. We must listen to God’s word

3. Listening to God’s Word is not enough!

4. Give everything (because Jesus has given everything)

1. We belong to God

Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s. is how the old translation puts v17.

And it’s a brilliant answer to a tricky question.

You see, Jesus has just publicly taken on the leaders of Israel, and called them out for ignoring God’s Word. They’re busy pretending to be servants of God, but they are only serving themselves.

This whole event started when Jesus entered the Temple and started flipping tables and chasing everyone away. “How dare you turn my Father’s house, a house of prayer, into a den of thieves” he shouted. The leaders marched in all in a huff “How dare you do this!” they say “what right have you?”.

“No, how dare YOU” responds Jesus. “How dare you ignore the words of God.” They are acting as if Israel belongs to them, and that they do not have to give an account to God. They are the evil tenant farmers who try to steal the vineyard in the story Jesus tells in 12:1-12. There is no fruit of obedience to God, no love for the Lord. The fig tree, Israel, has no fruit. And will be cursed. For the LORD, Yahweh, God himself, has come to his Temple in fulfilment of prophecy in Malachi 3, and has found… what? Corruption and evil. What will the owner do? Asked Jesus. Mk 12:9 “I’ll tell you—he will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others.

When God appears and asks “what have you done” what can you answer? We’re all in deep trouble! All we can do is say “I’m sorry”.

But the leaders, oh they don’t repent, they don’t say sorry. Even though v12 they realized he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers. They still don’t repent. No. Instead they wanted to arrest Jesus (v12) and want to kill him (11:18).

What should they do? Recognise their sin! “Oh, I ran my life as if it were mine. I forgot I had to give an account to you, O Lord. I am so ashamed at what I have done, how I have ignored you. Please forgive me because of your mercy.”
That is what they should have done, that is what we must do. Otherwise we will find that we are locked in a war against God for all eternity, a war that we cannot win. We will be killed for all eternity for we belong to God.

This is serious business. We belong to God!

And this is the point of Jesus’ response to them in v17. It is a clear warning to repent. They, of course are trying to trap him. They are afraid of the people – so they try and turn the people against Jesus. That’s what they fear! They don’t fear God! But Jesus, he is not afraid.
So just listen to their slithering snake-like, oily, disgusting, question. 14 “Teacher,” they said, “we know how honest you are. You are impartial and don’t play favourites. You teach the way of God truthfully. They are being obsequious, sucking up, flattering to deceive. But what they say, ironically, is true. He is everything they should be, but aren’t! They, by contrast v12 are afraid of the crowd.

So they spring their trap: Now tell us—is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay them, or shouldn’t we?”

Hehehe. We’ve got him! If he says “don’t pay Caesar” then we can get him arrested by the Romans. If he says “pay Caesar” then all the people will hate him. Haha!

Then Jesus says “Why are you trying to trap me? Show me a Roman coin, and I’ll tell you.” 16 When they handed it to him, he asked, “Whose picture and title are stamped on it?”

Oh drat! You can imagine their hearts sinking as this brilliant trap totally backfires. Jesus is not afraid of the people. He’s not afraid of them. He fears no-one but his Father.
Imagine if we could stop being afraid of people – imagine what we could do! As we’ve been reading in Proverbs – the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the LORD.

“Whose picture and title are stamped on it?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. 17 “Well, then,” Jesus said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”

We bear the imprint of our Creator, just like a coin bears the imprint of the emperor. We belong to God.

And that’s what the leaders had forgotten. They had forgotten God! We see this pattern again and again in religious leaders, where the organisation becomes the goal, maintaining power and status is the aim, where serving God gets pushed aside and serving self becomes the thing. And then the church becomes a political organisation, throwing out the difficult and inconvenient truths in God’s Word and replacing them with our own. But our church belongs to God, not to us. We belong to God, not to us. These religious leaders were reminded that they, and Israel, the vineyard, belong to God!

Oh Lord help us to remember that we are not our own, that we are bought with a price. Let us never presume that just because we go to church, or even serve in the church, or are leaders in the church, that we are Someone Important. You are the only great God! And we belong to you. May you be our highest goal, our great vision. May we live only for you! Save us from our foolish sin, putting ourselves at the centre. When we see you face to face, let us be filled with joy, not horror and hatred because it’s not us sitting on the throne.

You (and I) belong to God. So give to God what is his. All of you. All of me. We belong to God. So

2. We must listen to God’s word

24 Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.

Revealing words. Aimed at a group called the Sadducees. They were basically secular Jews, like most of Israel today. They were concerned with life now, and how to use God to secure blessing. As v18 points out, they did not believe in the resurrection. So they were focussed on material blessings. The American Dream group. A bit like the prosperity gospel. God is the great vending machine in the sky, and if you can figure out the right combination of words and actions then he has to bless you. And they come to put Jesus in his place.

“Ah-ha, Jesus, now listen here to this foolish example we’ve just made up about one poor woman being married multiple times.” Their proposal is simple: resurrection is foolish because if you’ve been married, then widowed, then marry again – at the resurrection, who are you married to? All of them?! How foolish to think that we will be resurrected! It’s illogical. We are right. You are dumb.

But, of course, they take this question to the extreme, milking it for all its worth. You can imagine them telling this story to the crowd, people laughing as the seeecond husband dies, then the thiiiiird. They were probably rolling their eyes in scorn as they bring home the argument “whose wife will she be”, to the enjoyment of the crowd.

All eyes are then on Jesus. What will he do? What will he say?

His answer is brutally honest: 24 Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.

Wow. The Sadducees were a rich and powerful group. And Jesus is totally unafraid. You don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.

How often is that us? How often are we wrong because we do not know the Scriptures, and do not know the power of God.

Just as Jesus exposed the Pharisees and Herodians - they would not give to God what is his – Jesus now exposes the Sadducees: they don’t even know God! For them the Scriptures are a means to an end – their end. The Bible gave them power, respectability, moral authority – but it was beneath them, a tool to be used, not over them, words to be listened to and obeyed. They have read the words but they do not KNOW them. And because they reject God’s Word, they do not know God. They do not know his power.

The way of the Sadducee lies very, very close. It is so easy. What of God’s Word do you refuse to believe?
In our society I can tell you what we find difficult to believe: 1. That God is sovereign over all things. “No, I have free will!” we bleat, as we are manipulated by every advertisement and jingle and shiny new gadget our eyes fall on.
2. That God will judge.
3. That we are sinners.

These are all linked. We like to think of ourselves as good people, moral people – maybe with a couple of failings, but if we try a bit we can sort them out and then God will like us. But the truth is we are “depraved”. That means sinful through and through. Like poison in a glass of water, the poison of sin runs through all of us. Not all of the water is poison – but all the water is poisoned.

Because if we could be just a little bit better and then be acceptable to God, why would Jesus have had to come and die?
No it is because we are helpless in our sin, facing eternal judgment, and because he is sovereign over all things, that he, in his great mercy, decides to do something about that, and save people who don’t deserve to be saved and who don’t want to be saved.

Guard your heart when you read the Bible, or hear it preached, and your heart says “I don’t believe that” and you gloss over it, skip over it, push it aside. You do not want to hear Jesus say to you “Do you not know the Scriptures”. We belong to God. He is God. He decides what is true and what is not. Let us humble ourselves before him!

We must listen to God.

But

3. Listening to God’s Word is not enough! (Understanding the Law (Scriptures) can get us close)

Now, after the failures of the power-hungry religious leaders, and the running-after-money Sadducees, enter the teacher of religious law. This is a “good” man. He is one of the best of us. He has understanding and insight. He sees the spirit of the Law. Listen again to his brilliant answer to Jesus: 32 The teacher of religious law replied, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other. 33 And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbour as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.”

He gets it! The Law is about love, not about rules. The Law says put God first. Love God. Love your neighbour.

But Jesus’ response deflates us. Ruins us. No-one asked him any more questions. Everyone fell silent in dismay. 34 Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”

Not far? Not faaaar?
But, but, who then can be saved? This man knows the path of salvation! How can he be “not far”? Why not “in”?

Because who loves God like he should? This man understood the law – but he lacked the power to actually do it. And that is what he did not see. And that is what Jesus points out. “Dear friend, you have not done what you know you should.”

Just think about the second commandment. Love your neighbour as yourself. Have any of us done that like we should? How often does a careless word slip out? An angry glare? Harsh words. Or we just don’t do something we should have done.

And that’s the second. We break it all the time. What about the first. Love God with all out heart, soul, and mind. We’re doomed.

Because how far can the law take you, even properly understood? “Not far” from the Kingdom.

But it cannot take you in. Only the King of the Kingdom, only Jesus, can grant you access.
This man has understood the Law in part. He knows that it’s not external that’s important, but the heart. The heart that must love God.
And that’s the problem. He’s outside. Because he’s not understood that HIS heart too does not love God. That he too is a sinner. This is the difficult doctrine. A difficult truth. We are all sinners.
He had certainly read the Scriptures – but probably also glossed over, did not think they applied to him. Like Genesis 6:5 The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.

He does not yet believe that the only way to love God and love his fellow men properly is if Jesus has first loved him, and transformed him from the inside out. He needs a Messiah, a saviour. He needs the Lord. Just knowing Scripture is not enough. That just shows us that we’re in trouble, like a man on a dark night, who in a flash of lightning suddenly sees that he’s on the thin edge of a cliff face, with a mud slide bearing down on him – but the other side is too far to jump, and the chasm is deep.
We need to be saved. We need someone from the other side to swing across and pull us to safety!

35 Later, as Jesus was teaching the people in the Temple, he asked, “Why do the teachers of religious law claim that the Messiah is the son of David? 36 For David himself, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, said, ‘The LORD said to my Lord, Sit in the place of honour at my right hand until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’ 37 Since David himself called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?” The large crowd listened to him with great delight.

What Jesus is pointing out is why the Messiah, the Promised Rescuer, is the thing that matters. He is the key to understanding the law. He is the door to the Kingdom of God. The law tells us there is a gap, a chasm, a huge pit, between us and God. It tells us our sin has cut us off. And no amount of being good or moral will ever be enough to bridge the gap. The most we can hope for is to be “not far”.

But the Messiah. He can bridge the gap. Why? Because he is a man AND he is God.

Jesus is the Messiah. A man, born of Mary, descended in a long line from King David. Jesus is David’s son.

But, Jesus points out, David himself calls the Messiah, his son, “Lord”. The Lord who is honoured by the LORD, Yahweh, the personal name of God, Israel’s God, the Promise Keeper. David looks and sees the Messiah, the great coming King of Israel, seated at the right hand of God Almighty. The Son of God, seated on the throne. Jesus, the Son of God, shown in power time and time again to be God Almighty, raising the dead, healing the sick, with power over Creation. Who is this man?

The bridge.

The arrogant leaders miss it. They could not conceive of the Almighty God making himself as nothing, as a human being. The incarnation (God becoming man) is mind-blowing. That he should walk on earth, limited and frail. That he should be a baby, dependant on his mother and father. Incredible. What love the King has!

But those hungry for power could never imagine giving up that power for any reason, even those they love, never mind their enemies. But God does that. For us.

They are too busy walking around in flowing robes and sitting at the heads of tables, pretending to be pious but serving themselves. They will be severely punished says Jesus!

Even the best of them is too proud of his own morality, and so is “not far”.

Listening to God’s Word is not enough. We must throw ourselves on his mercy. We must give up everything, in order to gain him, and in Him, gain everything.

4. Give everything (because Jesus has given everything)

41 Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. 43 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. 44 For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”

It is not enough to pretend to serve God. It is not enough to give to God some of what we have. It is not enough to understand the Bible. It is not enough to go to church. It is not enough to be sexually pure, or to give our money away to gospel work, or to serve tirelessly in the church, or whatever you think will really impress God.

Oh yes, it is all good stuff – but it is not enough. We must give it all. Everything we have. We must give ourselves. There’s a mime of a man singing at church and the collection plate comes around. He gives some money. It comes around again. Annoyed he gives some more. Carry’s on singing and praising, but with a slight frown. Then the plate comes again. Now he’s angry! But the demand is unavoidable. He throws his wallet in. Sings. And it comes again. Now he’s really angry! Empty’s out his pockets. LOOK! I have nothing. The demand comes again. Then suddenly he understands.
And he climbs onto the offering plate.

Think this is unreasonable? It’s nothing less than what Jesus himself did. The great King of Israel, descendant of David, God Almighty, Ruler of Heaven and earth – shrinks himself down to become a human, one of us. And a servant. A poor preacher from a poor oppressed people. Suffering hunger and cold and want and rejection. The Suffering servant. And finally death. Why? Why does he give everything?

To be the bridge. Arms outstretched on the cross, bridging heaven and earth. Cross over! But to cross over we too must die. Die to ourselves. Be crucified. And then live for Christ!

I began with asking us the question “What do I owe God?”

What do I owe God?

Everything.

How to store treasures in heaven

2 Cor 8:1-15, 9:1-15

So, last week we were challenged in our view of money. Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:19-34 challenged us to store our treasures in heaven, where they are safe, not on earth, where moth and rust destroy. We were challenged to store treasures in heaven, serving GOD, not serving money (living for eternal rewards instead of living for the dump). And we were reminded that we can do this – store treasures in heaven by giving freely because our Father is in control. Don’t worry, says Jesus.

I used the illustration of a hotel room in London. If you had to live in London for three months, a year – but you could take NOTHING back home with you – but you could send your money back home. How would you live? Colleen said that was her exact situation when she lived in Japan for a while. She could take nothing back – so she lived like she was camping! Why – so that she had lots of money when she got back home! And she did. That’s our situation. This world is a hotel room. It is temporary. Let’s stop decorating our hotel room with junk that will be thrown away, and send our money home.

It’s quite a shift in perspective, isn’t it? And how does that work itself out practically? What does it look like to obey Jesus’ word on money? What will we do differently? What will our church look like?

This week we’re turning to God’s Word in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Corinthians for some answers. Because the church in Corinth is in some ways a church like ours – particularly when it comes to money.
We will discover that

1. Generosity is a heart issue, not a money issue

2. Our heart follows our money, so decide to be generous, and you will be generous!

3. How to give

4. Practical matters

1. Generosity is a heart issue, not a money issue

Corinth was a wealthy town, and the church in Corinth was therefore a wealthy church. They’d enthusiastically promised to send a gift to the church in Jerusalem which was poor and suffering a shortage of food. But since making the promise with all eagerness, their enthusiasm had faded. Paul writes to set them right, to remind them of their privilege, and how much they have been blessed – blessed in order to share, to give, not to hoard. In fact, that was a standard problem in the Corinthian church – selfishness.

So he writes to them about their sister church in Macedonia. They were extremely poor – but gave generously. See, generosity – giving – is not a matter of how much you have, but a matter of our hearts.

Because 8:7-8 challenges us with this: we may excel in many ways – but if we do not excel in generosity is our love really genuine? Or are we excelling for show. 7 Since you excel in so many ways—in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us—I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving. 8 I am not commanding you to do this. But I am testing how genuine your love is by comparing it with the eagerness of the other churches.

Giving – or lack of giving – exposes our hearts. Do we trust God? Do we live for the dump or for heaven? Where is our treasure? Do we really trust God to provide for us?

And it seems that the more we have, the LESS likely we are to give. So if you’re sitting there thinking “oh, it’s all right for HIM to give or HER to give – they’re much richer than us, we’ve only got so much. If I had as much as them I’d give loads and loads” – if you’re thinking that you are lying to yourself. It’s not true. If you’re not giving now, you won’t give when you have more. Why? Because it is an attitude of the heart, not of circumstances.

After all, if your income suddenly went down by 10%, would you die? No! You’ve still got 90% of your income to live on! You might have to cut back here and there but probably all of us would be ok. So if we can survive on 10% less – why aren’t we giving it back to God?

We can all give. If we’re not giving, it exposes our hearts. Our hearts are here – on earth, living for the rubbish dump. Our hearts do not trust. We are greedy money-worshippers and we don’t trust God. When I look at myself, that’s what I see. Guilty. Praise God that our salvation is not dependant on how we fail with our money, but on JESUS and his perfect life. As I said last week, remember as we go through this that if you are in Christ you are already saved, you are secure, his blood has covered your failures and sins. He has taken your guilt and shame! We will all be guilty. We will all be ashamed as we see how much we love money. We have all fallen short. But that’s why Jesus came. For people like us! So we can be set free from the misery of obeying the law – there I’m giving - and in joy GIVE because we want to be more like Jesus.

Paul, I think, could be writing to us. We are wealthy. We are blessed. Are we going to follow Corinth, or follow Macedonia? May we be known as a church that gives!

Why? Because this is what JESUS is like. Generosity is the heart of our God. 9 You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.

To be generous – to give – is to have the heart of Christ. May God soften our hearts and change us!

2. Our heart follows our money, so decide to be generous, and you will be generous!

Because it is a heart issue, it does not matter how much we give. We’re not giving because God needs the money! It matters that we give, and give in proportion to how much he’s given us. Giving is a blessing for us, not a help for God, or even a help for the church. So a child giving kr10 is as important as one of us giving kr10 000. His work does not depend on us. It is a privilege, a joy to be part of. But if we want to sit on the sidelines like a disobedient child – WON’T – we can. But we miss out on the fun.

9:6 Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.

How often have I disobeyed, not shared, --- missed out on joy of seeing someone come to Christ, missed out on the joy of witnessing to someone because I was afraid to trust. How often have I chosen to sin instead of to obey – and reaped misery instead of joy. We know these things. And the same applies to giving. When I hold on to my money I am holding back blessings from myself! I am the one who suffers!

What seeds am I planting? Where am I planting? For wherever I am planting, that’s where I’ll get a harvest. If I’m planting in greed and selfishness, that’s the harvest I’ll reap. My heart follows my money. Where I sow, I will reap.

It’s very popular to say “follow your heart” – but actually our heart goes where our money goes. Take out your receipts and bank statements – what you’ve bought over the past month, where and how you’ve spent your money. What does that say about what you value? What does that say about your heart? Where have you sown?

Your heart will follow your money. If you want a heart for the church, send your money there. If you want a heart for missions, send your money there. Money first then heart. If you want a heart for Statoil, send your money there. You know if you invest in Statoil shares, suddenly you’re reading about Statoil, listening for news about Statoil, etc. Why? Because your heart follows you money. You’re invested. Invest in things that matter. If I give my money to gospel work… I’m interested in gospel work. My heart follows my money. So decide where your heart will be.

9:6 Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.

Oh you can manipulate people in to giving. The prosperity “gospel” is all about that. Give now and you’ll get so much more. What’s the motivation? The heart of Christ? Heavenly treasures? No! It’s earthly treasures. More. I give so I can get. And that’s not giving! Remember, giving is a heart issue. 7 And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”

It is a heart issue. Decide to give. Decide to give cheerfully. Then give. Your heart will follow your money. And don’t worry – trust God. Look how the passage continues: 8 And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. 9 As the Scriptures say, “They share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever.”

Note God will provide for all our need – not all our greed (wants). But what joy to give away what we have been given – that our good deeds will be remembered forever. Wow.
10 For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. 11 Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God.

You will find that the more you give, the more you will have. Because he who is faithful in little, will be faithful in plenty. But look at WHY we will be enriched in every way: so that you can be generous. When we get more money it is so we can give more away. And look also what happens when we give: we are enriched, not just with money, but in every way. Decide to give. And then give. And you will find that your heart will change, and you will start to become just a little more generous, a little more like Christ. Our hearts follow our money – where is your heart?

3. How much do we give?

8:12 Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have. 13 Of course, I don’t mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves. I only mean that there should be some equality. 14 Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be equal.

This doesn’t mean wait until you feel cheerful, eager to give – you won’t. But as you give you will be filled with joy. And if you’re not filled with joy because you’re looking at your bank account and saying “oh, I can’t afford to give”, or “oh, I wish I hadn’t given so much this month” – then you’re spending too much!
That credit card is a constant temptation. Swipe it, it’ll be fun! And it never is! See, right now we have plenty. But we have plenty in order to v14 help those in need.
We have been given a lot, so we need to give according to what we have. Don’t go take out a loan in order to give – that’s giving what you don’t have! But give what you have. 14 Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. And don’t worry about storing up money for tomorrow – a rainy day – what if I need money in 10 years. Building bigger barns to stroe ever more grain. Then your turst will be in money. Trust God. As v14 continues Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. So give now, and trust God.

We are to look after our brothers and sisters in Christ who are in need first. Then we must also look to the poor and needy who do not know Christ. As we give, we store up treasures for ourselves in heaven. It’s as if you have an account in heaven, and every time you give to gospel work, that account goes up. Every time you give to someone in need because of the love of Christ, that account goes up. Every time you share what you have, that account goes up. Every time you open your home and welcome people in, that account goes up. To God’s praise and glory.

And as that account goes up, we will become more heavenly-minded, more like Christ. Because our heart, our minds follows our money.

Whatever we have sent on ahead of us into eternity will last forever. It is secure. It will bring us pleasure and joy for all time. It will be celebrated for all eternity. It will be indestructible.

Giving is the way we convert our money to heavenly money. I want Real Treasure! Spending our money here, on shiny new things, is a bad investment. It will fail, will rot, will rust, and be thrown away. Investing in heaven… will never fail, will never rot, and will last forever.

God provides more financially not to raise our standard of living (spend more on us) but to raise our standard of giving.

When God provides more money we often thing “this is a blessing”. That’s true and Biblically – but it is equally true and Biblical to say “this is a test”.

People are giving sacrificially to this church. Each time we give we are part of what this church does. Every person encouraged to keep going in the faith. Every person who hears the gospel. Every life turned around. Every heart awoken to Jesus. That’s what we invest in, that’s our eternal rewards being stored up. It’s not just to cover salaries, and paper and electricity and a place to meet ho hum how boring. We invest in future glory! We’re sending our treasures on ahead of us – home! And each day brings us closer to heaven, closer to our treasures.

4. Practical matters

How much do I give? In the Old Testament, under the law, they gave a minimum of 10% of their income – but also could give a lot more with freewill offerings, thank offerings, etc. If you don’t know where to start, 10% is a good starting point. It is not a law 9:7 You must each decide in your heart how much to give. You will not go to hell if you give less than 10% of you income. But… should we give less because we are now under grace and not law? Surely we should give at least that, if not more.

That still means we’re keeping 90% of the money God has given us! We need to ask ourselves the question “How much of God’s money should I keep to furnish this temporary “hotel room” – and how much should I send on ahead to my real home.”

But you might be saying 10%?! I can’t give 10%! I barely have enough as it is. Well, then we can think about managing our money better. This is where we come to words like “budgeting” and many people’s eyes roll over… but it’s just asking the question “What do I spend money on?” When you know that you can ask “Do I need to? Can I cut back? Can I save?”

You can get a rough idea from your bank – they often have a tool in the internet banking for visualising how much you spend. But get your bank statement and divide everything into categories. Some people find it helpful to visualise with monopoly money how much you spend on various things. Or take out your whole salary in cash and divide it up into everything you spend money on. This pile is house, this is food, this is electricity, entertainment, insurance. See what you spend money on.
Write down everything you spend – you may be surprised at how much you waste on quick meals or hotdogs or coffee to go or whatever.

Another area is fixed expenses like telephones, insurance, electricity, even bank fees. Those can all be reduced. Telephones – try Telipol Medium – it’s kr99 per month and should be enough for most people unless they’re really heavy users. Don’t use your mobile phone for long-distance calls. Use an internet call provider like Skype or Rebtel. With Rebtel you call a local land line and then it reroutes the call internationally. Saves a fortune.
Electricity – Gudbrandsdal Energi is one of the cheapest. Our local Rallarkraft is not bad either, and you support the local economy.
Food – write a list. Stick to it. Shop ONCE a week. You’ll save a fortune. Buy no-name products like First price. And shop at Kiwi or Rema : Meny Coop Spar Joker, even Bunnpris are all more expensive.

We can share tips like that with each other. But your money needs managing. You’ve been given that responsibility by God.

We can share things with each other. We can share/swap clothes – I know the ladies already do that a lot. Kids clothes and shoes especially! But for us guys – well, we normally wear clothes until they wear out – but we can share tools. Not every one of us needs every power tool known to man. I’ve got some tools I’d be happy to share: jigsaw, circular saw, a table saw, a nail gun. Wooo!
See where you can borrow instead of buy. Check finn.no for second-hand stuff instead of new. Even for Christmas presents!
I mean we can even share living areas. Share houses. Maybe you can put a brother or sister up in a room in your house or a flatlet (hybel). Think creatively!

As the old saying goes: A penny saved is a penny earned. Maybe we’ll change that to A penny saved is a penny that can be given away!

If we manage our money well we can spend less on our temporary hotel room here – and send more on ahead to our real home in the new Creation. Our heart will follow our money, so let’s look to send our heart to the right place. And remember that God has blessed us, enriched us in every way, so that we can be generous.

May God in His grace greant us hearts that are generous. Hearts that are like our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. May we praise him and give Him glory with our money as in every other area of our lives. And we will be filled with joy. The joy of giving. The joy of living Like Jesus. Amen!

Where your treasure is, your heart is (Matthew 6:19-34)

Matthew 6:19-34

This is an uncomfortable topic to talk about. We’re all greedy. We’re all guilty. I personally have found this a challenge to prepare because it has exposed my greed. Praise God that we are not saved by being perfect, but by trusting in the one who is perfect: Our Lord and Saviour Jesus, the Christ. Remember that as we go through this. The standard of giving and money management is much, much higher than we want it to be. We are, in fact, called to deal with our money the way Jesus would deal with his money! Just like every other area of our lives.

Our text today is part of the famous Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s gospel. This Sermon on the Mount comes to its main point in 5:48 “Be perfect because your heavenly father is perfect”. That is the standard. Not “pretty good” not “a decent bloke” – but we are called to God’s perfection, to his holiness, his righteousness. It makes a mockery of our efforts, doesn’t it? That’s why Jesus came! We will fail, we will fall short, we cannot be good enough for heaven. But he is.

So we will this morning be challenged by Jesus’ perfect way of dealing with money. It will raise a lot of questions which we will have to work through. But our salvation is secure. Because we have Christ’s righteousness. We have Jesus’ perfection. What we are talking about is the blessing and the joy of being more like Christ, becoming more the person we should be.

After all, when did you last sin and thought “I’m so glad I did that”? Never! But how often in obeying God do we find deep joy and blessing. Oh, obedience costs us, no doubt – but the joy and the blessing that flows from living God’s way in God’s world – well that makes the cost seem like nothing. As the Apostle Paul says in Phil 3:8 “Everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

We’re going to spend two weeks on this. This week will challenge us, shape us, give us food for thought. This week is why. Next week we’ll look at how. We’ll also have some time for practical application – including how to save money, how to get control of your finances, how to budget – that sort of thing.
A lot of what I will say today is from this book “The Treasure Principle” by Randy Alcorn. It is an outstanding book which will change your view on money and giving to something much more Biblical! And will fill you with joy, not with misery. Randy points us back to Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:19-34, so let’s listen to Jesus:

1. Store treasures in heaven, where they will be safe, not on earth (19-20).

2. Store treasures in heaven, serving God, instead of being a slave to money (24).

3. Store treasures in heaven by giving freely - because our Father is in control (25-34).

1. Store treasures in heaven, where they will be safe, not here on earth

Matt 6:19–20 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.

Simple, isn’t it? It’s good investment advice. Do you want to put your money in the bank with a hole in its safe and no security procedures – or in a bank where it will be secure? Duh! So why do we waste our money on things that will fall apart and be worthless even within our own lifetime – instead of investing our money on things that will last forever.

This is part of a section in this Sermon on the Mount where Jesus is talking about heavenly rewards. This may seem a bit weird, a bit selfish even – but it is very Biblical. We are designed to pursue reward. Reward motivates us, keeps us going. Why do most of us work? Is it not because of the salary – the money – the reward we get? If I wasn’t being paid, would I drive to Kongsberg tomorrow morning and sit in an office for 8 hours? No way! But I am being paid – so I drive there and work for 8 hours to get my reward.

Jesus is saying make sure you’re working for the right reward. Everything we do is motivated by something. Let’s make sure our motivation is right.

Just have look back through the chapter. 6:18 fast in private – God will reward you. (Public – already got reward)

6:6 pray in private – God will reward you. (not praying for show – look how religious I am!)

6:4 Give in private – God will reward you. Not for self-glory – already got reward. (blowing trumpets!! Ha)

5:46 Love your friends – no reward. Instead be perfect as Father is perfect. Love your enemies is implied!

Look for the reward of being like Dad. Look for the reward of heavenly blessings.

And that’s true too with money. Look for the reward of heavenly riches, heavenly treasure.

You know, when we travel down to South Africa we don’t take Norwegian Krone. That’s useless there. We need to convert it first to South African Rands. What we need to do here is to convert our earthly money to heavenly money.

Because what if you knew that next week the Norwegian krone was going to halve in value – but the Swedish krone was going to rise in value. What would you do? You’d rush to convert all your Norwegian kroner to Swedish kroner.
Well, you know how much our earthly wealth is going to be worth? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Have any of you been to Goasholt – Notodden’s rubbish dump? I’ve been there many times with a trailer full of rubbish. And I see loads of stuff being thrown away – old fridges, sofas, beds, toys, games, furniture, doors, windows, building materials, bicycles... everything goes there in the end. Every single thing that’s been carefully manufactured, all bright and shiny in the shop, brought home to oohs, and aaahs, and at last. Now on the dump, rusted, broken. The building work so painstakingly carried out, everything straight, smoothed down to a fine finish – now crowbarred out, dumped on a truck, and tipped into the dump. EVERYTHING ends up there! The toys you fought over as kids, the sofa you argued about, the new dream car – all of it, one day, ends up at the dump.

Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal.

Jesus has got a point doesn’t he? That new car? It will rust and break and will need insurance. Someone will chip it or bang it or it will be in a crash and 10 years from now it will be crushed into a little metal box. That new dress – dumped in a year for the next must have model. That new sofa – drinks spilled, food trampled in it, or the dogs jumps on it! Gone in 5-10 years. Rat race, indeed!

Now some stuff we need, yes, but what do we really need, what are we living for? How much are we pouring into a safe with a hole, a bank with no security, pouring into Goasholt, the dump – instead of into a secure investment with eternal rewards?

Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.

Whatever we have sent on ahead of us into eternity will last forever. It is secure. It will bring us pleasure and joy for all time. It will be celebrated for all eternity. It will be indestructible.

Now I hope I’ve set up in your mind the same tension I have in mine. I understand, I want to do that. How do I do that? How do I store up treasures in heaven? I want to convert my money to heavenly money. I want Real Treasure!

Well, the key is giving. Giving away our money is how we send it on ahead. And next week we’ll talk about how, and when, and why, and to who. We’ll talk about whose money it really is (hint: it’s not mine, and it’s not yours...it’s His). But I want us to let this principle, this idea, sink in. We need to be challenged on a deep level because everything in us and in our culture says the opposite. Spend now, get this thing, you’ll be happy. This is a good investment, ooh shiny thing.... But it is a lie. Any happiness is fleeting, gone in a moment. It is false treasure, treasure that blooms and fades like weeds in the grass. We need real treasure, treasure that lasts.

2. Store treasures in heaven, serving God, instead of being a slave to money.

24 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

We’ve maybe heard this so many times that we miss the surprising thing here: what Jesus calls money. A MASTER. We think of money and possessions – our wealth – as something we use. We control it. But what Jesus says is if our use of money is not under God’s mastery – then it is mastering us. Our money, our possessions, our stuff – ends up controlling us.

The extremely rich man Rockefeller died – and his accountant was asked how much money he left. “All of it”, was the answer.

Money is a terrible master – it promises everything, but in the end delivers nothing. It promises freedom, but delivers slavery. It promises light, but delivers darkness. An eye that is forever hunting for money, wealth, shiny things to have in your home – that eye brings darkness, a stingy and miserly heart – selfishness. But if our eyes are looking beyond us, to God, to others, our hearts are filled with light – looking to bless others with what God has given us.

Listen to this from The Treasure Principle
“Possession Obsession: There was a TV program in 1997 called Affluenza about the “modern-day plague of materialism”. Their conclusion? material wealth doesn’t make us happy.
Not convinced? What about all those stories of lottery winners a few years later. How often are they plagued by worry, wishing they could go back to their simple life.
Listen to these words from some of the wealthiest people in the world in their day (late 1800’s):

· W.H. Vanderbilt: “The care of $200 million is enough to kill anyone. There is no pleasure in it.”

· John Jacob Astor – richest man in America in 1848 “I am the most miserable man on earth.”

· John D. Rockefeller owner Standard Oil (Esso), world’s richest man: “I have made many millions, but they have brought me no happiness.”

· Andrew Carnegie, steel baron: “Millionaires seldom smile.”

· Henry Ford (cars): “I was happier when doing a mechanic's job.”

A friend of the author Randy Alcorn met someone they knew at the airport. He was looking troubled. “What’s the matter?” he asked. The man sighed “I thought I was finally going to have a weekend to myself. But now I have to go to Florida to supervise repairs on my house.” Dejected, he sat waiting to take off in his private jet.

Here’s a man with everything – but can’t even enjoy a weekend. He was enslaved by his possessions. We think we own our possessions, but they all too often own us. Material wealth, money, is a bad master, not worth serving, not worth pursuing.

Every thing we buy is one more thing to think about, talk about, clean, repair, rearrange, worry about, and replace when it wears out. Think about a car. Or a house! How much time and energy – never mind money – do we spend on those?

But what about our phones? Got to have the latest. Got to use it. Have you seen my new phone? And so on. We’re more excited about our phone than the gospel.
That’s not saying you can’t enjoy nice things – but where is our heart? Hold loosely to your possessions. Hold loosely.

And think about the impact buying that thing will have. Randy Alcorn gives the example of a boat. Buy a boat and you’ll have to justify buying the boat by using the boat. So you’re away on weekends on the boat. You miss church because of the boat. You can’t lead Sunday school because of the boat. You can’t give to church this month because the boat needs an overhaul. By all means buy a boat – but think about the impact. Think about where it will end up. Think about what it will do to you. Think about whether you are serving God... or serving money. Think about where your focus is. Here? Or there?

Suppose you had to live in London for three months. You’re told you can’t bring anything back with you - but you can send money back from London to Notodden. What would you do? Would you fill your room in London with expensive furniture and the best sound system? Of course not. You’d spend only what you needed to, sending your treasures ahead to your home in Notodden. What use the treasures in London which will just be thrown away?

If you live for the now you’re living for the dump, the rubbish heap.

He who lays up treasures on earth spends his life backing away from his treasures. To him, death is loss.
He who lays up treasures in heaven looks forward to eternity – he’s moving every day towards his treasures. To him, death is gain.
Backing away – you despair. Going towards your treasures – joy!
Are you despairing or rejoicing?

Heaven is our home. Send your money home, serving God – instead of being a slave to money and filling your hotel room with junk that you’ll leave behind!

3. Store treasures in heaven by giving freely - because our Father is in control.

I admit this is where I really struggle. I struggle with the “balance” of being responsible and looking after my family – and being generous and just giving money away left, right and centre. But I’m suspicious that maybe there shouldn’t be a “balance”. That maybe I should give and trust God. That’s what my wife keeps saying! (Although she also says hey let’s buy that <insert really nice, really expensive, item here> so... not quite sure how those go together!)

Because I honestly don’t know if I trust God, really trust God, to provide. The closest I came was moving to Norway. I was as disobedient as Gideon and put out my own “fleeces” for God – but he didn’t give me any assurance. He said “trust me”. So I did. And we moved. But we moved to my parents which is quite a big safety net. SO, yes, we trusted, but... how much. But listen to what Jesus says here: 25 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? ...32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Do I trust God? I don’t know. But CAN I trust God? The answer is a massive YES! He already knows all that I need. He provides for birds, he clothes lilies – how much more valuable am I. OOOH, but I don’t know how he’s going to provide for me. Well, do you know how he clothes the lilies or provides enough food for the birds? No. But look at them happily chirping away, lilies, looking mighty fine.
Because if we’re all focussed on the here and now, scrabbling for survival, we’re acting like... pagans. We’re acting as if God is dead, or that he doesn’t know us and love us. We’re acting as if he’s not our Father. Isn’t there great freedom in this verse? Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Or as I grew up with it: Seek first the Kingdom of God, and its righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Brothers and sisters, may our hearts be longing for heaven. May our minds be single-minded, focussed on the Kingdom of God, and its righteousness. And that means our money – God’s money given to us to look after – will start to flow into the Kingdom as we give with great joy, looking toward our reward.

I hope you, like me, have been challenged, deeply shaken, by our view of money. I hope you realise how much treasure we have stored here – where it will fade away. May the Spirit work in our hearts this week to make us more like Jesus, whose eyes were fixed on heaven and whose treasures were there. The joy that was before him drove him on. By his grace, may we all become a little more like him this week. May God have mercy on us all!

Romans 12 (David Cook)

Here is the "highlights" of Romans 1-11 plus the reading of chapter 12: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-DSjRONViGJVUJfLWFiQXZGNG8/view?usp=sharing

Click this link for the sermon. 
http://youtu.be/KGqkldOxb14
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The following are the notes I (Daniel) took during the sermon when we heard it live at Word Alive in Wales (Easter 2015):

Romans 12 The renewed mind – David Cook

Muller – 10 000 children in orphanages! Muller “In my judgement it is the first daily duty, supreme and ultimate importance secret of effectual service; to see your souls happy/healthy in the Lord.”
Pray (Adam stopped talking to God, Christ brings us back)

Paul begins with the gospel...
What do I tell myself every day
No-one speaks more to me than I do. Lloyd Jones: Christians need to talk to themselves .
JI Packer pg 256:
“I am a child of God,
God is my Father,
Heaven is my home,
every day is closer to heaven,
my Saviour is my brother.
Every Christian is my brother too

Rom 5:1 the first great therefore of Romans: THEREFORE
Rom 8:1 Therefore now no condemnation
Rom 12:1 THEREFORE I urge you brothers in view of God’s mercy.

Ch 1-11 in view of Gods MERCIES (plural) – in view of salvation, propitiation, Holy Spirit leading you in battle against sin nature.
Illustration: Archbishop’s sermon on Rom 12 on Royal coronation. We were urged to be servants like the Queen. But both failed – both missed part 1 “in view of God’s mercies” in view of what God’s done for us in Christ.
Illustration: Why Johnny can’t preach – ethical exhortation must never be divorced from redemptive context. God never does that. He never tells us what to do without telling us WHY.

We are in perfect relationship with God. Therefore you are to offer YOU as a LIVING sacrifice. The death of Jesus makes the whole OT sacrificial system redundant – but it has been replaced with living sacrifice
What should I say to me about me: “God has been merciful to me. Therefore I live for him”
cf 2 Cor 5:14-15 Chris died for all so that all who live might no longer live for themselves but for him
One outworking 1 Cor 6:18 Flee because YOU do not belong to YOU, you belong to the one who redeemed you. I am not mine, I am his.
You, because of God’s mercies, no longer belong to you.
This is your spiritual worship – the word spiritual is actually the word LOGICAL. It is a reasonable response. CT Studd “If Jesus Christ be God and died for then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for him” (as he left all his estates in England to go as missionary)

Resist the world. Do not allow the world to press you into its mould. Adam: Serve self, divorce God. But rather (passive) be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Does not say by the renewing of your emotions. Reasonable rational.

Be driven by right thinking. Early Christians were the best thinkers of their age. Betrand Russell “most people would rather die than think – and most people do”

As Christian we properly use our minds

Turn over Rom 1:25 – the great exchange. We swapped out God v28 depraved mind.
How could people do such things? Because they worship the created instead of the Creator
Rom 12 we no longer have that counterfeit mind. We have a new mind. 12:2 is able to test and approve God’s will. Not given over to perversion. To a mind that now reverences God.
Transformation springs from a new mind that can make proper moral choices.

1min read Bible 4min think about what you read! Cultivate your mind.
Be lead by your brain, not by other parts of your anatomy!!!

Now Paul takes this up and applies it
v3-8 how you think about yourself
Not more highly than you ought. You don’t have all the gifts you need, but you do have some of them. Be interdependent. You are not the body, but you are part of the body. You need to serve.

How am I going to respond to my fellow believers?v9 -11
How does enthusiasm and vigour come? By service!
How do we get joy? Through prayer (not singing and dancing)
Practice hospitality with great vigour. (Here’s some money – no! feed them, give them shelter in our home)

How do I relate to the world that hates me v15
BLESS them, and do not curse them.
rejoice with my enemy who’s rejoicing

no class structure in the church

don’t take revenge but leave room for God’s wrath. So contrary to the world.

The unheeded Christ. Michael Hart – ranks Jesus no. 3 because he does not see Christians loving their enemies or teaching their children to love their enemies.

None of these come naturally to me!
You do not belong to you.

In view of God’s mercies do you see yourself as a living sacrifice.
We cannot claim the benefit of redemption without the implications
Illustration: sold house. Paid for – please give keys. No I want to keep the keys. Impossible to be paid and keep the keys. Impossible to be redeemed but keep living the same way!

I have been redeemed
I no longer live for me
I live for my saviour
I serve my brothers
I respond to an antagonistic world generously.

1 Timothy 6:10-21 Flee from greed, pursue Christ

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.