Instructions For Life

Money Talks – Part 4

Instructions for Life – 1 Tim 6:17-19

Crosspoint – Dave Spooner – Jan. 29th, 2023

 

Intro:

  • This morning is our last installment of our “Money Talks” series. Before we jump into the message, I want to give you a brief preview of our next series, a sixteen week series from the Gospel of John, “Life in His Name.” This series will take us through the end of May. As we go through John, you will learn more about Jesus, the wonder of who He is, learn the gospel’s message, how to gain eternal life, and how to rightly worship God and walk with Him, among other things. As a result, your faith will be enriched and strengthened, your Love of God and others will be deepened, your hope will be renewed, and you will receive encouragement to continue to live a life of faith.
  • This morning I have chosen one passage to concentrate on, among many other passages that deal with money and possessions. This series is by no means exhaustive in dealing with this topic, and I cannot encourage you enough to think and act like a biblically informed Christian. Spend time in the scriptures researching what it has to say and listening to and reading solid Bible teachers on the subject. How we use and view money and possessions impacts both life in the here and now, and life in the hereafter. Listen and be convinced about what the Bible says, pray, talk, plan, and then act accordingly.
  • Open up your Bibles to I Timothy 6:17-19. This book is the word of God written to Pastor Timothy from the Apostle Paul to inform and instruct him on who he is to be, how he is to minister, and what he is to teach. What God told him, I am telling you so that together we can hear the word of the Lord, and put into practice what we learn so that we can think and live as Christians in this world, following God in the obedience of faith, so that He will be glorified among all the nations.
  • In these three short verses, we will discover seven principles on how we are to live.

Don’t be arrogant

1 Tim 6:17a NIV

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant

  • If you are a believer, this is not optional. It is a command. It also tells us, when it refers to those who are “rich in this present world,” that those who are rich now may not be rich in the world to come, and also, those who are poor now, may not be poor in the world to come.
  • In this present world, there are those who are richer than others; that’s a fact. It is also true that we are all rich in one way or another, in one position or another, especially in comparison to the majority of the world. So, these commands and instructions are applicable to us all.
  • The command is to not be arrogant or “haughty,” thinking you are better than other people because of your wealth or possessions. We have all experienced people like this, be it in elementary school with someone with a bigger box of crayons, or in junior high school with up-to-date fashion and designer labels, or in our adult life with people who live in a “whole different world” than us and look down on those who are below them (illustration of my experience in the Louis Vuitton store). I also have great friends and family members who are relatively well off to very wealthy, and they don’t treat us or others as “less than.” Their wealth has not made them arrogant at all. These people display the attitude of Jesus, who was not swayed by men and paid no attention to who they are (see Matt. 22:16). Live in accordance to what you have in Christ and who you are in Christ, not what you have in this world.
  • If you think you are better than others and don’t associate with those who are “below you” because of what you have, come to terms with the truth, repent, humble yourself, and ask God for a new heart.

Put your hope in God

1 Tim 6:17b NIV

nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God,

  • Money is like a hope magnet that tries to pull us away from trusting and hoping in God to trusting and hoping in it. The truth is that wealth is uncertain, but God is certain. Wealth is unreliable, but God is always reliable. Wealth is unstable, but God is an immovable rock. Wealth is not always present, but God is. Don’t put your hope in wealth; put your hope in God. Those who put their hope in wealth lose their hope, identity, and strength when their wealth is gone, but those who hope in the Lord rise with wings like eagles and will never be put to shame.

1 Tim 6:9-10 HCSB

But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

  • If your desire is to be rich, you will fall into temptation and into a trap, and it is a slide that will send you into ruin and destruction. You will pierce yourself with many pains, and it will lure you away from God. If you make wealth the Lord of your life, you will lose it all. But if Christ is the Lord of your life, you will have real life, and life to the full (See Matt. 6:19-34). Examine your heart, see where you place your hope, and choose to hope in God.

Enjoy what God has given

1 Tim 6:17c NIV

who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

  • God gives us stuff to enjoy, and it is rude of us not to do so (just like giving a gift to a loved one who thinks they are not worthy to enjoy it, etc.). This is good news for us. God indeed wants us to enjoy things in this life. This will help some of you who feel bad about having nice things or great experiences, and I have talked to many people who feel this way.
  • Relax, and have the freedom to enjoy things. It is okay, and even the will of God

Eccl 5:19 HCSB

God has also given riches and wealth to every man, and He has allowed him to enjoy them, take his reward, and rejoice in his labor. This is a gift of God.

  • So, enjoy the gifts of God . . . and you and glorify Him in them. Avoid the two ditches, one is making wealth your god, and the other is not enjoying things we have on this earth.

Be rich in good deeds

1 Tim 6:18a NIV

Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds,

  • I hope you want to be rich in the right things. If you truly want to be wealthy, be wealthy in good deeds, then you will be truly rich. I hope you are very greedy for true riches, to do the most amount of good that you can.
  • God has created you in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Eph 2:10 NIV).

Titus 3:14 ESV

And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.

Heb 10:24-25 ESV

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

  • So be rich in good deeds, and devote yourselves to doing them. Ask God to show you, ask me, and I will give you stuff to do. Encourage each other in it (this is one of the reasons we meet together) and stir up one another to love and to do good things.

Be generous and willing to share

1 Tim 6:18b NIV

and to be generous and willing to share.

  • Be generous and willing to share what God has blessed you with.
  • Generous – According to the Bible, there are three primary ways to do this: tithing to your church, offerings in support of other ministries and missionaries (Gideons, VOM, Pregnancy Care Center, Missionaries—Blacks, Dellamaters, etc.), and alms given to the poor (RRM, Compassion, Samaritan’s Purse, etc.).
  • Willing to share – the Bible tells us to “show hospitality” to each other (Rom 12:13, I Tim 5:10, Heb. 13:2, I Peter 4:9). And it also tells us to “use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings” (Luke 16:9, NIV). It does not say “buy friends” but “gain friends.” Be generous with others and share with them. This is a biblically mandated way to spend your money.
  • John Wesley – a revivalist, preacher, writer, and founder of the Methodist church – preached a famous sermon entitled “The Use of Money,” which made these three points. https://www.whatsaiththescripture.com/Text.Only/pdfs/The_Use_of_Money_Text.pdf

Make all you can. Save all you can. Give all you can. – John Wesley

  • Make all you can – this helps us not be lazy or indifferent about money. We don’t need to go overboard or out of bounds by doing everything we can to make it at the expense of our health, family, spirit, and other priorities (see Prov. 23:4), but as a rule, make all you can.
  • Save all you can – because we have the scriptural priorities to provide for our families (see I Tim. 5:8) and to be wise about the future (see Prov. 13:11, Prov. 27:12).
  • Give all you can – according to biblical principles, we cannot take any of our wealth and possessions with us ( See 1 Tim 6:6-8), but we can send it on ahead. Ironically, many people can’t afford to give precisely because they’re not giving. If we pay our debt to God first, then we will incur His blessing to help us pay our debts to men. But when we rob God to pay men, we rob ourselves of God’s blessing (Randy Alcorn). I have found that living on 90% (or less) with God’s blessing is way better than living on 100% without it.

Prov 3:9-10 ESV

Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; 10 then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.

Lay up eternal treasure

1 Tim 6:19a NIV

In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age,

  • By being generous, we send our treasure ahead of us into the coming age (see Matt. 6:19-24, Matt. 19:21, Luke 12:33-34, I Cor. 3:14-15, Col. 3:24). How we live our lives is the fruit of our faith, evidence that Jesus is our king and we live to serve Him and become like Him.

Take hold of truly living

1 Tim 6:19b NIV

so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

  • The “good life” is not collecting as much stuff for yourself as possible. The good life is giving away as much as you can. Jesus said that “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35 ESV). You will get more joy from giving than you will by receiving. And the irony is that if you give, God will bless you all the more.

Prov 11:24-25 ESV

One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. 25 Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.

Luke 6:38 ESV

Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.

2 Cor 9:6-12 ESV

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

Conclusion

  • Now you have to make up your mind. It is time to commit. Be convinced by what God teaches us about our wealth, money, and possessions. If you need more convincing, study it out and pray about it. If you need help managing your money, take the upcoming FPU class, and please fill out the survey.