Not in Kansas Anymore?

Intro:

Today I’m launching a new sermon series called, The Quest.

By definition, a quest is an arduous search for something considered to be important or valuable.

Pop culture gives us all kinds of wonderful quest stories, like:

- Dorothy and Toto and their quest to get back home to Kansas from the Land of Oz.

- Harry Potter’s quest to destroy the evil villain, Voldemort.

- Indiana Jones’s quest to find the lost ark of the covenant.

- And of course, Frodo Baggins’ quest to destroy the Ring of Fire in Lord of the Rings.

The quest we’re about to embark on may not be quite as dramatic as those, but I promise it will have a greater impact on your life. In fact, for some of you it will be profoundly life-changing.

I’ll introduce you to our quest by telling you that, according to a recent article in Forbes, only about thirty percent of Americans consider themselves to be financially healthy, which means a whopping seventy percent do not.

Think about that. Out of every ten people you pass on the street, seven of them have financial problems.

And I think we have to assume that percentage—seven out of ten—would hold true even in a church like this because, even though we are people of faith, we too are human. We’re living in a world that has a very confused value system. We’re facing the same temptations and complications that everybody else is facing. And yes, sometimes we make lousy choices too.

So I’m assuming today that some, maybe even several people in this room are a part of that seventy percent that are not financially healthy. I’m also assuming that if you’re one of those people, you’d like to fix the problem.

So as a church family, we are going to set out on a quest to achieve financial health that honors God. Not just financial health, but financial health that honors God.

Now you might say, “But I’m part of that thirty percent. I’m already financially healthy in a way that honors God.” That’s great. I’m happy for you. But I still want you to join us on this journey because I’m pretty sure you’ll pick up some insights and maybe some ideas that will help you do even better.

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To get us started on our quest, I want you to think about what was probably the first quest story you remember as a child: The Wizard of Oz.

Dorothy and Toto found themselves in a mysterious land of bright colors and funny little people, and immediately knew that they were not in Kansas anymore. And from that moment on, Dorothy’s one thought, her obsession, her quest was to find a way back home.

And I want you to think about her journey. We know it wasn’t easy. Yes, she picked up some friends along the way, but she also faced quite a few obstacles, including a witch with an attitude problem and some very scary flying monkeys.

So here’s my question:

What was the most important factor in Dorothy finding her way, first to the Emerald City to the Great and Powerful Oz, and then ultimately back to Kansas?

Was it the help of her three friends, the scarecrow, the tin man, and the cowardly lion? (Because they certainly did come through for her when she needed help.)

Was it her own courage and determination? (Because she certainly was not one to be intimidated.)

Those things were certainly important, but I want to suggest that it was something else that made the difference. It was that yellow brick road.

Without it, she might have been able to find her way to the Emerald City, but it almost certainly would have been a longer, more difficult, more painful, more costly journey.

You might say, “Well, she could have asked someone for directions.” Yes, but how many times in this world have people been given bad directions or bad advice? How many times have lost people been manipulated or taken advantage of?

When you’re on a quest, you need to know, not justwhere you’re going, but how to get there.

The good news I have to share with you today is that, on our quest to find financial health that honors God, we don’t have to wander and roam…we don’t have to guess which is the right direction or depend on the advice of people who may have ulterior motives or simply may not know what they’re talking about. We have an actual, honest-to-goodness yellow brick road to follow. It’s called the Bible.

Psalm 37:23 says, “The Lord directs the steps of the godly.” (NLT)

That’s great news. But the question is, how does he do it? How does God guide his people?

Some people might say he does it with visions or dreams or miraculous signs and wonders. Or maybe arranges the letters in your alphabet soup a certain way. But the Bible doesn’t say that. The Bible says:

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” (2 Timothy 3:16)

Do you see it? God’s Word—the Bible—is the one thing we can depend on to keep us from veering off track and getting lost on our journey. It is to us what the yellow brick road was to Dorothy and her friends, especially when it comes to money and possessions.

For example, did you know that there are more than 2,000 verses in the Bible that have to do with money and possessions? Most people are shocked to hear that, but it’s true. The Bible talks about money and possessions more than just about anything else.

Let me give you a way to think about those verses that I know will resonate with you.

Think about those big green road signs that are posted all along our interstate highways.

I know you have a cellphone and you can pull up GPS and get directions to wherever you’re going. But the thing about cellphones is that they have batteries that run down, and they can be forgotten or even lost. But those big green signs are always going to be there. Phone or no phone…map or no map…those signs are going to keep you on the right track.

And for us, all those 2,000-plus Bible verses about money and possessions are like those green signs. They’re posted all along the way to help us on our quest.

This morning, to get us rolling in our series, I want to share three of those road signs—those Bible verses—with you. Three verses are critical to our understanding of financial health that honors God.

I. Road Sign #1 is “God owns it all.”

This sign is found at the mile marker known as Psalm 24:1. It says, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.”

This is the most basic and the most important truth we need to understand. God owns it all. Unfortunately, it’s is a truth that the world is working constantly to undermine.

If you watch TV, you know that practically every commercial encourages you to think of yourself as an owner.

- You’ve seen the once-famous actor telling you how smart you would be to own gold.

- You’ve seen the endless parade of attractive women gesturing at a beautiful new car and telling you how many tiny little payments it will take you to own it.

- You’ve seen Flo and the gecko and the dude with the emu telling you what a brilliant person you would be if you let them insure all off of the big things you own, like your house and your car and your boat and your motorcycle.

Over and over again, the world drills it into us: “These things are all yours! You own them!”

No you don’t. God does. “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.”

Why is it so important for us to understand this? Because this truth defines our role in God’s plan when it comes to money and material things. It reminds us that we are managers, not owners.

Let that soak in. We are managers, not owners.

Why is it important to understand this?

Because, if you live your life as a manager, you have a lot less stress than if you live your life thinking you’re an owner. Owners have pressure. Owners face competition. Owners are in the rat race up to their ears. But managers just take care of what’s entrusted to them. Yes, they have a responsibility, but they don’t have all the worries and the stress and the pressure that owners have.

That brings us to road sign number two:

II. It says, “God is generous.”

This sign pops up in several places along our yellow brick road, and it’s a good thing it does, because as people who don’t own anything, we need to be constantly reminded that the One who does own everything is always going to be generous and take good care of us.

Malachi 3:10 talks about God opening up the windows of heaven and pouring out his blessings.

Romans 10:12 says that God gives generously to all who call on him.

And 1 Timothy 6:17 talks about God richly supplying us with good things to enjoy.

Of course, some of you might be thinking, “Wait just a minute, preacher. If you could see my paycheck, you definitely would not get the impression that God has opened a window in heaven and is pouring out blessings on me.”

And I understand that response, but let me give you something to think about.

Did you know that if you make the median income for a worker in the United States (about $50,000 per year), you are in the top 2% of the richest people on earth?

Or to put it another way, if you have an average job you are wealthier than 98% of the people on the planet.

That puts things in a little different light, doesn’t it?

Even if God hasn’t buried you in cash, I’m guessing that he has entrusted far more to you than he has to most people. And here’s the good news: If you follow the yellow brick road of Scripture and manage what he’s entrusted to you in a way that honors him, he’ll bless you even more.

Isaiah 1:19 says, “If you will only obey me, you will have plenty to eat.” Not enough to eat, but plenty to eat.” We serve a God of plenty who isn’t the least bit stingy with his children who obey him.

Finally, here’s a third sign we’ll see along the yellow brick road:

III. “God can be trusted.”

There are a lot of people who aren’t so sure about that. They look around and see things that seem wrong…things like poverty, for example, and they wonder why God, the owner of all things, would give so much to some people and so little to others. Where’s the fairness? Where’s the justice?

Well, God knew people would feel this way, and that’s why he erected, not just a sign, but a gigantic billboard along our yellow brick road. You’ll find it in Matthew 25. It’s more commonly known as the Parable of the Talents.

A talent was an amount of money in Bible times. Most scholars believe it was equivalent to about a year’s wage. So it was a significant amount.

Well, the story has to do with a wealthy man who went on a trip.Before he left he called three of his servants together and entrusted some talents to each of them along with instructions on to manage the money while he was gone.

What’s interesting to note is that he didn’t give them equal portions. He gave them different amounts of money and offered no explanation as to why. And the servants did not complain. They didn’t say, “Now hold on just a minute! Why didn’t you give me as much as you gave him?”

And you know why they didn’t? Because they understood that the distribution of the money was the wealthy man’s prerogative because it was his money! He owned it all so he was the one who got to determine how it was distributed.

Always remember: The owner makes the decisions. Not the managers, the owner.

But that still doesn’t answer the question of why God gives so much to some people and so little to others. It’s a question that really concerns a lot of people. It causes people to look very suspiciously at God. So let me give you three quick truths to think about that I believe will help.

Number one, God’s ways are different from our ways.

Since the beginning of time, he has done things in surprising, unconventional, often shocking ways. For example:

- He chose the runt of Jesse’s sons (David) to be the King of Israel.

- He chose a young virgin who may have never even changed a diaper to be the mother of his Son, Jesus.

- And he ordained that death by crucifixion would be the capstone of Jesus’s life on earth.

Those are some real headscratchers, aren’t they? None of us would have made those choices if we’d been in charge. So it’s hardly surprising that he would handle the distribution of his blessings in a way that seems to make little sense.

Never forget Isaiah 55:8-9. That’s where God says, “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts. And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.”

The second truth you need to think about is the fact that God is always going to uphold his own established laws, truths, and principles.

Like, for example, the law of sowing and reaping. God has established that we will reap what we saw. Galatians 6:7 says it as clear as a bell: “You cannot mock the justice of God—You will always harvest what you plant.”

So picture two teenagers graduating from high school. One of them is very ambitious and goes to medical school and becomes a doctor. The other one is very lazy and chooses to live in his parents’ basement and watch YouTube and play video games.

Obviously, God could bless those two people with exactly the same amount of money. But you and I both know he’s probably not going to. Instead, he’s going to let their choices play out. He going to let them reap what they sow.

And that’s often doing to be the explanation for the disparity we see in people’s wealth.

Some people are ambitious, and others aren’t.

Some people have great dreams, and others don’t.

Some people work hard, and others don’t.

Some people are resilient, and others aren’t.

And here’s a third truth you need to think about:

God knows what so many of us forget, that money and material things are no measure of love.

In our culture, we are conditioned to believe that the best way to show your love for somebody is to give them a gift.

For example, pay attention the next time you see a jewelry store commercial come on TV. Guys, they’re basically going to tell you that if you really love her—I mean really love her—you just have to buy her that diamond bracelet or necklace.

But God wrote the book on love and knows what a lie that is. He has many ways of loving and caring for people that have nothing to do with money or material.

This is why, if you ever go on a mission trip to a third world country, you will meet people who have almost nothing in terms of material wealth, but are happier, less stressed, and more joyful than you are. It happens all the time. Rich Americans always marvel at the heartfelt joy and laughter and faith that they find in a Haitian church building that has a bare concrete floor, hard wooden benches, and no air-conditioning.

Don’t ever make the mistake of assuming that because a person is poor by the world’s standards, he isn’t happy and doesn’t feel blessed by God.

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To close, let me take you back to The Wizard of Oz one more time.

As you watched the movie, did you notice how deserted the yellow brick road was? Dorothy and her friends never met anybody coming or going. And isn’t that kind of weird, considering that the yellow brick road led to the Emerald City and the Great and Powerful Oz who could make everybody’s dreams come true? Why weren’t there throngs of people on that road?

I don’t know the answer to that question, but I am reminded of something Jesus said in Matthew 7:14. He said, “The gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.”

That tells me that we’re not going to have a lot of company on our quest. Most people care about money, but very few people care about being financially healthy in a way that honors God. Very few people are going to go to the Scriptures to find the answers to their questions about money.

But we are.

We’re going to follow the yellow brick road that God has laid out before us. We’re going to pay attention to those signs he has posted. And we are going to reach our destination—financial health that honors God—together.