January 29, 2017

We are in a sermon series called Twisted where we are looking at passage of scripture that are frequently misunderstood and misused and this morning. We're looking at a passage about money. And this is the common assumption about what 1st Timothy 6:10 says money is the root of all evil. Have you ever heard that before I have you ever heard that attributed to scripture before a tribute to the Apostle Paul the 1st, Timothy 6:10, that's the general assumption that scripture teaches that money is the root of all evil now in the midst of the series we've been talkin about principles, to keep us interpreting and understanding and applying scripture correctly. We talked about the real estate rule location location location the first one I'm looking at scripture is the biblical location and that's the passage itself. Do you want understand it correctly you make sure you go to the passage. You read it. Clearly you read what comes right before it what comes after it the author of the context and that improves your understanding the second location we talked about is the theological location, which is the wider Biblical teaching. So you interpret what is unclear by what is clear. You interpret scripture with scripture. So if you hear a teacher or a preacher or you yourself in your own study, you're reading a passage and the conclusion you seem to be drawing seems to be something that contradicts what you know is clear throughout the rest of scripture or other passages. Then you challenge Yourself by saying wait a minute. What's the location of this understanding in the context of all of scripture because you want to take what is clear in scripture and let it challenge. What is unclear False doctrines get started when someone takes one little obscure verse and have some sort of unclear meaning to it and says aha. I'm going to let this Trump everything else I've ever been talked about this subject and that's a bad way to interpret scripture. Y'all want to start with a Biblical context and also factor in The Wider theological context and then the Third Contact his application your location. The purpose of God giving us the gift of scripture is so that it could be a tool to shape us into the likeness of Christ. It's not simply a collection of information so that we can get more knowledgeable and that we can say I know that it's really designed to shape are very character to shape who we are. So we always ask yourself when we understand a passage of scripture clearly and accurately. Where do I stand in relation to that truth? Am I living that truth out of my life or am I suppressing that truth? Do I stand with authority over scripture and I Overrule it with my own preferences or am I in submission to in submission to scripture where I understand it correctly. Therefore. I'm trying to be obedient and Obey that passage of scripture. So when we begin to apply that very first principal, what's the Biblical context of the passage in 1st Timothy 6:10, which traditionally in some ways a lot of folks say, oh, yeah money is the root of all evil when you start by going straight to the passage you realize that it actually doesn't say that what that passage says is For the Love of Money is the root of all kinds of evil now, that's a significant difference. Paul does not say that money itself is the root of all evil what he says is loving money. The love of money is the root of all sorts are all kinds of evil. So if we keep going further into the passage to study it before we jump around usually have gone to the context biblical theological and then application at the end but this morning I want to jump around a little bit and I want to just get a little seed thought started. So let's talk about our context our location. He says the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil. How do we know if we love money? Because we're tempted when we read this verse to immediately say that's a great verse and I know so many people who need to hear that. Are you tempted to think that and I don't love money but my brother-in-law I wish he was here this morning to hear this sermon, you know later when he talks about those who are rich. It's very easy for us to quickly. Say ya ya robbi give it to the rich. I'm not in that category, but you'll give it to those who are rich, but we want to challenge yourself. I always keeping those multiple levels of location of mine. What's the biblical location the past and what's the application location? So when you say how do we know we love money now, this all comes in the context of stuff. I wish I had not discovered. Okay, because I'm with you when I read some of these vs. And I go couch. So here's what you when you look at the wider teaching of scripture you find this and Ecclesiastes whoever loves money never has enough. Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. Really? I didn't want to find that verse. I mean honestly if I had started, before you saw that verse and I said who here could use a little more money. All of us would have said me. Absolutely. I mean, do you have enough money?

Before you saw that verse how many would have said this morning when I woke up, you know, I have enough money.

I don't need any more, you know, it's like that commercial where the boss calls a guy in and says we're giving you a raise and he says that's great. But I would I don't want it. That's what nobody. Nobody says no to more who says no to more, you know, the dad brings the little daughter an extra honey. Here's another birthday gift that just came in. That's human nature, right who says no to more. Honestly, I think I know I stand convicted and I suspect maybe all of us do by Solomon's wisdom. By the way, you know who saw him. I was right a man who knew everything from nothing to everything. He had it all and then later in life after living this full life of knowing everything both in wisdom and enriches and in leadership and in life experiences all of that when he reflected upon at one of the many things he wrote was this whoever loves money never has enough whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. So unless you know for sure you would turn down a raise today from your employer. You might be like me and most Americans most in North America where we just were in that stream where we assume I just need a little more. That's what I need. I'm not satisfied right now. If I could just get a little more how much money for example do you need to be happy to be satisfied to feel secure. How much is that after I just gave it to you just a little bit more right if I could just get a little bit more and savings if I could just get a little bit of this debt paid off that I have if I can get rid of all that debt and get this much in savings. Then I would be watched secure and content and satisfied and happy the danger of that. Is that money promises to us something that only God can deliver. And we fall into that trap of thinking if I just had a little more money. I would be happy or satisfied or content. If I had just a little bit more moisture back into the passage the context of 1st Timothy 6:10 and look at it. The Apostle Paul is the author of this verse he's right at versus riding to Timothy who he says at the beginning of this book that Timothy is like a son in the face to him. So there's a lot of Love and Desire from this older wiser Apostle to say to Timothy. I want to tell you the way we want to tell our kids. How many wish you could you you could help your kids learn lessons at 20 that you waited till you were 50 to learn. You know that feeling and is it you can't do it, but you just want to say oh, I'm telling you sweetie. I'm telling you. This is the truth, but then he'll want they're just like us they insist on learning that lesson themselves. And then later one day, they'll say, you know, my mom tried to tell me that and I insisted on learning at myself and discovered that it's actually true to real life Paul is riding the Timothy to say here's things that are true that you need to know. I want to encourage you I want to build you up when he writes to Timothy in this verse First Timothy the book as a whole it is thick with Paul and striking about correct teaching in light of false teaching and false teachers. So because the context is Paul saying to Timothy as a young Pastor, here's what you need to know to leave your church. Well and in Timothy's church, one of the issues was false teachers and false teaching was rampant in the church that he was in and so if you read if you sit down and read Timothy the very first verse all way to the last verse You will see that theme again and again and again, he's trying to correct false teaching. Show 1st Timothy Chapter 6:1 resume into the chapter that are versatile versus the end begins with the clothe. It begins the closing of the letter with a focus on servants at the very beginning of chapter 6 and then focus on sound teaching versus false teaching which is like I said a dominant theme and then he talks about money and those who are rich and they talked to Timothy about finishing strong Keeping the Faith being faithful to the truest being faithful to Christ himself. So now we're presenting a little bit more fully right to the verse that we've looked at already For the Love of Money is the root of all sorts of evil that comes right after fall begins discussing money in general after criticizing false teachers who see dialing us as a means to financial gain. And so the larger context of Timothy is false teaching and Paul goes right out of saying hey, you got to dress these false teachers. There's some of them who see darling us this religion. This things are doing an in your community. They see it as a means to financial game. And then having that thought come up he stepped down into a more specific subject. Now that we're talking about Jane. I want to tell you about true game now that I've warned you about false teachers and I brought up the fact that they pursue godliness as a means to financial gain, which is a dead end a false thing. Since I've used it for gain, I want to talk to you about what it really means to gain what contentment or godliness really means? It's a really the theme of this passage. Is that money as much as it is true gain or true contentment.

So here's what he says if we back up just a few verses before I reverse I've LED you up to this contact after he's criticized false teachers for pursuing God in this as a means to financial gain. He says godliness with contentment is great gain. So this path that these false teachers are going down manipulating others and manipulating scripture in order to benefit themselves financially. He says that's that's a dead in the truth is godliness with contentment.

That's the that's the key. Ignace with contentment. That is great. Gain, not guarding us with just a little more money not godliness with a few more people on my mailing list not godliness with a few more checks coming into my 800 number or my.com address as I preach on TV or in a church or wherever it is that I'm manipulating things horses that the reality is Timothy learn this truth godliness. Following God Faithfully with contentment is great gain, and then he continues in the next verse. So he said it cuz he says for we brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out of it. And we've all heard the joke that you never see a hearse pulling a U-Haul right? No one's ever figured out how to take it with them and that A Jojo comes from the even older wisdom of scripture that says we brought nothing into this world and we can take nothing out of it. Honestly a lot of what we're talking about this morning. I see as sort of ancient wisdom this week 1 day for Christmas. I got an Amazon. And then one day this past week. I was fooling around with it and I discovered that you can have it read scripture to you. You can have it read devotions to you. You can set up a little apps and say, you know Amazon Echo, you know read my my daily devotion of that sort of thing and I was having it read a devotion and some scripture and I think Maggie was in the room with me maybe. Will and it was reading from Proverbs and the Proverbs passage was the passage where the writer of Proverbs just says look to his to his son that he cares deeply about you've got to get wisdom pursue wisdom wisdom is a wonderful thing. She is The Treasure of life. If you will pursue her if you will get wisdom filleting walked in after he had said wisdom is what he's talking about and all she heard was me Gathering the kids around the little speaker thing listen up kids and the speaker was saying pursue her go after her she's good. She's awesome. You want her more than anything give up everything else and find her get her get her no matter what? What are you listening to? Do I actually what he's talking about is wisdom and I think what Paul does for Timothy in these verses that were continuing to look at and going to continue to unpack this morning is he is giving Timothy the benefit of his age and his years. He's giving him wisdom concerning the difficult subject of money. So he says for example, we brought nothing into this world. We can take nothing out of it that wisdom should impact the way you think about stuff. If it's temporary and not Eternal then do I really want to hang on to it. At the expense of things that are eternal. In Jesus say what does it profit a person if they gain the whole world but they lose their soul. It's a dangerous thing to get the temporary mixed up with the Eternal and a whole lot of the temporary in such a way that we lose the Eternal itself. He continues in the next verse verse 8 he says but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

Another amazing piece of wisdom in my mind now I want to add stuff to that. I don't want to say food and clothing. I mean I've cultivated in my life as a good North American person here. Paul debated a great consumerism. Can I get an amen? My list of the things that I want in order to be content is not that short. How about you would you say food and clothing? But let me test you here this past Christmas when somebody said what do you want for Christmas? Did anyone here say why I've got food and clothing. I'm content. There's nothing else I need. I must have said to somebody, you know, I really need one of those Amazon. That's that's what I need that would increase my contentment in life. If I had one one more electronic Gadget to sit on my bed side and a fool around with it's really easy to read that and say it sounds wonderful, but it's challenging to look at it and say where do I stand in light of the truth of the scripture? Am I following Paul's wisdom here and am I cultivating and learning how to be content with food and clothing? We continue. In this passage and impulse teaching Here's some of the wisdom. I think he unpacked for us. The richest are not those who have the most but those who need the least. What's another way to say some of what he's talking about? I think to challenge us to think about that wisdom. Would you agree with that? If you've ever been on a mission trip, you might have seen that in real life. You see families and individuals who literally have nothing compared to us and sometimes there's a happiness and joy and a contentment in their life that you think all I wish I had that kind of Carefree joy and and love and contentment and you realize they're actually richer. Then you are. Because you've slipped into kind of the Rat Race and I'm not happy unless I just get a little bit more until you never let your heart be satisfied. The richest are not those who have the most but those who need the least honestly some of the deepest times of joy in my life have been times when I had no access to indoor plumbing. But not sound weird times when I had no access to the internet times when I had no access to electricity times when I was sleeping on the ground. Some of the deepest times of join my life and then when we've been on mission trips sleeping on the ground in Mexico, I spend the entire summer one-year living in Mexico the whole summer and then you'd there's no Wi-fi. There's no phone service. There's no indoor plumbing. There's no electricity and yet some of the deepest memories. I have enjoyed and contentment would be sitting around a campfire filling the desert wind blow talking to somebody eating maybe a homemade s'more. We have small Rito's. Would you take a little burrito thing and you fill up all the ingredients for some more rap that tinfoil shove it in the fire. Just some of those Simple Pleasures sharing stories hearing about other people's lives. Kind of relishing that the joy of just doing for others you spend the day working and building a home. There's a pier in us to getting up. No traffic. Y bus to work site build a home all day come back and eat good food with friends worship have the word of God open to you every night that may not say attractive you guys cuz I'm your preacher. We had worship services in preaching every night work hard all day. Come back every night worship and preaching. and it was at a time when I didn't have the things that we are told at least by our culture and sometimes our own in her voice that I needed this content that makes rich people poor and contentment makes poor people rich Again, just another way of shining a light on some of the wisdom. I think Paul is opening up to us here. I know my grandmother for example had very little in terms of the things of this world yet. She had a joy and a contentment and I love and respect from those around her and a christ-like character that that may be a lot of us might be tempted to South. I'll trade in my car. I'll trade in all the stuff that gets a lot of my time and attention and energy if I could just have some of that richness of soul that she had And it's this sort of wisdom that he's point us if we're not careful. He's he loves us. He loves Timothy. He's not writing to Timothy was kind of a scolding shaking finger the things that I wish you could learn and know and practice in your life that will make you more rich and content. He continues in verse 9. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction told the reason he's advocating these sorts of teachings is there's this danger when you love money and those who love money those who want to get rich that that's the ultimate for them. That's their hearts desire. They run to buy lottery tickets. They they they work long hours every day every month every year because if I just climb the ladder properly, I will be rich it becomes this singular focus and Paul says look, there's a danger when you love money so much when you want to get rich, if you're not careful those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and in the mini foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and Have you ever seen anyone tried something more valuable than money for money? Whatever yourself. friend family loved one. Are there people who almost sell their very Souls?

in the corporate world in politics Do you betray your own conscience your own word your own character because this will get me a little more. Career Success IE power IE money the Paul's warning don't don't slip into that direction into that danger. He says look now we've let up to the context of ever sees his look for the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil some people eager for money have wondered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. Again, I suspect you. Just watch VH1 right spend some Saturday afternoon watching some of the some of the documentaries about those who had great success. We could probably fill the stage with people who have a great financial success, but who paid too high of a cost for it and who would look back and say if I all if I could just do it over I hurt my children. I hurt my wife. I did so many things because I thought this was the ultimate goal and if they could speak to us, they would Echo this same wisdom. Be careful. Be careful. The Love of Money can lead you down a dangerous path money itself is not bad. Pause not saying that. as we said at the beginning the scripture does not say money itself is the root of all evil what he says is when we allow our hearts to desire and longing for and want and Trust in money to love it for our happiness and our security to fall into bleeding if I just had a little bit life would be good. I mean saying that out loud on almost makes me want to say what else is there to think? Can I be honest like that for a moment? It's so much a part of our culture to just slip into thinking if I could just get a little bit more if I could just get my retirement a little more solid if I could just get a little better health insurance. If I could just get a little more money in my savings account. If I could just pay off this car. It's not that we're pointing evil things were not saying if I could just go to Vegas for two weeks of all things that feel good and right but if we're not careful those desires we begin to love them. We begin to locate in them our sense of security if I could just get a little bit more I would be happy or satisfied and that's the very thing Paul is warning us about but money itself is not bad. He's not saying that What he saying is loving money is more dangerous than we ever imagined.

Is a danger to our soul it is a danger to our families and a danger to our very lives to begin to Love Money itself. Jesus warned that you can't serve money and God both cannot be your first love you cannot serve God and money what he means by that is both of those cannot be your first priority your first love it's easy to slip into that danger money might be the number one competitor for our actual devotion in terms of where your time and focus and energy go if someone just audited our lives and said where does Robbie's time and energy and focus go Where does your time and energy and focus go? It might be quite challenging to suddenly say that thing which gets my Prime which gets the best version of me, which gets my hardest work. My longest hours. My greatest patients that thing which gets the most of me might actually be money.

There's a danger that our culture.

Song of more Whispers it in our ear and before we know it we're walking that path again. We're not saying all I wish I had more money so I can rule the Earth were saying I wish I had better health insurance retirement. All that sounds pretty darn. Okay, and it can be in and of itself but it's dangerous if we love money. If it becomes our security and not God himself.

Two Extremes in our culture. There's the Prosperity Gospel that says the most righteous are those who are rich and that's a heresy that's a false gospel. Let me denounce it without hesitation because there are plenty of preachers who preach it and they preach that if you will just be faithful to God if you will, so those seeds of faith my friend then God will bless you your bank account will grow you will not have that disease anymore. You will not have that illness anymore. If you will just place your faith call the number now and send your money. And it is heresy. A simple way to discover that is heresy is to say what did Jesus do wrong? Because his life was not full of health and wealth and prosperity. He was not someone who had all the money he needed whenever you need it. He didn't Discover cash from his father on high while you're such a good servant just lift that rock. We were told he had no place to lay his head. Keep slipping a borrowed tomb. So you cannot look at the Life of Christ and say oh well clearly someone who does what God would have them do ends up financially blessed and never has any physical distress. Did Christ have any physical distress? It's out. The Prosperity Gospel is a falsehood. There's also another extreme which we don't experience as much but it's out there that says the most righteous are those who are poor that says if you've got money there must automatically be something wrong with you if you've got money if you're rich or you're wealthy then clearly you've done something wrong. Clearly. You're a sinner clearly. You're not a good Christian is only those who are poor are really the righteous and that's just as much a false gospel. Because God doesn't show favorites. He doesn't favor the rich which often in the New Testament times and his disciples times and a Jewish teaching. They did believe that wealth was a sign of God's favor and Jesus often corrected that and said that's false that the misunderstanding and he doesn't favor the poor. Oh, you don't have any money then. I'm just going to assume that your heart is right and pure and you have no bad motives or no struggles never a person who's had poverty in their life has ever been unfaithful as a parent or spouse? I just realized I wasn't that that doesn't match reality. God's love as well as our need of God and our dilemma is universal. He shows no favorites, and there's no favorites in terms of our need of him the rich and the poor alike need God's love and forgiveness and Grace. Deuteronomy says, but remember the Lord your God for it is he who gives you the ability to produce well and so confirms his Covenant which he swore to your ancestors as it is today, if if having wealth or money in and of itself was automatically evil or a sin then this would not be in Scripture. God would not say I'm going to give you the ability to do something. It's going to be a sign of my blessing upon you to those under the old Covenant and then say it's on Ematic Lee ass in that you know me we have to ask yourself is this present in the New Testament and not just pull a verse out of the Old Testament and automatically assume that means whatever we want it to mean when you go to the New Testament you find Paul saying this in Corinthians. He says for who makes you different from anyone else. What do you have that you did not receive any if you did not receive it. Why do you boast as though you did not. He's talking about the context of his Apostolic Authority and those who were challenged it. But he sang look the reality is all of us are beneficiaries of God's blessing whether it be having been received the message of the gospel and understanding it whether it be being called to be an apostle to teach others, whatever we have. We're indebted to God. He's the author of our resources of our blessings. So if we're rich it is God who put the air in our lungs that enables us to work. Card and earn money if we have succeeded because we've started hard and we're good student and we've done great things. We've got a great career God is the one who gave us the brain God is the one who gave us the air in our lungs. And so he's the author everything comes and belongs from him. James says every good and perfect gift comes from the Father in Heaven above and whom there is no variation. So here's the key stewardship is the key to your relationship with money. It's not either the extremes that says if I've got money God must like me more than someone else that whole Prosperity Gospel. Bologna, that's a faucet. It's not the other extreme that says well I succeeded and they gave me a raise and I'm making good money. I must have done something wrong. It must be unhappy with me because God's only happy with those who are for those two extremes, rrrr falsehoods. What scripture teaches is the Challenger scripture is our relationship with money is based on stewardship? What do we do with what we have? Let me see this in the gospel and policies some people giving and sees a widow give two little pennies and he said she's given more and it's not about them out. It's about her giving what she had to give so it's never about the amount if I've got a lot of money that doesn't make me better than someone else or if I have very little money that much doesn't make me less than someone else stewardship is the principal. What do I do with what I have and that's what Paul continues to teach In this passage. John Wesley said it this way. Earn all you can give all you can save all you can that was his wise advice for life. There's nothing wrong with learning lots of money. The question is what do I do with it? That's the question. We don't want Christians to say we want to stay away for money as a group across the globe. We would like to be the poorest people on the face of the Earth. So that God is happy with us. So that what we can never help anybody. We can never build a university or hospital or fund a missionary or take meals downtown. We don't want to slip into either of those extremes and we don't want to stay while I earn my money and it's mine. That's because I'm good and God is happy with me out. And so the rest of us nobody's business that's not biblical.

Paul says the money we have is God's business it all comes back to stewardship as we said he continues in 6 verse 17 of chapter 6. He says command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hoping well, which is so uncertain, but the pups are hoping God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Now there it is. Scripture doesn't skirt the issue it answers the question. What do we do? What do we do with money? How do we look at money? How should we assess it? How should we handle it? He says command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant or to put their hoping well, which is so uncertain but put their hope in God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. So there's no shame in being rich boss is God's provided that you can enjoy it. If you're a Christian and you have a good dependable car. There's no shame in that what you doing driving a Honda shouldn't you be driving something less than that in order to glorify God. I don't know. Do you want that person breaking down all the time. Do we want to say Gary didn't make it downtown with the food this week? Cuz he drives a crappy car. I mean, there's no glory in this staining the resources that God gives us but the other pendulum-the-other-side is just as dangerous to ignore the responsibility of being rich cuz the truth is We are the rich in this verse. Now I know but I don't know what you just like that verse in Ecclesiastes. When I first started reading the Love of Money. I immediately interpreted that as meeting you there are people out there who love money and then I read why don't I don't want to lose people who love money because I'm always thinking just a little Everything will be in order the way I wanted to be just a little more. So I was convicted by that the same thing in this verse is tempting to say those who are rich and to think of somebody else, but the reality is you and I are the rich this verse is referring to That's a blessing in many ways. We happen to be born where we were born. We happened to grow up where we grew up. We haven't have the opportunities that we've had parents that may have helped us have that opportunity or the city or state we were born and grew up in we had opportunities to get education that others may not have duties to get jobs that others may not have had it's a blessing. I'm grateful, but with to those who are given much Jesus says much is expected. And the reality is you and I have been given much he continues 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. So again, there's no point of me really preaching this because these verses say it straight out. Command those who are rich to put their trust in God not in wealth because it's uncertain. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich and good works and be generous to those in need always ready to share to those who are given much much is expected by doing this fall continues. They will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life. I mean, the reality is if we look at the wider theological context, we are the rich as I've said John 3:16 write our favorite verse for God so loved

Let's do it again for God so loved the world scripture is the truth for all people all times all places. Amen. It is not just for Lexington Kentucky or the state of Kentucky or America. It's for the whole world every tongue Philippians 2 says every tongue will confess every tongue will confess if you believe that Jesus Christ is lord lord of the universe. If you believe that Judgment day will be a day when every living breathing being in the universe on the face of the Earth will stand before Jesus Christ and him declared as Lord and Savior has the resurrected Lawrence than you know, that the gospel that the scriptures are for All Peoples all time.

And as soon as you realized the context of scripture when we look at the wider context includes all people's all the time, then you realize we are the rich.

It's easy to say no. No. No, I just want to think in terms of my neighbors. They've got more money than me. They got a lot more money than me at the neighborhood next to mine is a nicer neighborhood tonight's the houses are bigger. The cars are nicer. If you got one more neighborhood over that's even bigger homes and bigger cars. And so I want to just compare myself to those who are wealthier than me and say I got it rough. I drive a Honda. I really want to drive a Lexus or I drive a Lexus not wish I could drive up at my house with only 10000 square feet. I wish it was 3000 square feet. We so want to think in terms of this little tiny Circle to compare ourselves and in scripture says no, For God so loved the world. And every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. If you own a car you're in the top 9% of the world in terms of wealthy. If you own your own car, you're in the top 9% If you have Healthcare, you're in the top 7% of the world globally if you have food and shelter it drops down to 5% If you have health care a home and food and transportation you were in the top 5% of the wealthy on this Earth.

There's no way to not realize that we're the rich. When Paul says Tell those who are rich in this world he's riding to us. Second little reality is money will not meet our deepest needs only God can do that. So when we read these verses were Paul talks about money. We need to realize where the rich he's speaking to us. We also need to be reminded the fact that the danger he's trying to warn us from is when we think that money will meet our deepest needs. It will not attempted to love money to locate our security money. But the reality is money will not meet our deepest needs no matter how much we long for it to be the thing to meet our deepest needs. Money does not increase our love for our spouse. It does not lead our kids off drugs that does not build us up in Christ and the list could go on couldn't I mean the things that really are viable if my marriage is hanging by a thread increasing the balance in my bank account will not fix that. It is the work of Christ in my heart challenging me to be unselfish challenging me to offer forgiveness. I've been hurt challenging me to humbly seek forgiveness is the work of Christ in my heart that will in reality meet the deepest needs of my life if my kids lives are heartbroken and in Ruins and creasing a raise at work is not going to fix. That is it?

Then why you might be praying God, you know what I know in reality does meet our deepest need having more money does not build us up in Christ in our true identity. We are tempted to say if I could just get the right shoes if I just get the right car if I could just get the right job or the right business card the right letters before or after my name. This will be the thing for me.

And anybody who's been there? Then work does it?

The reality is it is God. Who meets our deepest need and what we need more of is cracked? Don't buy into the lie that if I just had a little more money just a little more money. So many things would be better in my life. I'm telling you the truth is what we need a little more Jesus Christ. What we need a little more of his Jesus. Way more of his contentment. Contentment with godliness is great gain. great game I mean, honestly the I hate to say this out loud with everybody in the room. Especially kids if parents are here. But the older I get the more I watch the news past 5 or 10 years the volatility of the world in which we live. Everything that we think is sure all my bank accounts. I've been working hard a time. I've recovered from 08. I've got all everything in place. I've got it all secured. My career path is secure. It's all set in place. We all know that that could have a parade goodness. There's no guarantee. But there can be a dramatic economic change. Then we might say. Oh, I wish I had gotten a little more Jesus a little sooner in my life. I wish I had learned contentment before this crisis. I wish I'd made my marriage stronger. I wish I made my relationship with my children stronger. I wish I had more of God. We don't often in that crisis say if I just had a little more money. If I jump at the the world lies and deceives us into believing that falsehood.

The antidote for the love of money is generosity. I'm going to bite the worship team to come forward. Now if if like you feel convicted by these verses and and buy some of these true.

And you say gosh I might love money. I hadn't thought about it before but I do want more and I am not necessarily satisfied of my income and I just keep thinking if I could just get a little more. If you sense that you're in danger of loving money. The antidote to loving money is generosity. Honestly it is it if money has got his tendons in your heart and is trying to rule your life. It's trying to have you serve it. It's trying to be the boss of you the way to correct that to wet the way that stole money who's boss and who's not the way the show Money its actual value is to give it away.

Give it away show it who's boss. Show it that it's good is when it advances the kingdom of God when it feeds those who are hungry downtown when it provides for children to go to summer camp who would never go if someone didn't just let go of some of her money. Bet that turns the heat on so that folks are in here Wednesday night and warm and eating food and fellowship and praying with each other. We prayed for for first-time visitor this past Wednesday five or six of us crammed in the little prayer room and and and pray for a lady who never been here before but had so many and I'm glad we could do that. I'm glad we can come here Sunday morning and we can worship we can be reminded of the truths of scripture and we can sing songs to God. We can lift our hearts up to him. We can pledge ourselves When We Gather Round the communion table again to say I want to follow you as Lord sometimes my vision gets foggy God sometimes I get distracted by shiny things and sometimes other things are more important, but I cherish being reminded by your words being reminded by the quickening of my conscience and and worship by The Fellowship of one another and building each other up. I cherish being called back to you.

the show Money who's boss show it where it's real value is. The antidote the love of money is generosity. To give it away. Give it away to do good. I said Paul says it better than I can preach it until will end with these verses command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant and where to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain but the put their hope in God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment command them to do good to be rich in good deeds and to be generous and willing to share in this way. They will lay treasure up for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age so that they may take hold of the life. That is truly life. And the reality is we get a taste of that life that is truly life in this lifetime. We get the taste of that life most often when our hands are open when we're letting go of stuff when we're giving when we're giving our time to volunteer to serve somebody in need when we're giving our money to help where money is needed when we're giving our time and praying for others when we're giving of ourselves. That's when we get a taste of that True Life. I'm a fact I think that's what Jesus said Denis if you want to find your life. Then give it away.