Hope in God. Do Good

Scripture

1 Timothy 6:17–19 NIV

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to 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 up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

Pray.

Introduction

In college, still a new Christian. I was attending a campus ministry called breakaway. Explain....

Ministry to a trafficked young children in Nepal, India, and other places. They were going to raise money from college kids and the goal was to build a few rescue houses where these kids would go when rescued. I was so moved those few weeks that I decided I was going to give.

So when my school loan was disbursed that final week, I gave 400 dollars of my loan disbursement. Do you see the problems with this?

gave away money that was not really mine

gave away money that was earning interest down the road

I did not really understand stewardship just yet.

Friends, today I am not trying to preach some banging sermon so that you decide to give to the church. I do hope you will consider filling out an estimate of giving, but that is not my goal. My goal today is to talk about stewardship, a part of our discipleship and calling as Christians.

Here Paul is giving closing remarks and teachings to his disciple, Timothy. Earlier he has encouraged those that do not have wealth to not obsess over this sort of thing. To have contentment. Now he turns to those that do have means and gives them instruction about their Christian identity.

Paul describes in depth two dangers for those that have financial means…

false pride (looking down on those that are less fortunate)

false security (trusting in the gift instead of the giver)

So he has two responses....

The commandment from Paul here really comes down to a couple of imperatives:

Hope in God

Do Good

Hope in God

First, the commandment from Paul to Timothy is to command those who are rich in this present world to not be arrogant and/or put their hope in their wealth. But instead to put their hope in God.

Paul here starts with identity and motivation. He begins in this place with purpose.

What gets you up in the morning?

What is it that keeps you going?

What is it that give you what you need to look into our world and feel a little better?

If it is money, success, wealth, then it is uncertain. I think there might be many of us that have experienced that this year even or at least the threat of it.

Notice here that Paul does not condemn the wealth....he does not say, even, sell everything, but he says you cannot depend on it.

This is a discipleship message.

We put our hope in a lot of things and for some of us the threat is wealth. And this does not have to be about having a ridiculous amount of it.

Premarital counseling conversation:

Money as status

Money as entertainment

Money as security

Money as power

I can’t tell you how often very broke young people end up finding that they have raised up financial stability to a place it shouldn’t be.

When we were first married, I remember seasons where we really struggled with this money is security. I always felt like I was one wrong tragedy away from my family being in trouble because of what was in the bank account. Even now as we have grown to a better place in that regard, I can be controlled by it...

I think Jesus and the NT talks about money so often because of the power it has over us. James K.A. Smith:

“Your deepest desire,” he observes, “is the one manifested by your daily life and habits.” This is because our action—our doing—bubbles up from our loves, which, as we’ve observed, are habits we’ve acquired through the practices we’re immersed in. That means the formation of my loves and desires can be happening “under the hood” of consciousness. I might be learning to love a telos that I’m not even aware of and that nonetheless governs my life in unconscious ways.” ― James K.A. Smith, You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit

Church, do not put your hope in wealth....put your hope in the God who rescued you.

And that God....? This verse says he wants to provide us with joy.

Do Good

The second command here is to do good, to be rich in good deeds. If your hope is in God and God is your source of purpose, then do good.....live generous lives with your wealth.

I am convinced that to live lives that are not generous is to actually lack hope in God.

Those people that have been set free by God, have come to a place of knowing that they are loved by the creator of the world. To know that Jesus Christ so loved the world, no, so loved you that he laid down his life, that my friends is an assurance that beckons us to love others.

This has always been a reality for the Jewish faith. From the beginning of their covenant with Yahweh there are these laws to love orphan, widow, the marginalized and the poor. This kind of though is not shocking but what comes next is....

1 Timothy 6:19 NIV

In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

Paul says, to do that is actually to begin laying a foundation of heaven. To begin living like heaven is a reality, because for those in Christ, it is a reality now.

This is why Jesus is so radical. The only way that you can live this way, or that you can love your enemies, or that you can sacrifice everything, is if you are walking in the reality of heaven.

Marvin:

Since I got here I have seen this kind of generosity on full display:

Stories like the Vordenbaumens

The eternal flame fund where we raised tens of thousands for continued investment in our campus here

I have gone to Bonner elementary on the first day of school and walked scared Kindergartners to their class as a way of serving. What was amazing is how teachers and faculty just assumed I was from Marvin because I was there

Flood relief with flood buckets.

Back to school kits for Bonner elementary

I have had lunch with a couple in this service that has dedicated their life to serving orphans and foster children in the Ukraine

I have seen the pictures and heard the story of Amazing Grace church in Tanzania. The beginning in just a hut and now growing to a community that will have a school open in ‘21 to bring education to children that would not receive it otherwise

I have heard the story of a man’s faith coming alive as a result of a bible study....in a way that it hasnt in decades

I have seen the Marvin menders constructed a building for St. Paul’s children services. St. Paul’s cares for low-income families in Tyler.

I have received countless calls and emails since I have returned telling me of powerful things God is doing through our online worship for folks that cannot gather in this space. Our online platform exists because of your generosity, long before COVID.

and in all of this, I know that I have not scratched the surface.

Closing....

But listen, let’s not set the bar low here. What would it look like for us, as a church, say again…we are going to lay the foundation of heaven. We are going to serve and love the marginalized, we are going to jump into foster care, we are going to find ways to live out the generosity of God in our life for others.

Today, you have the opportunity to yield one more part of your life to Jesus. We also have the opportunity to pray together and commit ourselves to this mission again.

As silly as it feels now looking back to that experience at Breakaway, and as probably silly as that gift was, it was a first step in the direction of God showing me where to invest.

I am much less concerned about the percentage of your income that you decide to give to Marvin, than I am the percentage of your heart that is dedicated to Jesus.

Here is what we are going to do....I want us to spend a moment praying over our own card. If you have already turned it in, thank you so much for doing that. If you are online I want you to do this as well. Just spend some time in prayer and if you would like to fill out your card right now, you can do that. After a couple of moments I will pray for us and over these commitments, but more importantly over the work of stewardship....

Then the ushers are going to come through this space and receive your cards, similar to the offering.