Possessions vs. Providence
Notes
Transcript
Possessions vs. Providence
Possessions vs. Providence
Introduction
Would you like to be rich? Very few would say, “Nah, it doesn’t interest me!” One wise guy said, “They say it’s better to be poor and happy than rich and miserable. But couldn’t something be worked out, such as being moderately wealthy and just a little moody?” (In Reader’s Digest, 9/82.)
Last week you will remember that in James 4:13-17, we addressed the idea of planning life outside of the providence hand of God. James address those who were prideful and trusted themselves over God. You may remember that last week we looked at the Jewish merchant that was so assured of his future as it related to the period, the place, the procedure, and the profit he was going to accomplish. Such confidence in his strategic plan, but the most important ingredient he left out in his plan was the providential hand of God. James reminded that we do not know what the future holds. We do not know the finality of our days. The merchant left God out of his equation. And we learned last week that it is important to plan, God’s Word affirms planning. The problem is planning without conferring with God. We must plan with God’s will for our lives in mind.
This morning, James tone changes much more prophetic and condemning nature. He addresses the mishandling of possessions outside the providence of God. He addresses people that trust their riches instead of trusting God.
Turn in your Bibles this morning to James 5:1-8.
Scripture Reading
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter. You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.
Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
Prayer
Message
James makes a declaration that is a transitional statement this morning to the scolding condemnation following about the way one mishandles his wealth.
Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
Sins of omission are things that you SHOULD do but that you don't do.
Isn’t it interesting that James makes that statement prior to his assault on the wealthy that misuse the great blessings God has bestowed upon them, their riches?
Let’s begin by setting some foundational tenets to this message and our time together this morning.
God loves rich and poor alike. Many people think there is a mindset that the Bible speaks against riches period and that is just not true.
The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
He brings low and lifts up.
As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God.
Many people misquote Scripture and miss the message.
Money is not the root of all evil.
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Last week James addressed the overconfidence of planning not considering God in the equation. This morning, James addresses the sorrows that will come when you take, manipulate your God given resources and handle them to gain greater security in and of that money over God Himself.
Let’s reacquaint ourselves with the times when James wrote this. There were not three classes as we have in America today. You have the poor, the middle class, and the rich. There were only two classes during Bible times, poor and rich.
You will remember that these people went to church together. Now, theologians have a differing opinion as to whether this is written to the rich oppressors outside the church or to the rich in the church. Rich and poor alike went to church together as they do today. They called themselves the “church family”. Family looks out for family. When Nero started the persecution of the early church, people revealed where they found their security. Some of the great disparities in the people were revealed. Certain people forgot about their fellow Christians. And so, some of the rich begin to “hang on”, to “hoard” fearing what the future held during such uncertain times.
Does that sound familiar today? We are in a similar time. People have insecurity not knowing what the future holds. We see COVID cases back on the rise to the height that we experienced in the River Region in middle summer. As winter comes on more people are back inside and the case load continues to increase.
Our country cries out for change by what is already record numbers placing their votes by absentee voting, even before going to the polls Nov. 3rd for in-person voting. Many businesses have suffered in this climate with more closures on the rise. People are fearful of their future and that fears manifests itself in how people handle their fortunes.
Misery Will Come Upon Those who Mishandle Wealth vv. 1-3
Again, may I be clear that the Bible does not speak against riches. In fact, Jesus directly encourages in the Bible that we should use our gifts for His glory.
Think about the many heroes of the Word that had wealth. Abraham was a wealthy man.
Look at:
Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.
Dearly beloved, listen closely as to how the Lord termed Abraham:
James 2:23 (NKJV)
And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God.
King David, “A Man after God’s own heart”.
So he died in a good old age, full of days and riches and honor; and Solomon his son reigned in his place.
Oh church, I could go on and on. Job was a rich man, Joseph of Arimathea was a rich man as recorded in Matthew 27:57. Bible historians even conclude that Mary, Martha and Lazarus were probably affluent people.
So, let’s be clear this morning, the Bible does not speak against wealth, the Bible speaks of the mishandling of wealth or the lack therof of managing those resources for His glory.
One of those gifts is our financial resources and He challenges us through the parables to be stewards of those gifts and multiply them for the Master. We are to do our best to be all we can be in Christ Jesus and that applies to financial stewardship of our resources. There is more than one parable that teaches that multiplication factor of our resources.
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
“So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
“Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’
“But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.
‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Specifically, James is condemning the hoarding, the “hanging on”, the tight fisted nature of managing your wealth and we would term that “greed”.
In verse 1 James states:
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!
James begins by stating that “even as I am condemning your actions, this sin of omission, this holding back of your resources for the Kingdom, you have a choice to be broken right now or you will be broken later.
Now or later, you pick it, judgment is coming upon you for hoarding, holding on to, and not sharing your wealth with others.
Jesus address the matter of wealth in the Sermon on the Mount:
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
You have heard people say, “you can’t take it with you” and you can’t. When the question is asked of a rich individual, “What did they leave?”, they left it all. But, Jesus states you can invest in heaven. I don’t know about you, but I want to make investments in heaven. You and I can take what the Lord has graced us with and invest in the Kingdom, we can invest in the lives of those that do not know Jesus by giving to His church, by picking missions and direct efforts to change a life for Christ.
Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days.
When we live for us and us alone God has His way of getting your undivided attention. Our material resources are so volatile at best. I have listened to many people over the years and the roller coaster ride of financial solidarity is fickled at best. Cattle prices are up and then they are down, pine beetles get pines, hurricane’s blow down building s and people’s life savings, storefronts are looted, the dollar falls, the dollar rises, stock’s bull and stock bears, metal prices up and down, land prices fall, and the list goes on.
And, if you greed is reflected in a materialistic nature: I’ve sold Atari, Nintendo, Wii, PlayStation through Playstation 5, you get a new vehicle and you haven’t driven it off the showroom floor for two weeks and a new model comes out with twice the bells and whistles yours does and guess what, it depreciates. I am describing in the modern vernacular that “your riches are corrupted and garments are moth-eaten.” You can buy a brand new pair of shoes and work real hard to not get a scuff, but after the first scuff, you wear them as if they are any other pair of shoes.
Listen, all of that is reality, but the real reality is that the Lord promises judgment and misery to the one that does not acknowledge God’s hand in your blessings. If you do not recognize that God gave you the gifts, talents, abilities and opportunities and your hoard and hang on and tight fist that money and do not share it along the way, God will take it away from you.
1Pe 1:4
to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
Paul writes to the church at Rome on the subject of a hardened heart to those about you that have need:
Rom 2:5
But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
2. Penalties will be Paid with Deceptive Wealth vv. 4-6
Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter. You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.
James continues on the attack as he addresses the rich that oppress the poor by not paying their wages. During Biblical times, you paid a laborer at sun down. The rich used their financial savvy to squeeze on the poor. They could not be found at dusk to pay the workers. They could say that “the work was not satisfactory and I am not paying you.” They could play like they had limited resources and water down the pay and all other types of schemes were played to oppress the poor.
There was a man of our area that built a very large construction company that built all over the world. When it came time for a subcontractor to get paid for his work, the company replied, “we haven’t received a draw yet, we are hurting, I will do my very best to get you this amount of money and you will have to call the bill paid in full, I am sacrificing to accomplish this amount of money.” Word has it that the company over many years became rich by exercising that deceptive strategy paying their subcontractors.
Listen dearly beloved, I don’t know if this type of matter applies to you or not. I do know that if you do not pay someone a fair days wages for a fair’s day’s work or you scheme ways to avoid paying the amount requested or you simply do not pay your debts just because you can and think you will get away with it, it is stealing plain and simple.
James writes that when we abuse and misuse people when it comes to our financial dealings that it does not escape the “God of the Sabaoth.” Why did James call Him the “God of the Sabaoth”? Because Sabaoth means “Army”. God will go into battle against you that abuse others over matters of another’s livelihood.
3. Promises Offered for God Managed Wealth vv. 7-8
Well, my brethren, I mentioned the reality that most all of us would like more, but I hope for the reason of being a greater blessing to others. That is called stewardship. Let’s learn in our closing with an agricultural allegory how the Lord would see to it that we handle our resources. Listen to what we close with this morning:
Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
Firstly, be patient in managing what the Lord has bestowed upon you. Make sound investments with the blessings of prayer and counsel from the Lord and work in His timing.
My uncle who is dead now always reminded me of this as it relates to an investment.
How does a pine grow? How does an oak grow? When a big wind comes which one blows down first?
We are to be patient and apply ourselves in God’s timing “until the coming of the Lord”.
Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.
Agricultural Allegory
Will a farmer grow a crop without putting seed back in the ground?
If the farmer eats all the grain and doesn’t place some grain back in the ground what will happen? No crop. Exactly.
You have heard the Illustration many times of the comparison of any other sea and the Dead Sea.
You have heard that nothing lives in the Dead Sea, nothing flourishes and it is highly salty. Preachers use the illustration as it relates to tithing. Let me bring you up to date to the reality of the Dead Sea.
The Dead Sea is receding at a swift rate; its surface area today is 605 km2 (234 sq mi), having been 1,050 km2 (410 sq mi) in 1930. The recession of the Dead Sea has begun causing problems, and multiple canal and pipeline proposals have been made to reduce its recession. One of these proposals is the Red Sea–Dead Sea Water Conveyance project, carried out by Jordan, which will provide water to neighbouring countries, while the brine will be carried to the Dead Sea to help stabilize its water level. The first phase of the project is scheduled to begin in 2018 and be completed in 2021.[12]
A modern day reality of the receding nature of the Dead Sea because all water comes into it and nothing exits.
A crop can not flourish unless seed is reinvested into the land. A bango is of no value unless played. Laughter is of no good unless bellowed out. A car is of no worth unless driven and love is of no worth unless given.
In closing, misery will come upon those who mishandle wealth, tremendous penalty will come upon those who make their wealth deceptively, but if we are patient, if we will apply ourselves each day under the Lord’s direction to the managing of our resources in a way that He calls for, God promises that we will have treasures in heaven.
God wants you to multiply dear brother and sister, but He wants you to share that gain as He multiplies it for you. Do you give to God’s church? Are you tithing as you should?
Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.
Listen dearly beloved, God wants to bless you. But He wants you to be a blessing to others as He blesses you. He says that if we trust Him in His promise, he will provide blessings untold.
Wouldn’t it be sad that we have the potential to build treasure in heaven and someone here this morning may not be going to heaven? The greatest treasure offered you this day is Jesus. He loves you and wants to bless you untold blessings for eternity. Let’s pray.