Sermon Tone Analysis

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*11.10.05*

*A vow of poverty*

Did you know that Islam does not have a vow of poverty?

\\ Neither does Hinduism or Buddhism, and the Jews certainly don’t embrace the idea.

Do you know that a vow of poverty is not mentioned in the Bible or the teachings of Christ?

In fact in the New Testament there are 215 scriptures on faith, 218 on salvation, but there are over 2040 on economics and financial stewardship.

Nearly 25% of the New Testament deals with money.

Jesus had no problem with money and had no problem talking about money and had no problem with people having money.

There can be a major disconnect between how a man~/woman is made up, and what we read in the Bible, and what we have people tell us.

I understand most of us are desperate to please God as a Christian, and we are teachable and willing to hear what others say, but much of it just doesn’t compute.

They would tell us:

“You’ve got to give all this money away to the poor,/ \\  the missionaries, the homeless, etc., etc. \\ Oh and by the way, you can’t make any money, you can’t enjoy making money, and if you do have any money you’re Evil! Evil! Evil! /

Now let’s pray everyone and pass the plate.”

Which leaves us sitting there thinking…

How can I give money to people if I am poor, and I don’t have anything to give? \\ The more money I have, the more people I can feed, the more churches I can build, the more Bibles I can send.

So isn’t it logical that the more money I have, the better off the Kingdom of God is, therefore: God - I need more money!

*Time to ask questions* \\   \\ If you asked people what the Bible said about money, and why we shouldn’t have it.

Here where some of the common responses:

• “John the Baptist ate only locust and honey and lived in the mountains, so if you want to be holy you have to live an austere lifestyle.”

\\ • “Jesus told the rich young ruler that he had to give away all his money to be a disciple, and we should do to that too.”

\\ • “Somewhere in the Bible there is the verse that says if you have money it is the root of all evil.”

The challenge is you couldn’t find any of these verses or references they were talking about.

There are similar verses, but then the application was either erroneous or anecdotal.

I learned then and there that I must never take my Christianity from Christians, but from Christ and that if I allowed someone else to make my world for me, they will always make it too small.

Here is what I discovered concerning these common misconceptions people had about money and the New Testament.

*John the Baptist* had a very specific call at a very specific time to do a very specific job – usher in the coming of the messiah.

Jesus never asked any of the disciples or followers to repeat John’s lifestyle choices, and he surely never asked us.

What He did say was that there would be times for us to pray and fast – seasons, reasons and opportunities.

Not once did He model or encourage His disciples to live a life of asceticism either financially or emotionally.

*The rich young ruler *(Matt 19)  is a different situation all together.

Jesus very specifically told this one individual to sell everything he had and follow Him.

What is interesting with this account is that when the other disciples turn to Christ and said ‘what about us, we have left it all to follow you’, Jesus responded and told them that any sacrifice that had been made for the sake of the Kingdom of God would be rewarded.

In fact He told them they would receive a hundred fold return on their investment in like kind and eternal life.

It was never an either or deal.

It was never about the money.

It was about having a passion and being prepared to follow Jesus at any cost.

The interesting thing is that if you read the Bible (*/Luke 19/*) narrative, one of the very next encounters Jesus has is with Zacchaeus, a very wealthy individual who is wanting to follow Christ, and Jesus never mentions the issue of his money to him.

In fact it is Zacchaeus who makes the offer of giving up half his assets to compensate those he has wronged in his business deals.

He never offers and is never asked to stop his business or give up his assets as a prerequisite of following Christ.

*Having money* was never an issue raised by Jesus.

What He did was confront the concept of money and wealth as an object of worship.

Money is a tremendous insulator to the needs and tragedies of life, and Jesus said on many occasions, in many different ways, “Love me, worship me as your source and provision, don’t love or worship money, don’t look to it as your source and your provider”.

The scripture people get messed up is the one where the word mammon is mentioned:

*Matt 6:24* \\ No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.

Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

*Serve (Greek):* \\ To be a slave, to be of service, to obey, to submit \\ *Mammon: Chaldee or Syriac word meaning god of riches*

Let me share with you this Scripture from Clarke’s translation and commentary:

 

*/Matt 6:24 Clark/*

The master of our heart may be fitly termed the love that reigns in it.

We serve only that which we love supremely.

A man cannot be in perfect indifference betwixt two objects which are incompatible: he is inclined to despise and hate whatever he does not love supremely, when the necessity of a choice presents itself.

The issue isn't money in this Scripture, it is love and worship.

\\ It is an issue of dependency.

\\ It is an issue of worship.

\\ It is an issue of who is the preeminent guiding force and focus of your life.

Who do you look to in times of need – God or Money?

\\ What do you pray for more of when things aren’t going well – God or money?

\\ What if the kids are sick?

Do you first check on your health insurance, go for the Tylenol, or pray the prayer of faith?

I am not saying they’re mutual exclusive, just what is your first port of call, your first knee jerk reaction?

If money is your answer, then money is your God.

\\ If money is what you serve and hunger after and strive for, then money is your god.

\\ If money is the thing that occupies all of your time and talent, then you are living a lifestyle that reflects the fact that you worship money.

The issue and the point of this scripture is to highlight and make us think about the object of our worship.

You can always tell what a man loves by looking at his credit card statement and his diary; where a man puts his time, his talent and his treasure.

*Money is the answer to everything*

Some things are more important than money, but when you need money, nothing is.

In fact King Solomon in */Ecclesiastes 10:19/* said: \\ /“Money IS the answer to everything”./

Money is not the object of the mission, but enables the mission.

There is a purpose for our prosperity as an organization and for me as a man.

I want to touch and change the world for Jesus Christ.

I am the Pastor.

Money is my answer.

\\ Money will buy or rent facilities.

\\ Money will buy training material.

\\ Money will train church planters.

\\ Money will compensate nationals and foreign nationals.

Now, money is not the object of my worship.

\\ I don’t look to money for my answer.

I look to God for my money, and I apply my time and my talent in the making of that provision for the vision that is on the inside of me.

Not only do I acknowledge that money is from God, but so are my talents, and the time He has given me on the earth.

*What is biblical financial prosperity?*

The means to create wealth is a God given gift for a God given purpose – the confirmation of His covenant.

*/Deut.

8:18/*/ /

/And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

/

Money is not for greed.

\\ It is not for self-consumption.

\\ It is for covenant.

So then what is biblical financial prosperity?

\\ It is having the resources you need to accomplish the assignment that God has given you.

I don’t believe God has an issue with a businessman or a preacher having a BMW, but I don’t know why either of them would need one of every color.

The only reason a man would need a garage full of 7 series is because he doesn’t have anything better to do with his ‘spare change’.

Because the vision he has of his life is so small and limited to the temporal that he has actually bought into the trip that he with the most toys wins.

If you were to give me $100 million now, it would be a waste, because I don’t need it.

\\ But if you were to offer me $2 million, I could show you my plan, budget and the return on your investment - the hundreds of millions of lives that would be touched and transformed all over the world.

Remember - financial stewardship is a precursor and a qualifier for spiritual authority.

*/Luke 12:48/*/ /

/But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few.

For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.

/

 

 

My prayers for prosperity are not based upon my lust for money, but my love and hunger for people and the underlying desire to help them meet Christ, help them become better men, husbands and fathers.

What about you? \\ What is the purpose of your prosperity?