Resolved: I Will Trust the Lord

Introduction: Money is the #1 cause of worry in the wealthiest nation on earth.

Some people are afraid that they will not have enough money for basic necessities of life - food, clothing, shelter, Iphone

Some people are afraid that they don’t have enough money to enjoy life and be happy. As one country song says, “They call me redneck, white trash and blue collar/But I could change all that if I had a couple million dollars/I keep hearing that money is the root of all evil/And you can’t fit a camel through the eye of a needle/I’m sure that’s probably true/But it still sounds pretty cool/‘Cause it could buy me a boat, it could buy me a truck to pull it

Some are worried about paying for college, medical bills that are piling up, or may be up in to the eyeballs in credit card debt.

Some people have lots of money but are anxious about keeping it - they are afraid to lose what they have worked so hard to accumulate.

The point is this - it doesn’t matter if you are rich, poor, or anywhere in between, there is a temptation to put your trust in money - there is a temptation to trust it for your security, to trust it for your happiness, trust it to define your worth, meet your needs, and satisfy the cravings of your soul. IN OTHER WORDS, IT IS VERY EASY FOR MONEY TO BECOME YOUR GOD! IT IS VERY EASY TO BELIEVE THE PROMISE OF MONEY RATHER THAN THE PROMISES OF GOD.

This is why Paul wrote to Timothy and said, “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. (1 Tim 6:9-10)

So don’t see this as a random exhortation - our author knows that in times of economic difficulty and stress there is a temptation to trust money instead of the Lord - He desires for them to be resolved to Trust the Lord.

The Dangers of Loving Money

Danger 1 - It is impossible to trust in riches and Jesus at the same time.

In Mark 10:23-27, “And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

In Matt. 6:24, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

2. Danger 2 - The Pursuit of Happiness and Purpose in Material Things Shrivels the Heart.

Matt. 6:19-21, Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Luke 12:15-21, And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

If you try to find your happiness in money it will shrivel up your heart’s capacity to find its joy and treasure in Jesus - and this is foolish, because every earthly pleasure, every earthly possession is temporary.

3. Danger 3 - Material Possessions Tend to Focus Our Thoughts and Interest on the World Alone.

Things and experiences are fun. Boats, cars, homes, vacations, a good steak, - all these things are enjoyable and there is nothing inherently wrong with enjoying them - BUT it is very easy to become enslaved to things and to become so possessed by possessions, comforts, and recreations that the pursuit of these things becomes paramount to the pursuit of God.

Remember that Jesus taught the riches are deceitful - they hold out a promise they can never cash in on. In the Parable of the Sower Jesus taught, “And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.”

These warning are for all to hear - a poor person can trust in money as much as a rich person. Kent Hughes wrote, “Though wealth has its intrinsic disadvantages, the preacher here is not forbidding wealth but “the love of money.” In one sense, such love is no respecter of persons. It can equally afflict a homeless man sleeping on a grate or the man occupying the penthouse sixty stories above him. But, this said, it is difficult not to love what you have spent your life collecting. Paul warned Timothy, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6:10).

The Gain of Contentment

Our text tells us to keep our lives free of the love of money and also to be content with what we have.

Contentment may be one of the most profitable spiritual virtues for the church to foster as we face uncertain days ahead. The ancient church who originally recieved these instructions were in grave danger of financial loss for following Christ and the same might be true for believers in our culture. I hope not, but we all need to be prepared for financial loss as a resulting of holding fast to the doctrines of Scripture. Do not be surprised when financial realities become the great separator of true and false believers in the American church.

The opposite of contentment is covetousness.

Covetous hearts are full of envy

Are you thankful or resentful in what the Lord has granted others to possess? Do wish you had what they had? Do you wish you could do what they do? Are you unable to enjoy with gratitude your talents, abilities, possessions and relationship as a gift from God without comparing them with others?

Covetous hearts crave what they don’t have

Are you always dreaming and fantasizing about having something more that God has not granted to you?

The owner of standard oil was once asked how much money was enough - his reply, one dollar more.

Some men seem as if they can never fix their thoughts on what they have, but they are always in the other tense and mood, thinking of what they could, would, or should have. Some years ago they told us a little more would content them, and a great deal more has been added to their stores, but still they want a little more now. Let your conversation be without covetousness in that respect, and be content with such things as you have. - Spurgeon

Covetous hearts are unable to rest in God’s present provision for fear of future destitution

Many a man lies awake at night desiring to increase his income, not because he is ambitious to be rich, but because he is haunted with the fear of being poor.

The Bible teaches that CONTENTMENT is GREAT GAIN.

1 Timothy 6:6 “But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.”

When all is stripped away - contentment ultimately is our hope in God.

The Promises of God Are More Sure Than The Promise of Money.

How do we avoid the love of money and a spirit of covetousness? Do we make a vow of poverty? No, because the poor can love money as much as the rich. Remember, the issue is not in money itself, or in having a job or business or investments that creates wealth. The issue is your attitude toward money. Your heart disposition towards money.

Our passage gives us the precise way that we avoid the love of money in two quotations from the Old Testament.

A Promise - I will never leave you or forsake you.

The promise is one God gave to Jacob, to Joshua, to God’s people through the prophet Isaiah. It is also a form of the promise Jesus gave to his disciples when he said “I will be with you always. The promise is that God says to his children, “I will never leave, you or forsake you.”

The greek in Hebrews is literally, “by no means … nor … by no means.” The force of the negative here is emphasized by three negative particles. The aim is to remove all objections that fear and unbelief give rise to. “Let people do what they will, let any circumstances arise, I will not at any time, on any occasion, for any reason, leave you, nor forsake you.”

Spurgeon said, “It means that in no one single instance will the Lord leave you, nor in any one particular will He leave you, nor for any reason will He leave you. If you have cast yourself upon His infinite power and grace, He will carry you to the end. Not only will He not desert you altogether, but He will not leave you even for a little while. He may seem for a small moment to hide His face from you, but He will still love you and still supply your needs.”

I must preach this promise to myself - no matter how much is in the bank - God has not deserted me and he never will forsake those he purchased with the blood of His Son!

A Confession of Faith - The Lord is my helper; I will not fear;what can man do to me?

Our confession of faith in God’s ability to sustain and provide for us is found in Psalm 118.

Psalm 118:1-9 - turn there.

Our ultimate hope in life and death is the love and help of the Lord! You can trust in money, you can trust in man, but all these things will ultimately disappoint.

Each of us may say as David did in a similar situation, “The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Psalm 118:6). In the same way the psalmist says, “When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid

Conclusion: You can’t be too poor or too rich to be saved, but you can be deceived.

The rich and the poor alike can believe they are good - Jesus said blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven - Matt. 5:3

Isaiah 55:1-3 Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.

Put your trust in the Lord, be resolved to depend upon him and him alone. The days may come where he is all you have!