Man on a Mission: My Precious Possessions
In unpacking the Sermon on the Mount, we are ultimately reevaluating our priorities so that we can resolve to live lives that are pleasing to God. The thought of priorities touches no closer to home than when we talk about how we make money and what we do with it. We will discover what Jesus says about possessions by identifying two competing masters, clarifying what the Bible says to do with money and finally how to seek the Kingdom of God as a priority.
Matthew 6:19-34 (NIV)
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
The Two Masters
People in this city succumb to the pressure of their pursuits, living just to hoard their wealth, pay bills or revel in fleeting pleasures. Jesus shows us a better and more lasting way.
Do not be misled - you will always have to make a choice in your pursuits. It is not an issue of success vs. failure, enjoying life vs. asceticism, rather it is a question of the foundation on which your life is built. For many in this city, the maxim "He who dies with the most toys wins" is what drives people. In the church it is harrowing because we know that to have such motivations is improper, so we instead find as much temporary reliefs as we can in how we burn through our money on our pleasures. You then begin serving whatever master you think will enable you to acheive the most.
Some of the most wealthy in the world financially, but always discontent. They never have enough. There is nothing more frustrating than pouring your blood sweat and tears into something, only to see it lost or squandered through foolish mistakes or circumstances beyond your control.
Pastor Rollan shared about:
My dad's recountings of his colleagues
Jimmy John's parable, "How Much is Enough?"
No "Joie de Vie" in people
“Bilbo almost stopped breathing, and went stiff himself. He was desperate. He must get away, out of this horrible darkness, while he had any strength left. He must fight. He must stab the foul thing, put its eyes out, kill it. It meant to kill him. No, not a fair fight. He was invisible now. Gollum had no sword. Gollum had not actually threatened to kill him, or tried yet. And he was miserable, alone, lost. A sudden understanding, a pity mixed with horror, welled up in Bilbo’s heart: a glimpse of endless unmarked days without light or hope of betterment, hard stone, cold fish, sneaking and whispering.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
What to Do with Money
Most of you are in a place now where you are in a station of upward mobility, where your income and resources in life will be increasing substantially. The question is what to do with it? Do I increase my lifestyle and standard of living with every pay raise increase and follow the trend of debt precipitated by our American consumerism or is there another purpose for the blessing? Do I sit on it and try to accumulate as much of it as possible to build a sense of impenetrable security? The Abrahamic covenant said that we are blessed to be a blessing and this is where we develop the mentality to sow into eternal things.
The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it an unscalable wall. Before his downfall a man's heart is proud, but humility comes before honor. He who answers before listening— that is his folly and his shame. (Proverbs 18:11-13 NIV)
You can either hoard your wealth, squander it or devote it to the things of God with an eternal return. The proper balance is employing the latter with the wisdom of proverbs. Getting this in order when you do not have a substantial income will pave the way for money not controlling you when you do. You develop proper disciplines when you are in humble circumstances, and then you never miss it.
Eternal Accounts
This is the point of tithes and offerings when they are taken during our worship moments. It is the exercise of demonstrating your trust in God, thanking him for his provision and bringing your heart into submission by prioritizing his Kingdom first. As our financial planners can appreciate, he promises that it also comes with an eternal reward, as you deposit money into your heavenly account that can not be affected by market fluctuations or suffer diminish through withdrawals through our lack of discipline in impulse purchasing. This is better than putting it under a mattress where theives break in and steal or investment properties that end up under water when the market crashes. Take time to think about it. This deposit has a guaranteed return and like the new nature when you are born again is imperishable. It has immediate results in paying for things like facility rentals so that we can have a place to gather, worship and see people come to Jesus. It has a heavenly return that you will be able to reap for all time.
Where should my money be utilized if it is not being stored up?
The most practical way to begin obeying this command is the tithe.
What is purpose of the tithe?
Develop our acknowledgement of God as our source. Trust him with the thing we must depend on to live. It is an outward sign of our total life trust, just as baptism is an outward and public demonstration of our pledge of a good conscience towards God.
If you've never given before, start with something, each time that you get paid to honor the Lord, that your heart might demonstrably be with Him. He will show himself faithful as you do.
Seeking the Kingdom First
Living for work so never any time to live.
The danger with always putting off what you know God expects you to do until a more convenient time is that the perfect hour never comes. Our hearts become hard and we become comfortable with ignoring his voice. This is true in any pursuit of the Kingdom. It is a deception to think that when you think you have more money, that is when you will begin to tithe, or that once you get through the demands of school or a few years of work under your belt, then you will make church and the pursuit of God's purposes with his people a priority. We are chronic procrastinators as a race and the more that we travel resistanceless paths, the easier it is to become used to not putting forth effort and taking the way that is easiest. This will inevitably lead to our spiritual demise. You build faith now, as long as it is called today, which gives you the strength and acumen for tomorrow's tests. It is foolishness to think that a lack of faithfulness today will spontaneously translate into the necessary faith tomorrow. Your life is a testimony to be built as you trust God with each progressive life opportunity.
Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. (Ecclesiastes 11:4 NIVUK)
It is good to evaluate our ambitions in life. Are our dreams worldly and self-derived, or are they Holy Spirit inspired and eternal in nature?
What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him. (Ecclesiastes 3:9-14 NIV84)
We absolutely believe that God will promote His people to places of wealth and influence within our culture, arenas where they can make a difference for the Kingdom just like the men and women of Scripture. At the same time, along the way, we must continually ask ourselves important self-evaluating questions. Is our pursuit of power in our company or in the community for the purpose of God ordained service to others? Is the continual acquisition of money as an ambition a derivative of our greed or being blessed to be a blessing?
When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony. Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive. Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. (Proverbs 23:1-5 NIV)
You must be very clear that the things upon which you are spending the lion's share of your life will be commended by God at the judgement. Everything else will be burned. Ask yourself the question, if work is to be worship, how am I utilizing my career to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, knowing all of the rewards of work will be added to me as I seek this first?
Second City Church- Man on a Mission Sermon Series 2013