Good afternoon, brethren. What will it be to worship that holy God unhindered, without sin, without spot, without wrinkle? Not hidden in the cleft of a rock, but face to face. I can't imagine it. But I like to imagine it. Well, brethren, let me start out here. Do you all see that? Now you tell me if that's evil. Is that evil? No? I was going to have a larger bill. $20, I realize $20 is not all that impressive. Even Andrew Jackson doesn't look all that impressive. Alright, let me up the ante here. How about if I have 10,000 of these? Is that evil? No. Alright, what about 100,000 of them? What about a million? Okay. I'll buy that. So if that's not sin and that's not evil, then should we conclude it's God's will that we try to get as many as we possibly can? Huh? Let's see what Paul has to say about that. 1 Timothy 6. Those of you who weren't here in the first hour, our brother Leo gave a message out of James 1 where the Scripture teaches us that God uses trials to test us. But you know what? God also uses blessings to test us. And one such blessing is money. 1 Timothy 6, in verse 6, we'll pick up right there in the middle in that chapter or thereabouts. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing with these, we will be content. 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. 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. But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in His testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will display at the proper time. He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To Him be glory and eternal dominion. Amen. As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty. nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life." Father, we are so thankful as we just sang that You've invited us to call You Father. And You've brought us into this union, Lord, that yes, it's got a splendor that far outshines the sun. And we're thankful to be part of it. And yet, Lord, You've made us stewards of many things in our life, and money being one of them. Lord, help us be faithful. Help us in this hour. Lord, I need Your help. I pray for clarity and liberty and grace. And we pray Your blessing upon our meeting after this. Lord, we want to hear those words. Well done, Thou good and faithful servant. Lord, bless our hour now by Your Spirit, we pray in Jesus' name, Amen. Well, as a preacher of the Gospel, money by far is not my favorite subject to speak about. And that for a number of reasons, but a chief one being the unrighteous and wicked stigma that has sadly and understandably been attached to Christian preachers And churches who use those positions and those institutions to drain people's wallets and line their own pockets. All in the name of God, sadly. Happening right now, even as I speak. Such is the work of the devil, and widely so, working to deceive and disillusion countless people in their perception of what constitutes true Christianity." No doubt some of your relatives have that mindset. That's how they view Christianity because that's what they see of it. Some of you sitting here have been scarred by such just shameful, wicked, money-grubbing shysters standing up as prophets of God, spewing all their empty promises of spiritual blessing, if you just simply reach down a little deeper into your purse and your pocket and help them build their little fortune. Using the Bible, using Scripture, out of context, but using the words of the Bible to manipulate and deceive the flock of God. In Jesus' words, they have received their reward. And what an empty reward that will be at the end of the day. I shudder to think of the judgment that those men will stand before. And so I can easily understand how folks who've been subjected to that might feel a little nervous, maybe even a little queasy, grabbing your stomach hearing a preacher mention money from the pulpit. Nevertheless, if you're a true Christian here today, I want to convince you that God fully intends to make you rich. He does. He truly does. Before your body starts urging you to hit the exit sign, let me assure you, despite this deceitful web that the devil has spun regarding money, God is very interested in the subject of money and how His people use it. And He's most interested in making, like I said, His people rich. Ultimately, it's just not the way carnal men suppose. Paul tells us the way right here. So what I want to do, I'm just going to draw, this is not going to be any great exposition of this passage, but I just want to draw three things out of this text. Three ways that God tests us with riches. And how He uses riches actually to make us rich. Paul closes this letter here. Very strong warning. We read it about money. It flows out of the context of Paul addressing what constitutes for godliness in the lives of God's people and their various callings of life, life within the church. Godliness. It's the Greek word eusebia. And the word itself means reverence or piety towards God. I like to define godliness as God-likeness. I think it's a good concise summary of the term. It's to live our lives like the Lord. It's like to live our lives like God expressing His character. Christian ethics, if you will. It's an expression of our conformity to God as we pursue Him in Jesus Christ. The term godliness, now it shows up, I didn't even know this until, I guess I didn't really recognize, it shows up fifteen times in our ESVs in the New Testament. Nine of them in this letter. Actually ten because the word translated godly in 1 Timothy 2 too is the exact same Greek word. So really what Paul is doing in this letter is he's fleshing out what godliness is and what it looks like. I know Paul's letters here to Timothy gets coupled with Titus and they're commonly tabbed, the pastoral epistles, and certainly they contain instructions that are very important to pastors, but this letter is all about godliness. than it is about anything else. Paul is instructing Timothy what godliness should look like for men, for women, for elders, for deacons, for the church. And of course, the great mystery of all godlikeness is that of Jesus Christ. The very One by whom and through whom we are made godly at all. Paul hits on that in chapter 3. But as he begins to wrap up his teaching, In chapter 6, at the end of verse 2, he says, "...teach and urge these things." If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, which includes everything that he had been teaching up to this point in this letter, anyone teaching otherwise, verse 4, is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy. Oh, brethren, stay away. Be careful. Watch out for people that love controversy. There's no shortage of such religious people that love controversy, that love to debate and argue over this and that and the other. Actually, one of the carnal draws to Reformed theology is its appeal to the intellect. It is. A lot of intellectual men love it. You see, the theology that man builds is rather shallow. It's rather shallow. It's very man-centered. It's simple. Whereas, sound biblical theology is robust because it goes deep. It's deep in context reflecting the God who doesn't think like man thinks, right? He thinks other than we think. He has a knowledge that far exceeds anything our minds can grasp. However, such knowledge that we do grasp, picked up and used by false teachers, false brethren, becomes nothing more than a platform for human pride. Winning debates, silencing others, looking like you're the smartest one in the room, got all the answers. Such people are always looking for a way to make a name for themselves. Having this unhealthy craving for controversy, Haven't you seen that in your Christian life among many professing Christians? I have. Unhealthy craving for contradictions. For quarrels about words which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people. Listen, if you see a person, they're always causing constant friction. That's who Paul's talking about here. You know what he says? They're depraved in mind and deprived of the truth. They might be spouting truth. They might be spouting truth to the letter. They can quote all the creeds. They can quote all the verses. They can articulate all the doctrine. Paul is saying they're deprived of the truth. Imagining that godliness is a means of gain. And this is where Paul transitions into the subject of money. Because even in Paul's day, men were finding ways to use money to build an empire for their own greed. Professing godliness with the ultimate goal of fleecing the people of God. Taking advantage of generous hearts. All out of a love for money. Using ministry as a means for personal gain. I trust you've seen that. You don't have to watch too much programming on television to quickly get the feeling that this is all about the dollar. The fancy building, the fancy suits, the plastic smiles, the smooth-talking preachers convincing people. If you want to drive where I drive, and you want to have what I have, you just need to have the faith that I have. You see, God intends to bless you just like He's blessed me. But you have to step out in faith and trust Him, right? Don't just sit there faithless. Go make that down payment. Go put that deposit in there. Open up your purse. Oh, you've got to sow that seed. Sow that seed of $1,000 and you'll break the back of Satan. And it's going to yield forth all this produce. But really, it's just putting large sums of money in my pocket. But the promise says, oh, you sell money now into my ministry, you're going to reap a massive harvest. God wants His children to have the best. Right? You heard that? I mean, the king's kids are to be living like king's kids, right? Not paupers. So step out of the boat of your unbelief and go for it. Indulge yourself. Give yourself the best because you are the best. You're the king's kids. You ever hear that? Pursue all that you deserve as a child of the King. And for undiscerning ears, that's very persuasive. Amazingly, many folks get ensnared and manipulated by that carnal reasoning. Using godliness as a means or a way of gain. But for the most part, generally speaking, that's pretty easy to identify, right? Even lost folks can spot that and call it out. But utilizing the Christian faith to achieve personal gain can show up in ways that are not so obvious. People can be guilty of assuming Christianity with a real motive of taking advantage of God's people in very subtle ways. Using them to gain something. Position. Some kind of promotion or advancement. Leeching from them attention and pity and generosity and praise. Using God's body for personal gain. Well, Paul continues in verse 6, "...but godliness with contentment is great gain." And this is test number one. I've got three of them. Test number one, money serves as a great test of our contentment. But godliness with contentment is great grain. Now first of all, I don't think we want to read this as if there's this godliness that has contentment and then there's this godliness that doesn't have contentment. There's not two different types of godliness. There's only one. I'll grant you godly people can struggle with contentment. And it's very likely everybody in this room does to some degree. But this is a way of highlighting an aspect of godliness. Paul is emphasizing the contentment that flows from godliness in contrast to the discontentment that flows from worldliness. Or maybe better fit in the context here, a godliness in appearance only. That's what these false teachers were. They appeared to be godly men. They were playing the part, so to speak. But clearly, their thirst for more was not rooted in God, but it was rooted in their own carnal lusts for possessions. If to truly be godly is godlike, well, let's just think about that. God is very content with Himself, is He not? He is. He's very content with who He is. God's not discontent about His own person, His own welfare, the way He looks, or what He has or doesn't have, His current state of affairs. God's not discontent about that. The Lord is very much a very much content and complete God. Well, we're not God. So obviously our God-likeness is not complete, but something that happens to us in measure by His grace at work within us. But it is something that you and I are called to cultivate and to grow in. And one of the ways we do that is by finding contentment in Him. He is content with Himself. Paul suggests here that the contentment in the Lord is great gain. In other words, you want riches? True riches. I mean, lasting riches. Here it is, contentment in God. That's really what it means to be rich towards God. It means counting God Himself greater than anything here on earth. If you count God to be the greatest value of anything here on earth, anything, that makes you the richest person in the world. If you actually have God and you're in God, and He possesses you and you possess Him, you've got the greatest thing there is possibly to have, right? That's no play on words, my friend. That's reality. And when that registers past your cranium down into your soul and heart, you actually feel rich. I'm with God! He's with me! It's a reality. If I'm just believing it to be some factual truth, because I find it there in the Bible, but it really has no bearing on how I live or how I think, that's not going to make you feel rich. You feel the rich satisfaction of God when you realize and you're convinced and you truly believe He's with you and He's for you and He's got your best in mind. In all actuality, your contentment is God-like when you're content with God. And that's it. To have Him. When that settles upon you, really Christian, when you grab hold of that, you don't feel like you lack anything. If you've got everything, which we have if we have Christ, you're lacking nothing. That's truly being rich. A person who's never satisfied, never has enough, always wants more, is not really rich. I don't care how much money they've got. I don't care if they've got millions of dollars overflowing into other banks. You're not rich. You're bankrupt if you still need more. And I know the theme is primarily money today. That's where Paul is taking this discussion. But the contentment spoken of here covers far more than money. I know I've mentioned Tom Brady before. I think James did a couple of weeks in his message. But since his retirement is now in the news, it did hit me afresh as I was preparing this message. And I think it makes for a great comparison. Why is Tom Brady noteworthy? Well, because He has everything this world wants, He does. I mean, He's got the world's full attention right now. He tweets. Everybody's all over it and broadcasting. What's He saying next? And reporters follow Him. It's like this guy's got everyone's attention. I mean, human beings crave attention. Every little thing he says, everything he does becomes a story, something talked about. I mean, he has the highest respect of the entire sports world as he's completely dominated at the highest level of competitive sports, the NFL, successfully gaining like no other man has seven Super Bowl rings. Just unequal performance. I mean, he is a performance king. And he's achieved what no one else has. And the guy looks like a model for crying out loud. His wife's a supermodel. And he's just basking in billions and millions of dollars. The guy's just filthy rich. I mean, you want it? He's got it. If your heart's in this kingdom. I mean, he's reached the ultimate pinnacle of what human flesh craves. Yet, up until yesterday, it was never enough. That's why he kept playing into his 40's. Be it his ego or pride or more money or another Super Bowl win, another record or accomplishment. It was never enough. Never fully satisfied. Never content. He had to have more and more and more. And I just feel like his life is a great window that provides us Just an incredible example of just how devastating sin is in the human race. Sin. Brethren, sin has made us to where we're never satisfied. Never satisfied. Never content. Got to have more. Proverbs 27.20, hell and destruction are never full, so what? The eyes of man are never satisfied. I don't care what you throw at him. I don't care what he accumulates. Look at David. David was a king. He had it all. In his flesh, he wanted more, didn't he? Discontentment. I mean, it expresses itself in many ways. Grumbling, complaining, finger-pointing, seeking others' approval because apparently God's approval isn't enough. Feeling the need to tell others every little thing that doesn't go right with us in our life because apparently God's not hearing or He's not able to help me. Wanting more of this and less of that. Someone to do this for me and someone not to do that. Discontentment. Oh, it's an ugly sin. It's an ungrateful sin before God. I think about the Apostle Paul and his life. Paul had some very hard, difficult, low points in his life. And he had some very bountiful, wonderful, glorious high points. You know what he says? He says in both of those, I learned to be content. I learned in the whole full spectrum of the highs and the lows to be content in those situations. How did he do it? Well, he did it because his contentment had nothing to do with the circumstances. It had everything to do with God. Paul found contentment in God. And when you find contentment in God, you find not just great gain, brethren, you find the greatest gain there is to gain. Because you find that which extends beyond the moment. I had transient in my notes, and I said, nobody uses that word. And so Leo uses it. Jeff uses it. It shows up on the screen. I'm like, okay, I'm going to use it. But if we have God, we have that which extends beyond the now, the here and now, that which is lasting, everlasting. Verse 7, for we brought nothing into this world. We cannot take anything out of the world. You see, everything here stays here. It holds absolutely no value in the place we're all headed. And Solomon observed in Ecclesiastes 5.16, right? Just as man came, so will he go. I mean, he came into this world with nothing, and he'll leave with nothing. Any ladies here giving birth to children that came out with a rattle in their hand? No, I don't think so, right? Or a toy catalog or a smart phone. It doesn't happen. They come in empty-handed, right? And we all leave the same. In other words, invest yourself in that which is eternal. That which is lasting. Not stuff that holds no value whatsoever when you pass out of this life. Solomon says he calls it laboring for the win. Striving after toiling for wind. For nothing. You know, go outside. Open your arms wide open like that and feel the breeze just cross your palms. That's it. That's what you're going to take. Nothing. Nothing. In terms of that which is physical. This is why Jesus says, labor not for the meat or the food that perishes, but labor for the food that endures to eternal life. I mean, those folks in John 6, same problem. Same problem these false teachers have in 1 Timothy 6. They only held interest in Jesus because of what He could provide them. Jesus was just a means to satisfy their materialistic, greedy flesh. Verse 8, "...but if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content." That has to be the Christian's disposition. Contentment with God enables you to be content with having very little. Peter says in 1 Peter 3, that God has granted us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence. I mean, what a statement that is. Essentially, God has granted to us everything, really everything we need in this life by granting us a knowledge of Himself and bringing us into this glorious union with Himself. I mean, you tack on that some food for my belly and some clothing on my body to protect me. I mean, Paul says with these, we'll be content. That's all we need. I mean, God fills up the rest of the need meter. Doesn't he? I mean, he should. We who have far, far, far more than food and clothing here, far more than those first century Christians, we should have no problem finding contentment, right? If not, we have to ask ourselves why. And brethren, the answer is not complicated. We're discontent when we value something here on earth more than we value God. And that's a hard pill to swallow, but it's true. And the evidence of that discontentment shows in how much we disdain God's providence in our life, or complain about our circumstances to others, or spend time making our wants and wishes known more than our thanksgivings Or we spend more time pursuing money than we do pursuing God. You see, it always stands true, out of the abundance of what's going on in here, the heart, the mouth speaks. Verse 9, "...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." This verse really speaks for itself. It's a pretty sobering verse. Just as the true gain is found in the spiritual realm, so is the true ruin. Notice Paul's careful wording, but those who desire to be rich. It's not just those who are rich, but those who desire to be rich. They equally face the danger of falling into temptations and snares. You see, because with money comes power. and the power to choose, the power to enter a whole new realm of possibilities the more money you possess. The more money, the more possibilities. That's where the temptations and snares come into play. Brethren, I want to make very clear, there is nothing wrong with being wealthy. Nothing at all. It's all about what you do with the wealth. and what the wealth does to you. Which brings us to our second test. The test of our love. Verse 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. Money is a real love test. What do we love more? God or money? And the answer is not to be found by those who possess it, but rather it's found among those whom money has possessed them. Again, notice Paul's word choice here. It's through this craving. Not possessing, but craving. I don't know if there are those who possess much of it and have a craving. They likewise crave after it. But it's for those also that crave and have not. Either way, it's this craving that leads professing believers. We're not talking about lost people who never opened up a Bible. Paul's addressing professing believers. And it's this craving for this money It's caused those to wander away from the faith and pierce themselves through with many pangs or sorrows. The love of money and what it provides, what it secures, what it empowers is a very large root that produces all kinds of evil in this world. And you and I have seen that. It produces a businessman who has no time for his family because he's too busy trying to advance and make more money, move up the ladder, amass a greater and greater wealth for he and his family that he never sees, and gain the notoriety and the prestige and all the attention It produces that. It produces a lottery industry where people spend thousands of dollars each year gambling against tremendous odds all for the hope of striking it rich. Gambling addiction along with alcohol killed a very close friend of mine in high school. I watched it slowly ruin, these very words, slowly ruin and destroy him after he graduated. It produces a guy in the neighborhood who breaks in and steals from others because of his blind lust for more that far exceeds the value of his very own soul. Well, I think it was probably a year after Shirley and I were married, we had a guy break into our house and steal our living room stereo. Now those of you that are 35 years and under, that was a thing one day. Remember those, Jeff? We had stereos with receivers and speakers and whatever. Anyway, the police ended up busting this guy. And we got our stereo back, thankfully. It wasn't very smart because we had the windows wide open and had a digital clock at night. We were pretty much advertising. But we ended up getting it back. And we find out that this guy completely furnished his entire house from the neighborhood around. I'm talking, not just stereos, Painting on the wall. Everything in the house was furnished from the neighborhood. Even the knick-knacks that had no value. Money produces that. It produces a housewife who can't stop buying things off Amazon or redecorating the house or renovating the house or getting another outfit, another purse, another shoe. Something she hopes to find satisfaction in. While she's completely numb or indifferent, to those in need around her. It produces people who are willing to sell their bodies for the sake of money or drugs or fancy cars or jewelry or expensive clothes. It produces a woman who gossips and complains about others, nagging her husband and snapping at her children because she's so embittered and jealous over not having what she wants and what others have. People lie. People cheat. People murder all for money. Instead of using money to love people, out of love for money, people use other people. Well did Solomon say in Ecclesiastes 5.10, He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth his income. Lots of people love money. What do you love? Some of you need to be far more concerned about your work ethic than you are about what your pay is. More preoccupied about what you give to your job than what you take away from it. The world is full of people that absolutely hate working. You can pick up on it, right? If you're involved in any kind of service, you can tell when people love their job and when they hate it. This world is full of people that hate their job, but oh, they love the money that comes from it, that work provides. That's exactly the sentiment of this world. But it ought not be the sentiment of God's people. Not if we understand our work is just another expression of our service to the Lord. Another avenue in which we can honor and glorify Him. And if the mundane things of eating and drinking are to be done to the glory of God, how much more, brethren, the one-third of our day that we use, that we spend laboring. This world idolizes money because people seek security in it. That's why there are con artists in every corner. That's why people connive their way to get it and steal it and gamble for it and murder. And listen, this just doesn't apply to the wealthy. It applies to those who haven't. That's why they're stealing it. You can love money having it just as much as you can love it without it. It is a matter of the heart. We read in Scripture what the deer pants wear. If you're a hunter, you know that. They pant after the water. But the greedy man, he's panting after money. And I would ask you, what are you panting for? Are you panting for more of God or for more money? What are you seeking? Security. Are you seeking security in the Lord? Are you seeking security? Just a little bit higher pay raise. Stuff a little bit more here. Gather up a little bit back here. That will take away some anxiety. Our use and regard for money, our stewardship of what we really have and what God has entrusted to us, that really tells the story of our love. We love what we invest in. We love what we're willing to sacrifice for and put our energy into. If that's God, our bank statements will show it. If it's not, likewise. I mean, I've shared this before with MacArthur. I don't know if he's still doing it, but early on when he was pastoring and when he had any kind of marital counseling or meeting with a couple, he'd say, let me have your registry. He'd flip through it, see what they're spending. He wanted to know where their hearts were at, right? I wonder if in the coming week, if I had mentioned I wanted to come visit your house, and I asked you to please print off the last two months of your financial statements, your bank statements, what would your first thought be? Oh no? Okay, sounds good. I mean, would you be glad? that unprovoked your pastor would be seeing God's grace in your life and at work? And you making the kingdom a priority and paying your bills on time and being a responsible Christian and a responsible steward that God has made you? Or would your first thought be panic or shame? I mean, if it is with a man looking over your bank statement, what about God? And let me tell you, He actually is right now. He's looking. And what does He see? Does He see that Jesus Christ is Lord over everything in your life, including your finances? Is that what He's seeing? Or does He see a love for money? But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Flee any kind of love for money, any kind of desire or pursuit for earthly riches, and the discontentment and unsatisfied lust and craving that it produces. Flee it all and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. In short, pursue those things that have lasting value. Well, let's move down to verse 17. The third test is the test of our stewardship. As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. I am instructed by God to charge the rich. And brethren, guess what? None of us in this room are poor. In fact, I venture to say we have very few, if any, sitting right here right now that are under the secular standard for poverty level. We see God's standard right there. Food and clothing. We are a very, very wealthy people. and to whom much is given, much shall be required." I mean, the poorest person in this room is richer than most of the world. It's true. And yes, obviously, some of us here have more money. And some of us here have less money. Some of us are good stewards with the money we have, and some of us are, well, not so good. But each of us have received a stewardship from God that He has made us accountable for. Your wallet? Well, I know you carry it, but it's not your own. It's God's, and He has given it to you to manage. Do you treat your wallet separate from your Christianity? I certainly hope not. God doesn't. In fact, he uses it to test your Christianity. You need to faithfully manage what God has given you, and I need to faithfully manage what God has given me. If He's given you a six-digit income, you're accountable to God for managing a six-figure income. If He has given you a five-digit income, you're responsible before God to manage that five-digit income. And if it's four, four. And if it's three, three. Those are all giftings of God. Our stewardship comes from the Lord. He gives as He sees fit. And He makes us all accountable for that which He makes us stewards of. I think it's made very clear to us in Jesus' parable of the talents, right? One servant is given five talents, and one servant is given two talents, and you've got this guy who's given one. And Jesus says, each according to his ability." God has granted each an ability. An ability to produce income. An ability that He expects to produce a result. There's an expected result. If God's made you a steward of six digits, He has an expected result for that stewardship that He's given you for. He has an expected result for that. And those who do so faithfully are considered a faithful servant. Those who don't are not faithful. The judgment of stewardship is never based on what you don't have, brethren. It's always based on what God has given you. But it is important to note, Paul is not condemning wealth here. He's not. This passage is not calling for all Christians to rid themselves of their wealth. It's a call to be good stewards of our wealth by helping those who lack food and clothing. Similar to what was happening in Acts 2.44. The early church there was not involved in some cultish compound where they just pooled everybody's money together and the deacons made sure everybody had the last... This wasn't some socialistic, communistic system they had. Everybody had exactly the same amount of money. I mean, you read that account wrong if that's what you read. Jesus says, you have the poor with you always. He understood. That's a fixed reality. A designed-by-God reality. The call for Christians is to help the poor, not to eliminate it. We've never been called to do that. If that were the case, Paul's instructions here would be very, very different. Right? But Paul says here, he doesn't say, rich, get rid of all your money, because you've got poor people in your neighborhood. That's not what he says. He says, the rich are not to be haughty. Now why would a rich person be haughty? I mean, why would Paul feel the need to say this? Apparently it was happening. He saw it. He's witnessed it. I think it's a common human reality. What does it mean to be haughty? It means to be high-minded. To be filled with conceit. To be puffed up with pride. You know, looking at others in an arrogant, pompous, condescending way because, you know, I've arrived. I've got this and they don't. And that happens when people are persuaded that they themselves have attained and achieved what they have by the strength of their own arm and the wit of their own minds. Paul warns healthy Christians, don't be so foolish to think you have done anything. Don't be proud about what you make. Don't boast in what God has assigned to you for your stewardship. And He can take that thing away as fast as He gave it to you. And brethren, we can do that in very subtle ways that we may not even be aware of. Boasting about what we do and achieve. Even throwing the Lord's name in there to make it seem like you're not boasting yourself. You know, kind of put a religious spin on it. I mean, Christians can flaunt their wealth in the way they spend it. Brand names they buy. Why are you buying that brand name? Is it to be haughty? Is it to look good for other men? Is it to establish some kind of identity? To measure up? To show the world you're really something? Because you have that thing or that brand. Well, it makes me cool. It makes me hip. It brings me to a status level that really makes me something. Paul warns Christians, don't be haughty. Don't. Wealth and pride tend to go hand in hand. And those who have it tend to put their trust in it. Walking in wealth is walking on a slippery slope. Paul says be careful how you tread. It only takes one step. Some, he says, some have wandered away from the faith. Now, they didn't intend to. They were following Jesus. They were all in this thing. But the money took hold of them. Don't put your confidence, Paul says, or hope in uncertain riches. Riches that can easily make wings and fly away. Put your hope, your confidence in the giver of such riches who richly provides us everything to enjoy." Now how about that statement in verse 17 in the midst of such warnings? Right? I find it interesting. Brethren, the Lord provides His people with abundant, countless blessings to enjoy. But some of those blessings, as I had mentioned about money, serve to test our hearts. I think particularly money, food, sex. They're all wonderful, good gifts from God to be used for our enjoyment, to glorify the giver, but they're also to reveal this reality. Do I love the gift more than the giver? The stewardship of our money does much to reveal that answer. Verse 18, these are Paul's instructions for the rich. Or perhaps it would be better to say the Holy Spirit's instruction for you and I. We are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for ourselves as a good foundation for the future so that we may take hold of that which is truly life. Christianity really does make a person rich. It's just not the way the false teachers thought, nor the way this world thinks. Christians are enriched by God's grace to do good, to be generous, to share, and in doing so, they're storing up an eternal treasure. One that far exceeds the value of anything here on earth. You see, the Christian who truly understands that, reaching back to verse 6 there, learns to be satisfied with what they have. And they're not always pining away for more. That's a person who's truly rich because they've already got everything they want in Christ. Now, notice God's way of preparing for the future. Instruction for us for preparing for the future. Notice that versus man's. I mean, God's idea is for folks to pour out their riches into the lives of others, to be full of good works, sharing their wealth so others can benefit from it. In doing that, they secure a sure and solid foundation for the future. They secure that which is truly life. Man's whole system and thought process behind retirement, you'll be hard-pressed to support that by Scripture. The foolishness of man living for his retirement is insane. I used to work with a guy. I was young at the time. I was in my twenties. He was in his thirties. All he thought and talked about was retirement. You're 30 years old for crying out loud. He was packing up as much 401k money as he could. He was talking about all the things he was going to do. And just planning away, saving away for that which he was not guaranteed to see a day of. I don't know if that day ever came. I imagine right now, he'd be about that age. And I wonder if he made it. Or did COVID take him right before he was getting ready to cash in? Or some other disease? Or did he get there and find that he didn't have the health or energy near the health or energy that he thought he'd have when he got there? So he can't do half the things he was dreaming he'd do. Does he still have a spouse to share that time with? Are his friends still around? Is it anything close to the joy he was thinking it would be? I don't think so. I mean, what is he doing right now? Reading a paper? Watching the news? Fishing? Drinking some Metamucil on his way to the geriatric center? I mean, what is he doing? What a scheme of the devil. Give man a goal where he basically saves up most of his free money, throws it into an account to sit there useless, accumulating more wealth, so he can eventually pull it out and do absolutely nothing worthwhile with it. Also, he can live out the remainder of his days as being as unproductive as he possibly can. That's the American dream of retirement, if you will. Ending your life accomplishing absolutely nothing. That is terrible. You don't want to buy into that, brethren. You want to feast God after that? That's what you receive storing up for self. Wasted time. Useless stuff. Jesus said this, it's better to give than receive. Why is that? Not because it helps pay for a preacher's private jet. Or aids him in establishing some empire of wealth. That's how the devil has utilized the concept. But what Jesus is getting at is God is after your greatest gain, Christian. He is. Again, reaching back to verse 6. But that gain has nothing to do with this earth. It doesn't. It has everything to do with God. You see, our growth in God-likeness, and I'm not talking about the kind of deplorable God-likeness trash that the Word of Faith talks about. I'm talking about being more sanctified in our walk with the Lord Jesus, to be made more like Him. Let me ask you, what is the greatest gain you could possibly get in this world? Ever. What's the greatest ever? Don't sell yourself short here. The greatest you could think of. It's God, right? Has to be. Gaining more of God in my heart, in my mind, in my soul. A more enlarged heart for Him. A greater capacity to know Him and understand Him and love Him and fear Him and honor Him. The greatest thing a human being could ever hope to gain is God Himself. And have more of God. There is incredibly great gain in me being made more like God. Versus me being made more like this world, satisfying more of my flesh, accumulating more things that are going to perish. At the end of the day, that's not gaining anything. That's me investing in a life of emptiness. That's me turning into a junk collector. It is better to give than to receive. God is always after not just our good, but our best. Yes, the king's kids, yes, they get the best. They do. Because the king's kids have the king. That's why. Not anything on this earth. That's for sure. The real reason it's better to give than to receive is because giving makes us like the king. Giving makes us like God Himself. Let's just think about it just for a minute. I could make this very long. But if there's one thing that can be said about the living God, it's He's a giver. He has given us life. He has given us this earth. He has given us eyes to see. He has given us an ear to hear. He has given us a nose to smell, and mouths to speak and to taste wonderful things, to taste that He is good. He has given us minds to think, and hands to hold and feel, and feet to walk, and a sun for light and warmth. He's given us all things in creation to enjoy. He's given us His Word. He's given us mercy and salvation by giving us His very own Son. He's given us His Spirit. He's given us food and clothing and far more than what we actually need. He actually gives us the desires of our heart for crying out loud. Can you come up with a greater giver than God Himself? You can't. And so when we read, it's better to give than receive, of course it is. Because giving is an expression of the living God. To be more of a giver than a taker is to be more like God. Oh, there's plenty of takers in the world. Brethren, that's not what we want to be. It's always better to be more like God than like men. Now, the application of this is quite obvious. Brethren, we want to live our lives being rich toward God. We don't want to sell everything and head to some mountainside and live like paupers. That's not what God's calling us to do. In fact, some of you, He's given you minds to do the work that you do, to make money you do, to advance His kingdom. That's part of the gifting He's given you. So we can be rich in good works, be generous and ready to share. Not stuffing money in some account and trust its uncertainty for that day that may never come. Not storing up treasure here on earth. Didn't Jesus have something to say about that? I think He did. We want to be just like our God. One who richly provides things to enjoy. Now, I'm thankful. I can tell you, in this last year, and I realize all Christians need to give, but there's a gift of giving. And we have brethren in this church that have that gift. It's wonderful because it's a picture of the very thing that I'm seeing of God. We want to be faithful with the gifts God gives us. We don't want to be closed-fisted Christians, brethren. We want to be liberal with what God has given us. Now, I don't want anyone here ever giving out of guilt. It's easy to make people feel guilty about money. That's not my goal at all. I'm actually wanting you to consider your greatest potential good. Your future foundation, really, as Paul puts it here. He is appealing to our future foundation in the text. You are building a foundation, a future foundation. Everybody in this room is building a future foundation. Hopefully it's not sand. You need to be convinced that your greatest good is God and more of Him. And one of the ways that happens in God's economy is through giving. I want you giving because in doing so, you're storing up a treasure of foundation for the future for your good, for your soul. I really don't watch the finances here. I don't. I mean, this time of year is probably the time I do. I get the report like you do and have a few insights here and there. I don't know what you do with your money. I'm not keeping tabs. Maybe I should. Maybe I should be rethinking that as a pastor. Maybe I should be more like MacArthur getting involved in where you're spending your money so I can help you with that part of your stewardship. But I do know this last year that our President is giving all kinds of free money out. Oh man, we've got money flying all over the place. And I wonder what you're doing with that. Brethren, don't set up a lifestyle to rely on that check. God's given us free money. Well, you're accountable to Him for it. But I trust you're praying how you're using that. All of our finances have been given us from God. It's just another gift, another avenue of our service. We need to be praying that God give us grace to be faithful stewards of it. Because He's called us to take the Gospel out to advance Christ's Kingdom. And yeah, you know what? That takes money. Life takes money. It's not evil. It's a means of enabling Things to take place. And supporting. I praise God, brethren. I'm in a church here that's, I don't know when I first came, what the annual income was, or money coming in. I don't remember what that was, but it has substantially grown. And I'm thankful we have some very big givers here. I'm thankful we have missionaries like our brother Vess and sister Alex in the back that we feel very honored to support. And so brethren, as we head to the next hour, God help us. Help us to apply this message. We can address that in a minute, but let me pray. Father, I am thankful for these brethren I thank You for a number of sacrificial brethren that I know of in this church, and I thank You for them. Lord, I thank You for not allowing our hearts to fall in love with money. Lord, we've known seasons in our own life where it sought to lay hold of us. But we feel the danger of Paul's words. They're not foreign to us. Lord, protect us from such a false idol, from such destruction, from such fruitlessness, from such a waste of resource. Lord, we want You to have all our heart, and whatever that means, and however You'd use us, we want to be used. We want to glorify Christ with all that we have. We pray Your blessing in Jesus' name. Amen.