Please turn in your Bibles to 1 Timothy chapter 6. 1 Timothy chapter 6 and we come to the end of this book. Verse 17 through 21. Please hear the word of God. Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed. O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and have gone astray from the faith. Grace be with you. It's interesting the way that Paul ends this letter to his son in the faith, Timothy, focusing on wealth. focusing on our use of money. And it's fitting, though, if you think about it, and as you have followed with me, I trust, through this study of 1 Timothy, and we'll see this through each one of the pastoral epistles, that there is a great emphasis on doctrine on sound words, sound teaching, sound doctrine, on the faith, as we've seen repeatedly in this book, but also on life. on life and applying doctrine to our everyday living. Pursuing, as Paul said in the preceding verses, pursuing righteousness and godliness. Flee, flee from sin and pursue, run after, work hard for holiness, righteousness, and godliness, Paul repeatedly says, and he specifically applies. Godliness to godliness in the home, in the workplace, in society, how we treat one another in the church, and here how we deal with our money. Now, it's helpful for us, I think, as we think about this text to remember that by the general standards of the world, being rich and wealthy is a relative term, isn't it? And by the standards of the world, most of us here would be rich and wealthy. So I think this applies to most here. Don't go by saying, OK, I'm not rich. And you may be here and you don't feel rich. But by the average wealth of the world, most in America today fit this description of being rich. So let us apply this to ourselves. And even if you don't think you're rich, well, here's some good principles to how to use what riches that you do have. So we'll see three things. Notice, first of all, rich in riches. Rich in riches. It's interesting in this, in verses 17 through 19, because the Apostle Paul repeats two words. And you see his, if you understand these words that he repeats and follow the flow of thought, you see his points. In the first two verses, verses 17 and 18, you notice the word rich or riches. Let me read it again. Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches. but on God who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to be good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share." So first of all, you see in verse 17, I think that Paul gives warning to those who are rich. Warnings about riches. Number one, don't be conceited. Don't be proud. Literally it is, don't be high-minded. And that's an appropriate warning, isn't it? If you have things, don't think that because of you having those things, you are superior to those who do not. It makes no difference whatsoever. That should not make you puffed up. That should not make you lift yourself up in your mind. Literally, it is high-minded. Because you have something, don't let it make you stuck up that, ah, I'm better than them because they don't have and I have. It doesn't make any difference whatsoever either in your worth as a human being or in your status in the kingdom of God. Riches don't make one difference whatsoever. Doesn't elevate you as a human being. We're all made, we're all of one human race, okay? There's not different races. There's the cure, I think, to racism. And thinking clearly about racism, which is a word that is bantered about many times meaninglessly in our culture today, cure to thinking correctly about racism is remember that we are all one human race. There's not different races. And we are all one human class. There's not different classes. There are not different rungs on a ladder of humanity. We are all equally made in the image of God. Rich and poor. Different colors, different statuses, different jobs are all equally made in the image of God. It's the same with the church. There's no status in the church. That's why we don't have those plaques on the pews, on the ends of the pews. We don't care if you have money enough to pay for your own pew. Anybody can come here and sit anywhere they want. James dealt with that, didn't he? It's a danger. Here, you see a rich man walking into your church. What do you do? Here, have the best seat. And you see a poor man, and what do you say to the poor man? Here, sit down by my footstool. You only have the right to have a seat. That has no place in the church. I've quoted Buddy Green many times, I think, at the foot of the cross, the ground is level and there's no man against man. The cross is the great equalizer for the redeemed. So don't be conceited. Don't be conceited. But also remember that riches are shaky. The second warning that Paul gives here is riches are shaky. Don't put your hope Fix your hope on the uncertainty of riches. As I was thinking about this last night, I was thinking about weather. Weathermen, you just don't know, really, what the weather's going to be like. And I looked at several, I think, four websites, weather websites, yesterday morning. And they all said about a 20% chance of rain from 3 or 4 o'clock on. Well, it was not a 20%. It rained the whole time. First time that it did that for the fall gathering. And it may have been a disappointment, but it reminds us that God is in control. God is in control of the weather. He's the one who's king of the weather. And He's also in control of your wealth and of your riches. And He can take it from you anytime He so pleases. Don't fix your hope on things, young people. Children, be careful. Don't fix your hope on things, on riches, on money. Proverbs, in chapter 23 and verses 4 and 5 says, listen to this. Proverbs says, do not weary yourself to gain wealth. Cease, stop from your consideration of it. When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth, listen, certainly makes itself wings, like an eagle that flies toward the heavens. Your money will make wings, and it's going to fly away. And you know what? It doesn't grow on trees either, does it? Money's gone. And those of us who are adults, we know that, don't we? It's just gone. You think, where did it go? Right? Sometimes you barely got it and it's gone. It seems to be life. It has wings and don't fix your eyes on it. If you do, you'll be miserable. I remember when we lived in Florida. We lived in South Florida. It was called the Gold Coast, Boca Raton especially. And I remember it was very interesting for me working among especially elderly old, rich, men and women. I've never seen so many unhappy people. And they had money to throw around. And they were so miserable, grumpy, sad, deep down. And it showed. Don't fix your hope on the uncertainty of riches. So that's two warnings in this section. But notice the view of God here has often struck me. I trust it struck you as well. This is how we should think of God. Don't fix your uncertainty on the shakiness of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy." You see, the goodness of God. Isn't God good? Look at what He's given you. Look at what He's supplied you with. He's richly supplied you and me with all things, why? To enjoy. You don't deserve this. This is goodness from God. He is rich in good works to us. He is rich in His gifts to us. Ecclesiastes chapter 5 and verse 18 says, here's what I've seen. Here's what I've seen. Solomon in Ecclesiastes, you know, sometimes he comes up with nuggets and sometimes the book of Ecclesiastes is like life. It's a maze that's hard to make sense of. Solomon stops in 5.18 and he says, here's what I have seen. to be good and fitting, to eat, to drink, and to enjoy oneself and all one's work in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him, for this is his reward. God has given you things to enjoy. Enjoy them! Enjoy the food that He gives you. Enjoy the drink that He gives you in moderation. Enjoy the house that He gives you. Enjoy the clothes that He gives you. Enjoy the beautiful weather, the fall colors, the sunshine, the snow. Enjoy the snow. Okay? Enjoy all the good gifts, enjoy the work that He gives you to do. God is good in richly supplying you with all things that you have. That's the view that you should have of God. Many times we think of God as, why? Why'd you do this? Why'd you allow this to come into my life? Why didn't you give me this? And we think of God as stingy. God's not stingy, and the fact that you're sitting here this afternoon is proof of that. And you have clothes on your back, you have a roof over your head, and you have much, much, much more than you need. Much more than the bare necessities of life. God richly supplies. He's rich in good works. Well, look at verse 18. Paul's saying, believer. Pastor Timothy instruct the believers to be like God. To be godly. To be recognizably like Him. God is rich in good works. Verse 18, instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works as well. To be generous and ready to share. There's several words that are all kind of from similar roots that are repeated here. To be good. To do good. That's the first word in verse 18. To be rich in good works. The word good there usually means beautiful. You live a beautiful life? Let me tell you what is a beautiful life. It's a life, well let me tell you what an ugly life is. It's a life of selfishness. That's an ugly life. And you can be beautiful on the outside, but if you're selfish and nasty on the inside, your life will be ugly. And you can spend all kinds of money and effort on making the outside prim and proper and clean and beautiful, but really it's ugly. Your life will be ugly. Young ladies, live a beautiful life. What's a beautiful life? One that is rich in good works. To be generous. Be generous. It literally means they're having an open hand. Being ready and willing to give. Ready and willing. What do you have? Do you have a closed hand or open hand? Like what the NBA player David Robinson said, he said, he feeds the homeless through his, he has a Feed My Sheep program and he helps needy families get diapers and baby food through a charity called the Ruth Project. But here's what he says about such giving. He says, listen to this, he says, these aren't sacrifices for me. If I'm clutching on to my money with both hands, how can I be free to hug my wife and my kids? That's wise. He's a rich man. But he says, I'm not going to clutch on to my money with both hands. Don't hold tightly onto the things of this world. Have an open hand. Be ready to give. And the final verb there is ready to share. Ready to share, to give what you have, what you have legitimately earned, to share it with those who have need. In 1908, Irish explorer Ernest Shackleton headed an Antarctic expedition attempting to reach the South Pole. They came closer than any had before them, but 97 miles short of the pole, they had to turn back. In his diary, Shackleton told of the time when their food supplies were exhausted except one last ration of hardtack, a dried sort of biscuit that was distributed to each man. Some of the men took snow, melted it, and made tea while consuming their biscuit, the only way you can eat it without breaking your teeth. Others, however, stowed the hardtack in their food sack, saving it for the last moment of hungry desperation. But one night, the fire was built up, and weary, exhausted men climbed into their sleeping bags to face a restless sleep, tossing and turning. Shackleton said that he was almost asleep, when out of the corner of his eye, he noticed one of the men, most trusted men, sitting up in his bag and looking about to see if anyone was watching. Shackleton's heart sank within him as the man began to reach toward the food sack of the man next to him. Shackleton watched as the man opened the food sack, his own food sack, and took his own hardtack and put it in the other man's sack." What did you think was going to happen, right? You thought that he was looking around to make sure that no one saw him take. Because that's our nature. We take and we take and we take. But you see, Christ has come and redeemed us as his people to transform us from takers into givers. What are you? What are you? Are you a taker or a giver? Jesus can change you. And it's only really by the grace of Jesus Christ that you can be changed from a taker into a giver. Because God is a giver. The great proof of that is, God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life. Do you live that kind of life, believer? That's a life that mirrors God. So, rich in riches. But notice, secondly, treasuring treasures. Treasuring treasures. Here we have in verse 19 the same word, literally the same word that's repeated twice very close to each other. Verse 19 literally reads, treasuring up for themselves a treasuring up of a good foundation. It means storing up. Okay? Paul repeats for emphasis, he says, if the rich are rich in good works, then they will treasure up for themselves a treasuring up of a better treasure than that on earth, in heaven. Look, the good foundation for the future. This mirrors Jesus' teaching on wealth, doesn't it? Jesus repeatedly taught, Matthew 6.19, do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures where? In heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. Jesus was very practical, wasn't he? He says, if you're going to lay up a treasure, if you're going to treasure something, and if you're going to store up something, you want to store it in a safe place. That's what I try to teach my children. If you have a lot of cash on hand, it's not safe because something can happen. I mean, a house could burn down. It's good to put it in the bank. Now, I'm not sure how safe a bank is sometimes, but maybe bury it in the ground. OK? And one of our children did that recently. I'm going to bury my money in the ground. They didn't stay buried for that long, I don't think. But treasure it somewhere safe. You know the safest place to lay up your treasures? It's heaven. It will never be destroyed there. Say, how do I lay up treasures in heaven? How do you lay up treasures in heaven? It's a neglected teaching in the church today that God rewards good works on earth with treasures in heaven. You say, well, that's works. No, it's not. You're not saved by your works. You're not saved by your open handouts. You're not in any way saved by anything that you do. You're only saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ through His death upon the cross and His righteous life. But when you follow Jesus, and live like He lived as a believer who's already been saved. God rewards that. Jesus is saying that over and over again in the Gospels. Lay up treasures for yourself. Great will be your reward in heaven. Look forward, believer, to that reward. Do things on this earth and make it an incentive. Jesus is saying, let it motivate you. to live this way on earth so that you will be rewarded for it in heaven, in the new heavens and the new earth. Now, in the end, it's all by God's grace, isn't it? Because He's the one who changed you. You don't add any merit to Christ's merit because He's the one who changed you and gave you the heart to do those good works. And even in God's sovereignty, Ephesians 2, 9, he prepared beforehand for you to walk in them. It's all from God. But it gives great glory to God. Your life can even, as a believer, can give a little bit of glory to God or a great amount of glory to God. The more works that you do, the greater glory you get for God. Let that motivate you. Look forward to the treasure. Notice verse 19 again. So he says, treasuring up for themselves, the treasuring up of a good foundation for the future. I think Paul's not talking about salvation here. He's talking about eternal rewards. But then he comes back to this life. He says, so that they may take hold. And the word there, take hold of, means not like earlier when Paul says take hold of eternal life. Take hold of means to experience now. So that you may experience now, literally it is life that is truly life. See, Paul is again echoing what Jesus said. I did not come to give you a plain life, Jesus said, but an abundant life. Catch life that is truly life. Pursue, catch it, is his idea. Catch it now, that which is truly life. The thief, Jesus says in John 10.10, comes only to steal and kill and destroy. Who's that? The devil. Don't serve the devil. He comes to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and might have it abundantly. The only way that you will have an abundant life now is by giving of yourself, like Jesus did. Not by hoarding, not by getting, not by taking, but by living like Jesus did. Treasuring treasures, true, eternal treasures. See, Paul is very practical here. How are you living, believer? What is marking? What characteristics are marking your life? Do people look at your life and see there's a person that looks like a Christian? You're not saved. Please hear me correctly. You're not saved by your good works. You're not saved in any way, any iota, by any merit so called that you have. But God saved you for good works. Not because of, but for. Look what Martin Luther said, man is saved by faith alone. Faith alone. Because it's through Christ alone. But not by a faith that is alone. And that's what James' message is. Like Paul here. If your faith doesn't show itself in works, then it's not true saving faith. Examine yourself. Look at the grace of God. Ask Him to change you. That's what every one of us needs. Well, notice thirdly, guarding deposits. So we've seen rich and riches, treasuring treasures, but thirdly, Paul says guarding deposits. And it's interesting the way that Paul skips forward here in verse 20 to doctrine. to doctrine. He says, O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. His language is still monetary, financial-like. Deposits. The deposit that you have been given, Timothy, guard it like it's precious. Be jealous for it. What's he talking about? A bunch of money? No. I think Paul is saying, I'm talking about something more important than money. It's doctrine. The truth. The faith. Guard it, Timothy. Guard what has been given to you. What's that? The pattern of sound words. The pattern of sound teaching. The faith. The truth. Do you realize how precious the truth is? We take it for granted, don't we? How many Bibles do you have in your home? Do you realize? Men died, gave their lives for translating this book into the English language. William Tyndale, John Wycliffe, and many others. Martin Luther in Germany. John Huss. This is precious. Far, far more precious than gold. Hear Paul saying, guard this especially. And here's how he closes, Pastor Timothy, Pastor Timothy, forget all the useless chatter. See what he says at the end of the verse? Avoiding worldly, I think you speak especially of Timothy's public preaching and teaching. Avoid all the worldly chatter and empty chatter, vain, useless, and make no difference whatsoever in the lives of people. It's falsely called knowledge. They thought they had a super bit of knowledge that was hidden from the rest. And you had to be initiated into their special Christian class in order to get the real good stuff. That's a lie from the pit of hell and smells like smoke. But it's all over the church. Today, isn't it? Paul says, don't pay any attention to that. Pay attention to what? The Word! What has been given to you? What has been this precious treasure of the faith? The teaching. The sound words that come from God Himself. The church is so distracted that here's what we need to focus on if we are to be the church, a faithful church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And some, they start to get distracted, and what happens? Look at verse 21. They professed, but they've gone astray from the faith. They've left the faith. They've apostatized. And you hear this happening again and again and again. Why? Because they do not keep to the Word of God. See, Paul is saying, in order to be a faithful church of Jesus Christ, Pastor Timothy, the church in Ephesus and every church must be a church that is founded upon sound doctrine. And doctrine gets a bad rap in the church today, doesn't it? People say, no creed but Christ. But I think what Paul's saying here is, no creed, no Christ. If you don't have a solid creed, then you don't have Christ. If you don't have a solid, this is what I believe, then how are you going to have Christ? If you can't say, this is who Christ is, and this is who Christ is not, This is what salvation is, and this is what salvation is not. This is what a Christian is, and this is what a Christian is not. Then that church is on shaky ground. And if it is a true church of Jesus Christ, it's not going to stay one for very long. And further, if you're going to bank your eternal security on something, you better bank it on something that's unshakable. And the only thing that's unshakable is the truth of God. How do you know that you're going to get to heaven? It's only the truth of God that you can bank your eternal soul upon. And finally, Paul ends with, he says, Timothy, grace be with you. I love that. I think it's Paul's shortest benediction. Grace be with you. That's how you get to heaven, believer. And that's how you continue. Grace, what is grace? It's undeserved kindness. But it's also undeserved help. God gives you daily help, moment by moment help, strength, wisdom, blessing, power, love, kindness, forgiveness, patience. That's the grace of God. Buddy Green, in one of his songs, he says this, Grace for the moment, all that I need. Grace for the moment and faith to receive the promises given to those who believe. Grace for the moment, all that I need. When I fret over outcomes that I cannot see, you've been there? Maybe some of you are there. You fret over outcomes that you cannot see. It's for certain I'll not have the peace meant for me. But when with thanksgiving I just look to Him, He will answer me time and again with grace for the moment." That's what you need. Grace for every moment. Do you have that, believer? Don't be afraid. I know the world is... Riches are shaky. The world is shaky. Everything that the world, the weatherman is shaky. Your bank account is shaky. Your job may be shaky. Your home may be shaky. Your physical health may be shaky. But God's truth and God's grace is unshakable. Let us pray. Father, we thank you for your truth and your grace. And help us, Lord, to bank our eternal souls upon them and them alone. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.