Wealth & the Fear of God

Well, good morning.

Since it's July and we are having a family service, I want to make sure I point out if

you have children who are unused to being in the service, there's a table with some

goodies in the back, and as the temperature gets warmer, just to remind you that there's

water in the back, there's a water fountain in the back, and there is seating downstairs,

which is a little cooler if you're finding it uncomfortable enough that it's hard to

continue to be a part of the service.

So, all those resources are here, hopefully, to help you continue to be able to worship

the Lord together with us this morning.

In the movie, All the President's Men, the book about the Nixon-Watergate scandal, based

on a book by journalists Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, there is a famous scene where

these two journalists investigating the corruption in the White House meet with their informant

deep throat.

And the movie, he says, follow the money.

Follow the money because it would show where the power lay.

Follow the money because it would lead them to who was responsible.

Follow the money because it would reveal the depths of the heart of those in power.

For those of you who are under 35, you've got to go out and rent it.

It would probably need to go to the coffee shop in Hamden because they probably don't

have it on Netflix.

It's a great movie.

It's wonderful.

But follow the money because it reveals the heart of the leaders.

As we look at money this morning and how wealth is used, it occurs to me that in our culture,

money is a taboo subject almost like no other in our culture.

We don't like to talk about it, even more so than what happens in the bedroom.

Don't ask me about my budget is a typical thing that is true of us.

And even more so, don't you dare tell me what I should do with my money.

But oddly enough, when we look at the Bible, we recognize that it actually has a lot of

things to say about money.

One count had over 2,000 different verses in the Bible that dealt with money and wealth.

One other account figured that one-tenth of the Gospels Jesus teaching was about money

and the use of money in our lives.

Why does God care so much about it?

Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount says this,

For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also.

Follow the money because it reveals your heart's treasure.

And whether we have a little or whether we have a lot,

what we do with our money is a key area where we show

the degree to which we know and fear God or not.

And that's what our passage this morning leads us to.

We're looking in Nehemiah chapter 5 in your pew Bibles.

Nehemiah 5 · chapter mention

It's page 372.

So if you want to follow along in there, you can.

The book of Nehemiah chapter 5.

Nehemiah 5 · chapter mention

And just in case you're visiting or if you haven't been here for a couple weeks

because you've been on vacation,

remember we're looking at the story of Ezra and Nehemiah,

how God was bringing his people back from exile to the promised land to rebuild them.

To rebuild the temple where they could worship him as he described and prescribed.

To rebuild the people that they would know him and follow him

in the distinct ways that he has called them to follow him.

And to rebuild the city of Jerusalem.

This place where God in that season in redemptive history said,

this is a place where I will dwell on my people

and my light will shine to all the nations of the world from this place.

And what we've seen in the early part of Nehemiah,

it actually has this very cool structure in verses,

in chapters 3 through 7,

where chapters 1 and 2 set up the problem.

And then 3 through 7 you have this beginning of the work of building the wall in chapter 3.

Chapter 4 talks about opposition to the building of the wall and how they overcome it.

And then chapter 6 talks about opposition again to the building it.

And in the end of chapter 6 you see the finishing of the building of the wall.

And right in the middle is chapter 5.

Isaiah 5 · chapter mention

Where as God is helping the people do these external things,

he also wants to continue to build their hearts.

Their hearts to love him and fear him above all things.

And it is in fact in the middle of the work of building the wall

that a crisis occurs that reveals these things and brings it to light.

And that leads us to our passage this morning.

Nehemiah chapter 5.

Nehemiah 5 · chapter mention

We're going to read this together.

So please read along with me.

Now there arose a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers.

For there were those who said,

With our sons and daughters we are many.

So let us get grain that we may eat and keep alive.

And there were those who said,

We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine.

And there were those who said,

We have borrowed money for the king's tax on our fields and our vineyards.

Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers.

Our children are as their children.

Yet we are forcing our sons and daughters to be slaves.

Some of our daughters have already been enslaved.

But it is not in our power to help it.

For other men have our fields and our vineyards.

I was very angry when I heard their outcry in these words.

I took counsel with myself.

And I brought charges against the nobles and the officials.

I said to them,

You are exacting interest, each from his brother.

And I held a great assembly against them and said to them,

We, as far as we are able, have brought back our Jewish brothers who have been sold to the nations.

But you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us.

And they were silent and could not find a word to say.

And so I said,

The thing that you are doing is not good.

Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations, our enemies?

Moreover, I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain.

Let us abandon this exacting of interest.

Return to them this very day.

Their fields, their vineyards, and their olive orchards, and their houses,

and the percentage of money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them.

Then they said,

We will restore these and require nothing from them.

We will do as you say.

And so I called the priests and I made them swear to do as they had promised.

I also shook out the fold of my garment and said,

So may God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not keep this promise.

So may he be shaken out and emptied.

And all the assembly said,

Amen!

And praised the Lord and the people did as they had promised.

Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah,

from the 20th year to the 32nd year of Artaxerxes the king, 12 years,

neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor.

The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people

and took from them for their daily ration 40 shekels of silver.

Even their servants lorded it over the people.

But I did not do so because of the fear of God.

I also persevered in the work on this wall.

And we acquired no land and all my servants were gathered there for the work.

Moreover, there were at my table 150 men, Jews and officials,

besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us.

Now what was prepared at my expense for each day

was one ox and six choice sheep and birds

and every 10 days all kinds of wine in abundance.

Yet for all this I did not demand a food allowance of the governor

because the service was too heavy on this people.

Remember for my good, oh my God, all that I have done for this people.

As we look at this, will you pray with me?

Lord, we thank you for this word.

We thank you for the way that it pierces to the depth of our heart,

the way that it confronts and challenges us,

the way that it shows us, Lord, what it means to be your people

and to follow you.

God, I pray this morning by your spirit that you would help us,

Lord, to see our own hearts more clearly.

Lord, that you would confront and change places

in our hearts that need to be changed.

And Lord, that we would be a people who fear you

and in fearing you live a life that brings glory and honor to you

in all that we do.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

So as we look at this passage this morning,

I think the central idea is this,

that God's people show that they fear God

by how they use their wealth.

God is building his people,

restoring them to the promised land,

having redeemed them from the slavery of exile

and restoring them to the land of promise.

And in the middle of this, he calls them to use their wealth

to help God's people because they fear God.

We see two things.

We see that God shows us how to fear him

by confronting our selfish use of wealth.

And God shows us how to fear him with an example

of sacrificial and costly use of wealth.

So this is what we're going to look at this morning,

a confrontation and an example to help us understand

what it means to fear God in the way that we use our wealth.

So first, God shows us how to fear him

by confronting our selfish use of wealth.

As we look at verses 1 through 13,

the core verses, the core confrontation happens

in verses 7 through 9.

Verse 6 says that he was angry when he heard this

and he comes to the people and he says,

how could you be doing this?

Specifically, how could you be doing this

to your fellow Jewish people?

How could you be exacting interest,

taking advantage of the poor among you

who don't have the resources to manage the famine

that seemed to be the context of this,

who don't have the resources to continue

to manage their own fields while they're working the fields?

How could you come and take advantage of them?

This is what verses 1 through 5 show.

The people cry out because they're being taken advantage of.

We have big families and we don't have enough food.

And because we don't have enough food,

we're having to mortgage our long-term resources.

And because we're mortgaging our long-term resources,

we're in a much more dire state of need

such that when we still need more,

we're having to give our children

as debt slaves to others

within the community of God's people

so that we have food to feed them.

It's not hard to see some cycles of oppression

and the ways that poverty can circle

and become a greater and greater burden

and how those with wealth can impose

greater and greater cost

in ways that crush people and destroy their lives.

Nehemiah comes and he says,

this is not good.

And in verse 9, the core of the confrontation,

ought you not rather to fear God?

Why does Nehemiah talk about fearing God here?

You might need to step back for a minute

and think about what does it mean to fear God?

Martin Luther famously made a distinction

between two different kinds of fearing God.

One is a servile fear of God.

That is, a cowering, scared response

to a cruel or an evil taskmaster.

He said that's one kind of fear that we might have

and we might think of as what it means to fear God.

But Martin Luther said rather biblically,

fearing God is more of what he called a filial fear.

It is the fear of a child

not wanting to displease or disappoint

or to cross their parents.

It is a recognition we are under an authority,

we are accountable for our lives to someone else,

but that someone else is benevolent and loving

and their instruction and even their correction

is good for us.

And we fear them not in a cowering sense,

but in a sense of recognizing with awe and reverence

the role that they're meant to have in our lives

and to respond to them by saying,

all of our lives is accountable to you

and I choose and desire to do everything to please you.

In the context of this love relationship,

we are to fear God.

This is what Nehemiah means by it.

Ought you not to fear God?

What you are doing with your stuff,

what you are doing with your wealth and power,

you who have the ability to take advantage of those,

you who are able to give out the loans,

you who are the ones who are able to give grain

in exchange for the deeds,

you who are able to give help

in exchange for the debt slavery

of the children of Israel.

Ought you not to fear God

in how you are managing your wealth?

And notice that Nehemiah,

he does not pull his punches.

He said, I was angry,

I thought about it for a little while

and then I let him have it

and I didn't do this in private.

Or maybe he did and they didn't respond.

It's not clear, that's a possibility.

But he went public with it.

He called an assembly of the people of God

and said, you rich people

are oppressing the poor among us.

This is not right.

And not only is it not right

because you are hurting your brothers,

but it is not right

because you are opening up God's people

to the taunts of the nations around.

Do you remember back in Ezra

where Ezra didn't want to ask the king for a guard

because he had said,

our God is able to protect us.

Here what we have is Nehemiah saying,

we have said our God is able to provide for us.

Our God is able to rebuild this nation

and to rebuild this people.

And now you are destroying that in selfishness.

And in doing that,

the name of God is being tarnished in the world.

You who are meant to display the glory of God,

the abundance of God's goodness

and his generosity and his favor and his grace

are showing instead selfishness

in a profound way.

And beautifully in the story,

the people respond.

Nehemiah says,

this is what you must do.

You must make this right.

Give them back their lands.

Give them back their things.

Give them back the interest you have charged.

One would assume,

although it's not in the text,

give them back their children.

Make it right.

Undo it all.

And the people do respond.

And maybe it's because

they were not principally committed

to this being the right way to do it.

Maybe because they weren't hard-heartedly saying,

let's wring every ounce of mammon

that we can out of our fellow Jews.

Maybe they were just going with the flow.

Maybe they were just living within the culture

and the society that they lived in.

This is what you do.

Someone comes and asks you for something.

You give them help,

but you make your peace out of it.

Maybe that's true.

That's a conjecture.

Maybe it's being too kind to them.

But maybe they were just swimming in the tide

of the culture that they knew.

And therefore,

when God's clear path of righteousness

was laid forth,

when God's clear path

of how to use wealth and power,

not selfishly,

but to bless God's people,

they responded and said,

yes, we will do that.

And they did.

Nehemiah held them to it,

made the priests take an oath,

to make sure that they would follow through.

He called down a curse on them.

He shook his garments and said,

may God shake you out.

May you end up with nothing

if you don't follow through.

But they did.

And it's a beautiful picture.

And again,

we noticed this earlier.

One of the interesting things

in Ezra and Nehemiah

is that compared to much

of the Old Testament,

when God's people are confronted,

they tend to be stiff-necked

and hard-hearted.

And yet,

in this story of Ezra and Nehemiah,

we see glimpses of God's grace

and his people responding

with a humble heart

and a teachable spirit.

And they actually do what is right

and turn away from their sin.

So what about us?

What does this first part

of the chapter 5 of Nehemiah teach us?

It seems at the heart of the matter

is how do we use our wealth

in ways that don't fear God.

And we just need to be honest.

It's very easy for us to be selfish.

It's very easy for us

to think,

I got to keep getting more

because you never know

what's coming around the corner.

It's up to me to take care of myself.

It's very easy for us to think,

I work hard.

I deserve this.

This is mine

to do what I want with.

Maybe we think

with a sense of hyper-responsibility,

I've got to take care of my own

before I can help anyone else.

But sometimes that's a mask

for just our selfishness.

I wonder too

if in our modern society,

in our culture today

here in New Haven,

that it's less

I won't help people in need

but more

I'm too busy

to even know

that you have a need.

I live such an isolated life

that I'm not engaged

in the people of God

and the community of God

enough to know

where the needs are.

I'm not coming alongside people

and loving them

and engaging

in a way that I could know

how I might be able to help.

Maybe we swim in the cultural tide

of I'd love to help

but it's all tied up

in investments.

I need my ING number,

my retirement number

of seven or eight digits

or whatever that silly ad

shows us on TV.

We don't think

about

how we might use it differently.

We find money

to be a place

of security

and safety for us.

And often we fall

into pride

about what we've earned,

what we've accomplished

and the life

that we've built.

And we don't want that

to be put into jeopardy

or at risk.

And in all of this,

what it shows

is a heart

that does not fear God.

We don't recognize

that everything we have

comes from God.

We don't recognize

and live

out of a heart of

God, everything I have

is yours.

How do I use it

to please you?

It's a pattern

that says

I've got to take care

of my own.

I can't think about others

and their needs.

Sometimes it's

I don't want to look

like a fool.

My friends

who invest wisely,

the parents

who I know

who spend the money

on their kids,

I don't want to look

like a fool

to feel like

I'm depriving

my kids

by being generous

even at a cost.

In all these ways,

we fear other things

more than we fear God.

But what would it look like

if we did fear God

in the use of our money

and wealth?

Well, firstly,

we cannot say to God,

get your hands off my money.

Don't tell me

what to do with it.

First and foremost,

it's just saying

we cannot say those things

if we fear God.

Instead,

we begin to ask

our question,

God,

from all that you have given me,

whether a little or a lot,

how can I use that

to bless others

and to show others

the abundant grace

of God?

Not how much

can I spend

or even how much

can I save,

but how much

can I give?

How can I

be a place

where the abundance

of God

that has come to me

overflows

to the abundance

of God

being experienced

by those

around us?

You know,

it's remarkable

in that passage

we read earlier

that Elizabeth read

from 2 Corinthians,

the Macedonian church

begged earnestly

for the favor

of taking part

in the relief

of the saints,

giving not only

what they could

but beyond

what they could

because they so

wanted to be a part

of what God

was doing

and they so

wanted to love

God's people

and they so

wanted to fear

God

and honor Him

with what they did

that they sought out

and begged

for the opportunity

to do this.

and they did this

because they had

experienced

the abundance

of God's goodness

and provision

to them

because when we know

that all that we have

has come from God

then it frees us

to count all things

as lost

for the sake

of knowing Him

and serving Him.

It means we don't

have to live our lives

grasping for those things

but we can freely trust

that He will give

and in response

we can be generous

people to others.

I'm not going to give you

prescriptions

on what this looks like.

There aren't numbers

amounts

even contexts

because I think

that it's the heart

of the matter.

And friends

if the church

really lived

with this kind

of generous spirit

if we as individuals

and we as a body

lived with this kind

of overflowing

giving heart

would we not

be distinct

and would the world

around us

not stop

and wonder

how it is

that that could

truly be what we do

and how we do it.

with our wealth.

God shows us

not only how to fear Him

by confronting

our selfish use

but then

in verses 14

through 19

He shows us

how to fear Him

with an example

of selfless

sacrificial

giving of wealth

for the good

of others.

Interestingly

in verse 14

Nehemiah

begins to talk

about his own experience

and his own role

verse 14

it talks about

how he had been

exalted

to a position

of governorship

under

under the law

the larger

rulership

of the Persian Empire

he had been given

control over this area

and he shares

about his own experience

and it might be easy

to think

well he's kind of

tooting his own horn

isn't he?

He's

he's looking pretty good

in this

isn't he?

and often

when we read

the Bible

we look

at examples

the best way

to read it

is to think

how am I like them

in their fallenness

and their sinfulness

sometimes we like

to read the Bible

looking for heroes

that we can emulate

but I think it's often

better to read the Bible

thinking

how does this

reveal my own sin

and my own fallenness

but every once in a while

we actually do see

a very clear example

of this is good

this is a pattern

to follow

this is a life

to emulate

and that's what we see here

in God's wisdom

as he confronted

the people

and as he recorded

this for us

he says

not only am I going

to rebuke

when you're not

doing it right

but I'm going to show you

what it could look like

and the pattern

is basically this

Nehemiah was at the top

of the food chain

he had power

and wealth

unrivaled

in the area

he had this position

and with that position

came perks

the governors

what do they call it

the allowance

of the governor

and yet

Nehemiah chose

not

to take advantage

of this perk

why?

well verse 15

says that

former governors

and notice

that this could have been

some of the Jewish governors

it's not clear

which ones

he's talking about

but clearly

others in this position

had used it

and abused it

they laid a heavy burden

on the people

and their servants

acted arrogantly

it's so easy

isn't it

when we have those positions

for these perks

and these

you know

this is the diva culture

in Hollywood right

I want my Perrier

to be 37 and a half degrees

and if it's not that

then

you know

it's so easy

for us

in places

of position

and power

to abuse it

and become

very accustomed

to incredible perks

in ways

that are very selfish

Nehemiah looked at that

and he said

no I can't do that

because not only

was it

abused in the past

but you see it

both in verse 16

and in 18

that it was costly

for the people

that those perks

didn't come

from nowhere

they didn't come

from the treasury

of Persia

they came

from the taxes

that were levied

on the people

in Jerusalem

and in Judea

his people

God's people

and he said

I'm not going

to do that

and interestingly

verse 16

it talks about

how he didn't

even take land

and I think

if you piece this

together

part of what he's

saying is

I had the ability

because of my

place of power

to really build

my empire

even personally

to gain more wealth

by having land

right

I could build

my real estate empire

and not only that

but then I would

build my empire

of having servants

to take care

of all these lands

but Nehemiah

said we didn't

take advantage

of those perks

either

and one of the

benefits of that

was my servants

were free

to build the wall

along with

everyone else

I didn't allow

my investments

or my possible

investments

to distract

from God's plan

of rebuilding

this city

for his glory

that's what

verse 16

points to

and instead

of taking

those perks

Nehemiah said

I took the cost

myself

verse 18

sounds like

quite a feast

and when you

multiply that out

by days

and weeks

and 12

years

you realize

Nehemiah was

a very wealthy

man

it's a lot

of oxen

and yet

he chose

to spend

his wealth

to bless

his people

as the

governor

he had

a responsibility

for the

household

for the

government

for these

150

who were

a part

of the

government

he had

a responsibility

to provide

for them

he did it

himself

as he

was welcoming

foreign dignitaries

who came

and visited

he paid

for them

in the

hospitality

himself

he said

I will

not do

this

at the

cost

of my

own

people

who are

already

suffering

but I

will take

the cost

on myself

so that

I might

please

God

interestingly

did you

notice

how he

said it

in

where is

it

I forgot

to write

it down

I did

this

because

I feared

God

such a

strong

example

he confronted

the leaders

in the

first half

because they

were not

fearing

God

here

he reveals

his own

heart

I did

this

because

I feared

God

I knew

that my

life was

accountable

to him

I knew

that this

was his

people

and that

I had a

position

to love

them

and to

bless

them

with what

he had

given

me

and I

chose

to use

it

so what

does this

mean for

us

how do

we tie

this

in to

us

today

you know

one of the

things that's

important to

notice is

that it

could be

very easy

to think

this passage

is all

for those

of us

who may

have more

and to

give

but notice

that at the

very beginning

the context

of this

was that

the poor

Jews

had committed

Nick preached

on this

last week

had committed

and they

left their

fields to

come into

Jerusalem

to build

the wall

and to

do God's

work

and though

they didn't

have great

wealth

at cost

to

themselves

they gave

what they

could

which is

their time

and their

labor

and then

most of

this passage

then

confronts

others who

had more

and how

they could

use it

to bless

God

to fear

God

is to

use

our

wealth

to be

a blessing

to God's

people

out of

reverence

to God

you know

it's so

striking

the book

of Acts

this is

one of

those passages

that we

in our

capitalistic

west

don't always

know what

to do

with

Acts

chapter

four

the end

of it

I'm going

to read

it just

so you

can hear

what the

early church

looked like

now the

full number

of those

who believed

were of

one heart

and one

soul

and no

one said

that any

of the

things that

belonged to

him was

his own

but they

had everything

in common

and with

great power

the apostles

were giving

their testimony

to the

resurrection

of the

Lord

Jesus

and the

great grace

was upon

them all

there was

not a

needy

person

among

them

for

as

many

as

were

owners

of

lands

and

houses

sold

them

and

brought

the

proceeds

of what

was sold

and laid

it at

the

apostles

feet

and it

was

distributed

to each

as

any

had

need

thus

Joseph

who is

also

called

by the

apostles

Barnabas

which means

son of

encouragement

a Levite

a native

of Cyprus

sold a

field that

belonged to

him

and brought

the money

and laid

it at

the

apostles

feet

because

Jesus

was raised

from the

dead

because

this

great

grace

of the

forgiveness

of their

sins

of the

possibility

of new

life

of a

restoration

of a

relationship

with God

of an

eternity

as God's

people

because of

Jesus

they had

all of

those riches

and therefore

what they

had

they made

available

to be used

by God

to bless

his people

so that no

one was

in need

they flourished

in serving

God as they

sacrificially gave

to one another

and again

there's some nuance

to this

if you go back

and read that

2 Corinthians 8

passage

recognize that

that the call

is not to give

what you don't

have but to give

what you do

have and to

have a ready

heart

not a full

bank account

God isn't

asking you

to do

what you

can't do

but he's

asking you

are you

willing to

do what

you can

do

to help

others

what might

this look

like

let me end

by giving

you some

examples

first of all

I just want

to say

because

this passage

in Nehemiah

talks about

leadership

and because

Billy Graham

in many ways

was such an

example

when Billy Graham

was starting out

his ministry

and he saw

the potential

for it to grow

and for it to be

a big organization

and for there to be

a lot of money

flowing through it

he set up a board

of directors

he set himself

a salary

that he was not

in control of

and then

everything else

was not to him

but was given

to the ministry

to be used

for the ongoing

work

of proclaiming

Jesus

in the 20th

century

around the

world

many many

counter examples

could be given

in the last

50 years

of American

evangelicalism

but praise

God

for this one

good example

and may we

continue to seek

leaders

who do such

things

may we

who are

leaders

in this

church

continue

to follow

that

example

what about

those of us

who aren't

leading things

how about

our everyday

lives

what does

it look

like

friends

I just

want you

to think

broadly

about

what kind

of wealth

do you

have

it's

very easy

to think

about that

in terms

of money

what's in

my pocket

what's in

my bank

account

but I want

you to think

of the wealth

of God

has given

you

some of

the ways

that I

have seen

this church

bless other

people

in the

family of

God

inviting

an individual

in need

to come

and live

for a day

for a week

for a month

for a year

sometimes not

just an

individual

sometimes a

family with

kids

squeezing them

into the

basement

throwing them

up on the

in the extra

bedrooms

in your

empty nest

I've seen

this happen

and it's

been an

incredible

testimony

I think

about those

of us

who have

cars

and vehicles

would you

consider

thinking about

who you

can give

your car

to

rather than

getting

the

measly

$800

the

dealership

will give

to you

in a

trade-in

would you

consider

giving it

to someone

who couldn't

afford it

otherwise

I know

I've seen

that happen

in this

church

I've seen

it happen

where you've

given your

vans to

Eli and

to a bunch

of youth

group leaders

to drive

to New

Hampshire

in the

snow

and usually

they've come

back in one

piece and

sometimes they

haven't

right

and yet

you

welcomed

that cost

and said

yes

I can

share

what I

have

for the

good

of others

many of

you

open

your

homes

week

in

week

out

to

host

small

groups

to

invite

God's

people

in

to

study

his

word

and

to

have

fellowship

together

many of

you

set

aside

in

your

budget

extra

what can

I cut

out

this

month

so that

I just

have money

to give

where there's

a need

that might

arise

it's a

beautiful

thing

I pray

and hope

that our

church

will continue

to excel

still more

in these

ways

and if

you're

someone

who

isn't

sure

what the

needs

are

maybe

you're

newer

to the

church

I want

to let

you know

we have

something

called

a

have

need

list

Michelle

in the

office

moderates

it

you can

let the

church

office

know

and they'd

be glad

to put

your email

address

onto it

and it

just means

when someone

has something

they don't

need

they can

put it

on the

have

need

list

say

hey

I have

a

washing

machine

does

anyone

need

it

and

similarly

if there's

a need

I need

a ride

to the

airport

or I

need

a bed

or

whatever

and we've

seen

over and

over and

over again

God take

care of

one another

in this

church

through these

things

now what we've

talked about

so far

is all

material

things

but there are

other kinds

of wealth

as well

some of you

are great

cooks

and have

blessed one

another

with meals

when a new

baby has

come

when you've

come home

from a

hospital

even

just

in the

midst

of a

crisis

you have

blessed

one another

with meals

again

if you're

not in

on that

let

Michelle

know

we can

put you

on the

list

so that

you can

do that

some

of you

have a

great

knowledge

of the

city

of New

Haven

and our

church

is full

of people

who come

in

and don't

know much

about the

city

don't know

how it

works

some of

you have

great

knowledge

to share

about

how to

find social

services

about

how to

buy a

house

about

where there

might be

shelters

or need

places

for people

in need

you have

knowledge

to share

which is a

great wealth

seek to

use it

some of

you are

professionals

and when

appropriate

and legal

I'll put

those

little

caveats

on there

when

appropriate

and legal

consider

making

your

professional

help

available

and I

know

that gets

tricky

sometimes

but

press

on

find a

way

to do

it

in a

way

that's

okay

it doesn't

mean you

all get

free

health

care

by

finding

the

doctors

in

the

church

but

consider

that

these

people

might

be

able

to

consult

with

you

might

be

able

to

help

you

think

through

hard

problems

whether

you're

a

doctor

a

lawyer

a

social

worker

whatever

and

you know

friends

in our

modern

world

one of

the

greatest

wealth

that we

have

is

time

it's

very

precious

to us

and we're

loath to

share it

with

others

maybe

you don't

have a

lot of

wealth

maybe

you don't

have a

lot of

professional

degrees

but maybe

you have

time

time

to share

with

others

time

to help

to visit

the

homebound

time

to

come

alongside

those

who

may

be

struggling

one of

the things

that I

want to

say

is that

in all

of these

examples

and in

all of

these

opportunities

there's

cost

and we

need to

be prepared

for that

when we

give to

other

people

it will

be

inconvenient

and

sometimes

we will

really

lose

things

and we

need to

be

prepared

that this

isn't a

quid pro quo

kind of

world

it's an

abundance

that springs

up from

the goodness

and the

wellspring

of God's

love for

us

who then

provides

for us

who then

cascades

to those

around us

and we

don't look

for it

to be

given

back to

us

by those

that we

give to

but we

look to

God

to give

to us

so that

we might

give to

others

God

calls us

to

something

greater

than

simply

hoarding

what

we

have

he

calls

us

to

give

it

and

friends

as we

finish

and as

we

close

one of

the

things

I

want

to

point

out

is

that

these

problems

came

not

before

God's

kingdom

advanced

not

before

they

began

the

building

of

the

work

but

it

happened

in

the

context

of

it

and

as

we

continue

here