Let's Be Rich Toward God

Father in heaven, there is no one like you.

There is no one in history, no one in the past, present, or future that is comparable to you.

You are the great creator.

You are the great I am.

And Lord, this morning, we remember your goodness.

You promised you would send your son, Jesus, to save us from our brokenness, from our depravity, and from our sin, and you did.

Thank you that Christ came not after we repented.

He didn't come after we confessed our sin.

But Jesus, you came before.

You gave your life for us while our backs were still turned away from you.

Thank you, Jesus.

Thank you, Lord.

This morning, we remember Kevin as he is in Taiwan at the City to City intensive training.

God, may your spirit fill him to see more clearly your heart for church planting in Hong Kong and elsewhere,

and how Watermark fits into that plan.

We lift up City to City, Asia Pacific to you, asking God that your hand be upon this ministry.

We pray for Gunnar Raman and the City to City Asia Pacific leaders.

Please, God, would you inspire them to maximize the spread of the gospel through your vision for church planting.

Would you encourage them to persevere when times get tough?

Would you remind them that although we are all called to plant and water,

it is you, God, who brings the harvest.

So, God, may prayer be a core foundation of their work.

And we also lift up International Christian Fellowship to you.

Thank you, God, that many students in Hong Kong have come to dedicate their lives to you through ICF.

And thank you for the relationships that have been established there.

We pray that more students would come to know the love of Christ through ICF.

God, as this is exam time for the students,

we pray that your presence will be with them as they study and take these exams.

May they feel your peace instead of stress.

And I pray, God, that the students would know that their future is not tied up in grades,

nor A's or B's or C's, nor even career, God,

but their future is secure in you.

And I also want to pray specifically for the ICF students who will be returning to their home countries.

Simon, Alex, Shearer, Joanna, Annie, Justin, and Wayne.

I pray, God, as they head back to their home countries,

would you go before them?

May your spirit be with them.

Would you provide them with godly, centered relationships?

And finally, God, I pray for the rest of this service.

I pray for this sermon on the topic of money.

I pray that your truth will be made known.

May your word come through loud and clear.

May my word be in the background.

And would our hearts be soft and open to receiving and accepting

and responding to your word this morning.

In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray.

Amen.

Can I invite Kwadjo and Lorna up to read today's passage?

Good morning.

Good morning.

The scripture reading comes from Luke chapter 12.

Luke 12 · chapter mention

Please follow along in your bulletins on the screen.

I think we might be blocking people.

Someone in the crowd said to him,

Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.

But he said to him,

Man, who has made me a judge or arbitrator over you?

And he said to them,

Take care and be on your guard against all covetousness.

For one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.

And he told them a parable saying,

The land of a rich man produced plentifully.

And he thought to himself,

What shall I do?

For I have nowhere to store my crops.

And he said,

I will do this.

I will tear down my barns and build larger ones.

And there I will store all my grain and my goods.

And I will say to my soul,

Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years.

Relax, eat, drink, be merry.

But God said to him,

Fool, this night your soul is required of you.

And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?

Soul is the one who lays up treasure for himself.

And is not rich toward God.

This is the word of God.

Thanks, Kwadro and Lorna, for reading the passage.

Money and greed are difficult topics to talk about.

So difficult, in fact, that both Kevin and Chris have took today off.

I'm kidding, of course.

As we prayed, Kevin is in Taiwan at the City of City conference.

And Chris has taken a delegation from Watermark to Turkey.

But money and greed are still difficult topics to talk about.

Even within our families, those to whom we're closest,

money is oftentimes a very sensitive subject.

At work, we openly talk about our career ambitions

or where we want to be financially in 10 years.

But admitting that we're greedy for money

because of the security and pleasure that money provides,

who says that, right?

And in the Christian church context,

I would argue we don't talk about money enough.

We talk about other messy things,

other aspects of sin in our lives.

But admitting we love money too much

or confessing we have a problem with materialism,

not very common, at least from my experience.

But Jesus Christ, when he walked this earth,

spoke about money a lot.

And that is because money has the ability to do a lot of good,

but a lot of harm as well.

15% of all of the recorded words of Jesus

were on the topic of money.

As a whole, the Bible mentions money 2,350 times,

more than faith and prayer combined.

An astonishing fact when you think about it.

And that is why at Watermark,

we've dedicated five Sundays to talk about

or to see what the Bible talks about

on this topic of money.

Because whether we lived in the first century in Israel

or in 2019 in Hong Kong,

the principle is the same.

How we view and treat money

is a measure of our true character.

Money is real.

It's tangible.

It's concrete.

How we spend it,

how we save it or hoard it,

and how we give it away

speaks to the very core,

the very essence of our lives.

As Christians.

So today as we continue this sermon series on money,

we will look at the teachings of Jesus Christ.

And as we consider this passage from Luke 12,

I'll try to make these three points.

Be on your guard against greed,

how the pursuit of money clouds our vision of God.

And finally, let's be rich toward God.

It's very quiet in here right now.

Let's dive right into it.

Be on your guard against greed.

Looking at Luke 12, verse 13,

Luke 12:13

the very first verse of this passage.

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,

Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.

So, the context of this passage is

Jesus has been teaching about the kingdom of God.

And he taught that in his kingdom,

it's this upside down or counterintuitive kingdom

whose values and principles are totally opposed

to the values of this world.

Christ taught that blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of God.

Blessed are those who mourned,

for they will be comforted.

He taught that it's not the proud or the self-righteous

who will see God and know God.

No.

Jesus taught it's the meek, the lowly,

the one who humbles himself

and admits his desperate need

for God's grace and forgiveness.

That is a person who will see God and know God.

Then imagine, all of a sudden,

this man elbows his way through the crowd,

desperate for Christ to hear what he has to say.

He finally gets within earshot and he yells out,

Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.

Now, according to the Jewish law regarding inheritance,

which you can find in Deuteronomy 21, verse 17,

Deuteronomy 21:17

if a father had more than one son,

he must give his eldest son

a double share of the inheritance over other sons.

And so clearly, this man, this son,

didn't think the inheritance laws were fair.

But interestingly,

instead of addressing this man's request

or his demand,

instead, Christ uses this opportunity

to teach a very valuable lesson

on money and greed.

He turns to the whole crowd

and in verse 15, Jesus says,

Be on your guard against all covetousness,

for one's life does not consist

in the abundance of his possessions.

The NIV says,

Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.

Last year,

my wife and I heard about

an attempted abduction of a kindergarten student

right here in Hong Kong.

And when we heard about this,

we immediately started teaching

our three-year-old daughter, Kiva,

to be extra careful

when leaving her school.

In particular,

not to let any strangers

talk to her

or certainly not to touch her.

We tried to teach her

to be on her guard

against strangers.

This is kind of what

Jesus is saying here.

Be on your guard against greed.

It's the unseen villain

who prowls around

waiting to attack.

Let's think about a few examples.

You did not get a pay raise this year,

but your colleague,

who you don't think

works as hard as you,

got one.

And NIV starts creeping into your mind.

Be on your guard

against greed.

Or someone you know

just bought an apartment in Hong Kong

and you find yourself

feeling a little bit resentful

because you're still renting.

Be on your guard

against greed.

And so we need to recognize,

it doesn't matter where you are

on the financial spectrum,

whether you live paycheck to paycheck

or you have enough money

in the bank to retire today,

greed is a real danger

and temptation

for all of us.

It's kind of there.

It's like the virus

on the computer.

It's there,

we don't even know it.

Now most of us here

probably know

that do not covet

was the tenth commandment

that God gave Israel

in Exodus 20.

Do not covet

your neighbor's house.

Do not covet

your neighbor's wife

or his manservant

or maidservant,

his ox or donkey

or anything that belongs

to your neighbor.

The first nine commandments

were instructions

about outward actions.

Have no other gods before me.

Remember the Sabbath day.

Honor your father and mother.

Do not murder,

lie, steal

or commit adultery.

These are all

outward actions

that we can tangibly

do or not do.

But what's unique

about the tenth commandment

of do not covet

is that it has to do

with the inward motivation.

It has to do

with the heart.

And the Bible says

that everything we do,

good or bad,

comes from this

inward motivation.

It comes from the heart.

Listen to what Jesus said

in Luke 6, 45.

A good man brings

good things

out of the good

stored up in his heart.

And an evil man

brings evil things

out of the evil

stored up in his heart.

For the mouth speaks

what the heart

is full of.

Most people,

whether you are a follower

of Jesus Christ or not,

would probably agree

that murder,

stealing, lying,

adultery, or morally wrong.

But if you think about it,

coveting or greed

is a foundation

or root

of all of these

outward actions.

Let's look

at a few more examples.

You want a promotion

at work

for higher pay

so you can

buy the newest

gadget or

handbag.

And so you speak poorly

about your colleagues

so you look better.

Or,

in your heart,

do you secretly

desire your

married colleagues

so you'll flirt

with this person?

Maybe ask this person

out for a coffee alone?

This may end

in physical adultery,

but it would have

started

in the heart.

The Apostle Paul

gave this instruction

in Colossians 3.5.

He said,

Put to death,

therefore,

whatever belongs

to your earthly nature,

sexual immorality,

impurity,

lust,

evil desires,

and greed,

which is idolatry.

Greed is idolatry.

And like any kind

of idolatry,

it means this false idol

has been elevated

to a point in our life

which is higher

or greater than that

of God,

our Creator.

So why should we be

on our guard

against greed?

What is the big deal?

What's the consequence

if we have this

heart condition?

Well,

that leads us

to the second point,

which is that greed

and the pursuit

of money

clouds or obscures

our vision of God.

Greed and the pursuit

of money

clouds or obscures

our vision of God.

As it relates

to coveting

or being greedy

for money

and possessions,

we learn it starts

in the heart

but it manifests itself

physically

with how we deal

with money.

Specifically,

how we spend,

how we save

or hoard

and how we give away

money.

And so Jesus,

after warning

about greed,

tells a parable

or a story

to illustrate

in a concrete way

how this heart condition

impacts the way

we treat money.

He tells a story

about a wealthy farmer

whose land

produced plentifully.

So abundant

was his harvest

that he had nowhere

to store his crops

and so he tears

down his old barns,

he builds newer

and bigger barns

and he stores

all his excess grain

in there

and this,

he thinks,

will allow him

to relax,

eat,

drink,

and be merry.

Essentially,

this farmer

wanted to have

a cushy retirement

with a big bank account.

Anyone like that?

Okay,

you don't have to answer

that question.

It's okay.

It's okay.

He thought his life,

his security

were all tied up

in his wealth.

But God said to him,

you fool,

this very night

your soul

is required of you

and the things

you are prepared,

whose will they be?

So what's wrong

with the rich farmer?

Well, first,

let's be clear

in what Jesus

is not saying.

Jesus is not saying

that it's wrong

to work hard for a living.

He's not saying

that it's wrong

to be a successful

business person.

We need more

honest,

successful business people

to give their money

away to honest ministry

so that many

will be blessed,

the poor,

the marginalized,

the lost.

They would all know

the love of Christ.

But what Jesus

is saying

is that the rich farmer

elevated his personal wealth

and his desire

to retire rich

and eat,

drink,

and be merry.

He elevated this

far above

his view

of God.

in short,

his greed,

his desire

for wealth

and security,

that was his God.

And we know this

because the farmer

never acknowledged

that God was the one

that gave him

all that he had.

He wasn't thankful.

Psalm 24,

Psalms 24:1

verse 1 says,

the earth is the Lord's

and everything in it,

the world

and all who live in it.

It's hard to argue

with that one.

James 1, 17 says,

every good

and perfect gift

comes from above,

coming down

from the Father

of the heavenly lights.

Also hard

to argue with.

And second,

the farmer

never thought

about how he could

use the blessing

he received

to bless others.

He wasn't generous.

He hoarded,

he hoarded

all that stuff

to himself.

And so God,

his creator,

the one who generously

gave him

all that he had,

says to him,

you fool.

So how does

the pursuit of money

make us foolish?

How does the pursuit

of money make us foolish?

Well,

there are probably

many reasons,

but the one I'm focusing on

and highlighting is

because the pursuit

of money

clouds or distorts

or obscures

our vision

of God.

Going back

to what Jesus said

in verse 15,

for one's life

does not consist

in the abundance

of his possessions.

Okay?

So what is the point

of life then?

Maybe your answer is

to have a fulfilling career.

The point of life

is to have meaningful

relationships,

to fall in love,

get married,

have children,

raise a family.

These are all

good things.

But throughout the Bible,

both the Old

and the New Testament,

the purpose of

every human life

is to glorify

the name of

Almighty God.

Life consists

in making God's

name great,

to worship him

by finding our deepest

and truest delight

in him,

and by living lives

that reflect his goodness,

his sacrifice,

and his love.

But we can only do this

if we have the correct

vision of God

as sovereign,

as holy,

as perfect

and righteous,

worthy to be praised

above all things

created on this earth.

And we can only do this

if we see God's Son,

our Lord Jesus,

as our greatest treasure,

understanding that

although Jesus

was rich,

he became poor for us,

that you and I

may know God.

I've talked to many

Christians

over the years,

and I

think,

if we're really honest

with ourselves,

many of us struggle

to see God

as real,

as tangible.

We read about God

in the Bible,

we listen to sermons

on Sunday morning,

but day to day,

God is not real,

he's not tangible,

he's not there

in the nitty-gritty

everyday moment of life.

Maybe that's why

we worry so much.

And I think

for many of us,

this is because

the pursuit of money,

or the struggles

with money,

or our desire

to make more money,

clouds

our vision

of God.

Two reasons for this.

First,

it's distracting.

It takes up so much

time and effort

to pursue money.

Whether you're living

paycheck to paycheck

or you can retire

today

with the money

in your bank,

pursuing money

takes up so much time

in our hearts.

How can we fit

the worship of Christ

in there?

Much more than actual

hours spent working,

it's the time spent

worrying about money

or striving to make

more money

that drains our spirit

the most.

And second,

the pursuit of money

clouds our vision of God

because it's deceiving.

In a different passage,

Jesus talks about

how the deceitfulness

of riches

can choke his word.

Meaning we can hear

the good news

of the gospel

with our ears

but it has no relevance

in our day-to-day lives

because the worries

of the world

or the lies

that wealth

would give us happiness

blinds us

as to the realness

and the power

of God.

A number of years ago,

Watermark hosted

an executive

at one of the world's

largest technology companies.

This man was a Christian

but he's also wildly

successful in his career.

He gave a small group talk

and out of the many words

of wisdom that I heard,

one thing I'll never forget

is this man said that

as his career progressed,

as he got very successful,

the main temptation

he faced was this idea

that it was him himself

that drove his success.

You see, success

in any sense,

doing well on your exams,

getting a good bonus,

getting a promotion,

success in any sense

can lead us to believe

that it's our hard work,

it's our great

decision-making abilities,

it's our great network

of relationships

that drives everything.

We work hard,

we deserve it.

That's a lie.

That is money obscuring

or blocking

our vision of God.

Think about it this way.

Think about stargazing.

Think about stargazing

in Hong Kong, right?

Hard, yes.

In Hong Kong,

at night,

you look up at the sky,

you would struggle

to see even one star.

There's so many bright lights

out there,

you can't see anything.

But it doesn't mean

the stars aren't there.

The stars are always up there

in all their God-created beauty.

But we can't see them

in most places in Hong Kong

because of the distraction

of the man-made light.

Now imagine you're

on the plains of Mongolia.

No 10-tower apartment complexes,

no skyscrapers in Central,

no man-made light,

nothing to obscure

or block your vision

of the stars.

Look up at the sky at night,

you'd see hundreds,

if not thousands,

of stars.

We need God

to remove

that which blocks

or obscures

our vision of Him.

Because in Hong Kong,

perhaps more than

in any other city

in the world,

we are constantly blinded

as to the realness of God

because,

let's be honest,

the God here is money.

All over Hong Kong,

billboards are telling me

that money will make me happy,

safe and secure.

The slogan of Hong Kong,

the unofficial slogan

of Hong Kong is,

you have to have a property.

If you do,

you'll be happy.

This culture is telling me,

have a good career,

have a property,

be happy,

be your own God.

Sorry,

I lost my place now.

I'm getting too passionate

about this.

But that worldview

leads to death.

Because you'll never

be truly satisfied

because we all know

that if you're fortunate enough

to have a one-bedroom apartment,

pretty soon you want

a two-bedroom apartment

and then you want

a three-bedroom apartment

and then you want

a bigger three-bedroom apartment

and so on and so forth

because earthly possessions

will never quench

our intrinsic thirst

for something

that is not from this earth.

earthly possessions

will never quench

our intrinsic thirst

for something

that is not

from this earth.

Or,

as in today's passage,

literal death

will come knocking

at your door

when you least expect it.

And all the stuff

that we store up

in barns

will be,

will turn into dust

pretty quickly.

Developed cities

like Hong Kong

are getting more

and more materialistic,

not less.

More than ever,

we need Almighty God

to cut out

all these material distractions

which leads to death

and open our eyes

to see God again

in all His beauty

and majesty.

And if people

like you and I,

people who are clouded

by our wealth

and our pursuit

of money,

if we really

want to see God,

not just hear about Him,

not just read about Him,

but truly know God

deep in our hearts,

then we need to be

rich toward God.

Jesus ends this parable

by saying,

so is the one

who lays up treasure

for himself,

i.e.,

the rich fool

and is not rich

toward God.

So what does it mean

to be rich

toward God?

Well, first,

every single aspect

of our lives

should be dedicated

to God.

Our careers,

our families,

our children,

our money

and possessions.

And this is because

we realize that

we only have anything

in this world

because God

has been so

incredibly generous

to us.

John Piper

says it like this,

being rich

toward God,

therefore,

is the heart

being drawn

toward God

as our riches.

Rich toward God

means we are drawn

or pulled,

excuse me,

rich toward God

means counting God

greater riches

than anything

on this earth.

It means using

earthly riches

to show how much

you value God.

So,

instead of being drawn

in the direction

of money

and possessions

and the security

and comfort

that money provides,

being rich

toward God

means we are drawn

or pulled

toward God,

dedicating our lives,

giving our lives,

including our money

as worship to Him

because God

is our greatest treasure

and our highest value.

value.

So,

what does this look like?

Well,

as it relates to money,

being rich

toward God

means we regularly

give financially

back to God

what He has first

given us

as worship.

Being rich

toward God

means we regularly

give financially

back to God

what He has first

given us

as worship.

we don't just

talk about

giving back

to God.

We don't just

pray about it.

We don't just

do it once in a while

when it's convenient

or when we remember.

We regularly

give back to God

what He has first

given us

as worship.

Now,

I don't know

about you,

but this idea

about being rich

toward God

has been very

challenging to me

my whole life.

See,

I grew up

believing

that money

equaled

security.

And so,

as a teenager,

as a college student,

fresh grad,

I worked hard

because I thought

that having a good career

would give me money

and money

would give me security.

The 2008 financial crisis

had a big impact

on me.

I was living

in New York

at the time

and I lost

my high-paying job

in New York

and I also lost

a decent amount

of my savings

during the crisis.

And this made me realize

that life

does not consist

in the abundance

of possessions.

And over the years

as I've invested

my own money,

I began to realize

I was only doing so

for myself.

before I invested

I never prayed

and I never asked

God

how can he use

the profits

to bless others.

I realized

I realized

how greedy

I was.

Generosity

was never

in my vocabulary

up until

a few years ago.

when my wife

and I

first got married

she told me

that it's tradition

in her family

for all the married

couples

to give presents

to all the children

in the family

and Celeste

has a very big family.

So I was like

there were so many kids

we had to give presents

to every single one of them

and two months later

we had to give

life seed

to all of them as well.

We got into

a massive fight

over this.

I realized then

how much

this idea

of giving

being generous

it bothered me.

I had been attending

Watermark

for a number

of years

but my giving

to God

it

it wasn't

it wasn't regular

it wasn't

sacrificial

it certainly

wasn't

worship.

See what I'm trying

to say is

I've been the rich fool

most of my life.

Most of my life

as a Christian

I've been pursuing

my own gain

trying to build up

stuff in barns

for myself

and I have never

truly been rich

toward God.

That Christmas

when I gave

those presents

to the kids

who are now

part of my family

it was God

slowly

starting

to change

my heart.

As I gave

those Lego toys

to them

or the Marvel

toys to them

I could see

the joy

on their faces

and I

also received

joy.

As I finally

confessed

my sin

my sin

of greed

my sin

of this

lack of

generosity

I began

to see

Christ

in a new

way.

As I realized

how truly

messed up

I was

how truly

sinful

I was

I was more

desperate than

ever

for the grace

of God

and as I

received

that grace

Christ

became more

beautiful

and wonderful

to me

than ever

before.

and then

I

started giving

regularly

to God

through this

church body

at Watermark.

I was

convicted that I

needed to give

a meaningful

sacrificial amount

of my monthly

income

back to God

as worship.

And then after

I started giving

to other ministries

families

and individuals

who

through prayer

I thought

God wanted to

bless

through me.

See I

wasn't

blessing them

it was

God

blessing them

through me.

I was just

I'm just

this conduit

I'm just

this middleman

of sorts.

But you know

even today

man I still

struggle

and I still

wrestle

with this idea

of giving

to God.

Every time

I write

a check

to Watermark

or I give

money

and I think

about my

monthly expenses

with three

kids and all

that stuff

man it's

painful.

Does anybody

know what I'm

talking about?

Anybody?

Anybody?

You know one of

the beautiful

things about being

part of a church

body is that

all of us come

from different

walks of life.

But this topic

of money

and greed

touches every

single one

of us.

For some

of us here

giving to

God is a

regular activity

in your life.

My challenge

to you is

let's not do

that religiously.

You know

we worship

God through

sung worship

right?

But if we

sing songs

with our

mouths but

our mind

is on the

football game

or on

dim sum

afterwards

that's not

worship.

We worship

God with

our heart

soul

mind

and strength

and so

my challenge

to you is

the next

time you

write a check

do so

prayerfully

and worshipfully

praying that

God would

multiply

those resources

a hundred

times for

his kingdom

so that

many would

know the

love of

Christ.

For others

here

perhaps giving

to God

isn't something

you're used

to doing

or maybe

you don't

think you

can give

to God

because of

your financial

circumstances.

some of

you I

imagine

are thinking

even right

now

don't you

know Oscar

that my

salary in

Hong Kong

hasn't changed

in ten

years but

property

prices are

up two

to three

times?

Or don't

you know

Oscar that

I have to

give a

huge percentage

of my

monthly income

to my

parents and

I have no

money for

myself left

over?

I can't

give.

I need to

save.

I'm not

hoarding,

I'm being

prudent.

I can

relate to

that.

My wife

and I

had our

second and

third child

seven months

ago and

man when I

was crunching

those numbers

on diapers,

formula,

potentially school,

tuition,

man I just

stopped.

I had a

headache.

But you

know in

spite of our

financial

struggles,

in spite of

our financial

uncertainties,

I want to

encourage us

to follow

God's

kingdom

principles,

this upside

down

counterintuitive

kingdom

principles.

I want to

encourage us

to be rich

toward God.

As I

close,

let me

highlight three

reasons why.

First and

foremost,

because Christ,

Jesus Christ,

has made us

incredibly rich.

rich, but

it's only

because Christ

became poor

so that you

and I

through his

poverty might

become rich.

Before the

world began,

before any

human was

ever born,

before money

and banking

existed,

Jesus Christ

decided to

come to

this earth

and live a

very poor

life.

He lived

33 years

financially

poor,

he served

thousands of

people,

he worked

hard,

but he never

started up

anything in

barns for

himself.

and then

he died

for us.

And on

that cross,

when he

died,

he died

poor,

in spirit

and in

finances.

Through the

poverty of

Christ,

you and I

have become

rich.

Do we

see ourselves

as rich?

Do we?

If I were

to guess,

I would say

most people

would say

no.

Lee Ka-Shing

is rich,

Jeff Bezos

is very

rich,

but you

and I,

we're not

rich.

But if you

are running

water and

a roof over

your head,

you are among

the richest

people on

this planet.

How much

more then are

you and I

spiritually rich

because our

faith is in

Jesus Christ?

Because our

faith is not

in stocks,

not in bonds,

it's not in

real estate.

All those

things can be

wiped out in

a heartbeat

during any

random financial

disaster.

No.

Our faith

is in

God,

the one

who is

unshakable,

unchanging,

eternal,

the one

who existed

before time.

And our

faith is

in Jesus

Christ,

his son,

who paid

that ultimate

price for us

so that you

and I

have an

eternal

future

which is

secure.

Today,

if your

faith

is in

Jesus

Christ,

you are

the son

or daughter

of the

great king.

Forget about

dividing the

inheritance.

You and

I will

receive the

full

inheritance

in heaven.

Amen.

Therefore,

we can be

rich toward

God in

this life

because we

know our

inheritance is

eternal

through the

blood of

Jesus.

Second

reason is

because it's

the only

way to

fight

greed.

If this

warning about

greed that

Jesus gives,

if this

has impacted

you today,

then you

realize it's

a battle we

need to

fight.

So let's

fight this

battle together.

And the

only way to

fight greed

is to

regularly give

your money

away.

The only way

to tear down

these false

idols of

materialism,

comfort,

pleasure,

is to

regularly give

your money

away.

Why?

Because then

it's not about

you.

It's not about

me.

money.

Worried about

how you're

going to

raise your

children in

Hong Kong

when the

city is so

expensive?

Give your

money to

God.

Worried about

how you're

going to

pay rent

when property

prices here

are the

most expensive

in the

world?

Give your

money to

God.

Concerned

that perhaps

money has

too tight a

grip on

you?

Yeah,

you guessed

it.

Give your

money to

God.

And as you

do so,

get on your

knees and

pray.

Let's pray

together.

Let's pray

that God

would tear

down this

false idol

of money

and greed

and put

Christ in

his rightful

place as

the only

one we

worship.

If you

are a young

adult this

morning or

fresh grad

here today

and you've

never given

to God,

I want to

encourage you.

Look,

I know how

difficult it

is to

part with

money you

think you've

earned.

You think

it's yours,

but it's

not.

You only

have it

because God

gave it

to you.

So just

start by

giving $50

or $100

a month

and pray

that God

will change

your heart

to start

giving

sacrificially

and worshipfully.

Final

reason

to be rich

toward God

is because

you will

receive

eternal

joy.

If you

want to

receive

eternal

joy,

joy which

transcends

all the

temporal

materialistic

joy that

we have

in materialism

and possessions,

then give.

If you

want to see

the beauty

of Christ

more clearly

without being

blinded by

this pursuit

of money,

then give.

Jesus said

it's more

blessed to

give than

to receive.

This is so

true.

I believe

there's a

very close

relationship

between

giving to

God

and receiving

incredible

joy.

And that

is because

as we

give to

God,

praying that

he would

multiply

or giving

a thousand

times so

that the

poor,

the marginalized,

the widows

and orphans

would be

comforted,

so that

the woman

in the

red light

districts

of Hong

Kong

would be

free of

that bondage,

so that

the lost,

those who don't

know him,

would know

the love

of Christ.

And as

we see

God's hand

working in

those lives,

we receive

joy because

we receive

a glimpse

of God's

own heart.

Because

God loves

the poor.

God loves

the marginalized.

He loves

the lost.

So as

we give,

we receive

joy.

And as

we receive

joy,

we're encouraged

to give

more.

As we

give more,

we are

encouraged,

we receive

joy,

we give

more,

there's

this

symbiotic

two-way

feedback loop

that goes

on and

on and

on.

So let's

be rich

to our

God because

Christ has

made us

rich,

because it's

the only

way to

fight greed,

and because

you will

receive

eternal

joy.

Let me

close.

friends,

the world

is constantly

telling us

this lie

that money

will make

us happy.

That is

a lie.

That is

the foolishness

of greed.

Let's not

let money

cloud our

vision

of God.

God,

there's an

eternity

after this

life.

If your

faith and

hope is

in Jesus

Christ this

morning,

on the last

day,

you and I

will stand

before him.

He'll show

us his

scars on

his hands.

He'll show

us the wound

on his

side.

And I'm

pretty sure

you and I

will fall

to our

knees in

worship,

finally realizing

the depth

of the love

and sacrifice

of Christ.

But before

then, we

have a little

bit of time

left on

earth.

So let's

be rich

toward God.

Let's give

Jesus everything

we have,

our lives,

including our

money,

because he

has given us

a secure

future,

and he

alone is

worthy.

Let's pray.

Father,

this is a

challenging

subject.

It's very

challenging for

me, Lord.

You know my

heart, God,

and you know

my struggles.

You know all

of our

struggles,

Lord.

Forgive us,

God,

where greed,

the pursuit

of money,

have clouded

our vision

of you.

Forgive us,

Lord, where

we've elevated

this idol of

money above

you.

Oh, God,

would you

tear down

this idol of

money, God,

of greed,

Father?

Father,

comfort us,

Lord,

when we worry

about money.

Teach us,

Lord,

that money

is not the

key to

happiness,

that we can

only receive

true joy

in you,

Jesus,

that you are

our greatest

treasure

and our

highest value.

Lord,

we're