Are You Rich?

Come to our last sermon in Paul's first letter to Timothy.

So if you have your Bible, you can open it up to chapter 6 of 1 Timothy.

And this morning we'll be starting in verse 17.

For the past couple of weeks, we've been listening to Christ's instructions through Paul

about money, greed, and contentment.

And last Sunday we heard Jesus command us to flee from greed and the love of money

and instead to pursue these things.

Righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.

And then Paul gave this solemn charge to Timothy to keep this command

and he went into a bit of a reflection of who God is

and gave a word of praise to God.

Well now in verse 17, Paul is going to come back for the last time to this issue of money.

Let me read it for us this morning.

Starting in verse 17.

Paul writes,

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant,

nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain,

but to put their hope in God,

who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

Command them to do good,

to be rich in good deeds,

and to be generous and willing to share.

In this way, they will lay up treasure for themselves

as a firm foundation for the coming age

so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care.

Turn away from godless chatter

and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge,

which some have professed

and in so doing have departed from the faith.

Grace be with you all.

I listened to the first few minutes of a sermon on this very passage

by a pastor friend of mine from Nipawin,

and he began by asking his church a question.

Are you rich?

I want to ask the same question.

Are you rich?

These first three verses in our passage today

contain instructions for the rich.

Are these instructions for you?

Or not?

Are you rich?

Now the more I thought about this question this week,

I realized it's not the easiest question to answer.

Many of us would probably answer no.

After all, there are many people who have much more than I do.

But if we're comparing ourselves to others,

we also need to look in the opposite direction.

There are many more people in our world

who have much less than I do.

Probably most of you have heard some kind of a statistic

at some time or another

that the vast majority of North Americans

are among the top 10% of people in the world

when it comes to wealth.

But that statistic doesn't tell the whole story either.

Some places in the world

are a lot more expensive to live than others.

Could be because of the availability of goods and services

or because of the climate.

Some households in the world

have more mouths to feed than others.

What about the small business owner

who has substantial business assets

but whose profit margins are thin?

What about debt?

Is the person who drives a good car

and has a good house

but can barely afford to pay the bills

and put food on the table

because of the mortgage payment

and the car loan payment,

is that person wealthy

or broke?

Statistics paint one picture

but human realities can paint another.

Some people are poor

or struggling because of bad financial decisions

or greed or addictions.

Others are poor

because they've been taken advantage of

or maybe they lost the breadwinner in their family

and they can't find work.

Some people are rich

because they work hard.

They're skilled in things

that are in high demand.

Others are rich

because they have cheated

or stolen,

taken advantage of others.

Now the word used here

for rich in this passage

means

to have

an abundance

either of money

or of earthly possessions

or both.

So let's take that

into the way

that we asked the question

at the beginning.

Do you

have an abundance

of either money

or possessions

or both?

Another way to say it is this.

Do you have

more

than you need?

And if your answer is yes,

then you are among the rich.

But even here

I know we can rationalize,

we can reason our way

out of answering yes.

We might say,

well I don't have

an abundance of money.

Seems like the money

goes out

as fast as it comes in

or even faster.

But what am I using

that money for?

Is it only for things

that I need?

Or is there

a good chunk

of my cash

that's going towards

stuff that I don't

really need?

To scratch the itch

of discontentment

as we talked about

last week.

Just to bring

increased comfort,

pleasure,

entertainment.

It's quite possible

that you could be

making over

six figures

a year

and feel

nearly broke

and like the money

just isn't there.

Is it that you're poor?

Or do you have

a spending problem?

Or we may rationalize

in a totally different way.

Perhaps you're very frugal

and you only

really buy something

if you need it.

You might say,

I don't have an abundance

of possessions.

I'm still using

my great granddad's hammer

that was passed on down

and you hate

to spend money.

I don't have much

by way of possessions.

But in the bank

and in your investments,

you've got quite

an abundance.

abundance.

But I need all that

for retirement

and emergencies

and old age

and just in case.

Now don't get me wrong.

It is prudent

to put aside money

for those years ahead

when you become

unable to work

or for emergencies.

But some people

have above

and beyond that

an abundance.

However you came

to have it,

if that's you,

you are among

the rich.

To be rich

is to have more

than you need.

That's what abundance

means.

It means

to abound,

to have more

than you require.

And if that's you,

Christ Jesus

has something

to say to you

today

through Paul.

Paul.

He says,

command those

who are rich

in this present world

not

to be arrogant.

Paul's referring

to pride.

When you have more

than others

around you,

the conditions

are ripe

for pride

to grow.

I'm doing better

than others.

I've got more

than others

around me.

Why?

Well,

I must be smarter.

I must be wiser.

I must be better

at managing money

than they are.

Or I've worked harder.

Pride can creep

into our hearts

and can lead us

to look down

on others

around us

who have less.

Jesus says,

command those

who are rich

not to be arrogant,

not to be proud.

In other words,

don't pat yourself

on the back

and try to take

all the credit

for why you have

more than others

around you.

As Paul said

in his letter

to the Corinthians,

who makes you

different from

anyone else?

What do you have

that you did not

receive?

And if you did

receive it,

why do you boast

as though you did not?

Sure,

you may have worked

harder than others,

but will you not

give the credit

for that strength

and that ability

to work

to the grace of God

that was with you?

So if you have

more than you need,

do not be arrogant,

do not be proud.

And he goes on,

command those

who are rich

in this present world

not to be arrogant

nor to put their

hope in wealth,

which is so uncertain.

Do not put your

hope in wealth.

For those of you

who have an abundance,

do you console

yourself with it?

Do you look to it

and lean on it

and take comfort

in it?

Do you see that

number in your

savings account

or in your

investment accounts

as your security,

your safety,

your provision

for future days?

Or do you look

at the stuff

that you have,

your possessions

that you've

accumulated as

your pride

and your joy,

the things that

will ensure

that you have

a good life

in the days ahead?

Christ says,

do not put

your hope

in wealth.

Do not hope

in your abundance.

Why?

Because riches

are so uncertain.

They're not

dependable.

They cannot be

relied on

to guarantee

your security,

your safety,

your provision,

your happiness

for the future.

God can take

the earthly

abundance away

even faster

than he gave

it to us.

Think back

to the story

of Job.

Look at what

happened to the

children of Israel

when many successive

years of famine

came on the land,

how quickly

their wealth

was given up

just to stay alive.

they went

from living

like princes

to slavery.

Look at the

splendor

and the wealth

of the people

in Israel

during the days

of King Solomon.

Said in those

days silver

was considered

to be of little

value because

of how much

of it there

was in the land

and yet it

wasn't long

before it was

all gone

and carried

off as the

spoils of war

to other

kingdoms.

In the same

way today

markets

can collapse.

Economies

can fold.

Commodities

that were once

valued highly

can become

utterly worthless.

Companies

can go

bankrupt.

Natural

disasters

can strike

and they

can destroy

our property

and our

possessions.

Governmental

changes

can occur.

The purchasing

ability of the

dollar

can dwindle.

wealth is so

uncertain.

So don't

put your hope

in your

abundance

in your

wealth

says Jesus.

Instead

put your

hope in

God.

Command

those who

are rich

in this

present world

not to be

arrogant

nor to put

their hope

in wealth

which is so

uncertain

but to put

their hope

in God.

Look to

him

as your

security

and your

safety.

your

refuge

and your

rock

in uncertain

times.

He's the

one that

provides what

we need

in future

days.

And the

Bible is

full of

wonderful

examples

of how

God

provided

in a

perfectly

timed

manner

for his

people

for the

needy

for the

poor.

Look at

the life

of David.

One minute

he was a

prince.

he was

in the

king's

court.

He was

successful

in every

way.

He was

married to

the king's

daughter.

And the

next moment

he was

on the

run

for his

life.

And he

was asking

for bread

from the

priest at

Nob.

Did he

experience

scarcity?

He did.

But did

God provide

for him

all along

the way

wherever

he ran

he did.

And the

Bible is

full of

stories just

like his.

What did

David do

in the midst

of all

that?

We can

read it

in the

Psalms.

He looked

to God.

He put

his hope

in God.

He cried

out to

the Lord

and the

Lord supplied

his need.

This is

true whether

we have an

abundance today

or not.

We should

do the

same.

Command

those who

are rich

in this

present

world

to put

their

hope

in God.

Is

your

hope

in

God?

There's

a reminder

that comes

with this.

Put your

hope in

God who

richly

provides us

with everything

for our

enjoyment.

This is

maybe the

last thing

we expect

Paul to

say in

this

moment.

Maybe

we were

expecting

put your

hope in

God who

calls us

all to

live a

life of

austerity.

God

cares more

about our

holiness

than our

happiness.

But no.

Paul says

speaking of

riches and

abundance

God is

the one

who richly

abundantly

provides us

with everything.

He's not

stingy.

He doesn't

give us

just bare

minimum

slim

pickings.

His

provision to

us is

abundant.

His

giving to

us is

more than

we need.

And it's

not only

so that we

might give

to others.

We'll get

to that in

a minute.

But His

giving to us

abundantly,

His more

than we

need

provision

is aimed

at our

enjoyment.

Do you

hear this?

Put your

hope in

God who

richly provides

us with

everything for

our

enjoyment.

God wants

you to

have

enjoyment

from the

things that

He richly

provides you

with and

gives to

you.

He loves

you.

He wants

you to be

happy.

He wants

you to

delight in

and be

satisfied with

the good

things that

He's filled

this earth

with.

So it's

not wrong

to have

possessions.

It's not

bad to

have good

things,

to have

means.

God's the

one who's

given those

things to

you.

And He's

done it for

your

enjoyment.

But as

we'll see

now, the

abundance He

gives is

not just

for our

enjoyment.

It's also

so that we

might use

it to do

good and

to meet

the needs

of others.

Verse 18,

command them

to do

good, to

be rich in

good deeds,

and to be

generous and

willing to

share.

So God

gives

abundantly or

richly to

us, and

He has two

purposes in

it at least.

One, for our

own enjoyment,

and two, so

that we can

out of that

abundance do

good and

give to

others.

And I like

the way Paul,

he seems to

want to work

the word rich

into everything

here.

To those

among you

who are

rich, command

them to

be rich in

good deeds.

To be rich

in good deeds.

It's as though

Paul is

saying to

all of us

who have an

abundance,

don't just

ask, what

can this

abundance do

for me?

Oh, I

have this

much money,

what can I

do with it

for myself?

Rather ask,

what good

can I do

for others

with this

abundance that

God has

given me?

Be rich in

good deeds.

That's the

kind of riches

we should

strive for.

What good

can I do

for others

with this

abundance that

God has

given to

me?

And notice,

he doesn't

get too

specific here.

Command them

to do good,

to be rich in

good deeds.

it's pretty

generic,

pretty general.

I mean,

there's all

kinds of

good that

we might

do with

the abundance

that God

has given

us.

Are we

looking for

those

opportunities

with

intentionality?

I think

these words

are really

powerful.

It's almost

as if Christ

is trying to

flip our

view of

money and

possessions

upside down.

if having

money is

our goal,

then the

question that

we're going

to ask is,

what's the

bare minimum

that I must

give away

to be as

God wants

me to be?

But if

doing as

much good as

possible is

the goal,

being rich in

good deeds,

suddenly we

got to ask

a different

question.

what amount

should I

keep for

myself and

for my

family,

for our

own needs?

Command them

to be rich

in good

deeds.

Paul

tacks on

two more

commands here.

rich in

good deeds

and, he

says, be

generous.

Be willing

to share.

There's a bit

of a flow

here if you

read the

passage in

one go.

And we

see the

same flow

in other

places in

the New

Testament.

We're

commanded to

love as

Christ has

loved us.

We're told

to forgive

one another

as God

has forgiven

us.

And here

we see that

we're to be

generous.

just as

God has

been generous

to us.

He has

richly,

abundantly

provided for

us.

And we're

to take

now out

of that

abundance

and be

generous.

Give

abundantly

to others.

Be willing

to share.

would we

receive the

abundant

rich

provision of

God

and then

be stingy

and closed

fisted

towards

others.

That word

generous is

I mean we

throw it out

and we say

it, we

understand it.

I looked

it up in

the dictionary

because I

thought you

know what

does it

really mean?

What's the

way that,

what's the

thing that

we should

be thinking

of here?

And it

said to

give

willingly

more of

something than

is strictly

necessary or

expected.

To give

abundantly.

To give

willingly

more than

is strictly

necessary or

expected.

to give

abundantly.

And so we

come back to

that first

question that

I asked

earlier.

Are you

rich?

Do you

have more

than you

need?

Do you

have an

abundance?

If so,

Christ's command

to you is

this, give

willingly

and generously,

abundantly

to others.

Share out of

that abundance

with others.

Accomplish as

many good

things as

you can

without

abundance.

In this

way, they

will lay up

treasure for

themselves as

a firm

foundation for

the coming

age so

that they

may take

hold of

the life

that is

truly life.

here, these

words of

Paul hearken

back to

what Jesus

said in

the Sermon

on the

Mount.

Probably

you're

familiar with

that passage.

Matthew

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6,

19 and

20.

Jesus said,

do not store

up for

yourselves treasures

on earth

where moths

and vermin

destroy and

where thieves

break in and

steal.

But store up

for yourselves

treasures in

heaven where

moths and

vermin do not

destroy and

where thieves

do not break

in and steal.

Well, how do we

do that?

How do we store

up treasure in

heaven?

Paul tells us

some of the ways

that we do

that in this

passage here

in his letter

to Timothy.

By doing

good, by

giving generously,

by sharing

with others

who are in

need, in

this way

they will lay

up treasure

for themselves

as a firm

foundation for

the coming

age.

So the good

deeds that we

do in this

life really

matter in

eternity, in

the age to

come.

There's

something good

in them,

something from

them that

lasts into

eternity.

And Paul uses

this language of

a good foundation

here.

If you were

going to build

a house next

year, first

of all, wow,

that's a lot of

money.

That's a big

investment.

That's a huge

undertaking.

Would you go

cheap and

save money and

just pop it

right on the

dirt?

Probably not.

Or would you

just get some

old wood and

shove it under

there and make

a little bit of

a thing for it

to rest on?

Probably not.

Would you pay

the money and

have a proper

concrete foundation

or basement

poured?

Lord?

I think we all

understand the

importance of

having a good

foundation when it

comes to earthly

houses.

But do we know

the importance of

having a good

foundation when it

comes to our

heavenly home in

the coming age?

Do you know

that how you live

here and now

matters in the

coming age?

being generous,

being willing to

share, being

rich in good

deeds?

It's like doing

work on your

foundation for the

age to come.

I'll just read it

again.

In this way,

they will lay up

treasure for

themselves as a

firm foundation for

the coming age.

What kind of

foundation are you

laying for the

coming age?

For the life that

comes after this

one?

We got on this

subject a little

bit in Adult

Sunday School last

Sunday, actually.

There are real

rewards that God

holds in store for

those who, by

faith, do good

with what he has

entrusted to them.

There are real

rewards which God

holds in store for

those who, by

faith, do good

with what he has

entrusted to them.

Now, that doesn't

mean that we have

to do a certain

amount of good

works in order to

be saved or to

go to heaven.

We get that as

God's gift simply

by faith and by

asking God for

forgiveness and

believing in Jesus.

But there are real

rewards that God

holds in store for

those who, by faith,

persevere in doing

good works in this

present world.

And I hope that we

maybe can dig into

some of that in

future, in other

passages.

These words are

intended to motivate

us.

He's saying, lay up

treasure for yourself

in heaven by doing

these things, being

generous, willing to

share.

If we think back to

what we heard a couple

weeks ago, the stuff

that we have now, our

abundance, our

possessions, we can't

keep them.

death will someday

separate us from all

of it.

And so don't just

focus on adding to

that and having more

of that.

These things may be

treasures to us and

truly God has given

them to us for our

enjoyment.

But when that day

comes, we breathe our

last.

It's not ours anymore.

And so instead, focus

on storing up for

yourself treasure in

heaven.

A treasure that you

can never lose.

That's not uncertain

or affected by the

things that go on

down here.

Focus on laying that

good foundation for

yourself in the coming

age.

page.

Paul ends this letter

with a final charge and

warning to Timothy.

Timothy, guard what has

been entrusted to your

care.

Turn away from godless

chatter and the opposing

ideas of what is falsely

called knowledge, which

some have professed and in

so doing have departed

from the faith.

He ends his letter by

charging Timothy to guard

what has been entrusted

to his care.

Quite literally, guard the

entrusted deposit.

Now this is not Paul's

life savings that he's

talking about, that

Timothy's keeping for

Paul under his bed.

That would be ironic,

after what Paul just

said.

What is this entrusted

deposit?

Paul actually reveals it

to us in his second

letter to Timothy.

Second Timothy chapter

one, verse 13.

Paul writes to Timothy

there, what you heard

from me, keep as the

pattern of sound

teaching with faith and

love in Christ Jesus.

Guard the good deposit

that was entrusted to

you.

Guard it with the help

of the Holy Spirit who

lives in us.

So the good deposit, the

entrusted deposit, is the

sound teaching that

Timothy heard from Paul.

It's the gospel.

It's the good news about

Jesus and all the

teaching of Christ that

goes with it.

That Paul is an apostle of

Christ Jesus has given to

Timothy.

And so here as he draws

this first letter to a

close, Paul is saying,

guard that message, that

teaching, that truth.

Preserve it.

Protect it.

Don't let it be lost.

Don't let it slip away

into the background.

Don't let it become

confused or mixed up with

all these other ideas and

false teachings, these

controversial speculations

of others.

Keep this truth about Jesus

as the main message, the

marching orders of the

church.

knowledge.

Turn away from godless

chatter and the opposing

ideas of what is falsely

called knowledge.

Another warning from Paul

concerning the ideas and

teachings of the false

teachers.

Just turn away from those

things, Timothy.

Stay true to the deposit

from Christ which I have

given to you.

That other stuff is not

knowledge.

those who profess these

ideas which oppose the

gospel and oppose the

words of Christ, they've

departed from the faith.

So don't listen to them.

Turn away from them.

Stay true to that good

deposit, that gospel, that

truth that I have given to

you.

And he closes with grace be

with you all.

A blessing.

May the grace of God, may

the giving kindness of

God be with you all.

So for those of you who

have an abundance, what

will you do with it?

Are there good deeds that

God has been laying on your

heart that are yet undone?

Are there people that you

know could be in our midst or

could be outside of these

walls, in our community or

family?

Are there people you know

who do not have an abundance

and are struggling just to

pay the bills and keep food

on the table?

But if I give away the

stuff that I've received or

the stuff that I've earned,

how will I have enough for me

and for my family?

Is your hope in the Lord?

Or is it in what you have?

My grandparents often said,

often say this to me, they

say, you can't out give God.

God owns the cattle on a

thousand hills.

He owns it all.

Everything.

Will he not supply your need

just as he does the birds of

the air and the critters of

the field?

And so I hope and pray that

with what we've heard this

morning, we don't go home

today and say, well, that was

convicting and then just do

nothing about it.

What real, tangible action

will you take this Christmas

with the abundance that you

have?

What real, tangible action

will you take in this year

ahead of us, 2024, with the

abundance that you have

received?

We are stewards, managers, all

of us.

And the King will come back

someday and he's going to ask

what we have done with what

he's entrusted to us.

May we all reflect the grace and

the generosity of our God

well on that day.

Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for

these words that you've given

to us.

And yes, we admit that they are

challenging to us.

They strike deeply into our

hearts because we do live in a

culture that is all about

greed, having more, having

better.

And so I pray that you would

do your work in us by your

Holy Spirit, that you would

teach us the way of

contentment and that we truly

would be willing to give

generously and to share with

those who are in need.

Do that work in us, we pray.

Make us to shine and to reflect

your glory for the glory of

Christ.

Amen.

Amen.