James | Week 8

My name is Jasper. It is my honor to serve as the

associate pastor. Here at New Life Community

Church. It's good to see everybody.

Today, I want to welcome any guests.

May be visiting with us. It is good to have you as well.

And so we're glad that you were here today.

We are going to be continuing on in a series that we have been

doing through the Book of James. So if you have your Bibles, go

ahead and turn to the Book of James chapter 4, Now, I don't

James 4 · chapter mention

want to, I don't want to try to provide a recap of everything

we've covered so far. It would just take too long but

I do want to remind you that the Book of James is a book that was

written to Christians. It was written to Christians

going through persecution going through trials and tribulations.

And so the Book of James is very, very practical.

It Was Written in a way to be taken and applied.

Wide. It's not just a lot of hitti

Theology and thoughts about life or or even Doctrine.

It's hate. This is what you should be doing

as followers of Christ. If you say that you're a

Believer you should be doing these things.

And so this entire book is very very practical.

So keep that in mind as we look at today's text Today in James

James 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4, we're going to be starting at verse 13, and we are

going to be looking at wealth. We're going to be talking about

the different dangers that can come with it and we're going to

be looking at how Christians should approach it.

How we should treat it and we're talking about money in

particular but not just money, it could be anything that the

Lord has blessed us with. It could be our time our talent

or treasure could be all of those things but particularly

money and this is addressed at or two.

Wealthy people, it's addressed to people at the time that would

be considered wealthy. So these warnings and

everything, we're going to talk about is particularly applicable

to those who are wealthy wealthier than the rest.

So before we dive in, let me pray, I'm going to pray that as

we do this, that God speaks through his word.

I mean so let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you

for today. God, we are grateful to be

gathered together in your house. Lord, we pray.

Now, as we open your word, that you speak to us through it, that

you open our eyes, and our ears to hear what you would have us

here. That you pierce our hearts with

your truth. And that when we leave this

place, we can take what we've read and what we've learned, and

we can apply it to our lives. So speak to us.

Now, as we read from your word, in Jesus name, amen.

Amen. So again, James chapter 4

James 4 · chapter mention

starting at verse 13. If you are able, will you please

stand with me as we read from God's word?

So James chapter 4 starting at verse 13, come.

James 4 · chapter mention

Now you who say today, or tomorrow, we will go into such

and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a

profit yet. You do not know what tomorrow

will bring. What is your life for you?

Are a Mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes

instead, you ought to say, if the Lord Wills we will live and

do this or that as it is, you boast in your arrogance, all

such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing

to do and fails to do it for him.

It is sin. Come now you rich weep and howl

for the miseries that are coming upon you your riches, have

rotted and your garments are moth-eaten, your gold and silver

have corroded and their corrosion will be evidence

against you and will eat your flesh like fire.

You have laid up treasure in the last days, behold the wages of

the laborers, who mowed your fields, which you kept back by

fraud. Fraud are crying out against you

and the cries of the Harvesters have reached the ears of the

Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth, in

luxury and in self-indulgence, you have fattened your hearts in

a day of Slaughter, you have condemned and murdered the

righteous person. He does not resist you, you may

be seated. So there is a little bit of

debate but most Scholars agree. This passage that we have just

read the end of chapter 4. In the beginning of chapter 5 is

addressed to two different people groups.

Okay. So the first part that we're

going to look at chapter 4, the end of it 13 through 17 is

addressed to Christians. Okay.

The second part verses 1 through 6 of chapter 5 is addressed to

non-christians and we're going to talk about how we can know

these things. But this is important to

remember. As we've read these verses talk

about this and look at how to apply it.

So, there are going to be different applications to be

made. But the theme here, like I've

mentioned, is the sins of the wealthy, the dangers that come

with it, how we should treat it and so on.

So, let's dive in and take a look.

So right out of the gate and Chapter 4, verses verse 13.

James in writing this book, typically, typically, when he is

addressing fellow, Christians will open with Brethren or dear

brothers or something like that. That's a way that, you know,

he's addressing fellow Christians but in here in this

he opens with come. Now you who say and then da da

da. Now this is opening with this

opening with like come. Now you who say this or that

this is a rebuke this is James's way of scolding these people.

This would be the same as if someone today told you.

Look here now look here, you know.

Eat. I'm a parent or a grandparent

starts with that, you know, you are in trouble.

So if you hear the look of here thing, you know, to pay

attention and that's exactly what James is doing.

He's saying, come now, listen here.

And then he proceeds to do what he's about to do in the original

languages. Again, this would be a tone of

rebuke and he starts with this. Hypothetical scenario of going

to such and such a city to make a profit.

So the people he's addressing this Is were wealthy business

people, okay? They were good at making money.

They were confident in their ability to make money.

Not not just to do business, but to make a profit in doing their

business, okay? So so, these were people that

were really, really sure of themselves and they're bragging

about it. They're saying in this scenario

that he lays out that, hey, we're going to go to such and

such City. We're going to do some business,

and we're going to get rich. We're going to make a profit

like it's done. It's in the books.

We know this. This is going to happen.

But he reminds them. You do not know what.

Tomorrow holds your life is just a Mist, some translations.

Say a vapor, a way of thinking of, this is a puff of smoke,

okay? So you see it and then it just

disappears, it's gone that quickly.

Now he is already pointed this out back in chapter 1 verses 9

through 11 he said let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation

and the rich in his Billy Ocean. Because like a flower of the

grass, he will pass away for the sun rises with.

It's scorching heat and Withers the grass.

It's flower Falls and its beauty parishes.

So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his

Pursuits. We also see this same idea

expressed in First, Peter 1:20 for through 25.

It says all flesh is like grass and all its Glory, like the

flower of grass, the grass withers, the flower Falls, but

the word of the Lord. Reigns forever and then one last

one in Psalm 90 verse 10, the years of our life are 70 or even

Psalms 90:10

by reason of strength 80, but yet there's fan, is toil and

trouble. They are soon gone and we fly

away. So we know that scripture

teaches us that life is short, that it's just a Mist that we're

here today and gone tomorrow. And James is saying, who do you

think you are to assume that you're going to go and you're

Going to make profit, you're going to trade and you're going

to do all these things and you're so sure of yourself who

are you? You don't know any of that.

You don't know that you're going to wake up tomorrow.

You are not God. You're not omniscient, you're

not all-knowing, you're not all-powerful.

You have no idea what is going to happen tomorrow.

And he points this out in verse 15.

He tells them instead you ought to say if the Lord Wills we will

live and do this in that now, you notice he pointed out in

that if the Lord Wills we will live and do this in that he

could have just said. Instead, you ought to say, if

God Wills will go and will trade make profit but he threw in

there. If the Lord Wills we will live

and he's pointing out to them, you are a Mist, you are gone

tomorrow like that life is over and it's only by God's

Providence. Ants that you wake up each day

it is only by the grace of God that we wake up with breath in

our lungs every day and he's pointing this out to these

people. Now.

This is again, how we know this verse verse 15, that these were

Christians. Because why else would they care

about? God's will James is telling

them. If you should say, if God Wills

will go do this. Well, if they weren't

Christians, they wouldn't care about God's will at all, he's

reminding them that they should do nothing without considering

God's plan. God's plan for their lives in

his will. And then he really finally gets

to the heart of the matter. In verse 16, he says, as it is,

you boast, in your arrogance, and all boasting is evil.

So here we have the root of the problem.

It's arrogance. It's Pride.

Another way to put it would be presumptuous.

These Christian business owners had taken their eyes off the

Lord, they had stopped being utterly dependent on God's

provision and his sustenance day by day by day and started to

assume that. Hey, I'm good.

I've got this figured out. I know that I'm going to make

profit. I know that I'm going to be

okay. Their confidence lies in their

own ability to wheel and deal so much so that they are bragging

about it. They've become cocky, they've

become conceited and puffed up. And that's where their trust and

their hope lies in themselves. So they had zero regard for

God's will, or God's plan on their lives?

They were not seeking it at all. In essence, this becomes a form

of self worship. And idolatry is what it becomes

because we begin to assume that we are God, that we control our

lives and the circumstances within it.

We're not looking to the Lord for wisdom or guidance.

We're not praying to the Lord, to get us through each day.

We're just assuming it's going to happen.

We're assuming that we've got this in the bag and we have zero

dependence on it. And so, that's what James is

addressing. And this passage with these

Christians with these professing Christians.

Now, I want to take just a moment and say this, he is not

condemning their desire to make money.

Okay, let's be very clear about that.

Not condemning even their future planning.

Okay, there there plans to go and do these things.

There is nothing inherently wrong with these things.

In fact, if we are to be good stewards of the things that God

gives us, we have to plan ahead. We have to think ahead and we

must we must plan on doing certain things so making money

planning ahead is not the root of the issue here.

So we have to ask, where did they go wrong?

And remember, we've already said it's that arrogance.

It's that Pride the danger comes in and what Kyle just read when

he was doing offering and I know Kyle well enough to know that he

is so smart and can word things so much better than I ever

could. He probably already knew what I

was preaching and thought about that because he's like that but

if not it's God's Providence that he read, what he read

Because I had it in my notes and he pretty much took my sermon

and gave it to you guys in a much more eloquent fashion.

So, I Have just been done there, but Deuteronomy 8 tells us this

it says beware lest you say in your heart that my power in the

might of my hand have gotten me this wealth, you shall remember

the Lord your God for it. Is he who gives you the power to

get wealth? So as he mentioned, you know, T

and up offering for us and as we've mentioned any time we've

read this, like when we do this we're we collect offering.

We were giving. Thanks to God for what he has

provided in our lives. We're holding it with an open

hand saying. This was from you.

Anyway, I'm just giving it back to you.

It's yours not mine, I didn't do this.

So yeah, I might go and I might earn that paycheck but who

allowed me to wake up that morning who put breath in my

lungs? Who gave me the ability to get

out of that bed and walk to go brush my teeth and get ready.

It's only God's goodness and kindness that I can do these

things. It's only because God grants it.

And so, these are all examples of God's common Grace in our

lives, that we overlooked. So often we have a tendency to

forget these things and think that we have earned them or that

this all becomes, just because we do it.

So, there is a great, a commentator when I was studying

for this sermon that I That I came across his name is Douglas,

moo, it's fun to say and so we're going to quote him a

couple of times. I don't want you to keep that in

mind. So he says this people not only

leave God out of account and planning their lives.

They brag about it. As well proclaiming in effect

that their autonomy and independence from the Lord that

we begin. Assuming that we control the

duration and direction of our lives.

And such an attitude is simply inconsistent with a Christian

worldview. So when we do this, it becomes

sin. James tells us this in verse 17,

whoever knows the right thing to do and does not do it for him.

It is sin. We know that we are to always

consider the Lord and his will for our lives.

We are to depend on God, daily. We're to be looking to God's

plan and God's will for our lives.

Not just taking matters into our own hands.

He's just told us this in verse 15, so to not do this.

Is sinful. This is called a sin of

omission, okay? We're going to get really

technical for a minute, a sin of omission.

So you have sins of omission and sins of commission, okay?

A sin of commission is when you commit a sin it's something you

do that is sinful. I murder I steal I lie, commit

adultery, whatever you're doing is sinful sins of omission are

things that you do not do that. Result in sin things, you ought

to be doing yet. You are not.

I'm not loving my neighbor. The way I am commanded to I'm

not Not honoring my parents. The way.

I am commanded to not praying, not reading my Bible.

I'm not Gathering Together on a Sunday morning.

My brothers and sisters in the faith to uplift one another and

praise God. Things I'm commanded by his word

to do. I'm not considering the Lord in

my day-to-day planning things that God's word tells me I am to

do. When I do not do these things,

it is sin. And this is just as serious just

as Grave as a sin of commission. Okay?

So we need to remember that verses 13 through 17 raar.

Very strong rebuke to Christians on what their attitude should be

regarding wealth. We would do well to remember

this and to heed this warning. We're going to look at how to

apply this to our lives here in just a little bit.

But first, let's look at the next section.

So chapter 5, starting at verse 1.

Now, this section James turns his attention to non-christians,

okay? And this is how we can know that

again, Douglas moose is this? The first section was written

with questions answers and exhortations this section.

However, James 5 1 through 6, has none of that.

James is style, is that of the prophets pronouncing, doom, on

Pagan Nations, he relentlessly attacks.

These people with no hint of exhortation whatsoever.

Now, he goes on to say this and I found this very interesting.

We talked about this in our home group, this past week, a little

bit of a history lesson on context and what was happening

in that area with his listeners at the time this period

witnessed in increasing Concentration of land in the

hands of a very small group of wealthy landowners.

Okay? As a result, many farmers were

forced to earn their living by hiring themselves out to these

rich. Landlords Jesus, parable about

the workers in the vineyard in. Matthew 20 is cast against this

familiar rural background and it is significant.

Don't miss this that the workers expect their pay at the end of

the day. Prompt payment would have been

very important for the laborer who often got by at a barely

substance level and needed steady income to provide daily

bread for himself and his family.

In a society where credit was not readily available, the

failure to pay their workers promptly could jeopardize life

itself, So this is the context for this section.

It is addressed of these non-Christian landowners who are

cheating, their poor laborers and workers, who were Christians

out of their do pay every day. They expected to get paid at the

end of the day to go by, that day's food and come home and

feed their family and they're getting cheated out of that.

So again, chapter 5 look at verse 1.

How does it start? Come now, you rich.

Remember what I told you. That means, right?

Like look here. It's another rebuke.

We know that right out of the gate.

He is rebuking, he says come now.

You rich now. A lot of times in scripture and

especially in some of these texts when you see someone, when

they address a people group and say you rich, that is not a good

thing. That is that's a, it's not a

cuss word but it was it was a bad thing to be called you rich.

This was not a bragging on them at all.

So he's telling them you need to weep and howl for the miseries

which are coming upon you. This is very old testament

language. Waiting this pending judgment

and doom on these people. These people are going to be

judged by God Almighty. He says this about them, follow

me, through these verses, your riches are rotted, your garments

are moth-eaten, your gold and silver have rusted and it's in

the last days that you've stored up your treasure in your wealth,

all of this language, okay? Whether whether literal or

figurative, paints a picture that these rich had hoarded

there. Rather than paying their

laborers, or using their things that they had to help others in

need. There were greedy for gain

dishonest and crooked. So, you get this idea of

treasure that they're just collecting and hoarding it up so

much so and not spending it. And it's just sitting in a pile

of rusting. I've got so many clothes and

their closet at home, like, the nicest things that it's just

rotting away in a closet. It's moth-eaten, they're not

even wearing it, but they're certainly not sharing it with

anyone. They're not paying anyone

anything? It's all mine.

I want it all. because of this James says that the rust of

their gold and silver and the pay that they are withholding

from their laborers, cries out against them, that is the

evidence that will convince them when they stand before almighty

God. What about this?

Rusty, silver and gold. You were supposed to pay the

people that were working for you.

What about all these moth-eaten clothes that you could have

helped clothe the naked. And the needy with that is the

very evidence that will condemn. These people James says, in the

second part of verse, for the cries of the Harvesters have

reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.

He is confirming that none of these evil Deeds have escaped.

The eyes of the Lord, He sees all he knows all and he will

repay these Wicked for what they have done.

The nasb here. Instead of Lord, of hosts says,

lord of the Sabbath, what this means when you see that word as

Lord, of hosts is, it's not just saying the Lord or the Lord of

Heaven. This has a connotation to it.

The Lord of armies, Angel, armies hosts of angels, this is

this paints, a picture of the cries of those people you're

cheating. Have reached the ears of the

Lord with an army behind him, ready to come to send upon you.

it is this would have been a very very scary thing to hear

and to imagine He goes on to describe these rich

non-believers in, even more detail and verses, five and six.

He said says, you have lived on the earth and luxury.

And in self-indulgence, you have fattened your hearts in the day

of Slaughter, you've condemned and murdered the righteous

person he doesn't resist you. So living in luxury.

These rich landowners, again, had it all, they had the nicest

things but they were fattening themselves for the day of

Slaughter. Now anybody, you know, most of

you guys will know in Southwest Arkansas Anybody knows that

about farming that if you, if you're going to take an animal

to slaughter, what do you do? First before you take them?

You fatten them up, right? You get them ready.

And that's exactly what these people were doing.

They had fatten themselves for Slaughter.

They were tearing themselves up for judgment.

Like, you've done a good job now, get ready to pay for what

you've done. This is exactly what was going

on here. Now, James points out that the

poor in the righteous. They can't even defend

themselves against these powerful landowners.

Their helpless against these rich, arrogant landowners, they

were innocent, they're being mistreated their wages withheld

to the point that they can't even provide daily food for

their families. The result of this was often

death by starvation. We've been reading through the

book of Lamentations in our daily Bible reading and we just

came across a text the other day that shows how bad life can be

when you're starving to death. And I want to kind of give a

warning here, this is a bit graphic but this is God's word

and I'm going to read it Lamentations for six through 10

says this, for the chastisement of the daughter of my people has

been greater than the punishment of Sodom, which was overthrown

in a moment, and no hands were wrong for her.

Princes were pure than snow wider than milk.

Their bodies were more ready than Coral.

The beauty of their form was like Sapphire.

Now, their face is blacker than suit.

They are not recognized in the streets, your skin has shriveled

on their bones. It has become as dry as would

happier were the victims of the sword than the victims of hunger

who wasted away pierced by lack of the fresh fruits of the

field. The hands of compassionate,

women have boiled their own children.

They've become their food during the destruction of the daughter

of my people. This is what starvation can look

like when people are driven to despair.

And it was not a pretty sight. And this is what these

landowners are doing. Now I'm not trying to take

Lamentations and apply it to. This is not exactly the same but

these landowners are withholding Daily Bread.

Mama's can't feed their babies daddies are coming, home

empty-handed, nothing to buy daily bread and that's why it's

saying that they are murdering the righteous and they have no

power to do anything to withstand this.

So they're misusing their status, and their wealth and an

unspeakable manner. There was absolutely zero desire

to honor the Lord or to help anyone.

Now again, I want to take just a quick moment to point out just

like in the last text. There is nothing wrong with

owning land. Okay, there's nothing wrong with

wanting to be a wealthy landowner.

It's all about the heart behind it and how you use it?

God desires, that we take what he gives us and we use it for

good to help others. When we do this, God will reward

us. He may even reward you with more

wealth as we see in the parable of the talents, but it's not

promised. And that's why the attitude

should always be if the Lord Wills, it's Not that.

I'm going to do these things. It's not.

I know I've got this. It's like if God grants it

great. And if he does, I want to use it

in a way that honors him and helps others, but I'm dependent

on him daily every single day, for that daily bread.

That's how dependent we are on God.

So, this begs the question, okay?

Remember, the Book of James is addressed to Christians on

practical living, right? We've talked about that.

So why would James include the section that's written to

non-christians? Ian's in a letter written to

Christians. Well, John Calvin had two

reasons that he gave us for why he thought so says that.

Number one, James has a regard to the faithful that they

hearing of the miserable end of the rich, might not envy their

fortune. And to knowing that God would be

the Avenger of the wrongs that they suffered that they might

with calm and resigned Mine, Bear them.

Perhaps James is trying to encourage his readers.

That these injustices would not go unpunished.

Perhaps he was warning them do not fall into this way of life,

be very careful with this. This is a very easy thing to

fall into so it would do us well to take These Warnings and to

take these lessons and he'd them and listen to them and consider

them. So how do we do that?

How do we, how do we take this and apply it to our lives?

We need to know how to clearly understand it before we can

apply it. So studying it in depth and

trying to dig down and discern. It is huge.

That's the first step. And we have to ask, what can I

take away from this and what is the main point?

Like how can I sum all this up? And so typically, you know we

might give you this in the beginning of a sermon.

Like here's my big idea. Here's but I wanted to wait till

the end to point this out that the main point that I'm trying

to get across to you today. And I think James is trying to

get across to his audience. Is this, our wealth should be

used to exalt Christ and his kingdom, not our own.

Alright, our wealth, the things that God gives us the thing that

God, grants us, any of that stuff should be used to exalt

him and his kingdom to help others and not build up

ourselves, that's the heart of this passage.

That's what I want you to take away from this.

And again, your wealth. It could be money.

It could be land, it could be your time.

Could be your talents, your treasure.

We say that a lot. Any of these things are God's

blessings on our lives and we can use them for ourselves.

We can abuse them, or we can use them to honor the Lord and to

help others and serve them. Because of what Christ did for

us. On that cross.

We should love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and

strength. He should be the source of our

confidence, of Our Hope of our trust, not my money, not my job,

not my retirement account, not my possessions, like none of

that should be my joy. My pride in life.

That's how I know I'm going to be okay.

I've got a stacked 401K, I've got a great job.

They're never going to fire me. I mean, I'm, like the number one

employee none of that stuff should be the source of my

confidence that stuff can go away.

But we've learned that over the last few years, like just like

that can be gone. My confidence, my trust, my hope

is in God, Almighty, who holds me and keeps me every day and

whatever he Wills, whatever his plan is, I'm going to To heed

that I'm going to obey that I'm going to submit to that.

We should live in total dependence on Christ, every

single day. And if he does bless us, let's

use it to bless others and to advance his kingdom.

So, if you're in this place today, and you are a Christian,

okay? If you were a professing

Believer and you say Jesus is my Lord.

Yes, I'm a Christian. Then I want you to understand

this, that we might read a passage like this and think that

it only applies to those with loads of Money, Millionaires,

billionaires of the world guys that can buy Twitter, we might

think that this is addressed to them.

And not to us right that live in Magnolia Arkansas.

But as Kyle pointed out here in the US, we are rich compared to

the rest of the world here in our country, acquiring more and

more and more is seen as a very good thing.

Most of our closets would reflect this, Our toys that we

have parked at our house, they're just collecting dust.

I don't even use them. They have to be winterized

because we don't use them that often.

Jesus warns us in Matthew 19, verse 23, that only with

Matthew 19:23

difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.

So, we need to stop and ask ourselves how much Faith have I

put in my own ability to work and earn wealth and money.

In my paycheck. And how am I using the money

that God has granted me? How tightly am I holding it?

How quickly am I blowing it on things?

I know I don't need and not even concerning myself with helping

others or how God would have me use this.

Matthew Henry says that we are always to depend on the will of

God, our times are not in our own hands, but at the disposal

of God, our heads may be filled with cares and contrivances for

ourselves, or our families or our friends.

But Providence often throws our plans into confusion, all we

design and all we do. Should be with submissive

dependence on God, it is foolish and it is hurtful to brag of

Worldly things and aspiring projects.

It will bring great disappointment, improve

destruction in the end. So Christian, I want you to hear

this today, brother and sister in Christ.

God is sovereign. Life is short, do not put your

trust in your own plans or in your own abilities, but seek

God's will for your life live in, utter dependence on him

daily and give him. Thanks for what He blesses you

with. if you have not been doing this, now is a great time to

confess that to God and repent of that, humble yourselves and

submit to his will today, because guess what You don't

know what tomorrow brings. You might think you know what

maybe eventually I'll do that but right now I've got things

going pretty good but you don't know that tomorrow is coming.

Don't wait till tomorrow to do this.

Humble yourselves before the Lord and submit yourself to his

will. Now, maybe you're in this place

today and you're not a Believer. Maybe you've never put your

faith in Christ, maybe you've never confessed him as Lord, of

your life may be of some of this is new to you, maybe you didn't

grow up in church, I don't know. But let's just say for a moment

that this is you and that you say, you know, I've never really

submitted my life to God. I've never really put my faith

in confidence in Jesus. Let me Echo.

What James is warning you in this passage that money and your

job and your 401k to retirement people.

All of these Earthly things are going to fail you at some point.

None of it can bring true lasting Joy or peace.

These are just tools that God's given us but none of it can

replace God himself as our source of that, that hope and

that confidence in that trust. It's all going to go away at

some point. You don't know what tomorrow,

holds any one of us as I've already pointed out.

Any one of us could lose everything just like that.

Could be gone. Just this morning in my daily

Bible reading. I came across this passage in

Ezekiel chapter 7 verse 19. They cast their silver into the

Ezekiel 7:19

streets, and their gold is like an unclean thing.

They're silver and gold are not able to deliver them.

In the day of the Wrath of the Lord.

They cannot satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it

for. It was the stumbling block of

their iniquity. Riches fade, they go away.

It's temporary. Guy's life is over so short, so

quickly, don't put your faith in your hope and money.

Put your Faith and Hope in God alone.

He's the only one that can satisfy.

He's the only one that will endure.

So what's the solution to this? Matthew 6:19 through 21 says,

Matthew 6:19–21

don't lay up for yourselves, Treasures on Earth, where moth

and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.

But lay up for yourselves, Treasures, in Heaven, where

neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break

in and steal for where your treasure, is there, your heart

will be. Also maybe you aren't a wealthy

landowner. Maybe you haven't withheld wages

from anybody or mistreated anybody.

But where is your treasure? Where does your treasure lie?

Think about that, for just a moment.

What is your most prized possession?

What is your treasure? Is it your truck or your boat?

Your China collection or whatever, what is it?

What's your most valued possession thing you care about

in value more than anything else in life?

Where does your heart lie? Are you totally submitted to

Christ? Have you pledged your life to

serving him with your time talent and treasure?

If you have not urge you today that you believe the gospel that

you make? Jesus, Lord of your life?

As Romans lays out so well and Romans 3:23 we have all sinned

Romans 3:23

and fallen short of the glory of God.

And then in 6:23 the wages of that sin is death.

Romans 5:8 says, but God shows his love for us in that.

Romans 5:8

While we were sinners Christ died for us.

And then we know John 3:16 that God, so loved the world that he

John 3:16

gave his only son, that whoever believes in him, should not

perish, but have eternal life. And so back to Romans 10:9, if

Romans 10:9

you confess with your mouth, that Jesus is Lord and believe

in your heart, that God raised him from the dead, you will be

saved. And in Romans, 8:1 there is

therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ

Jesus. We are all sinners if you are in

this place and you've never made Christ, Lord of your life.

If you need to submit your life to him in All regards and stop,

depending on yourself, do that today.

Understand and confess that you are a sinner and that you need a

savior, put your trust in him alone.

Repent of your sins, turn to Christ, trust him and put your

faith in him and be reborn today.

Do that while you still can because you are not promised

tomorrow. Amen.

And let's pray. Father.

We love you and God, we are grateful to have been in this

place today to gather together and open your word and read from

it. God I pray I pray for everyone

in this place that all of us could take a text like this and

apply it to our lives and know that My riches, my wealth, my

money, my stuff. None of it matters.

It can all be gone in an instant Help us God Walk daily and just

utter dependence on you, utter dependence, on your will for our

lives. Help us to submit to that.

Help us to lay down our lives and submission to you.

Teach us how to walk in your ways.

Daily God. I pray, Lord that if there's

anyone in this place, it is never done.

This, that is never submitted their lives to you, that they

would do that. Today, that you would convict

their hearts. She would Pierce their hearts

and Minds with your word and that you would call them to

yourself. Forgive us Lord for when we fail

to do this. Help us to remember daily to

walk in that newness of life that comes only through you.

God, we are so grateful for all that.

You've given us. We love you.

Lord, in Christ's name. We pray these things, amen.

We love you. Lord, in Christ's name.

We pray these things, amen.