Entrusted With Resources - Putting Money In its Place

Let's talk about what 1 Timothy 6 says about money.

If you haven't gotten to 1 Timothy 6, verse 17

1 Timothy 6:17

by now, I don't know if I can help you.

But 1 Timothy is a letter written by the apostle

Paul to his protege Timothy, who is the pastor of

a church in Ephesus. Ephesus is a pagan city. It's

a wealthy city. There's all kinds of pagan notions about

money in this congregation called Ephesus. And Paul writes to Timothy,

their pastor, saying, hey, this is how you should pastor

this church. He writes another letter called Second Timothy also

about here's how you should pastor this church. And it

includes a lot of instructions about pastoring the church through

issues of money. It includes probably the most famous thing

that the Bible says about money. The love of money

is a root of all kinds of evil. Paul has

just finished saying that in verse 10 of this chapter.

And then he gets to these three verses, 17, 18,

and 19. And when I read these verses, it makes

me think of a scene from Tom and Jerry's. Like this.

And kids, if you've never seen Tom and Jerry, I

don't know what to tell you. Maybe you've seen a

TikTok clip of this, right? It's the one, it's the

one where Tom is trying to win the affections of

the lady cat, right? And so he's bringing a box

of chocolates and long stem roses, and he's trying to

win the affections of the lady cat. But then there's

this other cat who's also trying to win those affections.

And so there's a contest. It's a contest, a wooing

contest to see who can win the affections of the

lady cat. And when I read this passage, that's the

scene that comes because this is exactly how Jesus talks

about money and God. Not the Tom and Jerry part,

the contest part. He says, you cannot serve God God

and money. You cannot serve both masters. You will either, what?

Love the one. This is what Tom's heart does. And

hate the other. Or hate one and love the other.

It's a contest. It is actually always spiritual warfare. The

thing is, Money is a liar. It's bringing a half-eaten

box of chocolates. It's flowers or plastic. It's not telling

them the truth. And nevertheless, it often wins our affections.

Let's read this passage together. And as we do, I'd

like you to listen for instructions about handling money differently.

As if your affection belonged to someone else, to Jesus.

1 Timothy 6, 17. As for the rich in this

present age, charge them not to be haughty, not to

set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God,

who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are

to do good, to be rich in good works, to

be generous, to be ready to share, thus storing up

treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future.

This is the word of the Lord. Money and Jesus

looking to win your affection. It's a contest. It's a

spiritual battle. And in this message, I'm just going to

focus on two areas in which this context takes place.

And you can just write them down so that it's

clear where I'm headed, right? In the area of real certainty, right? Money,

our hearts whisper to us, hey, money will provide real certainty.

It's a lie. And the area of real abundance, right?

Our hearts whisper to us, hey, money will provide real abundance.

It's a lie. Those are the two areas we're going

to look at from this passage. But let me start

with this. You may have noticed it says, as for

the rich in this present age, charge them. Rich? I'm

not rich. Why are you talking to me, pastor? Right? Right?

I mean, I'm talking to you, first of all, because

I'm a pastor and Paul's saying to this pastor, hey,

you gotta do this. This is your job. You gotta

charge people. You gotta instruct them about money. And I'm convinced,

I am more convinced than ever, we don't talk enough

about money in church. We don't talk enough about it.

Not too much. This is the job. But why am

I talking to you? You're like, I'm not rich. Me neither.

Me neither. I mean, I do live in a house

whose floors are not dirt and the rain doesn't get

in and the bed is a million times higher quality

than what we have at man camp. But I'm not

rich or anything. I mean, I have a machine on

my wall in my bedroom where I tell it what

temperature I want the air to be around me, and

it doesn't. I have another machine that I put food

in and it keeps it cold for as long as

I want. I have to cram it in there. I've

got too much in there. So I have another one

in the garage. But I'm not rich or anything. Sometimes

when a little space opens up in the keeping the

food cold machine, I will go to visit my servants.

I have a whole army of servants. Most of them

are agricultural servants. They harvest all my food for me,

both in the field and amongst the herds. And then

another group of servants produces that into finished products that

then they stock in this giant, giant place. And I

drive in my driving machine seven minutes away and I

gather what my servants have prepared for me Sometimes I

don't even get out of the driving machine, they just

put it in the trunk. Sometimes that's not good enough.

Sometimes I go to a place where I have my

servants cook the food for me and bring it to

my table and they say, is everything okay? But I'm

not rich or anything. Next month, I'm gonna get in

a flying machine and I'm gonna go and be with

half of my family in a big house and for

three days, we are going to eat food but I'm

not rich or anything. Dude, you're rich. This comes at us.

This comes at us. And if you would say, if

you're here in this room this morning and you would say, actually, pastor,

I don't have those things. or I'm desperately at risk

of losing all of those things. I, I know I

get the point that you're making pastor, but I am

really in need. I want you to know two things. One,

this church is ready to help you. We have a

whole fund that we use just to help people who

are in need in this church. No one has ever

missed a meal. No one has ever gotten kicked out

of their house. We will help you. And we've got

a whole team that will help you and coach you

in managing money. We do it regularly. So that's the

first thing I want you to know. Help is available

for you, both in terms of helping you out of

the ditch and also help keeping you out of the

ditch if coaching will help you with managing money. So

here's the second thing. Once you get the help, you're

going to be rich. So you better listen. God and

money are continually in a contest for your heart. So

how will you continually keep money in its place? Inspect

what they're promising. Inspect what they're promising. Here's the first area.

In the area of certainty. Inspect what God and what

money are promising in the area of certainty. He says

in verse 17, charge them not to sell. their hopes

on the uncertainty of riches. This is a deceit that

money holds out to win your affection, pretending your heart

is stupid. Your heart is stupid. Your heart is stupid.

And it sees the plans that you can make with

money and then believes that they are certain. And they

are not. Actually, the first thing that Paul says about

to charge them about is not to be haughty, not

be haughty, not be prideful. In other words, don't let

your worth get mixed up with your money. I hate

the term net worth. I think it's disgusting. I know

it's a term we use if you're in a certain

industry and that sort of thing. So I'm not throwing

any rocks at you. I'm just saying the thought that

your worth and your money would actually be connected is

flatly unbiblical. You are no more made in the image

of God than any of your fellow humans. And there

is no one whose soul is just a little less

immortal than yours. Because they have less in the bank.

Don't be haughty. And then he says, and don't set

your hope on the uncertainty of riches. The heart is

a hoping organ. The heart is a hoping organ. And

when it sees something, it believes it can wrap its

tentacles of hope around like money. It does so, but

you should know it's a deceit. If you inspect what

riches have to offer in the way of certainty, you

will find that it is at best a half-eaten box

of chocolates from your suitor. Proverbs say, cast but a

glance at riches and they will sprout wings and fly away.

Anybody got a story? That's not to say that there's

not such a thing as wise savings. There is. The

Proverbs also say, a fool consumes all that he receives

as soon as he gets it. There's absolutely such a

thing as saving properly. Saving with plans. but though you

may have plans for those savings, let me just tell you,

there is no certainty in those savings. Anybody got a story?

In fact, and this is a little mind-blowing for me,

if you examine the pages of Scripture, about financial thriving,

you will find that there is way more emphasis in

the pages of Scripture regarding financial thriving as it relates

to giving than it has to do with saving and investing.

That's true. Words of Christ are these. Do not lay

up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust

destroy things. Thieves break in and steal. Rather, lay up

for yourselves treasure in heaven. Thieves break in and steal.

Moth destroy. Rust destroy. Riches are uncertain. Jobs get lost.

Stock markets crash. It's coming, y'all. I don't know when.

But it happens. It happens. Inflation. I don't mean just

like 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%. In my dad's country, inflation

went to 50%, then it went to 100%. The way

they changed the prices in the grocery store is they

just walked out with another zero.

Uncertainty.

Even if the stock market doesn't crash and the inflation

doesn't run away, you don't lose your job, you can

have your nice, neat stack and get sick. Then whose

will it be? And we're so tempted to look at

our paychecks and our bank accounts or our investments and

And our heart whispers, never leave me or forsake me.

As if it could keep that promise. Or, I lift

my eyes up to the numbers. From where does my

help come? Paul says... But instead, verse 17, but instead,

but on God. Set your hope on God. Who richly

provides us with everything to enjoy. Again, our heart is

a hoping organ. Our heart is a hoping organ. And

what Paul is instructing Timothy to instruct the entire church

is to, hey, help them pray. Get their fingers pried

off of money as a certainty and put it around,

put their heart's fingers around the robe of the only sovereign,

the king of kings and lord of lords. He provides

it all. That's where our hope belongs. God is the source.

Your paycheck's just a means that he might use. God

is the source. Your investments are just a means that

he might use. God is the source. These other things

are just faucets. If I'm used to getting water from

the kitchen sink and the kitchen sink faucet breaks, am

I going to go die of thirst? You know how

many other faucets I have in the house? God may

be using one means in your life now, but he

can provide any other Don't set your hope. Don't set

your hope on just one faucet that God has. We

should meditate on these things. We should meditate. We should

look at the money in our life and just declare

in our hearts. Our hearts are tempted to whisper. Let's

talk back. Say, money, your power is very small. It's

very small. There's so much you cannot do. So much

you can't do, money. And you could be gone tomorrow.

You could be gone tomorrow. But my God, there is

nothing he can't do. There's nothing he can't provide. And

there are so many joys and aspects of thriving that

he has in store for me that you could never provide.

And he will never leave me. and he will never

forsake me. My hope belongs in him. And I'll remind

you again tomorrow, heart. What money has to offer when

it comes to real certainty is a deceit. As is,

as is, here's area two, as is what money seems

to pretend to offer when it comes to real abundance.

Real abundance. Paul here in these verses is pointing to

an abundance that matters way, way more. He says in

verse 18, there to do good, to be rich in

good works. He's saying, you rich? Be rich in good works.

That's what matters so much more. That's where you're going

to find real abundance. Why are you working so hard

to accumulate these little pieces of green paper when what

you should really be working hard to accumulate is good works?

The abundance of what is your priority? The abundance of what?

And money so easily becomes the default priority of abundance.

If I have this, then I'll have abundance. Not really.

Not really. It should not have that priority. It shouldn't

have that place. In fact, the way Christ puts it is,

be rich toward God. He puts it that way in

his story. He says, did I tell you the one

about the rich guy who had so much it wouldn't

all fit in his refrigerator? It wouldn't all fit in

his barns. So he got another one put in his garage.

That was me. He had so much it wouldn't all

fit in his barns. And so he says, I know

what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and

I will build bigger ones. And then I will sit

back and enjoy. I'll have it made. I will say

to myself, self, enjoy. You have as much as you need.

And then God speaks up and he says, you're an idiot. Tonight,

your soul will be required of you. It's the miniature

version of a Christmas carol. Right? Dickens has stretched it

out and taken some liberties. I don't know if Dickens

is a Christian or not, but he sure gets the

point across. There is Scrooge, and he thinks that real

abundance is found in coin. And he thinks this is

where real abundance can be found. And it's just so clear.

Have you ever read the story? I love every version

of it. I love every version of A Christmas Carol.

It's one of my favorite things about Christmas. If I

had to pick, I'd go Muppets, but... You can just see,

especially when you read it, and Dickens is amazing, and

you can just see how Scrooge is... Deceived, his heart

is deceived about where real abundance can be found and

he thinks it's in coin, but you can just read

the description of the old man's face and see that

he is poor. And he wakes up. He wakes up

after having been enlightened by these visitors. And he realizes,

I still have a chance. I still have a chance

to use what I have hoarded in coin to actually

find real abundance in good works. And he goes and

he takes care of Cratchit. And he takes care of

Tiny Tim. And he brings the Christmas goose to Fred's

house and everything else. I don't remember. I don't have

to remember. You know the pictures. Where is real abundance?

Rich in coin or rich in good works? And Paul

goes on. He says, to be generous and ready to share.

Be generous and ready to share. In other words, again,

our hearts are stupid. Money coming in easily becomes more

valued than money going out. Right? Right? Right. And money

coming in is okay. I'm for it. I like it

when money's coming in. It's good. But here's what Jesus says.

It's better, it's better to give than to receive. Well,

that's something. Because receiving's great. Right? And giving's better. It

is better to. It is more blessed to. There is

more real abundance in giving and generosity than there is

even in receiving. How do we live that out? How

do we live out that real abundance? Would you like

to see a testimony of it? Yeah? Yeah? We're going

to show you testimony of it. Living out real abundance.

How's it running?

Your generosity changed just being at Crossway.

Have you learned anything specific you've learned something.

At Crossway about giving.

And generosity and generous? Yes.

I think the whole tithing discussions and how we've been

much more intentional about how we steward and I think

it's allowed us to to make that more intentional from

our perspective. And God has just blessed our socks off

in that process. God has been teaching us generosity, generosity

that comes from Him. And I think that's what's made

our giving life joyful and just, like you said, a

privilege to be a part of.

We've learned from our own spiritual growth, but also from

Crossway that... The bulk of our giving, the majority of

our giving needs to be towards gospel-centered missions and that

our church is our primary recipient of our gifts.

And this has been happening gradually, but I think it

got accelerated that it's all God's.

This house is God's.

This building that we're talking about and renovating the second floor,

it's all God's. And so how can we maximize that

in his kingdom or his glory?

We started years ago, well before Crossway, inching our way

up in giving. And God would continue to surprise us.

We would take a, from a very low level, we

would take a step and we'd think, okay, God, we

sacrificed for you. And then he would bless us. And

then we, so we'd be like, okay. And so we

would do it again. And we kept growing and But

we see in hindsight, you can't out give God. And

so I'm not saying that it's a prosperity gospel and

that if you give this amount, he gives you this amount.

But he does bless and provide in ways that are

just remarkable.

And we've seen it in people that have come through benevolence.

and where they have gotten their financial house in order

from a stewardship perspective, and where they get joyful in

the giving process as well. So it's been even with

people we've been walking with, and you hear, I'm not

able to give this or give that, and you see

it in their joy. That's what continues to get me

excited about God has been so very good to us.

And it's great to give back.

Following Christ in giving. It is a joyful, joyful thing.

Reminds me of the two richest people in the New Testament. Probably.

Luke takes them and smashes them next to each other

towards the end of his gospel. One of them we

know as the rich young ruler. The other one we

know as Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus. And the accounts are meant to

be contrasted to each other. A rich young ruler seeks

Jesus out, hunts him down. Zacchaeus does too. He does

it by climbing a tree. A rich young ruler comes

to Jesus and says, what must I have? What must

I do? I want life. I want life. What must

I do? And Jesus says, well, here's what I have

for you. I want you to sell everything, give it

to the poor and follow me. And the scriptures say,

and the young man went away sad. He went away sad.

As Jesus interacted with Zacchaeus, also another very rich man,

Zacchaeus announces, here's what I'm going to do, Jesus. I'm

going to give away half of everything I have And

anybody that I've cheated, I'm going to pay them back

four times. And Jesus just announces, he just announces, salvation

has come to this house. It's a party. And Zacchaeus

knew how to throw a party. One went away sad.

To another, salvation was opened. And to be rich in money,

that's okay. That's okay. but to use money to be

rich in good works, so much better. Money coming in,

that's okay. Money going out in generosity and giving and

good works, it's so much better. Why? It says in

verse 19, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a

good foundation for the future so that they may take

hold of that which is truly life. Storing up treasure

in heaven, taking hold of that which is truly life.

And you say, well, what is it? what is treasure

in heaven? What is heavenly treasure? I'm not sure. But

if Christ says it's better, that's what I want. If

Christ says it's better, I want to use what I

have to store up that. He says it lasts. The

things that you have, the money that you have, the

possessions that you have, they will not last. Even if

they don't expire while you're holding them. Soon your hands

will be cold. They won't hold them any longer. That lasts.

He calls it true wealth. Jesus calls spiritual treasure true wealth.

I want true wealth. He's And he says, it's from him. Listen,

if Jesus has given it, I want it. And I'm convinced,

I'm convinced that we see aspects of the value of

heavenly treasure now. We see it now. I mean, just

the joy, the joy that that brother and sister are

experiencing now because of heavenly treasure. And it's only going

to get better. And my wife and I were talking

about it just last week. She's like, to see discipleship

taking place in this church is way better than anything

that we could spend our money on for ourselves. And

the discipleship and the mutual ministry in this community, the

love in this community is an aspect of heavenly treasure

that we already get to savor now. As one man said,

who disciples a lot of people in these things, I've

never known anyone, anyone to say, you know, I've grown

a lot in generosity and I wish I hadn't. You say, okay, well,

can I release money to take hold of that which

is truly life? I thought this was all about where

I put my faith, not where I put my money. True.

Here's the thing. Where you put your money says so

much about where you put your faith. Zacchaeus shows us that.

Zacchaeus shows us that. Use your money to take hold

of that which is truly life. Jesus is so much

better than money. Money can't give you real certainty or

real abundance, but Jesus can. He is what verse 15

calls him, the blessed and only sovereign, the king of

kings and lord of lords. He will never leave you.

He will never forsake you. He is the one who

leads you beside still waters and makes you lie down

in green pastures. He is the sovereign worthy of your hopes.

Your hopes. Money doesn't deserve them. He so deserves them.

Money won't die for you. Money won't show you grace.

Jesus did and he does and he will. And when

your heart looks at money and whispers, I think I

can find real certainty there. I think I can find

real abundance there. Don't buy it. Tell your heart to

look at the blessed and only sovereign, the King of King,

the Lord of Lords, to wrap its tentacles around the

robe of the sovereign and don't let go. Let's pray.

Would you stand with me all over this place? Lord,

may it be true. May it be true that your

word comes to your people and they respond in obedience

and in faith and trust and in love. May it

be true. Would every heart in this room Wrap its

hopes around the certainty that you provide. Wrap its hopes

around the abundance that you give. And would we use

what you've given us for those things to become rich

in good works, generous and ready to share, or that

we would have, that we would take hold of that

which is truly life? even begin enjoying those spiritual things now.

We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.