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Things Money Can’t Buy (Psalm 49)
14 Plays6 months ago
Money CAN buy lots of things, and yet, there are there some things that money CANNOT buy. Would you agree with this assessment? Even the Beatles acknowledged this in their old song, Can’t Buy Me Love which includes the line, “…tell me that you want the kind of things that money just can't buy.” What kind of things are not sold in stores?
I would mention some priceless treasures that are beyond purchase such as love, family, time, happiness, health, integrity, character, peace, true friends, trust, etc. What’s on your list?
The theme running through Psalm 49 is the limit of material wealth. We are living in a materialistic culture that desperately needs to understand that in our feverish pursuit of wealth, we may be overlooking some of the most valuable commodities in life.
This psalm was attributed to the sons of Korah. Numbers 16 tells us that one of their ancestors made a big mistake that cost him everything, even his life. It is interesting that his descendants now are passing down a word for generations beyond their ancient generation to invest time wisely while one has breath. Material wealth by itself is simply not a big enough target for a child of God. Our soul tells us there must be more! Jesus put it on the scale in Matthew 16:26.
Announcement for the World, 49:1-2
Admission of Wisdom, 49:3-4
Affluence through Wickedness, 49:5-6
Atonement beyond One’s Net Worth, 49:7-9
Ambition with Wealth, 49:10-12
Assurance of a Welcome, 49:13-15
Archaeology’s Warning, 49:16-20
Growing in Grace Devotions and Inspirations
Hosted by Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church 1700 Milam Street Columbus, TX, USA 78934
http://fbccolumbustx.org/
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to 'Growing in Grace' Ministry
00:00:08
Speaker
Welcome to Growing in Grace with Pastor Victor Morrison. This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas. We are praying that God will bless you as you listen to this message. If you would like additional information on worship times and ministries at FBC Columbus, you can find out more at our website, FBCColumbusTX.org. And now take your copy of God's timeless word as Pastor Victor gives today's message.
What Can Money Not Buy?
00:00:43
Speaker
Hey, welcome to Growing in Grace. So glad you're with us today. My name is Victor Morrison. I'm the senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Columbus, Texas. It's always a joy to share God's word with you, and I hope the things I share actually help you to grow in your Christian life. Today, I want to talk about a common theme, a common topic, I think, that people discuss, and that is money. You know, money can buy lots of things, and yet,
Psalm 49: Material Wealth's Limits
00:01:11
Speaker
There are some things that money simply cannot buy. Would you agree with that assessment? You know, even the Beatles acknowledged this in their old song, Can't Buy Me Love. Can you remember that one? It includes a line that says, tell me that you want the kind of things that money just can't buy.
00:01:32
Speaker
Wow, what kind of things are not sold in stores? Well, if I was to make a list, I would probably list some of the following priceless treasures that are beyond purchase, such as love. I think my family's beyond purchase, time. How about happiness, health, integrity, character, peace, true friends, trust.
00:01:57
Speaker
So what's on your list? Do you have anything that you feel, well, money simply can't buy it? I want to share with you Psalm 49 because the theme running through Psalm 49 is the limit of material wealth. We're living in a materialistic culture that desperately needs to understand that in our feverish pursuit of wealth, we may be overlooking some of the most valuable commodities in life.
U.S. National Debt and Financial Irresponsibility
00:02:28
Speaker
Even our country as a whole, just think about it. The last time I checked, the US national debt was $34.5 trillion that we owe. Do you think we're living within our means? I'm thinking, oh, no. And then on the same debt calendar or debt clock website that it has, it says what that means is every person residing in the United States currently owes $102,000
00:02:57
Speaker
$845. I thought, oh my goodness, I've got to do better. Well, this Psalm was attributed to a family known as the Sons of Korah.
Lessons from the Sons of Korah
00:03:11
Speaker
Number 16 tells us that one of their ancestors made a big mistake, and that mistake cost him everything, even his life, because the ground just opened up and swallowed him.
00:03:24
Speaker
You know, it's interesting though that his descendants now, whenever they were writing this Psalm 49, they're passing down a word for generations beyond their ancient generation to invest time wisely while one still has life and breath. Material wealth by itself is simply not a big enough target for a child of God.
The Soul's True Value vs. Material Wealth
00:03:52
Speaker
You see, our soul tells us there must be more to our existence than just material things. Jesus put it on the scale in Matthew 16, 26, when he says, what is a man profited if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? Isn't that something? So he puts the whole world and all of its wealth and all of its gadgets and all of its cars, everything it has on one side,
00:04:21
Speaker
And on the other side, he puts your soul. And you know what his conclusion is? His assessment is, well, your soul weighs more than all of that.
Reading and Reflecting on Psalm 49
00:04:31
Speaker
So I think that's awesome. And I think that's what we're going to hear as the sons of Korah tell us about it in Psalm 49. Let me read you their song. Here's what it says in Psalm 49, verse one. Hear this, all peoples, give ear all inhabitants of the world, both low and high,
00:04:51
Speaker
Rich and poor together, my mouth shall speak wisdom. The meditation of my heart shall be understanding. I will incline my ear to a proverb. I will solve my riddle to the music of the liar. Why should I fear in times of trouble?
00:05:11
Speaker
When the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me, those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches, truly no man can ransom another or give to God the price of his life. For the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice that he should live on forever and never see the pit.
00:05:37
Speaker
For he sees that even the wise die, the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others. Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names. Man in his pomp will not remain. He is like the beast that perish
00:06:05
Speaker
This is the path of those who have foolish confidence. Yet after them, people approve of their boasts.
Wisdom Over Wealth: A Universal Message
00:06:13
Speaker
Like sheep, they're appointed for Sheol. Death shall be their shepherd, and the upright shall rule over them in the morning. Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell. But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for He will
00:06:35
Speaker
Receive me. Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases. For when he dies, he will carry nothing away. His glory will not go down after him. For though while he lives, he counts himself blessed. And though you get praise when you do well for yourself, his soul will go to the generation of his fathers who will never again see light.
00:07:04
Speaker
Man in his pomp, yet without understanding, is like the beasts that perish." Wow, what a sobering pronouncement about the limitations of wealth. So let me sort of break it down and give you just a few handles that you could grab a hold of the main message of this psalm, which is things money cannot buy. Let's first look at verses one and two.
00:07:33
Speaker
The writer or the writers of this psalm definitely wanted to make an announcement, but their announcement was not just for people in the United States. It was an announcement for the world. This message is for all the inhabitants of this world, according to verse 1. When you drop down into verse 2, you see that this message is the same regardless of the influence that one has upon this world.
00:08:02
Speaker
You can be high or you can be low. What it means is it doesn't matter your influence. What we're talking about is something money cannot buy. And then also this message is relevant despite their income in this world. He says the rich and the poor together, all of us need to hear what we
00:08:24
Speaker
as the sons of Korah are about to say.
Passing on Wisdom Through Music
00:08:28
Speaker
So let's dig in and see what is it that they're about to say? Well, secondly, I think when you drop down into verses three and four, we see the admission of wisdom. You see, if we're open to receive biblical truth, then God will impart wisdom to us. There's three different things that I wanted to say about the admission of wisdom.
00:08:52
Speaker
The learning of wisdom requires two essentials. Would you like to learn wisdom that comes from God? Well, there's two very important things. The first one is found in verse four, a willingness to listen to biblical instruction. That's why the writer says, I will incline my ear to a proverb. Have you ever read the proverbs in the Bible? They are so practical.
00:09:18
Speaker
But then verse three tells us another essential to learning wisdom, and that is the discipline to linger through internal meditation. So in other words, if I read my devotion, if I read the Bible, if I am listening to a Bible study or a podcast or a sermon, then I shouldn't let that be the end of it. He says, the meditation of my heart shall be understanding. So we've got to think about it as we go through our day.
00:09:47
Speaker
But then I like verse 3 because it also speaks to not just learning wisdom, but how about this one, leaving behind wisdom. I think if we want to leave behind wisdom, then we've got to communicate. There has to be an openness for communication. That's why he says in verse 3, my mouth shall speak. Future generations or younger generations are not going to understand
00:10:13
Speaker
some things can't be bought by material wealth unless we explain it, unless we open up our mouths and communicate about it. But also I think if we're going to do that, if you want to leave a legacy of wisdom to those who are follow you, then I would also add to that one a commitment to not only communication, but also edification.
00:10:39
Speaker
Edification means to build up. Ephesians 4.29 actually tells me that I should let no unwholesome word proceed out of my mouth, but only that which builds up, that which edifies. I think that's why he uses that word, wisdom. But then let's move to one other thing about the admission of wisdom.
Cautions Against Unethical Wealth
00:11:03
Speaker
Some of us who receive wisdom into our minds, into our hearts, into our lives,
00:11:09
Speaker
We have a very unique ability that not everyone has. That ability has to do with music. Lyrics, the lyrics with wisdom, they also include a couple of essentials. Have you ever heard of a man named Harry Chapin? Harry Chapin's wife wrote a poem about her first husband's dysfunctional relationship with his father.
00:11:33
Speaker
Her first husband's father was a busy politician in Brooklyn. And so whenever Harry met his wife and they began to talk about her background and how difficult it was, she talked about how her father was always on the go, always gone. And so Harry found within it like an inspiration. And so they wrote a song in 1974 called Cats in the Cradle.
00:12:03
Speaker
One of the repeating lines in that song is where a son says to his father, I'm going to be like you, dad. You know, I'm going to be like you. Unfortunately, Harry Chapin was killed in a car accident on Long Island Expressway, July 16th, 1981. So he didn't continue to be with us, but what he did was
00:12:28
Speaker
He shows us that when you have a nugget of wisdom, of something practical, put it in a song and let that song take that message to people who would never hear you just talk about it. So I got to looking at verse 4 and I thought that's what the sons of Korah were doing.
00:12:47
Speaker
You see, the song begins with inspiration. That's why he says, I will incline my ear to a proverb. So there's something that he's gonna learn from God's word, but then I think the song builds through composition. He says, I will solve my riddle to the music of the liar.
00:13:09
Speaker
And so I couldn't help but think he wants the melody, he wants the harmony, he wants the rhythm, he wants the timbre, he wants that tone to reveal to others this wisdom that he has learned and he wants to pass on.
00:13:24
Speaker
To me, I think that some of the most meaningful music of all is whenever it has a message.
Christ's Atonement: Priceless Over Wealth
00:13:31
Speaker
And I think a lot of songs carry a message. Some songs carry messages that I wouldn't agree with, but many songs have great messages. So if God's blessed you in that way, may God continue to use you in that field. But let me go back to Psalm 49 and take us to verses five and six. How about the affluence?
00:13:55
Speaker
through wickedness, because some people obtain wealth not through hard work. They obtain wealth through wicked means. He says the iniquity of those who cheat me surround me. And so listen, friend, we've got to just accept it as a reality in a broken fallen world that there's some people who are just porch pirates. There's some people who are going to hack your computer, you know, and hack your bank account.
00:14:23
Speaker
But what we need to do is say, you know what? I'm not gonna worry over living for wealth. That's not what I'm living for anyway. And that's what he's trying to say in verses five and six, when he says, why should I fear those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches? And so we need to say, yes, I know that some people are becoming more and more wealthy,
00:14:51
Speaker
by wickedness, but I'm not going to focus on them. I'm going to focus my life on things that cannot be bought in a store. How about the atonement of Christ? You know, atonement is beyond net worth. I think verses 7, 8, and 9 make that so clear. You know, 1 Peter 1, 18, and 19 says, knowing that you were ransomed, that's the atonement,
00:15:19
Speaker
not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb, without blemish or spot. I got to thinking, well, who are the wealthiest people in the world? I would say right now Bernard Arnault, his net worth is 229 billion, or maybe Jeff Bezos, 198.4 billion.
00:15:44
Speaker
Elon Musk, 195.3 billion, maybe Mark Zuckerberg, 170.3 billion, or Bill Gates, 131.3 billion. So definitely these men have been very successful, and I don't want to take anything away from them. But here's the thing. Apart from Christ's Atonement, could any of those men right there, any of those five, could they save another person like me? Could their wealth
00:16:14
Speaker
buy me a place in heaven? Well, here's what verse seven says, truly no man can ransom another. Could their wealth make a place for them and God's family just for themselves?
00:16:28
Speaker
Well, no, because it says that no man can save himself. He says, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice. So it doesn't matter how much we have, we just can't cover our sin debt. Also, apart from Christ's Atonement, no one can live forever.
00:16:50
Speaker
You know, there's going to come a day when those men will come to the end of their life. And if all they've lived for is material wealth, he says in verse 9, the first part, that he should live on forever, it's not going to happen. And then apart from Christ's Atonement, no man by his own good works could avoid hell.
00:17:11
Speaker
No man's going to earn heaven. He says we could never see the pit by the money that we, you know, would give just so we can buy our way into heaven. It just won't work, friend.
Jesus' Teachings on Wealth and Eternal Purpose
00:17:24
Speaker
That's why we have to say, wait a minute. Well, then what's my ambition with wealth? I have something to submit to you from verses 10 and 11 and 12. How about this ambition with wealth?
00:17:37
Speaker
You know, in Luke, these are the words of our Lord Jesus in Luke chapter 16 and verses nine through 13. He says, and I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth so that when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal dwellings, one who's faithful in a very little.
00:17:58
Speaker
is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is in others, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other
00:18:23
Speaker
or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." Wow, definitely straight to the point, isn't it? Well, it's kind of the same way in Psalm 49, verses 10 and 11, where he says in verse 10 that some live only with intellectual ambition. That's it. When you read verse 10, and he says, for he sees that even the wise die,
00:18:52
Speaker
The foolish and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others. That's the problem with only living with a material or an intellectual ambition, or even we could say a physical ambition, because someday the grave is going to be waiting for all of us. So we've got to think beyond that. We've got to anticipate, hey, I want to go through eternity and have things waiting for me.
00:19:19
Speaker
because I use my wealth for a good purpose, like Jesus was saying. And so don't live for just mere intellectual ambitions or material ambitions, physical ambitions, or even social ambitions, because he does say, you know, some people have a whole land called by their own name. But it's not a big enough target, like I said earlier.
Assurance Through Christ, Not Wealth
00:19:42
Speaker
Verses 13 and 14 and 15 speak of the assurance of a welcome, the assurance of a welcome.
00:19:50
Speaker
You see, also in Luke, in Luke 16 verses 19 and 31, Jesus contrasted the eternal destinies of two men, two men after death. What happened to them? Well, one man goes to be with the Lord. The other man does not go to be with the Lord. And so I got to thinking, the man who went away from the Lord, who was separated from God for all eternity in a fire, in a place that was burning,
00:20:19
Speaker
He trusted in wealth. He was a very wealthy man, but his wealth only led him to despair and death and even decomposition. If you were to read these verses, you would see, oh, it's trying to warn us of that. This is the path of those who have foolish confidence. Yet after them, people approve of their boats like sheep. They are appointed for Sheol. Death shall be their shepherd.
00:20:45
Speaker
and the upright shall rule over them in the morning. And I thought, oh, so the upright shall rule over them in the morning. So I thought, those who trust not just in gold, but those who trust in God, they're going to participate in the future reign of Jesus Christ. They also have a place that's already been purchased for them in God's family. It says, but God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he
00:21:15
Speaker
will receive me. See, the reason God's gonna receive me is only one reason, not because I'm a pastor, not because I wanna do good things and kind things and I wanna be a good friend and all those kinds, that's not enough. The only reason that God will welcome me into his heaven and into his family is because Jesus Christ paid my sin debt
00:21:44
Speaker
He paid the ransom that I owed because I'd lived a life of sin. And so I thought, thank you, God, that it says that we will receive this personal welcome from God whenever we go through those doors of death.
King Tut's Tomb: Wealth in the Afterlife
00:22:02
Speaker
But let me close with one last thing. I'm going to call this last point, archaeology's warning.
00:22:09
Speaker
verses 16 through 20, because it does talk about how we cannot take anything with us. Do you believe that? Well, in 1922, an archeologist and an Egyptologist named Howard Carter discovered the tomb of King Tut.
00:22:33
Speaker
And he had only reigned for 10 years. He was a young guy. He died suddenly at 18 years of age, but he had reigned from 1333 to 1323 BC. But when he saw that he was dying, he ordered that all of these things be placed in his tomb. And so within King Tut's tomb is an incredible amount of artifacts, all different kinds of items ranging from
00:23:01
Speaker
a gold throne, a gold chariot, furniture, weapons, and garments, and all kinds of things. As a matter of fact, someone appraised all that has been discovered in King Tut's tomb as being worth about a billion dollars, one billion dollars U.S.
00:23:18
Speaker
But you know, something that I find interesting is on the website of the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Here's what it says about King Tut's exhibit and King Tut's, the artifacts that were found in his tomb. It says, explore the countless gold treasures he took with him.
00:23:40
Speaker
into the afterworld and explore the brightly colored hieroglyphs that detail his life and offer prayers to the gods to ensure a blessed life after death. I have no doubt in my mind that he did believe he was going to take all of that with him. But you know what? I believe that archaeology and Psalm 49, the Word of God, they both issue the same warning to the materialist.
00:24:11
Speaker
We cannot, that's me included, we cannot take any of it with us into eternity. King Tut did not take those things with him into eternity because those things are sitting in Houston in the Museum of Natural Science. And so I thought to myself, I feel the same passion that the sons of Cora felt that I want to say to my generation,
00:24:40
Speaker
don't just live for material wealth by itself. Like I said at the beginning, material wealth can buy a lot of things, but material wealth cannot purchase everything. Some things cannot be bought with money. And so what we see in verses 16 and 17 is this warning that prosperity
00:25:07
Speaker
will be given up at death. Here's the way it says it. Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases. For when he dies, he will carry nothing away. His glory will not go down after him. I'm not trying to depress you. I'm trying to direct you. I'm trying to help you not just live for material things. And so I'm just saying, remember,
00:25:37
Speaker
What archaeology, remember what the Word of God is saying, that prosperity will be given up at death. And because prosperity can often lead to popularity, I wanted to also read these closing verses 17 through 20, because I feel like these also are a warning.
00:26:00
Speaker
A warning that popularity will also be given up at death. Verse 17 says, For when he dies, he will carry nothing away. His glory will not go down after him. For though while he lives, he counts himself blessed. And though you get praise when you do well for yourself, his soul
00:26:21
Speaker
will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see light. Man in his pomp, yet without understanding, is like the beasts that perish." Do you see what I'm trying to say? Do you see what the sons of Korah were trying to do?
00:26:38
Speaker
Their ancestor way back there had made a huge mistake in his life. He had built his life on something that was not eternal. And so when his life was taken suddenly, they thought there's something more that we need to leave for future generations. And so I'm just wanting to say to you, live for the glory of God.
00:27:04
Speaker
Live for the one who created you in his image.
Closing Prayer: Spiritual Over Material
00:27:08
Speaker
Live for the one who gave you those talents and abilities and all that you have.
00:27:14
Speaker
Let's say that you have gained tremendous wisdom and training throughout your life. Wonderful. So use those things for more than just money alone. Use those things to honor your creator. Use those things to honor the Redeemer, the one who laid down his life to atone our souls so that we could be forgiven of sins, so that we could enter into eternity and enter into his family.
00:27:43
Speaker
Hey, I'm so glad we had this time to just talk through Psalm 49. I hope you'll take some time to revisit that Psalm. I think it's awesome. So let's go to the Lord in prayer and let's pray that God will help us not to overlook some of those, well, priceless treasures like our family, like our faith.
00:28:03
Speaker
You know, like our friends, like other things that are in our lives. Let's pray together. Oh, Heavenly Father, I thank you so much. I don't know about others, but I need this reminder. I need to be reminded that it's not all about material things and what money can buy at the store, what money can buy from Amazon. Lord, I'm thankful for what I have and I'm thankful for how you've blessed us that way. But the truth is,
00:28:32
Speaker
the greatest blessings in my life, they came from you. And so Lord, help us to realize that we can develop our character. We can put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. We can live for the glory of God.
00:28:47
Speaker
no matter what our line of work is. So help us today, Lord, just to live for you. Help us to remember that money will only go so far and then it runs out. And so help us not panic, help us trust you and live for you. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Hey friend, I hope you'll keep growing in grace. You have a great week. God bless you, bye bye.
00:29:19
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church, located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.