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The Generous Giver
51 Plays3 months ago
Series: Managing the Ministry of the Local Church
1 Tim. 6:3-21
Recommended
Transcript
Money in Earthly and Spiritual Contexts
00:00:00
Speaker
Money opens doors, it's no secret. Money is known as the universal passport. Those who have it generally have an easier life. When it comes to the areas of education, healthcare, care travel, leisure, we find that the mechanisms are well oiled for those who have great wealth. It's no wonder that the topic of money is one of the more prominent ones that Jesus talks about in the Bible. Now I want to clarify right up front, there's nothing inherently wrong with having money, or a lot of money for that matter, as long as that money doesn't have you.
Personal Contentment and the Desire for More
00:00:50
Speaker
How we approach wealth speaks to our understanding of and our contentment with God's great gifts that He gives each one of us.
00:00:58
Speaker
Are you someone who is content or discontented? Are you somebody that identifies with Mr. Rockefeller when he was approached by a reporter and asked, how much money is enough money? To which he responded, just a little bit more. How much is enough? It's a question that peers deep into our personal level of contentment.
00:01:29
Speaker
And friends, if we're honest with ourselves, many of us just aren't content with our stuff.
00:01:40
Speaker
We find security in our stuff, don't we? It's hard to let go of our stuff. We want to rely on God, and His word tells us that He's trustworthy, and we know that we're called to be generous, but boy, is it tough to let go of our stuff. Why is that? This is what our passage deals with today. It looks at two different groups. The Apostle Paul is going to give us a pretty vast comparison here between two groups of people, the false teacher and the true teacher, and it's going to answer to the question, what does it look like to be a generous giver?
Characteristics of True and False Teachers
00:02:22
Speaker
And if I were to take a poll, a silent poll today,
00:02:26
Speaker
Who wants to be a generous giver? Everybody would raise their hand. Nobody wants to be known to somebody who's not a generous giver. So what does it take? That's what that's what we're going to look at today. We're going to see three things today. We're going to look at some characteristics of both false teachers and good teachers when it comes to dealing with wealth. We're going to look at contentment, what that looks like. We're going to look at the cause of that. And then we're going to eventually ask ourselves, how can you and I demonstrate generosity. That's where we're gonna land today, just before we head out to Potluck. And everybody says amen. I'm gonna read from our very last chapter here, our very last section in 1st Timothy, it's 1st Timothy 6, and I'll read, I'm gonna read verse three and onward, and I may stop at a certain area here.
00:03:21
Speaker
Paul says to his young protege, Timothy, he says, teach these things, Timothy, and encourage everyone to obey them. Some people may contradict our teaching, but these are wholesome teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. These teachings promote godly life, and anyone who teaches something differentant different is arrogant and lacks understanding. Such a person has an unhealthy desire to quibble over the meaning of words. The result of this is it stirs up arguments, ending in jealousy and division, slander and evil suspicions. These people always cause trouble. Their minds are corrupt and they have turned their backs on the truth. To them a show of godliness is just a way of becoming wealthy. Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.
00:04:16
Speaker
After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can't take anything with us when we leave it.
Contentment and the Dangers of Wealth
00:04:23
Speaker
So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. The people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires. Those desires plunge them into ruin and destruction, for the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. But you, Timothy, you are a man of God, so run from all these evil things. Instead, pursue righteousness and a godly life along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life for which God has called you.
00:05:08
Speaker
but you have declared so well before many witnesses. And I charge you before God who gives life to all before Christ Jesus, who gave a good testimony before Pontius Pilate that you obey this command without wavering, that no one can find fault with you from now on until our Lord Jesus comes again. Jump down to verse 17. He says, teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trushion being God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with those around them. By doing this, they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.
00:06:03
Speaker
Timothy, guard what God has entrusted to you. Avoid godless, foolish discussions with those who oppose you, so-called knowledge. Some people have wandered from the faith by following such fullness. May God's grace be with you all. This is the reading of God's word.
00:06:23
Speaker
But the apostle Paul is telling Timothy here, in a roundabout way is watch out from those false teachers. Remember, we started 1 Timothy with his exact same message. And then in chapter three, he reiterated it, watch out for these false teachers. And now here at the end in chapter six, he says, watch out for these false teachers.
Modern Examples of Greed and True Generosity
00:06:46
Speaker
They're characterized by a love of a desire for wealth.
00:06:55
Speaker
And I just put a note to myself, thank goodness This is no longer a problem for us in 21st century America. Thankfully, we have conquered this unhealthy desire to be wealthy.
00:07:10
Speaker
Unfortunately, it's the exact same problem that Paul faced that you and I face today. You need to look no further than turning on TBN, or the Christian Broadcast Network. And you'll see these preachers these days that As long as you give the right amount of money, we'll get to that.
00:07:36
Speaker
Paul starts here with a few characteristics, if you will, a few marks that kind that characterize a false teacher when it comes to money. He says here in verse 3, he says, the first mark is that they refused to adhere to sound doctrine, sound instruction that was from the Lord Jesus Christ into godly teaching. This teaching that Paul is referring to is the Orthodox teaching of Jesus. that has been passed down from generation to generation and guarded and protected, by the way, Dwight Pentecost there, DTS, this was his big charge when he was there, DTS, he said, to you is guarded much, meaning the right handling of Scripture. He said, if you if you don't get anything right, the one thing you should get right is the handling of Scripture.
00:08:30
Speaker
Those who are in this position who exposit the word are to hold to Orthodox teaching, that which has been guarded and passed down. He's saying, watch out for those people who do heterodox, hetero meaning other or different. Watch out for those guys. he says second The second mark, because in verse 4, these people are so are known by their attitude. They don't have a godly attitude. They have an attitude of arrogance. They're proud.
00:09:05
Speaker
Instead of being humble, they they're quick to judge. It says they have nothing really to be proud about because they know nothing. The result of such unscriptural teaching, says it spirals out, i like this word is like a downward spiral picture. It produces envy and quarreling and malicious talk and evil suspicions and constant friction.
00:09:36
Speaker
Don't say it out loud, but when I give these characteristics, somebody in your life comes to mind, doesn't it? Somebody is a pot stirrer. They stir up just for the sake of stirring up. He's saying here, Timothy, watch out for these people, because they're marked in such a way that it will be vastly different from you as a truth teacher. He says, third, their motive for their teaching is simply financial gain.
00:10:06
Speaker
What a sad state it is when the preacher gets up and the core of his message is God wants you to be healthy, to which I say bogus. God's command to you is to be holy.
00:10:22
Speaker
Now if you just pray a certain amount and you have just the right amount of faith, well God's just standing around waiting to bless you financially. That's the message that you'll hear on TV. Friends, that's not the message of the Bible. It says these false teachers, they use their religious profession as a means of making money. It's a religious business. He says, you, however Timothy, won't be stuck in that pitfall, you will get outside of that snare, he said, you will guard what has been passed down to you, you will treasure what has been passed down to you, and that which has been passed down when you teach it will promote godliness. This, friends, is a sign of the right type of teacher. Second, he says, you'll be somebody who's free from the love of money.
Societal Standards and Spiritual Implications of Wealth
00:11:17
Speaker
Doesn't say you'll be free from money.
00:11:21
Speaker
We know, Kim and I know, several people who are well beyond in means. Filthy rich, if you want to use that terminology. And they are the most godly giving, generous people we have ever met. The money has not become a hindrance to them. They know how to use it. So it's not a matter of wealth itself. It's this desire to have wealth. Paul warns Timothy here, don't let that be a hindrance. He said instead, be called to godliness. Now, what does that look like? Because I had a very interesting conversation when I was in seminary in 2019. The news broke and you guys saw it too because it was all over everywhere. You know this guy, John Gray. He's a preacher in North Carolina at a mega church.
00:12:15
Speaker
who thought it was appropriate to gift his wife a $200,000 Lamborghini.
00:12:23
Speaker
This is the same pastor, by the way, who lives in a $1.8 million dollars house provided by the church. So our professor asked in one of our classes, since this was the talk of the town, is that acceptable? Of course, everybody's raising their hand because nobody wants to say that's acceptable, right? Well, of course not, professor. That's insane. He said, well, is it because it's a Lamborghini? Well, yeah, maybe. What about $200,000? Is that the limit? what is it ah Is it a money thing? Is it the $100,000 car is acceptable? $50,000 car acceptable? What's acceptable as a gift? See, he was trying to go to us.
00:13:11
Speaker
Well, I like Brother Wes's message today, Bible study. It's talking about goading. He was trying to goad us to give a response so that we could kind of ensnare ourselves in a very worldly answer. And he simply said, how much is too much? He said, because you'll be launched out into a congregation at some point, and they're going to look at your car. and they're gonna say, hey, my brother Patrick, he drives a really nice black truck. How much did he pay for that truck? And when I heard that message, it kinda changed a little bit for me and I thought, you know, he's right, what how much is too much? Now obviously this character here, he tries to get on national TV and justify this $200,000 Lamborghini just saying, that's the type of giver I am.
00:14:07
Speaker
I'm a generous giver. He said this on national TV.
00:14:13
Speaker
To which my teacher said, that's fantastic that you're a great giver. But I know the ultimate giver. And he doesn't want you to be that type of giver. And it really framed things for us as young seminary students because What we're charged with is teaching the full counsel of God. Now, what would be fantastic and you would love to hear is for me to tell you something that says, God wants you to be wealthy. It's his desire that you have a lot of money. And if you don't, you just simply need to have more faith. But friends, that's not what the Bible says.
00:14:57
Speaker
And it's no surprise why we have so many mega churches that preach that type of message because a lot of people love to hear that. They love to come every Sunday and they love to hear how God's on your side and he's all for making your life better now in the present materially. And they take scripture like this and they twist it to their own desire. Paul says, Timothy, be wary of that, verse nine, avoid the temptation, the snare, the trap. Basically, it's like this it's like the you know the bear claws that are being opened up, the trap that's ready to snare you when you start getting too close to loving money. That's the key here in this verse. He's not saying you can't have money. He's just saying that desire that I have to have what the Joneses have. Wow, they got 100 acres. What are we doing with 50 acres?
00:15:58
Speaker
It's this trap of wanting the money, the desire, the adventure to get it, because for some people that's what it is. it's um I'm running the race to try to get as much money as I possibly can. And he says, watch out for that snare because all sorts of bad things are right down the road from you here. Ruined life. Maybe to the point where you even lose the true faith. He says, rather, don't do that, Timothy. You need to learn to be content. Everybody say the word content. What does content mean?
00:16:41
Speaker
Happy with what what? What you have now. I like ah this definition ah that I found here. It says, an inner sufficiency that keeps us at peace in spite of our outward circumstances.
00:16:58
Speaker
it's It's saying to yourself, answering the question, how much is enough? This much that God has given me. This is what God has given me to work with. He's saying, don't let the love of money rule you and said be content. The false teachers at this time weren't content. They wanted more and more material things in order to be happy and to feel successful, and they're always in this race. For more, for more, it's actually the same core word that ties to lust. They lusted after money. It became an idol for them. He said, instead of giving the satisfaction they were hoping, it simply creates more lust, more desire.
00:17:49
Speaker
It's saying I really want a fishing boat. And when I get it, I go, yeah, that's great. You know what would be even better is a jet ski or a jet boat. And then when you get the jet boat, well, now I need to have a dock that holds two boats.
00:18:10
Speaker
It's this unhealthy desire that never gets satisfied.
00:18:16
Speaker
I like Newt Larson, who is an author and a theologian. He says, has he ever noticed that it's the wealthy people, not the poor people, that go to psychiatrists?
00:18:29
Speaker
True contentment, however, comes from godliness in the heart, not from wealth in the hand. He says here in verse seven, wealth is not lasting. He says, we brought nothing into the world, therefore we can carry nothing out. When our spirit leaves our body, we can take nothing with us because we came into this world, we had nothing with us. He says, no matter what we amass in a dollar amount, you can't take it with you. You've heard this before, right? You know who you know who gets that money? This is a real wake-up call for some of you, because I know you're yawning back there. You're like, not ah not a sermon on money. You know who gets that wealth that you accumulate in your lifetime? The government? Your heirs? If you're thinking ahead, maybe the church? Maybe a charity?
00:19:29
Speaker
doesn't go with you.
The Fleeting Nature of Wealth and Gratitude
00:19:31
Speaker
But yet so many of us run that race to try to get as much as we possibly can in his life to think that somehow that's going to make us satisfied. Wealth is not lasting.
00:19:46
Speaker
He says, our basic needs, however, verse eight, which are food and clothing, clothing and shelter or covering, these are our basic needs. So if we lose those, we lose the ability to secure other things. He says, however, our basic needs are met. God meets your basic needs.
00:20:04
Speaker
my are ah One of the core reasons we pray at every meal, and I'm a little fanatic about this, but one of the reasons I pray and I was taught a long time ago is to be thankful for that food that was provided by God. And I thought, man, if that's the one thing I can't do without in this world of physicality is I have to have that food. Thank you, God, for providing that meal, but yet we sit down with people at restaurants all the time and, man, they just jump right into that meal and don't provide any thanks or any thought of where that has come from. It says, God meets our basic needs. I like this.
00:20:47
Speaker
This thing says, a simple living Quaker who once watched his neighbor move in next door, saw him unpacking all the expensive toys you could ever possibly want. And he waited till he was fully moved in and then he went next door and knocked on the door and he said, howdy neighbor, I live right next door. He said, well, it's nice to meet you. He said, did you see me moving all my stuff in? He said, yeah, I actually stopped by to talk to you about that. If you ever need anything, just pop on over next door and I'll tell you how to get along without it.
00:21:27
Speaker
Henry David Thoreau, the naturalist in the 1800s reminds us kind of something similar. When he says a man is wealthy in proportion to the number of things that he can afford to do without. Are you content with the gracious god the gracious gifts God has given you? And he finishes up with this word here in verse 19 to those who are wealthy saying, command those who are rich in this world's goods not to be haughty. Meaning not to lord those over somebody, going, look at me, look how wealthy I am. He's saying, don't be like that. Rather set your hope on on on the riches, which are uncertain. Don't do that. But instead, give God the right acknowledgment, because He's the one who provided all things for our enjoyment.
00:22:14
Speaker
He says, tell them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, to be generous givers sharing with one another. In this way, they will save up a treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the future and so lay hold of what is truly life giving. He says, Timothy, you're going to go into this mixed congregation. You're going to have some rich, some poor, some free, some slave, some slave owners. He says, tell those people who are wealthy, which by the way are all of you. So oftentimes when we read verse 17, we think, oh, those guys, the wealthy guys, he's given a commandment to the wealthy guys. Friends, he's given the commandment to you and I and 21st century America who are wealthy on the world scale. So as you read verse 17, he says, tell these people who are wealthy, don't be lovers of money.
00:23:12
Speaker
Don't pursue wealth at all costs. Rather, the antidote, if you will, to greed and wanting to hold on to that money so tightly, he said, is to recognize where all that stuff comes from. It comes from the one who blesses, the one who gives the free gift. And we can demonstrate that We understand it all comes from God by giving it all back to God. And you go, that sounds great from the pulpit, pastor. What does that look like in my personal life? I had one of our old pastors say, give till it hurts.
00:23:52
Speaker
Sacrificially give, meaning give beyond what you're comfortable giving. Test the Lord in this manner. See if he won't continue to provide.
00:24:07
Speaker
He says, we must follow Christ's example. He starts by saying, in order to let go of some of that stuff that we hold on so tightly to, he said, we have to separate ourselves from those people who would be the false teachers. Separate ourselves from those people who say, it's all about the money. God wants to bless you. Just give the church more money. That's not the message today, by the way. He says, you should flee those people, not only flee them, but you should also follow or pursue righteousness and godliness and faithfulness and love and endurance and gentleness. And he says, Paul, keep up the good fight. I like this. The actual translation is keep keep on fighting. it's a It's a now action that continues on. Keep up the good fight. This word is what we get our word for agonize.
00:25:04
Speaker
it's the It's the agony that athletes endure. He's saying, keep up the good fight, keep straining, keep giving your best to win this battle because it's a continual struggle between your way and God's way. It's a continual struggle to let go of the stuff that we want to hold on to so dearly. And God says, it's okay to let go of that stuff. Everybody repeat after me. It's tough. to let go of our stuff. It's tough to let go of our stuff. But friends, that's what we're called to do. We're called to recognize that God is the ultimate giver, and if we just simply loosen that grip that's so tight on our stuff, it will show our dependence upon Him and our trust in Him to continue to provide for our needs.
00:26:06
Speaker
Not our wants, by the way. Somebody told me that one time. What's the difference between wants and needs? Well, God provides for your needs, but when you recognize what He's doing with that wealth that He's giving you and you function in a way that gives back to God's kingdom, His needs and your needs and your wants all line up together. Isn't that amazing? That's the way it works. Otherwise, right now, we think our needs and our wants are so on two sides of the spectrum. And he's saying, no, operate in the way in which I've guided you to operate and I will show you that your needs and wants are the exact same thing. And he's going to provide for both. So what do we do with this today? How do we apply this? If the
00:26:54
Speaker
The command is to watch out for these false teachers who hoard money, who love money, who desire money. What's the antidote to that? And he tells us here, simply be a generous giver. So how are we to be generous givers? Well, I'll just have just a couple of thoughts.
00:27:15
Speaker
I put down first that we need to cultivate a life of generosity. It starts by examining your wallet and your heart.
00:27:26
Speaker
Because where your heart is, you just simply need to look at where where you spend all your money. where Where all your resources go, where all your time goes, where all your talent goes. That's where your heart is. So if we want to cultivate, just like we do a garden, it's going to take time. Just in my backyard, if I want to cultivate a garden, I've got to go out and inventory the soil. I've got to see what I have. What has God given me? What resources has God given me? How can I make those grow?
00:28:02
Speaker
Well, we too need to look and take an inventory. We need to look at our lives. We need to say, how are we spending our time, our talent, our treasure? What are we doing with this? I think it's a good reminder at least a couple of times a year to make sure we don't start getting off track because it's very easy for us to do. That beach house, that extra farm, that $200,000 Lamborghini sure seems enticing sometimes. But if we keep our eye on God's economy and what he would have with the gifts that he's provided with us, it's a constant reminder to kind of keep us from going to the left or to the right.
Cultivating Generosity and Sharing Blessings
00:28:42
Speaker
We need to be generous, not just in our financial contributions, but our acts of kindness by the time that we offer our talents that many of you have that could be shared here in the capacity of the church.
00:28:57
Speaker
He's saying, what are you doing with those talents? Would you be generous with those?
00:29:07
Speaker
Inventory your stuff. That was what number one was. Second, seek opportunities to give. This doesn't mean wait for opportunities to give. Because that's our natural tendency. We simply want to wait for somebody to come up and go, you know, boy, I'm struggling in this area. I sure could use help with fill in the blank. If somebody came up and said to me, hey, hey Patrick, what do you what can I help you with? you know what's What's going on? Is there something I can help you with? I would probably have a list of things that I would have for them to help me with. But I'm relying on them to come to me and ask for that.
00:29:47
Speaker
I think what this passage is telling us today is we need to seek out opportunities. Look to our local community. Look beyond your family. And don't get me wrong here. I'm not saying that it's ungodly to provide for future generations, but how much is it enough? At some point, you're going to be gone. And for some of you, that's sooner than later.
00:30:18
Speaker
What are you gonna do with that wealth that God has given you? Are you investing that into future God honoring ways?
00:30:29
Speaker
If you're a financial planner, the big word is return on investment, right? Hey, I'm investing this money, I wanna see a big return at some point. Well, I would challenge you today, are you investing in God's economy? In the next pastor, in the next church, Are you planning seeds and cultivating them knowing that God is going to honor that? We need to be proactive in the ways we seek out to bless others and to build relationships. It's the small acts of kindness I wrote that sometimes just make a profound impact. All right, third. And I'll just tell you, this last one for me is probably the the most important. Have you told somebody recently
00:31:18
Speaker
about God blessing you.
00:31:22
Speaker
Have you shared your testimony of God's generosity in your life? Nothing helps me in my Christian walk than somebody else going, hey, Pastor, you'll never believe. oh We really prayed about it and you know we make X number of dollars a month and we decided to go on a limb and we gave extra and above and we gave towards this particular mission effort and look at how God has taken that money and just multiplied it. Nothing makes my life and my walk more encouraged, hearing how God is working through somebody else. I can tell you standing here at 50 years old, I have never been financially without
00:32:05
Speaker
God has always been faithful in that regard. Now, early in my life, there were times when I wasn't faithful in my tithing. And I'm not saying they're correlated, but I'm telling you, there is some oh there are some ah blessing and obedience. And the longer I've been obedient, the more God has provided. And my brother-in-law said, you know, he's in his sixties, he said, why would God stop blessing me now? I've been obedient all this time. When I hear somebody say something like that to me, like, oh man, God has provided for me in my life, now I don't have the boats and the extra cars and the double house and all that kind of stuff, but how much is ah enough? God provides for my basic needs.
00:32:53
Speaker
Share your testimony, your voice, whether one-on-one, over a cup of coffee, over social media, if those of you who use social media, what a great way to say, guess how God blessed me today? Hey, I got a bonus check from work, wasn't even expecting that. It's these small acts of kindness that have huge transformation.
00:33:19
Speaker
I'll just end with this.
00:33:29
Speaker
It's a tough question, but this is but and I won't take any ownership for this. Chuck Swindoll had asked this, so I feel like I'm in good company. He said, if God came to you today and said, is the cost to follow me simply giving up everything you have, would you do that? Would you give it all up for him? Or are we so conditioned to hold on tight to our stuff?
00:34:15
Speaker
Is the demand too great? Is the cost too big? Friends, may we be a ah people who find security in our Savior, and not in our stuff. Amen.