Money Says it all?? o-83 RR-821 c-572 Golden rule. He who has the money makes the rules... War some are saying about money. Differences over money rank high as a factor leading to divorce. How to spend money often becomes a fracture point in church families. What we instinctively know but sometimes do not admit is that "When it's about money, its not usually about money." Money is a metaphor for power, control, interests, or submission. All of this reminds us of our topic of stewardship. And Jesus calls us to be stewards. AS a matter of fact, the other areas of stewardship that we have talked about will naturally overflow into the realm of money. People do not realize how much Jesus talked about money in his teaching. And we cannot begin to cover it all today. Much of what he said tied directly or indirectly with money. Even some of his acts gave parables on the use or misuse of money. Let's look at a few of these. Matthew 17:24 When they had come to Capernaum, those who received the temple tax came to Peter and said, "Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?" 25 He said, "Yes." And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?" 26 Peter said to Him, "From strangers." Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free. 27 "Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you." The temple tax was to go to the upkeep of the temple and it's services. But the priests and prophets did not have to pay this tax. Their somewhat innocent seeming question was laid as a trap. If Peter said that Jesus did not pay taxes, then he would be in disagreement with the law. If he said that Jesus did pay taxes, they would say that he was saying he was not a prophet. So money becomes a way to accomplish a negative goal, that of putting Jesus down. Another wrong use of money is found in the parable of the rich farmer. Luke 12:16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 "And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?' 18 "So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 'And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry."' 20 "But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?' 21 "So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." Jesus gave the punch line at the beginning of this story The rich farmer was saving his resources for himself only and was not being considerate of God or God's children. Repeating something we have said from the first: stewardship reminds us that it all belongs to God. Jesus warned: Luke 12:15 And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses." There is one event in the Bible records that made Jesus sad. That is the encounter with the man we call the Rich young ruler. Luke 18:18 Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" 19 So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 20 "You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'" 21 And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth." 22 So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." 23 But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. 24 And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25 "For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." 26 And those who heard it said, "Who then can be saved?" Note that the disciples understood the gravity of the issue here. Not only money but the desire for it was at issue. Jesus tells us that the issue is not really money. The issue is how we relate to it. What does it do to us? What do we do with it? Are we in love with it? Do we rule it or does it rule us? The disciple that Jesus loved wrote: 1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Paul wrote :1 Timothy 6:6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. Beware that your possessions do not possess you. James Dobson tells the story illustrating this. Years ago when he was having his office renovated the decorator told him that he needed a clock to round out the decor. So, keeping with the plan, he went to a nearby city and went to a clock shop and bought a clock. Several weeks later the clock quit working. So he had to take it back to the city, taking about half of a day of his time. Then he had to go back and pick it up when it was repaired. Then it broke again. He recounts that he began to wonder if he owned the clock or if the clock owned him. I don't recall the rest of the story, but he makes an excellent point. Do we own our possessions or do they own us? Are our energies focused on getting, keeping, and maintaining? Peculiarly enough, I have known people in their older years who were spending almost as much energy liquidating as they did collecting. How about Ananias and Sapphira? What did money do for them? Luke 5:1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. 2 And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' feet. 3 But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? 4 "While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God." 5 Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. 6 And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him. 7 Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter answered her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?" She said, "Yes, for so much." 9 Then Peter said to her, "How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out." 10 Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. What does the Word say about people who hoard wealth? James 5:1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. 4 Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. 5 You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter. How should we let wealth affect the church? James 2:2:1 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. 2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, 3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, "You sit here in a good place," and say to the poor man, "You stand there," or, "Sit here at my footstool," 4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? We are all God's children. Wealth should not make us love or hate anyone. Remember, it's all God's wealth anyway. And he gave the power to acquire it. How did Jesus relate to the material world? Matthew 8:20 And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Jesus was free of the entanglements of the material. As far as we know, the only possessions that he had were the clothes that he wore. And He was content because he was in His Father's world, under His Father's care. Even so, there was another tax question. Matt 22:17 "Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" 18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? 19 "Show Me the tax money." So they brought Him a denarius. 20 And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" 21 They said to Him, "Caesar's." And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." Jesus reminds us that we have financial responsibilities to God AND man. How about some good uses of money? The widows coins. Mark 12:41 Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. 42 Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. 43 So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; 44 "for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood." Who needs to give? Young people give. Ecc 12:1 Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near when you say, "I have no pleasure in them": Jeremiah 1:6 Then said I: "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth." 7 But the LORD said to me: "Do not say, 'I am a youth,' For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak. 1 Timothy 4:12 Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. poor people give. Elisha and widow. Leviticus 14:21 "But if he is poor and cannot afford it, then he shall take one male lamb as a trespass offering to be waved, to make atonement for him, one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, a log of oil, 22 "and two turtledoves or two young pigeons, such as he is able to afford: one shall be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering. (IF didn't own offering, could go out and catch it, had to be involved.) 23 "He shall bring them to the priest on the eighth day for his cleansing, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, before the LORD. Rich people need to give. We have looked at those already. Why should we give? Give to honor/thank God Look up given or give in your concordance. See how many of instances refer to what God has done for us. Deuteronomy 16:17 "Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you. Ezekiel 44:30 "The best of all firstfruits of any kind, and every sacrifice of any kind from all your sacrifices, shall be the priest's; also you shall give to the priest the first of your ground meal, to cause a blessing to rest on your house. For the blessing. Proverbs 14:21 He who despises his neighbor sins; But he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he. Psalm 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him. Because God gives, and we are His children. It is our way of life. Let's look at Zacchaeus Luke 19:1 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house." 6 So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. 7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, "He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner." 8 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold." 9 And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; 10 "for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." Having said all of that, God does not want part of your money. He wants everything. I believe that if He does not have your heart, He does not want your money. The story of Zacchaeus makes it clear what God's ideal is. When He has you, you will give. No one will have to ask. The only thing that will happen is that the need will be presented. Then we will respond as the Israelites did when the appeal was made to build the tabernacle, or as Zacchaeus did, when he experienced the love of Jesus. As we close I want you to seriously consider a lifestyle of total stewardship, to give yourself and all that you have to Jesus. This is not something that you can do on your own. It starts when you realize what God has done for you and how much He loves you. It continues with the work of the Spirit in your life. It plays out in total stewardship. If you would be willing to be led into this relationship, I ask you to come forward in dedication right now. Don't come to look right. Come only if God is calling you. Are you ready for total service? If you are please come up and join me.