How to Be Rich

1 Timothy 6:17-19

Have you ever discovered that something you owned was worth more than you realized?

As a teenager,I inherited an original Civil War musket with a bayonet from my grandfather. Hereceived it from a relative who fought in the war. In my early years ofmarriage, I sold it to an antique dealer for $700.

In 1997, awoman brought a grungy card table to the Antique Roadshow. She had purchased itat a yard sale for only $25. To her surprise, the appraisers told her it was aspecial piece of federal furniture designed by John and Thomas Seymour, worthup to $300,000.

In 2005, a manbrought a Patek Philippe watch to the Antique Roadshow. It had been handed downfrom his great-grandfather, who received it in 1914. The appraisers informedhim that it was the only one of its kind and valued it at $250,000. To theirsurprise, Sotheby’s actually appraised it at up to $3,000,000.

If you were in one of these situations, what would you do with your newfound cash? I used the $700 to make ends meet for the year, but I’m not sure what the table and watch owners did with their extra money.

If you’re a follower of Jesus, then you’re probably much wealthier than you realize.

While you maynot own an antique worth lots of money, if you’re a follower of Jesus, thenyou’re probably much wealthier than you realize. That’s what you discover whenyou learn to be content.

• When you stop indulging in thecoping mechanism of covetousness, you stop wasting your resources on things andexperiences that won’t satisfy your soul (Heb 13:5).
• When you realize Christ himself isall you need – that he’s always with you and will always meet your needs – you’llstop wasting resources on other things (Heb 13:5-6).
• When you learn the differencebetween a need and a nicer thing of life, then you stop wasting money on thingsyou don’t need after all (1 Tim 6:6-8).

Guess what?You’re rich!

When youcultivate a close relationship with Christ and properly identify your basicneeds, then you discover that you have more resources than you realized. Andguess what? That means you’re rich!

Being “rich” or “wealthy” means that you have more than you need. In NYC, you need the resources necessary to provide food, clothing, a place to live, health insurance, and in some cases a car. If you’re able to do more than that, then you’re rich in God’s sight. You don’t need anything more than what you already have to make a difference for God.

You don’t need anything more than what you already have to make a difference for God.

Today, wedescribe “being rich” the way we describe whether a person is good or bad – wecompare ourselves to others. Rather than ask whether we are good or bad inGod’s sight, we say whether we are better than someone else who is “worse” thanus.

In the sameway, we compare our wealth to someone who’s “wealthier.” If they have moremoney, a higher income, and nicer things than us, then they are rich. The funnything is that even those people who are richer than us have labels for peoplewho are richer than them, labels like “super-rich” or “ultra-wealthy.”

This approachfuels discontentment, so we need to set it aside. We need get comfortablebelieving that if we have Christ as our God and Savior and our basic needs aremet, then we’re rich in God’s sight if we have anything else.

What should youdo with the rest of your money and resources?

So here’s thequestion. When you learn to be content with Christ and to meet your basicneeds, what should you do with the rest of your money and resources? That’swhat 1 Timothy 6:17-19 is all about.

In these threeverses, Paul told Timothy what to tell the people in the church at Ephesus.Today, these verses teach members of any church what to do with the resourcesthey have beyond Christ himself and their basic needs. These are God’sinstructions for wealthy Christians, which is a group – believe it or not –that probably includes you.

These are the fiveinstructions for rich Christians (1 Tim 6:17-18):

• Don’t look down on other people.
• Trust in God, not your wealth.
• Enjoy the things God gives you.
• Involve yourself in hands-on service.
• Look for ways to meet financialneeds.

Let’s talkabout these five things together.

Don’t look downon other people.

“Don’t behaughty” (1 Tim 6:17). This instruction is a warning. It speaks about anattitude that thinks too highly of yourself and looks down on others who haveless than you.

It is true that when God entrusts you with wealth, he increases your net worth from a financial standpoint. Yet he does not increase your value as a person.

When God entrusts you with wealth, he increases your net worth, but he does not increase your value as a person.

A human beingis a human being. Every one of us has equal value and worth in the sight ofGod. A rich man is no more valuable in the sight of God than a poor man. Fromthe day you are conceived to the day you die you have equal value in the sightof God.

When you’rearound people with less resources than you, do you look down on them? Do youexpect them to give you special attention? Or do you behave as their equal?

In SouthAfrica, many native Africans are discouraged by the way many whites havetreated them. The whites tend to be wealthier and live in more affluentneighborhoods. But when native Africans succeed financially, do you know thatthey often do? They also move into nicer neighborhoods and affluent society,leaving their African brothers behind.

As Christians,we should not behave this way. We should treat one another as equals no matterhow much wealth God gives us.

Trust in God,not your wealth.

“Don’t trust inuncertain riches but in the living God” (1 Tim 6:17). Material wealth is not abad thing, but it is deceptive. The more money we have, the more comfortable wefeel. The more money we have, the less inclined we will be to trust in God

Money gives usthe illusion that we can meet our needs and solve our problems by ourselves. Wefeel as though we don’t need God because all we have to do is write a check orswipe a card.

Though money can meet needs and solve problems, it’s not reliable. It can be there one day and gone the next. When it’s there, we feel good, but when it’s not, we get scared.

Though money can meet needs and solve problems, it’s not reliable.

In therecession of 2007-2009, people experienced the uncertainty of riches in apainful way. Many who planned to retire, buy a house, or make big financialdecisions in those years faced a terrible reality that their accumulated wealthwas gone. That’s why suicides spiked dramatically from 2008-2010, according toa study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry. Ittraced over 10,000 suicides during that span to personal economic crises, suchas job loss, home foreclosures, and debt.

As Christianswe should thank God for our wealth, but not trust in it. We should trust in theGod who gave us that wealth because he is always alive and ready to meet ourneeds.

Are youconfident about your future because you have a good income, tenure, and acomfortable pension? Or are you confident because of your relationship withChrist? As simple as this question may be, it’s difficult very to answer, isn’tit?

Enjoy thethings God gives you.

“To enjoy” (1Tim 6:18). This phrase gives us a reason why God gives us wealth. He gives uswealth so that we can enjoy it. He actually wants us to have fun and findpleasure in the nice things he provides.

As yourheavenly Father, God enjoys giving you gifts, just as parents enjoy givingtheir children gifts at Christmastime and birthdays.

In fact, when he placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, he told them, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat” (Gen 2:16). We focus on the one tree God told them not to eat from but forget the many others he gave them. He wanted them to enjoy all of them to the fullest.

We focus on the one tree God told them not to eat from but forget the many others he gave them.

If you are (orwere) a parent, how would you feel if you bought your child some really nicepresents at Christmastime, but your child turned around and gave them all awayto other children? I know this sounds admirable, and you would appreciate yourchild’s generosity. But wouldn’t you be at least a little disappointed thatyour child didn’t even keep one of your presents to enjoy for himself?

Let’s not be“super spiritual” about this. God gives you more than you need so he can enjoyseeing you enjoy what he gave you. Have a hobby, pastime, favorite food,or some other thing that you like to splurge on sometimes? Go for it! Godblesses you with more than you need so that you can enjoy his blessings.Sometimes it’s really that simple.

Involveyourself in hands-on service.

“Let them dogood, that they be rich in good works” (1 Tim 6:18). Though God blesses youwith more than you need so you can enjoy his blessings, that’s not the onlything he wants you to do as a “rich Christian.”

Do you find itfascinating that Paul speaks about serving before giving? About doing goodthings before meeting needs with money?

I would like tosuggest that the order is important. It’s too easy for a wealthy person to seea need and throw money at it. It’s too easy for a rich person to feel goodabout himself because he gave some money to solve a problem.

It’s difficult,however, for a wealthy person to roll up his sleeves, get dirty, and do thehard and humbling work of serving people in practical ways. Hands-on ministryis not just for people without money. It’s for every Christian.

It’s easy for people with resources to buy into the idea that other people exist to serve them, to meet their needs. Yet Scripture paints the opposite picture. God tells wealthy people to serve those who have nothing, not the other way around. (Read that again.)

It’s easy for people with resources to buy into the idea that other people exist to serve them, to meet their needs.

People withresources from God should not want a patron/client relationship with people inneed. They should have a “serve first” mentality, one that helps out before ahandout. They should be so committed to this that they are rich in good works,doing all they can besides giving money. Serving should be their firstoption and giving money their next.

Look for waysto meet financial needs.

“Ready to give,willing to share” (1 Tim 6:18). When people with resources meet the needs ofothers in hands-on ways, they often discover the nature of a person’s orchurch’s needs. As they do, they should be ready to use their money andresources to meet those needs beyond what they are able to do with their hands.

When you getinvolved in hands-on ministry, you realize that your skills and ability canonly go so far, or you discover some needs that money alone can meet.

A church is agood example of how this works. God places people into a church family from allkinds of backgrounds and in all kinds of situations. Regardless of yourfinancial situation, you should offer to serve in various ways, as an usher,choir member, nursery workers, Sunday School teacher, or Saturday cleaningvolunteer.

When you get involved, you discover needs and opportunities you never would have realized before. God will place in your heart a desire and burden to contribute to the church in a financial way beyond your hands-on service as you get a first-hand, up-close, behind-the-scenes vision for what God is doing.

When you get involved, you discover needs and opportunities you never would have realized before.

Years ago, Idirected a weekend ministry to children and teens in the underprivilegedneighborhoods of Milwaukee. We visited homes on Saturdays and drove childrenand teens to church on Sundays. I invested nine years of my life into thatministry, bringing the love and truth of Jesus to people in need.

One year Irealized these young people couldn’t afford to attend a week of Christiansummer camp. To solve this problem, I gave some money and raised money fromothers in the church to form a “camp scholarship fund” for young people in need.

The first  year, we raised enough funds to send JacobEvans and Virshawn Hammonds to camp. The next year, we did the same forVirshawn’s twin brothers, Javon and Jaquon. Those weeks made a deep impressionon their lives for Christ.

When you serveand give generously, you pave the way for a better, brighter future foryourself.

When we followGod’s guidance for living as “rich Christians,” here’s what happens. We “storeup for ourselves a good foundation for the time to come, that we may lay holdon eternal life” (1 Tim 6:19).

The phrase“eternal life” can be translated as “the coming age” and it contrasts with thephrase “this present age” mentioned before (1 Tim 6:17). It causes you toconsider whether the decisions you are making with your money and resourcestoday, beyond your basic needs, are focused on temporal priorities or eternalones.

The phrase “forthemselves” is interesting too, because it sounds kind of selfish. When Christiansgive money and resources generously for God, they end up benefiting themselves.They set themselves up (“a good foundation”) for a very special time ineternity, ant they really get ahold of (“lay hold on”) eternal life.

I’m not exactly sure how this works, but I can at least say this. Those who serve and give generously will enjoy their future in God’s eternal kingdom in an extra-special way.

Those who serve and give generously will enjoy their future in God’s eternal kingdom in an extra-special way.

Think about it likethis. Today, many Americans receive Social Security at age 62 or later. Thisresource provides them with a basic income in old age.

Other Americansplan for more than this. They pay off a house, save money in a bank account, ormake regular installments into a 401(k). They choose not to use money forimmediate things to set it aside for the future instead. While they “miss out”on some things in their working years, they will enjoy some better things lateron.

Though peoplewho take these additional steps to plan for old age will also receive SocialSecurity (in many cases at least), they will enjoy their “retirement” in anextra-special way.

We need tothink and live this way in a spiritual sense. Though God wants us to enjoy whathe gives us today, we shouldn’t squander everything on present enjoyment. Whenwe redirect our money and resources to meet important needs around us, we endup preparing the way for an extra-special experience in eternity with Christ.

Are you readyto spread the wealth that God has given you?

As we lookahead to 2020, let’s ask ourselves three exciting questions about how we’regoing to handle the wealth God will give us. Are you ready?

First, what areyou going to enjoy?

Name aninterest, resource, opportunity, or possession God has given you to enjoy?Identify what this might be and enjoy it. God wants you to enjoy his blessingsand it brings him pleasure when you do that.

Better yet,invite someone else who’s either attending or is a member of Faith BaptistChurch to enjoy that blessing with you.

• David Speal is an avid fisherman,for instance, and last year he invited me and Joshua to join him on a day-longfishing excursion. We had a blast and God was delighted!
• As another instance, Susannah Romerothoroughly enjoys the Nutcracker ballet. Last year she invited Sarah and Emilyto watch this production with her and they had a wonderful time together to theglory of God.

Let’s gothrough 2020 enjoying together the blessings of God together for his glory.

Second, how areyou going to serve?

Let’s make thiseasy. Name one or two ways that you can get involved in the ministry of FaithBaptist Church.

• Ready to be a greeter? We need some!
• Willing to help the Swansons with achildren’s Sunday School class during the worship service, or fill a monthlyspot in the nursery?
• Could you help clean the church foran hour or two one Saturday a week, volunteer for some secretarial tasks, orsing in the choir?
• What about hosting a Bible study orgame night at your house sometimes, or inviting another family to your home forthe first time ever?
• Would you be interested in servingas a deacon?
• Could you join us in passing outgospel tracts once a month on Saturday morning?

There are somany ways to get involved and make a hands-on difference at Faith. Are you upto the challenge? Are you ready to get involved? To be rich in good works?

Third, what areyou going to give?

For nearlyforty-five years (almost half a century!), God has provided for the needs ofFaith Baptist Church through the generous giving of his people, and in a placelike NYC, we know what a miracle that is.

Are you readyto be a part of that miracle? If you’re already giving generously and givingwhat you can, then praise the Lord! May God continue to enable you to do that.

Yet as we moveinto a new year together, we know that we will face new financial challenges.These challenges are not a setback. They are a tremendous opportunity to seewhat God will do as we draw together to see his work accomplished.

For some, thatwill mean taking new and bold steps to give generously to support the missionof our church for the glory of God. And what is our mission? To demonstrate ourlove for God in the Queens Borough, leading people of all ages to become joyfulfollowers of Jesus.

To make adifference for God, you don’t need anything more than what you already have. Solet’s do it. Let’s give generously, serve faithfully, and enjoy the blessingsof God together for the glory of Christ.

By presentingthis message to you, I have done what Paul told Timothy to do for hiscongregation. I pray that we will all rise to the challenge in the year that’sbefore us. I look forward to what God will do, not only in the year that’sbefore us in this world, but when we all reach eternity together.

Wouldn’t it beamazing if we could all share an extra-special time together when that daycomes at last because we contributed served and gave generously to in this lifenow?