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Now let's dive into today's teaching from Pastor Skip Heitzig. In the Sermon on the Mount, our Lord Jesus said, Do not lay up. For yourselves treasures on earth. Wear moth. And rust.
Can destroy and thieves break in and steal, but But lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven where moths and rust cannot corrupt, thieves cannot break in and steal, for where your treasure is. There your heart will be also.
Now I want to push the pause button again. Just as the Bible doesn't say it's wrong to have wealth, the Bible also doesn't say it's wrong to save money. He's not talking about saving. It's like, well, I have a couple hundred bucks in my savings, got a couple thousand bucks. I better get rid of it.
He's not condemning saving. In fact, In 2 Corinthians chapter 12, Paul writes that parents should save for their children. And Jesus even gave a parable. The parable of the talents, where an employer said to an employee, You should have put my money in the bank.
so that I get it back with interest.
So the Bible doesn't condemn saving.
So Look again at verse 3. There's a helpful phrase that'll. Kind of help us unwind where James is coming from. He says, You have heaped up treasure. What's the phrase?
In the last days. In the last days. Now, James. obviously is anticipating the return of Jesus Christ. And if you keep reading in the book of James, Uh he believes that is going to come soon.
We'll talk about that later on. What James is doing is rebuking people for living as though Jesus were never coming back. You're storing it up, you're storing it up. We're in the last days, you're storing it up, you're storing it up. You're living like he's never coming back.
Back. You're living in luxury. Verse 5, you have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury. That's your God, hedonism, just you having a good time. You have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter.
Now, I know that all of you probably in this room have at one time or another gotten influenza. Am I right? Gotten the flu? You've had influenza.
Some of you have gotten affluenza. That's a play on words. Affluenza. Affluenza is a highly contagious social infection. Due to overabundance, it happens to be very, very common in well-to-do countries like ours.
That becomes the focus. The obtaining of wealth. And for some, almost at any cost.
So, two reasons we should be careful with money: it can be obtained wrongly, it can be used poorly. Third reason, because it will vanish eventually. It will vanish eventually. Verse 2: Your riches are corrupted. Your garments are moth-eaten.
Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will be a witness against you, and you will eat your flesh like fire. Notice those words: corrupted, moth-eaten. Corroded.
Now gold and silver In the ancient world, were the standards of wealth. Gold, silver, and richly embroidered clothing. That was the measurement of wealth. Things really haven't changed all that much. You see commercials all the time buy gold.
Invest in silver, diversify, especially when the economy is uncertain. They tell you it's good to have these metals.
So these precious metals were also the standard in the ancient world, but again, What James is talking about is that these things have been hoarded. to the point where they become useless. Grain rots. If it sits around. Garments become moth-eaten if they're not in use.
I don't know about you, but my mom used mothballs in all of our closets growing up. And she didn't need to because there weren't many clothes in there, and we were always kind of circulating them, but she always had moths.
So I went to school every day smelling like a moth ball. Gold and silver, they don't rust, but they do tarnish and become discolored. And then One day you will die. And they will put you in a box. And unlike what the Egyptians thought, that they could take it with them into the afterlife, that didn't work out so well for them.
but they would bury their kings and queens, their pharaohs, with much wealth. You cannot take it into the afterlife. This was Solomon's complaint.
Solomon, remember in Ecclesiastes, said, Vanity, vanity, it's all empty, chasing after the wind. What good is it for me to amass so much wealth and stuff, and then I die and I leave it to somebody who's going to squander it? Proverbs 23, verse 5, one of my favorite texts on this topic. topic.
Solomon writes, Cast but a glance. Add Riches And they are gone. For surely they sprout wings and fly off. Like an eagle.
Some of you go, I can relate to that. Right? They say money talks. The only thing it said to me is goodbye. Yeah.
just sort of flies away. Like we always like to say, you've never seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul trailer. You can't take it with you. Once you die So We have three reasons. Highlighted in James why we should be careful with money.
It can be obtained wrongly, it can be used poorly, it will be vanish eventually. Let me give you a fourth reason. It involves judgment ultimately. God will call us into account Of not only what we did with our lives and our choices, but what we did as stewards of what He has given.
So let's kind of get into the weeds here. Just a moment. Go back to verse 1. This is the nitty-gritty of it, where he says, Come now, you rich, weep and howl. Better translation?
burst into tears. Burst into tears or howl with grief. Why? Why would he summon them to do that? He says, for.
Your miseries that are coming upon you. What does he mean by that? What miseries?
Well, Soon enough, They're going to meet God. And in meeting God, they're going to be evaluated. And being evaluated, they will be sentenced for what they did and didn't do with. what they had.
Furthermore, in verse 5, where he says, You've lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury. Look at the last part of verse 5. You have fattened your hearts. As in a day of Slaughter It's a very vivid picture of judgment. He's kind of saying, you guys are like fat cows ready to be slaughtered.
So it's it's tough language. It is a Judgment scene. It is a courtroom scene, if you will. And God will call witnesses into the courtroom for this judgment. Witness number one, their own wealth.
Verse three Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will be a witness. Against you. All that rotten grain. All those moth-eaten clothes, all that tarnished gold and silver that was never used, are going to bear witness.
of a selfish life All that stuff could have helped people. But it didn't help them because you hoarded it. Second witness The wages that they didn't pay their workers. Verse 4. Indeed, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields.
What you have kept back by fraud. I'm not sure if I can do it. They say money talks, their money will. It'll be the second witness. in this judgment.
Third witness. The upgrade. Pressed workers. The workers, they should have paid, not just the wages, but the workers themselves. Verse 4, the second part.
and the cries of the reapers. Watch this, have reached the ears of the Lord. of host. Did you know? That God's ears are specially tuned to the cry of afflicted people.
He has a soft spot in his heart for those who are afflicted and oppressed. Exodus chapter 22 says, You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child if you afflict them in any way, and they cry at all to me. I will surely hear their cry, and my wrath will become hot. It's like God saying, you know what? You're going to abuse them.
I'm going to be a father to the fatherless. I'm going to be a husband to the widows. I'm going to stand up for the oppressed.
So it involves judgment ultimately.
So not only were there Wealth vanish. But they're going to be called into account for how they used it. And the money that brought them temporary happiness may bring them eternal misery. Again, the story that I mentioned in Luke chapter 12. Where Jesus talked about that Guy who had very productive fields and built bigger barns and bigger barns to store all his stuff.
Jesus finishes out the story and says, But God will say to him, You fool. This night, your soul will be required of you. Then. Whose will those things be which you have? provided.
Foolish to live. for the God of money. rather than the God of heaven. You fool, this night your soul will be required.
So, it can be obtained wrongly, it can be used poorly, it will vanish eventually, it involves judgment ultimately. But I want to end on a different note. I want to give you the fifth reason. that we should be careful with money and that is because it presents an opportunity. It presents an opportunity.
You're listening to Connect with Skip Heidzig. Before we return to today's message, have you ever struggled to study the Bible consistently or wondered how to really enjoy your time in the Word? In his book, How to Study the Bible and Enjoy It, Pastor Skip gives you the tools and insights you need to dig into scripture with joy, clarity and confidence. This practical guide is our thanks for your generous gift of $50 or more to reach more people with God's Word through Connect with Skip. Request your copy when you give today at connectwithskip.com/slash offer.
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Now, let's get back to today's message from Pastor Skip.
So I'm going back to verse 3 with the word treasure in it and If anybody has treasure of any kind, Or let me expand that. If you have time, talent, or treasure. Whether you have a big bank account or a little bank account. All of that is an opportunity. And in this case, These people that James is writing about should have used their opportunity to employ people, verse 4.
And pay the wages, also verse 4. because those wages would benefit families. and benefit the community. Also I draw your attention once again to the Little phrase in verse 3. You've heaped up treasure in the last days.
Now again, James believes that he is in the last days. And he's right. I'll tell you why later, not today. But the point that the fact that he used the phrase the last days shows that James sees life as an opportunity, no matter how many days you have. You have a certain number of days in your life.
And then you will die, or Jesus will come back. Everything between birth and death or the return of Christ is an opportunity. And this is why Moses, who wrote Psalm 90, said, Teach us to number our days, that we might gain a heart of wisdom. Help us live knowing that we have opportunities. Even Jesus lived this way.
He said, I must work the works of him who sent me while it is day, for the night is coming when no one can work. Jesus lived 33 and a half years on this earth. He saw all of it as an opportunity to do the will of his Father. And then Paul In Ephesians 5, 16, Said, we should be redeeming the time because the days are evil. Better translation, buy up.
every opportunity.
Okay. I want to apply this now. How do we do that? How do we buy up every opportunity? How do we number our days that we might gain a heart of wisdom?
We know the texts. We know what the scripture says. How do we do that specifically?
Well, now I'd like you to turn in your Bibles. with me. I want to hear Paige's turn. 1 Timothy chapter 6. Turn to 1 Timothy chapter 6.
We began in James. We're going to end in 1 Timothy chapter 6. Raise your hand when you get to 1 Timothy chapter 6. I'm there first. I cheated, I turned there first, but I'm gonna wait till I see everybody turning there.
Tell me when you turn there. Because I want you to see this stuff for yourself. This isn't a speech. This is a Bible teaching.
So we want to read the Bible. 1 Timothy chapter 6. Now, what I'm going to do in closing this message. is give to you A few practical tips. Take away.
Principles. that apply to all y'all. Rich or poor? Whether you have a lot of debt. or you have excess wealth.
These principles apply to every one of us.
So let's begin in 1 Timothy chapter 6. Um In verse 6. Are your eyes there?
Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For if we brought nothing into this world, it is certain we can carry nothing. Out. little line about the hearse and the yew hall. And having food and clothing.
With these we shall be content, 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, 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 have pierced themselves through with many.
Sorrows. There's so much there, don't have time to go over it. That's a whole. few sermons, but let me give you a principle. First principle.
Your attitude is more important than your income.
So good. Your attitude is more important than your income.
No, my income is more important. No, it's not. Your attitude. Is more important than your income. Because I've noticed that people that have a bad attitude with a little have a bad attitude with a lot.
Your attitude is more important than your income.
Look at the phrases here. In the text we just read, he doesn't speak to the rich, he says, those who desire to be rich. That's like most people. Nobody says, I desire to be poor.
Now I desire to be rich. That's an attitude. Then he doesn't say those who have money, he says the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. He's not speaking amount. He's speaking attitude.
So the first principle, the first takeaway is your attitude is more important than your. Income. Second principle. Provision is promised. Profusion is not promised.
Now, I want to explain that. I did it that way because it's so preacher-like, right, to do that. I'll be honest. I just, the words. Alliterated.
So Provision is prompt. God promises to provide. Profusion means excess, abundance, surplus. That is not promised in the Bible. God promises to meet your needs, not your greeds.
So provision is promised. Not profusion. If your basic life necessities are covered, you and I are to be what? What's the word? Content.
Right. Content. Godliness with contentment, verse 6 is great gain. Verse 8, having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. Paul in Philippians 4 said, I have learned in whatever state I am in to be content.
So if you're in the state of wealth, If you're in the state of Nowh, if you're in the state of New Mexico, if you're in the state of California, Texas, New York, whatever state you're in. Be content. I had to throw those states in because people go, I just got to get out of this state, and then all my problems will be solved. No, problems are right here, they'll travel with you.
So Got two principles. Your attitude is more important than your income, provision is promised. Access Is not.
Now go down to verse 17. Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty. Don't get all puffed up and proud. I'm so awesome. I'm successful, and others aren't because I'm so smart.
Don't do that. Nor to trust in what's the adjective? Uncertain riches. Why would he call them that? Because they are.
Stock market goes up, goes down, money market up, down. Don't trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God. Who gives us richly all things to enjoy? Love that verse. Let them do good.
That they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come. that they may lay hold on eternal life. Here's the third principle. based on these verses. Wealth should be enjoyed.
But then it should be deployed. Wealth should be enjoyed Enjoy. Enjoy yourself. Enjoy the blessings God has given you, but then. If you have wealth, It should be deployed.
It should be spread. It should be given. It should help others.
So, as we're landing this plane coming to a conclusion, I want you to do me a favor. I want you to take out your wallet. Don't worry, I'm not going to take an offering. Oh, I thought this is Calvary. They don't do this kind of what's he doing?
Just take it out. Just hold it. Ladies, if you got your purse, grab your wallet out of your purse. I want you to hold it sort of symbolically.
So as you're holding this I'm seeing what fell out of it. There's not much in it. But just hold it.
Okay. You got it? You're holding it? Let me see it.
Okay. This is a test. This is a test. What do you mean it's a test? This is a test of a few things.
This is, first of all, a test of your work ethic. It is Empty or full, not always. Yeah, I know that people go through hard times, they lose their job, or something could happen. But generally speaking, what you have or don't have speaks to your work ethic, how hard you work. go out and work.
To get what, because the Bible promises if you work hard, it tends. Toward wealth.
So it's a test of your work either. And you might say, well, my work ethic is fine and I make a lot of money, but there's nothing left in here.
So it's a test of something else. It's also a test of your self-control. If you're always living above what you take in, You are no better than the United States government, who's been doing that for years. Way too long. Don't take in enough, but sure pay out a lot.
That's the only thing that's going to be. The worst thing you can do is to live above your means. The best thing you can do is to live, is to spend less than you make.
So it is a test of your work ethic. It's a test of self-control. Third, it's a test of your integrity. How did you get what you have? Fairly, honestly, or did you cut corners?
Did you cheat on your tax? Did you talk somebody into buying something they didn't need? It's a test of integrity. Fourth, it's a test of your love for other people. Have you ever given your money to somebody who has need of something?
You didn't do it because it's a tax write-off. You just saw they had a need, you just wanted to help out. And then finally, it's a test of your love for God. And the Bible speaks about that.
So this is a test. It can also be a testimony. When it becomes a tool, It becomes a testimony. That which is a test can become a testimony.
So let me kind of put it to you this way: money is a terrible master. but a wonderful servant. And I want to close with this little thing I found years ago, but I've always loved this. If the dollar could speak, it might say this. You hold me in your hand and call me yours, yet may I not as well call you mine?
See how easily I rule you? To gain me you would all but die. I am invaluable as rain, essential as water. Without me, men and institutions would die. Yet I do not hold the power of life for them.
I am feudal without the stamp. of your desire. I go nowhere unless you send me. For me men mock, love, and scorn character, yet I am appointed to the service of saints. to give education to the growing mind, and food to the starving bodies of the poor.
My power is terrific. Handle me carefully and wisely. lest you become my servant. Rather than I. Yours.
Here's what it's about. It really comes down to a kingdom. question. Which kingdom Are you living for? And You can tell pretty easily, Jesus, that we're a man's truth.
Treasure is There will his heart be also. Which kingdom are you investing in? Thanks for listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before you go, don't forget to request this month's featured resource, How to Study the Bible and Enjoy It. This book from Pastor Skip offers practical, encouraging help to take your Bible study deeper and get more out of every verse.
It's our thanks for your generous gift of $50 or more to help share God's Word with more people. Call 800-922-1888 or visit connectwithskift.com slash offer. and be sure to sign up for weekly devotionals and get your free one-sheet how to approach studying the Bible. It's a great tool to jumpstart your time in Scripture. Come back next time for more verse-by-verse teaching of God's Word here on Connect with Skip-Heitzig.
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