Wisdom And Wealth, Part 2

Today on Fellowship in the Word, Pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. It's a very different thing. God's agenda is completely different.

He owns all the cattle and all the hills. I just can't stand when I see somebody saying, God's kingdom will never move forward unless you give more money. That's ridiculous. But I can tell you this, it won't move forward if you don't give your heart.

It won't. Thank you for joining us today on this edition of Fellowship in the Word with Pastor Bill Gebhardt. Fellowship in the Word is the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible Church located in Metairie, Louisiana. Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhardt now as once again he shows us how God's word meets our world. Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first of all your produce. Now, you might be thinking the first thing you think there is, oh, yeah, I knew that they always get to something like that. That's sort of the reputation of the current evangelical church. But I think you'll be missing the whole point. He said, honor the Lord with your wealth.

OK, OK, I get that. But notice the next verse. He says, honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first of all you produce. So your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine. Honor the Lord with your wealth.

So that you'll be wealthy. That's an interesting statement, and it's a statement that is repeated over and over again as a principle in the word of God. You see, if you don't honor the Lord with your wealth, you dishonor the Lord. That's the point. If you honor yourself with your wealth, you'll dishonor God with your wealth.

That's the point. That's what Jesus talked about when he said that you'll love the one and you'll hate the other. No man, he said, no person can serve God and mammon.

You can't. There's either one you're going to honor or the other you're going to honor. What we like to say is, no, I think I honor both.

He says you can't. It's a matter of your perspective. Honor God, he says, with your wealth. Solomon writes this, and as I said, because of his enormous wealth, he had a perspective on money that almost none of us could ever have. I want to show you that perspective near the end of his life. I want you to go with me to Ecclesiastes chapter 5. Ecclesiastes chapter 5 and verse 10. These are Solomon's conclusions in his life.

Now, remember, it's a life of tremendous wisdom, and from our point of view, almost infinite wealth. He had anything and everything he ever wanted to have. He would be, in a sense, a Saudi sheik. He would be Bill Gates. He would be that in his world. But he even was better than that because he was king.

So he had all the political power as well. So notice what he says in verse 10 of Ecclesiastes 5. This is near the end of his life. He said, he who loves money will not be satisfied with money.

I'm just going to set that up right now. He who loves money will not be satisfied with money. What's our natural response to that? Well, yeah, because you had a lot. You see, if I would have had, I don't want as much as you had, Solomon. I just want more than what I have.

See, that's the kind of way we look at it. He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. Because this is vanity. Solomon said, I've been there.

I've done that. That word vanity, as I've said, that's the word vapor, smoke. He goes, you really love money?

Boy, you're going to be disappointed. He says, verse 11, he says, when good things increase, he says, those who consume them increase. So what's the advantage to their owners except to look on? He said, the more and more you have wealth, you'll be amazed how many more and more people you attract. There are all kinds of people there that want to share your wealth with you. He said, I've done that.

I've been there. He says, there is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun. Riches being hoarded by their owner do us hurt.

He said, that's another thing. Why are you hoarding money? You see, why do you hoard money? Well, we already said maybe because I want to be secure.

I want to be significant. Come on, let's be really honest. Do you really believe all the money you hoard is going to be every dollar you need?

Really? That's what you really believe? You see, hoard the money, he said, much to their own hurt. He doesn't stop there. He says, when those riches were lost through a bad investment, he had fathered his son, there was nothing to support him.

Money comes and goes. He says, and here's this point, and as he had come naked from his mother's womb so he will return as he came, he will take nothing from the fruit of his labor that he can carry in his hand. He said, this is also a grievous evil. Exactly as a man is born, thus he will die. He says, so what's the advantage of him who toils for the wind? You know how much money you're taking out of this world? Exactly what you brought in the day your birth. Zip.

Zero. He says, then why would I spend my life thinking this is the most important thing, I need to accumulate as much of this as I can? You see, his whole point there is I don't see anything there. He said, it's like I'm toiling for the wind.

He said, throughout his life, he also eats in darkness with great vexation, sickness, and anger. He said, money gives you problems. The more money you have, the more you think about it.

Either I've got to protect it or I've got to expand it. I'm thinking constantly about it. I always wonder about when you think about money, of all the jobs that you could have that I think would be the most, at least for me, would be the most difficult job as far as money goes would be a day trader on the market. That to me is just like all you think about is money all day. And then when you're not trading, you're thinking about the next day.

Oh, wait, it's going to open up in Japan. And that's all you do. And you spend your whole life doing it and then when you're dead, nothing.

You have nothing. So his conclusion is in verse 18. Solomon says, here's what I have seen, to be good and fitting, he says, to eat and drink and enjoy oneself in all one's labor which he toils under the sun during the few years of life which God has given him, this is his reward.

Don't miss what the key to this is. Solomon says, I've learned how to, I enjoyed my life. He was wealthy and he enjoyed his life. What do you mean? He said, you know why? Because I finally came to the conclusion that God gave me the gift of my life. The time that I have on this earth, God gave me that. It's a gift. And so he gave me the gift and I enjoy it. You see, I am just going to enjoy what God has given to me. Notice how difficult that is. You see, God can give you the gift of life, money can't.

It just doesn't. He said, furthermore, as for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, so how do you get riches and wealth? He said, God gave those to you.

You see, there's nothing in here about the self-made man. I made money the old-fashioned way. I earned it. That's good to earn it, but where did that come from? What about the circumstances? What about the family you were born into?

What about the ties you've had? What about your IQ? Where did all that come from? He said, that comes from God. Solomon says, once I figured out that, I can enjoy my life. He says, he has also empowered him to eat, he says, from them and receive his reward and rejoice in his labor.

There's that joy word again. This is the gift of God. He said, for he will not, he said, often consider the years of his life. He said, if you get this perspective, you won't think about life much. You won't wake up in the middle of the night worrying about it. He says, for he will not often consider the years of his life because God keeps him occupied with the gladness of his heart.

You see, I can't say, Lord, I just hope I know where I am financially when I'm 86. But, Lord, I want to thank you for today. You see, I want to thank you for today. I want to thank you for what you provided for me today.

Thank you. He said, when you every day are like that, you don't get all preoccupied with everything else. Again, this man can speak from experience because of his wisdom and because of his wealth. His words are backed up. A thousand years later, Paul writes to Timothy and he backs up exactly what he says Solomon says. Let's go to 1 Timothy 6, 1 Timothy chapter 6.

And watch how this theme continues a thousand years later. And now he's talking about people in the church just like you and me. In verse 17 of 1 Timothy 6, he said, instruct those who are rich in this present world. Now, if your annual income is more than $2,900, that'd be you.

Okay? And by the way, if it was only $2,900, you'd be the median. So you would be worldwide middle class. He said, instruct those who are rich in this present world.

Notice he didn't say metary. He's talking about the whole world because God sees everybody equally. Instruct those who are rich in this present world first not to be conceited. Don't you get your significance because you have money.

Don't you for a moment think you're better than other people because you have money. He said, don't do that. Don't be conceited about it. Why would he tell us that? Because we're tempted to be exactly that way.

We really are. Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches. Don't get your security for money.

Don't think you're secure because you have money. Your life might be expected of you this very day. And then he says this. Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches but to fix their hope on God. That's exactly what Solomon said.

Why? Because God's the one who's provided me the gift of time and the gift of wealth. And he says, but fix your hope on God who richly supplies us with all things.

And then don't miss that last word. That's important if you're wealthy at all. He richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. For centuries the church would teach asceticism and say, you know, nobody who's a believer, no one's a member of the church. You should never, never, we should all take a vow of poverty. Hey, that's anti-God. God has not said that.

Some of us have tremendous fiscal wealth. Others are in the middle and some of us at the bottom. It doesn't matter. What he is saying here is, though, that's what you get. You give you all things to enjoy.

It's exactly the word that Solomon used in a sense when he was talking Ecclesiastes. He said, I rejoice, I enjoy. He said, who gives us all things to enjoy. And then he says this, though, instruct them to do good and to be rich in good works. Now I know why I'm wealthy.

To instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous. And ready to share. There is the rub, isn't it? I could probably pass a plate around here.

I would not. I'm just telling you what God said. You've been blessed in this way.

It's no different than anything else. If you've been given the gift of God to teach, teach. If God is giving you enormous amounts of time, then pray. If God has given you wealth, then share. That's what God is saying. That's all he's saying.

He said, why wouldn't you? I gave it to you. It's a gift to you.

You see, it's not the source of your security or your significance. Ready to share. You know what's happened to us in our culture too? I think one of the reasons that we don't feel ready to share is we have a culture of so many, and all cultures have had this in a way, of so many who will try to take advantage of your good nature or heart. And so what's happened is there are all kinds of flim-flams. There's all kinds of schemes.

There's all kinds. We need to really be discerning. But what I'm afraid of sometimes as Christians is you can become so discerning that there can be a need right in front of you and you refuse to share and you think you've done the right thing. You see, God's interest is not so much in what that individual is going to do as to what your heart is with that individual. You see, you can't do that.

Velma and I have done that on a couple of occasions where somebody we think really has apparently some kind of need, and so we've decided to share. And we had the conversation, do you think that it is going to be used in a wise way? And we finally came to the conclusion that's not for us. That's not for us. See, I can't do that.

What's my heart here? You see, am I willing to share when an opportunity comes? And by the way, you still use great discernment. There's no doubt about that. Nobody, by the way, is more callous about sharing and helping people or downtrodden than anyone who's a leader in a local church because I would say in all the years of ministry that I have had, 95% of all requests have been bogus.

That's everyone that we could investigate far enough. It's always a scam. But it's not always a scam.

It's just often. You see, he said, are you ready to share? Now watch. If you do that, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, he said, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed. He says, no, you'll be blessed forever with the use of that.

By God, you're sending a treasure ahead. But secondly, you're finally taking hold of what life indeed is. It's an overstated axiom, but it's absolutely true. Happiness is giving yourself away.

It is. And for those of us that hoard and all that, I'm sorry you're never going to be that happy. Happiness is giving yourself away.

You see, that makes us happy. And that's why he said, you'll take hold of life indeed. But get this, you can't lose in this proposition. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians 9. 2 Corinthians 9. Look what Paul says starting in verse 6.

Talking to a group of believers. And by the way, the reason he was talking to them and had to in this way, they were rich. And they didn't want to separate from their money. You see, there was a tremendous need in Jerusalem for some really poor saints. People who were caught there after Jesus Christ was crucified stayed there and thought that he would be coming back to Jerusalem. And so they were basically mostly Hellenistic Jews from around the empire. And the Jews from Israel detested them. And so no one was really even helping to feed them. And so the apostle Paul said, look, I've got to raise money for these people. They have great need. And so what he did is he went to a town like Thessalonica.

And Thessalonica is pretty much what you would call blue collar middle class. And guess what they did? They gave sacrificially to help the poor saints in Jerusalem who they never met. So then he comes to Corinth and he's telling the Corinthians, now when I told you before about this, I'm coming back.

And the Corinthians are like, well, you know, what's happened to them? So Paul says, look, let me give you a little lesson here. So in verse 6, he says this. Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

There's my point. He said, each one of you must do just as he purposed in his heart. Notice what Paul's not trying to do. He's not trying to extract their money.

We've turned that into an art form in the 21st century church. He's not trying to extract their money. He's trying to reveal their heart.

Paul says, I want to reveal your heart. He said, each one must do just as he purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion. I'm not going to make you give. And I'm also not going to try to influence you so you give grudgingly.

I don't care. Why does God not want us to give grudgingly or under compulsion? Because God doesn't need money.

He needs hearts. It's a very different thing. God's agenda is completely different.

He owns all the cattle and all the hills. I just can't stand when I see somebody saying, God's kingdom will never move forward unless you give more money. That's ridiculous. But I can tell you this. It won't move forward if you don't give your heart.

It won't. He says, for God loves a cheerful. You heard me say this over the years. That's the word hilarion.

That's the Greek word. God loves an hilarious giver. That's what giving is. You see, it's joyful, not dutiful. Oh, boy, I got to do this. I got to give.

He said then this. And God is able to make all grace abound to you so that always having all sufficiency and everything that you may have in abundance for every good deed. You have a heart for God and a heart for people. Guess what?

You won't run out. God says, you see, why? God's just looking for conduit. You see, that's what God loves. He loves a piece of conduit that he can flow through. And that's what a hilarious giver is.

Hey, flow through me. He then says, verse 10, now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in everything, he says, for all liberality, which he said through us is producing thanksgiving to God.

That's his point. Jesus said in Luke chapter 6, given will be given to you. But he said, when God gives it back to you, it'll be pressed down. It'll be shaken.

It'll be spilling over. Just your heart. Solomon backs up exactly what he says. That's the wise use of money. You see, it's all a gift. Let me close by just saying six principles, I think, that come from these verses. And I know there were many verses.

The first one is this. You have a wise view of wealth, one, when your wealth is seen as a gift from God. You have a wise view of wealth when your wealth is seen as a gift from God. Secondly, you have a wise view of wealth when your hard work and good planning produces satisfaction for you. God's all into hard work.

He's all into planning. That should be satisfying to you. You have a wise view of wealth, three, when gratitude is your prevailing attitude. Man, if you're wealthy, thank God. You can thank him every day. It's just like having health.

Thank you. It's a gift. Fourthly, you have a wise view of wealth when the benefits of your wealth are enjoyed. You have a wise view of wealth when the benefits of your wealth are enjoyed. Enjoy it.

You don't have to feel guilty. You have a wise view of wealth when generosity is your way of life. You'll have a wise view of what wealth is. And last, you'll have a wise view of wealth when you realize that God is honored by your life, when you use wealth to honor God.

That's a very important thing for us to understand. Wisdom and wealth, they can coexist. The choice is yours. A wise, wealthy believer or a stupid, rich person.

It's up to you. Father, I just pray. Father, I fear that this is one of those areas in our life that we've come almost callous to.

Much of the problem with that has been that for many people, their whole experience in the community of believers has been people plotting and trying everything they can to extract money from God's people. Father, I just pray that what we come to is simply a perspective that is clear in your word, that we are grateful and thankful for what you have given us. We will enjoy what you have given us, and we will share what's been given to us. Father, I thank you that of all these good things you give us in life, wealth is just simply one of them. Jesus said it's just a very small thing.

I guess it is from his perspective. But Father, I pray because for so many of us it's the biggest thing of all, that we begin to see our wealth the way our Lord sees it and use it to honor you. In Christ's name, Amen. You've been listening to Pastor Bill Gebhardt on the Radio Ministry of Fellowship in the Word. If you ever miss one of our broadcasts, or maybe you would just like to listen to the message one more time, remember that you can go to a great website called oneplace.com. That's oneplace.com, and you can listen to Fellowship in the Word online.

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