God’s Hand At Work

How does God work in our lives? How does He bring us to Himself?

Sometimes He works through a Damascus-road experience: Suddenly, in an instant, an enemy of Jesus becomes His follower (Acts 9).

Other times the work is slow and painful. There are steps forward. Then steps backward.

One such case is Jacob’s first wife, Leah.

Remember the story: Jacob flees from his brother Esau, who wants to kill him for tricking him out of his birthright and his father’s blessing.

Jacob leaves home, using the pretense of going to find a wife from among his relatives in order to get his father’s blessing for the journey. But when he meets his cousin Rachel, he sheds the pretense. This is the girl he must marry!

He agrees with Rachel’s father Laban that he will work seven years for her. When the time is complete, in the dark of the wedding night, Laban sends Rachel’s older sister Leah into Jacob’s tent. In the morning, Laban tells the irate Jacob that he can marry Rachel also the following week – if he will agree to work another seven years.

In this culture, children are vital and sons are especially important. Sons will provide security for their parents in their old age, and will inherit and manage the property. A wife who bears many children – particularly many sons – is highly honored. A wife who does not bear children is in danger of being replaced.

Leah clearly enters this marriage unwanted and unloved. But then, “The Lord opened Leah’s womb” (Genesis 29:31). She bears four sons in short order. Their names tell us what is going on inside Leah’s head.

First, she gives birth to Reuben – meaning, “See? A son!” – saying “Because the LORD has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me” (Genesis 29:32).

What does this tell us about Leah? What does she want more than anything else? She wants her husband to love her!

In the booklet, “Marriage: Whose Dream?” Paul Tripp tells the story of a woman he was counseling:

I once was talking with a lady who had been married many years.

She was married to a person who, very honestly, I would have to say was a bad man. He was angry, controlling, and manipulative. He said and did hurtful things. She had dreamed of the ultimate husband, but she certainly hadn’t gotten him. Now she was so embittered by the blessings other women in her church enjoyed that she said she could no longer go to worship. She felt as if God had forsaken her, so much so that she couldn’t read her Bible or pray.

As I listened, I wanted her to understand her identity in Christ. I wanted her to know the love of the Lord; that God is a refuge and strength, an ever‑present help in trouble. So I started reading her passages that spoke of the amazing, abundant love of God, and in the middle of a verse she said, “Stop! Don’t tell me again that God loves me. I want a husband who loves me!”

And she pounded her fist on her chair as she said it.

That woman is seeking God’s gifts, rather than God Himself.

She doesn’t want God’s love. She wants God to provide her with a husband to love her.

Do you see how that is demeaning to God?

God becomes the genie whose gifts give us delight. His presence is not fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11). Rather, His gifts are fullness of joy.

Isn’t this the case with Leah? She acknowledges God’s hand in giving her a son, and that’s good – as far as it goes. But she does not treasure God. In essence, she doesn’t even treasure the son God has given her. She treasures her husband’s withheld love. And so she’s miserable.

Leah bears two more sons and it doesn’t get any better:

She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the LORD has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon. Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi. (Genesis 29:33-34)

That attachment doesn’t happen. Sons do not produce the love from Jacob Leah so desires

But finally, with her fourth son, we see a different Leah:

And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the LORD.” Therefore she called his name Judah. (Genesis 29:35)

Do you see the difference? She does not see this child as a tool by which she will achieve her desires. Instead, she simply praises God for what He has given.

So ask yourself:

  • Are you more like Leah after the birth of Reuben, or Leah after the birth of Judah?
  • Are you excited about what God’s gifts will enable you to enjoy?
  • Or are you first and foremost simply thankful to God for His gracious gifts?

Unfortunately, Leah does not live day by day in a state of praising God. But at least after the birth of Judah, Leah shows us how to respond to God’s gifts. This is one step to becoming a man or woman of God: Acknowledging God as the source of all that is good in our lives, and praising Him for it.

Not pining after what we don’t have, but rejoicing in the God who is working together all things together for our good and His glory.

For God is behind all that happens – in this story and in our lives. He is behind Leah’s pregnancies. He is behind Rachel’s barrenness.

He is in control.

But like us, those in the midst of the story have a hard time seeing His hand at work.

William Cowper wrote these wise words about such times:

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill,
He treasures up his bright designs,
And works his sovereign will. . . .

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his work in vain;
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain.

God moves in His mysterious ways Leah’s life. By God’s grace, she is becoming a woman of God.

The next paragraphs show us Leah still has a long ways to go. Hers is not a Damascus Road experience.

But God in His wisdom is at work, via a long, slow process. Leah has taken an important step.

So consider those you love. Those you have witnessed to – both those who have not come to faith, and those who have professed faith but seem stalled, seem to be floundering.

God moves in mysterious ways. Pray for the sovereign God to continue the process, to guard these loved ones from hardening of heart or making shipwreck of their faith. Trust in His sovereign hand to work all things together for the good of His people – including you! – and the glory of His Name. And then play your role – your role in the sovereign plan of God – so that you yourself might be one of the mysterious ways that God makes your loved one a man or woman of God.

So check, first, your heart: Is God your treasure?

Second, check your faith: Do you trust God is at work?

Third, check your actions: Pray, and consider: What would God have me do in the lives of these I love?

(Parts of this devotion were taken from a sermon, “The Making of a Man of God” on Genesis 29:31-31:55, preached August 29, 2004. Both text and audio of that sermon are available.)

How Sovereign is God?

How sovereign is God?

That is: What does God control through His sovereign will?

Scripture tells us:

  • Even the tiniest bird doesn’t die apart from His hand (Matthew 10:29)
  • You don’t even lose a hair from your head apart from His knowledge and will (Matthew 10:30)
  • He controls the moon and what we now know are trillions of stars in millions of galaxies (Psalm 8:3)
  • But He also keeps a man from having sex with a woman in his harem (Genesis 20:2-4)
  • He performs mighty deeds, obvious miracles, like parting the waters of the Red Sea so that the Israelites can pass through on dry ground (Exodus 14)
  • but He also speaks in a still, small voice to bring about His purposes (1 Kings 19:11-12).

God controls all things – major and minor, intergalactic and microbial, global and personal.

He works all things according to the counsel of his will (Ephesians 1:11).

Specifically, He controls the desires of the most powerful of men:

Proverbs 21:1 The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever he will.

Daniel 4 gives us a specific example of such turning. Nebuchadnezzar, king of the mighty Babylonian empire, the greatest ruler of his day, Is surveying his city, delighting in his power and accomplishments. While the king is boasting in his pride, God turns not only his heart but also his mind – Nebuchadnezzar becomes mad, and acts like an animal until he acknowledges “that the most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom He will” (Daniel 4:32). In other words: Nebuchadnezzar will remain crazy until he knows that he deserves nothing. He is emperor by God’s grace, not because of His breeding or intelligence or military prowess.

Nebuchadnezzar does come to his senses. He recognizes God’s sovereign power and praises Him:

Daniel 4:37  Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

So, the Bible claims that God is that sovereign. He controls all things – even kings’ hearts, even generals’ hearts, even presidents’ hearts.

Do you believe that?

Have you come to acknowledge what Nebuchadnezzar had to be forced to acknowledge?

We are beginning a series on the book of Esther. This book is unusual: It is the only book in the Bible that never mentions God explicitly. God is not the stated subject of any sentence.

Partly for this reason, some have questioned: Should Esther really be a part of Scripture? Shouldn’t every book in the Bible actually mention God? Is this just a book about Jewish nationalism?

Indeed, such were the questions that early church leaders wrote commentaries on every other book of the Bible prior to writing a commentary on Esther. The earliest known Christian commentary dates from around the year 700.

But although God is not mentioned, He is present in all that happens – in every event recorded in the book. In Esther, God acts providentially – that is, He works behind the scenes. So at the time, it’s rarely clear that He Himself is actually acting. But by the end of the story, it is abundantly clear that only God could have orchestrated all the recorded incidents to bring about the salvation of His people.

Now, consider our own era. Isn’t it much like the time of Esther?

  • Like Esther and Mordecai, we are recipients of great, precious, ancient promises. But, like them, we don’t know how those promises apply to us specifically.
  • Like Esther and Mordecai, we are faced with dangers, with ambiguities, with a lack of an obviously right choice – and yet we must act. We must make decisions.
  • Like Esther and Mordecai, we don’t see God parting the Red Sea or sending fire down from heaven to consume an offering; we don’t hear God speak from Mt Sinai or witness Jesus walking on water or risen from the dead. Like them, we must walk by faith, not by sight.

So the characters in this book face situations much like ours. Esther is thus highly valuable to us.

The fundamental message in Esther is this:

God is sovereignly working out His grand plan of redemption for the glory of His Name, through all events that happen.

In this book we see multiple examples of God at work, often in seemingly minor and personal matters. But in the end, through these small acts of providence, God saves His covenant people from genocide.

The lesson for us must be: God continues today to work sovereignly, even through minor events in our lives, to bring about His good, perfect, and pleasing will.

So if we belong to Him, we can step out with great confidence, praying that God will use us no matter how great our past sins, no matter how bumbling our efforts. We cannot mess up God’s plan.

For as the Apostle Paul tells us, God works all things together for good for those who love Him, for those whom He has called. And if we are in Christ, nothing can ever separate us from His love (Romans 8:28, 37-39).

[This devotion is taken from the introduction to last Sunday’s opening sermon in the series Esther: The Miracle of Providence. Follow the link to download or listen to the audio of the sermon.]

 

Go Therefore and Disciple All Nations

Jesus is Risen!

He Lives!

He was crucified, dead, buried – but death could not hold Him down!

He was raised because of our justification!

These are the great truths of Jesus’ resurrection.

But after telling us of the resurrection, Matthew does something curious. He skips ahead from that first Resurrection Sunday to Jesus’ encounter with His disciples in Galilee.

  • We don’t hear about road His encounter with two followers on the road to Emmaus
  • We don’t hear about Thomas’ doubts
  • We don’t hear of Jesus asking Peter three times, “Do you love me?”

Instead, Jesus and the disciples meet, Jesus gives Great Commission – then the end of the book.

Is this, perhaps, anticlimactic?

No. This fits perfectly with Matthew’s emphases throughout this Gospel.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are not comprehensive biographies of Jesus. None attempts to tell us everything Jesus said or did. They don’t even attempt to tell us all the important things Jesus said or did.

Rather, each is presenting to us certain themes, certain truths about Jesus: His life, His ministry, His work. And by the Holy Spirit each selects material to support those truths.

So Matthew, carried along by the Holy Spirit, completes this book powerfully, highlighting many of his major themes, and leaving us with a commissioning to follow.

So let’s look to see how this brief text – 5 verses, 94 words in the ESV – is a culmination of Matthew’s portrayal of Jesus.

Here Matthew highlights 8 themes from throughout the book: Two vital truths, four commands (which we will consider under five headings), and one promise:

  • Vital Truth 1: Human Weakness
  • Vital Truth 2: Jesus’ Authority
  • Command 1: Go
  • Command 2a: Disciple
  • Command 2b: Disciple the Nations
  • Command 3: Baptize
  • Command 4: Teach them to Obey All I Have Commanded
  • The Promise: His Presence

(more…)

What Do You Want More Than Anything Else?

What do you want more than anything else?

Consider these Scriptures. What do they say we should want more than anything else?

Proverbs 2:1-5: My son, if you receive my words
and treasure up my commandments with you,
making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding,
if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures,
then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.

Do all this: and you will know God!

Isaiah 55:1-3a Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;
and he who has no money, come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live.

Real life. True life. Rich life. Satisfying life – given as a free gift when we come to God to accept His feast.

Psalm 119:14, 15, 72 In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches.
I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.  . . .
The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

God’s testimonies, His precepts, His ways, His law – all these display God’s character, what He is like. Through these, we come to know Him.

So these Scriptures tell us we should want to know God, and to desire like with Him, life in relationship to Him.

That, according to the Scriptures, is the greatest joy, the greatest fulfillment possible – worth more than the greatest fortune.

Do you believe that?

Scripture states that – over and over and over. Do you believe it?

It’s not easy to believe.

The world around us invites us to find joy and fulfillment elsewhere:

  • In money, in accomplishment,
  • In sex, in drugs
  • In fame, in power
  • In self, in pride

But 1 John 5:4 tells us:

Everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world.
And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith.

Our faith. Our belief in God and in His revealed word.

We must conquer the world and its lies.

We must fight the good fight of faith – the good fight to believe.

And when we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, when we hold on to that truth and apply it to every attitude, every thought, every action, every feeling – when we see all around us in light of the truth:

  • That God reigns
  • That we are rebels
  • That God sent His Son to die on our behalf so that we rebels might be reconciled to Him and so that He might simultaneously fulfill His perfect justice

Then we are in God’s family – we have an identity. Then we have all security. Then we have all joy. Then we have eternal life – not just life without end, but what Proverbs 2 and Isaiah 55 and Psalm 119 hold out as the greatest joy: knowing the only true God.

So: What do you want more than anything else? To know God? That is: To have eternal life?

Take hold of that eternal life – today!

Fight the good fight to believe!

That’s the message of our text this morning, 1 Timothy 6:5-19. And that’s the concluding message in this sermon series, Where Do You Find Identity, Security, and Joy? A Scriptural Understanding of Money, Giving, and Material Possessions

Let’s turn to the passage to see how it beautifully summarizes and extends the truths we have learned these last four months.

1) Fight the Good Fight to Believe

The title of this first section comes from verse 12: Fight the good fight of faith. That is: Fight the good fight to believe that what God says is true.

What does God say in verses 5-11 that Timothy – and we! – must fight to believe?

Three main points:
 a) Believe that Awesome Respect for God is the Greatest Means of Gain

Verse 5 concludes with Paul discussing false teachers who imagine “that godliness is a means of gain.  Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment.”

What is the Apostle Paul saying here?

To answer that, we need to know what he means by three words or phrases:

  • Contentment
  • Godliness
  • Gain/means of gain

We spent an entire sermon examining contentment, seeing that it means we are not self-sufficient but “God-sufficient.” We know that God gives us identity, security, and joy. Thus if have Him, we have all that we need.

The second word is “godliness.” The Greek word doesn’t mean what it sounds like, “taking on the character of God.” Rather it means having the right and proper response and attitude to God, given His revealed character. The most authoritative Greek lexicon renders this word, “Awesome respect accorded to God, devoutness, piety.”

One Greek word is translated “means of gain” in verse 5 and “gain” in verse 6. The usual meaning of the word is “means of gain;” I think it makes most sense to translate the word the same way in both verses.

So with that understanding, let’s now try to paraphrase what the Apostle is saying:

These false teachers try to use their fake devotion to God as a means to gain money. The irony is that true devotion – genuine, awesome respect for God – combined with complete satisfaction in Who He is – is indeed the greatest means of gain – not in the currency of money but in a much more valuable currency.

We’ve seen Paul use this idea of different currencies when we looked at 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. The false teachers are using their supposed piety to gain money. We need to see that what we have from God when He is all to us is far, far more valuable than money – so that devotion to Him is the greatest means of gain.

b) Believe that Money Isn’t the Greatest Means of Gain – So Flee from Love of Money!

Paul then explains why money and material possessions cannot be the greatest means of gain.

He makes three arguments to establish these points:

i) “For we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world” (verse 7).

That is: You are going to leave this world the same way you entered it: Naked, owning nothing.

And more than that: You will live on after your death in this world. You are an eternal being. The great, great majority of your life will be after your life in this world. So the greatest means of gain must yield eternal benefits, not only benefits in this life. Thus, money cannot be the greatest means of gain, for you are eternal, and money is not.

ii) We see the second part of Paul’s argument in verse 8: “But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.”

As long as we are in this world, we need enough food to keep us alive. We also need some protection from elements. But if we have these plus God – that’s enough. We can then be content, “God-sufficient.” Thus money cannot be the greatest means of gain because we don’t need it for true contentment, we don’t need it for true happiness even in this life.

So we could summarize the first two parts of Paul’s argument like this:

  • Money can’t buy happiness eternally.
  • Money is not necessary for happiness even in this life.

iii) Paul’s third argument: When the desire for money controls us, there are horrible consequences.

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.  (verses 9-10)

Paul points out that love of money has negative consequences in this life. We see that all the time, don’t we? Consider former Charlotte mayor Patrick Cannon who became corrupt, violated trust – and has now fallen from his high position to what will certainly be many years in prison. But such dangers are common. Think of the many husbands who, desiring money, have become workaholics, destroying their marriages and neglecting their children – all in the name of providing for their wives and children. That is why the love of money is such a trap, such a snare.

But the greatest danger from loving money is eternal. If the love of money leads you to wander away from the faith, you will suffer for all time. You will remain under God’s wrath. You will have no hope.

So we must understand that money and material possessions are not the greatest means of gain. We must fight to believe that, even though we constantly receive messages to the contrary.

c) With Great Effort Put Your Belief into Practice

But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.  Fight the good fight of the faith. (verses 11-12a)

First note the way Paul underlines the great effort involved. The word translated “fight” is an athletic term (we get our word “agonize” from this word). Paul is saying, “Make your supreme effort to believe these truths.”

He then tells us how to do that. We make that effort by running away from the love of money, and running after the virtues he then lists. We won’t look at them one by one today.  Just note that they are either aspects of God’s character that we take on (the fruit of the Holy Spirit that Paul describes in Galatians 5:22-23), or our right response to God’s character (such as godliness and faith).

How do you conduct this fight?

  • Through the Word
  • Through worship
  • Through practice
  • Through prayer
  • Through the help of others, through community

This is a key part of living the Christian life: Fighting the fight to believe that what God says is true.

2) Take Hold of Eternal Life

Paul has said “Fight the fight to believe.” Now he says: “Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called.” He is saying, in part, “Live out those beliefs.” But he’s saying more than that. He is also saying,

This is true life. This is true joy. So grasp that today. Jesus came so that you might have life, and have it abundantly. So live out that abundant, eternal life today, as you walk with your Savior and Lord.

We’ll note three ways Paul highlights this:

a) You’ve Professed It

Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

God called you to this. – to participate in this eternal life now. And you have acknowledged that calling. You have professed faith in Christ. You have said that you were lost, without hope, justly under God’s wrath because of yr rebellion against the holy God. And yet while you were in this state, God showed his love by sending His Son. And not just sending His Son as a messenger, but sending Him to suffer and die on your behalf. He paid the penalty you deserved – and God raised Him from the dead, showing the penalty paid was sufficient. He sits today at God the Father’s right hand. And He will come again to usher in His eternal kingdom. Having professed that Christ died for you and that you are thus God’s beloved child, take hold of that life today! Remember what you have professed!  Continue in it! Persevere!

b) Live It Out Until Jesus Returns!

So, Paul says, keep holding on to that promise until Jesus appears:

I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession,  to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,  which he will display at the proper time–he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,  who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.  (verses 13-16)

Paul charges Timothy. What is Paul’s charge?

“Keep the commandment.”

What commandment?

Surely, “Fight the good fight of faith.” Surely, “Take hold of eternal life.”  But really all the imperatives of Christian life are included here. Paul is saying: Follow Christ. Be conformed to the image of Christ. Take on His character. Love with His love. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. For this is eternal life. This is the greatest joy. God is the giver of life– so you will only find life in following Him.

Jesus made that good confession just like you – and He suffered for it. But He is at Father’s right hand and will reign forever. You too, act like Jesus: Remain steadfast even through trials, until His return. God will bring that about at exactly the right time. He is the only Ruler, the true Sovereign, the only blessed One, the One who will never die. He is so pure and brilliant we can’t imagine approaching Him – and yet He says, “Boldly approach Me through my Son!” All honor and might are His and His alone, forever.

This is who God the Father is. So how can you ever think that true life would come from anyone or anything else?

Jesus is coming back. And then faith will be sight. We will not have to fight to believe. We will not have to work to take hold of eternal life. It will be perfectly obvious Who the King is, and what He is like.

But until then: You and I can live out eternal life. As author of Hebrews says: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).

c) Use Your Riches as a Means of Taking Hold of True Life

Having begun by pointing out that money cannot satisfy, and that the love of money leads to all kinds of evil, Paul concludes by saying: Money can be used to help you take hold of true life.

Note the last clause in v19, which gives the purpose for the entire 3 verses: “so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” Since eternal life is true life, this is the same idea we saw in verse 12: “Take hold of the eternal life.”

Remember, Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:24). So Paul here is specifically helping those who are rich to know how they can avoid the negative effects of money, and to take hold of eternal life.

Don’t forget: As we have noted before, by the standards of Jesus’ day, of Paul’s day, all of us are incredibly rich. So know that Paul here is speaking about you.

As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.  They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share,  thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

Paul tells Timothy to give the rich two negative commands, five positive commands, with one result, all working to one goal, one purpose.

We’ve spent time looking at parts of these verses earlier in this series, so we will now just note the flow of Paul’s argument, and then highlight the result and the purpose.

First negative command: Do not be haughty or arrogant because you are richer than others. This is related to Paul’s statement in Romans 12:3: “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think.” Because we rich people have more than others, it is easy to imagine that we deserve more than others. We must take care to avoid that temptation.

Second negative command: Don’t set your hope on the uncertainty of riches. As we saw in the sermon on security, Paul highlights the foolishness of setting your hope on an uncertainty. And all riches are uncertain.

So now the five positive commands:

First positive command: Set your hope on God. He is the solid rock. He is your hope, your strength. And He is always providing for us, doing good for us: He “richly provides us with all things unto enjoyment.” (We spent an entire sermon considering that phrase.)

Second positive command: We rich are to do good. That is, we are to act like the one who richly provides for us.

Third positive command: We are To be rich in good works, not only rich in assets. Here Paul uses the idea of currency again. Wealth in one currency – money, material possessions – makes it easier for us to be rich in another currency – good works. And as Jesus says, our light is to shine before others so that they may see our good works and give glory to our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).

Fourth positive command: To be generous. I think the third positive command emphasizes time – since we rich don’t have to spend all our time providing for our basic necessities, we can spend time doing good works – while this fourth positive command emphasizes giving money and material goods.

Last positive command: To be “willing to share.” That phrase is one word in Greek. Like the previous word, it can be translated “generous.” The difference is that this second word seems to be concerned more with the inner attitude. This word shares a root with a Greek word many of you know, koinonia, “partnership for a common purpose.” Think of this word, then, as “characterized by koinonia.” That is, “See your fellow believers as your partners, and live out that partnership, so that you use the grant God has given you to help advance God’s purposes among your brothers and sisters who have fewer resources.”

So those are the two negative commands and the five positive commands.

The Result: We see this in the first part of verse 19. The Holman Christian Standard Bible translates this quite well (and is similar to the King James and New American Standard): “Storing up for themselves a good foundation for the age to come.”

I think the point is this: When we obey these seven commands, we are displaying the character of God. We are taking on His character. We are thereby knowing God better. And this is eternal life – that we may know Him (John 17:3). This is our joy for all eternity, the purpose of eternal life: To know more and more of His infinite goodness and excellence.

So do you see how this is a foundation for the age to come? Become like Him today. Thereby know Him better now. And that’s the joyful foundation for what you will do for all eternity.

That then leads us to the purpose: To take hold of the life that is truly life. To live out eternal life today – to know Him, to live with Him, to love Him, to be loved by Him.

Conclusion

So: What do you want more than anything else?

O, that you would desire to know God! That you would take hold of the eternal life that is knowing God the Father, and Jesus Christ whom He sent!

O, that you would be free from the snare of the love of money, and its consequent ruin and destruction.

O, that you and I might live out what we profess:

  • That we are His children purely by grace through the sacrifice of our Lord
  • That apart from this mercy we would be without hope, objects of wrath
  • That instead we are loved with a love beyond imagining
  • That we are held secure in His arms, and He will never leave us nor forsake us
  • That we have the deepest possible joy – totally apart from any material goods

May we live out this profession through generous giving to God’s glory motivated by sincere concern.

May we – in our interactions with one another, in our interactions with the world – display God’s mercy, grace, and tender care.

May we thereby take hold of the life that is truly life.

 

The Currency of Giving and Receiving

Jesus says, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

What does He mean by that?

How does He exemplify that?

Consider what He says to His disciples in Mark 10:29-30. Jesus has just told the rich young ruler to sell all he has, to give the proceeds to the poor, to have riches in heaven, and to come and follow Him. The ruler instead walks away. Peter, astounded that poor fishermen are more obedient than this rich man, has just said, “We have left everything and followed you.”

Jesus replies:

Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel,  who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life (Mark 10:29-30).

What does He mean?

There are those who say, “Just read it to see what it means: ‘100 times more in this life.’ So if you give $1000, you will get $100,000.” Then, when you give the $1000 and don’t receive the $100,000, they will suppose that there is some sin in your life, or some lack of faith, that keeps God from fulfilling His promise.

But we only have to look at these disciples listening to Jesus to know He could not have meant, “Give in one currency and you will be sure to receive a hundred times more in the same currency.” James, for example, gave up all to follow Jesus, as Peter just said. But one of the Herods kills James (Acts 12:2). He never received a hundred times more goods than he gave up.

So:

  • When I give, what am I giving?
  • When I receive, what am I receiving?
  • Why is giving so blessed?

2 Corinthians 8 and 9 is very helpful on this point. We’ll see that when we give, we are not primarily giving money.  When we receive, we are not primarily receiving money.

Indeed, this mistaken conception of giving as primarily concerning money or material goods distorts much of our thinking. For we tend to think that the person who has an excess of money is the person who is able to give the most. He’s not losing much proportionately. He doesn’t have to give up much else in order to give to others. That is, the opportunity cost of giving is lower for him. So such a person can give with joy. But if I’m just barely paying my bills, I can’t give much of anything – I have nothing to spare! It would be too costly for me to give. So I can’t give with joy.

That view is not Scriptural view at all. Of the many errors in those thoughts, we’ll highlight one today: It misunderstands the currency of giving and receiving.

About fifteen years ago I was in the Philippines on a business trip.  This was when ATMs first became available for foreign transactions in southeast Asia. I inserted my card, and magically Philippine pesos came out. The machine then gave me the option of checking my balance.  Curious to see how much Beth had spent in my absence, I punched the button.  The machine gave the balance: about 200,000.

Startled, I wondered: Where did all this money come from?  I even checked the account number to see if perchance the ATM had linked me to the wrong account.  After seeing that it was indeed my own account, I finally realized that the machine was giving me my balance not in terms of US dollars but in terms of Philippine pesos.  And at the time, the exchange rate of pesos to dollars was about 40-1, which made the balance of the account not $200,000 but $5,000; about what I had expected.

If you’re checking your bank balance, you need to know the currency of the balance. Just so: In every biblical passage that concerns giving and receiving, you need to know the currency the author is speaking of. Indeed, even within one verse, sometimes different currencies are used.

With that in mind, let’s turn our attention to 2 Corinthians 8. Recall that at this time, the church in Jerusalem was quite poor, partly as a result of persecution, and partly as a result of a famine and economic downturn in the region. So in general, the new Christians in Greece and in what is now Turkey were better off financially than the believers in Jerusalem. So the Apostle Paul arranges to collect money from these new, Gentile believers for the Jerusalem church. He mentions this collection in 1 Corinthians 16, asking them to set aside money on the first of every week. Evidently that collection started well but then slowed down. Here in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 he asks the church to complete “this grace.” His wider discussion is invaluable for understanding true Christian giving.

True Christian Giving: Four Observations

Let’s read the passage in a literal, rather wooden translation, which I hope will help you to follow Paul’s argument. I’ve used English words with the same root when Paul uses Greek words with the same root. Note also that I’ve translated a Greek word you may know, koinonia, as “partnership.” Because verse 8 is something of a parenthesis, I’ve left it out here:

We make known to you, brothers, the grace of God given in the churches of Macedonia, for in the midst of a great testing of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their sincere concern. For according to their power and, I bear witness, beyond their power of their own accord with strong appeal they begged us for the grace and partnership of ministry to the saints. And they went beyond what we had even hoped: They gave themselves first to the Lord and to us by the will of God. So we appealed to Titus, that just as he started, just so he might complete this grace among you. But just as you abound in all things – in faith and in word and in knowledge and in all diligence and in our love for you – abound in this grace also. . . . For you know the grace of our lord Jesus, that for you he became poor, being rich, in order that you by his poverty might become rich.

For our purposes, the biggest difference with common English translations is found in verse 9. Virtually all English translations render this, “Though he was rich, he became poor for you.” The Greek has no word for “though,” instead just using a participle, as rendered above: “being rich, he became poor.” We’ll consider below the common translation, “though he was rich,” and suggest an alternative, which is equally possible grammatically, “Because He was rich.”

But first, four observations on true Christian giving from verses 1 to 7:

1) What is the first gift Paul mentions?

Not the gift the Macedonians give to the church in Jerusalem. Instead, the grace given by God to the Macedonians. They received grace from God  and then they gave. After verse 1, Paul repeats the word “grace” in verses 3, 6, 7, and 9. Look at verse 7. What does Paul want the Corinthians to excel in? “This grace.” (Note that the words “act of” are added by the ESV, and the words “of giving” are added by the NIV).

So the first observation: True Christian giving results from grace given by God. True Christian giving is the result of God working in us – not the result of pressure tactics, of emotional appeals, or of making people feel guilty.

2) Did the Macedonians give out of their abundance?

Be careful here! The answer is both yes and no.

In financial terms, they gave out of their poverty, not out of their abundance. They did not have an excess, and then decide to give that extra since they didn’t need it. Paul even says they gave out of their “extreme poverty.”

But they did give out of an abundance – an abundance of what? Verse 2: An abundance of joy! Their identity was in God, their security was in God, their joy was in God – and so they gave generously of their meager resources.  So the second observation: True Christian giving results from the overflow of joy in God.

3) What overflowed from this abundance?

Be careful again. Look at verse 2. Paul does not say, “Their abundance of joy overflowed with their giving lots of money.” Verse 3 implies they gave more money than Paul ever thought possible. But his main point is not the amount of money. What did overflow? In the ESV: “A wealth of generosity.” Two months ago we looked in detail at the meaning of the word the ESV translates “generosity,” and saw that it has rather different connotations from the English word. If a billionaire gave $100,000 to DGCC, that would certainly be a generous act according to the definition of the English word. But we would have to discern the inner motivation for the gift in order to apply the Greek word to the act. We saw that the Greek word here means, “sincere concern, with no ulterior motives.” The word is thus related to love. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:3:

If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

So the third observation: True Christian giving is motivated by sincere concern, by love. We are not giving in order to get out of an awkward situation; we are not giving in order to get our names on a building or to impress others. We are motivated by sincere concern.

4) What did the Macedonians give first? Again, the answer is not “money.” Verse 5: The gave themselves first. They gave up their own selfish, individualistic goals. They offered their bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God. They were transformed through the renewing of their minds. Thus, their identity, security, and joy were in God and in His work. They were so completely devoted to Him, that they begged Paul for the privilege of being a part of God’s work.

So four key principles:

  • True Christian giving is a grace of God.
  • True Christian giving results from the overflow of joy in God.
  • True Christian giving is motivated by love, by sincere concern.
  • True Christian giving begins by giving yourself to God.

Again and again Paul goes out of his way to emphasize he is not primarily talking about money.

There are other currencies of giving and receiving here, other interactions between believers and other believers, between believers and God.

Jesus’ Example of Giving

Now let’s walk through verse 9 more slowly to understand what Paul says here. We’ll do this in four steps:

1) How does verse 9 support Paul’s command in verse 7?

Verse 9 begins with the word “for,” indicating Paul is supporting an earlier statement – the command that concludes verse 7, “Abound in this grace also.” However we interpret verse 9, it has to answer the question: Why should the Corinthians abound in this grace?

2) Jesus’s poverty

Paul says that we become rich through Jesus’ poverty. What aspect of Jesus’ poverty makes us rich?

Not His material poverty. He was poor materially – but we don’t have riches because He owned very little. Rather, we benefit because He humbled Himself – He became man, He was mocked and beaten, He was crucified dead and buried. That aspect of Jesus’ poverty makes us rich.

3) Our riches

What kind of riches does Jesus gain for us?

There is a sense in which we gain material riches; the New Testament calls us heirs of the world! But the emphasis in the New Testament is never on those material riches. Yes, the streets of the New Jerusalem are said to be paved with gold – but who ever pays attention to the pavement, as long as it supports you? What is central in the New Jerusalem is God dwelling with His people in their midst.

So the riches Jesus gains for us are relational riches – the riches of being adopted into His family, of being His beloved children. Even when we think of ourselves as heirs, the emphasis is not on, “Oh, boy, I’m an heir – think of all the material goods I will inherit!” but rather, “I am so loved by Him that He provides an abundance of all things for my good.”

And there is more: We have the relational riches of being God’s children, and the relational riches of being united with all those in the body of Christ. He has broken down the “dividing wall of hostility.” He has made one those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

We saw this in microcosm last night as we said goodbye to our friends Sunil and Jerlin. There were close to fifty people present, from seven different countries; fewer than one-third of us were white Americans. And, as all present will attest, there was real relational richness in that room.

So now let’s take what we’ve learned, and apply these lessons to verse 9, substituting these ideas into the verse:

For you know the grace of our lord Jesus Christ, that for you he became poor – in becoming man, suffering, dying on cross . . . in order that you by his poverty might become rich relationally: that is, so that you might be adopted into God’s family, so that He might be Abba, Father to you, so that you might be His heir, so that you might have relational riches with others as part of His body.

That seems to make sense. We seem to be on the right track.

There’s one more point we need to investigate to fill out the verse.

4) The link between Jesus’ riches and His poverty

In what sense is Jesus rich?

Of course, all things are His!

But what means most to him? What constitutes His true riches?

Surely the primary answer is: His relationship with the Father.  And the secondary answer is: His relationship with His Bride, the church.

That is, Jesus’ riches are in the same currency as ours: Relational riches with God the Father, and relational riches with His people.

So what is the link between Jesus’ riches and His poverty? That is, what is verse 9 saying?

Let’s consider the traditional translation of the verse. That is, for “being rich” substitute “though He was rich.” But then substitute what we’ve seen about Jesus’ riches and poverty: His riches are relational, and His poverty is becoming man and dying on the cross:

Though Jesus was loved by His Father, he humbled himself and died on the cross, so that we by that act might be loved by the Father.

That doesn’t make any sense. “Though” is not an appropriate way to understand the participle when you substitute what type of riches Jesus has, and what type of poverty makes us rich.

“Though” makes sense if His riches and poverty are in the same currency, since we don’t expect a rich man to give away all his money and become poor. But when we see that Jesus’ riches and poverty in this verse must be in different currencies, the translation “though” makes no sense.

Furthermore, “though” makes no sense as an explanation for why the Corinthians should strive to “abound in this grace” (verse 7).

But now think of the command at the end of verse 7 together with verse 9. And let’s substitute “because” for “though. ”

We’ll do this in two stages. First, let’s just add the idea of different currencies:

Abound in this grace also. . . .  For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that for you he became poor [in one currency] because he was rich [in another currency], so that you by his poverty might become rich [in that same currency].

Now that makes  sense. Paul tells the Corinthians to abound in the grace that is so clearly manifest among the Macedonians, the same grace that we see manifest in the Lord Jesus Christ.

So now let’s replace simply the idea of different currencies with the currencies of Jesus’ riches and poverty that we’ve already identified. Paul tells the Corinthians:

Abound in this grace also. . . . For you know the grace of our lord Jesus, that because He was loved by the Father, he became man and died on the cross for you, so that you thereby might be loved by the Father.

So do you see how verse 9 supports Paul’s command? Paul is saying: “Be like Jesus! Be full of grace! Show sincere concern!”

That is: Know who you are in Christ! Know you have all joy in Him. United with Him, you are rich relationally, so give yourselves first completely to God, and then give of yourselves out of sincere concern for others. Give like Jesus – knowing that even if you give away all you have, even if you give up all your time, even if you give up all your emotional energy, you always have the Father, you are always His child, you are always in his intimate family.

Lessons for True Christian Giving

Clearly Paul’s main point to the Corinthians and to us is not, “Give more money” or “give more time.” We may need to end up doing so. But that’s not his main point.

We’ve already noted the four observations from verses 1 to 7:

  • True Christian giving is a grace of God.
  • True Christian giving results from the overflow of joy in God.
  • True Christian giving is motivated by love, by sincere concern.
  • True Christian giving begins by giving yourself to God.

What lessons can we draw particularly from verse 9?

True Christian giving results from our taking on the character of Christ.

True Christian giving is one aspect of becoming Christlike. Like Jesus, we are to have such confidence in our identity in Christ, in our security in Him, we are to have so much joy in Him, God’s surpassing grace is to be so manifest in our lives, that we love, we have sincere concern, and so we give.

True Christian giving is not an obligation you have to an institution. It is not a requirement laid on you to maintain membership in an organization. It is not primarily a budgeting decision.

Rather, as Romans 8:29 says, if you are in Christ God predestined you to be conformed to the image of His Son.

True Christian giving is a result of that work – the result of a life transformed by God, a life conformed to the image of Christ, so that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Thus, clearly true Christian giving concerns not only money, not even primarily money, but love.

Conclusion

Jesus says, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

And He says:

No one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, . . . will not receive a hundredfold now in this time.

What then is the currency of giving?

On the surface, giving may be in the currencies of money, of goods, or of time.

But underneath, true Christian giving is always in the currency of grace, of love.

What then is the currency of our receiving?

No, we don’t give $1000 and have a guarantee that we will then receive $100,000. Instead, we receive something much more valuable than $100,000 – we receive returns in a much more valuable currency.

We receive joy. When we give material goods, we receive at least 100 times more joy than we would have received by selfishly holding on to those goods. We receive love. We receive relational riches. We receive our identity in Christ.

This is the Gospel, my friends. We had none of that. We rebelled against our Creator, and, separated from Him, we were strangers to all true joy. But Jesus – because He was rich relationally with His Father – became poor. That is, He humbled Himself, He submitted to mocking, scourging, and crucifixion. He died, taking on Himself the penalty you and I deserve, so that you by that poverty might become rich. You, by His work on the cross, might become what God created you to be: Filled with His joy. Conformed to the image of Christ. A giver of grace – like Jesus.

We’re not here to tell you, “Give more so we can build a building. Give more so we can increase our budget.”

God the Father offers you relational riches and joy beyond imagining through Jesus. Come to Him! Give yourself first to Him!

And then: Live out what He is like – to His glory and for Your joy.

 

 

Work to the Glory of God

We pray: “Give us this day our daily bread.” How does God answer that prayer? How does God provide the bread?

A friend is sick. We pray, “Father, heal this loved one.” How does God answer the prayer?

We pray, asking God to give us children.   How does God answer the prayer?

Paul commands us to pray for government authorities, in order that “we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Timothy 2:2-3). How does God answer those prayers?

  • God answers the prayers for government authorities by working through their passing and enforcing laws.
  • God answers prayers for children by working through the husband and wife, or through an adoption agency, to bring children into the family.
  • God answers prayer for healing by working through physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and researchers.
  • God answers prayer for daily bread by working through farmers and millers and bakers and truck drivers and supermarket workers.

God usually answers prayer through the work of human agents.

God is not limited in any of these ways:

  • He can stop the actions of criminals in their tracks.
  • He can create a child out of the dust of the ground.
  • He can heal any disease in a split second.
  • He can make enough bread to feed 5000 from five loaves.
  • He can daily provide enough manna from heaven to feed more than 2 million people.

But He usually answers our prayers by His working through human work.

Note that: God works through our work. As Martin Luther said, God is masked, or hidden in our work. That makes our work – all our work – sacred.

We glorify God in our work as we fulfill the role He gives us in our work life.

Let’s begin our examination of the importance of our work by going back to the beginning, to the Garden of Eden.

The True Workers’ Paradise

What comes to your mind when you think of the Garden of Eden?

  • Delicious fruit to eat right off the trees – from every tree but one?
  • Walking with God in the cool of the evening, being in an intimate relationship with Him?
  • Having a perfect, loving, respectful relationship between husband and wife – with nothing to hide, no sin, no shame?

That’s all true. But we’re leaving out something important.

The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. (Genesis 2:15)

Note: This is before the Fall. Before sin entered the world. Adam worked – in paradise.

Who else is said to have worked? God Himself!

And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. (Genesis 2:2)

Man’s work is one aspect of being made in the image of God.

In His work, God takes what is formless and void and orders it and fills it. In his work, Man – made in God’s image – takes what God has ordered and filled, and protects it, sustains it. Furthermore, using his God-given creativity, man orders it further.

Note:

  • Man in the Garden does not work because he is hungry.
  • He does not work in order to establish his identity – He knows who He is.
  • He does not work in order to enhance his security – He is perfectly secure.
  • He does not try to make up for a lack of joy in the rest of his life by finding joy in his work.

He works at God’s command for his own good and for God’s glory. It is fulfilling work, as he accomplishes an important purpose.

The Fall and Work

But then all changes.

The man and woman doubt God’s goodness and despise God’s command. They turn their backs on the One who has given them everything, arrogantly assuming they know better than God what is in their own best interest. So they eat the fruit God had warned them about.

Consider the results:

  • The close relationship between God and man is broken.
  • The close relationship between the man and the woman is broken – as they try to hide from each other (why else would they cover themselves with leaves?), and as Adam blames his wife when God asks him if he’s eaten the fruit.

In addition, the shame they feel indicates that their sense of identity is marred. They no longer see themselves as beloved of God, as the apex of God’s creation. We might say their relationship with themselves is broken (see When Helping Hurts by Corbett and Fikkert, p. 56-62).

Furthermore, note that a key result of the fall is frustration in work:

To Adam [God] said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:17-19)

We might call this a breakdown in the relationship between man and the created order. What was fulfilling is now frustrating. What was done out of joyful obedience is now done out of painful necessity.

With work difficult, poverty now enters the world:

  • Material poverty – hunger, want, starvation,
  • And the shame, the humiliation, the sense of worthlessness, and the marred sense of identity that so often accompanies material poverty.

We rich people often think of poverty only in material terms. Listen to these quotes from poor people in order to understand the importance of other aspects of poverty:

  • From Guinea Bissau:  When I don’t have any [food to bring my family], I borrow, mainly from neighbors and friends. I feel ashamed standing before my children when I have nothing to help feed the family. I’m not well when I’m unemployed. It’s terrible.
  • From Moldova: For a poor person everything is terrible illness, humiliation, shame.
    We are cripples; we are afraid of everything; we depend on everyone. No one needs us. We are like garbage that everyone wants to get rid of. (Quotes are from Brian Fikkert)

Do you hear the shame of being of no use to anyone, of being dependent, of not being able to offer anything? “We are like garbage.” A marred identity. No security. No joy.

But it is not only the materially poor who suffer from the Fall. Even for those who don’t end up materially poor, the fall leads to common work-related sins.

The first such sin is laziness. Work is hard, so we are tempted to be lazy. The temptation is so powerful Scripture must encourage us time and again to fight against it. Indeed, the book of Proverbs warns us 14 times not to be sluggards. For example:

The sluggard does not plow in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nothing. (Proverbs 20:4)

The lazy person, the sluggard, doesn’t have joy – and tries to find joy in not working, in avoiding work.

Then there’s the opposite type of sin: The sin of being a workaholic. The workaholic doesn’t have joy, and tries to find joy (or identity or security) through working. He tries to get people to look up to him, to respect him, or tries to find fulfillment in what he can build or accomplish.

Consider again Proverbs 23:4-5, which we quoted first under security:

Don’t wear yourself out to get rich; stop giving your attention to it.  As soon as your eyes fly to it, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.  (HCSB)

And remember what Jesus said: One’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions (Luke 12:15).

So the Fall leads to a lack of joy, a lack of security, a lack of identity. It leads to spiritual poverty for all, material poverty for many. Regarding work, it leads to the twin sins of the sluggard on the one hand, and the workaholic on the other.

Work in Today’s Fallen World

That’s where we find ourselves today: In a fallen world where work can be frustrating, and at the same time can be all-absorbing.

But in this fallen world, God is implementing and fulfilling His eternal plan of redemption. He is redeeming us – and He is redeeming work.

How can we work today in a way most like Adam in the Garden, most like what will be our eternal work in new heavens and the new earth?

What to Avoid

If we are to work like that, we must avoid the effects of the Fall: Being workaholics or being sluggards.

As we’ve seen, both sins result from working or avoiding work in order to find security, identity, and joy.

Now, we don’t normally admit, “I’m working on a PhD in order to find my identity,” or “I’m being lazy because I think that’s the way to happiness.” Indeed, most lazy people don’t even realize they are lazy.

So what are the clues that we are trying to find identity, security, or joy in work or laziness?

  • When money is my main motivation
  • When pleasing my boss is my main motivation
  • When promotion is my main motivation
  • If the thought of losing my job makes me feel sick
  • If I’m depressed about missing out on a promotion
  • If I stay late even when I know of important needs at home

All these point to aspects of being a workaholic, of finding your security, joy or (especially) your identity in work.

Here are other clues:

  • If I regularly procrastinate when I have much to do
  • If I work much harder when my supervisor is present
  • If I continually watch the clock
  • If I try my best to extend breaks
  • If I regularly arrive late

These are signs of laziness, of being a sluggard.

What to Pursue: Seven Exhortations

We are to avoid those temptations. What are we to pursue?

At one level, the answer is obvious: Find your identity, security, and joy in God!

But how do we do that in the realm of work? What does that look like?

Consider these seven biblical exhortations. The first three come from Colossians 3:17, 22-24:

17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. . . .

 22 Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

1) Serve God in your work

Verse 17 tells us to do everything “in the name of the Lord Jesus.” That is, we are to do all things to His glory, not to my own.

Verse 23 tells us we are to work “as for the Lord;” verse 24 says we serving (or “slaving for”) the Lord Christ.

Note what type of work Paul is talking about. He is speaking to slaves. Now, slaves in the Roman Empire could be highly educated and skilled; they were sometimes artists or teachers. But many, of course, were manual laborers. Paul here is speaking to all of them, regardless of what type of work they do.

Thus we must conclude that all work – what we call secular as well as the work of the church, what we call skilled as well as what we call unskilled – is to be done to the Lord.

  • As I pastor I am to do my work as to the Lord, I am to serve the Lord
  • As a mechanic Rick is to do his work as to the Lord, he is to serve the Lord
  • As a homeschooling mom, Julia is to do her work as to the Lord, she is to serve the Lord
  • As a nurse, Julie is to do her work as to the Lord, she is to serve the Lord
  • As an engineer, Karl is to do his work as to the Lord, he is to serve the Lord
  • The artist, the musician, the landscape designer – all are to do their work as to the Lord

Whatever your work is – and it can be any honest labor – you can, you must glorify God in it.

As stated in the introduction, God is masked, He is hidden in our work. God works through our normal, everyday labors. It is all sacred. So do it to the Lord

Note here: Work does give us an entree into the lives of others. As we share work experience with unbelievers, we have an opportunity to share the Gospel with them. That is a command. That is a way to glorify God.

But that’s not our point this morning.

Rather: You glorify God in your work when you do it well, when you serve God in the work itself. So, yes, use those relationships to glorify God through bearing witness to the Gospel to your co-workers, and use your work itself to glorify God through the way that you work, as you do it unto Him.

2) See your eternal inheritance as more than sufficient remuneration

Again, Paul is speaking here to slaves. Many probably felt they weren’t receiving a fair share of what they produced. And they were most likely right. But Paul says in verse 24, “From the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.”

Take care here. We must interpret Scripture with Scripture. Paul is not saying, “By working unto God you will earn your eternal inheritance.”That would contradict much of the rest of Paul’s teaching, even in this book of Colossians.

Rather, Paul is saying: “If you are in Christ, God is giving you all things. You will live for eternity in a perfected creation. You will see God face to face. You will be His delight. You will have fulfilling work, stretching your every ability and skill. However poor you may be now, however unfair your pay here might be, you will received a hundredfold, a millionfold in the new heavens and new earth.”

You work for God now. And you always receive from Him far, far more than you deserve.

3) Work diligently.

Verse 23 tells us to “work heartily,” or, as the NET puts it, “work at it with enthusiasm.”

This, rather than being a workaholic, is the biblical opposite of being a sluggard.

In Christ, we have an established identity. We are secure in God. We have great joy in God. We work for Him– and thus, unlike the sluggard, we work whether the boss watches or not. And unlike the workaholic, we stop work when it is time to serve God in other parts of our lives.

Note again: We work diligently primarily because we are working for the Lord. Diligent work may enhance your reputation. It may lead to your boss being happy with you. It may lead to promotion. And all of those are good. But the main motivation for our diligent work should be God, the One we work for. So we will work diligently even if no one notices, even if the boss is a pain in the neck, even if there is no chance of further promotion.

4) Work so as not to be dependent

Don’t misunderstand: All of us are dependent on God for everything – including what we earn through work. We are to delight in our dependence on God. Furthermore, we are to help one another, and to receive such help with thanksgiving (as Paul does in Philippians 4).

But if we are physically and mentally able, we should with rare exceptions work to support ourselves and our families.

Paul exhorts the church in Thessalonica in this regard. Evidently, this church was sharing resources with the poor, like the church in Jerusalem (Acts 2 and 4). But some who were perfectly able to work were being sluggards. They were receiving handouts intended for the poor, and then not working, trying to find joy in avoiding work. So Paul writes a mild exhortation in his first letter:

Aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one. (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12)

Evidently the laziness remained, or even increased. So in his second letter, the Apostle is much more direct:

Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. (2 Thessalonians 3:6-12)

Paul reminds the Thessalonians of the example he set among them. Though he had a right to be supported financially, he didn’t use that right. He worked to support his own ministry, night and day.

The Apostle then commands: Don’t give any support to such people. If there’s work available, and they’re not willing to do it – if they are able to work but simply prefer not to work – don’t provide anything to them. They are to glorify God through supporting themselves and their families. If they are unwilling to do so – let them go hungry, for hunger may prompt them to do what will be to God’s glory and to their own good.

On the other hand, if they are unable to work, or no work is to be found, the church is to provide support. And they should feel no shame in receiving such assistance. Don’t lose your sense of identity in God, your security in God, your joy in God when you need help. Graciously accept it.

But do all in your power to find work. Unless you can’t work, such help should be temporary.

The fifth exhortation is a corollary, a consequence of first four:

5) Encourage others to work.

We are to help others to work diligently so as not to be dependent. This exhortation is particularly important for parents. We are to teach our children the value of work, and to teach them a biblical view of work.

When we provide support to others, we are to avoid giving in ways that undermine work, in ways that make work seem worthless. For when our giving undermines work, we are hurting the recipients, not helping them.

Furthermore, on a public policy level, we should not support government policies that undermine work. Now, often it is difficult to know which policies do that. For example, that has been part of the debate about extending unemployment benefits. Most agree that some short term unemployment benefits encourage work; most agree that never-ending unemployment benefits would undermine work. But at what point does the negative incentive kick in?

But in some cases, it is obvious that government policies undermine work. When even the advocates of a law agree that many people will choose not to work because of the law, that’s a serious problem.

6) Work in order to give

We’ve seen that we are to have sincere concern for one another, and thus are to give generously. In the next several weeks we’ll talk much more about giving. But for today, simply note: Giving is one motivation for work. We work, in part, so that we might display the image of God by giving:

He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. (Ephesians 4:28)

Instead of taking what is not his, the thief is to work so that he might freely give what is rightly his.

In Acts 20 Paul speaks of his own example in this regard:

You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ (Acts 20:34-35)

We who are able must help the weak. Giving is an obligation – but giving is also a blessing, a joy. As we saw when speaking of generosity, out of the overflow of joy in God, the Macedonians begged Paul for the privilege of giving. We have the great privilege of displaying the love of Christ, of being one way He answers prayer. So we display Jesus when we work to Him – and we display Jesus when we take the proceeds of work and give them away.

7) Know the outcomes of godly work

Often, but not always, godly work leads to recognition in this life:

Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men. (Proverbs 22:29)

This may mean, “He will be recognized by kings,” but more likely it means, “He will be brought into the palace to serve kings.”

Good employers are always looking for diligent laborers. Often they will recognize and promote such workers. If you work heartily, as to the Lord, you may benefit in that way.

That’s a general rule, not a promise. However, one outcome is assured:

  • Godly work always leads to the glory of God
  • Godly work always accomplishes God’s purposes
  • Godly work always displays something of God’s image

Think again of Colossians 3:17:

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus

When we do everything in His Name, to His glory, we fulfill the purpose of our creation. We find and fulfill our identity. And this leads to the greatest joy.

Conclusion

Work is a gift from God. God chooses to work through our hands, through our work, to answer prayer, to display His glory.

How are you working?

Examine your attitude:

  • Are you tempted to laziness? Are you tempted to find joy in avoiding work, unless someone is watching over you?
  • Or are you tempted to being a workaholic – to find identity, security, and joy in the work itself?

(It’s even possible for the same person to be tempted both ways.)

Remember: You are serving the Lord Jesus. All your work is to Him! All your work is for Him!

So work diligently. And stop working at the hour when He has other responsibilities for you to fulfill.

  • Work is a gift.
  • Work is a privilege.
  • Work is an imitation of God.
  • Work is sacred.

But realize: He has done the work you can never do. He has sent His Son to live the life you should have lived, to die in your place on your account, and to bring you by grace into the eternal joy of His presence.

You don’t earn that. You can’t earn that. You could never merit that.

So find your identity, your security, and your joy in the work God has done on your behalf.

And then, out of that identity – work to the glory of God.

 

Why Do You Own Anything?

Why do you own anything?

Consider what you own:

  • Shirts, dresses, and pants,
  • Dress coats, rain coats, and fleeces,
  • Exercise shoes, casual shoes, and dress shoes
  • Beds, mattresses, and sheets,
  • Houses, stoves, and refrigerators,
  • Gardens, patios, and pools,
  • Cars, bikes, and scooters,
  • Computers, cell phones, and watches,
  • bank accts, 401k’s, and IRAs
  • health insurance, car insurance, and life insurance:

You own a lot.

Indeed, you are rich. If you have:

  • Indoor plumbing,
  • Water readily available in your house that is fit for drinking
  • More than 1 change of clothes,
  • Enough money or food all year long to know you won’t go hungry,
  • Access to medical care that can actually keep sick children from dying,

then you are richer than the vast majority of humanity in all recorded history, and far, far richer than virtually everyone in Jesus’ day.

You own a lot.

But why do you own anything?

Consider emphasizing two different words in that question:

Why do you own anything? That is: Where did what you own come from? How did you get it? Do you deserve it?

Second: Why do you own anything? That is: For what purpose – to what end – do you own anything? How are you to use what you own?

Those two aspects of the question constitute our outline.

Why Do You Own Anything?

Consider two different answers to this question:

1) The Marxist answer, also given by a number of cultures:

“You personally don’t own anything. All you have and all you earn belongs to the state (or the ethnic group or the village).” This idea is well summarized in a phrase popularized by Marx: “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.”

2) An answer common among American citizens:

“Whatever I own, I deserve. I worked hard for it, or made smart investments to get it (or my parents and ancestors worked hard for it). Sure, I’m willing to pay a reasonable tax rate to fund necessary government services, and I choose to give some away to good causes, including my church. But I deserve what I own. It’s mine.”

Is either of these the biblical view?

Some have argued that the Marxist view is biblical, taking as strongest evidence the behavior of the early church in Acts chapters 2 and 4. Let’s look briefly at these chapters – and chapter 5 as well – to see if the actions of the early church can be described in this way.

Acts 2 and 4 tell us how the church helped the needy among them:

Acts 2:45: They were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.

Acts 4:34-35: There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

Chapter 4 goes on to tell us that Barnabas was one who sold a field and gave the entire value to the apostles.

Then in chapter 5 we learn of Ananias and Saphira. This couple also sells a field. They too give a substantial amount to the church to distribute to the poor. But they tell the church a lie, saying that they gave the entire value of the sale.

Peter then speaks to Ananias:

Acts 5:4: “While [the field] remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”

Peter’s statement shows that the early church recognized private property. The early church did not force believers to sell all their possessions and turn them over to the collective. The sales and giving were voluntary.

Note that Peter doesn’t upbraid Ananias for withholding part of purchase price. Peter makes clear: Ananias didn’t have to sell the field, and having sold it, he didn’t have to give all the proceeds to the church. Had Ananias sold the field and given half the proceeds – and had they been honest about it – Peter’s response would have been similar to Jesus’ when Zaccheus gave half of his goods to the poor: Great joy! (Luke 19:8-10)

So Ananias and Saphira’s sin was not withholding part of the purchase price. Instead, the sin consisted of:

  • The lie itself: Peter says they lied not only to the church but also to the Holy Spirit.
  • The motivation for lying: Desiring the praise of men more than the praise of God. Ananias and Saphira wanted the accolades that were accruing to Barnabas and others, while not doing what Barnabas had done.
  • Most importantly, they participated in an attack on the witness and purity of the church. Satan had persecuted the church externally, and the church only got stronger. At this point, Ananias effectively cooperates with Satan to attack the church internally – to take the institution that should exist to God’s glory, and make it like any other human institution, as its members strive for self-exaltation and recognition. (For more details, see this sermon).

But for our purposes today, the main point is this: Even in the context of great sharing, Peter affirms that Ananias and Saphira have the right to use the proceeds of the sale as they see fit.

So, no, the Bible does not argue that all you have belongs to the church, must less to the state.

What about the second answer to the question, “Why do you own anything?” – what I called the common American view?

Do you deserve what you have?

Think about what you have. Where did it come from?

All you have came as a gift, as inheritance, or from your work (for our purposes today, let’s consider government transfer payments as gifts, and include investment income under the gains from work).

You clearly did nothing to merit what you received through gifts or inheritance. What about your earnings from work? Do you deserve what you worked for, what you earned through investments?

Next week we’ll look more closely at the biblical view of work. We’ll see that work itself is God-ordained, that we are to work hard, as to the Lord, and that we are not to be lazy.

But no matter how hard we work, the Bible claims that even what we earn is really a gift from God:

Deuteronomy 8:17-18:  Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’  You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power [NIV “ability”] to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

Listen to that carefully. This common American attitude is explicitly anti-biblical. The passage warns, “Do not say in your heart, ‘my power has gotten me this wealth.’” That is, “Do not say in your heart, ‘I worked hard and earned every penny I own.’” Do not pat yourself on the back and say, “I was smart, I bought Apple in 1985 for less than $2 per share. I deserve all those capital gains.”

Instead: Remember! Remember it is the Lord your God who gives you ability to get wealth. He gives you all your ability: Your education, your health, your intuition, your people skills, your looks, your diligence. Everything you use to make money is a gift from God. Every penny you make is to be used by God to confirm His covenant.

Work itself is gift of God. So all you own is undeserved: whether earned through labor, earned through investments, inherited, or received as a gift.

As Paul says: “He himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:25). Your ability to absorb oxygen from the air and to transfer it into your red blood cells is a gift of God. Apart from that, you are dead. And then what do you earn?

Indeed, biblically the only thing we earn in this life through our actions, the only thing we merit, is death. Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden, and every man and woman since born in the normal way has joined them in that rebellion. Death is the wages of sin, the right, just, and fair remuneration for sin. But God graciously grants us forgiveness in Christ, adoption, inheritance, security, joy – by faith, not by works, not by merit. There is redemption for all who believe, not redemption for all who are smart, wise, and hardworking. We are saved by looking away from ourselves, by looking away from our merit, and looking solely to Christ. So Paul writes:

What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? (1 Corinthians 4:7)

Why do you own anything?

  • The Marxist view is unbiblical.
  • And the common American view is unbiblical.

All you have is a gift from God – even what you earned as wages, or from your business.              All is undeserved. He gives us the ability to work, to serve.

Why Do You Own Anything?

For what purpose – if any – do you own anything? How are you to use what you own?

God has given you the gift of your material resources for a purpose:

  • The same purpose for which He does everything,
  • The same purpose for which He created the world,
  • The same purpose for which He sent Jesus into the world, to the cross,
  • The same purpose for which He forgives you.

God has given you all you own – for the glory of His Name. All you have is a grant from God – to be used for His glory.

There are hundreds of text we could consider to substantiate this point. But let’s look at Romans 11:35-36.

“Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?”  For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

In  verse 35, the Apostle Paul quotes Job 41:11. God is speaking to Job:

Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.

This verse undercuts the foundation of most manmade religion. All of paganism – and, indeed, much unbiblical Christianity – is based on our giving something to God, putting Him in our debt. Then we draw down that debt when we need help.

We’re all tempted to think this way: “I have resources, time, energy, and abilities. If I use these in ways God wants, He then will have to pay me back. He’ll do what I want Him to do.”

Isn’t that way many, many people think? Haven’t you been tempted to think that way?

  • “If I tithe . . .
  • “If I attend church services . . .
  • “If I pray regularly . . .
  • “If I read the Bible daily . . .
  • “If I fast . . .
  • “If I do good deeds for others . . .

God will be in my debt, and then He’ll be obligated to give me what I want.”

But that’s ridiculous. That’s fundamentally pagan thinking.

Scripture tells us: All things are from Him. He already owns everything. Whatever goods, abilities, or skills you have are from Him. Anything you give to God belonged to Him before you gave it!

Imagine that 8-year-old Megan went to her daddy and asked, “May I have $10?”

He replies, “What will you use it for?”

She says, “I want to buy you a birthday present!”

So he gives her $10, and she buys him a lovely purple tie with pink polka dots that says “It’s My Birthday!” on it.

He opens the present and exclaims, “Oh! A tie! How lovely!”

Is he better off because he received the gift? He surely appreciates the thought, the desire to give. But you’d be hard-pressed to argue that he gained through that transaction. And receiving a gift for which he provided the money surely doesn’t put him in Megan’s debt.

That’s true of all we give to God- whether time or money or energy. All things are from Him. “Whatever is under the whole heaven” is His! So whatever you give to Him was His already.

In Romans 11, after Paul says “all things are from Him,” he goes on to say: “All things are through Him.” That is: He is the means by which all things are accomplished. Just as we said, even the work we do, we accomplish by His grace.

Then, third, Paul answers our question. He tells us the purpose of all that we have: “To Him are all things! So to Him be the glory forever!”

All creation – and thus all you are and have – exists to display His glory, to show what He is like. So He gives and gives and gives so that He might share His bounteous goodness with us, and so that we, in turn, might display to others Who He is.

That is true of all things, so that is true of all things that you own.

All you own is from Him, through Him, and to Him. All you own is a grant from God, which you are to use for His glory.

You deserve nothing; rather, You deserve condemnation. But instead, if you are in Christ, God has granted you life – and more than life: He has granted you material goods, He has granted you time, He has granted you energy. And all this grant is for the purpose of glorifying His Name.

Recognizing this truth leads to a profound change in attitude toward “your” possessions.

In the early nineties I was conducting an economic research project in Kenya and Tanzania. I received a grant of $250,000 from USAID to assist with project costs. I had to account for how I spent each dollar. Now, I had flexibility; I could move the budget among line items as needs arose, as the project turned out differently than I had planned. But I had to justify each expenditure by how it fulfilled the goals of the research project. And if I had reported that I spent $3000 for a party for my employees at the most expensive Nairobi hotel, the accountants at USAID would have said, “That’s not allowable. You can’t spend the grant that way. That violates the purpose of the grant!”

Just so, all you have is not yours to use however you decide to use it. All you have is a grant from God to be used for His glory.

So how does that change your mindset?

Think about what you own:

  • My house is a grant from God to be used for His glory.
  • My car is a grant from God to be used for His glory.
  • My computer is a grant from God to be used for His glory.
  • My job is a grant from God to be used for His glory.
  • My health is a grant from God to be used for His glory.
  • My weekend is a grant from God to be used for His glory.
  • My vacation is a grant from God to be used for His glory.
  • My savings accounts, my 401k’s, my college savings are grants from God to be used for His glory.
  • My income and my assets are grants from God to be used for His glory.

Is your reaction: “God can’t take all that from me! What’s left for me?”

That’s a natural reaction.  I feel that in myself.

And there’s a word for that reaction: Sin.

Why? Why is that reaction sinful?

Consider: What attitude underlies that reaction?

When we react that way, our attitude is: “If it’s for God’s glory, it must not be for my joy! I don’t mind giving some to God – but I need to reserve some for myself to be sure I get what I need!”

Is that the attitude of someone whose identity, security, and joy are in God?

Is that the attitude of someone who is content with God?

Indeed, what underlies that attitude?

This thought underlies the attitude: “I know better than God what is in my own best interest. He won’t really look out for me. He doesn’t really have my best interests at heart. I’ve got to look out for myself.”

And that was Eve’s attitude when she chose to eat the forbidden fruit.

My friends: God loves you with an everlasting love. He gives you the greatest joy imaginable. As Paul says in Romans 8:32:

He who did not spare His Son but gave Him up for us all – how will He not along with Him freely give us all things?”

You see? Putting Jesus on the cross was the hardest gift of all for God to give. He did that – for you! Having done that: Won’t He give you what is much, much easier?

Think of it this way: Those of you who have loving parents, think of what they’ve done for you.

  • They stayed up long hours at night when you were an infant.
  • They stayed up long hours at night when you were a teen.
  • They cooked and cleaned for you.
  • They counseled and taught you.
  • They drove you to practices and plays.
  • They prayed for you and played with you.
  • They cried with you and comforted you.
  • They taught you to drive and drove you to excel.

Now: Your dad drops you off at the airport. You say goodbye, and go to check in. You get to the counter and the agent says, “Sorry, Your flight is canceled. We can’t get you out until tomorrow morning.”

Do you then think: “Oh, no! I can’t call dad back. He just drove me to the airport! He won’t come back to pick me up!”

Could you really think that? After all he’s done that’s so much harder – he won’t come and pick you up?

That’s nonsense. He’s done what is hard. He’ll do this little thing.

Just so with God. After giving us Jesus – after sending Him to the cross – won’t He provide whatever we need for our good and His glory? That is: Won’t He provide whatever we need

  • to sustain us through trials,
  • to conform us to the likeness of His Son,
  • and to bring us safely to His heavenly kingdom?

You are rich. And all you own is from God. All you own is to God, to be used for His glory.

There’s much to explore in weeks ahead concerning how to live this out: What should be our attitude towards work? How do we live out this truth through our budgeting and spending? How do we use all we have for God’s glory? We’ll consider entertainment, saving, giving, and borrowing.

But for now: Think of what you own or have: Material goods. Skills and abilities. Interests. Blocks of time. Pray to God, acknowledging that these are His. And tell Him you want Him to use it for His glory – whatever that may mean. Pray, “We offer our bodies, ourselves, all we have as sacrifices for Your glory.”

May He bring that about – for our great joy.

 

Generosity and Sincere Concern

When you hear the word “generous” what comes to mind?

In 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 and 9:10-15, “generous” and “generosity” appear three times. What did the Apostle Paul mean by those terms?

Suppose you are returning to Charlotte by air, and to your surprise are upgraded to first class. You sit next to a well-dressed man, and strike up a conversation. Eventually you share your story of what God has done in your life; you share Jesus’ story, the Gospel; you tell him of your growing in Christ while at DGCC.

Your seatmate is cordial, and asks good questions. But he makes clear that he is not interested in following Jesus. But after the announcement that you’ll be on the ground in fifteen minutes, he says, “I’ve enjoyed our conversation. I admire you for what you’ve said. I think churches play an important role in our community, and yours sounds like a good one. Would you please accept this check made out to your church for $100,000?”

Would that be generous?

One dictionary defines “generous” as “showing a readiness to give more of something than is strictly necessary or expected.” On that definition, your seatmate’s action is certainly generous.

But as you know, the New Testament was written in Greek. The Greek word translated “generous” in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 would not apply to that act.

Paul is talking about a different form of generosity – a form so different from the normal meaning of the English word that the word “generous” can be misleading. Seeing this distinction is key for understanding the inner attitude Scripture commends toward others. That is: What should be going on inside us as we encounter people who have needs?

Background of 2 Corinthians 8 and 9

When Paul wrote 2 Corinthians, the church in Jerusalem was hurting. They were persecuted both by the religious leaders and by their families – often being disowned and disinherited once they came to faith in Jesus. Furthermore, the entirety of Judea had suffered a famine in recent years, and in the aftermath there was still considerable poverty. So in general, the new, Gentile believers scattered around the Roman Empire were better off financially than believers in Jerusalem.

So Paul arranges for a collection from the churches in Greece, Macedonia, and Galatia (now central Turkey) to the church in Jerusalem. He refers to this collection in a number of his letters:

  • In Galatians 2, Peter, John, and James (Jesus’ half brother) ask Paul and Barnabas, as ministers to the Gentiles, to remember the poor in Jerusalem. Paul says that was “the very thing I was eager to do” (Galatians 2:10).
  • In 1 Corinthians 16 he instructs the church to set aside money for this collection on the first day of every week. Evidently the church had made an encouraging beginning in raising funds, but then not much happened.
  • Here in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 he encourages them to complete this grace that they have begun.
  • In Romans 15, he writes that the collection is now complete, and he will be taking it to Jerusalem.

What Does “Generous” Mean

We’ve seen the normal definition of the English word “generous.” But we know that Paul does not mean “showing a readiness to give more of something than is strictly necessary or expected” in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. We see this by looking at his first letter to the same church:

If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:3)

To give away all I have certainly would be generous in the English sense of the word. That would be showing readiness to give more than is expected. But if that generous act is done apart from love, Paul says it is of no value.

That should prompt our curiosity about what Paul means by “generous” in this passage. So let’s briefly turn our attention to the Greek word he uses.

The word is used nine times in the New Testament, and three of those occurrences are in today’s text. The lexicon of New Testament Greek widely regarded as most authoritative defines this word generally as “personal integrity expressed in word or action ([as in] our colloq[uial expression] ‘what you see is what you get’) simplicity, sincerity, uprightness, frankness. Then when referring directly to today’s passage, the lexicon says the word concerns

“simple goodness, which gives itself without reserve, ‘without strings attached’, ‘without hidden agendas’ . . . ingenuousness” (Danker and Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd Edition, University of Chicago Press, 2001).

That doesn’t much sound like giving a $100,000 check.

The lexicon acknowledges that some want to use the English word “generosity” for the meaning of the word in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, but that usage “is in dispute, and it is probable that [the meaning] sincere concern, simple goodness is sufficient for all these pass[ages].”

So we have a word with a disputed meaning.

These different understandings of the meaning of the word come out in the translation of Romans 12:8. Compare the ESV and the NET (including the beginning of the sentence from verse 6):

ESV: Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: . . 8 the one who contributes, in generosity.

NET: And we have different gifts according to the grace given to us. . . 8 if it is contributing, he must do so with sincerity.

The two translations sound very different to our English ears – it sounds as if there is no overlap in the command. The ESV seems to say, “If by God’s grace you have the gift of giving, give a lot!” The NET, however, seems to say, “If by God’s grace you have the gift of giving, give out of genuine concern, with no ulterior motive.”

Now, Paul may intend to make both of these statements: “Give a lot, and give it out of sincere concern.” But he does not mean only “give a lot.”

So as we read “generous” and “generosity” in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, we must broaden the meaning of the English word. We need to examine the context closely, seeing what information that gives us, and consider that the word may mean “sincere concern.”

In examining the context, we’ll particularly focus on where Paul says generosity comes from, and what, according to Paul, it leads to.

Where Does This “Generosity” Come From?

The chapter begins in this way:

We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia (2 Corinthians 8:1)

Notice first that this generosity is a free gift of God. It is a grace of God. It is not earned. It is not self-generated. It is not the result of an emotional appeal, or a leader’s manipulation. Nor is it the result of someone begging for money. It is a gift of grace.

Now verse 2:

for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.

The Macedonians gave out of joy. They did not give out of an abundance of material goods they had owned for a long time (as in the airplane example). Nor did they give the excess out of a short term windfall. Quite the contrary. They are afflicted. They live in extreme poverty. But because they have joy, they gave. Out of the overflow of their joy, they gave.

So we begin to see the link between this passage and the earlier sermons in this series: We can have a biblical attitude towards possessions if and only if we find our identity, security, and joy in God.

Verses 3 to 5 tell us more about this joy:

For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord,begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints –and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.

Verse 3 says that they did give generously in the English sense – given their poverty, they gave much more than Paul expected. But then the Apostle goes on to explain more about the joy they had that overflowed in this gift.

Look at verse 5 first: This monetary giving results from them first giving themselves (emphatic in the Greek) to the Lord. That is, their joy is joy in God. Their giving is first and foremost a giving of themselves to God. Their contribution to the saints in Jerusalem is an overflow of that joy. They have such joy in God – as His adopted children, as His heirs, as those protected and guarded by Him – that out of the overflow of that joy they give.

But Paul’s statement is even stronger. Note in verse 4 that they have such joy in God they beg to give. Paul didn’t beg them to give. Rather, they begged Paul for the “favor” – literally, the “grace” – of contributing to this effort.

Continuing in verse 4: “begging us earnestly for the favor/grace of taking part.” “Taking part” is a loose rendering of a Greek word many of you know: “Koinonia.” Often translated “fellowship,” it means “partnership in a common purpose.”

So the Macedonians are saying something like this:

“Please Paul – don’t exclude us from this contribution just because we are poor. God has changed us! We have full joy in Him. We know how to be content when we are lacking material goods. We want to live out the partnership in the Gospel we have with our brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. We want to display the gracious character of God that we have as His children. There is nothing we would rather do with this money. This is to our joy– so don’t leave us out!”

This type of generosity is a grace of God, a gift of God, that comes from the overflow of joy in God.

So, working from this passage and 1 Corinthians 13, John Piper defines Christian love as “the overflow of joy in God that gladly meets the needs of others.”

What Does This “Generosity” Lead to?

2 Corinthians 9:11-12 helps us define this type of generosity by showing us what it leads to. Let’s begin in verse 10:

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 every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.

First, note that this generosity leads to thanksgiving to God. Why “to God” rather than “to you Corinthians”? Because those in Jerusalem know that the generosity is itself a grace of God, a gift of God! They know that joy in God prompted the giving. They know that those giving the support first gave themselves to God.

All true Christian giving results in thanksgiving primarily to God. If our giving results in thanksgiving primarily to us, that’s a problem. We’re not handling our giving correctly in that case.

Verse 13 tells us more about what this generosity leads to (we’ll quote the NET translation here):

Through the evidence of this service they will glorify God because of your obedience to your confession in the gospel of Christ and the generosity of your sharing with them and with everyone.

So, second, this generosity leads to those in Jerusalem to glorifying God. They praise Him. Why? By this generosity, God gives proof that the Corinthians are genuinely in Christ, are genuinely transformed by the Gospel. Through the “generosity of your sharing” they see evidence that these Gentiles are partners in the common purpose of the Kingdom of God. Their sincere concern as partners in the Gospel proves that God is at work among them, thereby showing that the Gentiles are joint heirs with their Jewish brethren, one family, with one common purpose. This leads those in Jerusalem to praise the God of the Gospel – the God who breaks down the “dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:14).

We see the third result of this generosity in verse 14 (returning now to the English Standard Version):

while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you.

This generosity leads to love for those giving! Prayers on their behalf! And thus a deeper partnership in the advance of the Gospel among their own people, as God’s church is united that much more across cultural differences.

So, yes, Paul is saying the Corinthians will benefit from giving. But the benefit is not a health, wealth, and prosperity gospel promise, “Give $1,000, and God will make sure that you receive $10,000.” Rather, they will receive love. They will receive prayers. They will deepen their fellowship, their partnership with the wider Church of Jesus Christ.

So now let’s step back and consider what we have seen:

  • This type of generosity comes from God; it is a gift.
  • This type of generosity is the overflow of joy in God.
  • This type of generosity leads to thanksgiving to God.
  • This type of generosity leads to praise of God.
  • This type of generosity results in love and prayers for those giving, and unity in the Gospel across the wider Church.

Note how all of this is God-centered, Gospel-centered. This generosity is prompted by God, and redounds to His glory and to the advance of His Gospel purposes. Man is not the center – either in receiving praise as the giver or in receiving support as the recipient.

Furthermore, note that money is secondary to all that is going on. Money is the vehicle used to display the overflow of joy in God. And to those receiving, money meets their material needs, but much more importantly unites them in heart in Christ with those giving.

  • Prior to Paul preaching the Gospel in Corinth and Macedonia, these Gentiles gave not a whit about the Jews in Jerusalem. Now by grace of God, they care. Because of their joy in God, they have sincere concern. They beg for the grace of giving.
  • Prior to Pentecost, the Jews in Jerusalem looked down on all those unclean Gentiles. They wouldn’t eat with them. They wouldn’t even enter their houses. Now, they long for them, they pray for them, they thank God for them, they praise the God who has welcomed into His family these, their former enemies.

That’s true, biblical generosity. It comes from God. It results in thanks and praise to God. It displays and deepens the impact of the Gospel.

How Then Can We Be “Generous”?

We want to be “generous” in this sense. We don’t want to be like those that Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 13:3, who give away all they have to no gain. We want to be like these Macedonian believers. We want to obey Paul’s injunctions to the believers in Corinth.

How do we do that?

Our inner attitudes are key: Our inner attitude toward God, and our inner attitude toward persons in need.

If we are to be truly generous,

  • we can’t give primarily to build up an institution.
  • We certainly can’t give to get recognition for ourselves, or to get influence for ourselves, or expecting more money for ourselves through giving.
  • We can’t give primarily out of gratefulness to God.
  • We can’t even give in order to accomplish some great work for God.

Instead, Paul tells us our main motive must be joy in God. Our genuine generosity, our sincere concern, must overflow from a deep joy in the One who saved as, who adopted us.

So if we are to be generous, we must seek this grace from Him. We must cultivate this joy in God daily.

We do this in part by meditating daily on the Gospel itself:

God created you, He created all of humanity to glorify Him by enjoying Him forever. He provided for our every need. Yet all of us have turned our backs on Him, have rejected Him, finding joy, fulfillment, and satisfaction elsewhere. We have arrogantly called into question His goodness, His love, His provision, His power, even His existence. Having rejected the very purpose of our creation, we deserve His rejection of us; we deserve to be cut off from the source of every good and perfect gift. And yet in His mercy and grace, God sent His Son into the world as Man to live the life each of us should have lived: To love Him with all His heart, soul, mind, and strength every minute of every day, to love each person He encountered as He loved Himself. Just as all of us reject God the Father, the authorities of His day rejected Him, and put Him to death, nailing Him to a cross. But God, through that evil act, placed on Him the iniquity of all who would trust in Him; Jesus took on Himself the punishment, the rejection, that you and I deserve. And on the third day, God raised Him from the dead, displaying that the penalty paid was more than sufficient. And He now calls all men everywhere to repent, to come to a restored relationship with Him by confessing their sin and believing and Jesus is their Savior, their Lord – indeed, the greatest treasure imaginable.

Remind yourself of these truths every morning, every afternoon, every evening. You are in Christ by grace! You are reconciled to the Father by His demonstrated love! You are being conformed to the image of Christ because of Jesus’ sacrifice.

Thus, cultivate joy in God through meditating on the Gospel, that you may be truly generous.

Furthermore, meditate on what the Gospel says about those in need.

  • If those in need are not believers in Jesus: We are to love them as we love ourselves. And as we help with their physical needs, we may well have the opportunity to speak to their yet greater spiritual needs.
  • If those in need are believers in Jesus: We can expect the results we’ve seen from 2 Corinthians 9: Thanks to God, praise of God, the progress of the Gospel, and love and prayers for ourselves.

So beg God that you may have such sincere concern in your heart. Beg God for the privilege of giving time, money, and your very self to those in need.

By God’s grace you can be truly generous, biblically generous. May He grant us that grace more and more.

But know: He has already granted us that grace in part.

  • Who has ministered the Gospel to you?
  • Who has counseled you, comforted you, and even upbraided you when necessary?
  • Who has brought you meals?
  • Who has cared for or taught your children?
  • Who has honored God through serving this church in the background, in roles which are often unseen?
  • Who has smiled at you when you were down and depressed and hurting?
  • Who has prayed for you ?
  • And, yes, who has supplied for your material needs when you experienced loss or poverty?

All these are expressions of sincere concern.

All these are expressions of this type of generosity.

All these are given by God, and the result of the overflow of joy in God.

So praise God, thank Him, and express your love and prayers for one another – even using the words of 2 Corinthians 9:14 “I love you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God upon you.”

Paul closes 2 Corinthians 9 by saying, “Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!”

  • He is the ultimate giver.
  • He is the one truly showing sincere concern.
  • He is the source of all biblical generosity.

So, may we express love and prayers for one another – and may all praise, glory, and honor be unto Him.

 

 

 

 

Where is Your Joy?

What would make you happy?

Do you ever think, “If I only had ______, I would be happy?”

  • “If I only had another $10,000 annually . . .
  • “If I only had a nicer, more reliable car . . .
  • “If I only had an Iphone . . .
  • “If I only had a better job, a better boss . . .
  • “If I only had a wife, a husband . . .
  • “If we only had children . . .

Many people think that more money, more material assets, or a better family situation would make them happy.

Most of us know that Scripture tells us that is not the case, that we are to find our greatest joy in God. Indeed, our mission statements as a church states that truth: We exist to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the JOY of all peoples.”

But how does Scripture argue that having a passion for God is truly the way to happiness? And is that consistent with what we see around us?

In this series, we are considering: Where Do You Find Identity, Security, and Joy? A Scriptural Understanding of Money, Giving, and Material Possessions. We’ve seen that we can’t find our identity in money, possessions, our jobs, or even our families. We are to find out identity in what God does through His Son: We are adopted into His family, we are His beloved children, we are heirs, joint-heirs with Christ.

We’ve also seen that it’s foolish to trust in money or possessions for security, for we may lose them all in this life, and will definitely lose them all at death. And it demeans God for us to rely on His gifts for security, rather than to trust Him. But when we trust God, we must understand what He promises. He doesn’t promise us any easy life. He doesn’t even promise that we won’t suffer hardship, illness, persecution, or early death. Yet He does promise that He will use every hardship for our good and His glory. Nothing will separate us from His love. He will bring us to Himself, and will wipe every tear from our eyes

As we turn to joy, consider the attitude of children toward their parents. Some children are loyal to their parents, and are thankful to be part of a family – but they don’t love their parents. They don’t take joy in their parents.

Or consider the attitude many of us have toward the US military. We are protected by the military, and are grateful to those who serve well. But that’s different from loving the military, from taking joy in the military.

In the same, it’s possible to be thankful to God for salvation, to be grateful for the security He promises, yet not to see Him as treasure, not to love Him with our heart, soul, mind, and strength, not to delight in Him above the joy we take in His gifts.

And to do that is not a minor sin. It is demeaning to God. It is idolatry.

So let us consider Scripture’s commands in this regard, and Scripture’s arguments so that we might truly rejoice in God, and in His Son Jesus Christ.

 

1) Scripture Commands Us to Rejoice in the Lord

a) We are to rejoice because He gives us identity and security

Note that Scripture does tell us to rejoice in the Lord because of the identity and security He gives us. For example, the psalmist says “The Lord is my strength and my song, he has become my salvation” (Psalm 118:14).  He sings a song of delight, in part, because of the security God provides.

b) We are to rejoice primarily because of Who He is

Turn to Psalm 100. Recall that when our English Bibles print the word “Lord” in all caps, the Hebrew word is not a title but the name of God, likely pronounced “Yahweh.” Substituting “Yahweh” for Lord helps us to get the point of this psalm, especially the phrase, “Yahweh is God.”

The psalm begins with three commands, each telling us to rejoice:

Make a joyful noise to Yahweh, all the earth!
Serve [worship] Yahweh with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!

Why are we to rejoice?

Know that the Yahweh, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Note that the psalmist rejoices in part in the identity and security God gives him. But more than that, He rejoices that God created us for a purpose; He created us for Himself. He created us for His praise. He is the only God, and He is truly God. So He alone is worthy of such praise.

Verse 4 then reiterates the command to delight in Him:

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!

Verse 5 then explains the primary source of this delight: God has revealed His character to us, and He is the proper object of our delight.

For Yahweh is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

He is good – he does not do evil, nor is He influenced by evil. He is loving – and that love will never end.

He is faithful, fulfilling every promise – and that will continue through all human history.

So you must delight in God. He made you – for Himself! He gives you identity, He gives you security, and these should lead to joy. But most of all: Delight in God for who He is: Good, loving, faithful.

 

2) God Gives Us the Only Possible Joy in the Next Life

It’s illogical to expect money to provide us with lasting joy, because you are eternal and money is not. You need a source of joy after the end of this life, and money won’t provide that.

Jesus speaks of this eternal joy as treasure in heaven:

Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Luke 12:32)

IF you hold on to your possessions in this life, you will lose all. There are thieves. There are moths. The most effective thief of all is death. Your possessions will not provide one bit of joy after death.

But treasures in heaven will never be taken away. For no thieves, no moths, can take from you the joy of being in God’s presence. And that’s the greatest of all the treasures in heaven: Not the streets paved with gold, not the gates made from a single pearl, but seeing Jesus face to face, being in the presence of God the Father always.

Both the Old and New Testaments highlight the joy that is ours eternally as we see God face to face:

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11)

On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. 7 And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. 8 He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken. 9 It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD/Yahweh; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” (Isaiah 25:6-9)

And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (Isaiah 35:10)

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” . . .  6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:3-4, 6-8)

In Revelation, note the similarity with the images from Isaiah 35: God wipes away our tears; He removes death. But the Revelation passage goes further. Here there are only two categories of people: Some are children of God, loved, comforted, having joy for all eternity. The others – those lacking faith – have their portion in the lake of fire. All are in one group or the other.

So we are to rejoice in Him:

  • For the identity and security He gives us
  • For His character that He reveals to us
  • For the eternity of joy He offers to all through Jesus Christ – the only alternative to eternal suffering.

 

3) And He Gives Us Great Joy Now

But there is an additional reason to rejoice in God. He gives us great joy in the present. Consider four points:

a) Eternal joy gives us joy today

Imagine you receive letter saying a rich, unknown relative died and left you $5 million. You check it out and find that the letter is not from some scammer in Nigeria, but is indeed genuine. You have to pick up the check at the Bank of America building uptown. As you are walking down Tryon Street, you you’re your friend: “Hey, on my way to pick up check for $5 mil.” But someone bumps into you right when you hit send. You drop the phone. The screen shatters.

How do you react?

Do you say, “Oh, no, my Iphone is destroyed! And I’ve got 18 more months on my contract!”

No! You’re about to pick up a check for $5 million! You can buy hundreds of Iphones! Forget the broken screen; rejoice!

Just so, the eternal joy promised us puts sorrows and failures in this life into perspective. We rejoice today because of the promises yet to be fulfilled.

b) Money and possessions do not give us true joy

We already read Psalm 16:11; fullness of joy is in God’s presence, not elsewhere.

Psalm 4:7 directly compares the joy from God with the joy from material goods:

You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.

Note that the psalmist is not saying “I will have more joy eternally than they have now.” Rather, he says, “You have put more joy in my heart.” He is speaking of the present. He sees God’s enemies having plenty of food, plenty of drink. They look to be having a great party. But the psalmist says: “I have more joy because of You than the joy that comes from the greatest party. I have more joy because of You than that produced by Mercedes and mansions.

Furthermore:

c) Riches don’t satisfy even now

Even many of those who have an abundance of riches and know nothing about the joys of fellowship with God are not happy on their own terms. Ecclesiastes 5:10 states this well:

Whoever loves money never has money enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. (NIV)

When I was in graduate school, we were part of a church in Silicon Valley. There were rich people all around us. And many, many were profoundly unhappy. Our pastor, Ray Stedman, labeled this unhappiness “Destination Sickness:” The illness that occurs when you get everything you thought you wanted, everything you worked for, everything you thought would make you happy, and find that you are still dissatisfied.

You don’t have to go to California to witness this disease. Pick up a newspaper almost any day and read of successful, rich people whose lives are a mess, who are fundamentally unhappy.

Riches are often like a drug: They give us a high, but to maintain the high, we have to obtain more and more and more and more. If we love money: We will always want more, no matter how much we have. And we will always worry that we may lose what we have. So we remain dissatisfied.

So money cannot give us joy.

God gives us joy in the future and also in the present. Let’s turn to one way He gives us joy now:

c) We have joy as we fulfill the purpose of our creation

What is that purpose?

Isaiah 43:6-7 refer to God’s scattered sons and daughters, “Whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” Thus, our purpose is to glorify Him.

Now, it’s not immediately clear that there is a link between glorifying Him and having joy. Indeed, we all know people who will sing, “O praise Him, O praise Him, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah!” with no joy whatsoever.

But God’s command to glorify Him is not burdensome. Fulfilling the command does not diminish our joy – father it is a way to joy.

Consider Psalm 67:3-4. First, a translation note. The Hebrew verbs here are in a form similar to imperatives. Most English translations use the word “let” to communicate the imperative. But “let” is ambiguous, making the verse sound as if we are asking God to give the peoples permission to praise Him. I’ll read these verses using “must” instead, which communicates the imperative force of the verbs unambiguously:

The peoples must praise you, O God;
all the peoples must praise you!
The nations must be glad and sing for joy.

As Isaiah 43 shows us, all humanity is created for God’s glory. So all the peoples must praise Him. But the psalmist then draws a parallel between praising Him and being glad, between praising Him and singing for joy.

Consider it this way: Our Creator made us to this end. He made us to take joy in Him. With that in our makeup, whenever we look elsewhere, we will eventually be disappointed. We will eventually be dissatisfied. If we do finally submit to Him, however, we find great joy, as we discover, “This is what I was made to do!”

Imagine if Usain Bolt had tried to be a weightlifter. Imagine that he goes to the gym day after day, and keeps lifting weights, but finds that others far surpass him. But then one day on a lark he goes to the track, and runs. This man was made to run! Consider his joy in discovering, “This is what I was created to do!”

That’s the joy that is ours when we turn from what never satisfies, and fulfill the purpose of our creation: Living to the praise of God’s glorious grace.

d) There is more joy in Him even when we suffer

At this point, some of you might say, “Ok, Coty, I agree that money doesn’t satisfy. I agree that God promises us joy eternally. But you’ve also said that God doesn’t guarantee freedom from suffering. And life is hard! I’ve been sick; I’ve been disappointed. People have let me down. My loved ones are suffering; others have turned their backs of Jesus; others have died young after terrible pain. And you’re telling me: This is joy?”

That’s a logical question. A good question. A question that Scripture addresses directly:

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.  10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.  11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. (John 15:9-11)

What does this have to do with suffering?

Remember that Jesus makes this statement the night before his crucifixion. In the next 24 hours, Judas will betray Him, He will be beaten, whipped, and mocked; soldiers will drive nails through His flesh; they will hang Him up naked on a cross; He will die a horrible, painful death.

This is the man who says: The Father has loved me. I remain in His love. And I have great joy in Him.

We have to understand that if we are to understand His command to us. He tells us, “You are to remain in my love. Keep my commandments. Stick close to me, and you will  have my joy, fullness of joy, joy overflowing – regardless of your circumstances, just as I have joy, regardless of my suffering.

Paul makes a similar statement in Romans 5:2-5:

Through [the Lord Jesus Christ] we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Even in our suffering, we know that God is at work. He uses suffering to conform us to the character of Jesus. And He gives us the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the Encourager, to remind us of God’s love, and to demonstrate God’s love to us.

Finally, consider the story of the Habakkuk. The prophet writes this book about 20 years after a great revival under King Josiah. But he has seen the revival peter out, and the land filled with corruption, evil, and violence. He has prayed and prayed for God to intervene, but nothing has happened. And so he cries out again, asking for justice.

God answers: “I’m going to do something you wouldn’t believe even if I told you.” At this point, Habakkuk may well have thought, “Wow! A revival even greater than I can imagine is coming!” But then God says, “You know those Babylonians – those vicious warriors? I’m going to bring them here and they will destroy your nation.”

Habakkuk is floored. He rightly asks, “How is this consistent with your revealed character, O God? Your eyes are too pure even to look at evil. So how can you use evil men doing evil deeds to accomplish your purposes? And when they conquer us, they won’t praise you – they’ll just be like fishermen praising their nets! I’m your prophet, and I have to explain this to your people – so I’m going to wait here until you help me understand.”

God does answer, saying, “My righteous one will live by faith.” He then pronounces five woes on the Babylonians – and, implicitly, on anyone who does not live by faith in Him. They will be destroyed. But in the middle of the five woes, God says:

The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. (Habakkuk 2:14)

God has a purpose. He has an eternal plan of redemption. He is working it out. And there is real pain and suffering that takes part as that plan is fulfilled. But all history is moving towards this goal. God will be glorified in all His creation. Humanity will fulfill its purpose.

Habakkuk responds to this revelation with a psalm, contained in chapter 3. He concludes with these words:

Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. 19 GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. (Habakkuk 3:17-19)

Note that Habakkuk is imagining a time when the permanent crops fail (fruit trees, grape vines, olive trees), the annual crops fail (“fields yield no food”), and the livestock all die. In an economy that was primarily agricultural, this means zero economic activity, zero income. Even in such an extreme circumstance, the prophet says: I will rejoice in the Lord! He gives me strength to go even where I don’t want to go. I will take joy in Him.

My friends, you and I were created to glorify God through delighting in Him. Yet we have all turned elsewhere to find joy.

  • We have turned from what is eternally satisfying to what will never satisfy
  • We have turned from fullness of joy to light, momentary joys
  • We have turned from the sweet fountain of life to sips of diet soda

Our God cries out to us

  • “Come to me!
  • “I will give you rest!
  • “I will give you fulfillment
  • “I will give you accomplishment!
  • “I will give you an eternal inheritance!
  • “I will give you Myself!
  • “Only in My presence is fullness of joy. Only in My presence are pleasures forevermore.

So turn to Him and be saved!

  • You won’t be protected from suffering in this life
  • You won’t be guaranteed a $5 million dollar check

But you will have what is more valuable – what no money can buy: God Himself. His arms around you. His empowerment to play your role in His plan.

This is the path to genuine joy.

So: Where is your joy?

 

How Should Christians Handle Money?

How should Christians handle money? How should we decide how much to give? How should we decide whether or not to buy a house – or a car, or a computer, or a smartphone?

We face these questions daily. How does Scripture guide is in answering them?

The Bible has much to say about these matters. But rather than giving us a list of rules – Give X percent! Don’t buy an Iphone! Only own cars more than five years old! – Scripture unveils the heart issues that strongly influence how we spend money. These heart issues include:

  • Who am I? What shapes my identity?
  • What is security, and how can I find it?
  • What is joy, and how can I find it?

This Sunday we begin a new sermon series: Where Do You Find Identity, Security, and Joy? A Scriptural Understanding of Money, Giving, and Material Possessions. Drawing on a variety of Scriptures, we’ll consider how the Bible answers these fundamental questions of identity, security, and joy, and explore the links between these answers and the way we use money and possessions.

Simultaneously, we’ll discuss how to apply these lessons practically during our adult Core Seminar (8:15am on Sundays), and, during the first half of the year, memorize several key passages on this theme. Read over these upcoming Fighter Verses below (they are divided week by week in this document). Meditate on them and pray over them. We trust that God will work powerfully through His Word to help us to hold firmly to who we are in Christ, thereby to find our security and joy fully in Him – and thus to handle money in a way that glorifies His Name.

Proverbs 3:13-18 Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, 14 for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. 15 She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. 16 Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. 17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. 18 She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed.

Luke 12:13-21 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Luke 12:32-34  “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

1 Timothy 6:6-19 Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. 11 But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, 14 to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will display at the proper time–he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. 17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

2 Corinthians 9:6-11  The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. 9 As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” 10  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. 11 You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.

Psalm 49:16-20 Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases. 17 For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him. 18 For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed–and though you get praise when you do well for yourself– 19 his soul will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see light. 20 Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

Proverbs 23:4-5 Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. 5 When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven.