MONEY, MONEY, MONEY, MONEY…MONEY
James Series 2: Riches
MONEY: The Bible says a lot about money doesn’t it? I know there are people who are not all that excited about hearing about it from church, and in many cases, I understand. But Christ never stopped talking about money, possessions, and how the two impact the lives of people.
THE NUMBERS: 16/38 of Christ’s parables were concerned with money/possessions
Out of 288 gospels, 10% involve money
Bible has 500 verses on prayer, 500 on faith, 2000 on money/possessions
AND IF WE’RE HONEST, WE TALK & THINK MONEY/POSSESSIONS A TON TOO.
GEORGE BARNA: 50% of Christians consider money as primary indicator of success
19% of Christians believe you can judge success by what they own
James understood this too, as 4 times in his message he mentions money also
THE STANDARD: The view during James’ day was as follows: a strong spiritual standing equaled to a life of strong material standing. The wealthy were rich because they were blessed by God. The poor, because they were poor, were ignored.
1. THE POSITION OF THOSE WITH MONEY
BIBLE VERSE: James 1:9-11
9The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. 10But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. 11For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.
THE SLAM: James slams the inherent messages of their society. He essentially states:
A) The Poor Man is not kept from his treasures in heaven because of his poverty.
B) The Rich Man cannot gain treasures in heaven through his wealth.
THE WAITING ROOM: I have used this before, but will continue to use it forever (besides, repetition is the best teacher). Picture a doctor’s office, picture the magazines, the quiet nurse, you know, the fish tank. Okay. What if the doctor filled the room with gold statues, had an Egyptian mummy, and served $1000 chocolate mints flown in from France? You’d say what a waste? Or, maybe not, mummies can be pretty cool. But the point is it wouldn’t be a great investment. Not smart.
Folks, we live in a waiting room, everything we do is about waiting. Our whole life is a waiting room. What is the point of working for our whole lives to leave behind a well-decorated room that will decay?
THE WEALTHY MAN STORY: There’s an old pastor story about a rich man challenges the pastor’s Biblical account that everything belongs to God. So the rich man invited the pastor to his house, showed him the mansion, the game room, the giant movie screens, the lavish sculptures, the chandeliers, the giant stuffed chimpanzee in his mother-in-laws room (it’s my story, so in my story, there’s a giant stuffed chimpanzee in the mother-in-laws room). And after the whole tour, the rich man looked at the pastor and asked the pastor, “now, are you going to try to tell me that this doesn’t belong to me?” The pastor smiled and responded, “let me wait 100 years before I give you that answer.”
2. THE EXPECTATIONS OF THOSE WITH AND WITHOUT MONEY
BIBLE VERSE: Read James 1:9-11 again (this will be specifically broken down here).
JUST MY THINKING: This passage doesn’t make any sense. Brother in humble circumstance taking pride in HIGH POSITION? What high position? The one who is rich (notice it doesn’t say brother) should take pride in his LOW POSITION? Since when is a rich man in a low position?
Moreover, even if I understand that a rich man should live like he is in a low position, why should a poor man take pride in a high position? That isn’t humble! Besides isn’t pride bad?
THE BREAKDOWN:
A. LOWLY BROTHER…RICH: Trials make all believers equally dependent on God and bring them to the same level with each other by keeping them from becoming preoccupied with earthly things. Poor Christians and wealthy ones can rejoice that God is no respecter of persons and that they both have the privilege of being identified with Christ.
B. HIS HUMILIATION: Refers to the rich believer’s being brought low by trials. Such experiences help him rejoice and realize that genuine happiness and contentment depend on the true riches of God’s grace, not earthly wealth.
PALESTINE’S FLOWERS: A picture of Palestine’s flowers and flowering grasses, which colorfully flourish in Feb. and dry up by May. This is a clear allusion to Isaiah 40:6–8, which speaks of the scorching sirocco wind that burns and destroys plants in its path. This picture from nature illustrates how divinely wrought death and judgment can quickly end the wealthy person’s dependence on material possessions
3. THE TRAP OF MONEY
BIBLE VERSE: 1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
LOVE OF MONEY ISN’T JUST BAD: IT’S THE GATEWAY SIN.
FLYPAPER: What is flypaper (allow some time for discussion, get the answer, maybe even see if one of the youth ever used it to torture a fly somehow)? Then explain that when possessions take possession, we become like fly to flypaper. We lose all sense of freedom and are trapped.
HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF MONEY BEING A TRAP
FRANK SINATRA: Excerpt from a memoir by Tina Sinatra, Frank Sinatra’s daughter
His health was in tatters and his life mired in financial wrangles, but my father refused to stop giving concerts, "I’ve just got to earn more money," he said. His performances, sad to say, were becoming more and more uneven. Uncertain of his memory, he became dependant on tele-prompters. When I saw him at Desert Inn in Las Vegas, he struggled through the show and felt so sick at the end that he needed oxygen from a tank that he kept on hand. At another show he forgot the lyrics to "Second Time Around," a ballad he had sung a thousand times. His adoring audience finished it for him. I couldn’t bear to see Dad struggle. I remembered all the times he repeated the old boxing maxim "You gotta get out before you hit the mat." He wanted to retire at the top of his game, and I always thought he would know when his time came, but pushing 80 he lost track of when to quit. After seeing one too many of these fiascos, I told him, "Pop, you can stop now; you don’t have to stay on the road." With a stricken expression he said, "No, I’ve got to earn more money. I have to make sure everyone is taken care of."
Since his death there have been constant family wrangles over his fortune.
4. THE BLESSINGS/CURSES OF MONEY
BIBLE VERSE: Deuteronomy 30:1-3
1 When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come upon you and you take them to heart wherever the LORD your God disperses you among the nations, 2 and when you and your children return to the LORD your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, 3 then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you.
ONE THING IS FOR CERTAIN: GOD USES OUR FORTUNES FOR BOTH GOOD AND BAD
HARD TO SAY:
Woman breaks leg? Seems to be a curse. But she has a heart attack in hospital & they save life. No broken leg, no saved life, blessing or curse?
Tiny old church has an endowment where money flows in. Seems to be a blessing. But with no money concerns, the 15 or so of them continue to pay the pastor salary, meet once a week, and add nobody. What would happen if they needed more funds to stay open? Is money a blessing or curse?
Family of 6 live in a small trailer, have 2 kids in each bedroom. Seems to be a curse. One of the boys catches the other brothers looking at porn, if each kid had their own room, the sin would not have been caught, would have continued? Still a curse?
PERHAPS THIS IS A GOOD TIME FOR A LEADER TO SHARE A STORY HOW THE LACK OF MONEY ABSOLUTELY TURNED OUT TO BE A BLESSING (YOUTH MAY BE SOMEWHAT SURPRISED).
Sources:
Bill, Brian. Mastering Your Money, Series: Building for the Future, Independent Bible, Pontiac Bible Church, September 2001.
Lewis, Mary. Flipped Right Side Up, Baptist, March 2002.
MacArthur, John Jr: The MacArthur Study Bible. electronic ed. Nashville : Word Pub., 1997, c1997, S. Jas 1:9
Randolph, Kelly. Rich Man, Poor Man. Baptist, October 2002.
Tina Sinatra with Jeff Coplon, My Father’s Daughter (Simon and Cchuster, 2000), quoted on PreachingToday.com
Van Biema, David & Jeff Chu. Does God Want You to be Rich? Time Magazine: the Religion Pages, September 10, 2006.
MONEY, MONEY, MONEY, MONEY…MONEY
James Series 2: Riches
MONEY:
NUMBERS:
BARNA STATS:
1. ______________________________________________________________________________
BIBLE VERSE: James 1:9-11
9The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. 10But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. 11For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.
THE SLAM: James slams the inherent messages of their society. He essentially states:
A) The ________________________ is not kept from his treasures in heaven because of his poverty.
B) The ________________________ cannot gain treasures in heaven through his wealth.
WAITING ROOM:
WEALTHY MAN:
2. THE EXPECTATIONS OF THOSE _____________ AND _____________________ MONEY
THE BREAKDOWN:
Lowly Brother:
Humiliation:
Palestine’s Flowers:
3. ____________________________________________
BIBLE VERSE: 1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
FLYPAPER:
FRANK SINATRA:
4. THE ___________________/__________________ OF MONEY
BIBLE VERSE: Deuteronomy 30:1-3
IT’S HARD TO SAY:
PERSONAL STORY: