Sunday's Sermon: Amos 1
May 7th, 2012
I started a new series of sermons yesterday, my first series from the minor prophets! I've been digging into Amos, and have a series of seven sermons planned on this book. Here's the first one - Scripture reading is Amos 1:1 to 2:5, and the sermon text is Amos 1:2a - "The LORD roars from Zion, and utters His voice from Jerusalem."
Here's the link to the audio on archive.org:
http://archive.org/details/SermonAmos12a
Here's the link to the audio on archive.org:
http://archive.org/details/SermonAmos12a
Sunday's Sermon: Proverbs 15
April 30th, 2012
Here's the last sermon from this series on the first part of the book of Proverbs - Proverbs 15, with a special focus on the last three verses of the chapter.
It's been great to work through Proverbs - there's so much to learn and apply to our lives, and in the end it all boils down to this: Fear the Lord!
http://archive.org/details/SermonProverbs15
It's been great to work through Proverbs - there's so much to learn and apply to our lives, and in the end it all boils down to this: Fear the Lord!
http://archive.org/details/SermonProverbs15
Sunday's Sermon: Proverbs 14
April 23rd, 2012
Yesterday's sermon focused on the issue of envy. Envy is distinct from jealousy, and is a root of many other sins. Here's a link to the sermon, on Proverbs 14:30 -
http://archive.org/details/SermonProverbs14
http://archive.org/details/SermonProverbs14
Sermon: Proverbs 13:4
April 16th, 2012Sunday's Sermon: Proverbs 12
April 9th, 2012
Our Scripture reading for yesterday's sermon was Proverbs 12, and the special focus of the sermon was on Proverbs 12:9 -
Better to be lowly and have a servant than to play the great man and lack bread.
Here's the link:
http://archive.org/details/SermonProverbs12
Better to be lowly and have a servant than to play the great man and lack bread.
Here's the link:
http://archive.org/details/SermonProverbs12
Good Friday's Sermon: Isaiah 43:11
April 9th, 2012
For some reason, the www.archive.org website isn't allowing me to embed the player in my blog any longer, but here's a link to our Good Friday sermon:
http://archive.org/details/SermonIsaiah4311
http://archive.org/details/SermonIsaiah4311
Sunday's Sermon: Proverbs 11
April 2nd, 2012
My recording for yesterday's sermon wasn't saved when the charge on the iPhone ran out, so there's no audio, but here's the good old-fashioned text form of the sermon.
Sermon: Proverbs 11:1-31
Sermon text: Proverbs 11:24,25
Beloved Brothers and Sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ,
According to popular wisdom, there are three things you aren't supposed to talk about in polite company - religion, politics, and money.
Obviously we don't adhere to these rules around here. Religion is our focus - how we relate to our God, and how we're called to live in light of the relationship we have with Him and His people, in our corporate worship, in our personal worship, and in the worship that we offer in every area of our lives. Rather than being a topic to avoid, our religion, our faith, and the practice that springs from that faith, should be central in all of our conversations - it should form the basis, even if not always the content, of everything we say, in every conversation we have. And from our religious belief and practice, everything else flows - including our politics, and the issue of our money, and what we do with it.
One of the most common accusations you'll hear from people who have had some negative experience with a Church or ministry is that all they want from you is your money. And to be sure, I could list off a number of preachers who appear regularly to vast audiences who certainly seem to be in it for the money, and little else. But Scripture isn't shy about talking about our money and our possessions and the way that we acquire them and use them. And even though the message of Scripture can wound us all, because it hits just a little too close to home for all of us, because we all fall short in so many ways in this area, this is something that we as God's people need to come to grips with, something that we all need to be reminded of again and again.
All of life comes under the kingship and headship of our Lord Jesus Christ, including our bank accounts, our investment portfolios, our monthly pay-cheque, and the contents of our wallets. If we confess that Jesus Christ is Lord of all, that means that He is Lord of our finances as well, and we need to submit them to His Lordship along with everything else.
Last week we spoke about our speech, and how the proverbs place a huge emphasis on the way we use our words. Our mouths need to be governed by our submission to their Creator. This week we turn to our finances, and what the proverbs have to say about them. And like the issue of our words, the issue of our money and what we do with it is indeed prominent throughout the proverbs. And we saw last week that the proverbs don't give us exact prescriptions on what to say in every individual circumstance; they give us wise principles that we are called to follow, in the wisdom that God gives us.
And in the same way, there are no exact money-management guidelines given in the proverbs - how much to give, how much to keep, who to give to, how much wealth is too much, how many assets you need to have before you have too many... But what we do have is something better than a lists of prescriptions and proscriptions - we have words of wisdom given by the Spirit of God that give us real direction, real understanding, of how we should live as stewards of the financial and material blessings that the Creator has entrusted to us.
We can learn many things about how we should handle our money in Proverbs 11 alone:
1.Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.
2.When the wicked dies, his hope will perish, and the expectation of wealth perishes too.
3.The wicked earns deceptive wages, but one who sows righteousness gets a sure reward.
4.One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.
5.Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.
6.The people curse him who holds back grain, but a blessing is on the head of him who sells it. Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf.
At Pentecost, the Lord poured out the Holy Spirit upon His church, His people. And now He expects us, and requires us, to use wisdom that has been given to us by the Holy Spirit in order to rightly manage our possessions and our finances.
The first thing that the proverbs do is to put our wealth in perspective. Our world is built on wealth, on money - on earning money, on figuring out how to keep it, and on spending it. The world's economy seems to be based on nothing else than the constant and flagrant violation of the Tenth Commandment. From childhood on, we are encouraged to covet - to desire things that we are led to believe will make us happy, things that we're told will give our lives meaning and purpose, things that we're assured will truly satisfy us. An earth-bound, worldly philosophy, a philosophy that has its eyes firmly fixed on this life and on earthly things, can lead to nothing else.
A philosophy that says that the 70 or 80 years of breath that you have on this earth is all there is, can only lead to the idolizing of possessions, of wealth, and of everything that money can buy. Given a materialistic world-view, a world-view that says that we are the products of random chance, that nothing in this world has a real cause or a real purpose, the only rational choice is to try to squeeze the most out of this life that we possibly can, without regard for the consequences, without regard for eternity, which, in the materialistic way of thinking, is a meaningless concept anyway.
But the proverbs, and all of God's Word, reaches down to earth, grabs us, and shakes us out of the dullness and stupidity that comes from worldly wisdom. The proverbs lift us up out of the mud of the earth, and raise our eyes to the heavens. We're shown that this life is not all there is. We're shown that making money and spending money is not the be-all and end-all that the world thinks it is. We're given a heavenly perspective - a God's eye view of things. As God's people, we are in the world - there's no getting around that fact. But we're called to be not of the world - we are strangers and foreigners in this world, and we need to live like strangers and foreigners - like sojourners, citizens of another, greater realm, a realm that is more real, more solid, more lasting, than anything this world has to offer.
And the view from eternity tells us that all is not as it seems. Riches will not profit on the day of wrath. No amount of wealth will deliver us from the judgement that will come upon this world. No amount of money, no amount of financial security, will provide the ultimate, spiritual security that we really need more than anything else. What will deliver us is righteousness - the righteousness that comes by faith. Only righteousness will deliver from death, and only the righteousness of Christ, which becomes our righteousness when we trust in Him for our salvation, and not in the stuff of this physical world, is enough to save us, for all eternity.
When the wicked dies, his hope will perish, and the expectation of wealth perishes too. The wicked man has placed his hope in things that don't deserve our trust. The wicked man trusts in his savings. In his investments. In his high-paying job. In his pension. The proverbs tell us that all of these things are good things, and when we see them in the proper perspective, they are blessings for the righteous. But the difference comes in when these things become the object of our trust, of our reliance. When we rely on our job, instead of on the God who gave us our job, we're relying on something that's nothing more than a vapour, a smoke, a wind - the vanity of vanities that Solomon speaks about in Ecclesiastes. When we rely on our savings, instead of on the One who gave us the means to earn the money that we have, and the ability to save it, we're relying on something that is not worthy of our trust.
The wicked hopes in the things of this world. The wicked doesn't look to the Creator and giver of all things, but he looks to the things themselves. And when he perishes, his hope perishes right along with him, because it was nothing to begin with. He may have been looking forward to achieving more, to earning more, to retiring with a great bank account and the ability to travel and rest and soak up the sun on some of this world's most beautiful beaches, but when he takes his final breath, there's absolutely nothing else to look forward to. Because He trusted in this world and in the things of this world, He will receive from the Creator the due penalty for His error, and He will spend eternity, sad to say, with the one whom our Lord Jesus calls 'the ruler of this world.'
An eternal perspective - that's the first thing we need. We need to see our possessions in their proper light, in the light of God's Word. And God's Word tells us that we need to lay up our treasures in heaven, not here on earth, where rust and moth destroy. Because where our treasure is, there our heart will be also. If your treasure is on earth, if you're relying on earthly things instead of in the God of Heaven, your heart will be set on this world. But if your treasure is in heaven, you're starting off your relationship with money and possessions on the right foot. We need to be able to say this, along with Job, who, when everything he had was taken from him, said these words: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD" (Job 1:21). Job had an eternal perspective. He knew that he wouldn't be able to take it with him when he was gone. And he knew that the ultimate goal in everything was the praise of God's holy name.
So that's our starting point. Our earthly treasures are temporary, they won't avail in any way to achieve eternal life, and they have been entrusted to us for a limited time. But where does that leave us? Where do we go from here?
The proverbs speak about the obligation that comes from having wealth and possessions. Being generous to those who are in need is not an option - it's a requirement. And one of the greatest principles that the proverbs have to teach us is that we are to be generous with our money. Our wealth not ours, and we need to treat it as such.
We are called to work hard, and not so that we will be successful, as if material success is somehow the goal of our work:
"The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labour. All day long he craves and craves, but the righteous gives, and does not hold back" (Proverbs 21:25-26).
And we are called to give, and to give generously:
"Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor" (Proverbs 22:9).
"Whoever despises his neighbour is a sinner; but blessed is he who is generous to the poor" (Proverbs 14:21).
And our Lord Jesus said exactly the same thing: "It is more blessed to give, than to receive." And this command is echoed by the Apostle Paul - he gave Timothy these instructions as an elder in the Church: "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" (1 Timothy 6:17). Timothy was to call them, and God's Word calls us today, "to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for ourselves as a good foundation for the future, so that we may take hold of that which is truly life" (1 Timothy 6:18,19). When your hands are full, they can't grasp on to anything else. When your hands are so tightly gripped to your money and your possessions, you won't be able to take hold of anything else; and the most important thing that we need to take hold of is "that which is truly life." And that life is found in our God, in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Parable of the Sower shows us just what it is that can stop the Word from growing and thriving in our lives - the deceitfulness of riches. When they're wrongly used, when they become the master in our lives instead of the servant, when they become functional gods in the place of the one true God, when we become to stingy to help others because we're so worried about our own personal security, when making money becomes more important to us than living a life of love toward our God and our neighbour, our riches are a snare, a trap, a deceiver, a tool of Satan to lead us from the path of righteousness, the path of wisdom, and right onto the path of foolishness, which leads to the grave.
Wealth is a blessing from God; God doesn't prefer the poor to the wealthy, He doesn't have a special love for those who are in poverty, and He doesn't have a special preference for those who are rich. But the proverbs do tell us that wealth can be a good thing - "The wealth of the rich is their fortress; the poverty of the poor is their ruin" (10:15); "Wealth brings many friends, but the poor are left friendless" (19:4). But when the wealthy begin to think that their ultimate fortress, their ultimate security, is in their money, they're in for a world, and an eternity, of hurt: "The wealth of the rich is their strong city; in their imagination it is like a high wall." Ultimately wealth can only be a blessing if we do not hold on to it too tightly.
And the amazing thing about God's economy is that He overturns all expectations, even when it comes to our money. "A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself" (11:17). "Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and will be repaid in full" (19:17). "Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing, but one who turns a blind eye will get many a curse" (28:27). It seems to be a paradox; it seems to go against logic; but it's the truth. The person who is stingy will suffer want, but the generous person will receive back in abundance what he has given. That's the way God works. He's made a promise; give generously, and you will receive His generosity. Give freely to others, and He will give even more freely to you.
"One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want." Those are the words of our text. "Giving freely" here is “scattering” - like scattering seed - distributing something widely, generously, without holding back. But the one who scatters will receive the increase. Human expectations are overturned. The one who keeps his hands in his pocket, holding on tight to his wallet and its contents, will only come to lack everything.
And this isn't just an Old Testament concept. The Apostle Paul makes the same point, very powerfully, in 2 Corinthians 9:6-11:
"Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 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. As it is written, 'He has distributed freely, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.' 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 for all your generosity, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God."
This isn't meant to be our motivation. When we give, we must give for the right purposes, with the right motives. The prosperity gospel of the TV evangelists tells us that we can get rich if we send money to the right people, and they use that message as their great motivator. They appeal to human greed in order to get people to give. But that shouldn't be our motive; it's a by-product, a God-given result, of generosity. Those who give freely, those who are generous in supporting the poor, in supporting the ministry of the Church, in helping those who are in need, find themselves being blessed beyond their imagination. Because their heart is in the right place, and because their actions of love for God and for their neighbour work within God's economy. Again and again we've seen how wisdom means understanding the way that the Creator God has ordered His creation, and living within the boundaries that He has set out. Wisdom works. Wisdom ultimately pays off, in this life, and in eternity. And it only makes sense that it would, because the one who put these principles in place is the one who governs the universe that He has created.
Last week we saw how our speech is meant to promote the growth of God's kingdom. The same thing holds true for our material possessions. Charity, generosity, selfless giving, all of these things, are means to an end. Wealth and possessions are given by God so that we can share in His bounteous gifts. And those gifts are meant to be shared; He has shared them with us, and we are called to share them with others, selflessly, without thinking of ourselves first, putting others ahead of us, putting God's kingdom ahead of the personal kingdom that we are so often tempted to build up around ourselves.
And just as our Lord Jesus provides the ultimate example of sanctified speech, He also provides us with the supreme model for sanctified giving, for living our lives, in every aspect, for the benefit of others, for the glory of our Heavenly Father. He made Himself nothing. He gave up His heavenly riches, He gave up His Divine prerogative, for the sake of His people. He didn't just give money - He gave His life. And He didn't give grudgingly, or because He had to, or because He felt compelled to do it, because He was told to - He gave Himself, His entire person, willingly, in perfect, faithful obedience to His Father - not for His own sake, ultimately, but for the sake of His people. He gave Himself, His all, for us. How could we not give ourselves to Him and to others, in thankfulness? After having received such bountiful gifts and blessings from Him, how could we possibly want to be stingy toward others, to the work of His kingdom, to His people?
And He received His reward for His giving. He gave Himself for His people, and He received a people of His own as His reward. He laid down His life, with no thought for Himself, and received the crown of glory, His seat at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. He gives freely today, pouring out the Holy Spirit on His people, giving us eternal life, giving us meaning and purpose and fulfilment in this life, restoring us to wholeness and peace and joy, eternal joy. No earthly possessions, no fat bank account, no financial security, no well-paying job, has ever done that for anyone. No stack of hundred dollar bills could take the place of being united by faith with the One who took the wrath of God upon Himself to give us life. No earthly security, that will last seven or eight decades, maybe nine or ten, can compare to the heavenly security of belonging to Christ, and living a life of gratitude to Him.
Give freely; not with the goal of growing richer, but because you have been made rich already! Use your wealth for God's purposes, to bring blessing to others; He has given you the greatest blessing imaginable, and even greater blessings await those who love Him and live out that love in the way they live. He has distributed freely. He has given to the poor. His righteousness endures forever. Amen.
Sermon: Proverbs 11:1-31
Sermon text: Proverbs 11:24,25
Beloved Brothers and Sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ,
According to popular wisdom, there are three things you aren't supposed to talk about in polite company - religion, politics, and money.
Obviously we don't adhere to these rules around here. Religion is our focus - how we relate to our God, and how we're called to live in light of the relationship we have with Him and His people, in our corporate worship, in our personal worship, and in the worship that we offer in every area of our lives. Rather than being a topic to avoid, our religion, our faith, and the practice that springs from that faith, should be central in all of our conversations - it should form the basis, even if not always the content, of everything we say, in every conversation we have. And from our religious belief and practice, everything else flows - including our politics, and the issue of our money, and what we do with it.
One of the most common accusations you'll hear from people who have had some negative experience with a Church or ministry is that all they want from you is your money. And to be sure, I could list off a number of preachers who appear regularly to vast audiences who certainly seem to be in it for the money, and little else. But Scripture isn't shy about talking about our money and our possessions and the way that we acquire them and use them. And even though the message of Scripture can wound us all, because it hits just a little too close to home for all of us, because we all fall short in so many ways in this area, this is something that we as God's people need to come to grips with, something that we all need to be reminded of again and again.
All of life comes under the kingship and headship of our Lord Jesus Christ, including our bank accounts, our investment portfolios, our monthly pay-cheque, and the contents of our wallets. If we confess that Jesus Christ is Lord of all, that means that He is Lord of our finances as well, and we need to submit them to His Lordship along with everything else.
Last week we spoke about our speech, and how the proverbs place a huge emphasis on the way we use our words. Our mouths need to be governed by our submission to their Creator. This week we turn to our finances, and what the proverbs have to say about them. And like the issue of our words, the issue of our money and what we do with it is indeed prominent throughout the proverbs. And we saw last week that the proverbs don't give us exact prescriptions on what to say in every individual circumstance; they give us wise principles that we are called to follow, in the wisdom that God gives us.
And in the same way, there are no exact money-management guidelines given in the proverbs - how much to give, how much to keep, who to give to, how much wealth is too much, how many assets you need to have before you have too many... But what we do have is something better than a lists of prescriptions and proscriptions - we have words of wisdom given by the Spirit of God that give us real direction, real understanding, of how we should live as stewards of the financial and material blessings that the Creator has entrusted to us.
We can learn many things about how we should handle our money in Proverbs 11 alone:
1.Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.
2.When the wicked dies, his hope will perish, and the expectation of wealth perishes too.
3.The wicked earns deceptive wages, but one who sows righteousness gets a sure reward.
4.One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.
5.Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.
6.The people curse him who holds back grain, but a blessing is on the head of him who sells it. Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf.
At Pentecost, the Lord poured out the Holy Spirit upon His church, His people. And now He expects us, and requires us, to use wisdom that has been given to us by the Holy Spirit in order to rightly manage our possessions and our finances.
The first thing that the proverbs do is to put our wealth in perspective. Our world is built on wealth, on money - on earning money, on figuring out how to keep it, and on spending it. The world's economy seems to be based on nothing else than the constant and flagrant violation of the Tenth Commandment. From childhood on, we are encouraged to covet - to desire things that we are led to believe will make us happy, things that we're told will give our lives meaning and purpose, things that we're assured will truly satisfy us. An earth-bound, worldly philosophy, a philosophy that has its eyes firmly fixed on this life and on earthly things, can lead to nothing else.
A philosophy that says that the 70 or 80 years of breath that you have on this earth is all there is, can only lead to the idolizing of possessions, of wealth, and of everything that money can buy. Given a materialistic world-view, a world-view that says that we are the products of random chance, that nothing in this world has a real cause or a real purpose, the only rational choice is to try to squeeze the most out of this life that we possibly can, without regard for the consequences, without regard for eternity, which, in the materialistic way of thinking, is a meaningless concept anyway.
But the proverbs, and all of God's Word, reaches down to earth, grabs us, and shakes us out of the dullness and stupidity that comes from worldly wisdom. The proverbs lift us up out of the mud of the earth, and raise our eyes to the heavens. We're shown that this life is not all there is. We're shown that making money and spending money is not the be-all and end-all that the world thinks it is. We're given a heavenly perspective - a God's eye view of things. As God's people, we are in the world - there's no getting around that fact. But we're called to be not of the world - we are strangers and foreigners in this world, and we need to live like strangers and foreigners - like sojourners, citizens of another, greater realm, a realm that is more real, more solid, more lasting, than anything this world has to offer.
And the view from eternity tells us that all is not as it seems. Riches will not profit on the day of wrath. No amount of wealth will deliver us from the judgement that will come upon this world. No amount of money, no amount of financial security, will provide the ultimate, spiritual security that we really need more than anything else. What will deliver us is righteousness - the righteousness that comes by faith. Only righteousness will deliver from death, and only the righteousness of Christ, which becomes our righteousness when we trust in Him for our salvation, and not in the stuff of this physical world, is enough to save us, for all eternity.
When the wicked dies, his hope will perish, and the expectation of wealth perishes too. The wicked man has placed his hope in things that don't deserve our trust. The wicked man trusts in his savings. In his investments. In his high-paying job. In his pension. The proverbs tell us that all of these things are good things, and when we see them in the proper perspective, they are blessings for the righteous. But the difference comes in when these things become the object of our trust, of our reliance. When we rely on our job, instead of on the God who gave us our job, we're relying on something that's nothing more than a vapour, a smoke, a wind - the vanity of vanities that Solomon speaks about in Ecclesiastes. When we rely on our savings, instead of on the One who gave us the means to earn the money that we have, and the ability to save it, we're relying on something that is not worthy of our trust.
The wicked hopes in the things of this world. The wicked doesn't look to the Creator and giver of all things, but he looks to the things themselves. And when he perishes, his hope perishes right along with him, because it was nothing to begin with. He may have been looking forward to achieving more, to earning more, to retiring with a great bank account and the ability to travel and rest and soak up the sun on some of this world's most beautiful beaches, but when he takes his final breath, there's absolutely nothing else to look forward to. Because He trusted in this world and in the things of this world, He will receive from the Creator the due penalty for His error, and He will spend eternity, sad to say, with the one whom our Lord Jesus calls 'the ruler of this world.'
An eternal perspective - that's the first thing we need. We need to see our possessions in their proper light, in the light of God's Word. And God's Word tells us that we need to lay up our treasures in heaven, not here on earth, where rust and moth destroy. Because where our treasure is, there our heart will be also. If your treasure is on earth, if you're relying on earthly things instead of in the God of Heaven, your heart will be set on this world. But if your treasure is in heaven, you're starting off your relationship with money and possessions on the right foot. We need to be able to say this, along with Job, who, when everything he had was taken from him, said these words: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD" (Job 1:21). Job had an eternal perspective. He knew that he wouldn't be able to take it with him when he was gone. And he knew that the ultimate goal in everything was the praise of God's holy name.
So that's our starting point. Our earthly treasures are temporary, they won't avail in any way to achieve eternal life, and they have been entrusted to us for a limited time. But where does that leave us? Where do we go from here?
The proverbs speak about the obligation that comes from having wealth and possessions. Being generous to those who are in need is not an option - it's a requirement. And one of the greatest principles that the proverbs have to teach us is that we are to be generous with our money. Our wealth not ours, and we need to treat it as such.
We are called to work hard, and not so that we will be successful, as if material success is somehow the goal of our work:
"The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labour. All day long he craves and craves, but the righteous gives, and does not hold back" (Proverbs 21:25-26).
And we are called to give, and to give generously:
"Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor" (Proverbs 22:9).
"Whoever despises his neighbour is a sinner; but blessed is he who is generous to the poor" (Proverbs 14:21).
And our Lord Jesus said exactly the same thing: "It is more blessed to give, than to receive." And this command is echoed by the Apostle Paul - he gave Timothy these instructions as an elder in the Church: "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" (1 Timothy 6:17). Timothy was to call them, and God's Word calls us today, "to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for ourselves as a good foundation for the future, so that we may take hold of that which is truly life" (1 Timothy 6:18,19). When your hands are full, they can't grasp on to anything else. When your hands are so tightly gripped to your money and your possessions, you won't be able to take hold of anything else; and the most important thing that we need to take hold of is "that which is truly life." And that life is found in our God, in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Parable of the Sower shows us just what it is that can stop the Word from growing and thriving in our lives - the deceitfulness of riches. When they're wrongly used, when they become the master in our lives instead of the servant, when they become functional gods in the place of the one true God, when we become to stingy to help others because we're so worried about our own personal security, when making money becomes more important to us than living a life of love toward our God and our neighbour, our riches are a snare, a trap, a deceiver, a tool of Satan to lead us from the path of righteousness, the path of wisdom, and right onto the path of foolishness, which leads to the grave.
Wealth is a blessing from God; God doesn't prefer the poor to the wealthy, He doesn't have a special love for those who are in poverty, and He doesn't have a special preference for those who are rich. But the proverbs do tell us that wealth can be a good thing - "The wealth of the rich is their fortress; the poverty of the poor is their ruin" (10:15); "Wealth brings many friends, but the poor are left friendless" (19:4). But when the wealthy begin to think that their ultimate fortress, their ultimate security, is in their money, they're in for a world, and an eternity, of hurt: "The wealth of the rich is their strong city; in their imagination it is like a high wall." Ultimately wealth can only be a blessing if we do not hold on to it too tightly.
And the amazing thing about God's economy is that He overturns all expectations, even when it comes to our money. "A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself" (11:17). "Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and will be repaid in full" (19:17). "Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing, but one who turns a blind eye will get many a curse" (28:27). It seems to be a paradox; it seems to go against logic; but it's the truth. The person who is stingy will suffer want, but the generous person will receive back in abundance what he has given. That's the way God works. He's made a promise; give generously, and you will receive His generosity. Give freely to others, and He will give even more freely to you.
"One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want." Those are the words of our text. "Giving freely" here is “scattering” - like scattering seed - distributing something widely, generously, without holding back. But the one who scatters will receive the increase. Human expectations are overturned. The one who keeps his hands in his pocket, holding on tight to his wallet and its contents, will only come to lack everything.
And this isn't just an Old Testament concept. The Apostle Paul makes the same point, very powerfully, in 2 Corinthians 9:6-11:
"Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 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. As it is written, 'He has distributed freely, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.' 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 for all your generosity, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God."
This isn't meant to be our motivation. When we give, we must give for the right purposes, with the right motives. The prosperity gospel of the TV evangelists tells us that we can get rich if we send money to the right people, and they use that message as their great motivator. They appeal to human greed in order to get people to give. But that shouldn't be our motive; it's a by-product, a God-given result, of generosity. Those who give freely, those who are generous in supporting the poor, in supporting the ministry of the Church, in helping those who are in need, find themselves being blessed beyond their imagination. Because their heart is in the right place, and because their actions of love for God and for their neighbour work within God's economy. Again and again we've seen how wisdom means understanding the way that the Creator God has ordered His creation, and living within the boundaries that He has set out. Wisdom works. Wisdom ultimately pays off, in this life, and in eternity. And it only makes sense that it would, because the one who put these principles in place is the one who governs the universe that He has created.
Last week we saw how our speech is meant to promote the growth of God's kingdom. The same thing holds true for our material possessions. Charity, generosity, selfless giving, all of these things, are means to an end. Wealth and possessions are given by God so that we can share in His bounteous gifts. And those gifts are meant to be shared; He has shared them with us, and we are called to share them with others, selflessly, without thinking of ourselves first, putting others ahead of us, putting God's kingdom ahead of the personal kingdom that we are so often tempted to build up around ourselves.
And just as our Lord Jesus provides the ultimate example of sanctified speech, He also provides us with the supreme model for sanctified giving, for living our lives, in every aspect, for the benefit of others, for the glory of our Heavenly Father. He made Himself nothing. He gave up His heavenly riches, He gave up His Divine prerogative, for the sake of His people. He didn't just give money - He gave His life. And He didn't give grudgingly, or because He had to, or because He felt compelled to do it, because He was told to - He gave Himself, His entire person, willingly, in perfect, faithful obedience to His Father - not for His own sake, ultimately, but for the sake of His people. He gave Himself, His all, for us. How could we not give ourselves to Him and to others, in thankfulness? After having received such bountiful gifts and blessings from Him, how could we possibly want to be stingy toward others, to the work of His kingdom, to His people?
And He received His reward for His giving. He gave Himself for His people, and He received a people of His own as His reward. He laid down His life, with no thought for Himself, and received the crown of glory, His seat at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. He gives freely today, pouring out the Holy Spirit on His people, giving us eternal life, giving us meaning and purpose and fulfilment in this life, restoring us to wholeness and peace and joy, eternal joy. No earthly possessions, no fat bank account, no financial security, no well-paying job, has ever done that for anyone. No stack of hundred dollar bills could take the place of being united by faith with the One who took the wrath of God upon Himself to give us life. No earthly security, that will last seven or eight decades, maybe nine or ten, can compare to the heavenly security of belonging to Christ, and living a life of gratitude to Him.
Give freely; not with the goal of growing richer, but because you have been made rich already! Use your wealth for God's purposes, to bring blessing to others; He has given you the greatest blessing imaginable, and even greater blessings await those who love Him and live out that love in the way they live. He has distributed freely. He has given to the poor. His righteousness endures forever. Amen.
Sunday's Sermon: Proverbs 10
March 30th, 2012
I've been away this week, so I haven't had a chance to upload last Sunday's sermon until today. Here it is:
http://archive.org/details/SermonProverbs10
And while I'm here, here's what I've been up to this week! I travelled down to the Fraser Valley on Monday. On Tuesday I attended the meeting of Classis Pacific West in Cloverdale. One of the items on the agenda was an opportunity for the churches in our classis to report on what's happening in each of our congregations in the area of evangelism and missions. It was great to have the opportunity to speak about the mission in Prince George, and it was even better to hear about all the things that are going on in the churches.
Mission work in Brazil, mission work among Chinese people in the Lower Mainland, local initiatives and opportunities, and some exciting new developments - there's a lot going on in our churches, and it's a joy to hear about everything that's happening, and the way our faithful God is blessing the efforts that He has initiated.
Then on Wednesday evening, I was able to give a presentation to a good-sized group of people in the Willoughby Heights Canadian Reformed Church, and also to hear a presentation by Justin Roukema, who has been assisting in the work that's being done in Brampton, Ontario to spread the good news in the Greater Toronto Area. In Brampton, they have begun to work on a Reformed Study Centre, and they've developed a website. It's an exciting initiative, so check out their website:
www.wordandspirit.ca
http://archive.org/details/SermonProverbs10
And while I'm here, here's what I've been up to this week! I travelled down to the Fraser Valley on Monday. On Tuesday I attended the meeting of Classis Pacific West in Cloverdale. One of the items on the agenda was an opportunity for the churches in our classis to report on what's happening in each of our congregations in the area of evangelism and missions. It was great to have the opportunity to speak about the mission in Prince George, and it was even better to hear about all the things that are going on in the churches.
Mission work in Brazil, mission work among Chinese people in the Lower Mainland, local initiatives and opportunities, and some exciting new developments - there's a lot going on in our churches, and it's a joy to hear about everything that's happening, and the way our faithful God is blessing the efforts that He has initiated.
Then on Wednesday evening, I was able to give a presentation to a good-sized group of people in the Willoughby Heights Canadian Reformed Church, and also to hear a presentation by Justin Roukema, who has been assisting in the work that's being done in Brampton, Ontario to spread the good news in the Greater Toronto Area. In Brampton, they have begun to work on a Reformed Study Centre, and they've developed a website. It's an exciting initiative, so check out their website:
www.wordandspirit.ca
Sunday's Sermon: Proverbs 8
March 12th, 2012
Scripture reading: Proverbs 8
Sermon text: Proverbs 8:22-31
Sermon text: Proverbs 8:22-31