Sermon for Sunday October 12th, 2008

Contentment in the Midst of Financial Catastrophe by Marc Axelrod

1 Timothy 6:6-6:10

This past summer, someone sent me this lighthearted stock market report. “Helium was up. Feathers were down. Paper was stationary. Knives were up sharply. Pencils lost a few points.

Elevators rose, while escalators continued their slow decline. Weights were up in heavy trading.

Light switches were off. Diapers remain unchanged. And the market for raisins dried up.

Coca Cola fizzled. Caterpillar stock inched up a bit. Balloon prices were inflated. And, Scott Tissue touched a new bottom.

This Dow Jones report is designed to make us smile. But no one’s smiling over the real Dow Jones report. All across America, people are worried about the economy. “Am I going to be able to get student loans for college? Am I going to be able to get financing for a new car? Am I going to have any money left in my pension by the end of the year?”

And so the Holy Spirit has convinced me that we need to hear an encouraging word from God. We need a word from the Lord that will help us to make it through these turbulent times. So we’re going to look at 1 Timothy chapter 6 and talk about how to be strong in the Lord in times of financial catastrophe.

In 1 Timothy 6:3-5, Paul warns Timothy about the false teachers who are more interested in the almighty dollar than in Almighty God.

And beginning in 1 Timothy 6:6, he says “We’re not supposed to be like that. We need to learn how to be content with what we have. Verse 6 says "godliness with contentment is great gain." The word for “contentment” in Stoic literature referred to someone who was self-sufficient. But in Christian literature, it describes someone who is unflappable and unmoved by outward circumstances. This person says “I am content because there are more capital gains in a relationship with Jesus Christ than there are in the stock market. I am content because even though I don’t have everything I want, God supplies me with everything I need. I am content because the joy and fulfillment that I feel doesn’t come from what I have in my life but WHO I have in my life!” Philippians 4:11 says “I have learned to be content WHATEVER the circumstances!

About 8 years ago, the Daily Bread had a story of a rich man who was frustrated to find a fisherman sitting lazily beside his boat. "Why aren’t you out there fishing?" he asked.

"Because I’ve caught enough fish for today," said the fisherman.

The rich man said "Why don’t you catch more fish than you need?’

"What would I do with them?"

"Well, you could earn more money and buy a better boat so you could go deeper and catch more fish. You could purchase nylon nets, catch even more fish, and make more money. Soon you’d have a fleet of boats and be rich like me."

The fisherman asked, "Then what would I do?"

The rich man said "Then you could sit down and enjoy life.”

The fisherman said, "What do you think I’m doing right now?!"

You don’t have to have a lot of money to enjoy life! 2 Peter 1:3 says that God has already given us everything we need! We have food. We have clothing. We have shelter. We have nature. We have sunshine. We have music on the radio! We have family!

And even if you’re fortunate enough to have a little bit of money in this world, don’t get too over-confident, because you can’t take it with you anyway! 1 Timothy 6:7 says “For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.” I’ve never seen a hearse pulling a UHaul. God in His grace gives us what we need to live for Him and minister for Him in a fallen world. If we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

And then in verse nine, Paul says “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires.” Now let’s read this carefully. Paul isn’t saying that it’s a sin to be rich. He’s saying that “People who WANT to get rich fall into temptation and into many foolish and harmful desires.” If getting rich is the WANT of your life, if getting rich is the goal of your life, you’re going to fall into temptation. You’re going to be tempted to spend too much time at work and not enough time with your family. You’re going to be tempted to spend more time fussing over the job and not enough time worshipping the One who got you the job!

And you’re going to be tempted to believe that having more wealth will bring you more happiness.

Some are tempted to say “I’ll be happy when my pension gets back above $100,000. I’ll be happy when I have the money for that new MP3 player. I’ll be happy when I can finally afford that new minivan.”

But the purpose of life is not about the purchase of happiness. It’s about the pursuit of godliness! It’s about running after God and being content with what HE gives us!

Now don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing wrong with saving money for a car, or for college, or for Christmas, or even for retirement. Proverbs 13:11 says that “He who gathers money little by little makes it grow.” Wise people with God’s help save for the future. That’s good.

But when growing your portfolio becomes more important than growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, then you are missing the whole reason for why you were created. How do I know that? Because Ephesians 2:10 says that “we were created in Christ Jesus to do good works! We weren’t merely created to make money, We were created to make a difference! We were created to minister the love of Jesus!

And that’s why Paul says in verse ten that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” Notice that he doesn’t say “MONEY is the root of all evil.” Because making money is something we all have to do. Paul says that it’s THE LOVE OF MONEY that we gotta watch out for! Because any time you love something more than you love Jesus Christ, you are guilty of idolatry. Any time you value the gift more than the giver, you’re treading on thin ice.

It makes me think of the story about the man who was on his death bed. He calls for his minister, his doctor and his lawyer. "He said I’m giving each of you $30,000 cash. I trust you to put this in my coffin when I die so I can take my money with me."

At the funeral, each man put an envelope in the coffin. Riding away in a limousine, the priest suddenly breaks into tears and says, "I’m a bad man. I only put $20,000 cash in the envelope and kept the rest for myself."

The doctor says "Well, since we’re confiding in each other, I only put $15,000 cash in the envelope and kept the rest for myself.”

The lawyer says. "I’m ashamed of both of you. I want it known that when I put my envelope in that coffin, I enclosed a check for the full amount!”

In other words, “He held on to the money.” When love for money becomes more important than doing the right thing, it becomes a root for all kinds of evil actions.

And that’s why Paul says in verses 11-12, “ 11But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. In other words, “we weren’t put on this earth to chase after riches. We were put on this earth to chase after righteousness! We’re here to chase after God!”

Having said that, I agree that what is happening to the economy is heartbreaking. Some of you have been faithfully saving money for retirement. And now that you’re ready to retire, a lot of the money is gone. Thanks to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and all the people who defaulted on their loans and on their mortgages, you might have to keep working.

And that’s why Paul says in 1 Timothy 6:17 “Command those who are rich in this world not to hope their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to hope their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”

You say, "This doesn't apply to me. I’m not rich." Let me tell you something: If you have a house, a car, a couch, and money in the bank, you’re richer than about 80% of the people on planet earth. And the apostle Paul is saying, "Since none of this stuff is certain to last forever, we need to put our hope in the One who is the Lord of forever!"

I have a dollar bill with me here in the pulpit. Who can tell me what it says on the back of the dollar bill? That’s right. “In God we Trust.” Even our money tells us “Don’t trust me! I’m not reliable! Only GOD is reliable!”

My prayer is that financial security will no longer be the goal of our lives. But that getting to know Jesus Christ will be the goal of our lives! My prayer is that the current crisis will move people to have a crisis of faith and turn to Jesus for salvation. My prayer is that instead of trying to get a piece of the rock, we would stand tall on the Rock of Ages!

I got an email a while back from my cousin’s co-worker. She’s a sweet Christian lady, and this is what she said:

Last week the president of our company said there would be lay offs. Will I still have a job? I have no idea, but after 22 years, I sure hope so. But if I don’t, I still have Jesus Christ, and He is priceless! He will never leave me nor forsake me (Deut. 31:6), and surely He is with me always, to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:20). I stand on these and other scriptures! I’m Jesus’ disciple - no matter what the stock market does. The money was all His to begin with - I came into the world with nothing; and I will leave with nothing.”

Since everything belongs to God, we need to be content with what God gives us. One thing we can do is to take out a piece of paper. On the left side of the paper, write down all the things you need to get through this life. Things like food, clothing, shelter, Packer tickets … just kidding about the Packer tickets. That one belongs on the right side of the paper. That’s where I want you to write down your wants and your wishes.

Then spread the paper on the table before God and say “Lord, I am relying on you for the things I need. And I pray that I’ll get the things I want only if they enhance my life and ministry for you. If the things I want take me further away from you, they I don’t want them anymore. 1 John 5:14 says that “This is the confidence we have in approaching God, that if we ask anything ACCORDING TO HIS WILL, he hears us.” Lord, if it’s not according to your will, I don’t want it.”

Another thing we can do is to make a sizeable investment in the Bank of Heaven. Invest ten minutes a day talking to God. Confess you sins. Count your blessings. Give Him your worries. And pray for the needs of others. And then read a chapter out of the Bible which will allow God to speak to you.

A third thing we can do is to enjoy the blessings we DO have! Come with us on Saturday when we go up to Door County to check out the Fall colors. Take a trip to the library and check out some DVDs. Read that novel you’ve always wanted to read. Go to Stockbridge and see how pretty the Calumet County Park can be this time of year.

A fourth thing we can do is to do some research online about the safest ways to save for the future. We can ask God for wisdom in making the right decisions. James 1:5 says “if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who generously gives to all without finding fault.”

If you’re here with us this morning, and you’re not as close to God as you would like to be, then I invite you to come to Jesus Christ. He is the only guarantee there is for a prosperous future. His kingdom is worth the investment of your life. Your love. And your support. He died on the cross to pay for your sins. Then he rose from the dead on Easter Sunday to be your Savior and Lord. Give your life to the one who gave his life for you. Let’s pray