Contending Against Idols: Round 2 Anthony Uvenio VS. Materialism
Listen as Pastor Anthony Uvenio exposes what materialism is and why it's a self deception.
At the recent Contending for the Faith Conference, Anthony Uvenio, an elder at Hope Reformed Baptist Church, tackled the profound issue of materialism
Transcript
So my name is Anthony Ovinio, and I'm one of the elders here at Hope Reform Baptist Church I'm glad to be part of this contending for the faith conference.
Pastor Phil was the one who brought it to my attention We did one at his church last week, and he came up with the great idea of doing one here
So you can thank Phil for first of all for his talk and for this idea. So this morning
I'm going to be speaking on the idol of materialism So before we talk about idols and idolatry, we need to define what idolatry is
So listen how the AI version of dictionary .com defines idolatry
Dictionary .com not a prominent source of rich theological truth, okay?
Yet it defines idolatry like this The worship of false or the excessive devotion to something that is not
God in Religious context it refers to the act of giving divine honor or worship to a created being such as an image statue or object rather than the one true
God Idolatry can also be applied to secular contexts where individuals become overly attached to material possessions wealth or power
Elevating them above their proper place in life Goes on to say the concept of idolatry is often associated with the
Ten Commandments Where it is explicitly forbidden in the biblical account the
Bible makes it clear that Idols are nothing more than pieces of wood or stone carved by human hands and that they have no power of their own
That's not such a bad definition From AI right? So that was the
AI definition now for the AUV definition. That's me Idolatry is taking that which is good and making it that which is ultimate
It's basically exchanging God who's ultimate with something common Placing it above God before God or alongside
God in thought deed or devotion Idolatry is marked by finding satisfaction in things ideas or Practices that can only fat be found in God and come from God Idolatry is seeking satisfaction or hope in things that only
God can provide and satisfy So if you believe that it's money or possessions that will satisfy you that they will fulfill and meet your deepest needs
Then you're practicing idolatry. In other words, you're finding satisfaction Satisfaction pleasure hope and comfort in something that only
God can supply But the idol that we're addressing here today materialism money is a counterfeit it cannot replicate
God no matter how much you want it to or think it will as You do this it actually becomes self -deception
So now listen to the Lexham Theological Dictionary definition of idolatry Idolatry technically refers to the worship of an image or figure considered a representation or copy of the deity due to Yahweh's prohibition of images the worship of any image was worship of a god other than Yahweh an
Act that amounts to read the rejection of and rebellion against the only true God Base boil it down real quick.
An idol is just a cheap inadequate imitation of God So now that we have an understanding of what an idol is, how do we define materialism?
here's again This is what AI had to say just for your information. I wasn't using
AI. I wasn't intentionally seeking this out It just came up in the searches that I did. So here's what it said materialism refers to a philosophical or economic perspective that emphasizes the importance of material possessions
Wealth and physical objects in achieving happiness or fulfillment materialists often prioritize tangible assets such as money goods and services over intangible values like relationships experiences and personal growth materialism can also be described can also describe cultural norms and values that prioritize consumerism and material acquisition the concept of materialism has been debated by scholars and philosophers with some arguing that it can lead to Dissatisfaction and imbalance while others see it as as a natural part of human nature again
Not such a bad definition The definition is right in that it does lead to dissat that dissatisfaction and imbalance
Because it's the natural result of the falling human condition disconnected from God Now I like Randy Alcorn's definition
He says material materialism begins with our beliefs not merely what we say we believe not our doctrinal statement or Confession, but the philosophy of life by which we actually live
So even though true Christians would deny belief in the philosophical underpinnings of materialism
They may be nonetheless preoccupied with material things Materialism first and foremost is a matter of the heart it becomes a way of life so in The fallen human condition of mankind who used to be in perfect fellowship and perfect harmony with God in whom there is nothing higher or more perfect Mankind tries to find
Imitate and replicate that perfect fellowship and that perfect harmony with deficient
Impersonal and imperfect things things that are marred by sin things that cannot be
God, but try to imitate him and replace him and that's a fool's errand and Everyone in here has experienced this in some way shape or form
We were all created to be in fellowship with God and nothing else besides him will adequately fulfill that relational position
He is what you need and only he is what will satisfy you so Does anyone here think we live in a materialistic world aside from Madonna?
Good. Okay. Are Americans really materialistic? Is that true? Does anyone doubt this?
Just in case you do here are some statistics from worldmetrics .org 70 % of Americans believe society is too materialistic
Internally we agree the United States consumer market is the largest in the world representing over 12 trillion dollars in 2020 33 % of Americans feel pressure to spend more than they can afford during the holiday season you relate
The storage industry, you don't like those big storage units in the u .s. Is worth over 38 billion
Showing high demand for extra storage space You know the stuff that you bought that you don't use that you do transfer from the garage to now you're paying for it in a storage spot 62 % of Americans believe that having more would make them happier
Get this one American children make up 3 .1 percent of the world's children's population but own 40 % of the toys
Americans total credit card balance is 1 .15 trillion in the first quarter of 2024.
That's just the first quarter And that's according to the latest consumer debt data from the Federal Reserve That's a hundred and eighty eight billion higher than the record set in 2019
Ironically enough three out of the top four states that have the highest credit card debt are
New York, New Jersey and Connecticut Worse than that our country's national debt is 35 trillion
Have you ever seen the deck clock that thing fan spins faster than a than a jet engine it's like a fan
Right the truth and accounting website says America's real debt is a hundred and fifty six trillion It's a lot of money
Now the National Library of Medicine which is funded by the government actually does studies on materialism
Probably a thirty million dollar study right and their latest study in 2022 was titled the problematic role of materialistic values in the pursuit of sustainable well -being
In which they say this is what they conclude strong materialistic values help to maintain consumer capitalism
But they can have a negative consequences for individual well -being the paper highlights the negative association with engagement in attitudes and actions that Support the achievement of sustainable well -being
That's a very neat compact thirty million dollar way of saying you should have read your
Bible The Bible addresses this you don't need to do a thirty million dollar study to realize that Materialism is prevalent throughout the entire world and certainly in the u .s.
But this isn't just a 20th century problem We went through Pilgrim's Progress in our weekly study, and here's what
John Bunyan in 1678 wrote this is how he described the land known as vatic vanity fair He said
Beelzebub Apollyon and legion with their laborers set up this fair to provide every kind of entertainment For travelers and to sell all types of merchandise all year long year long at this fair is sold such mercy merchandise as fine houses lands stocks and bonds full security gay clothing jewelry
Expensive cosmetics gold and silver antiques pearls precious stones famed fortunes reputations virtue on a popularity positions phony titles
Counterfeit degrees contest chances games votes elections governments governmental offices personal influences padded reports propaganda falsehoods
Fictitious news he used that word before Trump did you know? fake fake news comes from John Bunyan Deceptions artificial personalities schemes tricks comics beauty queens sex appeal prostitutes human lives in the souls event pretty perceptive and pretty all -encompassing
Moreover at this fair at all times are gambling juggling cheating defrauding embezzling lying stealing swindling rogues not
Congress This is what he's talking about a vanity fair knaves libertines carnivals festivities
Drinking revelries connivings fools thugs lewd women murderers adulterers and all kinds of immoralities
The broad road that leads to destruction which brings the fair much trade lies through this town
Nothing has changed. It's gotten worse Bunyan observed these things taking place in the 1600s and what was vanity rare fair to represent?
Vanity fair symbolizes the world as a whole Especially its attraction to material goods in opposition to Christianity and self -denial
From the very beginning the demons established the fair on purpose to try to divert heavenly minded pilgrims
Is that any different than today? Even today the world is catechizing us the movies.
We watch the books. We read you ever see the movie Wall Street What does Gordon Gekko say greed is good?
Somebody saw it night Jerry Maguire show me the yeah You saw that one too, right
Al Pacino is Tony Montana when you get the money you get the power All right, it's all about money.
There are countless songs movies books advertisements about money. It's all around us. It permeates this culture
It's not too hard to see that the world has nosedive headlong into the idol of materialism with America leading the charge
Why it's the result of the self -centered sinful heart of mankind seeking to find fellowship and harmony in Created things to soothe the discomfort that sin has created
The fallen heart seeks to pacify itself with material goods and self -importance
Why? Because mankind is seeking what was lost in the fall and was previously provided by God alone
Relations relational security and a proper value the image of God in mankind's pursuit of material
Materialism the soul screams look at me. I'm someone Look at what I have.
I'm secure. I'm free. I have no needs and In in the exaltation of self they debase
God and reject his reconciliation through Jesus Because security and value is found in God alone
Even Jesus himself would tell them in Revelation 3 for you say I'm rich.
I've prospered and I have need of nothing Not realizing that you're wretched pitiful poor blind naked
I Counsel you to buy from me gold refined by the fire so that you may be actually rich With white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen and the salve
Saved to anoint your eyes so that you may see That's a stinging rebuke to anybody steeped in materialism acquiring material things to find comfort and relational value
What they don't realize is what Proverbs for 1114 teaches riches do not profit on the day of wrath
But righteousness delivers from death Right. We have bumper stickers. He who dies with the most toys wins
How about he who dies dies and you will face God someday on Judgment Day and you can't bring everything you've accumulated
To his throne. He doesn't need it. Anyway Don't they don't realize that their sin debt outweighs our national debt by trillions
They don't know what Solomon knew in Ecclesiastes chapter 2 Solomon says whatever my eyes desired
I didn't keep it from them I kept my heart from no pleasure for my heart found pleasure in all my toil and this was my reward for all my toil
Then I considered all my ways and all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended doing it
Behold, it was all vanity Striving after the wind and there was nothing to be gained under the
Sun vanity vanity Translated that means meaningless meaningless
Materialism is the way the unsatisfied and needy heart of man tries to soothe itself To appear significant better than their neighbor.
It's how sinners keep score Look at what I have and look at who I am
And worse the sinful heart lies to us by saying that who we are is based on what we have Friends our net worth does not equal our self -worth if you think that you are trading the glory of God for a lie and As an image bearer of God you have infinite worth and value already
Because you were created by a God who's of infinite worth and value. You are a reflection of him
Money and toys are no substitute for God That is where your value is derived
Regardless of man's idolatrous materialistic standard and man's desperation to redefine what
God's already defined now as an unregenerate image bearer of God the more you reject and try to escape
God's image and your relationship to your creator The worse your condition actually becomes
You cannot escape God's world regardless of how hard you try and trying harder through materialism and the acquisition of wealth
Leads to more difficult and harsher consequences You will not match the glory of God with items created by human hands
There but useless trinkets. There are no substitute for him Your desperation for significance which is really the word glory it's cabode heaviness like hey, that's heavy man significant
You're desperation for significance comes from God alone What's even more serious than thinking your worth is tied to your possessions and your value is in what you have is that so -called
Christian churches have climbed on board with this mentality and promote the health wealth and prosperity gospel
Where God and his glory is not the goal He's just the means by which you achieve your goal your goal of personal glory by means of wealth money and possessions and How that's somehow a sign of your friendship and favor with God who rewards your incredible faithfulness
It's both wicked and tragic at the same time now I just want to warn you
I almost hate bringing this up because before you take aim at that particular group and Flex your theological muscles in that direction seekingly seeking to obliterate that theology and in doing so making yourself feel better I urge you not to We all know that the prosperity gospel is a gross perversion and damnable and I'm not telling you not to reject it and call it out
However today I want you to take aim at your own heart Because it's easy to condemn and anathematize those who are in obvious ever while Overlooking the subtlety of this idol in our own heart and in our own sinful blindness.
Oh Yeah, the health wealth prosperity gospel Them me Them me right and in doing that we lull ourselves into a false sense of security because we've compared ourselves with the worst of the worst and Somehow that makes our position, right?
anyone who evangelizes know what I mean, right you talk to people about being a good person and You get to the thou shall not murder.
Well, I've never murdered anybody. I'm not as good. I'm not as bad as Hitler. Oh Good That's your story.
That's the best you got Imagine his tombstone. He lies Joe Schmoe. At least he wasn't
Hitler and You realize on Hill is tombstone.
It's gonna say at least I wasn't Stalin So I don't want us to make the same mistake today
Because the Bible has a lot to say about money and materialism and if you assess yourself in light of the worst of the worst you'll take aim at them and Neglect your own heart issue
We're not gonna be held responsible for what Benny Hinn Ken Copeland or Joel Osteen have done with their money.
We're going to be held Responsible for how we have handled our own money and our own possessions and our own heart attitude toward them
So when you take aim today take aim inward We can all do better We all have room for growth but growth doesn't happen by looking at others and comparing yourself to the worst if You're going to look outward if you're going to look outside yourself.
Look at Jesus See how you compare to him Spurgeon said discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong.
It's knowing the difference between right and almost right Let's make an effort to peer into our own hearts today in light of the scriptures in an effort to grow
To die to self to crucify the flesh and to cast down idols In doing so this will be how we make
America great again Not measuring ourselves by who we are and what we have but by measuring ourselves by who has us and what he's done as the church we need to become grateful again to the
God who rescued us from our own sin debt and Not seek to incur more sin debt by finding satisfaction in material need in material things
Greatness is not measured by what you have but who has you? Greatness is found only in who has us
God is good merciful gracious We can glory in what he's accomplishing here on earth and what he graciously shares with us.
He owns it all He doesn't boast He doesn't hoard it for himself either
He willingly and lovingly shares it with us for God so loved the world.
He hoarded it all for himself He repossessed it. He sells it to you.
No for God so loved the world He gave he gave his only begotten son.
He gave what was of ultimate value Jesus to rescue that which is ruined and distorted in the fall to restore our value
If we the church become so satisfied in God apart from material items
The world might actually take notice would you give away your greatest possession or Forsake your greatest relationship for the sake of someone who hates you
Probably not, but that's what God did We were insolent arrogant boastful haters of God Inventing ways to do evil and he put his son on a cross in our place
So I'm a simple guy and I need pithy statements to help me understand things I need an easy way to remember and inform my conscience about this topic and put it in perspective.
So here it is Real easy. We are to love the giver and appreciate the gifts not the other way around Love the giver
Appreciate the gifts not the other way around there's a significant significant difference between love and appreciation the idolatry of materialism loves the gifts and appreciates the giver maybe
And let me fill you on a Christian principle When you know God when you know
God for real and are in union with him biblically You know that God is not just the giver.
He is the gift Right when you get God you get him you get Jesus you get the greatest gift of all knowing
God through Jesus Anything he gives you after that is a blessed benefit You have all you need with him
All right So now that we've identified the problem and who not to compare ourselves to and come up with a pithy statement to explain it
Now, let's turn to God and his word and see what the creator of all things has to say about materialism and idolizing money
So does anybody know how often the Bible speaks about money and possessions How many verses there are concerning money possessions greed generosity any guesses?
Yeah Nobody Twelve no
No, okay. There's about 2 ,400 verses that concern money in the
Bible. That's twice as many as faith That's twice as many of as prayer and it's twice as many as faith and prayer combined
That in and of itself should concern us It should cause us to pause since the
Bible would not address such a topic at this length And so frequently if it wasn't a serious issue
Here's how important Jesus thinks it is. He would tell us no servant can serve two masters
Either he will hate one and love the other or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other
You cannot serve both God and mammon Jesus here speaks of mammon as a potential master a
Potential Lord another Lord that we can serve and don't kid yourself Mammon is looking for you to serve it mammon is looking for your devotion
Here Jesus is saying that mammon is going to compete for your attention Mammon is going to compete for your heart
Mammon is going to come compete for your devotion. Mammon is going to compete for you servicing it it's almost as if mammon has a voice that can speak to you a
Personality all its own that whispers serve me As a
Christian your allegiance to God will be tested and your love for one God or mammon
Should result in hate for the other you will despise the other we need to be careful in what we love and serve
Because Jesus explains this is not a both -and situation. It's either or it's God or the
Almighty dollar Imagine being married and tell your wife, you know,
I Love you, but I do like other women only a little bit. Oh, yeah, not nearly as much as I love you
She's not even close to you in any way I would only take her out once Six eight months not a big deal.
I love you. How do you think that would go over? You'd immediately Incur more credit card debt as she purchased your own casket, right?
This isn't gonna work. You can't love both You would be right and saying that's not love love is
Exclusive devotion to your spouse and no one else The pithy statement love your spouse appreciate other women
Love the giver appreciate the gifts where your treasure is there Your heart will be also your heart is tied to and will follow your treasure
If you treasure God and use money your heart will be in proper alignment with him in his kingdom
But if you treasure money and use God your heart and actions will reflect that as well
Your devotion no matter how strong or slight will result in hate for the other despising the other
Look at all the currency and coin we print here in the u .s. All u .s.
Currency has a person on it mostly presents as if The money were made somehow some way to be personal
Those dead presidents are trying to speak to you Remember idols are nothing more than pieces of wood or stone or paper
Created by human hands and they have no power of their own The only power money has is the power that you give it
But money tells you you need me to get power fame without me You can't go on vacation without me.
You don't get your new car without me. You don't have a new phone It's talking to you
Ironically just a casual observation. None of the people on the currency of money that we have a smiling. They're all
They don't smile. So why should we? Remember idols are nothing more than pieces of wood or stone
Paper made by human hands and they have no power of their own Listen to what
Jesus says again Luke 12 15 take care and be on guard against all covetedness For one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions
The verb here for take care is Horo and it means be vigilant alert
Watchful and the word guard is falaso, which means to restrain oneself like lasso
So be vigilant guarding watching carefully to restrain yourself against covetedness
So that your life isn't characterized or defined by what you have But who has you once again our lives need to be a witness of who has us who owns us not what we have
Now you may have heard the term usually about politicians Oh that guy's bought and paid for right you guys know what that means, right?
He's being paid He's either being bribed or paid through PAC money to fight for something that someone else wants
They're being given money to fight for cause they wouldn't normally fight for So, can I suggest to you that you can identify someone by what they're fighting for Ask yourself if someone to look at your life
What would they say you're fighting for? Would it be obvious to them what you're fighting for the refrain now is follow the money see where the money goes
That's gonna tell you who's behind it Church, you were not bought with money But you were bought with a price the life and the blood of the
Savior You need to know who you're fighting for and what you're fighting for you're fighting for the king and his kingdom
We are not on a cruise ship. We are on a battleship. Stop pretending like it's a cruise ship Please also consider my early warning and not think about someone, you know who we may be struggling with this idol
Consider your own heart today look inward because this idol is insidious. It's sneaky
Have you ever quoted 1st Corinthians 6 9 to somebody when you when you're Evangelizing them or talking with them someone's suffering from same -sex attraction
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God do not be deceived neither the sexually immoral nor the idolaters
Nor adulterers nor men who practice homosexually will inherit the kingdom of God see what you're doing is sinful
But somehow we leave off the part of the verse that says the greedy will not inherit the kingdom of God.
That's part of it Check your heart. This might be why Paul starts the verse by saying do not be deceived.
You know why he says that Because you can be deceived Greed is not good.
No matter what Gordon tells you out of all the idols that we can fall prey to I think money and materialism is the most dangerous
Here's why I think it's because it's the most public and socially acceptable idol there is
Right, it's broadcast all over the place and we're trying it and the world is trying to make it
The other idols more socially acceptable. The enemy's goal is to make all the idols
Socially acceptable to make sin look to make sin look normal and righteousness to look weird
But materialism is already there tops the list and money helps people engage in and access all the other idols
More easily listen now Paul puts it in 1st Timothy 6 9 and 10 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
Many senseless desires a root of all kinds of evil evil and it puts them into many pangs
Paul is teaching us that pursuing money mammon leads to many senseless and harmful desires
Why because it's a root of all kinds of evil the word root here means source
So the root the source supports and supplies access to all of the other evil desires and pangs
The root of idolizing mammon bears fruit of all kinds if Your source your root is rich in mammon it will grant you access to more sin into many senseless and harmful desires
I see mammon and money materialism as the gateway drug for all the other idols Why because you can access them more easily when you have money
Do you desire security? Money offers you that do you seek approval?
Money offers you that are you seeking a relationship or love money offers you that are you sticking seeking prestige?
Money offers you that are you seeking comfort of some type money offers you that too?
Money offers you tells you that it can acquire all these things for you, which are really just other idols
But it can't deliver on them That's because mammon is lying to us in that it makes promises to us that only
God can fulfill True security true love approval success true wealth health comfort can only be found in Christ in God Anything or anyone else that promises you these things is an imposter a liar a phony
And we can see this play out in real life examples today I'd like to give you a case study and what pursuing money can get you in 1923 a very important meeting was held at the
Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago Eight of the world's most successful financiers were present
Included were the president of the largest independent steel company the president of the largest utility company the president of the largest gas company the president of the
New York Stock Exchange a member of the president's cabinet of The greatest bear on Wall Street the head of the world's greatest monopoly and the president of a bank for international settlements
All these men had found the secret of success and the secret of making money and pursued it
They were all at the top of their financial world in their day But 25 years later in a magazine entitled the journal of living
An article a pen by Lewis Lurie. He commented on their status This is only 25 years after the fact the president of the largest independent steel company
Charles Schwab You may have heard of him. He was dead He died bankrupt and lived on borrowed money for five years before his death the president of the largest utility company
Samuel in Seoul died a fugitive from justice and penniless in a foreign land The president of the largest gas company
Howard Hobson dead the president of the New York Stock Exchange Richard Whitney had just been released from Sing Sing prison at least he wasn't
Hitler, right a Member of the president's cabinet Albert fall pardoned from prison so he could die at home
The greatest bear in Wall Street Jesse Livermore dead cause of death suicide the head of the world's greatest monopoly
Ivan Kruger dead cause of death suicide the president of the bank for international Settlements Leon Fraser dead cause of death suicide
All of the fruit and all of this success that my man offers you comes with a price your life
Jesus says what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit your soul? your eternal life
Make no mistake when you succumb to the desire to be rich. You're trading your soul for that desire
You are believing the lie that mammon is not just whispering you It's screaming to you a lie that you will forever regret you are loving the gift
But not the giver What are we to do when we're immersed in such a materialistic culture that fuels and breeds this kind of behavior?
First we need to read what comes before the desire to be rich in first Timothy 6 9 through 10
We have I'm sorry. We have to read but not 9 through 10. We have to read verses 6 through 8 It says this godliness with contentment is great gain
For we brought nothing into the world and we could take nothing out of the world But if we have food and clothing with these things will be content
Imagine telling a health wealth prosperity guy if we had food and clothing were content The stab in the heart, but let me ask you something.
Is that a stab in the heart for you? Would you be content for just food and clothing?
So, how do we deal with this idol, how do we contend for the faith? Once a for all devil ever to the
Saints Well, the first thing we need to do is recognize the art at the idol The first dealing with this idol or any other idol is getting into a proper relationship with God the
Creator the source of satisfaction The author and source of joy if you haven't repented of your sin and turned to Jesus Christ for forgiveness
You need to do so immediately You and I have a sin debt that needs to be addressed first The promise of the gospel is this if you acknowledge your sin turn from it and trust in Jesus He will become your substitute
His life becomes your life. His death becomes your death and his resurrection becomes yours a resurrection
He bears your sin and you're dead at the cross and pays for it so that you can go free
If you don't repent and trust Christ, you will pay the sin debt yourself And in this life, you will continue to seek the counterfeit benefits that these idols promise you but never deliver you
Like Augustine said God has formed us for himself and our hearts are restless until they find rest in him
You have to come through to God Through Jesus on his terms not yours and here are the terms unconditional surrender
You are not the offended party in this relationship You're the offender you've broken
God's law not the other way around So lay down your pride lay down your sinful desires and idols and come to the one who laid his life down for sinners
Jesus is the one and only true God and this one and only true God is the only God willing to love you to death and pay your sin debt
So be reconciled to God next everyone Ask yourself this question
What do I fear most in life? What is it that I'm most afraid of?
And why am I asking this because your fear will reveal what you hold most dear
What is it you're afraid of What you fear will reveal What you ultimately worship if your solution to your fear is not
God Then it's an imitation a counterfeit or an idol The first step in overcoming idolatry is recognizing what it is
And what the solution is if you're a Christian and you have a right relationship to God Repent of any covetedness or any greed or any satisfaction you found in the things of the world and remember who you have
You have Jesus He's the gift and more importantly he has you
I love the benediction in Jude Right to him who is able to keep you from falling and present you before his throne without spot or blemish.
That's the God I need Your mind and your heart will always gravitate to what you hold most dear as a
Christian If that is anything else, but Jesus and his teaching you're in sin. You need to turn from it
Love the giver appreciate the gifts Second the antidote to materialism is generosity be generous
Give generously to your home church and the ministries that you want to support Right you tell your money what to do.
Remember your money mammon is talking to you. So talk back to it I'm sending you to such -and -such a ministry and you know what you're gonna do you're gonna really help them
You're gonna do a great job. Don't worry. You'll you you won't miss me. They're gonna use you for their benefit. Don't worry
Talk back to your money. Let it go. Let it be a great help to the people who need it Don't let your money tell you what to do.
You tell it what to do Let me tell you something. There are no people in heaven who regretted being too generous There it is
Christians who believe in the inspired infallible Word of God read and believe what God says about money and possessions
Take God's warnings seriously Don't look at others and compare yourself to them Here are a few things
God's words tells us now we have 2 ,400 verses to go through so we're gonna read them all It's a joke
Boy, all right. This is the one I've read already, you know, Matthew 6 24. No one can serve two masters
Either he will hate one and love the other who you've been devoted to one and despise the other All right, you cannot serve both God and mammon mammon is looking for you to serve it be aware of that Luke 12 34 for where your treasure is there your heart will be also
Listen if you treasure Christ your heart will be where he is Treasure him before all things
First Samuel 2 7 the Lord makes poor and makes rich he brings low and exalts you guys trust in the sovereignty of God Right.
He's the one if he prospers you it's for a purpose if he brings you down It's also for a purpose all things work together for your good.
It's not about the money. It's about the process Philippians 419 and my
God will supply every need of yours according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus Notice, he said he'll supply his need not his wants.
I want the newest iPhone too bad. He's the flip phone Psalm 37 better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked
The little that the righteous has if you have Christ's righteousness you have everything you have eternal life in Christ Jesus Act like it acts 2035 remember the words of the
Lord Jesus how he himself said it is more blessed to give than receive Be generous
Keep keep the money you receive in an open hand if you see someone in need give it to them
Proverbs 38 9 I love this one remove far from me falsehood and lying give me neither poverty nor riches
Feed me with the food that is needful for me lest I be full and deny you and say who's the Lord lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my
God I'm not desiring to be rich. I'm not desiring to be for poor I want to be in God's perfect will and used as a vessel for other people
Luke 12 15 Jesus said to them take care be on guard against all covetous for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions
Again, your net worth does not equal your self -worth Don't look at it like that your worth and value come from God and in a relative truth way if If you want to believe what the atheism's at the atheist says he thinks you're cosmic vomit
You know is vomited in here. You are you could tell him no brother You're wrong.
You're a thief and I'm right you are created in the image of God You have infinite worth and value and you live your life like that just to let you know
You don't live your life like your cosmic vomit Lastly Brothers and sisters, we're in a very telling time a turning point in our country's history
Please guard your heart is America great because it has money and it's prosperous
Look at the wealth and prosperity that our country has amassed and then look at the wickedness and the sinfulness that has ensued as it
Is shifted is their eyes from the giver to the gifts? We're reaping the consequences of that in many ways the
United States is like the rich young ruler We are a rich nation We are historically young less than 250 years old and the
United States leads rules the world The rich young ruler asked Jesus. What must I do to inherit eternal life?
Jesus says keep the commandments. In other words. He pointed him to righteousness Not money rich rung.
You know, this is ah, I did all that already. Come on. Give me something tough Jesus looked at him Loved him and said you lacked one thing you lack one thing
Sell all that you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven and come follow me
Disheartened by the saying he went away sorrowful for he had great possessions Jesus pinpointed his idol told him sell it all
Jesus then looks at his disciples how difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
Than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. See I want to make
America Grateful again, there's a big difference I want us to be grateful to the
God who gives us these gifts if we obey him and use them for his glory
Remember, there's a vast difference between love and appreciation We are to love the giver and appreciate the gifts not the other way around Ultimately the
Lord Jesus is both the giver and the gift and when you get him you get both you get everything you need with Christ all