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1 Timothy 6:3-21 What’s In It for Me?
1st Timothy chapter 6 starting in verse 3 actually technically the very end of verse 2 to the end of the chapter. Hear the word of the Lord. Teach and urge these things. If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with Godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing.
He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words which produce envy dissension Slander evil suspicions and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth.
Imagining that godliness is a means of gain.
Now.
There is great gain in godliness with contentment for we brought nothing into the world and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and drink with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation into a snare and to 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. But as for you a man of God flee these things. Pursue righteousness godliness faith love steadfastness gentleness.
Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life To which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
I.
Charge you in the presence of God who gives life to all things and of Christ Jesus who is in his testimony before Pontius Pilate. It made the good confession to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ Which he will display at the proper time.
He who is the blessed and only sovereign the king of kings and the Lord of Lords who alone has immortality Who dwells in unapproachable light whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal.
Dominion. Amen.
As for the rich in this present age Charged them not to be haughty nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches. But on God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good to be rich in good works to be generous and ready to share.
Thus storing up treasure for themselves is a good foundation for the future so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.
Oh.
Timothy guard the deposit entrusted to you avoid the irreverent babble and Contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge for by professing it some have swerved from the faith. Grace be with you. And the Lord has blessings to the reading of his Holy Word.
Commitment they say is spelled m o n e.
Y.
If you want to know what someone is really committed to look at their checkbook. Beyond paying for the basics of life, you know food and housing. What does their spending show that they are really committed to what they really love?
Recreation new cars nice restaurants expensive clothes. Whether whatever trinkets that happen to be flashed before them on the home shopping network or maybe they just hoard it away. Trusting in their savings to keep them safe against whatever future uncertainty.
Well, some people are sure they're not greedy because they don't spend much but save. Other people are sure they aren't greedy because they don't hoard but spend freely. But it's neither the ability to save nor the ability to spend that shows whether you were greedy or not, but for whom?
You are saving or spending if with every dollar that comes into your hand you are asking yourself What's in it for me? You are greedy. Whether you spend it or save it or even give it. What's in it for me has to be one of the most pressing questions of our days.
The one that isn't constantly on most people's minds most of the time. It's at the heart of the love of money now here. I might have to Try to convince you of why it's best to follow Christ I'm doing right now.
I'm trying to try to persuade you. I might fail if I can't Persuade you that you are the happiest that you are better off that. More good things will come into your life. If you follow Christ, especially in the long run, but even immediately even right now by being a Christian more good things will happen to you.
Or I might succeed. And you decide to believe because I've shown you I've sold you on the idea. That it's best for you. You've seen ha what's in it for me, but I have to make the case don't I? Money, however has no such burden.
Money never has to sell you on on the merits of getting it. Money tells us with every cent that it is always for us. All the time all of it as Oscar Wilde supposedly said when I was young I thought money was everything.
Now that I am old. I know that it is. I might laugh because we know so many people think just like that money is their God and this is why one of the most disappointing Disgusting disillusioning disgraceful things is at best ridiculous and always an absurd kind of life.
It's a supposedly religious life supposedly Christian life. That uses religion uses the church uses the faith as a as a means of gain of a way to get rich. What's in it. Christ the church the Bible. What's in it for me?
Well money, that's what. That's what they think. And what do we do with such people with such opinions and we have to for honest. Ourselves with the inclination that tugs even at us. Just to stray from what's been revealed to us to make it the faith all this about us.
About our comfort our luxuries. What are we to do? Well six things six commands here six verbs first urge second flee.
Third pursue.
Fourth fight fifth set and finally guard.
Well first urge.
Timothy is urged to urge in verse 3 teach and urge these things. Actually in the verse 2 where he says that what he's been what Paul has been teaching Timothy. But the instructions for the church and it's all that we've seen up until now.
The warnings against what he called earlier the doctrines of demons. The charge to stay. Stay Timothy and there where you are and teach sound doctrine. All that we've seen so far urge those things those who taught differently.
Those who thought they had, you know, maybe they thought they had new exciting insights. They heard some guy at the market or they thought something up was they were reading and they just knew. Great thing they were gonna spread in the church, but it wasn't true.
Well, they are to be. Paul says there to be silenced. He tells Timothy here that these self-important teachers who wouldn't consent they won't submit to the healthy words. You got healthy words. You got unhealthy words like food, right?
They won't submit to the unhealthy words of the Lord Jesus such people. He says are sick. He says they have an unhealthy craving never have any unhealthy cravings. Like the craving I used to have drink coca-cola all the time.
As a thirst for that which makes us unhealthy. Right. He calls these people in verse 4 according to one commentator puts it he calls them pompous ignoramuses. It's a strong language. I mean, it's a little off.
I'm just a little childish. They need to know these these are false teachers as they think they're self-important. They think the church then is a venue for their opinions. Unchecked by the Word of God and such a person needs a Timothy to urge him to stop.
Timothy is to urge these kinds of people to be quiet. You can't teach that here. But these people they have a sick craving. Particularly for arguing they just love to argue. They'll pick a fight about no matter what about they are implacable.
They'll go from controversy to controversy. Never satisfied always looking for an argument to win and so in their wake. They produce. Paul says they produce envy, you know, they're gonna make you feel.
These people they have more than you are they have advantages you don't have and they're just stirring that up a dissension. Divides up maybe on race. You got one kinds of people know the kind of people might be slander.
There's they're talking down people. We saw that in the earlier chapter. There's people slandering the elders of the church evil suspicions. The so-and-so is up to something. Constant friction as they try to make us divide against each other with their constant agitation.
They want to cause parties. You're for that idea. You're for this idea constant Agitation with their rumors their accusations and they end up poisoning the air for everyone in these rebels these agitators these Poisoners these dividers are particularly successful with a group of people.
That we find in verse 5 a group of people he calls comes. It comes across very nicely in English. He calls them depraved and deprived. People who are depraved in mind. Their mind is bent in a way that it should not be.
Who come to the message of Scripture and instead of loving the great truths? They want to argue about. Some triviality some minute thing. They have no real love for the major things. You know the things maybe they'll say they believe them because they kind of have to say they believe them to be part of the Church, but they're far more interested in something else.
And so they are deprived of. The truth now, they may have lots of little truths facts that they've learned from years of Sunday school. But they have lost the truth. He says the great truths of the gospel.
At least they've lost the importance of it the value of it. The great truth that the gospel makes the great truth of the gospel that makes sense of everything else. The truth that Jesus is Lord, you know the one he celebrates in chapter in verses 15 and 16.
You notice that there is like Paul is a model of the one who was in Raptured of the great truth. He can't really get away from it. It just comes out of him the truth of the gospel of who Jesus is and you see that in this very chapter He just he meant comes across mentioning Jesus.
And so he kind of celebrates him as he's the Lord of Lords. He's the King of Kings is the one who has immortality. He's so holy. He dwells in unapproachable light. What makes him just kind of burst out in praise like that because he's not depraved and deprived.
He's the opposite of he's healthy and he's he sees that's the great truth and he just comes out of him the truth that but the the truth that Jesus has. Sorry, I've lost my place. But there's this great truth that that Jesus himself has become the sacrifice for all who believe that he bore our sins in his body on the cross for us sinners that.
These people he's depraved and deprived people. They may kind of agree with that. They may say they that's fine. They won't argue about that particularly, but they they'll say lots of things about the Bible.
They'll quote their favorite passages. They'll cite facts, but they'd rather debate about something else maybe it about in times theories or boast of a lifetime of church attendance or whatever minute little Doctrine they want to argue about and they're so depraved that they'd rather talk about these other things.
It makes them deprived of the truth so the quarrel about controversies. It may be about maybe about church politics how it should be organized the right words winning winning an argument is. What's in it for them?
You realize there are people like that. They just live for the argument and to win for others though religion is the business is like business is. To many that maybe to the rest of you, you know, you have your business.
You got to make money to support yourself for them. Religion is their business that they use to support themselves. It's where they get what's in it for them. And so for them church is not a you saw a couple of chapters ago.
Remember the gymnasium of godliness where you train to be reverent for God. For them the gospel is is not what he calls here in this chapter this great deposit. So there's some treasure that's been revealed and left with you and your care.
That we must be willing to fight the good fight for even if it means great loss. No, rather it's for them. It's it's a good way to make a living. You can you can you can make money off of it and Timothy's day that there there may have been teachers who claim to be Christian who would tour and conduct what we would call I guess seminars and Charging a handsome fee for their lectures go on to the next place and do the do the things same things and of course if that's the case, they're always gonna Alter their message by what brings in the most cash, aren't they?
And certainly we still have that today. We also have a more though. I think a more incipient a more subtle more threatening form to the church this. Making godliness a means of gain we have it in the lives that claim that they are for God.
But in which every decision. It's made every word that is spoken is all we guided by one dominant thought. What's in it for me? You know the man who takes a job in religion is a pastor or whatever because you know, no heavy lifting is required.
No who calculates every sermon every lesson every prayer every visitation. You know who he visits. I'll visit these people and they'll court their favor because yeah. They have a lot of money and they give these other people ignore them because they don't have money.
I don't care about them. That's the way they think. They don't think about what they need the truth. They need to hear. They think about what will advance my career. I will not put off anyone what will keep the cash flowing my way.
Well, maybe make this church grow a little bit so that it looks good on my resume. So that when the next opportunity presents itself I can go to a bigger church in a bigger city and get a bigger salary.
Such a man imagines that godliness at least the appearance of godliness the showy that he can put on is a means of gain. It's a it's a way to get ahead. This is the professionalization of of Christianity and we have it in the ministry when scriptures put aside when it says things that may turn Away the crowds that may challenge of you know, a hefty giver, right?
You're not if he gives a lot you don't want to challenge him. But you know if he doesn't give a lot you don't mind if you rebuke him. So what what's the loss when you think that way? You're totally guided by what's in it for me.
What's in where the money comes from and we have it in the church when it's just when it is decided that instead the church. Is this instead of being a gymnasium of godliness of where it's a place of to be trained where King Jesus rules.
We'll make it into what? We want. What keeps the people comfortable, especially the big givers comfortable make it into a set of a gym for godliness. They can do a lounge.
For cool religion.
Or perhaps make it into a motivational club. Where we're affirmed and warmed maybe massaged and told how great we are. You know, whatever the market will bear. The key difference between a true church, it's an assembly where King Jesus rules as we saw in Psalm 72.
He ruled the difference between that and something else. Something that's called together for our profit for what we can get out of it a place where the dominant question is not What's the Lord's will but he rule here from not only from C to C, but in my own heart the key difference is What's in it for me?
Key difference is for whose profit is everything being done. Is it for hours to make us happy? To keep us going are for the glory of God. This is why you know when we have outreaches VBS coming up. I guess the next big thing we have Jim every Sunday.
Jim jr. Our primary goal Should not really be to grow this church. Although we need growth. We desperately need growth. But our goal our prayer Should be that people are saved that the kingdom of God be advanced again as a Psalm 72 is about the kingdom of God.
Being advanced from sea to sea all over the world to all kinds of people. If we do what we do we reach out we reach people. And they're some are truly saved and for whatever reason they don't become part of this church.
They go somewhere else. We rejoice that God has sovereignly grown his kingdom. That's good. That's a win for us. Because we're first about the kingdom of God not about what's in it for us. That's the best profit of all.
The key difference is that we're not first driven by what's in it for us. But by the glory of God. Now the self-centered, you know, what's in it for me kind of person doesn't understand this for him everything even religion Is about what gets me ahead?
What's gonna keep the money flowing my way? He thinks this it's got to be a way to get something for me something I could hold on to or put in the bank he is. Partly, right, though.
Godliness is.
Gain, Paul says in verse 6. It's great gain. He says not just a little bit. It's great. It's rewarding. But the vital difference is that the truly God-centered person doesn't pursue godliness. A lot which is a life of reverence before God living under God's rule.
He doesn't pursue that. For the profit he can get out of it because you know, it's not really pursuing godliness at all. It doesn't make any sense. Godliness is what Jesus talked about Matthew chapter 6 verse 33 seek you first the kingdom of God.
You're living under his rule. So it means to be godly. You can't live under his rule and be seeking your own Gain first, that's two contradictory things. But if the person who's Pursuing a life of reverence for God not doing for the profit. He can get out of it.
But in other words, he's not doing it for something that else. The one who's pursuing it for the right reason is not doing what he can use godliness for is it is a tool. Mainly to get more money get to get a livelihood maybe to be somebody maybe that's what he craves.
What do you know? He wants to be some venue where he is the band where people will listen to him where he gets looked up to. Maybe just get his wife to look up to him. So maybe that's why he goes to church.
The truly God-centered person isn't using godliness.
For gain.
He isn't using Godliness at all. He is pursuing godliness for its own sake. Verse 6 literally says. But godliness with contentment is.
Great gain.
It's not a way to get gain. It is in and of itself.
Gain.
So a God-centered reverent life the kind of living under the kingdom of God that Jesus called us to it's worth having period. You know along with it. Paul says comes contentment happiness independent of circumstances.
Christian contentment does not depend on external things, you know winning the championship some athletes put I black Philippians 411 I can do all things to Christ who strengthens me. And that's their motto their t-shirt.
And of course they think they can win the championship Through Christ who strengthens me. And maybe he will or maybe he'll want to teach you how to be content while losing.
You know.
It is as so it is as Paul writes in Philippians 411 a secret of being happy. No matter whether you have a lot of money in the bank. Or very little. Whether you're winning the championship Tim Tebow or whether you're losing.
No matter what your house or car is like. The Christian secret is is not to be found in ourselves. In the championship or in the car and the cash what we can hold in our hands. But in Christ in our hearts the the Christ who after a true conversion Dwells in us and gives us this secret.
He is.
The great game. He's not a means to a gain. He's not like a secret weapon there now we can use. He helps us play harder. So we can win the championship or he helped gives us the secrets of success so I can get that Rolls-Royce.
He's not the supernatural power to get healthy and wealthy and then once now having used him having Conjured him to our advantage now, we're wealthy and we're healthy and we have the trophy in our case.
Now we're content.
No.
He himself is.
Not a means but the end. If we have that secret we can be satisfied. He says just with food and drink. You're alive you're surviving. We need not a new car or a bigger or nicer house. We're not not a new suit or the latest gadget put out by Apple or Samsung.
We're not driven and restless. Until we can have just a little bit more. And of course once you get it just a little bit more still. We're not driven like those in verse 9 to be rich. They he says I was driven to be rich.
Says ball that verse 9. He said they fall Into a trap like a booby trap, you know, they dig a pit. They cover it up the thin something walk on to it collapse into it that's what that's what being rich brings you to.
You'll fall into that kind of pit a trap and they expose themselves to many foolish and Injurious desires would sink people into ruin and destruction. The tragic irony is those who set their hearts on gain.
That's what they're gonna live for. That's what they're gonna work for day in day out. That's what all of life is for they'll end in total loss. Even the loss of themselves as the Lord Jesus asked in Mark chapter 8 verse 36.
For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? Perhaps they began with the quest for just a little bit more. I just want to be a little better off. Affordable nicer vacations nicer cars, but then they couldn't stop and the craving consumed them.
Assume that all they were was an economic animal. They live for business. For the cash they could get for gaining one more dollar. So they had to work every hour. They could. Everything was about that.
Perhaps they were successful financially. Perhaps they made it. Of course, they're never gonna think that are they. I was gonna want a little bit more. Don't they can expand another franchise another business and something.
Perhaps they're not successful though. Then they get devoured by the desperation of being buried in debts. They lose the secret of contentment whether in much or in debt. It is through Christ in us that we can be content.
They lost that secret because they kept asking. What's in it for me? Their lives never stopped being about themselves. And so they never stopped loving what they could hold in their hands and Make serve them.
Money.
But that that love of money. You know, it's really a love of ourselves. That's why we love money. It's a love of the power and the comfort the happiness that we imagine them money could bring us. It's the root he says of all kinds of evil.
It produces all kinds in our lives. If you look if you have enough money you think I'll solve all your problems. All right, just like. You know what we say about God he can solve all our problems. We think the same thing about money when it's our God.
You have enough money. One old Chinese saying goes you can make you can even make the the devil's grind your rice. You can pay them off. Money is one thing that seems that at least in this life can make us like God himself if we have enough of it.
We think we can get anything we want. We can make everyone anyone do what we want. If we think if we if we have enough of it. We are that we are the kings of our domain. When we see money we don't have to ask.
You don't ask when you see money. What's in it for me? What's this hundred dollar bill for me? Never even occurs to you, you know money is always and entirely.
For you.
So we love it and that love he writes in verse 10 draws us away from the faith. From what we're supposed to believe from truly trusting Christ alone. So that hankering for money he says pierces us with with great pains.
It hurts us. I mean, I notice it at first but after a while we will would be impaled by it. A Man named Jay Gould a financier in the 19th century. Made over 100 million dollars in the 19th century 1800s back then much more of a treasure than it is still is today.
And his last words were I am the most miserable devil in the world and. The 20th century one of the wealthiest men was Howard Hughes. He famously died with piles of money, but no enjoyment and so alone and isolated.
There was no one that he could will his great wealth, too. So Timothy and those who follow in his steps now are urged to urge us. Not to fall into the money trap. Instead he says. Flee from it in verse 11.
That's the second command. Flee. Flee like from him the gravest danger. Run away from it like you're being chased by a grizzly bear. Take constant evasive action to avoid the love of money. It's running after you.
You better be running away from it run away from this evil this threat. As if it were imagine if you heard the threat active shooter in the building. You would flee you would run. Imagine that that's the love of money.
It's prowling for you get away from it. Flee from this evil that arises so easily in our hearts. The love of ourselves. The subtle little whisper in our ear.
So appealing.
It's really so natural. What's in it for me? Money says I'm all for you. Flee from that. But the Christian life isn't just about running away. It's also about running toward. It's about chasing the pursuing.
That's the third command.
Pursue.
He says in verse 11 pursue Righteousness godliness Faith love endurance and meekness. You seek a life. That's first about the glory of God that's the godliness living under his rule a love for others that seeks what's best for them a Steadfastness that is patient under difficult circumstances and a gentleness that is patient with difficult people.
Now just knowing the theology without doing it is not good enough. First flee run away then pursue run after go in hot pursuit of a God-centered Life to be content with him. It will take some struggle.
It's a fight. And that's the fourth command.
Fight.
No struggle.
Contend.
Agonize.
Literally the word in Greek is where we get our word agonize from. It's gonna hurt some. But because it's a fight and the other side will get in some punches, too. Sometimes it's a fight against misguided people who want to make the church into something that.
Other than a gymnasium of godliness. People who don't want to be trained for godliness. But who will. Maybe they want to rule like a king or a queen over the little their little domain perhaps over no one other.
Than themselves, but they want to rule nonetheless. They don't want to be ruled. Sometimes we have to fight such people just as Timothy had to hear no spiritually healthy person enjoys a fight. Only the pugnacious Spiritually sick person wants to fight.
It's nasty business. Fighting is undignified. It's painful and it's dangerous. Sometimes innocent bystanders are hurt even in the fight over truth and goodness for truth and goodness. There is something sick About anyone who relishes a fight.
Nevertheless, it's a. It's a good fight. It has to be fought for truth is at stake. The person who sees truth under attack. Maybe he sees the church being divided by these depraved and deprived people who sees as we saw last week chapter 5 Elders being falsely accused and who won't stand up and stop it.
You know who maybe who thinks I have no dog in this fight. And that person is really just thinking. I Really don't care about God's truth. Nor even really about godliness after all. What's in it for me?
Sometimes the fight is with others. But most of the time the fight of the faith the good fight is within our own hearts. That that pull of the love of ourselves. The love of money of what it can provide of what it tells us it can get.
Telling us that it's always for us. We have to constantly struggle against the draw of our hearts that wants to organize the whole universe even the worship of God the church. Here around ourselves. It's that old lie from the Garden of Eden when we were told that we can become like God.
We can be the one that gets to decide who gets to rule and we believe it. So that since then up until today. Even religion is thought to be about what's in it for us. That is indeed It's a fight to resist that temptation.
Notice here by the way urge flee.
Fight and so on. They're all present right now.
Keep fighting. You know, it's not a one-round knockout and then you go home to your mansion and relax. The fight Keeps going to win it. We must in verse 12 Take hold. Keep holding on. It's not a one-time just snatch and then you can release.
It's not just an eruption of struggling for a few seconds and it's over. It's a continual clinging we hold on he says to eternal life. Hold on to the gospel. Grasp that confession that we made what we believe that Jesus himself held on.
That he kept fighting. He kept fighting the temptation to grasp for equality with God to choose that for his will. Over the will of the Father to not take that cup of suffering that he didn't want to.
But most of all he said your will be done. He held on and he fought all the way to the end. Through bearing witness to Pontius Pilate when he could have talked his way out of suffering. But he held on through the cross to rising from the tomb and will return as the king of Kings the one who rules them the sovereign over all other governments and authorities and powers.
So now you You keep fighting keep holding on. Even if you can't see him. Paul charges Timothy in that exalted language from verses 12 to 16 again where he Starts to mention the Lord and he can't help himself.
Just celebrating who he is. He's calling us to this God-centered life and what a God.
You wouldn't you see him you understand who he is. Let you grasp your hearts so that you're not living all about what's just in it for you. He's the only one who has immortality to give. He sent his son who stood up to Pontius Pilate.
Even when it met the agony of the cross, he's the only ruler. He's the Lord of Lords. He's the only one immortal from eternity past to eternity present future living in unapproachable blinding light. Immortal invisible God only wise and light inaccessible hid from our eyes.
Yet he reveals himself To us so that we can we can't see him, but we can see who he is. Not so that we can use him for our purposes, but so that we can enter into the joy of honoring him. Set your hope on.
Him.
That's the fifth command. What are the Christian rich. And I have a feeling with all our luxuries and you know modern technology. Probably all of us here qualifies the Christian rich. What do we do. What do they do here.
The Christian urge the rich. What are they to be urged to do. Are they to flee.
Their money.
Just just leave it.
Pursue poverty fight against.
Capitalism.
Well first they need to set their hope on God. Not on their bank account. To love money is a root of all kinds of evil. But to have it is not. But the rich are warned. Don't be like those pompous ignoramuses in verse four people who were so proud of themselves.
Or they were too proud to listen to health giving Christian teaching instead. They just wanted to listen to whatever they wanted to hear. And for the third time in this short letter Paul Focuses in on what we set our hopes in.
He's gonna tell the rich that they all must Divest themselves of all their money all their property. They have to give it all away that they have to give it all to charity and then they have to become voluntarily poor.
He doesn't say that. There were centuries in the history of the church that poverty and chastity were believed to be the hallmarks of the truly spiritual person. And there's still kind of vestiges of that thinking in our culture today.
There's some In this book in this letter Paul attacks the disapproval of marriage and Here he does not prescribe poverty. Notice that to the rich. He doesn't say you've got to become poor. He could say that he doesn't indeed.
He says that Here that God has given us all things For enjoyment, right our money our luxuries. We can't enjoy them without being guilty. So whether you have money or not is not the question. It's who the money is for.
As it has said money is an end. Is money abused money is a means. Can be money well used. But what's the means what what are you going? What are you using the money for? Be careful. Be careful that allowing some to be rich in this present age, which he does but be careful.
That that's not as an excuse to avoid the dangers of it. You know in our culture America, we're very quick to say what I just said. That you don't have to become poor that it's fine to be rich and they'll just stop there.
But here there is a warning there is dangers the rich are warned. Watch where your hopes are set. You know, it's easy enough for the poor to hope in riches. They do there are a lot of poor people who hope in wealth.
They hope if only they could win the lottery. You know, then all their problems would be solved. That's the desperation that the lottery and gambling kind of feeds on. And so even the poor often hope in wealth.
That's why I saw I've never seen that in, California. There will be long lines in the lottery ticket windows in the poor neighborhoods rich neighborhoods. No, they wouldn't line up. Yeah, we got it. They already got their wealth.
The poor though that were desperate that will solve the problem if I only can have that that windfall. So even the poor often hope in wealth. Well, they don't have how much easier it is for the rich to do.
So for them to think that if if they have they have growing mutual funds, they have a lots of property. They have real estate. They have rock-solid pensions. They have sound investments their business is working fine.
There is booming. They have a sizable nest egg. Ah. They think I'm.
Set.
But Paul says that that very mindset is a self-dangerous its pride. It's a haughty boasting. I'm set without God my money. It takes care of me. It's a false security this money. He says is is uncertain.
They aren't set at all. Until their heart is set on God. If money is what your heart is set on if your faith is in what you can buy things with. Then that is sin. Whatever is not a faith of faith in God Is sin.
Paul says in Romans putting hope and wealth whether the desperately hoped-for wealth of the poor lottery ticket buyer. Or the real wealth of the rich. That's sin now sometimes wonder. Reform people. Think that because they have such good theology and they can say it so well.
That they're kind of this talk of this basic talk about money. Really doesn't apply to them. We don't need to hear that. This is baby talk. They want to hear great lectures on sophisticated. They want to hear in for laps area and super lacks area.
And they want to hear that kind of stock. And they'll use their great reasoning their fancy words. To get out of these warnings or just to ignore them altogether. And so they talk about theology sophisticated theology they love to dwell on it while year after year they give a penance and lavish themselves with luxuries.
They might be they might have great excuses. But they show where their hopes are set. For the third time like a patient coach in the gym Paul says in this little letter. Set your hope in God. You know if you understand who he is you believe he's the omnipotent Omnipresent he's the sovereign the Lord of the universe.
That should encourage you to set your hopes on him. The reform should help you set your hope on him, but you you know, he determines all things. Why should you? Not be willing to do that and of course if you do it will show in your.
M o in Ey.
When Mary was a teenager in the 1970s Singapore an old Christian lady there came up to her in church and gave her $400 probably the equivalent of thousands of dollars today. She put the money in the hands of Barry and a friend there.
After they told the church of their desire to go on a mission trip to Thailand and Mary and her friend tried to turn it Down, you know give it back to her, but she said this money was for my funeral. But your mission to Thailand is more important unlike the self-indulgent Women that Paul mentioned in chapter 5 verse 6 remember those they live for pleasure with for now.
Those we saw last week. Whom he calls he calls them. He says they're dead even while they live. This lady Had set her hopes on God and people like her as in verses 18 and 19. They're rich in Good works.
They're generous. They're treasuring away For themselves a reward in the real life. They are alive. They were alive then even while they served in this earth and they're even more alive today. Well finally Timothy.
Guard.
The six and last command in verses 20 and 21. Guard the deposit he calls it the trues the the faith of the light the life. This thing that has been entrusted to you. You didn't make it. You didn't produce it.
Does it come from you but it's been given to you temporarily. Guard it. You here right now. Guard what's him entrusted to you a Deposit it's been put under your care a deposit of truth of life of light.
You have it. You've heard it. Are you guarding it? Guard it because it will be under attack. That's the assumption right? You're warned to guard something. There's going to be an attack. People will try to people are demons or Temptations or whatever it is.
We'll try to steal it from you to destroy it to cheat you out of it to guard it. Your own inclination will be maybe Kind of forget about it turn your attention elsewhere. Be distracted be lured off here.
Paul tells Timothy don't be lured off by Babel by Debate of over other things whatever it may be in times theories for blood moons politics.
Sports.
Anything but the gospel the sound words of Jesus himself. Guard the life the light that you have by urging yourself to stay with them by fleeing the love of money by pursuing the love of the Lord by fighting that good fight by setting your hopes on God.
That's how you guard here. We see from the utterly destitute widow. You saw in chapter 5 to the wealthy man. His his advice is pretty much the same, isn't it? Put your hope in God. No matter where you are.
You might think These utterly different situations would bring about different advice from Paul, but it doesn't because in the end. Our situations aren't that much different. No matter how much health our wealth we have we're not that much different from the person in Ethiopia that has nothing and we're not that much different from a Bill Gates a Warren Buffett who has all the money in the world.
The the time comes when all of us will have to give account to the real true owner the real owner of every penny that we have and Most importantly of that deposit of faith and light that's been entrusted to us.
Did we guard it or do we kind of neglect it as we chased after another dollar. Did we invest in the kingdom of God. Because that's where we set our hope. Or did we splurge our time and our money? On ourselves as we ask What's in it for me?
As he says in verse 7. We brought nothing into this world. And you're gonna go out the same way. You won't take anything out. You don't see hearses towing u-hauls. Checks left in caskets are never cashed.
Whether in our old age we are impoverished widows. Or we are comfortable retirees. We all in the end will take the same thing out. Your children can burn all the money in the world to you as you're going into wherever your reward is.
It's not going to get to you. The reward we have waiting Depends not on our money or what people can try to get to us. It depends completely Completely on where we have set our hope. I set it on him now.