Good morning and welcome in today. Today we’re going to take a look at some scripture from First Timothy chapter six. But before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story..
I was driving down the highway one day and was starting to notice that the front of my car had a little shimmy to it. I thought maybe that I needed a front end alignment, or maybe it was just one of the tires that was getting worn. So I decided to take my vehicle into a shop. I set an appointment the next day.
After work, I brought the vehicle in. When they put the vehicle up onto the rack, I went out into the waiting room to grab a cup of coffee. As I sat there, I looked around at the things that were up on the wall. I came across a framed quote. It said…
” …it’s hard to become rich in a small town, because everybody is watching you. “
1 Tim 6:9-10 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Love is a very strong emotion. Someone can love their new car and spend all day cleaning, washing, and waxing it. People can love their home so much that all they want to do is constantly improve it. People can love the money that’s sitting in their bank accounts, and just like Scrooge McDuck in the cartoons, all they can do is continue to check on it. Love for something is a very strong emotion but it is meant to be focused completely on God.
I’ve always taught my family that it’s probably fairly easy to become rich. Instead of helping others with the things that you’ve been given by God, just keep it all to yourself.
Our dog has a brown stuffed toy. It’s a furry fake rabbit. She is constantly walking up to me all the time and dropping her toy at my feet. She wants me to throw the toy so she can chase after it. It seems she never gets tired of chasing after it because she loves doing it so much.
In the Christian Life, we need to place our love first and foremost on the Lord Jesus Christ and the things that He taught. When that love is placed somewhere else, it can cause great problems in your life.
The Apostle teaches that they that will be rich fall into temptation, and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts.
When you love something, you greatly desire it. Desire is a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen. In our scripture, it’s a craving, or a longing and yearning to be rich. The Scriptures teach that it’s not a sin to be poor, while there are numerous warnings about being rich.
When I was very young, I remember playing a game with the other children called hot potato. We would go into the gymnasium with our entire class and grab a rubber ball out of the locker room. All of us kids would stand in a circle and they would start some music. The whole object of the game was to get rid of the ball as quickly as possible when it was tossed to you. You didn’t want to be the last one with the ball when the music stopped.
That’s kind of like being rich in this world. Someday eventually the music is gonna stop, and you really don’t want to be holding on to all those riches when that happens. All your riches and wealth is going to count against you at judgement day.
Think about how many people have tried for centuries to be buried with all their wealth. Why do you think there’s been so many grave robbers over the years? That craving and desire for earthly riches is supposed to be refocused and placed upon Jesus Christ.
There are a lot of times when deer hunting starts up, that many people will completely skip out on church because a deer becomes more important to them. Jesus has to be first in our lives above everything else. The Apostle teaches us that the desire to be rich is just like getting caught in a snare. A snare actually gets tighter and tighter and tighter. It traps you and it chokes you, and eventually leads to suffocation and death.
Having a lot of money also leads to foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
Many people who have a desire to be rich will go out in the world and get caught up stealing from others. They go out and rob banks or armored vehicles. It really doesn’t matter about who they hurt because their love is completely focused on obtaining money.
Have you ever noticed that you can lead a pet around by holding some food in your hands? Their eyes are completely focused on it because they want what is in your hand. That is what we’re talking about today, the desire to be rich.
In the church, we are taught to be content with the things that we have. When it comes down to it, what do we really need in this life? Some food and water, a set of clothes and a place to sleep?
The more and more and more things that you have in life, the more and more and more they consume your time. We’re supposed to redeem the time. The Lord wants us to spend time with him, but that overwhelming desire to be rich and wealthy takes away from that personal time with Jesus.
The Lord told some people to come and follow him, but they loved other things more. They loved their own relatives more. They loved their animals more. Jesus has to be our first and greatest love. The love of money is by far one of the worst things in this life, because it completely consumes your heart and your mind. The love of money is the root of all evil.
This last week or two, I was discussing caves. Many years ago, they used to explore caves, and would tie a rope off to a tree outside the cave. As they got deep into the cave, the rope served as a way to find their way back out. That eventually lead right back to that tree. Have you ever heard the old saying, follow the money trail? If you track it far enough back, evil springs forth from the love of money. The Apostle teaches that’s the love of money is the root of all evil.
You can do a lot of nice things with money and your possessions in this world. Abel gave his best sacrifice unto God.
In the movie Scrooge, gain was the one thing that he cared about more than anything else, and it ruined his relationship with others. A person who is rich has abundant possessions, and especially material wealth.
Matt 6:24. No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Mammon is commonly defined in the Bible, as to mean money or material wealth or the greedy pursuit of gain. The Lord Jesus teaches you cannot serve God and mammon. That’s one of the reasons why the love of money is the root of all evil, because you can’t serve both God and money.
Luke 18:18-25 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
This rich young ruler thought that he had kept all the Commandments while the truth is nobody did. All of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God. So the Lord Jesus took him a little bit further. He told him to give up his possessions and to come follow him, but he couldn’t do it. The thought of letting his possessions go made him very, very sorry. That’s what happens when you love the world rather than loving Jesus.
Luke 6:20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.
You can be rich in possessions in this world, or you can be rich in spiritual things in Christ, but you cannot serve God and mammon both.
Before we go today. I want you to look at this entire world that God made. Think about the entire universe that he created. Why did He create it and who did he give it to? He gives it to us to freely enjoy. God provides us with water and food to eat and beautiful things in this world to look at. It didn’t cost any of us anything because God is the greatest giver that there has ever been.
The love for money and earthly gain is completely contrary to the giving heart of God. Instead of loving God and others with what you have, you keep it all to yourself because that is who you love the most.
This is why it is one of the greatest dangers in this life. When you are caught up in its snare, the only thing that you can focus on is how to get more of it, and how you can consume it upon your own earthly lusts. That is a road that will only lead to sorrow.
Let’s think about those things for today and Lord willing, we’ll talk to you some more tomorrow. Till then bye Bye, everybody.
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 