Banking God's Way: Contentment

BANKING GOD’S WAY: CONTENTMENT

HEBREWS 13:5-6

#bankingGodsway

INTRODUCTION… Back To the Future 2 Money Lesson

Back to the Future II from 1989 is a semi-solid sequel to Back to the Future (1985). Starring Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly and Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown, the second movie of three continues their time travelling adventures. They travel to 2015 and discover that Marty’s family is in ruins. Shortly after fixing the situation, Marty buys a sports almanac containing the outcomes of 50 years (1950–2000) worth of sporting events to make money in the past. However, Doc talks him out of it and throws the almanac in the trash bin, where the 2015 bad-guy Biff finds it and through a series of events gives it to his much younger self in the 1950s.

When Doc and Marty return to 1985, they find that Biff has used the sports almanac's knowledge for financial gain in the past which alters their present. Biff turns their town’s Courthouse Square into a casino with 27 floors, took over the town, got away with the murder of Marty's father, and later married Marty's mother. It is an absolute disaster that changed time and broke the space time continuum.

The moral of the story: Sequel stories are not as good as original movies, Top Gun excluded.

The real moral of the story: The love of money leads to disaster.

That moral sounds a lot like…

READ 1 Timothy 6:10 (ESV)

“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.”

Today we are talking about money. My money. Your money. Cash. Coin. Investments. Savings. Spending. Material things. Stuff. It is important every so often to talk about money in church, not so that offerings will go up (which is what people think), but so that you and I keep a proper perspective on money and our possessions. I mean… just in 1 Timothy 6:10 the words ‘evils,’ ‘craving,’ ‘wandered,’ ‘pierced,’ and ‘pangs’… are all associated with money. We need to make sure we are banking God’s way. We need to make sure we have proper prayerful attitudes about our paychecks and profit or maybe even the lack of those things.

HEBREWS 13

A few months ago, Kelly and I led a ‘His and Hers’ Bible study through the Book of Hebrews. The idea is for husbands and wives to study the same Scriptures together in order to have good solid spiritual conversations at home. The men study one week ahead of the women so they can help lead and answer questions and have good discussions. At the end of the study, in chapter 13 of Hebrews, we came across a passage that hit me because I didn’t remember it was there. I remember Malachi 3 and God’s statements about tithing and stealing from Him. I remember passages in the Gospels where Jesus teaches about money and giving. I remember the passage in 1 Timothy 6 we already read this morning about ‘the love of money.’ In Hebrews 13, the writer of Hebrews throws some Truth our direction about money and I didn’t remember it being there. And yet, there it was. I went to my preaching calendar that I use and put down for today for us to look over Hebrews 13:5-6. Well, here we are… it’s today!

It’s only two verses from Hebrews 13 so I want to read the passage from different translations to make sure we get the verses in our minds. Also, since the words are on the screen, if you would please read them aloud with me as we reach each translation. Let’s read aloud together.

READ HEBREWS 13:5-6 (ESV)

“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my Helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

READ HEBREWS 13:5-6 (MSG)

“Don’t be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you,” we can boldly quote, God is there, ready to help; I’m fearless no matter what. Who or what can get to me?”

READ HEBREWS 13:5-6 (KJV)

“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”

TRANSITION

As we think about those verses, you and I have read some serious Truth about money. Let’s take a look at the nature of money, then talk a little bit about contentment, and then let’s look closer at Hebrews 13:5-6.