INTRO: One day a certain old, rich man of a miserable disposition visited a rabbi, who took the rich man by the hand and led him to a window. "Look out there," he said. The rich man looked into the street, "What do you see?" asked the rabbi.
"I see men, women, and children," answered the rich man.
Again the rabbi took him by the hand and this time led him to a mirror. "Now what do you see?"
"Now I see myself," the rich man replied.
Then the rabbi said, "Behold, in the window there is glass, and in the mirror there is glass. But the glass of the mirror is covered with a little silver, and no sooner is the silver added than you cease to see others, but you see only yourself."
-Money is an important issue. Jesus spoke more about money, possessions, and finances than he did about heaven and hell combined.
-In Matthew, Mark, and Luke one out of every six verses relates to money or possessions. Out of 29 parables, 16 of them relate to a person and his or her money.
-The reason money is so important is because it is a spiritual issue.
What I mean: Money is both a thermometer and a thermostat. I believe Jesus spent so much time on money because it relates to our spiritual condition.
A thermometer tells us the temperature of the climate we’re in. It also gives us the temperature of our responses, showing us what we believe in God and the health of our relationship. Just as we can look at a gauge to see how hot or cold it is, we can look at money and gauge our spiritual condition.
-Money is not only a thermometer it’s also a thermostat. A thermostat dictates the climate. The way we treat money will determine the ceilings that exist in our spiritual journey. There are some aspects to our spiritual journey that will cause a standstill. Until we get some things straightened out in our posture towards possessions and money, we will go no further.
Today: I’m continuing our series on the beauty and the beast. We’ve been looking at financial fairy tales. Our response will determine whether the beauty comes out or if the beast comes out.
Friends: We live in the most consumer oriented culture in the history of the world. We are constantly being bombarded and our sinful desires line up nicely with what our culture teaches.
Theme: 2nd myth we will look at: "Character really does not matter when it comes to money."
TITLE: Beauty and the Beast – Part 2
TEXT: Luke 16:10-14
-This passage reveals why Jesus spent so much time dealing with money. Money is a spiritual issue. It’s not an issue of quantity; it’s an issue of character.
-You cannot separate the material from the spiritual.
I. Principle:
1) Faithful with little will be faithful with much; Unfaithful with little will be unfaithful with much.
2) Faithful with worldly wealth will be faithful with spiritual wealth; Unfaithful with worldly wealth will be unfaithful with spiritual wealth.
3) Unfaithful steward will receive nothing in return.
4) Can’t serve two masters.
Point: This is speaking about character. When we approach money and possessions from this angle (angle of character) we can have victory.
II. Look at four character traits with which we can battle the beast.
A. Contentment deals with "how much is enough?"
1. We looked at these last week.
-We need an eternal perspective.
-Understand what is a necessity.
-Be aware there is a price to pay if we ignore the situation. -Pursue maturity.
2. 3 other tactics I didn’t mention last week.
a. The mindset of humility: "not to be arrogant," Paul says. (1 Timothy 6:17a)
-Greek speaks about high-mindedness. ("Look what I’ve done.")
-There is no way I can be content and be arrogant. (God has given all to me.)
Thought: A lot of people think they are okay with God because God is blessing them and things are good. This is not necessarily true because Romans 2:4 tells us it’s the kindness of God that leads us to salvation. Through his kindness he is drawing people.
-All the great stuff going on is not the rubber stamp of approval that says everything is OK.
b. 2nd tactic to learning contentment: "nor to put their hope in wealth" is to have a proper perspective of security. (1 Timothy 6:17b)
-Where is your security? It’s amazing how much we look to money for security.
Examples: Retirement accounts, IRAs, our employment.
-Rather, our security should be in God. "If God is for us, who can be against us?"
c. 3rd tactic to help learn contentment: an attitude of generosity. (1 Timothy 6:18-19)
-Seneca, a Roman statesman: "Money has never made anyone rich." -It can also be said that money has never made anyone content.
Summary: So the first character trait in dealing with the beast is contentment.
B. 2nd character trait is patience.
1. How will patience help me build character?
-It will help me delay gratification.
-Patience teaches me the difference between a want and a need.
2. While contentment is the solution to "more will be enough," patience is the solution to "I’ve got to have it right now."
-It’s amazing how our culture conditions us to "I’ve got to have it now."
a. That’s why there’s a crisis level on credit card debt. Do you realize 70% of credit cards have an average balance of $8,300?
-Last year there were 5 billion credit card applications mailed out. 81% of college students have an average balance of $4,000.
Thought: Credit cards are a heavy task master if you’re not careful. Do you realize that on a $3,000 balance at the average interest rate, if you pay the minimum amount of $22 it will take you 32 years to pay it off?
-Proverbs 22:7: "The borrower is the slave to the lender."
3. Let us understand debt is not the real issue. It’s a deeper problem. It could be an issue of greed, self-indulgence, fear, low self-esteem, low self-worth, impatience, impulsive buying, etc.
C. 3rd character trait is self control. If we are going to battle the beast we need self control. God does not give us a spirit of fear but a spirit of self control. (2 Timothy 1:7)
1. We are Christ controlled—allowing God to be in control of our lives.
-It’s amazing how we get caught up in peer pressure that causes us to go into debt in order to impress the people around us.
Example: We lecture our children—they don’t need brand name clothes—but what about the new furniture, dinnerware, or vehicle you need to keep up with the Joneses.
2. This was the Pharisees’ problem. The text today tells us the Pharisees loved money.
-When you love money, your world revolves around it. Rather than your world revolving around Christ, it revolves around things. It’s about what money can buy you, what it can do for you, and the power or fame it can provide.
-If you’re not careful your heart will become enslaved to money.
Example: It’s like the fly that lands on the fly paper and says ’my fly paper.’
3. List some danger signs that may show your heart is becoming enslaved.
-You think more about things than you think about God.
-You find your time being filled with the worries and cares of this life.
-You’re not giving tithes and offerings as the word instructs.
-Your actions show you give up spiritual things and replace them with worldly things.
-Your desire for the things of God is lukewarm at best.
Thought: These are just a few of the many signs that indicate your heart is beginning to be taken captive.
4. We need to understand we are stewards and not owners.
a. A steward has responsibilities where an owner has rights.
-Jesus teaches we are placed as stewards, not owners, because when we begin to think things belong to us greed can easily set in. The truth is – every thing we think we own is God’s and he has just entrusted us to take care of it.
-The king instructs whoever is faithful with little, will be faithful with much. Truth: You can’t ride the fence; you cannot serve both God and money.
Summary: In order to battle the beast and have victory over this culture, character is a must. The character traits we’ve discussed so far are:
-Contentment helps with "how much is enough?"
-Patience delays gratification.
-Self control helps us see the truth between a steward and an owner.
D. 4th character trait is generosity. The text tells us you will serve God or money.
1. If you serve money you don’t want to give it away because it controls you.
Example: Remember the story about Zacchaeus, the man who wanted to see Jesus. This tax collector climbed a tree in order to see. To his surprise, Jesus came to the foot of the tree and informed him that he was going to his house. Zacchaeus stands and says, "Lord, I give half my possessions to the poor and if I cheated anyone I’ll give back four times the amount."
Jesus makes a strange comment, "Today salvation has come to this house."
Please hear me: You can’t buy your way into heaven. But Jesus knew how important money and possessions are; and when someone is able to give one-half of all he owns and is willing to make things right with anyone he has cheated, there has been a transformation of the heart.
-Zacchaeus moved from an owner to a steward and salvation had come his way.
2. Generosity—have you ever seen a generous person struggle with greed? -Generosity helps to keep our hearts from enslavement to the beast.
In Conclusion:
As we look at these myths: "more will be enough" and "character does not matter" —
Let’s stand guard over our hearts so they won’t become enslaved to the cares of this life.
