Introduction
You may have heard the expression all that glitters is not gold. It may look like the real thing but when it is put to the test it does not have the value you thought it had. That my friends is called Fool’s Gold. Fool's gold looks like real thing but when put to the test, it fails miserably in value.
Think with me about the many things people think are valuable in this world- things people think are the real thing that we should be thriving to gather.
How about our possessions, I know people who thrive so hard to accumulate all that they can! Are our possessions the real thing? There was a man in the Bible who thought all that he accumulated was the real thing. Those possessions were so valuable to him that he was willing to tear down his old barns and build bigger ones to store his possessions. God called this man a fool because your soul is required of you, and you were not rich toward God. He bought the fool’s gold.
Now work that must be the real thing. It is all about moving up the corporate ladder from an unknown to a person everyone recognizes to a person who has much significance in the world. People like Elon Musk, Bill Gates, the guy who invented Apple iPhone, Steve Jobs. Guys and gals who made it to the top. That is what we all should do invest our lives in our work. After all, you and I might find our place of significance like those guys. Business success must be the real thing. As I read my Bible, it tells me what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and to lose his own soul. Thriving for business success at the expense of your own soul is fool’s gold.
I know what gold might be. Your possessions, your wealth, business success and whatever else you can rather to you. It takes the whole package! In the Bible, there was a man by the name of King Solomon who gathered it all, and He wrote an entire book in the Bible about having it all. King Solomon described it as vanity of vanities- chasing after the wind. In other words, fool’s gold.
So, what then is the real gold? What then in this life is of real value? We are going to be talking about that over the next four weeks.
We begin today by looking from a passage of Scripture in Psalm 119:9-11.
Scripture
Psalm 119:9–11 (NKJV)
? Beth
9 How can a young man cleanse his way?
By taking heed according to Your word.
10 With my whole heart I have sought You;
Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
11 Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.
Point #1
A person can have all this world has to offer, but if he or she is not living in right relationship to God, it is fool’s goal.
9 How can a young man cleanse his way?...
It is a question that demands an answer. The question implies by its nature that a young person, whether it is a young man, or a young woman may lose their way in life.
And that is so true, I have seen many a young man and many a young woman leave their parent’s home, and it seems like they go crazy.
It is all about making the money. They may have been very active as a teenager in church. They may have attended faithfully Bro. Jeremy’s Teen Night. But get out there and see how much money you can make and what that money can buy you, and a young person will go crazy. Add to that their independence, not having to check in with their parents as to where they are going and what time they are getting back, and that quiet polite young man or young woman seems to go wild.
Lifeway Research, the research arm of the Southern Baptist Church in 2019 saw there was a problem and so they studied the fall away of young people from church. And this is what they discovered. While 69 percent of young people say they were attending church at age 17, that fell to 58 percent at age 18 and 40 percent at age 19. Once they reach their early 20s, around 1 in 3 say they were attending church regularly, or a sixty six percent drop off.
And if you happen to be a parent of one of these young people, what is your prayer for them? It is not that they make more money, or that they might find more exciting ways to be independent. Your prayer is that he or she return back to God. So, parents, what you are saying is that God is more valuable than the money your child is making or the independence they are experiencing. You are saying your child is settling for fool’s gold rather than what they need- Jesus Christ in their life.
Point #2
A person can go to a Books a Million store and acquire all the self-help books to help you find your way through life, but if you don’t pick up the Bible and read it all the other reading is fool’s goal.
9...By taking heed according to Your word.
In John 17:17 Jesus is talking with the Father and he makes this statement in John 17:17 (NKJV)
17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
If I was in Judge Rimes courtroom this week, and he was having a trial to preside over, Judge Rimes would be seeking the truth.
He would throw out hearsay; he would throw out the opinion of someone as to what happened; he would throw out the speculations of a witness who is not an expert in that field.
Let’s go back to those Book a Million books that are supposed to help you find your way. Those books may contain hearsay. The author may have picked up and idea from another author, it sounded good to him, and included it in his book because the other author said it worked for him. That is hearsay.
The author may include his personal opinion as to what he thinks would work out if you do what he tells you to do. He has no degree of knowledge as to the amount of certainty that it will work out exactly that way. It is at best just his personal opinion.
Finally, the author may not be an expert on a field that he is discussing with you in a chapter of the book. So, he is speculating without actual knowledge if it is true or not.
You pick up the Bible and there is no hearsay. Every Word that was written the Holy Spirit was right there leading the author to write it. You pick up the Bible and there is no personal opinion as to what happened. God was there; every story, every fact no matter how absurd it sounds it is fact because God was there. You pick up the Bible and there is no speculation how it is going to work out. God knows exactly how it is going out because God knows the future.
Understand, if you are spending your time reading anything other than the Bible, it is fool’s gold. It is of little profit
Read the Bible and you just receive God’s truth. I got Jesus Christ’s Word on that- your word is truth. It will profit you much.
Point #3
A person can spread themselves out doing many things with their time they have thinking that is the key to live, but that’s fool’s gold. What is valuable is seeking God with your whole heart!
10 With my whole heart I have sought You;
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says in Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
It has to be that way, God must be first and not just part of the mix because He tells us in Matthew 6:24 (NKJV)
24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
If is between God and anything else, a lot of time God loses out.
For you young people, if it between making money and God, God loses out.
For our older group- if it between family and God, God loses out.
For you hunters- if it between shooting Bambi and God, God loses out to hunting.
For you work alcoholics- if it is between God and work, God loses to work.
God has to be first or what you think is first is fool’s gold.
Point #4
How much Scripture have I committed to my memory is the test to know if my life is about seeking fool’s gold or God?
11 Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.
If I am chasing fool’s gold, I don’t have time to commit Scripture to my heart.
Find time for God and watch how much Scripture you put away in your heart.
Conclusion:
Fool’s Gold or God, which are you seeking?
