### **Introduction:***
This morning, we are continuing our series “Lies the World Tells,” and today we are going after a big one.
But before we dive into Scripture, I want to start by letting someone else do the talking.
You see, there is a video that’s been floating around for years — some of you may have seen it. It’s called “The Money Rant.”
It’s raw. It’s fast. It’s funny.
But beneath the humor is something deeper — something a lot of us feel, but rarely say out loud.
So, sit back for a couple minutes… and listen close.
Video Ill.: The Money Rant — The Veracity Project
Wow. He sure said a lot of stuff in that short period of time. There is a whole lot to think about, though, isn't there.
There’s something powerful in what he said:
“Who’s money is it really? That’s the million-dollar question.”
And that’s exactly where the lie begins.
This morning we are continuing our series, “Lies the World Tells” — and each week, we’ve been holding up the world’s lies to the light of God’s truth.
In week one, we exposed the lie that we have to earn God’s love. But the truth is: His love is a free gift of grace — not something we can work for or deserve.
In week two, we confronted the lie that our past defines us. But Scripture showed us that in Christ, we are made new — redeemed, restored, and no longer held captive by shame.
In week three, we tackled the lie that we are not strong enough. The world says we have to do it all alone, but God’s Word reminds us that His power is made perfect in our weakness.
In week four, we came face-to-face with the lie that we are alone in this world. But we found strength in the truth that God is near to the brokenhearted — and His people are called to walk beside one another.
And just last week, in week five, we unmasked the lie that God has abandoned us. But Scripture showed us again and again: God is near, even in the silence. He is still with us — even if.
Today, the world wants you to believe: Your worth is defined by what you have.
Our culture, the world today, celebrates materialism and outward success. After all, “the more you have, the more you’ll be”.
The great deceiver whispers to us that our value is measured in dollars and digits, in what we drive or where we live.
But today, we are going to confront that lie head-on — and replace it with the truth. The more we have does not equate to more peace, more joy, or more purpose. It is not who we are.
Jesus warned us in Luke 12:15:
15 … “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” (Luke 12, NLT)
Let’s confront the lie together this morning — that our worth is defined by what we own, how much we have, and the numbers found in our bank accounts.
### **I. The Lie’s Damage: When Worth Is Measured by What We Own**
As we begin, let’s look first at the lie’s damage. What happens when we allow our worth to be defined and governed, to be measured and judged, by how much we have and what we own.
The world around is is constantly telling us the lie. We are bombarded by the message: “You are what you have.”
If that is the case, then we had better get busy, right? We begin the big chase — we chase more money, more stuff, more success, more status.
But that pursuit comes with a cost.
We spend our best energy and our precious time accumulating things — and in the process, we often neglect the things that matter most:
Time with family,
Deep relationships,
Personal rest,
Our connection with God.
It has been said that we never wish for more time at work when we are on our deathbeds. Instead, we wish we had more time with those whom we love.
But we become preoccupied with getting more — and terrified of losing what we have. We worry about the stock market. We stress over the dollars in our checkbooks. We work so we can have the newest model car. The list goes on and on.
That’s exactly what Jesus was warning about in Luke 12. As it happened, a man from the crowd asks Jesus to be a judge and make the man’s brother divide their father’s estate and give him his inheritance.
I love how Jesus responds: “I am not the judge of that.” And then Jesus warns those listening:
15 … “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” (Luke 12, NLT)
He then proceeds to illustrate His warning by telling a story:
16 … “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. 17 He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ 18 Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my || wheat and other goods. 19 And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then || who will get everything you worked for?’
21 “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” (Luke 12, NLT)
Here was a man who was obsessed with the idea that how much he had defined who he was. The more he had, the better he felt about himself.
But in the end, it cost him everything. Why? Because he had planned for absolutely everything — except for his soul. He gained the whole world. But, he lost his own soul.
Jesus isn’t condemning having good things. Jesus isn’t condemning living a comfortable or even a rich life. Never once does Jesus say that stuff is bad.
Jesus is, though, warning us about the ruin that comes to people when those things and the pursuit of those things run and control our lives.
It is a pattern we have seen play out again and again in real life.
Take Howard Hughes — once one of the wealthiest men in the world. He had everything money could buy: planes, properties, prestige. But in the end, he died alone, locked away in a hotel room, mentally tormented, afraid of germs, relationships, and even the world he had conquered. He was rich beyond measure — but bankrupt of peace.
Or Bernie Madoff — a name now synonymous with greed and scandal. He lived in mansions and moved in elite circles, but it was all built on lies. His relentless pursuit of wealth destroyed not only thousands of lives — it destroyed his own family. One son died by suicide. Another died estranged. Bernie died in prison alone. He gained the world… and lost everything that mattered.
But it does not just happen to the ultra-rich. It happens in boardrooms and backyards, in neighborhoods just like ours.
One father once told the story of building a business empire. He said, “I gave my son everything — except myself. I missed ballgames, birthdays, and bedtime prayers. I told myself I was doing it for him. But in truth, I was doing it for my image. And by the time I realized what I missed, the moment was gone.”
That is the tragedy, the destruction, the ruin, the cost of this lie. When we define ourselves by what we own, we neglect what truly matters.
Like the man in Jesus’ parable — we build bigger barns. We stockpile stuff. We make plans to finally relax and enjoy it all “one day” — not realizing that life is fragile and fleeting… and that our worth was never in our possessions at all.
So let me ask a hard question this morning:
Are we spending our lives building barns — while our soul is being neglected?
Are we pouring ourselves out for things — while the people who love us, the God who created us, and the character within us are slowly being forgotten?
Because the lie says “You are what you have.”
But Jesus says, “Life is not measured by how much you own.”
And the sooner we believe Him — the sooner we begin to live in freedom again.
### **II. The Truth: Your Worth is in Who You Are**
The truth is our worth can be found in who we are.
Jesus says in Matthew 6:?
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For || where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6, NKJV)
Where is our heart today?
You see, God is looking at our **heart**, not our bank account. A bank account never built a relationship — not with people — not with God.
We can have the biggest collection of antique cars, coins, stock, baseball cards, whatever, but our worth is not there. Our worth is in our character. Who we are when no one is looking or watching. That was the subject of Bill Hybels’ book by that title “Who You Are When No One’s Looking”. In it, he talks about the fact that we are all at our best when it counts.
But what about the times when no one is around? When we are alone in our rooms, in our cars, in our offices. What are we like then? You see, that’s where our character comes in — being consistent even when it doesn't seem to matter. Throughout the book, he talks about character traits that are often missing when no one is looking: Courage, Discipline, Vision, Endurance, Love.
So who are we when we are alone? What type of character do we have? Who are we really?
Do we exhibit the fruit of the Spirit? Or just put on a display for the world to see?
Let me give you a real-world example of someone whose worth had nothing to do with wealth, possessions, or status… but everything to do with who she was and how she lived.
You may know her name: Mother Teresa.
She did not own much. She never had a mansion, a private jet, or a stock portfolio. She did not chase titles, wealth, or material success. By the world’s standards, she had very little.
But what she did have — was love.
She gave her life to serving the poorest of the poor on the streets of Calcutta, India. She held the hands of the dying, fed the hungry, comforted the forgotten, and loved the ones the world had cast aside.
And in doing so — she became one of the most respected and beloved figures of the 20th century. Not because of what she had — but because of who she was.
When she died in 1997, presidents and kings attended her funeral. Not to honor her riches — but to honor a life poured out for others. A life that declared, “My worth is not in my possessions. My worth is in being a child of God — and loving others as He has loved me.”
Her life reminds us that you can have nothing in the eyes of the world — and still be rich in love, service, compassion, and character.
Because our worth is not about what we have — it is about who we are.
### **III. The Anchor: Your Worth is in Whose You Are**
Third, this morning, even more important than who we are, the complete truth is this: our worth is really about whose we are. And that truth can really anchor our lives.
At the very beginning of the Bible, we find out whose we are. Genesis 1:27 says:
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1, NKJV)
Throughout Scripture we see God looking out for us, calling us His children. In 1 John 3, the apostle John writes:?
1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! (1 John 3, NKJV)
Our value is not earned or accumulated—it is received and secured in our identity as God’s child.
The world tries its best to chip away at that identity. It started when we began to dismiss the truth of creation. God didn’t create us. A big bang just happened and everything fell into place out of the clear blue skies.
God didn’t create us. Over millions and millions of years, we evolved from micro or single celled organisms.
In our world we have replace God as god. We have taken the power in our own hands to change who we are. I am a mistake. I will just fix that and become something I am not.
Life is nothing more than just this time I’m here, so it doesn’t matter what I do, who I am, where I go, what I become. Life has been discounted.
When we live with these realities, it’s no wonder we believe the lie that what we accumulate defines who we are. Nothing else matters! It’s all a rush to see who has the most in the end. AS the old saying goes, “He who has the most toys wins!”
Regardless of how hard the world spins its lies, though, truth does not change. God’s Word is still God’s Word. And the end of the matter is this: we were made by God. We are loved by God. Most importantly, we have been redeemed by Christ.
There is absolutely nothing can add to or take away from that worth.
### **IV. The Challenge: On What Are We Building Our Life?**
Finally, this morning, on what are we building our lives?
At the end of His sermon, often called the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells this final story in Matthew 7:
24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on || bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” (Matthew 7, NLT)
There are many things that Jesus has said through His sermon. But He chooses to finish with these encouragements:
Build our life on God’s truth (the rock), not the world’s lies (the sand).
The storm will come—and only one foundation will stand.
Building your life on possessions is like building on sand—unstable, shallow, and temporary.
Building on Christ is secure, lasting, and worthy.
**Call to Action:**
This morning, on what foundation are we building our house?
Are we accumulating stuff so that we can always have the newest, the best, the biggest, the shiniest? Are we trying to show off and make ourselves of more importance? Have we placed our worth in the value of the things around us?
Are we building bigger buildings?
Or are we building on the bedrock that is Jesus? In the truth that we are God’s children, that our true identity is in Him?
For what are we striving today? A position of status? Or a relationship with God?
This morning, I pray that we will choose the rock over the sands of this world.
May we reject the world’s scoreboard. We will never win. It’s rigged. It always has been. It always will be. It’s just a big distraction from the truth.
Embrace who you are in Christ today.
Build a life rooted in the truth, not the trends of yesterday.
### **Conclusion: What Really Defines Your Worth**
This morning, we’ve exposed one of the world’s most persuasive lies: What we have determines what we are worth.
But we’ve seen the truth in God’s Word:
Our worth is not found in how much we earn or how many things we own.
It’s not in the car we drive or the title on our business card.
It’s not in our resume or our retirement fund.
It’s in our character — and more importantly, in our Creator.
We each are a child of God, made in His image, redeemed by His grace, and deeply loved — not for what we bring to the table, but simply because we are His.
Because of that, let’s not build our lives on the shifting sands of success, status, or stuff. Build it on the Rock — on the unshakable truth of who God says we are.
Because when all the things of this world are stripped away — when the money fades, the trophies gather dust, the applause quiets down — if we have Jesus… we already have more than enough.
And that is the message behind the song we are about to hear — a reminder that when we have faith, family, Jesus, and life itself… we do not need anything else.
Today’s song is a little different. It’s a celebration of knowing whose we are — of believing the truth about our true worth.
Let’s celebrate that together with Forrest Frank and Thomas Rhett — with “Nothing Else”.
Video Ill.: Nothing Else by Forrest Frank ft. Thomas Rhett
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnXaVLG_dQM
