Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
Part I – Your First Million
Glenn H. Teal, CrossRoads Community Church
Sunday February 6/00
Millions of people are watching ABC’s game show “ Who wants to be a Millionaire?” In fact it has become a phenomenon.
Week after week this melodramatic TV game show with its quirky and energetic host – Regis Philbin has scored very strong ratings. Why?
Obviously the producers of this game show have asked the one question to which they are certain they know the answer: Who wants to be a millionaire?
Answer: We all do!
Just think of what we could do with your first million?
You could purchase 6 or 7 very nice new homes, paying cash!
You could own a fleet of luxury cars – BMW’s, Cadillacs Mercedes, Lexus, and even a couple of HumVees
You could vacation in grand style taking several luxury cruises a year and more.
This morning I propose we take a look at what the Bible teaches about what happens when people accumulate wealth – its upside, its downside and occasionally its dark side.
First the Bible teaches that we should put our money and possessions in proper perspective by recognizing that it all comes from God.
I. Recognize God as your Ultimate Source.
Every good and perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17 NIV
Underline the word –every! God gave us everything we have –period.
Now since we’re all in church doing the religious thing today – I can say that it all comes from God and nobody is going to jump up and start a heated argument with me.
But inwardly there is a very good chance that you would like to debate this point. Most of us have a private place where your ego speaks up and says something like: “Excuse me – that might sound like a nice religious idea but don’t forget about me. “I worked very hard for everything we’ve got. I came up with some great money-making ideas. Due to my hard work our money-generating ideas became a reality. It took much hard work and self-discipline and I deserve everything I have!”
Perhaps our egocentric inner voice might continue: “ Nobody dropped good fortune in our laps – We got this far and acquired our stuff the old fashioned way -- we earned it!”
Now to be clear on this subject I am not denying that your hard work and good ideas have paid off. The Bible teaches that we should use our talent and physical prowess to earn money.
Therefore if we have used our God-given talents and abilities to make money I believe God is pleased. Scripture teaches us to be energetic and industrious and financially astute.
Just don’t forget the key phrase in that last sentence – God-given.
Let me ask you a question. What do you have that God has not provided?
Perhaps we could do a little “word association” to help us all to come up with the right answer.
Give me the first word that comes to your mind when I ask the following:
Who gave you life?
Who placed various talents inside you?
Who gave you an able body?
Who has protected you so far from tragedy?
See a pattern so far?
Who has a limitless heart full of love for you?
Who gave his one and only son as a payment for your sins?
What do you have that God has not provided? Nothing!
If you have figured out that the love of God is amazing and compelling and if you have invited Jesus to forgive you and fill your life, and if you have fully surrendered your life to Jesus Christ, then who owns everything you call yours?
He does!
When we become followers of Jesus, we say to Him “Lord Jesus after your death on the cross for me and your resurrection from the dead for me – I give you my life. I give you my all. Everything I have is yours. I’m all yours!”
This is indeed the best deal on earth. I give Jesus my sins and failures and He gives me a whole new life here on earth and a life hereafter in heaven!
If you have not surrendered everything you are and have to Jesus and invited Him to rule in your heart then you can take that step today. I invite you to yield your life to Christ through an honest sincere prayer from your heart.
To give ourselves fully to Jesus is an exciting adventure in which we give everything we are and have to him only to have him give it all back for us to use on three conditions:
1 We use God’s stuff wisely and well – we enjoy our lives under God
2 We manage God’s stuff responsibly – don’t blow it or abuse it
3 We will hold it all loosely and give a portion of it back so that one day we are prepared to account to Him for how well we managed it all and how generously we shared it.
The second thing we do with everything God has placed in our hands is too acknowledge its power to do good or to be used for evil purposes.
2 Face the Dangers in Wealth.
People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge then into ruin and destruction for the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. . .
I Timothy 6:9-10 NIV
Underline – trap – ruin – love of money.
God gave us the ability to acquire wealth. Clearly He is not against people becoming rich!
God teaches his people to work hard and smart to create value to serve others to be fair to support our families and to share with those in need. Many people in the Bible were wealthy – Abraham, King David and Solomon to name a few.
John Wesley the founder of the Methodist movement in the late 1700s made a huge impact on his world. He once wrote these words about money:
“Make all you can -- - Save all you can – Give all you can!”
But the Bible clearly warns that getting rich can open the doorway to personal ruin if our character growth doesn’t keep pace with your net worth.
Look at I Timothy 6:9-10 again.
Stop to think with me for a moment about what kinds of “ruin” can result from a love of money?
Family Breakdown:
From Donald Trump’s many marriages to the corporate president’s rebellious kids – riches can ruin a family. My wife and I lived near a very nice neighborhood in Saskatoon Canada. A few blocks from our home a fabulous home was under construction. We watched it with great interest as the indoor pool was completed and the terracotta roof was installed. However after several months it seemed to still be empty. Sadly we were informed that during the construction period many of the tensions involved with building such a grandiose home proved too much for an already troubled marriage. The owners divorced before ever moving in.
Personal Excess:
The excessive lifestyle of many of today’s highest paid athletes and hip-hop recording artists are famous for their self destructive results.
Self-indulgence leads to self-destruction.
Heartless Cruelty:
One of the most famous examples of a hard hearted person who was surrounded by wealth and fame was the sad story of hotel queen Leona Helmsley. Who when confronted with the fact that she was breaking the tax laws and underpaying workers reportedly said: “Only the little people pay taxes.”
Excessive wealth can lead to a dulling of the sensibility to the needs of others.
I love the opening scene from the movie: Sense and Sensibility starring Emma Thompson. As the movie opens a dying father leaves his inheritance to his son after making the son promise that he will be very generous to his sisters. On the way home from his father’s deathbed the son’s hard-hearted wife gradually convinces her newly rich husband to keep the vast majority of his inheritance for himself and give his sisters only a token. We watch dumbfounded as good intentions are overwhelmed by greed.
Listen to the Psalmist’s advice:
If your wealth increases -- don’t make it the center of your life.
Psalm 62:10
Spiritual Carelessness:
Another hidden danger that often besets the wealthy is spiritual carelessness
Sometimes our love for the good things in life gets the better of us. We begin to pursue fortune to the neglect of prayer and Bible study. We have little or no time for our small group. We are not against these spiritually healthy practices but we move them to the back burner when we become obsessed with enjoying wealth and the power it brings.
Scripture doesn’t say that wealth is wrong, but it does warn us to watch out for it’s dark side: the love of money.
Third, once we have faced the dangers in becoming obsessed by wealth we are called by God to do something very positive. That is:
III Build your Character not just your Net Worth.
But godliness with contentment is great gain. I Timothy 6:6 NIV
Notice that the key word here is contentment – not laziness, and not irresponsibility.
This text calls us to find a level of inner peace and satisfaction with the good things we already have. To enjoy all that God has blessed us with.
You might ask: What riches do I already possess?
Try this list:
Family members who love you
A residence to call your own.
At least one vehicle
Some money in the bank
In global terms we North Americans are in the top 15% of the world’s wealthiest people
Many of us would add to this list many spiritual riches.
Consider the truth of these words: “Humility and the fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor and life.” Proverbs 22:4
The fact is that there will come a day when your net worth financially speaking, will not be worth a hill of beans. In that day we will stand before God and give an account of our lives.
When he asks why we should be allowed to enter heaven He will not be impressed by: a prestigious address, nor a stable full of luxury cars, not even a private yacht nor a cool million or two. None of our possessions will amount to anything in the presence of Almighty God.
Your first million will not amount to much then.
We know this to be true even this side of death. As a pastor I’ve been there in the room with people when the last breath came. In those intensely personal times I have never ever heard a heart to heart conversation about the size of the dying person’s bank account or the latest return on their investments. None of that seems to matter then.
In the most intense personal moments of life we know that people want to talk about the really big issues:
Do I have assurance that I will I spend eternity with Jesus in Heaven?
Have I lived a life that honored God and showed love and compassion?
Is my family prepared to follow in the footsteps of faith?
We would all be very wise to concentrate on the things that matter most while we can. Work on building your faith and your character, not just your net worth
Finally we are called by God to honor Him with all we have.
IV Determine to Honor God with your Resources.
Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything your land produces. Proverbs 3:9 NLT
Two years ago I had the joy of spending three days at a forum for pastors of larger churches that was hosted by Christian businessman – Bob Buford. He is a joyous faithful Christian who is using his financial assets to honor God.
At that meeting Bob said: “I believe one day I will stand before God and the first question he will ask me is this: What did you do with my son Jesus? I also believe that He will ask me another question: What did you do with the resources I placed in your hands?”
His insight helped me to understand a very important principle: Every decision we make relating to our possessions has spiritual implications. Every financial decision has spiritual implications.
I wonder what difference it would make in our spending if Jesus had to appear in bodily form to co-sign all our checks before they would be negotiable?
What would it take for you to honor God with your resources?
Perhaps your first step should be to get your spending under control.
Maybe you need to dramatically reduce your debt-load. Or could it be that God simply wants you to become more generous?
Honoring God with your money certainly involves a serious decision to stop wasting money on harmful habits like playing the lottery and other forms of petty gambling.
No doubt exercising more care and prayer on every significant purchase would be good for us too. Many of us need to become more diligent about saving for the future and investing wisely.
I read the other day that “Our faith becomes practical when it expresses itself in two books: our date book and our checkbook”. I’m convinced that is exactly right.
So starting here and now – let’s ask God to help us to learn what it means to honor Him with everything we have.
CONCLUSION: As we close today I have a hypothetical question for you that comes from some comments I heard John Ortberg from Willow Creek Community Church make in a message on a similar theme to this one.
What if someone came to you as you leave church today and offered you the keys to a brand new 2000 Expedition Eddie Bauer Edition? You know the top of the line model with everything on it: air, leather, tilt, cruise, the works.
They said this gorgeous vehicle was yours to drive on three conditions
1 That you drive it with joy. Being careful to share it with others.
2 That you maintain it in tip top condition at all times. Stay on top of oil changes and maintenance. Just be responsible in how you use it.
3 Be prepared to give it back any time. And when asked to give it back
you should be prepared to give an accurate account of how you used the vehicle!
How would you react?
First you would feel a terrific sensation of being blessed and thrilled. You would no doubt be delighted at the thought of enjoying this nice vehicle and being able to share it with others.
Second you would feel a tremendous sense of responsibility. You would be keenly aware of the need to keep it up and maintain it because you would always know that it really isn’t yours – its just yours to use.
Third you would be constantly prepared to give it back. In your mind you would have a constant anticipation that eventually you would be called to give an account of how you used the vehicle.
This simple illustration is in fact the story of our lives. We’ve been given much more than a nice car.
Our very lives belong to God. He has given these lives to us so that we may enjoy them and use them in ways that will honor Him, all the while knowing that one day we will give an account to the ultimate Owner.
Let’s pray together for God’s help in honoring Him with all we have.
