PEOPLE AND MONEY

Key Text: "Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days." Verse 3

INTRODUCTION: Please turn with me to the little book of James, chapter five and I want us to read the first three verses. I want us to see a number of things about money. We hear a number of different things about money, but in our sermon today, I want us to see what the Word of God says about the subject of money. The stock market tell us about our money and each day Wall Street gives us a report on television/ radio. Newspapers report the financial position of companies daily. So, we see there is much talk about money in the secular world and you and I need to know what God says in the Spiritual realm.

We need to have a interest in money. Now, how we treat money, how we think about money and how we react to money tells us a lot about our character.

I heard about a dear old man who through an inheritance came into a large amount of money that he didn’t know about until the preacher came and explained it to him. The Pastor said to him, "What would you do, if you came into a large amount of money?" The dear brother replied, "Well, first of all, I would give $200,000 to the building fund." The preacher fainted. In that story, we see two different views. The dear old man was happy to give the money. The Pastor was shocked to hear the man say that he would gladly give the $200,000.

Now, people have a good many ideas about money. Some of us think money can make us happy, but it can’t. Others think it can take us to a lot of places. Well it can with the exception of Heaven. Money can’t take us to Heaven, but it could cause us to miss Heaven. Money doesn’t bring security. There are some people who think its wrong to have money. They think money is sinful. Well friends, it is not wrong to have money and money is not sinful. Some people think you go against God if you have money and that you can not live a righteous life if you have money. Already, I hope you can see that there is a lot of confusion and misunderstanding about money.

"For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." I Timothy 6:10 You see from this verse that money, itself is not evil, but rather the love of money gets in the way.

There are a lot of deceptions about money and there are a lot of disagreements about money. People will criticize you over money more than just about any thing else. If a man runs after money, he is called money mad. If he keeps his money, he is called a miser, a stingy person. If he spends his money, he is called a pleasure seeking person that loves the world. If he is out in the world working for money and does well, he is called a parasite and lives off others and their misfortune. If a man doesn’t have money, he is told that he has no ambition and that he does not have money because he is lazy, will not work and does not know how to take care of what he does have.

Now, friends, money can hurt a home (family) or help a family. I have heard several times that the research shows that money is the cause of 89% of all discord and arguments in the home can be related to finances. And that money marriages end up in divorce courts because of disputes about money. Now, I can’t put my finger on where to find that in writing and document it, but listen friends, if even one half of that is true, it is a very sad commentary on the condition of our finances. Your attitude matters, your attitude has a great deal to do with how you handle money. How we look at money and think of wealth will determine our attitude. A person’s character can to a large degree form his attitude toward money.

Someone has said, about stewardship, that man makes stewardship, but God makes men. There is great truth and wisdom in that statement. You see, there are three persons interested in your money. 1) God is interested in your finances. 2) Satan, the Devil is interested in your finances and 3) You are interested in your money. You and I should really be interested in our money for two reasons. First, because of our family and second, because of God. We are stewards of what God gives us. We should manage our money for our good and His good and glory.

Lets look at James 5:1. "Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you."

In these three verses, James is writing about how we save our money. The expression…Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days" has the meaning of, "you have collected money, you have collected material things for the last days."

Now, some people collect money like people collect stamps. They just collect the stamps and many times never do anything with them. I’ve seen small jewelry stores that collect jewelry and sell almost none of it. They just keep it. Personally, I have a collection of classic pick-up trucks. My wife has a collection of dolls. We are going to give the trucks to the grand-boys and the dolls to the grand-daughters. Our goal is to invest in the work of God and our children. We have no desire to leave behind moth eaten garments and rusted finances. Our savings must be used for the good of family and the advancement of the spreading of the gospel.

Lets read Matthew 6:19-21

Now please notice carefully verse 19 "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal."

STAGNANT WEALTH: Here in Matthew chapter 6 is the same thing we have in James 5. that is what we call "stagnant wealth." Meaning it does not flow. This stagnant wealth just piles up. As James tells us, "…Ye have heaped treasure together for the LAST DAYS." Verse 3 I really believe God wants us to save money, but not in such a manner and methods of never using any of it. Tell me friend, what good is money if we never use any of it? Well, here is what happens! The Bible tells us it will become rusty, it will become moth eaten and thieves will break through and steal. Now, let me say again that the Lord wants us to save money. He just does not want us to salt it down and heap it up.

GO TO THE ANT: Proverbs 6:6-11

Did you know that we can learn a great lesson from the ant? Mark in the margin of your Bible here in James 5 and Proverbs 6:6-11

Proverbs 6:6 "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise."

God wants us to save, but here is a warning, He does not want us to hoard money in such a way that we pile it up and it comes between us and God. Now, again, I want to say that God does not condemn wealth. Some people think God is down on wealth and that He condemns wealth, but He does not. The Bible tells us that God gives power to get wealth.

Now, when we read and study God’s Word, we find that many children of God were very rich.

Abraham: "and Abraham was very rich in cattle, in silver and in gold." Genesis 13:1-2 Abraham is not only rich, he is the father of the faithful and friend of God.

1. Abraham was called "the father of many nation." Romans 4:17
2. Abraham was called "the friend of God." James 2:23

1. David lived to be an old man.
2. David died with honour
3. David had riches

Question: What do we learn from Abraham and David"

Answer: They were both rich in material blessings. They both died as men of honour. The lives of these men teach us a number of things. God is not down on people who have wealth. A person can have the riches of this World and honour God and at the same time remain faithful to God’s law and do God’s will.

Arimathalo: A city of the Jews where Joseph grew up and Joseph was rich. Joseph buried Jesus in his (Joseph) own tomb. Friend, that was a great and blessed honour to Joseph to loan Jesus his tomb and give Him (Jesus) a proper burial. Matthew 27:57-60.

There are numbers of people in the Bible who were rich. They honoured God and they prospered in material riches and grew spiritually. Look out through the world today and we can see some of the same things. There are good Christians, Church going people that God honours and prospers. God does not condemn riches. The love of money is wrong not money.

COVETOUSNESS: Now, friend God does condemn greed, covetousness and He warns us about it.

Luke 12:15 "And he said unto them, Take heed; and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possessth." Now, friends, it is one thing to possess money, but it is altogether another thing for money to possess you. You see, we are to control the money. Lets not turn that around and permit money to control us.

Heidi Green - - New York City: She was a very wealthy lady, but never spent any of her money. She lived like a street person and when she died the community learned that she was very, very rich. What was her problem? It wasn’t money, she had plenty of that. She hoarded up money and she loved money. She put money between her and people; between her and God. That was her problem. Sad to say, but there are many Heidi Greens in the world and even in the Christian Community. You will find people controlled by money. These dear people just don’t want to let go. They don’t want to let go and put their money in circulation.

God, Himself is a giving God. He gave the beautiful sun and the moon. He gave the stars and He gave the earth. He gives us water to drink, air to breathe and food from the ground and fruit from the orchard. Above all these He gave His only begotten Son to save us from sin and give us a better life in this world and eternal life in the New Earth.

Listen to what Ecclesiastes tells us: "There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt." Ecclesiastes 5:13 That’s what James is telling us. James 5:1-3

Third World Countries: If those dear people could visit our country and see our life style they would think that all of us are rich. Just think of all we have. We are Rich! Did you know that about 10 years after James wrote this portion of the Bible, Jerusalem was destroyed. That is what happened to Job. He lost everything he had. Jerusalem lost everything in the city. 1,000,000 people died during the destruction of Jerusalem and those with riches after the destruction were robed by thieves and looters.

1. HOW A PERSON SECURES MONEY

"Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth." James 5:4

Now, here is a great danger relating to temptation and that is for the rich, the wealthy to oppress the poor. You see it is wrong to secure money at the expense of the poor. The cry of the poor had entered the mind, heart and ears of the Lord. You see we must not only be careful as to how we save money, we must also be careful as to how we SECURE our money. As we look at verse 4, we understand God is against gain that is wrongly gotten. And He is especially against those who oppress the poor. To follow the example of Jesus, we must have a love for the poor.

Getting money by being in the liquor business, by being in the gambling industry, by oppressing the poor is wrong. Christians should not participate in any of these. Lets secure our money in a way and manner that God can bless and honour us and the money.

2. HOW A PERSON SPENDS MONEY

Now, in verse 5 God speaks of those who live for pleasure alone. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-gratification. You have pampered your hearts in a day full of slaughter.

God has given the rich here in verse 5 the power to get wealth. He has made them stewards over great possessions and they just lavish it on themselves. They are very generous and freely spend, but its all for them. Now, friends, God is not against people having pleasure and living the good life. It is not wrong to have money and good things. It is not a sin to have good things and enjoy life.

JOSEPH PROSPERED: "and the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand." Genesis 39:2-3

PROSPERITY AND PLEASURE: The two can grow together and God and the Christian can be pleased about it. I believe God is made glad when He sees His people happy and prospering. God wants us to be happy, healthy and prosperous.

Lets look at what God says about those who love and favour His righteousness.

Now friend, God is not against pleasure. He is not against happiness and prosperity. But God is against selfishness, self-gratification, living for self alone and He is certainly against the worship of wealth, material things and the seeking of pleasure all time, but no time for Him and the church.

God is not against this frame of mind, "I’ll have time for the Lord and the church, I’ll do my duties and give of my possessions."

Here is something for us to think about. "A miserable person is a miserable person"

John D. Rockefeller – age 54: He became ill with a bleeding ulcer. For years he had studied and worked toward making money. That had been his life and he had prospered greatly. When the medical Doctor gave him the news of his condition, Mr. Rockefeller made a decision. He said, "all my ,life, I’ve studied ways and means to make money, now, I am going to start giving some of it away." His ulcer healed up and his health began to improve. He lived for 30 more years in good health.

Mr. Rockefeller, a dying man learned a better way. He changed his life style, his attitude and his health. Here is what happened. His lifestyle was no longer for self alone. His attitude toward others was one of helping. His health was stronger, better and such that he enjoyed health and pleasure. He continued to give and he prospered until he died at the age of 84.

So many times people live only for money and possessions. "they get all they can and can all they get." They sit on the lid and poison the rest. The Bible tells us that it is more blessed to give.