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The Yeshua Worldwide Network
of Churches
Pastor Paul Naumann
The Ninth Sunday After
Trinity
"KEEP
YOUR EYE ON THE ETERNAL BOTTOM LINE"
I Timothy 6 vv 6-10
"But godliness with contentment is great gain.
For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing
out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who
desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and
harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of
money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith
in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
In the Name of Jesus Christ, Who
offers us the riches of eternal life, Dear Fellow Redeemed. "Bottom
line economics" is a term a lot of people are using in today's business
world. A good bottom line manager is one who keeps a close eye on profits when
making decisions about how to run his company. He's careful to take into account
long-term as well as short-term profits. If he can make a change in policy that
will cause that bottom line of profits to rise, either now or sometime down the
road, then he does it. On the other hand, a decision that will hurt business
later on must be avoided, even if it means passing up short term profits. A
smart manager knows - keeping your eye on the bottom line is good business.
In one respect, at least, it's also
good religion. Consider: if offered a gift of a million dollars, most of us
would take it. But what if someone said you could be a millionaire for one day
as long as you agreed to live in abject poverty the rest of your life? Most of
us would reject that offer. It's a bad bottom line; in the long run, it just
wouldn't be worth it. What's surprising is how many people there are who
completely ignore the bottom line in making decisions about their life. I'm
talking about the long term now, the eternal bottom line. Most people in our
world are perfectly willing to pass up eternal treasures for the sake of
material things - things that disappear as fast as you can snap your fingers.
The danger is there for all of us. That's why our text for today offers us a
reliable guide on how to avoid eternal losses, and reap huge eternal profits.
The Apostle Paul's advice to Timothy, and to us, is...
"KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE
ETERNAL BOTTOM LINE"
I. The love
of money yields discontent and destruction.
II.
Faith in Christ yields contentment and eternal life.
Young Pastor Timothy needed Paul's
advice, because there were some false teachers stirring up trouble in his
congregation. These men were "proud, knowing nothing, obsessed with disputes
and arguments over words, destitute of the truth." Well, why would these
guys stick with Christian church if all they could do was fight and wrangle over
words? Paul tells us - they did it because "they supposed that godliness was
a means of gain." Quite simply, they wanted to make money off the church.
They loved money. They were looking for short term gains, worldly gains. In
fact, Paul said, "Godliness with contentment IS great gain"...but not the
kind of gain they were thinking of. If you look at the long term - the eternal
bottom line - the love of money yields discontent and destruction.
Money will buy a lot of things. But
one thing money can almost never buy is happiness and contentment. In fact, says
Paul, what usually happens is just the opposite. "The love of money is a root of
all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their
greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." Money by itself
isn't necessarily bad; if the Lord has blessed you with monetary wealth, you
should be thankful, and put those resources to work for the kingdom of God. But
the love of money is something else again...all kinds of evil springs from that!
For so many people, money becomes a
god, a little idol that they bow down to. They love it, and the "things"
it can buy for them. But how quickly the bank account dries up! How soon the
things wear out or are broken! They place their confidence in it to provide for
them and get them out of trouble. But money is a weak staff, that so often
breaks when you lean upon it.
"Good thing I'm not like that!"
you're saying to yourself. But are any of us free from the lust of material
wealth? Can we say for certain that we've never bowed down before the altar of
the Almighty Dollar? When financial trouble threatens your family, which do you
open first - your bank book or your Bible? Which would you be more likely to
skip - a payday at the place where you work, or a worship service here at God's
house? My fellow Christians, beware! Keep your eye on the eternal bottom line!
If money or anything else lures you away from the worship of the true God, you
may very well end up losing everything that's really important. The love of
money is idolatry, and idolatry isn't just dangerous...it can be eternally
fatal! Paul says, "Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a
snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction
and perdition."
Keep your eye on the eternal bottom
line! From that point of view, it's obvious that focusing your life on money and
possessions just isn't worth it. If you want to avoid big losses, then avoid the
love of money at all costs. On the other hand, if you want to lock in huge
eternal profits, there's a sure-fire formula for that, too. What is it? Paul
answers: it's Godliness with contentment. "Godliness with contentment is great
gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry
nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content."
Faith in Christ yields contentment and eternal life!
Up till now we've been talking about
the unfortunate people who make money their god. What a contrast when you
compare the people to whom Jesus Christ is God and Lord! If I asked you to name
the two wealthiest people with whom you're personally acquainted, who comes to
mind? An old Lutheran pastor once described the two richest men he knew: "One
is a labourer with his wife at his side, his little flock around the table, a
simple meal before them. They fold their hands and bow their heads as grace is
said and Jesus is invited to their table. They are happy and content, care
knocks in vain at their door, and their greatest treasure lies upon the tidy
shelf against the wall...a well-worn Bible. The other is an old man in a nursing
home, his beloved Bible and hymnal among the few possessions he cherishes. From
his little hoard of savings he finds it possible to give a silver coin each week
to the Lord's work (far more than the wealthy banker gives!) Thankfully he looks
at the sunset in the west and thinks of pleasant bygone days, thankfully he
praises God who has fulfilled His promise: at eventide it shall be light. These
two have learned the great secret of true riches: godliness with contentment is
great gain."
Paul says, "We brought nothing
into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out." God designed
our life that way on purpose, and it's a good thing, too. It shows us that
material wealth is essentially unimportant, from an eternal point of view. If
money was really important, the Lord would make sure that every baby was born
with a billfold full of hundred dollar bills. If big houses, fancy cars and
expensive clothing were really important, the Lord wouldn't make us leave them
behind when we die. But they're not important. None of those things changes the
eternal bottom line one bit. So if you haven't got a lot of money, if you
haven't got a lot of luxuries - please don't have worry about it, and think
you're "unsuccessful," and give yourself ulcers over it. It's really not
that big a deal! Our true riches lie elsewhere.
The greatest treasure you can have is
one no money can buy. Paul simply calls it "godliness." He's referring to
the faith in Christ that the Holy Spirit works in a person's heart. And
Christian faith doesn't stay bottled up there in the heart, either. It finds
expression in the way a Christian talks, and the way he lives. What your faith
shows to other people is a fruit of the Holy Spirit working in you. In this way
your godliness benefits others. But first and foremost, your godliness (your
Spirit-worked faith in Christ) benefits YOU! In Galatians Paul describes the
bottom line benefits of being a Christian; he says, "The fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control." --
Galatians 5 vv 22-23. Those are the gifts
you receive along with faith in Christ. The deeper the faith, the richer the
gifts. I ask you, is there anything we need to be happy in this world that's not
on that list? If so, I'd sure like to know what it is!
"And having food and clothing,"
Paul says, "with these we shall be content." Contentment, too, is a gift
God gives us. And what a precious gift it is! Which would you rather be - a gas
station attendant who's happy, or a millionaire who's miserable? The Lord
blesses us by opening our eyes to our spiritual riches, by letting us see things
from the point of view of the eternal bottom line. With that kind of outlook,
Paul says, you could have a very happy life even if all you had were the clothes
on your back and the food on your table. But we've each of us been given so much
more than that. Take a look at our lives! Look at the material wealth the Lord
has blessed us with...our homes, our property, and our jobs, our clothes, cars,
TV's and microwaves. Don't we each have to confess, with the Patriarch Jacob,
"O Lord, I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your
servant!" -- Genesis 32 v 10.
God has given each of us more than
enough material wealth to make us content and happy. But let's not forget our
greatest source of wealth. God has given us His Son, Jesus Christ. He literally
gave Him up on the cross for us. On that first Good Friday, Jesus became made
Himself a human/divine sacrifice to atone for the sins of the world. He
forfeited his life by incredible suffering. Why? -He did it in order to fix your
eternal bottom line. On Calvary Jesus changed your bottom line from a negative
balance to a positive one. With His blood, He paid off all your sins. With His
perfect righteousness, He made you worthy to stand before God justified and
clean. At the cross of Christ, forgiveness is free for the asking, and full son
ship and eternal life is yours to keep!
They say "you can't take it with
you," but this is one source of wealth that we can and will carry with us
into the mansions of heaven. The salvation that our Lord Jesus has won for us is
a treasure that doesn't fade away, and that strengthens us for the trials we
have to go through in this life. Paul asked, "If God is for us, who can be
against us?" -It's a good question. If you and I are God's beloved children,
redeemed by Christ and bound for heaven, what can the world do to us? What
misfortune can defeat us? What financial setback can possibly overcome us? None
can. In Christ, the victory is already ours! Paul says, "In all these things
we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." -- Romans 8 vv 31,37.
If you've been watching the news lately, you may have noticed that Pan Am
airlines has filed bankruptcy. Many of long-time employees are worried about
their pensions, and understandably so. How terrible it would be to put your
money into a pension plan for thirty years, and then just when you're ready to
retire, see it all disappear! Well, the day of our "retirement" from this world
is approaching for each of us. Let's keep our eyes on the eternal bottom line,
remembering that "godliness with contentment is great gain." Let's make
sure we're investing our resources in things that won't disappear. Jesus said,
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy
and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in
heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in
and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." AMEN.
Pastor Paul Naumann
If you would like to submit a Guest Sermon then send
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Sermon By The Revd Chris Hicken BA, AD, BBS
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&
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Roman
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The Yeshua Worldwide Network
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