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sermon: What Does God Really Want? (Part 5)Practical Virtues
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As we begin this sermon I want to turn once again to I Corinthians 4:1-2, where the Apostle Paul wrote:
Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God, Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. (I Corinthians 4:1-2)
In the last sermon on "What Does God Really Want?" we focused on stewardship, and we found that a steward is a person entrusted with the care of what belongs to another. A steward, in other words, is an attendant, a manager, a guardian, a director, agent, or provider. His responsibilities may be narrowed down to any one of them, or all of them might be included.
We also found that though they themselves may have been given a great deal of authority to carry out their responsibilities, they are nonetheless always shown in the Bible as being under authority of a real owner, and being judged, rewarded, or disciplined depending on how well they did caring for and increasing what was given to them.
As applied to us, the reality is that we have been entrusted with the true riches that endure forever, and are valuable beyond our wildest estimate. We have knowledge of the true gospel. Our heritage is God, and to inherit the earth and all of its wealth. We have the forgiveness of sin. We have access to God and His holy spirit. As stewards of God, we have been entrusted with the most valuable wealth that can be given to any human being, and it is a weighty responsibility.
In the parable of the Unjust Steward, Jesus gives us two positive instructions toward success in carrying out our stewardship. The first is that we must labor, following the same principles the children of this world use to attain success in their worldly endeavors. And that is, laboring in the present with energetic self-denial, persistence, endurance, and wisdom, always looking to the future good, and not making compromising accommodations to present circumstances.
The second principle fits hand-in-glove with the first, and that is there are two kinds of wealth. Neither is inherently bad or evil, but one is overwhelmingly better than the other, and that is the one that a faithful steward will focus his efforts toward.
The one of lesser value is called by Jesus in the parable of the Unjust Steward three things, all synonyms of the other: 1) unrighteous mammon; 2) that which is least; and 3) that which is another's.
The second kind of wealth is referred to by Jesus again by three different terms: 1) that which is much; 2) true riches; and also 3) that which is your own. This second category represents wealth that can be carried through the grave. It can be carried through the grave and into the Kingdom of God.
The other wealth (while it is also good), is transient. It is non-permanent; not less lasting because it is not really part of a person's heart.
There is a Spanish proverb which says, "Shrouds have no pockets." It's their version of, "You can't take it with you." We must never allow our efforts and focus in stewardship toward mammon to eclipse that toward true riches.
Making these choices is not easy, because life, it seems, is so demanding on a daily basis, and we live in a nation in which mammon has been elevated to dizzying heights in people's minds, and almost everyone is caught up in worshipping this false god mammon, so that it is very hard to resist being caught up in it because it is pushed so hard at us from every side. You turn on the television, and there it is. You turn on the radio, and there it is. You go to the store, and there it is. "Buy this." "Buy that." "Buy-bound" at this Baal called in the Bible "mammon." So from every side of life it's pushed at us, and Jesus leaves us with the implication there in the parable of the Unjust Steward that it is better to be wise and poor than rich and foolish. So thus we are to make sure that we are bending our efforts as stewards toward developing qualities of character that are eternal everlasting values.
Jesus is saying, "Don't waste your time and energies on what doesn't matter in the long run, because God is going to supply our need anyway. That's the kind of God that He is." Thus stewardship is a single word, a term which describes our responsibilities in our relationship with God toward everything we have been entrusted with, including unrighteous mammon.
God requires proper stewardship of us given to mammon as well as to that which is spiritual, but He is teaching that the one is more valuable than the other. And so a Christian has to perform a masterful, sometimes very difficult, balancing act with how he uses his time and energy in life.
Now the fact is true that the true riches are so much more valuable that there is no adequate comparison that can be made with the unrighteous mammon. We must understand that what is important is what is at the very substance of our heart. To God, what is important, is what we are, not what we have, because it is what we are that will pass through the grave, and therefore must be concentrated on before it's too late, and we die.
Turn to Psalm 49. We're going to read the entire psalm. The subject of this psalm is appropriate to a comparison between unrighteous mammon, which again is not inherently evil. In fact it can be considered also as "that which is good," but because of what we are, and what mammon is, it's very easy for us to make unrighteous mammon into something that is evil rather than good. So what we have here in Psalm 49 is a comparison between the true riches and mammon. If you want to make a study on your own, what you should do is coordinate this psalm with Psalm 73. They have the same basic subject, but each one is expressive in a little bit different way.
Hear this, all you people; give ear, all you inhabitants of the world. (Psalm 49:1)
This is something that is of special interest to you and me, but it is applicable to everybody in the world, and so it has very broad instruction for everybody.
Both low and high, rich and poor, together. My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding [or enlightenment]. (verse 2-3)
He's going to talk about a proper application of something. That's what wisdom is. He says, "I'm going to enlighten you regarding something very important to life."
I will incline my ear to a parable [or a proverb]: I will open my dark saying [or in Hebrew it can actually be translated riddle] upon the harp. (verse 4)
That's an instruction for the person who is going to give this. In reality, this was supposed to be given with a musical background perhaps to add to the impact of what was going to be said.
Wherefore [or why] should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about? (verse 5)
If you look in a modern translation, that word heels in "the iniquity of my heels" will sometimes be translated "supplanter." You remember when Jacob came out of the womb he had hold of Esau's heel, and so Jacob was named supplanter. What is a supplanter? A supplanter is somebody who takes the place of somebody else, or a supplanter is somebody who takes advantage of somebody else, and in taking advantage, he oppresses.
What you are going to find here is something that you are very well aware of, and that is that people of wealth have a proclivity to take advantage of the poor. That's what he's talking about. It almost seems to go with the territory. If a person has wealth, he either got the wealth because he took advantage of other people, or once he gets the wealth he uses the power of money to take advantage of people. That is unfortunately a historical fact. The rich and powerful take advantage of the poor and weak. The rich do get richer, and the poor get poorer very frequently because the rich are taking advantage of them.
This author said that he's not going to fear in the days of evil because those who would deprive us of our rights can't really get to him. Now the author of this psalm was a man of faith, and so he was not concerned about the rich taking advantage of him, but in life we know that the rich will take advantage of the poor.
They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches. (verse 6)
This explains who "the iniquity of my heels" is. It is "they that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches."
Now what is the problem with mammon? We are beginning to see it now. It's very clear. Mammon has a very powerful influence on those who have a great deal of it, that their trust, their security, their hopes, their power is in money. It's in wealth. There is the problem with wealth. It creates security in those who have it. That's not good in a relationship with God, because our security ought to be in God. Our hope ought to be in Him. He is to be our Defender. Remember what I said. It's better to be a wise and poor person than it is to be rich and foolish. The rich have a very difficult time not getting foolish about their riches.
None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him. (verse 7)
Can money save a person in the day of his death? Can money buy a person away from death? Impossible. But unfortunately that's what mammon has the power to create in people. It creates a false hope, a false faith that is not going to carry through the grave, because the trust is in the wrong thing. "None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him." (verse 7 above)
For the redemption of their soul is precious. (verse 8)
This means "beyond the means of wealth." Nobody can buy his way into the Kingdom of God. Money does not buy character. Money cannot buy a pure spirit, a clean nature, a clean heart.
For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceases forever. [That is, at the grave.] That he should still live forever, and not see corruption. (verses 8-9)
This is kind of a concluding statement. We're about halfway through, and he's already saying that mammon is useless.
For he sees that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others. (verse 10)
The author is saying that's it's obvious that anybody can see this. It doesn't matter whether you are wise, poor, rich, or whatever, ...everybody dies. The thought is, the way to have wisdom is to prepare for that death. It's coming.
Their [the wealthy person] inward thought is, that their houses shall continue forever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names. (verse 11)
He is saying here that this is the wealthy and the powerful person's consolation—their source of encouragement—because they believe before they die that their name is going to continue forever, because after all, they named this building as a memorial to them. They named this piece of land for them. They named this street after themselves, and they have children and so their name is going to continue forever through their children. The author of the psalm is saying this is foolish. The only way for a person's name to continue forever is to carry into the grave the right heart, the true character, whatever is pleasing in God's eye. Money can't do it.
Nevertheless man being in honor abides not: [He doesn't continue.] He is like the beast that perish. (verse 12)
Their pride in their things avails them zilch. Zero. Nothing. This is what that verse means.
This their way is their folly. (verse 13)
It's better to be poor and wise than rich and foolish. You wonder where that came from. This is where is came from. It's right in the Book. The folly of the rich man is to put his trust in money.
Yet their posterity approves their sayings. (verse 13)
Do you know what this means? It means, "Like father, like son;" "Like mother, like daughter," that their posterity—the children—adopt the same attitude as their parents have. Ooh! That's a sobering one. And so what happens is, the wealthy pass on the attitude and approach and way to their children, and their children come along and do the same thing, only it's very like they're going to magnify it.
Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright [the victims of the wealthy] shall have dominion over them in the morning; ...[when light comes. Doesn't that indicate a resurrection? It's certainly implied there.] ...and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling. But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah. [Think about this.] (verses 14-15)
For when he [the rich man] dies, he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him. (verse 17)
You can't take it with you. Shrouds have no pockets.
Though while he lived he blessed his soul: [He really pampered himself.] and men will praise you, [Yeah. Self-congratulation] when you do well to yourself. He shall go to the generation of his fathers [those who have died before him; and they shall never see light. (verses 18-19)
Why? Let's change the word a little bit. "They shall never see the glory." They'll never see the glory that the wealthy man took into the grave. Why? Because they're dead! They're in their graves sleeping.
Man that is in honour, and understands not, is like the beasts that perish. (verse 20)
That is, honor in this world, because it cannot be taken through the grave.
Once you understand a psalm like this, you can understand why Jesus said what He said in the parable of the Unjust Steward. The true riches consist of those things that can be carried through the grave and into the Kingdom of God, and this has to have the greater weight in our lives. And thus this psalm is teaching that it is careful attention to our responsibility as stewards, focused in the right direction, that will enable us to come to the end of our lives having produced the right things.
It is what we have done with what we have received. It is what we have done with that which has been given by God that counts, and God is looking for people that can be trusted. What is required of stewards? That they be faithful, that they can be trusted. God is looking for people who can be depended upon. And if we cannot be depended upon as good stewards of what God has put into our care as a human, how can we possibly be given the true heavenly riches—the possession of our inheritance in the kingdom for us from the foundation of the world?
And so we can understand that faithful use of the world helps us to the possession of God to character and to His kingdom. It's good to remember that all the things of the world—wealth and poverty, sickness or health, events and circumstances—are to be understood by us as nothing more than scaffolding for the building of character fit for the Kingdom of God.
All of these things that occurred to us are meant to help make us mature. If we faithfully and wisely use all of these externals with the recognition that ultimately their source is God, without cleaving to them, as the true goal, that knowing that they are intended to help make us more like God and Christ, then I think we can be faithful stewards. But if the world fills our hearts, where are we? We go into the grave having only that which is transient, that which is passing away with our death, ...and it's gone.
Now what God is doing with us, is not this pattern the same as that which is used by craftsmen whenever they are training someone new to the craft, and therefore less skilled? I'm talking about an apprenticeship here. The skilled craftsman sets his apprentices to small tasks, to simple matters that can be scrapped without much loss should a complete failure occur in what they are doing. But as the apprentice becomes more adept in using that which is least, and skills being developed and engrained in him, he is entrusted with greater responsibility with things of greater value.
I went through this in my own life when I took my apprenticeship. They started me out on things that I could hardly hurt, and even if I did hurt it, they could throw it away, and very little was lost. But as I gained skill, then they kept putting me on more and more difficult jobs and things that would have been much more costly had I destroyed them by not doing a good job. That's what God is doing. He has us involved in things that can be scrapped if we mess up, but He will continue to work with us, and as our skills in living and relationships develop, He will entrust us with greater responsibilities.
There is something that is good to know, and that is that both faithfulness to God, and unfaithfulness toward God, will form character that could be eternal, and so the force of Jesus' teaching there in the parable of the Unjust Steward is to make sure that the character that is formed is good and godly. Now can you, can we, be trusted to serve God and His purpose and plan above all other things that come up in our lives?
You know, the Laodiceans are losing that battle even though to all outward appearances they seem to be solidly in the church. But from the description that is given by Jesus there in Revelation 3, they are standing on the precipice of the tribulation, blindly unaware that the focus and judgment of their lives has been diverted into that which is of lesser importance. They're rich, they're increased with goods, but they say they need nothing. That is a dead give-a-way that they are putting the emphasis on the wrong things, because they are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. They don't have the right things in mind.
We're going to go to three very familiar scriptures. The first is Romans 8:28 where I want to emphasize this point that everything in life is given to us for the purpose of building character.
And we know that all things work together for good [but only to a special group of people] ...to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
All the events of life, all of the things that come within our possession, and as part of our responsibility, are given to us for the sake of good. They are given to us so that through them the right things can be carried through the grave. This includes what we might consider bad things. Even things like poor health can be a good thing in terms of what God is doing with us, even though on the outside it looks like it's bad. If God is in your life, then even that sickness (though we might consider it bad), is good. It's part of the scaffolding for building character.
The amount of money that we have and the wealth that we have been given we had better begin to think of this is a little bit different category. It's not necessarily what we have earned by our skill and hard work and so forth, but rather what has been given by God. Turn the thing around, and that becomes part of the stewardship responsibility, because it's been given. All wealth belongs to God.
All of life, including all the events and circumstances of those called into this stewardship, is intended for the building, the forming, the shaping of godly character, (and the wealth and the true riches—that which is your own), so that they will pass through the grave. So for the called, all of life is in preparation for the Kingdom of God.
Turn now to Ephesians 2:1-2.
And you [Christians] has he quickened [made alive], who were dead [spiritually dead] in trespasses and sins: Wherein in time past [before being converted] you walked [you lived your life] according to the course [the way] of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air; the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience. (Ephesians 2:1-2)
The proper stewardship and creation of this true wealth is not possible in the fullest sense until one is called by God, because until God chooses to give us knowledge of the gospel and of Himself, we are helplessly enslaved to the god of this world and his spirit. That enslavement must be broken, and our calling gives us the opportunity to see life from an entirely different perspective. In one sense, all of what one does with life turns one's perspective; perspective being the way we perceive the events and circumstances of life, and this thus greatly affects the way we deal with them. The world calls perspective "our world view." Holding that in mind, let's go back to the Old Testament to another familiar scripture in Isaiah 55:8-9.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)
I think in can be honestly stated that these two verses succinctly describe mankind—our problem—in a nutshell. We don't think the same way God does. We don't see life and its events the same way that God does. We don't have the same perspective as God does. We don't have the same world view that God does.
I remember being helped greatly to understand this by a young man who was in the North Hollywood graduate club. This young fellow also happed to be a very good photographer, and he showed with a couple of clever illustrations in a speech how a photographer's perspective—the point from which he took his picture—suddenly changed what appeared in the photograph, and thus its impact on those who saw the picture. His purpose in the speech was that until we see things from God's perspective, our chances of reaching right conclusions to life's problems, or understanding God's will and therefore making right choices, is greatly diminished, because we don't really "get the picture."
I think this is simply and clearly illustrated in Genesis 3 in that episode in the garden. Neither Satan, Adam, nor Eve saw the event in the same way that God did, and so what happened? Wrong choices were made, and sin—falling short of the glory of God—as a fact in man's life began. Mankind has never recovered what Adam and Eve began, because we all do the same thing. What happened there was typical of what anyone of us would have done in the same situation. I'm speaking most specifically of before conversion, because they weren't converted. They didn't see things the same way God did. They didn't have His perspective, and thus they made wrong choices.
Another broad conclusion concerning what God really wants can thus be reached. All of life is devoted to coming to see things from God's perspective. These last two-mentioned purposes—all of life is devoted to coming to see life from God's perspective, and all of life is for the building of godly character—are inextricably linked, because they outline our stewardship responsibilities. If we don't see things from God's perspective, we're probably going to make wrong choices. If we don't see that all of life is designed by God for the building of character, we will probably make wrong choices and our stewardship will be destroyed on both counts. What does God really want? He wants us to see things from His point of view, and then He wants us to make the right choices because we are consciously striving to build character, to be in His image. That's what all of life is for.
Let's go back to Psalm 90—the psalm that began this whole series on what God really wants—and let's read once again verses 10 through 12. This is really one of the most significant psalms in the entire book. This is where this whole series of five sermons began.
The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength, labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. (Psalm 90:10)
Remember Psalm 49. If the life is soon to be cut off, what should we be paying attention to? So Moses goes on:
Who knows the power of your anger? Even according to your fear, so it your wrath. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. (verses 11-12)
This psalm is about the transitory character of our existence. Moses is saying that life is brief, and it passes by quickly; therefore we don't want to foolishly and carelessly let it pass, focusing on the wrong things. I began this series because I was concerned that because of the calendar issue too many people were getting their minds focused on a technical issue, that from the larger view of God's purpose in practical application, is a minor issue being blown all out of proportion.
What I want to do in the remainder of this sermon is to arrange some broad areas that I've given in this sermon and in previous sermons in this series, in a more specific 1, 2, 3, order, because that's what Moses said. He said, "Help us to put things in order." I will touch on each one of these points briefly, and as a disclaimer, I am not saying that this list is the last word. You and others might put things in a different order. But if I could say what the main point is in the calendar series, it is number one on my list right here.
Point #1: FAITH
Faith is of supreme importance in all of life, because it is faith where it all begins in terms of practical application. God's way is no good at all to anybody if it is not applied, and nobody will apply it unless they believe Him.
Turn now to Hebrews 11 just to touch on something that should be well understood by this time.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)
Faith stands under. It is the foundation. It is the assurance of all that we hope for in giving our lives to this endeavor of serving God.
But without faith it is impossible to please him: [Here is the reason] ...for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (verse 6)
As I said, we're not going to spend a great deal of time on this because other sermons have been given to these things in much more detail previously.
Brethren, it is the lack of faith that is the cause of this world being as it is. Do we understand that? It began when Adam and Eve didn't believe God. They believed Satan instead, and they acted on their belief in Satan and their own feelings rather than trusting God. They didn't believe Him. If the lack of faith is the basic cause of why this horrible world is the way it is, with all of its pain in disease, all of its pain in warfare, all of its pain in fear, all of its pain in upset conditions in people's minds (the mental illness), you look at the problem, because if people believed God, this would never happen.
Now if the lack of faith is the cause, then the exercising of faith is the solution. There's nothing hard about that. Using faith is the solution. What does that mean in practical fact? It means when God says something, we do it regardless of how it looks to our eyes. We do it because we believe God. It's not complicated. If Adam and Eve had done that, things might have turned out a great deal differently.
Let's go to II Corinthians 5:7.
For we [Christians] walk [live] by faith, not by sight. (II Corinthians 5:7)
To me the important thing here is this: (Ultimately this is what differentiates us from all other men.) We believe God.
Many of the unconverted are religious, but the reality is that even though they are religious, they don't believe God, and so they go about establishing their own forms of righteousness. Rather than seeking the righteousness of God, ...(They don't believe Him, and it shows up that they don't believe Him when they keep Sunday, even though the commandment clearly says to "Remember the sabbath," the human mind twists that to say, "One day in seven, rather than the sabbath."
It does the same thing with the other commandments as well. It will twist them into something that is suitable to them rather than simply believing what God says. And so this is what separates the righteous from the unrighteous. The righteous believe what God says.
Now the eyes, the ears, the nose, the skin, whatever, may be telling us something that is not right, but those who believe God will follow what He says rather than believing their own feelings. That's what separates those who have a godly perspective from those that do not have. They walk by faith, and when we come to understand it brethren, THIS—this very fact that you believe God
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