Collins & West Hartland United Methodist Churches

Sermon Notes—4/27/08

Message: Collins/WH    April 27 , 2008                                                               SLIDES

The Messy 8 in 2008        # 3  Are Rich Christians a Contradiction?

Lk.16:1-15

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus.  He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight.  v. 14-15

 

 

Intro:  So! You tell me:  Are Rich Christians a Contradiction? I’m a coward! I won’t touch that question.  You tell me!

 

"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."  Lk.16:13

 

Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?"  Rev.6:15

 

Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes.  Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. James 5:1-3

"But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Lk.624

 

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.  2Cor.8:9

[But1 He‘s not talking about an increase in an IRA]

 

I  Just being confronted with a collection from God’s word on money makes me … … … uncomfortable!

 

Say/Pastor:  But I’m not rich! I don’t have 2 $1000 bills to rub between my fingers!

 

Research b y the World Institute for Development finds: (cf. PP slide/map)

Assets of $2,200 per adult placed a household in the top half of the world’s wealth distribution.

To be among the richest 10% of adults in the world required $61,000 in assets

Only $500,000 in assets is required to belong to the riches 1% in the world, a group with 37 million members worldwide.

The richest 1% of adults owned 40% of the world’s global assets

The richest 10% of adults accounted for 85%, while the bottom half of the world’s adult population owns barely 1% of global wealth!

According to the study, almost all of the world richest individuals live in North America, Europe, & Asia-Pacific countries.

Are Rich Christians a Contradiction?  You tell me!!

 According to the US Census Bureau, the Poverty Thresholds in 2007 read like this:

For a family of 4 (w/ 2 children under 18yrs.) – Poverty level is      $21,000

For a family of 5 (w/3 children under 18yrs.) – Poverty level is       $24,700

 

“Poor” in the USA sounds like “rich” in the rest of the world.

In some 3^rd world countries a worker must spend 80% of his income to pay … … for shelter and food,  … leaving them little for leisure or luxury.

While in the Western world one Christian man was observed tipping a … … … matrade in a restaurant $100 for a prime table

Another paid $100 for a “corking-fee” just to remove the cork from a … $1000 bottle of wine at a $3000 French meal.

Another Christian couple spent $5000 for a two week luxury cruise.

Another spent $50,000 for a luxury SUV

Are Rich Christians a Contradiction?  You tell me!!

 

 

II  Among the stories that Jesus told is this one that is notoriously difficult to interpret

LK 16:1 Jesus told his disciples: "There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. [2] So he called him in and asked him, `What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.'

The villain in this story surprisingly isn’t the rich man, but the one who was … … … mismanaging  possessions that were not his own to begin with.

 

LK 16:3 "The manager said to himself, `What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm ashamed to beg-- [4] I know what I'll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.'

LK 16:5 "So he called in each one of his master's debtors. He asked the first, `How much do you owe my master?'

LK 16:6 " `Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,' he replied. "The manager told him, `Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.

LK 16:7 "Then he asked the second, `And how much do you owe?'   " `A thousand bushels of wheat,' he replied. "He told him, `Take your bill and make it eight hundred.'

 

It’s been suggested that the amounts owed were large: the wheat is equal to the … … yield of about 100 acres;

The discount that the mgr. gave each of the master’s debtors is computed to equal … about 16months wages.

And what the mgr. slashed from the amount owed is probably the thru the ceiling … interest he was charging  so he could have a piece of the action.

So the principle was never in danger, but the mgr. came to terms with his own greed &  was willing to eat the loss to save his life and have a future.

 

LK 16:8 "The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. [9] I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

 

The difficulty in the interpretation is deciding where the story ends and where … … Jesus commentary on the story begins.

The story probably ends in the middle of v.8, & then Jesus’ commentary begins.

When it comes to $, Christians better know how to use/head & keep … … … … things/perspective.

“use worldly wealth to gain friends” -  That may reflect the Jewish custom of … referring to God indirectly;  In other words, … If you don’t think money can influence the status your  relationship with God, you’d better think again.

You can’t buy heaven, but you can bank roll your way into hell.

The love of God is w/o price; but admission into Hell comes at the … … price of just a few dollars.

Grace is free!!  But Hell comes with interest.

 

Jesus continues with His commentary:

LK 16:10 "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. [11] So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? [12] And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?

LK 16:13 "No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."

LK 16:14 The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. [15] He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight.

 

 Jesus put things in terms of either or:

Either serving God or serving money; It’s either His interest in people (ministry)… or your interest in money.

It’s either sneer or cheer (v.14) … & if you listen carefully, you can hear the cheer that went up from the poor.

It’s either “My Precious” or My God; I’m think of how Gollum in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings Trilogy is slave to the power of the gold ring which he calls “My precious”; When it comes to money, it’s either … or.

It’s either friends or funds, with “friends” being an indirect reference to Father, Son, & HS; It’s either … or!

It’s either here or there.  Jesus said: Woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort”; It’s either here or there; If you go for it here, you’ll miss it there.

 

Rich Christians a Contradiction?  You tell me!

I’d better come to terms with what Jesus says about money, lest I loose my own soul.

And coning to terms always begins with tethering my giving to the principle of a tithe (10% back to God for the work of the gospel thru/Church - & then learning to be generous in giving beyond that)

Parent’s – If you want your kids to know Christ, teach them tithing just as much as you teach them anything else; They won’t know him w/o it.

Listen!  I know what Jesus said about money.  I know who the rich really are in the world, because I’m one of them; I dare not disregard the words of Jesus

I share this with you in all humility; I dare not boast or brag.  Janet said to me recently, “Our giving has reached 3 digits!... per month!!

We’re not the only one; There are others who do the same.

 

John Wesley, the man on whose shoulders we stand as Methodists, is known for the principle: “Earn all you can, save all you can, so you can give all you can”

 

Allowing that diligence and frugality must produce riches, is there no means to hinder riches from destroying the religion of those that possess them?  I can see only one possible way; find out another who can.  Do you gain all you can, save all you can?  Then you must in the nature of the case grow rich.  Then if you have any desire to escape the damnation of hell, give all you can; otherwise I can have no more hope of your salvation, than of that of Judas Iscariot.

Philip S. Watson.  The Message of the Wesleys. Pg.156

 

 

Let me pause and invite questions & comments  about something you’ve heard me say, or something you’ve heard the from the voice of God in your soul.

 

 

 

Comic:  The Longhorns …The church treasurer wants to know how you want our quarter split between the building and operating funds.

Are rich Christians a Contradiction?                            You tell me!

Is generosity a mark of grace                                        You tell me!

Is tithing a tether to the Trinity of God, &to/ friendship w/in that Trinity …

Do you hear sneers or cheers from the words of Jesus          You tell me!

 

 

Song:  I’d Rather Have Jesus & Create in me a clean heart O God …

 

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.  2Cor.8:9

 

Come to faith         Come to renew repentance & faith  Come clear up contradictions