Sermon - The Upside Down Kingdom, part 2: Wealth

Alright, today we are going to continue

for those of you who weren't here last week. Last week we started a series called The Upside Down Tiedem,

and we talked about how a lot of things Jesus teaches us are counterintuitive.

They don't seem to be right, but the more we think about them, they are right.

The first shall be last, and if you want to lead, you shall be the servant of all.

What's today we're going to take that a step further and say,

what does Jesus teachings about being part of such an upside down Tiedem?

What does that teach us about our wealth, about our possessions?

And so join with me in prayer as we begin today's lesson.

Lord God Almighty, thank you for the honor and the opportunity as always to preach here at this facility.

We thank you for the weather, we thank you for all the people who can be here today.

As we get closer to Easter, Lord, fill our hearts and our souls with

and resolve to worship you, the risen Savior, the one who died on a cross to delete our sins

and who rose from the grave to show us that death is not the ultimate villain,

that in the end death will be destroyed, death will be no more.

Lord, as we serve you as our team, we realize that we're part of an upside down Tiedem.

Train us, Lord, to be the kind of disciples who know how to live in an upside down Tiedem,

who know how to lead by being followers, who know how to be served by serving

who know how to love others and also know how to love our Lord.

Lord, I ask for your blessings upon all of us in the name of Jesus Christ,

the King of this upside down Tiedem. Amen.

All right, the Declaration of Independence started not on July 4th, 1776.

It actually started more than a year earlier on May 10th, 1775,

the Second Continental Congress convened.

It was actually a reconvening of the First Continental Congress.

The first time our forefathers got together to discuss what was happening,

to discuss the tyranny of the British, the last thing the First Continental Congress decided

was that they were to convene again if England did not withdraw its troops

and did not withdraw the oppressive taxes.

And England did not withdraw its troops, and it did not remove the oppressive taxes.

So on May 10th, 1775, the Second Continental Congress met.

There was not agreement over independence.

It would take over a year of debate and bickering before our forefathers

could decide that, yeah, I think it's time, I think it's time for independence.

In July 1776, the decision was made to succeed.

Thomas Jefferson was tapped to draft the Declaration.

He was the primary author of the document.

He actually finished the document on July 2nd.

John Adams, for instance, was quoted as saying that July 2nd would be known as a great day in American history.

But the document wasn't ratified to the fourth.

So that's why we celebrate the fourth is our independence day.

In that original document, it read bustly,

we hold these troops to be self-evident that all men are created equal

and they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights.

Among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Except originally, Thomas Jefferson wrote the pursuit of property.

Benjamin Franklin, the oldest man at the Second Continental Congress,

he worried that the pursuit of property was neither poetic or idealistic enough to make America's point.

And Thomas Jefferson agreed, so he thought about it for a long time

and decided the pursuit of happiness was how we were going to describe one of the goals of this new United States.

Either way, though, either way, the concept of the American dream was fundamentally flawed from the start.

Don't get me wrong. Neither property nor happiness are wrong.

I sure hope all of us have both property and happiness,

but God never declared our rights to those things.

Let me repeat that.

God never declared our rights to property or happiness.

Regarding happiness, Scripture tells us that in fact,

everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

Second Timothy 312.

That doesn't sound like a God given right to happiness.

Regarding property, Jesus tells us to follow him and then this happens.

A teacher of the law came to him and said,

I will follow you wherever you go in Jesus' reply.

Boxes have holes and birds of the air have nests,

but the son of man, that's Jesus himself, has no place to lay his head.

And so, at least in some capacity, our Lord and Savior was homeless.

That's what He was telling us.

In the Old Testament, for the most part, we are taught that wealth is a blessing from God.

And the first century Jews certainly did latch on to this.

When Jesus heals a man blind from birth,

the Pharisees accused the man of being a cursed sinner by God in John chapter 9

because he was blind.

They didn't have any evidence of him being a sinner.

They didn't have any evidence of him being cursed other than the fact he was blind.

But they drew the conclusion that since he was blind,

then he or somebody must have done some grievous sin

and that's the only reason God would allow you to be blind.

But even in the Old Testament, we are taught that riches are not the goal of life.

Proverbs chapter 23 verses 4 through 5.

Do not wear yourself out to get rich.

Have the wisdom to show restraint.

Cast but a glance at riches and they're gone,

for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.

Okay, so for the next few minutes,

the format of this sermon is going to be unusual.

Instead of laying out specific points,

I just want to read the words of Christ.

I want to go to direct quotations of Jesus

and I might make some commentary or I might clarify some things.

But for the next five minutes, let's let Jesus himself preach to us about wealth

and let's see what he has to say.

I challenge you not to try to explain away his teachings.

Remember that Jesus is teaching us to be part of an upside-down kingdom

and to be counter-cultural.

And so these are the kinds of things Jesus tells us.

And the version of the scripture you have on the screen

might be slightly different than the one I read.

Don't worry about that, it's still the same verses.

Matthew chapter 6 verses 19 through 21.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth

where moth and rust destroy.

And where thieves break in and steal.

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven

where moth and rust do not destroy.

Where thieves do not break in and steal.

For where your treasure is,

there your heart will be also.

In the same chapter, Jesus teaches us this.

Matthew chapter 6 verses 24 and 25

and verses 31 through 33.

No one 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.

Therefore I tell you,

do not worry about your life,

what you will eat or drink or about your body,

what you will wear,

is not life more important than food

and the body more important than clothes.

So do not worry saying what shall we eat

or what shall we drink or what shall we wear

for the pagans run after these things

and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness

and these things will be given to you as well.

Later in the book,

Jesus says this,

Matthew 1626,

what good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world

yet forfeits his soul?

For what can a man give an exchange for his soul?

When we look at the next book,

the book of Mark,

Jesus teaches us this in Mark chapter 10,

verses 17 through 27.

As Jesus started on his way,

a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him.

Good teacher, he asked,

what must I do to inherit eternal life?

Why do you call me good, Jesus answered?

No one is good except God alone.

You know the commandments.

Do not murder,

do not commit adultery,

do not steal,

do not give false testimony,

do not defraud,

honor your Father and your mother.

Teacher, he declared,

all these I have kept since I was a boy.

Jesus looked at him and loved him.

One thing you lack, he said,

go sell everything you have

and give to the poor

and you will have treasure in heaven.

Then come, follow me.

At this, the man's face fell

and he went away sad

because he had great wealth.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples,

how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.

The disciples remember what I said about the first century.

The first century Jewish mind saw wealth as proof,

as evidence that you were blessed by God.

Jesus just said it's hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

And so verse 24,

the disciples were amazed at his words,

but Jesus said to him,

children,

how hard it is

to enter the kingdom of God.

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle

than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

The disciples were even more amazed and said to each other,

who then can be saved.

Jesus looked at them and said,

with man,

this is impossible,

but not with God.

All things are possible with God.

A couple chapters later,

Jesus continues to teach you to us about wealth.

Mark 12, 43 through 44.

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put

and watched with the crowd putting their money in the temple treasury.

Many rich people threw in large amounts,

but a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins,

worth only a fraction of a penny.

Calling his disciples to him,

Jesus says,

I tell you the truth,

this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.

They all gave out of their wealth,

but she out of her poverty put in everything,

all she had to live on.

Luke, chapter 6, verse 24,

but quote to you who are rich,

for you have already received your comfort.

Luke 12, 15 to 21,

then Jesus said to them,

watch out, be on your guard against all kinds of greed.

A man's life does not consist in abundance of possessions,

and he told them this parable,

the ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop,

and he thought to himself,

what shall I do?

I have no place to store my crops.

Then he said, this is what I'll do.

I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones

and there I will store all my grain and my goods,

and I'll say to myself,

you have plenty of good things laid up for many years.

Take life easy, eat, drink and be merry.

But God said to him,

you fool, this very night your life will be demanded from you.

Then who will get all you have prepared for yourself?

This is how it will be with anyone who stores up for himself,

but is not rich toward God.

Later in the same chapter,

Luke 12, verses 32 through 34,

Luke 12, 32 through 34,

do not be afraid little flock

for your father has been pleased to give you the kingdom,

sell your possessions and give to the poor,

provide purses for yourselves

that will not wear out a treasure in heaven

that will not be exhausted,

where no thief comes near and no mock destroys.

For where your treasure is,

there your heart will be also.

And finally, Luke 16, 19 through 31,

there was a rich man who was dressed in purple

and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.

At his gate laid a beggar named Lazarus.

Now this isn't Lazarus, Jesus' friend.

This is a fictional character in Jesus' parallel.

At the gate laid a beggar named Lazarus,

covered with sores,

and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table,

even the dogs came and licked his sores.

The time came when the beggar died

and the angels carried him to Abraham's side.

The rich man also died and he was buried.

In hell, where he was in torment,

he looked up and saw Abraham far away

with Lazarus by his side.

So he called to him,

Father Abraham, have pity on me

and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water

and cool my tongue because I am in agony in this fire.

But Abraham replied,

son, remember that in your lifetime

you received your good things

while Lazarus received bad things.

But now he is comforted here and you are in agony.

So that's where we'll leave Jesus' teachings.

Let's analyze what he has taught us today.

Point number one,

greed and financial ambition cannot be a goal.

But hard work and earnings are still good.

Let me repeat that.

Greed and financial ambition cannot be a goal.

But hard work and earnings are still good.

Now this isn't the teaching of Christ

but this is the teaching of one of Christ's apostles.

Paul says to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6.9 to 11,

people who want to get rich fall into temptation

and to trap and into many foolish and harmful desires

that plunge men into ruin and destruction.

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.

If there was a top 10 list of most misquoted Bible verses,

this would be on it.

In fact, it might be number one.

Verse 10 here does not say money is the root of all evil.

It says the love of money.

That's different than money itself, right?

The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.

Money is not the root of all evil.

People who enjoy torturing poor animals

or people who unfortunately this is true,

happens in this world but those who are rapists,

they're not doing their sin for money.

They're doing their sin for other reasons.

But the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.

Back to what Paul was saying.

Some people eager for money have wandered from the faith

and pierced themselves with many griefs.

But you, man of God, fully from all this

and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.

And so instead of pursuing money,

we should pursue these things.

Righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness.

Paul also says much earlier in his career

he says to the church in Thessalonica.

Second, Thessalonica.

Three, six through ten.

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

we command you brothers to keep away from every brother who is idle

and who does not live according to the teaching you received from us.

For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example.

We were not idle when we were with you.

Nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it.

On the contrary, we worked night and day,

laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.

We did this not because we do not have the right to such help,

but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow.

For when we were with you, we gave you this rule.

If a man will not work, he shall not eat.

So the reason I brought this verse is because I want to make it clear

that there are a lot of people who will want you to convince you

that it's either laziness for total, you know, riches

that you have to be in one of the extremes.

There's no happy medium, but that happy medium is where you're supposed to be.

Don't pursue riches at all costs,

because the only way you could get rich in an economy is if other people lose.

In order to be a billionaire, billions of people have to be poor.

So don't do that. Don't pursue wealth more than what you actually need.

On the other hand, don't be lazy.

Now, almost everybody here is retirement age.

I'm not telling you you all have to go down to Walmart

and get a job stocking shelves.

What I am saying is that in any way that you can help your family,

your friends, your church, then it is our duty to do that.

And if you've reached the time in life where it's time to rest, that's good.

But remember that you weren't resting your whole life

at a certain point in your life you were working hard

so that the elders and your family could have their season of rest as well.

The fact is that the opposite of the love of money isn't laziness.

There is no opposite of the love of money.

There's hundreds of ways to live in this world.

And if we live with contentment where we work hard,

but we're not dying to get rich, that's the sweet spot.

That's where Jesus wants us.

Point number two, it is not wrong to be rich.

But if you are rich, it is because God expects you to bless others and his kingdom.

Let me repeat that.

It is not wrong to be rich.

There's nothing inherently sinful about having a lot of stuff.

But if you are rich, it is because God expects you to bless others and his kingdom.

First Timothy 6, 17 through 19.

Command to those who are rich in this present world.

Not to be arrogant, nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain.

But to put their hope in God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

Command them to do good, to be rich and good deeds,

and to be generous and willing to share.

In this way, they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age,

so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

What is the gift of giving if not wealth?

Have we done the gifts of the Spirit?

If we're not, we need to do the gifts of the Spirit at some point.

But Paul talks in multiple books about multiple gifts of the Spirit,

the gifts of teaching, healing, tongues, the gift of hospitality, et cetera.

One of the gifts is giving the gift of being able to fill the needs of those who can't fill the needs themselves.

The gift of supplying money so that the church could run.

Even the very first church, before Pentecost, Jesus' ministry,

it says in the book of Luke, I believe, that the wealthy women who were following him,

they fronted the ministry.

They were the ones giving money so that Jesus could do his traveling ministry.

And so if you have the gift of giving, then God certainly has plans for you to be wealthy.

Therefore, it's not wrong to be wealthy, but if you are wealthy,

it's so that you can do good deeds with your wealth.

The founder of United Methodism, or just Methodism,

United Methodism has to do with the merger in the 60s.

But the founder of Methodism, John Wesley,

he was approached by an 18th century version of a, quote,

health and wealth teacher, the kind of person who preaches on your TV that says,

give my ministry $1,000 and God will increase your bank account by $10,000.

That kind of thing.

So he was approached by a version of the health and wealth teacher in his age.

This preacher wanted John Wesley to support his claim that Christians ought to get rich

and John Wesley surprised the room by saying, yes,

I hope that everybody, all Christians earn $1,000,000.

Now you've got to remember, this is the 1700s.

So he basically said $1,000,000.

I wish that all Christians had $1,000,000.

And then he completed the sentence.

And I wish they lived like they only made about $20,000.

So in other words, if you have $1,000,000,

but you live like you only make $120,000.

I mean, goodness, what can you get by $120,000?

Gretchen and I could pay off our house in a year with $120,000.

I mean, assuming we didn't have to eat.

But you can have a nice house.

You can eat plenty of food.

You can sign up for every streaming service.

You can do all that for $120,000.

If I make $10,000,000 a year, I could support so many ministries.

I could support museums and art projects and scholarships for young kids to go to college.

That's the way to be rich.

Not just to collect as much as you can so that you can have the most toys when you go to be buried.

To fail to bless with riches is a sign that something is wrong with you.

Let me repeat that.

To fail to bless if you have riches is a sign that something is wrong with you.

First, John 317.

If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him,

how can the love of God be in him?

Point number three, and we'll go quickly through these last points.

Point number three.

Welp can be a serious detriment to salvation.

Welp can be a serious detriment to salvation.

Jesus says that it is easier for a rich man to go through the eye of a needle.

Now, you may have heard this said that,

oh, everybody misses this, then the ancient world there was a big door you enter through the city.

And next to the big door in the wall of the city, there was a little door called the Eye of the Needle.

And it was hard to get a camel through that little door.

And that's true.

The problem is that all evidence seems to suggest that the people in the ancient world who called that the Eye of the Needle,

they came because they were reading this verse.

In other words, it's not until the second or third or fourth century that the ancient cities

would call their side door the Eye of the Needle.

Why would you even have that side door?

Well, the city would close the gates at night so they could protect the city while everyone's asleep.

But if you happen to be on a long business trip and you don't show up until like 11, 30, and 9,

they're not going to open the big gates for you, but they'll open a small door to let you in.

And it would be very hard to get your camel through that little door.

And that's why they came up with the name.

That's why they called it the Eye of the Needle.

But that's not what Jesus was saying.

Jesus was engaging in hyperbole.

Jesus was exaggerating to make a point.

He really was talking about the Eye of the Needle, like trying to put thread through the Eye of the Needle.

He said it would be easier to put a camel through that than for a rich man to get into heaven.

But he was exaggerating.

He wasn't saying that no rich people get into heaven.

What he was saying is, the kind of person you have to be to have gobs and gobs of wealth,

you're probably not the kind of person who is humble enough to accept salvation from a Savior who died on the cross to free us from our sins.

That's what Jesus is talking about.

In fact, the disciples were flabbergasted.

They're like, well, who then can be safe?

And Jesus answered with an interesting phrase, with man this is impossible, but all things are possible with God.

In other words, Jesus is telling his disciples that yes, it is literally impossible for the rich to get into heaven.

But it's literally impossible for all of us to get into heaven.

Nobody has done good enough in this world to get into heaven on your own merits.

With God, it is possible for us to be saved.

However, self-sufficient people are very difficult to reach with the good news.

Because self-sufficient people, wealthy people need to come to a place of brokenness first.

And those who have so much money that they couldn't spend it all if they tried, how are they ever going to be convinced that they're broken?

Point number four, how you spend your money says almost everything we need to know about you.

How you spend your money says almost everything we need to know about you.

Jesus tells us that where your treasure is, there your heart is also.

One of my professors at Seminary, Dr. Don Whitney, he was the teacher of our personal spiritual disciplines class.

He liked to say in class he said that there are two litmus tests that show what kind of person you really are.

He said that if you would just let him see your calendar of events,

so like if you open up your cell phone and he saw what events you have done in the past,

and what events you have planned for the future, and also your bank account.

If you would allow us to see your bank account and your credit card statement,

that's literally everything we need to know about you to tell whether you're a good person or not.

For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.

And finally, point number five, Jesus teachings on wealth are not to be taken as allegorical.

Jesus teachings on wealth are not to be taken as allegorical.

What do I mean by this?

A lot of people here, Jesus talking about wealth, and they're like, well, Jesus was really talking about this other spiritual thing.

He really wasn't talking about, you know, that rich people really need to use their wealth to benefit others.

No, Jesus really was saying that.

He said, don't do anything to get wealthy, and if you do have wealth, it's because God wants you to bless others.

Jesus wasn't stuttering. He was being serious.

And the first century church took him seriously.

Acts chapter 2 verses 44 through 45.

All the believers were together and had everything in common.

Dirty communists, aren't they?

They had everything in common, selling their possessions, and their goods.

They gave to anyone as he had need.

So in conclusion,

we need a total overhaul of our attitude toward wealth.

We need a total overhaul of our attitude towards wealth.

Now, I mentioned in the introduction of the American Dream,

the historian James Trusslow Adams popularized the phrase American Dream in his 1931 book, Epic of America.

This is what Dr. Adams says.

But there has been also the American Dream.

That dream of a land in which life should be better, and richer, and fuller for every man,

with opportunity for each according to his ability, or achievement.

It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately,

and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it.

It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely,

but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain

to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable,

and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth and position.

The way Dr. Adams describes it, there is absolutely nothing wrong with any part of the American Dream.

Hard work can lead to a modicum of riches that you can save up for yourself,

so that you don't have to live on the edge of poverty.

In fact, Dr. Adams in there talked about equal opportunity.

He talked about that the American Dream should be available to both sexes,

and every race and ethnicity, gender, social standing, etc.

Without regard to how you were born, he talks about a society of mutual achievement.

All that's good, but as a life paradigm,

what the American Dream becomes is selfishness, the empty pursuit of things,

a means to independence apart from God's provision and a source of pride.

Let me repeat that.

If the American Dream is your entire paradigm, if it's what you arrange your entire motivation around,

then the American Dream becomes selfishness, the empty pursuit of stuff,

a means to independence apart from God's provision and a source of pride.

We serve a different kingdom, so let's pursue the heavenly dream.

That every thought, word and action be done in order to advance the upside down kingdom of God

and let the results handle themselves.

Lord God, thank you, as always, for the opportunity to preach your word.

Lord, even though I spent this week studying about wealth,

I'm not sure I quite grasp what you're trying to teach about wealth.

Sometimes you teach such an extreme position that me as an American is hard to grasp it,

so I ask the Lord that you, especially since I'm still young enough on part of the workforce

and I'm many, many years from retirement, Lord.

I ask the Lord that you would instill in me the kind of balance necessary between wanting to get rich

and wanting to be lazy that somewhere in the middle there's a hard-working motivation

where anything that I receive materially goes to support my family, my church, and those who are in need.

Lord, I ask, I'm audacious enough to ask that you would bless me thusly

that you would fill my coffers so that I can pay off our debts,

though we don't have very many debts right now, that we can pay off our debts

and that we can afford to fund the church and that we can afford to help those who are in need.

Lord, I ask for your blessings upon myself and all those who can hear me right now,

all those who are here today this morning and all those who are going to listen on the podcast later.

I ask for your blessing upon all of us in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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