Our Sermons

Bible Passage:1 Timothy 6:6-16
Pastor: Pastor Berg
Sermon Date:  July 2, 2023

I’m going to read you a few statements this morning and I want you to decide what you think of them:

• Pastor, we’ve got to get more members so that we can pay the bills.”

• If we don’t grow, we’ll never be able to afford that new expansion or pay off the mortgage.

• The trouble with new members is that they never give as well as lifelong members..

Do you see the problem with those statements? Have you ever heard any of those things said by good Christian people who were honestly trying to do God’s will? Have thoughts like those ever bounced around in your head?

But before we get there, let’s back up a minute. Is there any truth to those statements? I suppose if you look at them from a business model perspective, they might seem to be fiscally accurate. But all three of those statements are wrong. Do you know why? They’re not wrong because they contradict economic indicators. They’re not wrong because they show a lack of focus. Well, actually, it isn’t so much a lack of focus as a focus on the wrong thing.

Perhaps the most common stereotype given by people who are looking for an excuse not to be in church says: “The church is all about money. That’s all they ever talk about. That’s all they’re after.” It’s sad when churches get that way, isn’t it? But today, Paul tells Timothy that this isn’t the way it’s supposed to be. From the very first word of our lesson, Paul tells us those people are wrong. The church is not all about money. Paul was warning young Pastor Timothy about false teachers who were using the church as a means for financial gain, who were acting as if the church was all about money. However, Paul says, this is not the case for you, Timothy. And it’s not the case for us either. 

So how can we avoid everything becoming about money in the church? Not talk about money at all? That would be a mistake and a misuse of God’s Word which addresses the topic often. No, instead of avoiding the issue of money, let’s take it head on this morning. Let’s witness the battle Paul describes between love of money and contentment in our own hearts. Let’s focus on the challenge that faces all of us: to come down on the right side between using godliness for gain or using gain for godliness. Let’s sit at the foot of God’s Word and hear how we can have Hearts in Focus.

A heart focused on the love of Christ, on real love, overcomes the love of money. That’s easy to say, right? Just think of how familiar some of our verses are this morning. “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” You can’t take it with you, right? “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evils.” You’ve heard those truths plenty of times, even if you didn’t realize they came from the Bible. They are truths that are easy to agree to. But they are not truths that are easy to live. There seems to be so much gray area, doesn’t there? Think about how fine the line is between responsible stewardship in planning for your future and sinful selfishness, hoarding for yourself. How often hasn’t the concern of being a good steward subtly shifted until decisions are made and actions are taken that reveal the selfishness in our own hearts? “We want to take care of what’s been given to us” becomes wanting to take care of what is ours! Do you see the subtle shift?

Let’s dig a little deeper into what Paul says. He writes, “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” Let’s look at that word godliness. It comes from a Greek word that describes the living of worship, living your religion, doing what you say, giving glory to God with one’s life. That’s where the gain is–not a going through the motions, but true daily worship, sacrifice, selflessness–a God-first mentality that is content. That’s where real gain is. Now contrast that with the love of money that is a root of all sorts of evil. It’s our attitude towards it. If our attitude is true godliness, we’re golden. But Satan is so good at setting the trap, slowly leading us from seeing money as a means to an end, to seeing money as the goal.

It’s been said, “Your actions are so loud I can’t hear what you’re saying.” Has that ever happened to you? They can hear you say that God comes first, but a quick look at your calendar shows he’s somewhere around twelfth in your time management; a look at the budget shows he’s lucky to get my leftovers; even on objective view of my volunteer time shows me wanting it my way or I won’t be happy. That’s pride first, not God first. None of us like to hear this, but way too often we try to love both God and Money, but it’s impossible. And the god of Money can’t do anything for us. He can’t even give anything to us. He just takes! He takes your peace of mind as you just have more stuff to worry about. He takes your time as you have to worship at the altar of work to get more stuff and then have to take care of all the stuff you get. He takes your conscience as rules get bent and lines get crossed. He takes your happiness if your goal is your paycheck because then you are distraught when you don’t get the raise and arrogant when you do. Money as a god gives nothing but takes everything.

Now I know that none of us get up in the morning and say, “You know what I think I’ll worship Money today.” Yet, who would disagree that money had become America’s idol–and we’re Americans. Think of it this way. Imagine yourself up on a ladder, cleaning the gutters. You don’t want to have to climb down and move the ladder one more time. You’re sure you can reach. As you stretch out away from the support of the ladder and more and more of your center of gravity moves, suddenly, you find yourself in a rather precarious position…and if you had noticed how off balance you were, you wouldn’t have fallen, but midair on the way down is too late. Paul uses the picture of a trap. You don’t notice it until it’s sprung. If you would have noticed how much selfishness was compromising your ability to lead a godly life, to be a godly witness…if you would have noticed how god Money was taking away your ability to speak God’s glory, you would have stopped. But it’s a trap. If you want your heart to be in focus, it can’t be focused on stuff.

But for all the times we’ve been trapped, for all the times we’ve failed, look at what Paul shares with us.    “But you, O man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of eternal life, to which you were called and about which you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who made a good confession as a witness before Pontius Pilate,” Paul directs our focus to Jesus. When he tells us to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness, he can’t possibly be telling us to look inward for those things. No, those things can only be found in Christ! He’s telling us to pursue Jesus. Focus our eyes on Jesus. Jesus made the good confession with his perfect life! He gave us that life as he kept his heart in focus. He was focused on the will of God, not the money bag–as he saw souls instead of more money for the budget. He gave us the perfect example of godliness, not just to show us how, but to fulfill it perfectly in our place. And then he gave his life. He took the punishment our selfishness deserves and made the payment of his blood to pay our debts. In doing this, Jesus gives us life, real life, life begun in the waters of baptism with an eternal inheritance; life lived in view of God the life-giver; life strengthened by our time here receiving his body and blood. And now that our focus is squarely on Jesus, Paul says, “I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who made a good confession as a witness before Pontius Pilate, that you keep this command without spot and without fault, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will make known at the proper time—the blessed and only ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or is able to see. To him be honor and power forever! Amen.” 

When our hearts are in focus, focused on Jesus, we won’t be able to help but keep this command. In our lives and in our words, we will be proclaiming God’s glory like Paul. Don’t you just love how when Paul gets on a roll about what God has done for us, he can’t help but break out in a hymn of praise. He does it here again. “the blessed and only ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or is able to see. To him be honor and power forever! Amen.” 

How awesome it is when your lives shout the “amen” to that or when our church shouts the “amen” to that. I’ve got to tell you, I thank you for putting me in the position to hear the “amen” to your action so often. The comments people make speak of the love of God showing through you. When our hearts are in focus, it shows. 

That’s why we gather here today! That’s why we join Paul in his hymn of praise. After all, we’re not here to “pay the bills” or “protect our stuff,” but as our mission statement says: we are growing in Jesus and telling of his love. Our purpose is to keep our eyes and our minds and our hearts focused on Christ. We are here to grow and let the roots of our faith dig deeper into the foundation of God’s Word. And then we take that Word, and tell about the love of Jesus. In other words, our hearts are focused to see the love of Christ, to live the love of Christ, and then let the love of Christ speak! The money will take care of itself because our God promises to bless. Let’s put our God to the proper test! Let’s focus on him with our time, talents, and treasures and see if he doesn’t bless us beyond what we can imagine. May God grant us this for Jesus’ sake! Amen.