Dr. Barry G. Carpenter www.revivalorruin.com 1 Timothy 6:10-11 Last week we talked about stuff.

We talked about how material things can distract us from the great treasure of the person of Christ. I really hope that you were able to see that Christ is enough. I am becoming increasing concerned that for the vast majority of people who profess to be born-again Christ is not really a reality to them. I am very concerned that although those who would confess to be Christian really have no idea what that means. They might have some concept that they call belief but Jesus has not impacted them in such a way that they have become His disciples. If you asked them if they believed the Bible they would say Certainly but if you look at their life you would see they do not live as if there was a Bible or as if there is a God of the Bible. Now this week we will talk about money. Paul says some very strong words in these 2 verses that we did not completely cover last week. So, lets go back & deal with the verses I did not complete last week. The theme or question for last weeks sermon was: Is Christ Enough? Now today we will talk more about those who Christ is not enough. What about people who want more? Please look with me at vs. 9 &10.
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But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
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For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. v.9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare- The KJV word will there would be interpreted in our modern English as want. NAS: But those who want to get rich. Those who desire wealth- those who like money- those who are pursuing the things of this world- and all its pleasuresThose are the people Paul is talking about. And frankly, that is most people in the US. Most people want money and most people want stuff. Remember last week, Paul told us how much is enough. Do you remember what he said? V.8- If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. If you have these things and Christ you have more than you will ever need. Thats all you need. And you should be content. But honestly, would this be enough for you? If that is all you had, could you have joy in your heart? What about right now? Are you content? Do you have a list of things you want? What about money? Is this something you desire? Now, most dignified, civilized southern people would never admit to wanting to be wealthy. That is just not polite- we do not want people to think we are greedy, so we will say things like: I just want to be comfortable. I dont want to be rich, I just want to be comfortable. Of course, comfortable means I just want to have a nice place to live, a decent car to drive, good clothes and a little money in case something happens and we need it. Now, this is code. So lets break this down and decipher the code. I just want a nice place to live: What does that mean?

A nice place to live- in the US this now means 2500 sq.feet. In 1972 it was about 1650---1987= 2000- According to the US Census Bureau now ave. size single family home in US 2500. Now it would be interesting to note that the obesity rate has also went up since 1972- we got bigger but that really isnt why our houses are bigger.

The average new home in 2010 was: 44% Larger than in 1973 (37 years ago) 41% Larger than in 1976 (34 years ago) 31% Larger than in 1986 (24 years ago) 6% Larger than in 2000 (10 years ago) From 1973 to 2004, the average home increased in size by 22 square feet per year. In 1970 a new house cost $23,400.00 today= The average price of a new home sold in 2011 was $266,600- did you get that? From $23K to $266K!!!! Britain= is only 900 about square feet/Around the world is probably about 80 sq. ft. 2500 sq ft vs.80- HELLO! Lets continue to decode that sentence: I just want a decent car. In 1972 the average price spent for a car was. $3,879- today the average cost of a car is $21,6057x price increase. Do not be deceived, you can still buy a used car for around $3 or $4k. And it will get you where you want to go but just not in style. So by decent- we really mean new & expensive. And we Americans, cannot be satisfied with 1 car we need 2 or 3 per household. Our kids need cars also because they have such busy liveswhich is another sermon for another day. We spends tons of money just on houses & cars. And we need to buy a new car every 2 or 3 years. What about clothes? I just want some good clothes. That is code for new and expensive clothes. After all, every time the seasons change we have to have new clothes. We dont want people to think we are out of style. 2008 statistics say that Americans Spend 25% of their income on food- about 24% on housing, 12% on transportation, and just over 10% on clothes. Many of us average about $5 per day on either soda, candy, or fast food (http://www.financialnut.com/money_spent_on_fast_food/)--5.6% of the average Americans income goes to fast food! In 2009 Americans spent approximately ninety-billion dollars on tobacco and tobacco products with is down from the previous year by ten-billion dollars. $24 Billlion in snuff & cheming tobacco the majority of the rest was in cigarettes. Alabama: 7.1 percent of discretionary income that Alabamas typical household gives to charity is distributed to a relatively small number of nonprofits. (http://philanthropy.com/article/Sharing-the-Wealth-How-the/133605/)

Parishioners were only giving about 2.38 percent of their income to the church in 2009, down from 2.43 percent in 2008 shockingly low percentages. Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/tithing-hits-record-low-churches-spend-moreto-make-congregants-happy-58237/#6FislGv2hXzbho2g.99 We are stinking rich. We spend more on coke a week than many of the people in the world will spend on food. We throw away food what many people in the world have never even tasted. We think nothing about going through the drive threw & grabbing a hamburger when many people in the world could feed their family for what we spend on ourselves. Ok, you are rich. What does the Bible say about the rich? Matt. 19:23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. The chances of your salvation is very thin. That is what the scripture says. Also consider: Luke 6:24 But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. Luke 12: 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts- the pursuit of riches is not only vanity but it is dangerous. It is vanity because it does not satisfy and it is dangerous because it leads you away from God. Notice the words that Paul uses temptationsnare. So the desire for and pursuit of wealth is a sin and a trap. It is temptation because it takes our focus off of God. The pursuit of money shows that we are not placing our faith on God to provide. We do not trust Him to care for us. It is a trap- the pursuit and desire will suck you in and trap you into sin of covetousness. into many foolish and hurtful lusts- the desire for wealth- greed and covetousness is just as deadly a sin as any other. One sins leads to another and giving into temptation leads to deeper involvement and slavery to sin. It is foolish to desire wealth because it is something that can so easily be lost. It is foolish because it does not satisfy. And it is very foolish because you cannot take it with you. And it is foolish because hoarding money or wasting it on stuff will not have any value to you in eternity. which drown men in destruction and perdition- Paul is using very strong words here. It might seem that he is being repetitive but he is actually bringing out 2 separate things. Lets just look at these 2 words & you will see what I mean-destruction & perdition. Destruction: - it has the connotations of the flesh. It carries the idea of the death of the body. On the other hand, perdition () is used to utter destruction. It is used to describe eternal damnation and

destruction of the soul. So if we put these two words together we get the full picture. Greedcovetousness- the pursuit of material goods- the lust for worldly pleasures- the desire for moneythe longing for wealth will not only destroy your life but it will ultimately lead to the destruction of your soul. It will captivate you and lead you captive to the very pit of hell itself.
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For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. For the love of money is the root of all evil- Now, we do need to point out it is not money that is evil, but it is the love money. Before we go further, let us ask a question: how do you know if you love money? How do you know if you love stuff? Simple. What would your response be right now- this morning- if Jesus came to you and said, sell everything you have and give to the poor? What would you say this morning, if the Holy Spirit said to you I want you to write a check for $5000 for missions? What would your response be? Are you like the rich young ruler who would go away sad? And be aware he went away sad and he also went away unjustified and damned to hell. How do you feel when you have money? Does it make you feel good? How do you feel when you dont have money? Does it make you feel bad? What should your feelings change based upon how much money you have or dont have? I tell you very plainly, the amount of money in your wallet or bank account should have no impact upon the amount of Joy in your heart if you are resting and trusting in Christ. my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness Can you sing that song & mean it? The Christian life is a life modeled after our Master and He lived and gave sacrificially. He did not just give until it hurt, He gave His very life. which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith- NASB: and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith notice please, it was not even the attaining or acquiring of wealth that caused them to err, it was merely the desire. The want of riches alone was sufficient to cause them ruin. erred- they have gone astray- they have left the truth and are following a lie. They have ship-wrecked their faith. Professing to be Christain, they have departed from what claim to believe. They have left the faith. Did they loose their salvation? Well, no but they proved they never had salvation. This idea of once saved always saved is a dangerous thing. A more Biblical phrase would be If you are saved you will preserve. I really think many people who hold to the Doctrines of Grace are very off-balanced here and take little to know responsibility. God is sovereign so I dont have to do evangelism. God is sovereign so I dont have to do anything. I dont have to worry about my sinful habits cause I am saved. I dont have to be Holy. If God wanted me to be holy He give me the grace to do it. Wickedness. What treading on the mercy- what cheap grace! You are responsible to cooperate with the grace of God in your own sanctification and failure to cooperate will prove that you are not converted. Be very careful to say I know I am saved- because the imaginations of mans hearts are deceitful. You cannot trust your own heart. And Paul makes it clear- those who love money do not love God. What does Jesus say? Matthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

Where does your allegiance lie? With God or stuff? With God or money? If you are pursuing the things of this world and desiring wealth you are on the road to ruin and utter destruction. pierced themselves through with many sorrows- Sometimes we think if we just had enough money- if we just had more money- we would be happy. But that is almost never the case. The fallen flesh of humans is never satisfied..The more you have the more you want. The more you have the more you have to manage and the more you have to worry about. It never ends. The flesh can never be satisfied only mortified. The more you feed it the stronger it will grow. Just like little children how want a shiny new toy for Christmas and then 3 months later they have no interest in t, so are the people who long for things. The shiny new car that costs $20k will be scratched- it will fade & rust. And in the 3 years you will not want it any more. And so it is for those who long for money. It will not satisfy. Enough is never enough. If you set a goal to have a certain amount in the bank to feel safe once you reach that amount you will discover you still do not feel safe. Ecclesiastes 5: 10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.11 When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes? 12 The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. 13 There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt. 14 But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand. 15 As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand. The richest man in the world says that riches are vanity. So, if you think winning the lottery will solve all your problems- if you are waiting for Publishers Clearing House to knock on your door so you can live a life of ease- you wait in vain. Because even if you do win a million dollars you will find that it does not go very far. And all that it buys will fade- and it will not satisfy. We so concern about our future- we are worried about our retirement- we want to make sure that we are well provided for- we want to make sure that our kids our happy- and all of these thoughts are for the physical, material, monetary things. And this is vanity. Seek for the kingdom of GOd and all these other things will be taken care of. Take no thought for tomorrow what you shall eat and what you shall wear. Haiving food and covering, with these we shall be content. Do not lay up treasure on earth- DO NOT LAY UP TREASURE ON EARTH- where moth & rust corrupt and thieves break in and steal. But layup treasure in heaven. All else is vanity.. All else is fading all else is nothing more than a temporary destraction that will rob you of your eternal joy and possibly your eternal life. Cultivate the presence of God in your life. Be conscience of being conscience- think about and be aware of what you are thinking. And focus your thoughts on God. This is where the battle begins. If your thoughts are on money the things of the world then that is where you will focus your time, energy & effort. Begin with your mind and focus your thoughts. Take control of your thoughts and refocus them on the Lord. 24/7/365