Seeking God's Perspective


*See the end for a note on source


James 4:1-10

We spent five weeks discovering Life Together: through the “One Another” verses in scripture, we explored what it means to be Christians; how we are to serve and encourage one another, live in harmony with one another, bear with one another, forgive one another, and, above all, to love one another. 

Loving one another is ultimately important because it’s the only true reflection of God’s character.  Knowing God’s character is vital to living life as a Christian, because His character informs our actions.  Many of us struggle with really knowing God; we picture God as a bearded man in the sky or an aloof judge or powerful, holy Creator and we forget about his Fatherly kindness.  In Matthew 7, Jesus tells us that whoever asks God receives, whoever seeks will find, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. He goes on to say, “If you, then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11)

Parents: think about the sacrifices you have made for your children.  You know that the heart of a loving parent does whatever it takes for the sake of your child.  And Jesus wasn’t saying that all parents are terrible.  He was saying: if we have this kind of love for our children, how much more will our Father in heaven – whose love is the perfect ideal that we strive for – give good things to those who ask.

If you’ve read through the New Testament, you’ll find that sentiment everywhere.  Philippians 4:19 tells us:  My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:32 tells us He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

When you look at God’s character, you’ll realize that God is a giver.  James 1:17 reminds us that Every good and perfect gift is from above. God gives us good gifts.  Why?  Because He loves us.

Last week as we were looking at “Love One Another,” I invited you to read, meditate, and pray through the scriptures.  As I look through the scriptures, I’ve gained understanding into God’s character, especially through God’s promises, principles, and perspective.  We’ve talked about a lot of these, but one thing we really haven’t looked at is our use of money.  But if you really read the scriptures, you’ll find hundreds of insights into finances as you read the scriptures.  

Often we pastors shy away from talking about money. Why is it so hard to talk about money?  Because it’s a hot button topic.  In our current economy, it seems like everyone is talking about money, but it’s supposed to be taboo for the church?  Really?  All of you are talking about it, but if you hear it from the pulpit, some of you get offended.  I’ll give you the offer that if you’re just going to get all ticked off that I’m talking about money, you can go ahead and slip out now and save your breath on the complaints later.  When pastors who aren’t televangelists talk about money, two kinds of people get upset.  One is the person who is poor and feels guilty because he or she cannot give as much as he or she wants. If that’s you, I hope you stick around and hear me out.  I hope we as a church can be a blessing to you and as we look at what the Bible says about money, perhaps you can learn something.  One thing I hope is to never heap shame on you if you’re on a fixed income or unemployed. In Mark 12, Jesus is in the Temple watching people give their offerings, and there were a bunch of rich people throwing in great 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 said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow as put more into the treasury than all the others.  They all gave out of their wealth, but she, out her poverty, put in everything - all she had to live on.” (Mark 12:42-44)

Jesus never shamed the widow, so it’s not my intention to add guilt to anyone who is struggling just to get by.

But the other person who gets offended when the pastor talks about money is usually the one who has a money problem.  You know the type: he blusters: that pastor has no business talking to me about money.  He has no right to tell me what to do with my money.  To that, I say, if Jesus thought it was important enough to talk about, than so should we.

The truth is that the Bible talks about money.  Sixteen of Jesus’ 38 parables have to do with money – about 15% of his total teaching is about money.  Did you know that the Bible tells us to stay out of debt?  Proverbs 22:7 tells us that the rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is a slave to the lender.  The issue is that debt, any debt at all, means you are working today and tomorrow to pay for the past.  You’re not creating a future; you’re paying for the past. 

On the other hand, when we put God first and serve God with our money, that money ends up serving.  God promises to supply our needs if we put Him first in our lives.  A good memory verse comes to mind: Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Matthew 6:33). “All these things” refers to our physical needs.  Some of us need a refresher course on what are needs and what are wants, but that’s a different message for a different day.

Here’s what’s at the root of all of this: money is one of our top spiritual indicators.  If you want to know what someone cares about, look at his checkbook.  Some of you get mad when the church talks about money because now “Pastor’s gone meddlin’ in my life!”

Let’s go on and look at what the Bible says about money.  James 4:3 tells us When you ask, you do not receive.  You might know how that goes.  Sometimes we don’t have because we don’t ask.  But maybe the reason we don’t receive is because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.  Our motives are what drive our actions.

Have you ever thought about your motives?  The audience of James’ letter was motivated by their pleasures. Interestingly, the word “pleasures” here is the word we recognize as hedonism. Hedonism is a school of thought that argues that pleasure is the only intrinsic good.  If it feels good, do it.  He who dies with the most toys, wins.

The only problem with this is it’s a lie. Hedonism doesn’t match up with a biblical worldview.  Listen to what Paul said in Philippians 3:10 “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings.” That doesn’t sound like pleasure, does it?  Sharing Christ’s sufferings…

If we want to know the power of Jesus’ resurrection in any area of our lives, we’re going to have to go through pain and experiencing discipline.  Some of you know the phrase: no pain, no gain. Some of you don’t even realize how hedonism has influenced your life, even your Christian walk.  The meaning of life is to glorify God, not to “be happy” doing whatever it is we feel like doing.  Unfortunately the motives of hedonism are selfish.  They only concern me.  How do I feel?  How does this make me happy?  What’s in it for me?

Selfishness is sin.  I’ve heard it argued that selfishness is the root cause of all sin.   Jesus, on the other hand, tells his followers to deny themselves. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23) 

When our goal is our own pleasure, we’re working directly against God’s Kingdom.  It’s motivation to covet.  Remember coveting, from the 10 Commandments? “Thou shalt not covet” – anyone else ever wonder what that meant?  Coveting means wanting what we don’t have.  That’s honestly what leads to debt.  I remember hearing a speaker at a Promise Keepers Rally say, “Too many men buy stuff they don’t need with money they don’t have to impress people they don’t like.” Why do you think our nation is in debt?  Why do you think the average baby boomer has $40,000 in consumer debt… not including a mortgage?

When we covet and go into debt, we are prioritizing the wrong things.  Have you ever been somewhere and met people who have nothing, yet they’re happy and content?  That can be an amazing wake-up call that a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. (Jesus’ words from Luke 12:15).

In his book Upside Living in a Downside Economy, Michael Slaughter writes: “When we fail to celebrate the blessings God has given us, we inevitably begin to seek satisfaction in other sources.” –In the scripture I read earlier, James calls us “adulterous people” because coveting is adultery against God.   You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.

Seeking satisfaction or happiness anywhere other than in Jesus Christ says that Jesus isn’t enough. You’re declaring open revolution against God.  Here’s the truth: without Jesus, we can have everything else and never be satisfied.  Or we can lose everything we have and still have enough if only we have Jesus Christ.

Having money and possessions is not intrinsically evil.  1 Timothy 6:10 says the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Not money itself, but the love of money.  Hebrews 13:5 tells us to keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’

So, when it comes to your finances, what is your motive? And are you motivated?  What motivates you?  Maybe you’ve tried at some point to get out of debt and you’ve gotten frustrated and given up.  As you worked your way out of the hole, you got sick and had to pay medical bills.  Then there was that car accident or other unforeseen expense, and after all of that, you just threw in the towel.  So how do we stay motivated?  James 4:6 gives us the answer:  But he gives us more grace.  Our motivation comes from God’s grace.  This is why James goes on to say that God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.  It’s not a matter of deserving or earning it; it’s a gift from God. And God knows we will fail multiple times as we work toward full devotion to him, but He provides grace.

When it comes to pursuing financial health, a lot of us start with the right motive.  We want to depend on God for everything and we don’t want anything to get in the way of our relationship with Him.  Our goal is to follow the command in Malachi 3:10: Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in My House. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “And see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”

We even start well, but somehow we fail to stay motivated.  Where can we get lasting motivation?  Only from Jesus Christ.  We can’t just pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and motivate ourselves forever; true motivation only comes from God’s grace.  He alone sustains us and helps us persevere. 

As we focus on God’s grace to sustain us and to provide us with our every need, I want to remind you to evaluate who you are listening to.  Some of you grew up hearing a parent tear you down every day.  Maybe your dad was one of those “old school” guys who wouldn’t ever complement you, and you grew up with low self-esteem, thinking you would never be good enough. Some of you have always heard that you’re the best at some particular skill and your worldview isn’t quite big enough to accept that there might be someone else better.

If we want to keep motivated to following God in everything we are, we have to be constantly vigilant about who we are listening to.  Do you know how I start my Sunday mornings?  I get up early, grab my iPod, and sneak out for a run.  I turn on the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir and get my praise on.  I get the Sunday newspaper, but I wait until after church to even look at it. The first thing I put in my mind is praise to God.  No matter how much bad news there is in the world, God is still on his throne.  I listen to sermons while I run – not just any preachers, either. I choose the sermons I listen to by the godly fruit in the lives of these pastors and their churches. The voices we’re listening to are vitally important.  Words have power.

So, who are you listening to?  Some of you need to honestly evaluate who you’re listening to.  Some of you have the ladies from the Music Man doing their little “pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little, cheep cheep cheep, talk a lot pick a little more” routine in your ear.  You’re not going to gain godly wisdom from them.  When it comes to your spiritual health, you’re not going to grow by listening to messed up people who are deep in their sin and selfishness.  You gain by surrounding yourself with people who shine with the light of Christ and exhibit the Fruit of the Spirit in their daily lives.  Likewise, when it comes to financial health, do you want to listen to someone who is buried in debt, or do you think you might get better advice from someone who is living debt free?  Who are the people around you who can give you wise financial advice?  Think about it. 

Take advantage of every opportunity you have to listen to wise people.  And here’s what happens; you’ll gain some wisdom for yourself.  But then you have a choice to make.  1 Peter 1:14 tells us As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.  If we drop down to verse 18, we read For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. (1 Peter 1:18-19).

All the money in the world won’t buy your salvation.  Peter calls silver and gold “perishable things” and he calls the former way of life “empty.”

If we look back at James 4:7-10, we read this: Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Do you want to live victoriously?  Not just get by?  In your finances, as well as other areas of life?  The first step is to submit yourself to God.  Maybe you’ve asked God into your life but you never realized that He wants control of your finances as well.  My dad actually went and asked his minister to baptize his wallet.  How’s that for a visual?  Submit everything to God.  You can’t compartmentalize and only give Him part of you.  He wants all of you. 

Resist the devil.  Maybe the devil has handed you a pocket full of plastic.  You can resist him with scissors.  Maybe the devil has showed you all these nice things that everyone else has – you can resist him by counting your blessings. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  Come near to God and he will come near to you.  Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

If you are living in defeat in the area of finances, you don’t have to stay there.  The goal is to depend fully on God for everything.  Yes, that is humbling.  But no matter how deep in debt you are, no matter how bad your situation is, God can make the impossible happen.  It always begins with having God’s perspective and building on that perspective by having the right motives, staying motivated, and seeking wise counsel. 

*Please note that the inspiration and the outline for this message are derived from Michael Slaughter's book Upside Living in a Downside Economy, 2009 Abingdon Press, Nashville, TN.

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