Transcript Title Page

Title Page
Lesson Nine
Mark 10:21-23
Mark 10:21-23
21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said
unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way,
sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor,
and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and
come, take up the cross, and follow me.
22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away
grieved: for he had great possessions.
23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto
his disciples, How hardly shall they that have
riches enter into the kingdom of God!
Luke 12:13-15
Luke 12:13-15
13 And one of the company said unto him,
Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the
inheritance with me.
14 And he said unto him, Man, who made me a
judge or a divider over you?
15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware
of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not
in the abundance of the things which he
possesseth.
Luke 12:16-18
Luke 12:16-18
16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The
ground of a certain rich man brought forth
plentifully:
17 And he thought within himself, saying, What
shall I do, because I have no room where to
bestow my fruits?
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.
Luke 12:19-21
Luke 12:19-21
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.
Focus Verse
Matthew 16:26
For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the
whole world, and lose his own soul? or what
shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Focus Thought
Greed will cause a person to embrace
the most unethical tactics imaginable.
The lust for materialism has caused
many people to walk away from a life
of service to the Lord.
Introduction
Introduction
It has been said that persecution has slain its
thousands, but prosperity has slain its tens of
thousands. Certainly, in western society, we have
ample illustrations of the perils of greed, temporal
values, and the acquisition of material possessions.
The problem that the rich young ruler had was not
the amount of his possessions but the control the
possessions had over him.
Introduction
The book The Greatest Questions of the Bible and
of Life, by Clarence McCartney, contains a
message titled “What if He Gain the World and
Lose His Soul?” McCartney answered the question
posed by the text in Matthew 16:26, “What shall a
man give in exchange for his soul?” He stated,
“Christ, you see, did not say, ‘What shall a man
take for his soul?’
Introduction
He knew how little men will take for their soul.
What He asked was this, ‘What shall a man give
for his soul?’ After he has scarred his soul with sin,
after he has sold his soul and betrayed himself,
what can he give to get his soul back? Christ alone
can give that which will get a man back his soul.”
Introduction
A list of sins titled “The Seven Deadly Sins,” so
called for their all-encompassing effect on
mankind, includes the sin of greed. It is impossible
to indulge in one sin and not transgress in another
area at the same time. One sin opens the door to
many temptations. This is a fundamental reason
why greed is called the mother of all sins.
The Love of Riches
I. The
Love
of Young
RichesRuler
(A-B)
A. The
Rich
When the rich young ruler came running to Jesus,
he expected to pass a test and be commended for
his good works. (See Matthew 19:16-22; Mark
10:17-22; Luke 18:18-23.) He wanted to be sure
he had done all that was necessary to have eternal
life. If there was anything he could do, he was
willing to do more good works. He just wanted to
know what to do (Matthew 19:20).
I. The Love of Riches (A-B)
“Jesus beholding him loved him” (Mark 10:21).
The love Jesus expressed to this young man was
pure enough to expose the one thing lacking in the
ruler’s life. His love for temporal possessions
eclipsed his love for eternal truths. He was willing
to contribute a partial commitment of his love in
order to obtain an eternal reward. Jesus saw his
heart and knew the real love of his life.
I. The Love of Riches (A-B)
How often only one thing is lacking in a person’s
life that keeps him from being saved. It is not
usually a long list of things that trips up a
candidate for salvation, nor must one make many
complicated adjustments. Usually, it is just one
thing; however, it is attached to a great love in the
person’s life that is competing with eternal values.
I. The Love of Riches (A-B)
But God will not allow Himself to be one of the
deities in a pantheon. He will never be satisfied
with a partial commitment of our love or the
leftovers of our energy. His commandment has
always been, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God,
and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).
I. The Love of Riches (A-B)
The rich young ruler went away sorrowful because
he had great possessions, or should it be said that
his possessions had great possession of him? Jesus
said, “Children, how hard is it for them that trust
in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!” (Mark
10:24).
B. The Rich Fool
The wealthy
in Jesus’ parable
faced the
I. The
Lovefarmer
of Riches
(A-B)
enviable predicament of an abundant harvest
beyond his capacity to contain. (See Luke 12:1620.) He was only thinking, planning, and
strategizing about what he should do. Suddenly, an
answer came to him.
He would
expand
storage space
in order to
I. The
Love
ofhisRiches
(A-B)
retain the harvest for a future day. All his planning
in this regard reflected wise stewardship, and Jesus
did not fault him for these plans. The problem was
not the abundant harvest, but his attitude toward it.
When
he leapedof
overRiches
the barrier of(A-B)
this temporal
I. The
Love
world and invaded the world of eternity, he began
to sin. The rich farmer made three mistakes:
(1) he spoke to his soul as if it were his body and
could be satisfied with the produce of the ground;
(2) he assumed that time and eternity could be
measured by the same measure; and
(3) he put himself in the place of God, and only
God controls our future.
Selfishness
godly
riches are incompatible.
I. The
Loveandof
Riches
(A-B)
When we pursue a relationship with God, it often
will be at the expense of our personal ambitions.
Sometimes, however, God will bring the desires of
our heart back to us unexpectedly after we have
first given them up to Him. True wisdom and
riches come from our heavenly Father, the giver of
all good gifts.
The
Snare
of
Greed
II. The Snare of Greed (A)
A. Deceptive
Greed is defined as a desire for material wealth or
gain, ignoring the realm of the spiritual. It has been
called other names: avarice, covetousness, and
acquisitiveness.
II. There
TheareSnare
of Greed
(A)
two stereotypes
of the greedy
person: one
is extravagant, making a show of his possessions to
impress others; the other is a miser who has a lot of
money but hoards it and delights in counting it but
not using it. For the greedy person, getting and
keeping money and possessions are more important
than the things themselves.
II. Someone
The Snare
ofgreed
Greed
has said that
has two (A)
cousins. The
first is covetousness, the desire to have what others
possess. The second is envy, resentfulness of the
blessings or good fortune of others along with the
desire to have what they have. Moreover, envy
leads a person to dislike the one who has what the
person wants.
II. Jesus
Thespoke
Snare
of Greed
(A) in His
of the “deceitfulness
of riches”
explanation of the parable of the sower in Mark
4:18-19. A person who is deceived by this world’s
riches can become obsessed with a desire for more
than is necessary to live, and he forgets that wealth
cannot buy happiness, health, friends, or the future.
II. One
The
Snare
of Greedis that
(A)happiness
of life’s
great misconceptions
and success in this life depend on the possessions
we have accumulated, and that the more
possessions a person has, the better his life will be.
These are lies. Our lives are not defined by the
amount or quality of material possessions we have
accumulated.
II. The
The
Greed
richSnare
farmer diedof
before
he could (A)
use all that he
had stored in his barns. Further, in spite of the fact
that he claimed his possessions were his barns, his
fruits, and his goods, he left them all behind. (See
Luke 12:16-22.)
II. God
The
Snare
ofa fool
Greed
called
this person
because(A)
greed caused
him to plan only for this life and enter eternity a
pauper.
II. Greed
Theaffects
Snare
oftheGreed
not only
wealthy but(A)
also the
poor. A person may actually be poor, but greed and
lust for money can harden his heart and make him
bitter and envious. Greed also is a trap that can
entangle believers. The sin of greed may begin
innocently enough.
II. We
The
of Greed
(A) us, we
may Snare
think that because
God has blessed
are entitled to use our financial gifts as we choose.
Slowly, we can fall victim to Satan’s snare of a
desire for more, leaving us unfulfilled. Soon we are
not content or thankful with what we have.
II. When
TheweSnare
of Greed
(A)
fall for Satan’s
suggestion that
we cannot
live without more money and more possessions, our
desire grows until it becomes an obsession.
B. Deadly
II. The
Snare
of Greed
(B)
Greed and
covetousness
are sins of the
flesh; the
apostle Paul compared covetousness to idolatry in
Colossians 3:5. The person consumed with greed
worships at an altar erected to the idol of
selfishness. Greed is an intoxicating potion to the
flesh. People gamble everything they own to
acquire another status symbol and flaunt their
power and affluence.
II. The
Snare
of Greed
(B) was
King Midas,
a character
in Greek mythology,
recognized mostly for his ability to turn into gold
anything he touched. He ordered the servants to set
a feast on the table. Then he found that his bread,
meat, and wine turned to gold and became inedible.
II. The
Snare
Greed
(B)Midas
In a version
told by of
Nathaniel
Hawthorne,
found that when he touched his daughter, she
turned into a statue of gold as well. This made him
realize the bad choice he had made, and he desired
to be free of his gift.
II. The
Snare
of ofGreed
Achan coveted
a wedge
gold, two (B)
hundred
shekels of silver, and a good-looking Babylonian
garment he found in the spoils of the city of
Jericho. Even though he knew that God had
forbidden him to take anything out of the city, he
took it anyway and hid it under the floor of his tent
(Joshua 7:21).
II. The
Snare
of stolen
Greed
(B)
Achan hid
what he had
because
he knew he
was guilty of doing wrong. Little did he realize that
his sin would cause his death and the death of all
his family.
II. The
of tagGreed
(B)
There isSnare
always a price
attached to
every sin. It
is called the law of sowing and reaping. (See
Galatians 6:7.) It is written in the laws of the moral
universe. The soul that sins shall surely die. (See
Genesis 2:17; Ezekiel 18:4.)
II. The
Snare
ofBalaam
Greed
The apostle
Peter used
as an (B)
example of
the kind of person God will judge at His coming.
II Peter 2:15
“Which have forsaken the right way,
and are gone astray, following the
way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who
loved the wages of unrighteousness”
(II Peter 2:15).
II. The
Snare
of Greed
(B)
Balaam’s
perverse desire
for monetary
gain
corrupted his office and calling as a prophet of the
most high God. He was willing to be hired for a
job that God had expressly forbidden him to do.
Peter said that he “loved the wages of
unrighteousness.”
II. The
Snareof his
ofheart
Greed
(B)by his
The wickedness
was revealed
continued insistence on going to meet King Balak,
who was asking him to curse the people of God.
Though Balaam did not curse God’s people, it is
evident from his actions that he desired the
potential honor and monetary gain that the king
promised.
II. The Snare of Greed (B)
The apostle Paul warned Timothy about the danger
of greed because he saw the pitfalls attached to it.
The desire to be rich is such a deeply rooted flaw
in human character that some would use the
ministry as a stepping stone to personal fortune.
Paul said that godliness with contentment is greatly
profitable (I Timothy 6:6). Those who crave riches
set themselves up for the trap of lust and eventually
destruction.
“But they that will be rich fall into
temptation
and a snare,
and into many
I Timothy
6:9-11
foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown
men in destruction and perdition. 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. But thou, O man of
God, flee these things; and follow
after righteousness, godliness, faith,
love, patience, meekness”
(I Timothy 6:9-11).
II. The Snare of Greed (B)
Greed is a destructive choice. It is a bondage to the
soul and spirit of mankind. It will make a person
unusually anxious about earthly things. A greedy
person wastes a dollar of grief over the loss of a
dime. Discontent is a by-product of greed, and it
feeds on unthankfulness. No wonder greed is
called the mother of all sins.
The
Value
of
Treasures
III. The Value of Treasures
(A-B)
A. Earthly
Everything constructed in this life has a beginning
and an end. Whether we purchase a car, a tool, or
an article of clothing, the day we begin using the
item it begins to deteriorate and lose its value. It is
only temporary, not permanent. Very few things
that we use or with which we have contact have
eternal significance.
III. The Value of Treasures
Everything in our world has a melting temperature.
(A-B)is raised higher, it eventually
If the temperature
will reach a point of combustion. Gold melts at
1800 degrees Fahrenheit.
III. The Value of Treasures
Iron has a melting temperature of 2800 degrees
(A-B)
Fahrenheit.
The earth’s molten core is believed to
be 14,430 degrees Fahrenheit because of atomic
fission. Peter warned us that the earth will one day
“melt with fervent heat” and “shall be burned up”
(II Peter 3:10).
III. The Value of Treasures
It is foolish to focus only on the temporary things
(A-B)
in life to the
exclusion of the eternal. Only what we
invest in the kingdom of God will last. The lost
people of this world live only for the moment.
III. The Value of Treasures
They may distinguish themselves by
(A-B)
accomplishing
great feats of skill or works of
philanthropy, and they may be immortalized with
their names engraved in a sidewalk, displayed on a
building, or contained in a book. Still, all this is
temporary. The choices we make about some
temporal investments, however, have eternal
consequences.
III. The Value of Treasures
The apostle Paul assessed his list of personal assets
in family (A-B)
heritage, education, social standing, and
disciplined lifestyle as a total loss that he might
instead acquire the knowledge of Jesus Christ. He
wrote, “But what things were gain to me, those I
counted loss for Christ.
III. The Value of Treasures
Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for
(A-B)
the excellency
of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my
Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all
things, and do count them but dung, that I may win
Christ” (Philippians 3:7-8).
III. The Value of Treasures
A historical illustration of “counting it all loss” is
told of the(A-B)
Spanish explorer, Hernando Cortez.
After landing at Vera Cruz, Mexico, in 1519, he
was so intent on conquest that to assure the
devotion of his men, Cortez set fire to his fleet of
eleven ships.
III. The Value of Treasures
With no means of retreat, Cortez’s army had only
(A-B)
one direction
to move—into the Mexican interior.
Cortez understood the price of commitment, and he
was willing to pay it for a temporal, earthly
treasure. Paul, in contrast, was willing to give up
the earthly in exchange for the heavenly.
III. The Value of Treasures
The proper attitude toward wealth in this world is
(A-B)
vital to pleasing
God and fulfilling His purpose for
giving it to us. The blessing of the Lord in our lives
is a test of attitude, maturity, and spirituality. When
God causes us to prosper, He usually sends some
traffic down our road to see if we will share our
abundance with those in need of what we have.
III. The Value of Treasures
Peter concluded his warning of the coming
judgment(A-B)
of the world with the bright hope of the
Lord’s promise of a new earth: “Nevertheless we,
according to his promise, look for new heavens and
a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” (II
Peter 3:13).
B. Heavenly
III. The Value of Treasures
The apostle Paul warned the Philippians about
those who(A-B)
were the enemies of the cross of Christ.
They were sold out to sensuality and would be
condemned to eternal punishment (Philippians
3:18-19).
III. The Value of Treasures
In contrast to the enemies of the Cross, Paul
testified that
we are citizens of heaven, and we are
(A-B)
waiting for the coming of our Savior (Philippians
3:20, New Living Translation). We must view
ourselves as strangers and pilgrims in this world
and not drive the stakes of our tent too deeply into
the soil of this world. The writer to the Hebrews
called attention to the patriarch Abraham who went
out from his home to seek a “better country,” a
heavenly country. (See Hebrews 11:8-16.)
“If then you have been raised
with Colossians
Christ [to a3:1-2
new life, thus
sharing His resurrection from the
dead], aim at and seek the [rich,
eternal treasures] that are above,
where Christ is, seated at the right
hand of God. [Ps. 110:1.] And set
your minds and keep them set on
what is above (the higher things), not
on the things that are on the earth”
(Colossians 3:1-2, The Amplified Bible).
III. The Value of Treasures
Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount that we
should lay(A-B)
up for ourselves treasures in heaven
where they will not fall prey to thieves, moths, and
rust. It is a simple truth: “Where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21).
IV. Reward of
the Righteous
Reward
of
(A)
the Righteous
A. Earthly Blessings
God generously blesses His people with material
things to supply their needs and to have enough to
share with others in need (Ephesians 4:28).
Proverbs 10:22
“The blessing of the LORD, it maketh
rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it”
(Proverbs 10:22).
IV. Reward of the Righteous
(A)
The blessings of the Lord are both conditional and
unconditional. The Lord told Abraham that He
would make a great nation of his family. God
promised to bless all of those who blessed him and
to curse all who cursed him. It was an
unconditional covenant, dependent only on the
faithfulness of God.
IV. Reward of the Righteous
(A)
On the other hand, the Lord told the nation of
Israel if they would keep His laws and live under
His covenant, He would bless them greatly. This
was a conditional covenant dependent on Israel’s
faithfulness.
IV. Reward of the Righteous
(A)
Our God delights in blessing the righteous with His
best. He looks for opportunities to show “himself
strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect
toward him” (II Chronicles 16:9). David the
psalmist also recognized the goodness and
faithfulness of God toward His people.
Psalm 37:25
“I have been young, and now am old;
yet have I not seen the righteous
forsaken, nor his seed begging bread”
(Psalm 37:25).
IV. Reward of the Righteous
(A)
The faithfulness of God demands painstaking
record keeping. God records even cups of cold
water given in His name. (See Matthew 10:42.) He
even takes note of the smallest sacrifices we make
for the kingdom and delights in sending gifts to
remind us He has been listening to the secret
desires of our hearts.
Matthew 6:33
“But seek ye first the kingdom of
God, and his righteousness; and all
these things shall be added unto you”
(Matthew 6:33).
IV. Reward of the Righteous
The Lord wants
(A)our minds to be free of worry and
anxious care about the necessities of life. He
guaranteed the supply of food, clothing, and shelter
when we focus on putting His kingdom first in our
life. If we will put Him first on our list of priorities,
then He will put us first. Our only concern should
be His concern (Proverbs 3:9-10).
IV. Reward of the Righteous
The questions
Jesus asked about these issues are
(A)
still appropriate in our times. We should ask
ourselves, “Do birds sow, reap, or store in barns?
Who feeds the birds? Do lilies spin, weave, or
clothe themselves? Who clothes the lilies? Can any
of us by thinking add inches to our height? Who
causes us to grow?”
IV. Reward of the Righteous
Jesus said we
are much better than birds or grass,
(A)
and if He feeds birds and clothes fields, how much
more shall He feed and clothe us? “Therefore take
no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What
shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be
clothed?” (Matthew 6:31).
IV. Reward of the Righteous
To be overly(A)
anxious over ordinary needs is sinful
because it is an act of distrust in the faithfulness of
God and His promises. He always keeps His Word.
B. Promise of Safety
IV. Reward of the Righteous
(B)
“The name of the LORD is a strong
tower: the righteous runneth into it,
and is safe” (Proverbs 18:10).
IV. Reward
theis Righteous
The name of of
the Lord
indicative of the
character of God. In His name we have found
(B)
refuge from
all manner of perils in life. Others,
who are godless, may seek refuge in wealth,
position, or power, but we have ultimate trust in
our God. “The rich man’s wealth is his strong
city, and as an high wall in his own conceit”
(Proverbs 18:11).
IV. Reward
oftitled
the
Righteous
In his message
“Our
Stronghold,” Charles
Spurgeon commented: “The rich man feels that
his wealth(B)
may afford him comfort.
IV. Reward
theinRighteous
Should he beof
attacked
law, his wealth can
procure him an advocate; should he be insulted in
the streets,(B)
the dignity of a full purse will avenge
him; should he be sick, he can fee the best
physicians; should he need ministers to his
pleasures, or helpers of his infirmities, they will
be at his call; should famine stalk through the
land, it will avoid his door; should war itself
break forth, he can purchase an escape from the
sword, for his wealth is his strong tower.
IV. Reward
of the
Righteous
In contradistinction
to this,
the righteous man
finds in his God all that the wealthy man finds in
(B)and a vast deal more.”
his substance,
IV. Reward
of theandRighteous
We have redemption
the forgiveness of our
sins through the name of Jesus Christ. Through
(B)
faith in that
name, chains of sin are broken,
justice of the law is satisfied, and we are set free.
IV. Reward
oftempts
theandRighteous
When the devil
taunts us with his lies,
we have a refuge in the name of the Lord. The
(B)
believer has
the authority to rebuke the enemy
and walk in victory through Jesus Christ.
IV. Reward
theconfer,
Righteous
We are neverof
to argue,
or discuss our
disagreements with the adversary. The name of
the Lord is(B)
a wall of protection that surrounds us
and keeps us from his deceptive disinformation.
IV. Reward
of the
Righteous
“He that dwelleth
in the secret
place of the most
High shall abide under the shadow of the
Almighty”(B)
(Psalm 91:1). There is no safer place
in the world than to be under His shadow.
C. Eternal Life
IV. Reward of the Righteous
Beginning in Genesis with the story of Cain and
Abel, the Scriptures
(C) give us solid examples of two
different ways of living our lives. Each way has its
own reward—one has the reward of the flesh,
which is death, and the other the reward of the
Spirit, which is eternal life. (See Romans 8:1-9.)
IV. Reward of the Righteous
Jesus told the story of two builders of two houses
on two different
(C)foundations—one built on the
sand and one built on the rock. Only one, however,
survived the storm. (See Matthew 7:24-27.)
Matthew 25:46
“And these shall go away into
everlasting punishment: but the
righteous into life eternal”
(Matthew 25:46).
IV. Reward of the Righteous
The Word of God assures us that the Lord knows
those people(C)
who are His, and we have the witness
of His Spirit in us that we are the people of God.
(See Romans 8:16; II Timothy 2:19; I John 4:13.)
IV. Reward of the Righteous
Our salvation is secured by the sacrifice of Jesus
Christ, “who(C)
hath abolished death, and hath
brought life and immortality to light through the
gospel” (II Timothy 1:10). Eternal life in heaven
with Jesus Christ is a promise made to believers.
Our only concern should be pleasing Him by
cooperating with His plan.
IV. Reward of the Righteous
Jesus promised that He would reward anyone one
hundred times
as much in this life who had
(C)
forsaken houses, lands, family, or friends for His
sake and the gospel’s; and in the life to come, He
promised eternal life (Mark 10:29-30).
Romans 6:23
“For the wages of sin is death; but the
gift of God is eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans
6:23).
IV. Reward of the Righteous
The sacrifice that Jesus freely gave for us at
Calvary was(C)
payment in full for our debt of sin. We
do not serve Him faithfully to be saved; rather we
serve Him because we are saved. No work in His
kingdom could ever merit one moment in His
presence in eternity. Eternal life is His gift to us,
the people of God redeemed by His blood.
Reflections
Someone has wisely observed that fortune does not
change men; it unmasks them. In his book There Is
No Such Thing as Business Ethics, John Maxwell
stated, “There’s no such thing as business ethics—
there’s only ethics. People try to use one set of
ethics for their professional life, another for their
spiritual life, and still another at home with their
family.
Reflections
That gets them into trouble. Ethics is ethics. If you
desire to be ethical, you live by one standard across
the board.” We cannot live our lives in boxes that
isolate one behavior from another and selectively
use ethics when it is convenient or comfortable. We
are either ethical and moral or we are not.
Reflections
“Ethics is about how we meet the challenge of
doing the right thing when that will cost more than
we want to pay” (The Josephson Institute of
Ethics).
Reflections
Jesus warned us about the evils of covetousness.
We can become so blinded by the insistent
demands of the flesh that we cannot live without
pursuing more and more possessions. The devil
knows our weaknesses and he exploits each of
them to try to separate us from the purpose of God.
Luke 12:15
“And he said unto them, Take heed,
and beware of covetousness: for a
man’s life consisteth not in the
abundance of the things which he
possesseth” (Luke 12:15).
Reflections
Eternal life is not a right we can demand or a debt
owed to us. It is simply a gift. We violated God’s
law, and the resulting debt we owed because of our
sins was far beyond our ability to pay. We were
spiritually bankrupt and taken captive by the devil.
However, God, who is rich in mercy, has
quickened us and raised us up to sit with Him in
heavenly places. (See Ephesians 2:4-13.) What an
amazing gift is eternal life!