Sermon: Moola
…a sermon
about money –Part 7
by Chris Cumming
It was the famous Jonathan Swift [satirist and poet] who said: “A
wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart.”
Today we continue the journey to get wise about money in our heads. We
are going to immerse ourselves into the Word of God to see what is being
said about money. It will be a comprehensive journey as I encourage all
of us to bring the finances of our lives under God’s authority.
Bring your finances under God’s authority.
Notice Luke 16:
Luke 16:10-12
10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much:
and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who
will commit to your trust the true riches?
12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who
shall give you that which is your own?
Notice the meaning here in the commentary.
Who will commit ... - If you are not faithful in the small matters
pertaining to this world, if you do not use aright your property and
influence, you cannot expect that God will commit to you the true riches
of his grace. Men who are dishonest and worldly, and who do not employ
the deceitful mammon as they ought, cannot expect to grow in grace. God
does not confer grace upon them, and their being unfaithful in earthly
matters is evidence that they “would be” also in much greater affairs,
and would likewise “misimprove” the true riches.
True riches - The graces of the gospel; the influences of the Spirit; eternal
life, or religion. The riches of this world are false, deceitful, not to be
trusted Luke 16:9; the treasures of heaven are “true,” faithful, never-failing,
Matthew 6:19-20. ~Barnes Notes
Quoted verses:
Luke 16:9
And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness;
that, when ye fail [when you die], they may receive you into everlasting
habitations.
Matthew 6:19-20
19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth
corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust
doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
So God is saying to us that He wants us to be experts in the small matters of
the world, as they are the training ground for us becoming experts in the real
riches of the Kingdom of God.
This is going to be an ongoing series of sermons. We will not necessarily being
doing them all in a row but I will be bringing them to you in the coming months
as we schedule them. This will be very important training for all of us. We
will be dealing with worldly elements; money and finances. From scripture, God
will be giving us a multitude of spiritual principles and concepts to become
experts in all aspects of them. What you are going to see is that what we learn
through money and finances will impact virtually every aspect of our physical
and spiritual lives.
So… Bring your finances under God’s authority.
Here are the twelve elements into which we are going to be immersing
ourselves:
1] Right Attitudes
2] Wrong Attitudes
3] Credit
4] Giving
5] Family
6] God’s Blessings
7] God’s Curses …todays subject
8] Government
9] Investing
10] Planning
11] Restitution…todays subject
12] Work and Wages…todays subject
Let us continue. Today we will deal with elements Seven, Eleven and Twelve,
“God’s Curses, Restitution and Work & Wages.
7] God's Curses
God punishes willful disobedience and worship of false gods. The difference
between discipline and a curse from God is that discipline is applied in love to
redirect, while a curse is to make a clear example of those so afflicted.
Notice a key verse:
Proverbs 13:21
Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repayed.
Let us look at this verse in a couple of other versions:
English Standard Version
Disaster pursues sinners, but the righteous are rewarded with good.
New International Version
Trouble pursues the sinner, but the righteous are rewarded with good things.
New American Standard Bible
Adversity pursues sinners, But the righteous will be rewarded with prosperity.
God has provided all firstfruits with the truth and principles that cover all
the situations of life. He wants us to apply those principles in all the
situations of our lives. Doing so will conform us to the image of Christ and it
will make the situation play out to a promised end. When we go against those
principles and put our confidence in other ways, it is a form of idolatry and a
form of disobedience, especially when we know that these other ways do not
conform to scripture.
Let us look at verses linked to Proverbs 13:21 and the concept of obedience and
disobedience. The principles here apply to all things financial, as God is the
chief financial officer of the Universe. If we want success, we must live with
and by these scriptures.
Psalm 32:10
Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy
shall compass him about.
Psalm 54:5 ...David making a statement of fact.
He shall reward evil unto mine enemies: cut them off in thy truth.
Proverbs 11:31
Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked
and the sinner.
Proverbs 13:13
Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment
shall be rewarded.
Proverbs 17:13
Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.
Isaiah 3:10
Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the
fruit of their doings.
Isaiah 47:11 ...speaking of those given to pleasures and who dwell
carelessly.
Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth:
and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and
desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know.
11] Restitution
Restitution literally means to "restore." In the area of finances this normally
refers to replacing the material possessions of another. An example of this
would be Zaccheus in Luke 19:8, when he said, "...if I have defrauded anyone of
anything, I will give back four times as much.
Matthew 5:23-24
23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy
brother hath ought against thee;
24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to
thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
Homework: Read Exodus 21:16 through 22:17 and you will see many instances of correcting a wrong. You will read of situations including:
Exodus 21:16--Pay for kidnapping
Exodus 21: 19--Pay for loss of work
Exodus 21:21--Injury to a slave
Exodus 21:22--Pay for causing a woman to miscarriage
Exodus 21:32--Accidental death of a slave
Exodus 22:1--Pay for theft of an animal
Exodus 22:3-4--Pay for burglary
Exodus 22:5--Pay for allowing your animal to eat in another's field
Exodus 22:6--Pay for fire damages you cause
Exodus 22:7--Theft of entrusted property
Exodus 22:8--Liability for fiduciary [person to whom property or power is
entrusted for the benefit of another.]
Exodus 22:9--Penalty for breach of trust
Exodus 22:12-13--Liability for borrowed goods
Exodus 22:16-17--Penalty for violating a virgin. [the individual would have to
marry the lady or if the father refused, pay him money.]
Some of these instances of Restitution would never or should never come up in a
firstfruit's life. Others might. The principle of restitution we see in these
verses can easily apply to many things in our lives. Let us add two from the
New Testament that could easily come up in our lives.
Matthew 5:23-24
23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy
brother hath ought against thee;
24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to
thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
Matthew 5:25-26
25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest
at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee
to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.
26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou
hast paid the uttermost farthing.
Here is a famous quote I found on the subject of restitution:
“How you correct your mistakes will define your character and commitment to a higher power.”
"The time it takes to rectify a situation is inversely proportional to the time it took to do the damage."
Example 1: It takes longer to glue a vase together than to break one.
"A sincere apology has three parts:
1] I am sorry.
2] It is my fault.
3] What can I do to make it right?"
"Remembering what God has done for you will help you extend grace to others."
12] Work & Wages
This topic references God's Word on our labor (work) and our
compensation (wages). Clearly these scriptures present God's perspective
on being a good witness in the workplace through our quality. Additionally,
this also requires being content with our wages and paying a fair wage to those
who work for us.
This subject has seven sub-subjects:
1] Work ...God's direction to labor
2] Wages ...Remuneration for labor
3] Employee/Employer ...Worker and authority
4] Quality ...God's principles of excellence
5] Slothful ...Failure to perform adequately.
6] Diligent ...Trustworthy at assigned tasks
7] Yoke ...Bound together.
There are scores of scriptures involved here, so for some I will give the
scripture and subject only.
1] Work ...God's direction to labor
Exodus 20:9--Six days of work
Leviticus 23:3--Sabbath
Ecclesiastes 3:13--We are to enjoy the good of all our labour
Ephesians 4:28 ...work rather than steal
Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his
hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
Colossians 3:23
And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
1 Thessalonians 4:12
That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have
lack of nothing.
2 Thessalonians 3:10
For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not
work, neither should he eat.
2 Timothy 2:4 [See
Lesson]
No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he
may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
2] Wages ...Remuneration for labor
Proverbs 10:16
The labour of the righteous tendeth to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin.
Jeremiah 22:13
Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by
wrong; that useth his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth him not for
his work;
Malachi 3:5
And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against
the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and
against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the
fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me,
saith the LORD of hosts.
Luke 3:14
And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he
said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be
content with your wages.
1 Timothy 5:18 [See
Lesson]
For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the
corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.
|3] Employee/Employer ...Worker and
authority
Genesis 13:8
And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and
thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.
Leviticus 25:53
And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him: and the other shall not rule
with rigour over him in thy sight.
4] Quality ...God's principles of excellence.
Proverbs 22:29
Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall
not stand before mean men.
Quotes:
“What we hope ever to do with ease, we must first learn to do with diligence.”
“Diligence is the mother of good fortune.”
“For every great success, diligence is desirable from the beginning to the very
end.”
“With discipline, dedication and diligence, you will achieve the goal.”
5] Slothful ...Failure to perform adequately.
Proverbs 6:9-11
9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?
10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
11 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed
man.
Proverbs 10:4
He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent
maketh rich.
Proverbs 18:9
He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.
Proverbs 22:13 ...lazy individuals always have an excuse
The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the
streets.
Quotes:
"Failure is not our only punishment for laziness; there is also the success of
others."
"Laziness may appear attractive, but work gives satisfaction." ~Anne Frank
“Get going. Move forward. Aim High. Plan a takeoff. Don't just sit on the runway
and hope someone will come along and push the airplane. It simply won't happen.
Change your attitude and gain some altitude. Believe me, you'll love it up
here.”
6] Diligent ...Trustworthy at assigned tasks.
Proverbs 10:5
He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a
son that causeth shame.
Proverbs 12:11
He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth
vain persons is void of understanding.
Proverbs 12:24
The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under
tribute [reduced to compulsory service].
Luke 12:43-44
43 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
44 Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.
Quotes:
"The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you
can get there if you’re willing to work."
"Strength doesn't just come from physical activities; it comes from all the
efforts of hard work and determination."
"There is always a reward in all hard-work and sacrifices, so you must be
patient and stay strong in all circumstances."
7] Yoke ...Bound together.
2 Corinthians 6:14-15
14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath
righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth
with an infidel?
Ephesians 5:6-12
6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the
wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as
children of light:
9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather
reprove them.
12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in
secret.
I have spoken to you from the Word of God on these subjects of God's Curses,
Restitution and Work & Wages. In these seven sermons we have covered all 12
subjects and many sub-subjects.
Learn from your Moola!
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