Rich Man, Poor Man — 09/17/2021

foreign [Music] [Music] many of us in life are focused on personal success or achievement without much regard for people around us who may be experiencing difficulty god sees all of this from an entirely different perspective and today on truth for life we take a step back in order to look at our circumstances biblically here's aleister begg [Music] we're in verse 9 of james chapter 1. i'll just read verse 8 9 10 and 11 the brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position but the one who is rich should take pride in his low position because he will pass away like a wild flower for the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed in the same way the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business now james has begun this particular letter by urging his readers to recognize that when they face trials of various kinds it will make a huge difference if they view them from a proper perspective and the way in which we address ourselves in terms of attitude and viewpoint to a subject will largely determine the behavior that follows the approach that we take and i'm increasingly convinced that in verses 9 10 and 11 james is not introducing a new theme there is a paragraph shift in the niv and there is a sense in which that's accurate in so far as it helps us in the advance of uh his discussion but i think we would do wrong by the text if we were to isolate verses 9 10 and 11 from all that has gone before particularly in this issue of wisdom and the need for wisdom because it would appear that what he's doing is giving an illustration of the way in which wisdom will change the response that we have to the circumstances of our lives if we have heavenly wisdom then we will think about our status in life our material circumstances in life in a way that is different from that which is the perspective of those who do not know the wisdom of god now in james day uh poverty was an issue uh there was no middle class in the time of james people tended either to be very rich or to be very poor the circumstances of wealth and money are obviously important in this very practical letter of james and he is going to come back to them on a number of occasions and we don't really need to be concerned about that tonight all i want you to see is that he is if you like introducing a subject here in 9 10 and 11 of chapter 1 to which he is going to come back and he gives to his readers a vital perspective and principle in addressing their circumstances he is pointing out that heavenly wisdom will enable both those who are poor and those who are rich to view their circumstances from a perspective that is both right and radical in essence what he's saying is that both those who are poor and rich need to look at their circumstances in light of god's big picture they need to stand back from their status in life we need to stand back from our status in life and we need to adopt heavenly wisdom in assessing how things really are so for example viewing time and the passage of time in the light of eternity in the same way to view success however we may assess it in terms of human frailty no matter how successful we might be eventually all of our successes will crumble and disintegrate and somebody will transcend whatever else we have done and thirdly to view poverty in light of the eternal riches that are made available in the gospel or we might put it this way instead of his readers thinking about their circumstances economically or socially he is urging us to think about our circumstances theologically or if you like biblically and it's going to take the wisdom of heaven in order to do that not least of all because the prevailing cultural ethos of both james's day and our own day is vastly if not totally different from what he writes the paradoxical nature of his statements here challenges most of our western world view in relationship to success financial security the future and everything besides in fact as i read this and i wonder did you find it when i was reading it in public here i find myself hearing an echo of james's brother's words in matthew chapter 6 how amazing it must have been after james was converted to go back through in his mind many of the things that his brother jesus had said which he thought was really a bunch of bunk because he didn't believe in his brother he didn't really believe in him at all but now he sounds so much like his brother doesn't he it's hard to imagine that he didn't have jesus words in matthew 6 19 and following in his mind do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal what i thought that's what you're supposed to do i thought that's what the whole life was about do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal well what should we do store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal for where your treasure is there will your heart be also it's hard for me to go back then to verse 9 and not hear the echo of jesus words when james says the brother in humble circumstances or the poor brother ought to take pride in his high position well let's just look at it as it calls uh for us to do first of all in the word that he brings to the poor brother the brother in humble circumstances or your translation may say in low circumstances because the word for humble here actually means to be placed low humble yourselves under god's mighty hand get down low that's the word that is used so there's a wonderful sort of juxtaposition of of a verbage here where he says the fellow who's low should rejoice that he's high the fellow who's high should rejoice that is really low in other words he says verse 9 the man or the woman for that matter he's using brother here in a generic way the individual who is on the lowest rung of the social and economic ladder should take pride and be glad in their high position what what high position well if you view it simply from the perspective of time and economics and status everybody says i don't have a high position but when you view it in light of the glorious riches that jesus provides then the person on the lowest rung of the ladder has a very high position actually has a more significant position than the unconverted wealthy for all they have is kept in a bag with a hole in it and it is draining through the hole as they continue their journey through life the high position is found in the fact that this individual is the object of god's care that god looks out for him there is no question that in the history of the church the church has grown most significantly amongst the poor not amongst the rich why because it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven because those of us who are affluent are used to buying our way into every place there's not a ticket we can't get there's not a concert we can see there's not a right we can take and so we assume well i'm sure god must operate on the same basis that's why when you read first corinthians 1 it's striking isn't it paul says think about yourselves he's talking about weakness he says think about yourselves when you were called not many of you were mighty not many of you were peculiarly influential he doesn't say not any he just says not many and he's right and what is the message that james is conveying here the poor he says those who are in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position that's very important the message is not if you will apply this wisdom you will become rich look at the verse it doesn't say that that's what said on television largely tonight all across the airwaves when people in positions like myself telling people if you will do this then you will get this you will become rich as a result of doing this i can guarantee you this if you do this then this and so on actually what james says is not if you will do this you will become rich but rather if you think about life from this perspective you will realize that you are rich oh but look where i live yes you're rich but have you seen my tax return yes but you're rich that's what he's saying it really is too bad but somehow or another in the last 50 years in western christianity we have not only wrapped flags around the cross but we have wrapped dollar bills around the cross and james cries out from the first century no no secondly he gives a word to the rich brother if the brother in humble circumstances are to take pride in his high position what about the one who's in a high position the rich one well he should take pride in his low position okay what are you saying here james well let's be clear about what he's not saying he's not suggesting here that there's any problem that he doesn't actually say there's a problem with being poor you've noted that right he doesn't say i feel dreadfully sorry for you we're going to try and get you sorted out we'll get you out of your predicament no he says the person who's in humble circumstances should rejoice in their high position again you hear the echo of the words of jesus the poor you will always have with you that's not to say we don't do anything for the sake of the poor jesus did much for the sake of the poor but it is an acknowledgement of the fact of human existence nor does he then suggest that there is anything wrong in possessing wealth he doesn't say we've got a problem with the poor therefore we're going to make you rich we've got a problem with the rich therefore we're going to make you poor it's not some form of egalitarianism not some kind of first century jerusalem orientated marxism no he acknowledges the place of the poor and says perspective is the way to deal with your status and he acknowledges the location and significance of the rich and he says perspective is the exact same way for you to deal with it if there's anything wrong in wealth it has to do with the misuse of wealth or of our propensity to depend upon wealth as if somehow or another that's where our security lies that's what jesus is saying about laying up treasures in heaven make sure he says that you're investing in the one bank that guarantees you a significant return now you see this little word to the affluent in verse 10 and 11 is striking in its impact the affluent when applying this godly wisdom will come to see what well they'll come to see actually that riches are fleeting that the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant it's probably a picture there of these winds that came down what were they called the sirocco winds and with the vegetation and the right kind of rainfall there would be little green shoots that would spring up and people would see them and they would look out on them in their garden and they'd say this is a wonderful thing and it looks as though they're going to be here for a while and then one afternoon just a hot blast as if somebody had opened an oven door and that which had been there in the early hours of the day was obliterated by the time they went to bed and james says that the rich person better remember that it's not that the poor shouldn't remember it but he gives a particular word to those who are rich reminding his readers that we are frail as a summer flower the wind blows and it's gone but wealthy believers says james are to cultivate a correct attitude to material possessions if they're going to use them wisely if we're going to use them generously if we're going to use them for kingdom business james is not alone in this paul addresses it doesn't he remember when he urges upon timothy the importance of speaking with directness to those under his care he says to him towards the end of his first letter command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth which is so uncertain but to put their hope in god who richly provides us with everything for and for our enjoyment command them to do good to be rich in good deeds and to be generous and willing to share in this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life see true riches can never be in earthly banks or vaults or portfolios real wealth doesn't consist in the abundance of our possessions when we grasp this then the poor man is able to look at his less than super circumstances and continue in the journey of faith because his eyes have been opened to all that is awaiting him in heaven the rich man by contrast goes on with god despite all the temptations and all the snares that are directly related to the fact of his affluence because in his case god has opened his eyes to the hollowness of earthly stuff so the wisdom of god comes to the poor man to show him the vastness of what he has in christ and the wisdom of god comes to the rich man to show him the hollowness of everything that he might be tempted to use as a basis for significance this is actually a very daunting area isn't it it's not easy to address speak about it's actually relatively easy to pontificate on it's much harder to live there's no question that james comes down heavily on the side of the issue of the rich man it's almost as if the brother of of low esteem that gets off quite lightly and we noted one man who got it wrong on the high end the rich fool and i want to end with one man who got it wrong on the low end who a chap by the name of gehazi now just draw your attention to this and we're through this where gehazi comes into the scene is as the servant of elisha the man of god naaman was a prosperous man you remember who had leprosy and he went to see the servant of god and as a result of his being cured offered him a bunch of stuff and elijah says no i don't need a bunch of stuff i won't accept a thing and even though naaman urged him he refused and gahazi's with him and when this little scenario is concluded and elisha says go in peace and naaman had traveled some distance gehazi the servant of elisha the man of god said to himself my master was too easy on name in this aramaic and by not accepting from him what he brought as surely as the lord lives i will run after him and get something from him so gehazi hurried after naaman when naaman saw him running towards him he got down from the chariot to meet him is everything all right he asked oh everything's all right has he answered my master flat out lie my master sent me to say two young men from the company of the prophets have just come to me from the hill country of ephraim could you please give them a talent of silver and two sets of clothing well of course why don't you take two talents said naaman and he urged gehazi to accept them you can see guys are going oh no i know and i didn't want to be enough and so he's going give me three give me three no i think i will be fine with that and naaman urge them go ahead guys you take two talents of silver two bags and two sets of clothings and give them to your two servants and then he passed them on and the two servants walked ahead of him and gehazi came to the hill and he took the things from the servants and he put them away in his house and he sent the men away and they left and then he went in and stood before his master elisha it's a great moment it's a sort of pregnant moment you just see him coming in where have you been gahazi elisha asked oh your servant didn't go anywhere has he answered but elisha said to him was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you is this the time to take money except clothes olive groves vineyards flocks herds or men servants and maidservants what's up gahazi don't you like your position as a servant don't you believe that god can look after you do you really need to go chasing this guy down squirrel and money out of him naaman's leprosy will cling to you and to your descendants forever and gehazi went from elijah's presence and he was leprous as white as snow so paradoxically not only can the weak say they're strong but the poor can say they're rich in light of god's wisdom without jesus and without the bible and without the holy spirit there is no way we can ever get to terms with this and even when we've studied it we still have to live it so let's just pray that god will help us to live it [Music] if our goal as christians is to live out the truth we find in god's word it will be essential for us to rely on the wisdom from above you've been listening to aleister begg today on truth for life aleister will be right back to close today's program with prayer our series in the book of james reminds us that the bible is our source of illumination in fact the bible says it's a lamp to our feet and a light to our path we never outgrow our need for learning the truth found in god's word we're also never too young to start learning what god's word says so if you are a parent or a grandparent or someone who works with young children you're going to want to get a copy of a book called bible stories every child should know this is a colorful book that retells the stories from scripture back there are more than 120 stories in this collection so you will have new stories to be reading month after month request your copy of the book bible stories every child should know when you give today just click the image you see in the app or you can call us at 888 now here is alistair to close with prayer father i think the big temptation in this is for us to try and apply it to the other person so if we find ourselves on the low end of the ladder we want immediately to tell the people a few rungs up listen this is what you're supposed to be doing but in actual fact we're supposed to look at ourselves and our lives in light of the amazing provision you've made for us in jesus and for those of us who've been entrusted with the responsibility of that which is significant in financial terms and when we think that probably a billion people in the world are making less than a dollar a day we had to be real clear about which side we fall down in this equation so god since you've given us so much help us to not misuse it or to depend upon it but to use it in such a way that will it be invested for the kingdom of god and for lasting treasure the kind of treasure that none but your children will ever know we humbly pray in jesus name amen i'm bob lepen hope you enjoy your weekend hope you're able to worship together with your local church family you'll definitely want to join us again monday as we continue our study in the book of james and find out how we can know if our own faith is genuine the bible teaching of aleister begg is furnished by truth for life [Music] where the learning is for living [Music]

Channel: Alistair Begg

Views: 4,702

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: Christian Thinking, Materialism, Money, Possessions

Id: uXYTril5YH8

Length: 25min 0sec (1500 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 17 2021