 This week we are in 1st Timothy chapter 6 and we're gonna begin looking at this paragraph from verses 6 through 10 The title of our sermon from riches to rags. You've heard that old saying from rags to riches We're gonna walk through this paragraph in 1st Timothy chapter 6 verses 6 through 10 and we're gonna reverse that I'm gonna show you how that's reversed Paul brilliantly reverses that here from riches to rags and here's the text in beginning in verse 6 The Bible says now godliness with contentment is great gain For we brought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out And having food and clothing with these we shall be content But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many Foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil For which some have strayed from the faith in their greeting us And have pierced themselves through with many sorrows in our text today It brings the bear paul brings this to bear to timothy in this letter to the the church at Ephesus that one of the great truths of the bible Is that the truth of god is Counter-cultural the truth of god is against runs counter to the hopes and dreams and Reasonings and fabrications and imaginations of this world It runs against the nature if you will of the natural man These things are foolishness to him because they are spiritually discerned and he cannot understand them And in attempting to fulfill his own understanding and attempt to Chase off after his own lusts and after his desire. What does this foolish natural man do? but invent his own religion He wants worldly gain christ says to pursue Godly gain produce and pursue heavenly gain and in the pursuit of his own lust. He just creates his own religion He creates a religion that when he dies. He's promised 7 000 vestal virgins at his That is a wicked religion simply designed to satisfy a person's own lust We can see it in quote unquote evangelicalism today when someone wanting to be rich wanting to satisfy their own lust their own desires Quote unquote invent a health wealth prosperity gospel enabling them to justify the pursuit of their own lusts and do it under the canopy so to speak of what it means to be christian And these are lies. These are false professing christians simply justifying themselves in their sin Now from this text this morning. I want you to see three things beginning in verse 6 We're going to look at what it is to have heavenly riches Next we're going to look at worldly rags Finally a hellish result. So we'll look at heavenly riches first true gain True riches are found only in christ true gain is defined by god defined in scripture And it's found only in godliness with contentment Next we'll look at worldly rags Those desiring the riches of this world are dumpster diving They're swimming around in a in a sewer Looking for fresh water to drink looking for something that will satisfy and they're just getting sewage worldly riches in reality are filthy rags when compared to true riches in christ And lastly we'll look at the hellish result of pursuing worldly riches There is an eternal poverty An eternal impoverishment an eternal penalty for turning your back on pursuing true riches in christ jesus It is like the dog going back to eat its own vomit. It's like the pig going back to living in its own filth This is the person that turns their back on heavenly riches to pursue Worldly rags and so let's take a look at verse six and look at heavenly riches in verse verses six through eight Paul explained that in verse five The false teachers in emphasis Supposed that godliness was a means of getting rich So like a bunch of huckster charlatans snake oil salesmen They desired to get rich by exploiting god's people. That's what they were doing And in this now you got to understand they're acting like brute beasts They're just bounding off after their own lusts and they're using God's people to satisfy that to attain their own desires And paul is warning us here in a a beautiful and amazing economy of words Hey, listen, they have got it wrong. They've got it wrong These swindlers are dead wrong about godliness. They are dead wrong about gain They're dead wrong about true contentment. They're dead wrong about the gospel dead wrong about christ dead wrong about church They are dead wrong in their perspective on the christian life. They are dead wrong With true riches true gain is only possible in christ and once again By this point in the letter paul is seething. He begins the letter to timothy Raging against false teaching in emphasis. It is wreaking havoc on the church and many are being led away shipwreck to the faith Here paul again is seething over these false teachers who are leading people away to their own damnation people Are actually listening to these frauds and he's saying here We the church at emphasis down through the ages to you and i we must have a right perspective on what it is to be Gainful in christ and our true right perspective on heavenly riches. So he begins in verse six now godliness with contentment Is great gain the first perspective that we need here The first perspective needed is a spiritual perspective pursuing heavenly riches Requires a spiritual perspective on riches. What does it mean to have great gain? And he begins with the word in verse six now Now there is a contrast word. It is contrasting verse six with verse five that went above They those false teachers those sharks and emphasis Suppose that godliness their own twisted perversion of it was a means of lining their pockets, right? They had a worldly perspective they looked at gain is no more than filling their wallet They looked at godliness as nothing more than a means to get there Godliness to them wasn't something that was produced internally by the spirit of god in them It was just the mask that they wore to the devil's ball It was the candy sugary coating that covered or masked the taste of the poison they were dishing out They disguised themselves as angels of light to simply fulfill their own lust Now with the right spiritual perspective you need to see these frauds for who they are for what they are Doesn't matter how nice they seem It doesn't matter how well they seem to get along listen. They are wearing a mask They are dishing out poison in a beautiful container. They're masquerading as angels of light don't be fooled Swing the sword of the spirit Exercise your discernment and understand them for what they are Paul says in verse six that godliness is great gain, but not in the way that these crooks thought He's defining great gain from a spiritual perspective and that's the perspective that we need to have now. He says here that Great gain. He describes great gain If you look at this phrase in verse six in the greek great gain is pushed all the way forward into an emphatic position He wants to emphasize literally it says now it is great gain that ends up with godliness and contentment Right great gain pushed all the all the way forward for emphasis and notice. It's not just gain This is great gain astonishing gain surprising gain Staggering gain right He puts it forward for emphasis He adds the adjective great and you and I if you're in christ and you've studied your bible spent any time in the word of god at all You can't help but recognize this as a dramatic Understatement when the lord says that we have great gain. Listen. It is great It is staggering. It is infinite unimaginable gain that we have in christ He says in chapter four verse eight paul said that godliness Is profitable now it's profitable for all things having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come Godliness has a promise for this life and it has great gain promises for the life that is to come now christian Want you to think for a moment about your gain in christ Think up for a moment about this this should comfort you and encourage you If you have turned from your sin Left that life that you were living for yourself And if you have put all of your hope all of your trust all your faith all your reliance in christ alone to save you Then listen develop cultivate a right spiritual perspective of your great riches in him You have received pardon for your sin You've been forgiven. You have a present and perfect forgiveness Awesome your guilt has been renewed removed. There's therefore now no condemnation to those who are in christ jesus You've been made a new creation in christ You have been given acceptance In the beloved you who are once an enemy of god by your wicked works now accepted in the beloved You've been clothed in the righteousness of christ You've been baptized into christ and are now delightful to god in him All your sin You're delightful to god amazing thought God accepts our worship. He hears our prayer He entertains our praises of him He accepts our offerings. You've been made a son or a daughter in the kingdom And if sons then heirs and joint heirs with christ Heirs of the kingdom by adoption into the family of god Remember the hymn that goes behold what wondrous grace the father has bestowed On sinners of a mortal race to call them sons of god You've been given of his spirit by which you call out to the father abba father You've been set free from the law of sin and death Likewise the spirit also helps in our weakness making intercession for us according to the will of god In all things you are made more than conquerors through him who loved us You have communion with god that in times of difficulty in times of trouble. He gives us joy In times of great trial you can have calm and grace You live in the persistent and consistent joy of the fellowship of his saints Your life no longer consists in what you possess or in what you lack You find in christ a sufficiency for all things a soul satisfying sufficiency You've been given wisdom and sanctification and redemption and peace and above all you have inherited christ With eternal life free from sin to worship him to praise him with all the saints in glory and to enjoy him forever And now in christ you can say with paul and philippines 3 that what things were gained to me These i have counted loss for christ Yet indeed i count also all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of christ jesus my lord From whom i have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish that i may gain christ And to be found in him not having my own righteousness which is from the law But that which is through faith in christ the righteousness which is from god by faith That i may purpose here know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings Being conformed to his death if by any means i may attain to the resurrection from the dead apol is describing here in philippines 3 his conversion As an accounting transaction remember from that passage all the the accounting terms count all things have counted loss for christ Count them as rubbish. These are all accounting terms Everything prior to that damascus road experience for paul Everything that was once in the asset part of his ledger Everything that was in the profit side of his ledger has now been transferred in christ to the liability side Everything is now a loss to him everything is counted as rubbish And if you looked at paul's ledger now there is one word on the profit side One word on the asset side That is christ It's a glorious glorious truth Everything he thought was profit suddenly now became a loss paul enters now only one word on his asset List and that's christ can you see why moses in hebrus chapter 11 Chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of god than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin Is steaming the reproach of christ greater riches than all the treasures in egypt And he did it. There's an answer there. He did it looking to the reward What was on the profit side of moses's ledger? christ What was on the asset side of moses's ledger that we look forward to christ Glorious unspeakable game unimaginable game This is great game and this is just scratching the surface Just scratching the surface. How could anyone be led astray from this? But it was happening here in emphasis at the end of these wicked shark snake oil salesmen who were Corrupting the gospel You as a christian must be able to say with a hymn writer Should all the forms that men devise Assault my faith with treacherous art I'd call them all vanity and lies And bind the gospel to my heart Just vanity lies treacherous lies they are treacherous You got to protect yourself from that and the power of the spirit I would not change my blessed estate For all the world calls good or great Do you have a spiritual perspective on your heavenly riches in christ? You need that you need to cultivate that in your life christians Can sometimes lose sight of their heavenly riches and end up living like beggars Right, you've got a ferrari engine ferrari in the driveway that you never take out If you ever take the ferrari out of the driveway, you never get above first gear. Listen, you have a ferrari You have heavenly riches great gain avail yourself of those riches Faith in christ avail yourself of the means of grace live for him according to his promises and live victoriously in christ You've got to claim those promises Next from verse 6 we also see here not just a spiritual perspective on what true riches are what heavenly riches are But we also see here a godward perspective a godward perspective Paul says godliness with contentment True godliness and true contentment are a fruit of the spirit of god a fruit of being born again They are a fruit of genuine saving faith Godliness with contentment is what it looks like to become a be a citizen of the kingdom Right, you have godliness, which is godward living talking about a godward perspective Godliness is godward living a fear of god right motivated by his word contentment Is a godward sufficiency. It's not a self sufficiency. It's a christ sufficiency a godward sufficiency One godliness is living according to god's promises And living in his power to overcome sin to live for him The other contentment expresses confident in god's provision and in his providence Both of these go together. Can you imagine godliness without contentment No Discontent is ungodly godliness comes with contentment godliness without contentment is not godliness contentment Without godliness is a dangerous deception If you are content Now hear me now if you're content to continue living in your ungodliness You're not a christian. You're lying to yourself Your contentment is an illusion It's a deception and you have believed there's peace for you and there is no peace If you can continue and be contented to live in ungodliness You need to have your heart changed If you say that you trust christ christian Knowing that he is sovereign Then why would you be discontented when he has promised all for your good? Discontentment is a wicked sin It needs to be repented of True godliness with contentment will say this as paul did and we have such trust Through christ toward god not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves But our sufficiency is from god And paul also said i have learned in whatever state i am to be content I know how to be abased. I know how to abound Everywhere and in all things i have learned both to be full and to be hungry both to abound and to suffer need I can do all things through christ who strengthens me Those exhibiting godliness with contentment Do not worry Saying to themselves what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear For after all these things the bible says the Gentiles seek for your heavenly father knows that you have need of all these things You need to have a god word perspective But next now to pursue heavenly riches you also have to have an eternal perspective an eternal perspective look at verse seven Here paul says for we brought nothing into this world And it is certain that we can carry nothing out We've got to get past looking at our temporary Circumstances each clause in the greek begins with nothing again the nothing pushed to the front of the clause for emphasis He's saying listen Nothing we brought into this world and you can be certain nothing We're leaving with right nothing is what we're carrying out all belongings have to be checked in at the graveside You don't see herces hauling trailers, right The bible says for you are dust And to dust you're going to return your corpse is left in the ground to rot and return to dust You came into this world with nothing and you're going to go out with nothing Now think about it for a moment That reality that truth this is an eternal perspective This is why we should have this spiritual and god word an eternal perspective on life This communicates such a temporary and fleeting state for us We're just here one minute gone the next we're like the the grass that grows and then withers and dies and is burned This communicates such a temporary state it that's why greed And desire and covetousness in this world is so absurd so Irrational if you came into this world with nothing and you're going to leave with nothing Then why don't you spend all of your time on this earth laying up for yourselves treasures in heaven? Because there is nothing that's going to last this Listen to Job Naked I came from my mother's womb and naked i'm going to return there the lord gave and the lord has taken away Blessed be the name of the lord We've got to be able to say that with that perspective a right perspective of not dwelling on temporary Circumstances we need an eternal perspective listen to Solomon in ecclesiasties chapter five riches Parish through misfortune when he begets a son There's nothing in his hand and as he came from his mother's womb Naked shall he return to go as he came and he shall take Nothing from his labor which he may carry away in his hand in other words. He came into this world naked He works works works works works and then he dies and he can't take anything with him all that labor He leaves all of it behind and he says this is a severe evil Just exactly as he came so shall he go and what profit has he who has labored for the wind It is vanity and all his days he goes on to say he also eats in darkness And he has much sorrow and sickness and anger you can hear the sort of Exasperation in Solomon's writings with the futility and vanity of this life apart from Heavenly riches in christ It's just fleeting and passing and temporary. You're going to leave and leave all of it behind So why not work for christ? This life will soon be passed only what's done for christ will last Christ tells a parable that wonderfully communicates this in luke chapter 12 He says the ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully and he thought within himself saying What shall I do since I have no room to store my crops? And so he said i'll do this i'll pull down my barns and i'll build greater And there i will store up all my crops and all my goods And i'll say to my soul soul you have many goods laid up for many years take your ease eat drink and be merry But god said to him you fool you fool This night your soul will be required of you Then whose will those things be which you have provided? So as he who lays up treasure for himself And is not rich toward god you got to make sure that you have Heavenly riches not worldly rags you make sure that you are Secure with great gain not with the trappings of this passing world And lastly in verse 8 we're to have a satisfied perspective A satisfied perspective Paul says in verse 8 in having food and clothing with these we shall be content Christians are simply to accept what the lord provides And to avoid covetousness again. This is the heart attitude of the christian Again not here so much a command As it is a statement of fact the bible certainly commands you to be content The bible certainly commands you to proceed pursue godliness But here this contentedness is a Statement of fact about the christian christians are going to be satisfied. They're going to be content with the basic necessities of life In other words, they're not going to be prone to lusts and covetousness Listen to proverbs chapter 30 verse 8 The proverb says give me neither poverty nor riches Now many people can say give me neither poverty You got to keep reading all right give me neither poverty nor can you keep reading? Are you able to do that? Feed me lord with the food allotted to me Lest I be full and deny you and say who is the lord Or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my god And what are we to be content with here again the basic necessities of life We're to be content with food and that word there for clothing in the greek really means covering Now a little footnote with that The purpose of clothing Is to conceal the body Little lesson on modesty. Okay purpose of clothing is to conceal not reveal It is to conceal the body but that word Covering really is a better translation could also include shelter just protection. Okay So the christian Is to certainly obey the scripture in faithfully providing for his household But the christian is not meant to strive To amass wealth With these we shall be content having food and clothing As we seek to live for the lord the lord may decide to bless you with wealth And that's the lord's doing But we are to deal with that wealth according to our living for him Deal without wealth according to the guidelines and the commands that we have in scripture And we're to be content with the basics with these we shall be content And again what the christian looks like it's more a statement of fact Now this world this word for content Has an old sense that certainly is carried forward in the use of this word in the greek right There's an old sense sense to that word contentment and that word is competence And this old word competence what that means is what competence was Was an inheritance it was a sum of money That a person could live off of For the rest of their life it just gave them enough money They could live their lives and with that they would be satisfied And it was generally something that was not earned not earned. Okay, so now consider this for a moment in the world at that time if you had This competence It was something in a worldly way that you would live off of you would live off of the rest of your life And you generally typically didn't earn it put that in its spiritual sense You have everything you have everything that you need in christ Everything has been given to you you have all sufficiency in god. You've been given great competence That you didn't earn you don't deserve it. You didn't earn it god gave it to you and It is sufficient for your eternal life It will last you into all eternity. You're not going to die You're gonna be if you're a christian in heaven one day worshiping him for all eternity and those great riches that god Secured for you in christ will enable you to live You're gonna be a beneficiary of his mercy a beneficiary of his grace for all eternity In that sense a great competence You know we in this life are simply to be satisfied content with the basics Discontentment always wants something more Always wants something else always wants something different. It's philip reikin says this it's always it always thinks about what it lacks But even when you get what you think you want a new home a better job another outfit more toys whatever You soon find that you are discontent all over again This is because like a noxious weed Discontent is rooted in the heart and I want you to hear this Discontent comes from what a man is Not from what he doesn't have you get that If you're a new creation in christ Then you're gonna have godliness with contentment If you're that old man, you've got that old wicked stony heart in your chest It's the old man the old heart that produces discontent. It's not doesn't come from what you don't have listen Think about it in this way now. You have great riches in christ. You've heard that statement The grass is always greener on the other side. Why is the grass always greener on the other side? This is a big pile of manure over there making it look greener Be content with what you have be content with the basics of this life with food and clothing With these we shall be content because we have heavenly riches in heaven. We have treasure stored up for us in heaven with christ Be content Don't covet Live according to these perspectives and obey verse eight This looks differently than what most professing christians today would understand But there are some guidelines here that you can use this is Difficult now and professing christianity today does not get this covetousness These lusts are rampant throughout the professing church today rampant among professing christians Now you've got to look at your circumstances correctly and allow the word of god to convict you here Let me give you some guidelines to make sure that you're doing that. Okay, and these are quick We'll we'll look at them more in depth next week but number one Everything you have has been given to you as a stewardship You are to expend those things which you've been given On supporting yourselves supporting your family And the next year to expend them in furthering the kingdom in ministry work Now I say that what you've got it's prudent To plan to prepare to to provide for your family. It's prudent and wise to have an emergency fund It's prudent and wise if you're gonna end up retiring to save a little for retirement Make sure you can take care of your family in retirement But all the rest of it is for the purpose god gives it to you For the purpose of expending it on your own lust No, he doesn't he gives it to you for the purpose of furthering the kingdom of doing ministry work Therefore does your spending reflect those circumstances? Where are you spending your money you opened up your checkbook? Could you tell what your priorities are by looking at what you spend? number two You must learn to accept the difference between wants and needs Learn the difference. I need that Uh, no, you don't Combined with curbing your spending according to number one. This is going to increase your ability. It should increase your ability to give Okay Number three spend less than you make don't go into bad debt. Don't go into credit card debt spend Less than you make and give the rest of god Four Believers must give Sacrificially to the lord. Matthew chapter six says this do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth. I gotta get that bigger boat Gotta get that bigger. I want to play golf every weekend this year Yeah, lay up for yourselves Don't lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy where thieves break in and steal Lay out for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in And steal for where your treasure is There your heart will be also make yourself rich in christ jesus store up for yourself treasure in heaven number five Be thankful to the lord this attitude of contentment Should produce in you great thankfulness very great Gratefulness to god and you'll be content with the basic necessities of life Jesus christ is the true treasure of your soul, isn't he? If he's not What do you have to look forward to you've got nothing you've got nothing to look forward to but a certain fiery expectation of judgment Christ is the true treasure of the soul The human heart will never ultimately be satisfied with worldly riches, which are really just worldly rags The human heart is in need of a transformation In that transformation the human heart finds its greatest need Its greatest hope its greatest joy its greatest security its greatest purpose its greatest satisfaction In christ jesus our lord And if you're in christ that should be great comfort to your soul You know the word of god is to comfort the afflicted And to afflict the comfortable Allow the word of god now to to afflict the comfortable for a moment Without christ You are a thief You are a traitor you are miserable naked and desperately poor unimaginably poor Clothed in your own filthy and worldly rags All those riches that you pursued in this life all the pleasures the leisure the worldly gain Will be one day to you as a millstone around your neck that will drown you in destruction and perdition Are you afflicted by your spiritual poverty? If you're not you can't be rich in christ The bible says blessed saved Are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Have you ever mourned over your sin? Godly sorrow that produces a mourning over sin that produces a repentance which leads to salvation Has it produced in you a radical change in your life? For you know as the bible says the grace of our lord jesus christ That though he was rich yet for your sakes he became poor That you through his poverty might become what? Not become rich great gain heavenly riches The bible says in colossians 3 That christ is all in all Is he you're all in all? Can you say that you've got one thing In your prophet ledger One name on the asset side of your accounting before god and that's christ Can you say that before the lord? Will you come to him Will you leave those liabilities behind will you forsake them count them as the rubbish that they are Will you forsake them and give your all to christ? Every beggar may come to christ every sin sick soul can come to christ If you are lame or blind then come to christ and gain your strength and gain your sight But if you are a Pharisee who thinks within himself that he is righteous You are far from the kingdom far from him The spirit and the bride say come Let him who hears say come Let him who thirsts come are you hungry and thirsting for righteousness come come to christ Whoever desires let him take the water of life freely And my bible says to do it now My bible says to obey that now Turn from your sin now Put your faith in christ now turn from your life now. Why will you wait? Why will you delay that is absurd? You can be a son in the kingdom now You can be an inheritor of every heavenly rich riches there are now You can be an adopted son in god's family now You will turn from your sin trust christ alone Everything about this world is fleeting and is passing away At any moment it is gone and you can be certain you'll take nothing out of here when you go You'll stand naked and exposed before the god of the universe That will judge you and hold you accountable for what you've done in this fleeting life And you'll pay for your sin for all eternity in hell Or You can have true great gain in christ jesus our lord And inherit heaven inherit christ Where you'll worship and praise the lamb who is slain for all eternity Will you come let's pray Father in heaven lord, thank you for this time. Thank you for your word Thank you for christ god. Thank you for this This great gain and this mercy this grace is just lavished upon us God protect us from falling into foolish and worldly lusts That seek to drown us in destruction and perdition God by your spirit preserve us to the end to be saved and Protect us from these schemes of the wicked one these Lies of these deceiving sharks and it helps us to stay true to your word faithful to you content with the basics and Satisfied glorious Gloriously satisfied with christ our savior our lord We praise you and thank you that you have rescued us Out of the bondage of that filth bondage and slavery to our own sin And you you have set us up god in heavenly places Given us an inheritance Thank you lord that all the promises that you've given are yes and amen and christ and we lord Want to live with that perspective? A spiritual perspective on heavenly riches a god word perspective and holy living and contentment An eternal perspective that the things of this life are passing away and that we to be wise must lay up for ourselves treasure in heaven God just a satisfied perspective that christ is our all in all We love you lord. Thank you for this opportunity to worship you together in jesus name. Amen