True Wealth Is Not Measured by Money: There's Plenty for You

Sermon outline

True wealth is not measured by money or property but by humble, serving, grateful lives and good relationships, and those who serve God wholeheartedly will find that with a liberal God there is plenty for them.

1. Recovery is on its way

   Just as you order a pizza, he and his wife have ordered recovery, a wealthy life and a healthy life for the church. The devil comes to steal, kill and destroy, but Christ came to give life more abundantly, to the full until it overflows. Don't look at what wayward family members are doing; look to Jesus and call their names, because if God saved us He will save them. What we allow or disallow on earth is allowed or disallowed in heaven.

   Illustration: He says he prefers not to be told people's private business, so that when he brings a word from God they know it came from God and not from gossip.

   “Whatever the devil stole, he must restore seven times.”

   • Proverbs 6:31
   • John 10:10
   • Hebrews 12:2
   • Matthew 18:18-19

2. True wealth is not measured by money or property

   Wealth must be kept in balance: many people in fancy houses and cars are not happy, and a rich man who is too sick to enjoy his money is not truly wealthy. Wealth is joy in the Holy Ghost, respect, enjoying one another and tasting the moment instead of rushing past it. Slow down, ponder and tell God how grateful you are.

   Illustration: He reads the story of a rich man who took his son through the town to show him how poor people live. The son replied that the poor had ten dogs, a bay without end, countless stars and fields to the horizon, and thanked his father for showing him how poor they really were.

   “True wealth is not measured by money or property. True wealth is created in good friendship and compassionate relationships.”

3. In humility, value others above yourselves

   Paul says do nothing from selfish ambition but in humility value others above yourselves, with the mind of Christ, who took the nature of a servant. God has no favourites: when you come through the church gates, degrees, status and wealth put everyone on equal ground as God's children. He calls the church to get involved in the work of the house and not to be seen only on Sundays.

   Illustration: At a church in Johannesburg he was shown doctors, advocates and accountants parking cars. He also tells of a senior advocate who arrived late to serve at a place of worship of another faith and was gently rebuked by its leader; if people of other faiths serve like that, why are Christians asleep?

   “If you value other people, God will value you.”

   • Philippians 2:1-8

4. Humble yourself and God will exalt you; church spells W-O-R-K

   Because Christ humbled Himself, God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name above every name, and when you humble yourself God will exalt you, including children who listen to their parents. Put feet to your faith: Jesus told His disciples to look for a worthy person, one who can look after himself and others, so become people of value who add value to the church, your marriage and your home. Attend to small things at home and you will attend to things at church.

   Illustration: A light bulb that has been burnt out for ten years could be changed with a little chair and a cheap globe. He says his wife has a 'wealthy husband' because he does not leave broken things unattended.

   “You don't spell church C-H-U-R-C-H. Church spells W-O-R-K.”

   • Philippians 2:9-11
   • James 2:17
   • Matthew 10:11

5. Work out your salvation with fear

   'Work out' means to work fully and accomplish, and salvation means preservation, rescue, safety and deliverance. The church has lost the healthy fear of the Lord, which is not fear of the devil but reverence for God and His Word. He calls for commitment to one church, preachers who tell the truth about sin, and putting the things of God first.

   Illustration: An elderly woman he knew as a boy has stayed in one church from her wedding day to her eighties. A plane that loses speed goes into a stall and starts to dive, and some lives have stalled, but the stall ends today. On a trip back from Johannesburg he saw a mother kneel on a blanket and pray beside the road, unashamed.

   “From today, I'm going to be zealous for the Lord.”

   • Philippians 2:12
   • 2 Timothy 1:7

6. There's plenty for you

   God is liberal, not stingy, and most of His answers are a resounding yes and amen. In creation He commanded the waters to bring forth abundantly and told everything to be fruitful and multiply, and believers live in the economy of the kingdom, so the fire will not burn them and the lion will not devour them. You don't have to fight your neighbour or competitor, because while you sleep angels are working on your behalf; be a cheerful giver who wants to outgive others.

   Illustration: He would love a 'good fight' in church, where one person's gift provokes another to give more, until he has to say 'stop, you're over-giving'.

   “There's plenty for you.”

   • 2 Corinthians 1:20
   • Genesis 1:20-22
   • Genesis 1:28
   • 2 Corinthians 9:7

7. A nature of abundance, at home too

   If God has a nature of abundance and is a giver, we must be givers too, and some marriages strain because one partner gives and the other is a miser. Live with your wife with understanding and make it a two-way street. He admits he is not an easy man to live with, yet after nearly 40 years of marriage he says if they can make it, others can too.

   Illustration: He often surprises his wife in the morning with a gift and leaves the receipt on her table. He also tells of a preacher who brushed off his wife's request to sit and admire new curtains, felt God say his prayers would be hindered, and sat with her next time, only to be told they were drapes.

   “It must be a two-way street.”

   • 1 Peter 3:7