This past Sunday at Chase Oaks our Senior Pastor Jeff Jones gave the second sermon “Spend Less” in the Advent Conspiracy series. You can watch or listen to it online.
Here are my notes…
Jeff started out mentioning that Advent Conspiracy [AC] not just a sermon series, but an experience. It is a decision to do Christmas differently/more meaningfully.
American consumer culture teaches bigger is better. More is better.
It is hard for a rich person to be godly
Proverbs 30:7-9 is theme verse for today. Prayer of Agur (Jeff made mention of Prayer of Jabez). Agur prays for his daily bread, not too much or too little.
Two things I ask of you;
deny them not to me before I die:
Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for 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.
Wow, look at the context of this verse. Verses 1-6 remind me of Job 38-39. Man is created, we are not smarter than God. We need to rely on His Word and trust Him fully.
It is hard for a rich person to be godly. I would add that it is hard for a poor person to be godly as well. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)
The Rich Ruler
In Luke 18:18-30 the rich ruler asks Jesus, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jeff shared verses 24-25: Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
My favorite part of the story comes in verse 27 in response to the question who then can be saved? What is impossible with men is possible with God.
Yes, salvation is of the Lord!
The Parable of the Rich Fool
In Luke 12:13-21 we see that our lives our not defined by our possessions (v15). Remember fools, God is sovereign. Man cannot remain independent and self-sufficient. Should we try, the judgement of God awaits.
Luke 12:22–34 goes on to tell us not to be anxious about our physical needs. God will provide. Further, we should be generous with all that God has given us.
Incarnation
Luke 2:52 Jesus grew up like us in wisdom and godliness.
False Teachers and True Contentment
In 1 Timothy 6, Paul gives a warning to Timothy about false teachers who teach different doctrine. In verses 8-10 Paul encourages Timothy to “teach them not to be arrogant in riches”
Trap of distraction
The parable of the sower in Luke 8.
Avoid being one that doesn’t mature (v 14) because of cares, riches, and pleasures of life.
Trap of arrogance
Reference back to Proverbs 30:7-9 and 1 Timothy 6:8-10.
True shouts of joy come from shouts of desperation. Where is our desperation?
Trap of staying overwhelmed
Ecclesiastes 5:12. Abundance provides no sleep. Makes life complicated. Verses 18-20 provide a much better picture of a life content with God’s provision.
Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.
Hebrews 13:5 provides another great reminder…I will never leave you nor forsake you
Jeff talked about Tinsel: A Search for America’s Christmas Present.
In Tinsel, Hank Stuever turns his unerring eye for the idiosyncrasies of modern life to Frisco, Texas, a suburb at once all-American and completely itself, to tell the story of the nation’s most over-the-top celebration: Christmas.
- Ratcheting back will lead to a more significant Christmas.
- Exchange the frenzy for family, faith, friends.
- Don’t be arrogant on Jesus birthday.
- Don’t be overwhelmed.
My own concluding thoughts…
- We are born rebels
- We all make wealth (or lack thereof) and materials possessions an idol
- Idolatry is a sin
- Our sin makes us subject to God’s judgement and wrath
- While we were busy making our golden calfs, Christ was born
- He lived the perfect life of obedience to God’s law that we cannot
- Yet, he was punished on the cross for my sins and yours
- Jesus gave up heavenly riches and became poor to save sinners.
- He rose again on the third day
- Repent of your sins and trust in his atoning work in your place
Related Resources
- Charles Spurgeon on The Parable of the Sower, Luke 8 (pdf)
- Richard Baxter Directions Against Covetousness, or Love of Riches, and Against Worldly Cares
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