Greed: The Heart Revealed Part 2

You have too much stuff and all agreed we look at our neighbors know you better stop and say I need the stuff they have read is insidious unless it's put to death will choke the life out of a Christian from the church in Chicago. This is running to win with Sir, whose clear teaching helps us make it brass finish line. Faster looser learning how to give a great way to break the stranglehold of greed gave it sure is.

And I am convinced that we will not deal with greed in our hearts until God shows us that it is there simple fact is you and I justify everything that we do and it's so easy to do that. Isn't it today is September 11. An important date in American history is all of you know, but let me tell you that in addition to that tragedy. We have another tragedy on our hands that all of us will remember and that is the coalbed crisis and the covert crisis has caused an economic shock wave if I can use that terminology. It shows us the power of technology how the issues regarding our health are going to be connected with technology. It also does reveal that we as Christians are in the middle of the situation that we could have never anticipated. I've given a lecture entitled covert, 19 the economy and our future. The subtitle is five economic effects of our economic crisis for a gift of any amount. It can be yours.

It can be as a DVD or a CD. Here's what you do go to RTW offer.com RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Now let us take an honest look into our hearts through God's word as we talk about a sin that is difficult to detect, but very obvious to God. This is what I'm going to tear down my barns and build bigger ones and there I will store all my grain and my goods and I will say to myself, you have plenty of good things laid up for many years.

Take life easy eat, drink and be merry. But God said to him, you fool you fool, this very night your life will be demanded from you then who will get what you have prepared for yourself.

And then Jesus adds.

This is how it will be for anyone who stores up things for himself, but is not rich toward God.

This man made some major major mistakes. Let me give you three of them. First of all, he mistook his body for his soul, he mistook his body for his soul. The new American Standard translates okay which means from which we get psyche which is the word that is used or I will say to my soul. I will say to my psyche or to myself is this friend I have much good stored up for many years. Take your easy drink and be merry. It is only his body mattered. His body was well fed. He was eating all of the health foods. He was into all the things that make one very, shall we say, pleasurable in this life, but his soul was being are he was paying more attention to his body than to his soul. No attention to his soul come with me to Wall Street or LaSalle Street and see all the bankers see all the people making the money go to the stock market review all these people shouting around in ways that only God can understand it is not telling you you you go there and you see you see the greed you see the money you see the market going up and and you see the anxiety and then you see the horror of somebody lose something you see it all in and you say hole weighed him home timeout. How is it with your soul and your relationship with God to be left out, God doesn't fit in this scheme of the soul is not important.

You go to those health bad places and you see people working out pumping this in writing this I look at that. You don't have you ever noticed none of those people are smiling. I may not and and they're doing all these things. It's as if only their body matters you left for somebody's enough you paying as much attention to your soul as you are.

Your body that you think of all the people are into nutrition in here and to tread very carefully, because I live with a nutritionist. I hope this is going to come out okay. Help me Lord, it's fine. Of course, to look after your body to do exercise I played tennis and nutrition is good and right. But what a terrible thing to emphasize the body and to ignore the soul. This man said I've got enough to feed me and I'm going to look good and I'm going to build a good because I have all that I need and he was not rich toward God only rich toward himself. What a major mistake. Let me give you 1/3 mistake or second. Actually we do get to number two before we get to number three is that logic again. Secondly, he mistook himself for God. He mistook his body for his soul, he mistook himself for God.

Now we have to look at the text again because something will jump out at you six times he uses that little word I and if you add the times when he uses the pronoun.

Mayor myself, I think you get to 11. I counted it at one time it was 11 another time it was 12 this is a man who is narcissistic. I mean he's got it all revolving around him. Let me read it to you, emphasizing that verse 17 he thought to himself what shall I do, I have no place to store my crops. This is what I will do. I will tear down my barns and build greater ones there I will store all my grain my goods and I will say to my self. You you talking about me. You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Oh my. Take life easy eat, drink and be merry. He mistook himself or God listen to me. What's all this business of my crops see the one who created those little kernels of grain and then program them so that they were put into soil.

They would grow is honestly the one who gave the sunshine is either one who who gave himself life and and whose heart disease, and he kept his heart going so that he could harvest about this business of me. My eye didn't he understand that this was only loan to him.

Didn't he understand it was God who gave the rain in the understanding God program. These little seeds to grow in ways that we cannot even today understand this business of me. He's God. He thinks and so I say to you, what's this business of saying my retirement account. My mutual funds my bonds my stock wait a moment. Who gave you life who gave you a mind is so that you could even understand anything.

Who is it that blessed UN and abundantly unmercifully gave you more than you deserve to go is that God so here he is, he's taken the place of God, and he and he does what God really hates our get into it what God really hates is he takes any transfers his affection to the money to the brain and to the to the barns any any transfers his dependence to because you see, he thinks he's got a long future I have in many years stored up. He says so he in effect become his own God.

Let me give you 1/3 mistake, he mistook his body for his soul, he mistook himself for God and he mistook time for eternity is that I have much goods laid up for many years. Who is he to say that he sees acting as if his future is in his hands and it isn't a thought that if he got his retirement program all worked out and that the barn was was very plentiful. He thought that that he would be in control, but he wasn't because that very night.

You know what the text says God says your soul is the man. Excellent translation of the Greek word is it's actually like when you demand a note or alone, and it has matured and so you demand that God says I gave all of this to you.

It was supposed to be used to bless me so that you would give to others, and so that you would be generous. And here you hoarded it for yourself and I'm done man now all and I am demanding that you pay up and give me an account for the way in which you spent at tonight's the night, but it's demanded while you imagine the funeral. Can't you just imagine how they gather together and is old he was such a wise farmer. He figured out all of these new ways that might be necessary to grow a good crop and he was such a wonder I never harmed anybody never did any harm. Where was he. He was in Hades. That's where Jesus said the other rich man went to his name was Lazarus.

Remember not to be confused with a Lazarus who was raised from the dead he went into Hades. The rich man and end. There is an he's in torment and everybody gathering at the funeral saying all of these nice platitudes. Everybody talking about this wonderful rich farmer who thought that was good as Belsky said many years ago when preaching to a graduation service you can be greedy and still feel good about herself said now folks, where is Wall Street ending anyway. Let me give you a description.

Your hope is in money. Listen to this, the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes anymore cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls, fine linen, purple silk scarlet clock every sort of accordion wooden articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron, and marble cargoes of cinnamon spice incense murder. Frankincense wine all of oil will find flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, houses, carriages and bodies and souls of men.

They will say the fruit of you long before is gone from view all your riches and splendor have vanished never to be recovered. The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand afar off, terrified at her torment, and they will weep and mourn and cry unsafe will go to the great city dressed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold and precious stones and pearls in one hour. Such great wealth has been brought to grow this night your soul is demanded from you and you stand before God's awesome when we do with agreed that lives within our hearts within my heart within your heart within all of our hearts.

First of all, we have to admit it's there.

Okay, what would you just admit it, we just say yeah, I'm greedy willing to say that, yeah, I'm greedy. Not many takers. We don't think we are because we rationalized it so much we say what you know those stories of the miser.

I remember as a young teacher a loved a story like that you know the guy who dies of starvation really surrounded by hundreds of thousands of dollars in in cash.

It's a lovely story and everybody made me feel so good, because I knew I was like, and so what we do as we say well that's the truly wealthy you see their greedy if the postings of this world where we read the verse that says the love of money is the root of all evil or a root of all evil.

So you know it's only the love that I don't love I dated, I kinda lit we smooch a little bit. Love and I really do believe, folks, I cannot make you see the greed in your heart. I can't only God can only God can do that for me because it is so.

It is so deeply intertwined with who we are our basic love of money and things and the security that we derive from it, but that's number one number one we have to admit that it is there. Secondly, and by the way in Mark four Jesus at an interesting thing is that you know the grain that was sown. He says some of it fell among the thorns and then he says the thorns grew up and choked it, and it in interpreting the parable.

He says the thorns that show. He says our the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches why the deceitfulness of riches, because you need money in order to live as a so there's a legitimate use of money and so it's deceitful because we think that everything we do is legitimate and a lot of other things he says chokes the word and it becomes unfruitful. We don't understand that when we think of the stock market more often than we think of the Scriptures we are indeed greedy greedy art number one, we have to admit at number two. We have to exchange God's July. God is so upset about covetousness and what bothers them so much about greed in white is the Jesus said watch out tell you why, because both greed and God promised the same thing is he greed says look if you get enough money you're going to be happy. God says you follow me and Juergen have life more abundantly same promise money says I'm go to be with you until you die if you get enough of it. It'll always be there no matter how many health problems. You have no matter what happens to the economy. You can be absolutely certain that I will be with you to the and that's exactly what God promises, but is with us through the hard times, but money makes the very same promise.

So you see, what happens is we begin to transfer our trust from God to money and therefore in that transfer of trust.

We are really figuratively slapping God across the face and you see greed then becomes a part of all that we are of course there's a legitimate use for money.

There's there's purchasing houses and there's places to live and there's groceries and in all of those things, but all how all of that attaches so easily to our way to come back and simply say God I want to be satisfied with you know in my short life and it is getting longer but I still call it short. My short life. I met some people with gray poverty, but they are and you member what pulses godliness with contentment is great gain. Great gain. Michael Douglas was wrong when you say also then what we need to do is we just need to give. We just need to give you give it away every time you write out a check every Sunday. Like all of you do right you give greed away. You simply say that God has given me the privilege of giving and you give and you give and you give because that's the only way that you can really ask track this from your heart is to give. We did a survey recently discovered that to actually the giving of Moody church per member is not that high at all and you know what the tragedy is it's not just that we could have more money to do things that support our missionaries and we may be on the verge of a large capital fund campaign is so that we can expand. That's a possibility it's being talked about and and the real the real goal is not to get more money that would be a mistake to say what we need is more money and therefore we want people to get to know what we want is more character.

What we want is more generosity. What we want is more Christ likeness more giving of ourselves away is that's really where it's at. One day Jesus was talking to a young ruler who came to him and he said how may I inherit eternal life.

Some question if he ran into some of our evangelism explosion people they would say will want you to sit down because I want to explain some good news to you, and that would be the proper thing to do. But Jesus handled it differently said that first of all, the young man said you know what master, what shall I do in Jesus and why you: be good. Only God is good.

There is a lot of irony there because he was trying to do is to test this guy to see whether or not that he realized the Jesus was in fact God, but done. Jesus said, you know, you do have the Commandments don't you. How do you read the monies as well. He says you know don't commit adultery.

You don't steal. You don't lie on your father and mother and I've been doing all these since my youth and Jesus turned to him and said all that's wonderful. It's wonderful. You know what you need to do really is to sell everything then and follow me. If you're following the commandments. The Bible says thou shall not covet.

So just give it all away and follow me and the guy began to realize is not the answer that I wanted. Not worth that he felt a little bit like the teenager who thinks he's got a ton of money until he is to buy car insurance is not nearly as rich as he thought he was and he realized that he had broken the law.

But the Bible says he turned around and he went away because he had many possessions. Don't misunderstand Jesus wasn't saying the way to heaven is to give your way to heaven.

We can't do that salvation is a gift of God's grace. But what Jesus wanted to do is to show this young man. They had a serious problem with sin.

This little self righteous man who in traipsing around saying I've kept all the commandments that how good I am Jesus was proving to him. I want you to know today.

You've got a sin problem.

That's really, really deep and today God is saying two things to us. First of all, for those of you who do not know Christ as Savior. What he saying is look Jesus died that you might be forgiven and his death was a substitute for us. That's what he's saying to those of you who don't know Christ but to those of us who know him. Christ is saying look how deep a commitment does greed have in your life you willing to be generous.

Are you willing to follow me.

Are you willing to give it away like the missionaries do and how we thank God for them. Re: are you willing to simply say God.

Here it is because the Scripture says very clearly that that which is admired and loved among man as I read earlier detestable to God. It's in all of our hearts Oaks. It's there, it's in my heart it's in your heart question is how do we deal with it that we might honor God with what he's given. Let's pray father. We do want to thank you today, and father, we humbly acknowledge our own sinfulness.

Our own love of being our love of money which worms its way into our hearts.

Father today. We ask that you will help us not to substitute that for our love for God and we pray that those who really do need deliverance might experience the deliverance of Christ from that which captivates and binds in the mean set your people free. Today we ask in now before I close this prayer I want you to pray and you tell God whatever you have to tell them father today with the hymn writer we say take the world, but give me Jesus all its joys are but a name but his love abide, if ever, through eternal years, the same Lord we can do it you do it in us, we pray in Jesus name. This is Pastor Luther my friend let me ask you a very upfront and honest question, how are you doing spiritually, how are you doing in terms of generosity, yes, but how are you handling the covert crisis is it filling your heart with fear what we do with our fears and what do our fears tell us about our belief in God's sovereignty. These are the kinds of questions I answer in a lecture I've given entitled covert, 19 the economy and our future can be yours, either on a DVD or CD. I talk about five economic effects that I believe will continue for the foreseeable future. How do we respond as Christians is it true that if we just trust God. It's all going to get better.

Why don't think so. Trusting God is critical, but we need to be ready for some hard times for a gift of any amount. It can be yours. Here's what you do go to RTW offer.com RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 ask for covert, 19 the economy and our future. 1-888-218-9337 you can write to us running to win 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago, IL 60614 from ring go to casinos gambling spells trouble taking money from those who can least afford it.

Those hoping for a big break, most states flaunt their lotteries as government sanctioned rich quick scheme you say I never gamble.

Yet the Lord is fast cash leads all too many Christians into serious trouble on our next running to win gambling. Don't bet on it. Thanks for listening, Dr. Erwin Blitzer this is Dave McAllister running to win is sponsored by the Moody Church