1st Condition

I’ve said we cannot earn God’s abundance but I want to add we need to meet the conditions for receiving it. Do you see the difference? We’re not talking about earning it but we are talking about the conditions upon which God makes his abundance available to us. I want to go through these now rather quickly because time is running out. I want to outline five conditions. First of all, our motives and our attitudes must be right. When we come to this realm of money there’s a long of wrong motives. That’s why, I think, some people are afraid of it because they’re afraid of their own motives. We all do well to examine our motives very carefully when we come to the question of money because it’s a big source of temptation for wrong motives.

Then I want to say certain things that are specifically wrong and I have a whole list of scriptures for every one of these things. I’m not going to give you the full list. A, it is wrong to make wealth our God. In Colossians 3 Paul says that covetousness is idolatry. In other words, when we become greedy and grasping for money we are making money our god and that is idolatry. I think it’s very clear that the United States of America is full of that kind of idolatry where people are greedy for money and money, in effect, becomes their god.

Also, in 1 Timothy 6:10 Paul says:

“The love of money is a root of all evil.”

The King James says “the root of all evil” but that’s somewhat overdone. What the Greek actually says is the love of money is a root of all evil. So when we love money, out of that evil love of money, that covetousness, all evils can spring forth in our life. So qualification number one, it is wrong to make wealth our god.

Number two, it is wrong to seek wealth by wrong means. There are many scriptures, I’ll read Proverbs 28:8. I don’t even remember what it says but I’ve got it underlined. Incidentally, the book of Proverbs is full of all these principles. It says this and it’s very interesting.

“He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance [or his wealth], he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor.”

That’s really significant, isn’t it? A man may go out to get a lot of money for himself by crooked means, but ultimately it will come to the man who will pity the poor. You see, I want you to understand this. There are laws that govern the behavior of money just as certain as the laws that govern the crops we plant in the earth. In Jeremiah 17:11 it says:

“As the partridge sitteth on eggs and hatches them not, so he that getteth money and not by right, shall leave it in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.”

We’re not talking about crooked ways to get rich. See, it is wrong to trust in wealth. Proverbs 11:28:

“He that trusteth in his riches shall fall.”

I’ve seen that happen to many people in my lifetime who trusted in riches and fell. Jeremiah 9:23–24:
“Let not the mighty man trust glory in his might, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the rich man glory in his riches: but he that glorieth, let him glory in this, that he knoweth me that I am the Lord who loves justice and mercy.”

We’re not to boast or glory in wisdom, strength or riches. They’re all good things but none of them should be the thing in which we glory. Paul said, “God forbid that I should glory in anything but the cross.” Because, that’s where all my problems were forever resolved. Let’s never forget it. And, it is wrong to use wealth selfishly. Proverbs 11:24. I hope I stir up some of you a desire to spend more time in the book of Proverbs because this is the book that promises wisdom to a young man. Any of you young men who want to become wise, you should spend time in the book of Proverbs. Proverbs 11:24 is a beautiful scripture.

“There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; there is that withholdeth more than his meet [or right], but it tendeth to poverty.”

There are some generous people who are always giving and always getting riches. And there are some stingy people who never give and yet get poorer. So it’s always wrong to use wealth selfishly.

In Luke 12 Jesus told the parable about the man who built the bigger barns and filled them with his produce. The Lord said, “Thou fool, this night shall thy soul shall be required of thee.” And then he said, “So is he that is not rich towards God.” The first direction in which we need to be rich is toward God.

Those are wrong attitudes or motives. Also we have to be very careful in our attitude toward the poor. The whole Bible consistently warns us against oppressing or exploiting the poor. There are multitudinous scriptures, I’ll just take a series of scriptures in Proverbs. Proverbs 21:13:

“Who stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.”

That’s a very, very solemn warning, isn’t it? If we don’t listen to the cry of the poor, one day we’ll cry and we won’t be heard.

Then Proverbs 22:16:

“He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.”

One final scripture on that in Proverbs 29:7:

“The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: but the wicked regardeth not to know it.”

That really places a tremendous responsibility upon us not just to be indifferent but to have a concern for the needs of the poor. One mark of righteousness is that we consider the cause of the poor.

One thing I’ve noticed in the generation that is now growing up — I don’t know where to begin or end with that — but I have noticed especially in my own black daughter Joska, a real sense of social responsibility. Sometimes it gets a little awkward, she doesn’t want to eat because there are people starving somewhere else. And things like that, but I do believe that the generation now growing up—well, you know, the people that are anywhere from 15 to 30, let’s say—they have a much greater sense of social responsibility than my generation did. I have to say this, frankly that’s true. I think that’s from God because the righteous consider it the cause of the poor but the wicked regardeth not to know it. He’s indifferent. He says, “So what? No skin off my nose.” and goes his way.

The next thing, going further, is all believers are required to show mercy to the poor. Again, we’ll go to the book of Proverbs. You’re beginning to be able to find the book of Proverbs. Proverbs 14:21:

“He that despiseth his neighbor sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.”

Proverbs 19:17:

“He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.”

When you give to the poor you’re lending to the Lord. I want to tell you from experience when the Lord pays you back he doesn’t forget the interest!

Proverbs 28:27. Sometimes I try to find reasons for God’s goodness to me and it’s really contrary to what I’m telling you this evening because I’m amazed at God’s goodness to me. I really am overwhelmed.

What Eric said about me is really true. I am overwhelmed by the goodness of God. It’s not a religious act, it isn’t just a theology; I cannot find words to express how amazed I am at God’s goodness to me. As I say, I never believe I can earn it but I think when I ask myself sometimes, “Why is God so good to me?” I think there are two things that I can say about my own experience. Neither of which I deliberately worked out in order to achieve God’s goodness, but the first was—as you know, my late wife and I, we took care of a lot of unwanted children. The first demonstration of religion is to care for the fatherless. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is to visit the fatherless and the widows. That’s the first practicing aspect of religion that God cares for.

Secondly, again it’s well known that my wife and I were both deeply committed to the well-being of Israel and the peace of Jerusalem. I still am. Though I never could earn God’s goodness I have to say I think those are two things that has caused God to look upon me with favor. I commend them to you because God is no respecter of persons.

There’s one last scripture about the poor that we’ll look at, Proverbs 28:27:

“He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack; but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.”

Let me go through that because it got a little involved but it’s quite simple when you see it in outline before you. This is all in the first area of conditions for prospering. Our motives and attitudes must be right, specifically it is wrong to make wealth our God, to seek wealth by wrong means, to trust in wealth, to use wealth selfishly.

And then in our attitude toward the poor it is wrong to despise or oppress the poor. On the contrary, we are required to show mercy to the poor, it’s part of our faith.

There’s two other scriptures I will give there about showing mercy to the poor. They’re so powerful. One is in Daniel 4:27. Here’s where Nebuchadnezzar had this dream which Daniel interprets that Nebuchadnezzar is going to be driven out from his palace and from human intercourse and he’s going to have seven years living like a beast in the field. Daniel is really troubled about having to interpret this dream for the king and he said, “King, if you take my advice you might postpone your problems if you do just one thing.” And this is what he advised him to do in Daniel 4:27:

“Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor . . .”

What’s the alternative to leading a wicked life? It’s showing mercy to the poor. Had Nebuchadnezzar done that, who knows whether he might have been spared that judgment of God.

And then without looking at it, in Galatians 2:10 Paul records the situation where he and Peter and James had their confrontation about the gospel to the Jews and the gospel to the Gentiles and they came to the conclusion that Peter and James were to go to the Jews, Paul and his group were to go to the Gentiles and that whole problem and tension was resolved. But they said one thing, we want you to remember the poor.

Paul said, “I already was very zealous to do that.” Notice whether you preach to the Jews or to the Gentiles, one essential part of the gospel is remembering the poor. I think that’s a part that’s been forgotten by most fundamentalists. I don’t say that they’re greedy or selfish persons but they don’t include in their religion the thing that God said is primary of true religion which is to visit those in need.