Great Gains

God has much to say to us about how we are to work in this world in a way that brings Him honor and glory. So, open with me to First Timothy chapter 6 as we consider some of those things together.

Good morning, everyone. I hope you are doing well. Please be seated for just a moment. We are going to do something before we get into the Scriptures today. I will make you stand again in a few minutes.

Over the last several weeks, as we have been making our way through First Timothy, one of the verses we have focused on in this passage has to do with appointing and ordaining leaders, specifically elders, within the church. It truly is a privilege as a pastor to have the opportunity to bring before the church body someone we are laying hands on and praying for. The passage we have been looking at reminds us that we should not lay hands on anyone too quickly and that there is a time of testing and watching.

A little over four years ago, I had the opportunity to go out to lunch with a young man who was just finishing up school at Cal State San Marcos. As he was preparing to step out of university and into the career world, he expressed a desire to serve in ministry. So, Pastor Mark and I went out to lunch with him, talked with him, and then invited him to come here to serve, just to be available on Sunday mornings.

There are really two things I look for when I invite someone to do that: availability and reliability. I want to see that the person is available and that they are reliable in showing up. This young man has been both available and reliable for the last several years—four years or more. As a result, I believe that responsibility flows to those who take charge and step into that role, and authority comes down to those who are responsible for things.

In our board meeting a little over a month ago, we brought before the board here at Cross Connection Church the desire to license this young man as a pastor. It was almost instant and unanimous that our board said yes, let's do that. So, on March 25th, we licensed him.

The board meeting today is focused on bringing Garrett before the church body. Garrett, would you come on up? I want to invite our elders and pastors to join us.

I happened to be reading yesterday in my daily reading from the Book of Numbers. In Numbers, I was in the passage that deals with appointing leadership. It says that these leaders, these priests at that time in the Old Testament, shall attend to the needs of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of meeting and do the work of the tabernacle. They shall attend to the priesthood. What we are doing here today is really just ratifying or acknowledging what God has already been doing in Garrett's life. He has been serving the Lord in this capacity, and what we do here today does nothing other than recognize that God has a call on his life.

We see it; the elders and pastors of Cross-Connection Church see it, and I believe that the church body sees it as well. What is required of stewards is to be found faithful. What I have seen in Garrett is that he is faithful to do the work that God has called him to. As a result, the Lord has rewarded him with a wonderful bride who is a pastor's kid. God bless her! We will be praying for Grace as well. In fact, her dad and his father-in-law can start us out as we pray for Garrett.

Would you pray with us, please? Father, thank you so much for this day. We are acknowledging what You have already done. I have had the privilege to watch Garrett grow from being a baby walking around my home church, where I first served, and to see his family raise him over these twenty-some years. It is a good thing to watch a man grow up, to be strong in the Lord, and to be dedicated to Your service. I am thankful for that; it is the only way I was going to let him date my daughter, as You knew.

With that, Father, I ask for Your blessing upon him as he is genuine in his faith and walks in a sincere manner. I pray that as he continues to grow and mature, people would see that genuineness. Lord, may You acknowledge that genuineness before men, and may You constantly increase his influence.

Borders and bring more ministry his way, Lord. I pray that he would be a leader of people as he looks to You, Lord, and that people would look to him and be able to be ministered to by him. Father, bless him, I pray, for lots of kids. That’s got nothing to do with it, but just increase him greatly, Father. You are the God of mercy, peace, and grace, but You’re also the God of honor. You bring us all to places where You’ve already equipped us to enrich those around us.

So, Lord, I pray that You will bring Garrett that wisdom as he proceeds on this path. Allow him to make a bigger splash than he’s able to physically make in a pool, so that the people around him see the work that You’re doing in his life and in his family’s life. He will influence largely the people around him. Heavenly Father, look in Second Timothy, where Timothy writes to Sin Mark, for he is useful to be in ministry.

Lord God, we thank You that You’ve sent us Garrett, who is useful to us in ministry. He has been a help to me personally and a help to me in the ministry. Father God, I’m just excited to see how he continues to step forward into that. Lord Jesus, bless Garrett. We do thank You for bringing him to our church. Thank You for the life that he’s lived to honor You and to serve.

It’s obvious that he desires not only to serve You, Lord, but to serve Your people. We pray that You would fill him with Your Spirit in all that he does. Lord, I pray that You give him strength beyond his own. We thank You, Jesus, for all that You do in the life and leadership of this church and the body of this church. We thank You for Garrett and pray that You’d bless him. We commit him into Your hands.

Father, we thank You that just as Paul wrote, it is according to Your grace that any of us are counted faithful to be placed in the ministry. Lord, it is truly a sign and a show of Your grace in Garrett’s life. I pray, God, that that grace would...

Continue to be abundant and overflowing from Him to other people, God. Use Him to be a light of Your truth, Lord, to be a light of Your Word. Lord, one who walks well in the calling that You've placed upon His life. We pray for Your blessing upon Him and Grace. We ask, God, that You would use them in greater ways than they can even imagine, and that You would allow them to be, Lord, just Your representative ambassadors, sharing the good news of who You are and what You've done to everyone they come in contact with.

I just thank You for His faithfulness, and I ask, God, that You would bless that faithfulness. As we acknowledge, as the leaders and elders of this church, what You have done in His life, we simply ratify that we see that call and we see Him walking in that. So bless, and we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

We have this plaque for you, but we also have, more importantly, this very beautiful gift. I believe that's what goes around comes around.

Okay, would you stand with me and open your Bibles to the book of First Timothy? If you do not have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will gladly bring you one.

First Timothy chapter six. We have finally made it out of chapter five by God's grace, and we're going to look at the first ten verses here.

First Timothy chapter six, beginning at verse one. There, Paul says, "Let as many bondservants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and His doctrine may not be blasphemed. And those who have believing masters, let them not despise them because they are brethren, but rather serve them because those who are benefited are believers and beloved."

Teach and exhort these things. If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to the wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth.

The truth is that those who suppose that godliness is a means of gain should withdraw themselves from such beliefs. Godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. Having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. However, 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. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil; for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Father, as we consider the scripture today, God, would You open the eyes of our understanding so that we would be able to comprehend with all the saints what it is that You desire to speak and teach us? Lord, may the things we see here in this passage have direct application to our lives. By the power of Your Spirit, may we walk in these things for Your glory. If we come to Your word and go away without being transformed, even in some small part, then we have missed the work You desire to do. I pray, God, that we would be transformed by the renewing of our minds this morning, so that we would be able to show in our lives, Monday and Tuesday, throughout the rest of this week, what is Your good and perfect will, and that people would see it worked out in us. So, God, speak to us, we pray. We ask this in Jesus' name. And all those that agreed said, "Amen."

You can be seated. As I have done many times over the last several months while we have been going through First Timothy, I think it is good to be reminded that Paul the Apostle is writing to a newly appointed or ordained minister, overseer of the churches of Ephesus. I say "churches" because when we think of the church at Ephesus, which is where Paul or Timothy was overseeing, there were probably many small congregations throughout that city and community. Those churches were established and planted largely by the ministry of the Apostle Paul about a decade before Paul left Timothy there and about a decade before this letter would be written to Pastor Timothy.

About three years before Paul writes this letter that we have been studying through First Timothy, the churches were already in place.

Three years before this letter, Paul wrote another letter to the same group of churches, which we know as the Book of Ephesians in our Bibles. What we see here in First Timothy, chapter 6, has a corresponding passage in Ephesians, chapter 6, using very much the same language.

When we read here in chapter 6 of First Timothy, it states, "Let as many bondservants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor." If you would turn just to the left, not very far, you'll find Ephesians. Come to Ephesians, chapter 6, and pick it up with me at verse 5.

Ephesians 6, verse 5: "Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ. Not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with good will doing service as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is slave or free."

Then he says to the masters, "And you masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven. There is no partiality with Him."

So, Paul writes to Timothy in First Timothy, chapter 6, and it's not just Timothy he is addressing in this passage; he is directing a word to those within the church at Ephesus who were bondservants and masters. This is the same thing he has said in Ephesians, chapter 6. Three years after he wrote in Ephesians, chapter 6, he is saying it again, which indicates to us that there was an issue going on in the church that Paul had to address more than once.

He is saying, "Listen, this is an issue that needs to be dealt with within the church." In this passage, there is a very clear teaching for us that I think is applicable today. Ephesians 6 and First Timothy 6 highlight an important point:

Point number one on your outline, which is in your bulletin: How we work is important to God. You may wonder how I get that point from these texts, and that would be a good question. Paul is addressing this in First Timothy 6 and Ephesians, chapter 6.

Addressing those who were identified in the church as bond servants and masters, the term "bond servant" is translated in other English translations as "slave." However, when we read it in our 21st-century context, it is not a stretch to interpret bond servants and masters as employees and employers. This might seem like a leap, especially since we often contextualize the word "slave" through the lens of the African slave trade, which is a blight on our history.

The problem with this perspective is that the slavery mentioned in the New Testament is not very similar to what we think of when we hear the word "slavery." One great author and pastor, Timothy Keller, who has been pastoring a church in New York City for the last 25 years, wrote a book a number of years ago on work titled "Every Good Endeavor." In that book, he addresses this issue, stating that slavery in Paul's time was not race-based and was seldom lifelong. It was more akin to what we would call indentured servitude.

In the first-century Greco-Roman culture, slavery was not like what we typically envision. That is not to say there weren't issues with it; there certainly were. However, much of what was classified as slavery in that era resembled indentured servitude. For example, if a person was entering a profession, such as a physician, they would often seek a patron to help pay for their education. In return, they would serve that patron as their private physician. This kind of arrangement occurred frequently.

Additionally, there were loans where the repayment was made through service to the lender. The master and slave relationship was not one in which the slave was necessarily considered the property of the master. People did not often serve in that capacity for life; many times, it was for a period of ten years at most, after which they would be released from servitude. It is important to note that people were not typically kidnapped and forced into this labor; there was often some choice involved in the process. Nonetheless, a significant number of individuals were part of this demographic.

In the Roman world, individuals were often accounted as servants, bondservants, or slaves, and they constituted the labor force of the day. It is not too much of a stretch for us to contextualize this for ourselves today and to say that God has a word for us as those who would be working, those who are employees.

Anytime we come to a passage in the New Testament or the Old Testament that addresses the issue of slavery, it is important to acknowledge, given our 21st-century American culture, that the Bible does not endorse or promote slavery. There are people in our culture who try to argue otherwise, but such claims are always taken out of context when we consider what the Scriptures truly say.

The Bible does not endorse or promote slavery. In fact, everywhere the Bible, the gospel, or the Christian faith has gone in the world over the last two thousand years, we have seen the elevation of human dignity and the leveling of hierarchical social structures that can foster evils like slavery. This is without a doubt what we observe wherever the gospel has spread. In the wake of the gospel, there has been an increase in human dignity and the idea that all men are created equal, which is a biblical value that has been propagated through gospel teaching. As a result, we see that the gospel and the expansion of the church bring liberty wherever they go.

This is good news. We believe that the Bible promotes the idea that slavery is evil and wrong. Sadly, there have been individuals in the history of the church who have used Bible passages to try to promote or endorse their actions in the area of slavery. This is always wrong and taken out of context.

Moreover, we see that slavery still exists today, and it is something we desire to see eradicated. We believe that where the gospel continues to spread, it will bring about liberty for those who are captive in these situations often referred to as slavery. Today, we may not call it slavery; instead, it is frequently identified as human trafficking.

There is a commendable organization that I was introduced to about a year ago, which we will share more about here at the church in the coming months. It is called the International Justice Mission, and their endeavor is to go into various places around the world to bring justice to people and liberty to those who are held captive.

The evil of human trafficking and slavery is a significant issue, but the passage we are going to look at today has something more to say to us regarding work. It is safe to assume that every single one of us here today, at some point in the past or in the future, will be an employee or perhaps an employer. For everyone sitting here, work is a high value in our culture. Therefore, it is reasonable to classify ourselves at some point as either an employee or an employer.

Given this context, I believe God has something to say to us in the Scriptures. This is not just in First Timothy, but as we read from Genesis to Revelation, God has much to say about work. In fact, in Genesis chapters 1 and 2, we see that God is an example of one who works. He is, by His very nature, a creator. One of the first things we see God doing is creating, working, and functioning within His nature.

In Genesis chapters 1 and 2, we have the description of what is commonly referred to as the days of creation. There are different interpretations of how it all worked out, but we believe that God is the Creator, the one who made everything seen and unseen. He did so through His work and the power of His word; He spoke it into existence, and it came to be. Thus, we have the six days of creation during which God works.

God exemplifies work, and not only does He exemplify it, but in the second chapter of the Bible, right after He creates all things, He gives man work to do. The God who exemplifies work invites us to join Him in His working, which is an awesome thing. In Genesis chapter 2, verse 15, it says, "Then the Lord God took man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and to keep it." God made it, He created it, and then He places man there, saying, "I am giving this to you to tend and to keep this garden." He gives us a part to play in this work.

If we fast-forward through the book of Genesis and into the second book of the Bible, the book of Exodus, we come to Exodus chapter 22, which contains what we call the commandment passage, especially the Ten Commandments, where God gives...

God forth His law to humanity, and among the Ten Commandments in Exodus chapter 20, we read this in verse 8: "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." How many of you have heard that before? It's interesting that I've had a number of conversations over the last 18 or 19 years of serving in ministry—probably a dozen or more times—where people have come in and talked with me as a pastor or emailed me, saying, "I want to talk to you about the Sabbath. I think the Sabbath is really important. The seventh day, we need to rest, and we need to be those who observe the Sabbath."

In virtually every conversation that I've had on this topic, I always take people back to the beginning of where this thing called the Sabbath originated. I say, "Listen, I think we should read this very carefully and see what it is that God commands." He does not only command rest on the seventh day. Look at this: Exodus 20, verse 8 says, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." The next verse, verse 9, states, "Six days you shall labor and do all your work."

Do you realize that the command to Sabbath in Exodus chapter 20 is also a command to labor? Right along with the command to rest is the command to work. You can't rest if you don't work. There needs to be this understanding that under the command to work, "Six days you shall labor and do all your work," and the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God. It shall be a day in which you do no work—nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger within your gates.

"For in six days the Lord God made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and He rested the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath and hallowed it." That's Exodus 20, verses 8 through 11.

So we do have this command. Our God works; He exemplifies work. He gives us work to do and wants us to join Him in that work. Then He commands us to work and to rest, which I do think, in our context in the 21st century, is something we need to take note of. We live in a culture that emphasizes too much work and constant work, with very little rest. Therefore, we need to pay attention to what Scripture says about rest.

God exemplifies work; He gives us work to join Him in, and He commands us to do that work. Here in 1 Timothy chapter 6 and the corresponding passage in Ephesians chapter 6, I think that God gives us some godly instruction on work—what we might call a godly work ethic.

As we go through this passage, we will see that the things that God exhorts us to do and this godly work ethic are very valuable. If applied, these principles can lead to good results.

Let us look at what Paul says in 1 Timothy, chapter 6, beginning at verse 1. Paul writes, "Let as many as are bondservants"—and we will interpret "bondservants" in the context of employees—"count their own masters, their employers, worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and His doctrine may not be blasphemed."

For those who have believing masters, or Christian employers, Paul instructs that they should not despise them because they are brethren. Instead, they should serve them, as those who are benefited are believers and beloved. Paul concludes this section with a powerful exhortation: "Teach and exhort these things."

I love that last little word from Paul in verse 2. This letter was probably read publicly, and while Timothy is the recipient, it is meant for the whole church in Ephesus. Through Paul, God is endorsing Timothy and urging him to teach and exhort these important principles. Paul had already written to them about these matters three years prior, which suggests that the church at Ephesus needed to hear this message again. I believe that God wants us to hear it as well.

As Christians, we must understand that how we work is important to God. Point number one is that we need to have the right perspective. Point number two is that who we are working for is ultimately important.

If you have a job today, whether you are getting up early on a Monday morning to prepare for work in a classroom, a corporate office, a construction site, or any other place, the Christian work ethic presented in Scripture teaches that you should honor your employer.

What does it mean to honor your employer? We could interpret this in various ways, but as I have reflected on this and examined the passages in Ephesians 6 and 1 Timothy 6, I believe we can draw some important conclusions.

Places that honor our employer mean that we serve with honesty, integrity, and sincerity. Remember this exhortation that Paul is giving to the Ephesian church to honor their employer. It is different from the exhortation we receive today because they probably did not have the same kind of liberty or freedom to choose what they were doing, as they were in a master-bondservant relationship. We have much more mobility, liberty, and choice involved in how we are employed and what career we pursue.

The exhortation is the same for us, but it might have been more difficult for them in the first century than for us. Still, we have this exhortation that we should honor our employer. I would suggest that it is easier to fulfill this exhortation if you grasp the weight and importance of point number two: who we are ultimately working for is very important as Christians. In this Christian work ethic, when we sort out who it is that we are working for, it will help us work better.

What does that mean? You should honor your employer not for the sake of your employer, but for the sake of God, whose name you bear. In the middle of verses 1 and 2, Paul says, "So that the name of God and His doctrine may not be blasphemed." At the end of verse 1, he writes, "Let as many bondservants who are under the yoke count their masters worthy of all honor so that the name of God and His doctrine may not be blasphemed."

As Christians in the work that we are doing, wherever it may be, we need to understand that we are not ultimately working for our employer; we are working for God. If you have your finger back in Ephesians chapter 6, you can look at it again. It is very specific. In Ephesians chapter 6, Paul says that no less than three times, "Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ." Then in verse 6, he continues, "Not with eye service, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service as to the Lord and not to men."

Knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is slave or free, how we work is important to God because our work represents Him. We should work in a way that honors our employer, not necessarily for the sake of our employer, but so that the name of God and His doctrine would not be blasphemed. Our work represents Him, so if you go to church on Sunday and then go to work on Monday, your coworkers, employer, or others around you should see that your work honors your employer. In doing so, you are honoring God.

How we work is important to God, and we will be able to work in such a way that honors our employer when we recognize that ultimately we are serving God. Ultimately, you do not work for the City of Escondido, Luce Road Construction, Sharp Healthcare, or whoever it may be. If you are a Christian, you work for God. I would suggest that if you enter the office building, construction site, or classroom on Monday morning with the mindset of doing this as to the Lord, it will adjust the way you work. It will change how you see the place where you are working, even if your employer is not a believer.

He mentions in verse 2 that there are those who have believing masters, which implies that some people may feel enslaved in their positions. You might think it would be easier to work for someone who is a Christian. However, be careful; you might be wrong. In that context, whether or not your employer is a believer, you should work in a way that honors your employer. If your employer is a believer, then all the more reason to honor them, as you are serving a brother or sister in the faith.

Paul instructs Timothy to teach and exhort these things. In 1 Timothy 6:3, he says, "If anyone teaches otherwise," this is what you, Timothy, should exhort the church to challenge them to do. But if there is anyone who teaches otherwise and does not consent to...

Wholesome words, even the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the doctrine which aligns or accords with godliness or righteousness, are essential. That person is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words. From these come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, and useless wranglings of men with corrupt minds, who are destitute of the truth. They suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such individuals, withdraw yourself.

Now, if you're in 1 Timothy 6, just turn a few pages over to the left to 1 Timothy chapter 1 and look at the third verse. In 1 Timothy 1:3, Paul opens the letter saying, "As I urged you, Timothy, when I was going into Macedonia, remain in Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons that they teach no other doctrine." At the beginning of the letter, Paul instructs Timothy to exhort and command the Christians there, especially the leaders in the church at Ephesus, to teach no other doctrine—something that is heterodox, outside of orthodoxy.

He uses the exact same word in the original Greek language when he says that they teach no other doctrine. He employs that very same word here in chapter 6 when he states that if anyone teaches other doctrine, you are to withdraw from these people. What kind of person would teach a doctrine that does not align with what is right before God? He describes those who are proud, ignorant, given to contentious disputes, and devoid of the truth.

At the end of the passage, he notes that these people suppose that godliness is a means of gain. Point number three on your outline is that the motivating why of our work is not inconsequential. What does this have to do with the text? Well, why should you work with godliness? Why should you be ethical in your dealings in the workplace as an employee? Why should you be honorable? For those who are proud and ignorant, given to contentious disputes and devoid of truth, they do their work to be seen by others.

They do their work as a means to try and get ahead, to gain an advantage. What do I mean by this? Well, back in Ephesians chapter 6, Paul was speaking to bondservants, or employees, and he says that they should work not with eyeservice as men-pleasers.

What is he saying? I think you would agree that there are people in our workplaces who only do good work with honesty, integrity, and sincerity when the boss is watching. Paul challenges us as Christians to be honorable in our work, to honor our employer and thereby honor God at all times, whether or not someone is watching, and whether or not it might benefit or gain us.

In the Ephesian context, there were people who worked well only when it was with eyeservice as men-pleasers, when someone was watching. They supposed that godly living was just a source of gain; the only reason they continued to work with honesty, integrity, sincerity, and self-control was to gain an advantage. Have you seen in your workplace some people who work in that way? The only time they could honestly be trusted to do their job well is when it might benefit or gain them.

Paul encourages workers to work regardless of any gain that might come from it, to work in a way that is honorable and brings glory to God. The motivating reason for our work is not inconsequential. What is the motivating gain for our work? It is not just to get better compensation, to get a promotion, or to receive a bonus. We work in this way because we represent God.

Look at what Paul goes on to say in chapter 6, verse 6: "Now godliness with contentment is great gain." Would you lean over and highlight that verse in your neighbor's Bible? Just underline it for them, put a star next to it, and maybe try to commit that to memory this week. Godliness with contentment is great gain. I would suggest to you that there are two things in this verse that are not highly valued in American culture in the 21st century: godliness and contentment. But Paul tells us...

If you have godliness and you have contentment, you have great gains. Point number four is that true godliness is the end we are meant to arrive at as Christians. We do not work with honor, integrity, sincerity, and godliness simply to get a promotion or secure a contract. Certainly, there are some who work with integrity and sincerity only when it benefits them, but for the Christian, this should be the default. We seek to work with honor, integrity, sincerity, and godliness not as a means for a bigger paycheck, but because godliness is the goal. That is what we are aiming at: to walk in righteousness.

If you can grow in godliness and be content with what you have, then you have gained more than any paycheck could ever provide. Why? Look at what it says in verse 7: "For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out." Those are valuable words for us to hold dear. As we look at our culture in the United States of America in the year 2018, this is a foreign concept. We brought nothing into this world, and surely we will bring nothing out of it. Having food and clothing, with these things we shall be content.

Working in this way as a Christian acknowledges that we have a greater payout than any earthly reward. There is something we are looking forward to that is beyond this world. All that we work for in this life is only for this life; it will not benefit us when we die. "Naked came we into this world, and naked we shall go out," as Job said when he was stripped of everything he had.

This aligns with the teaching that Jesus gave in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew chapter 6, verse 19, He said, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up 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."

If we can begin to work in a way that acknowledges we are storing up for ourselves treasures in heaven and not here on the earth, it will be revolutionary in our lives. Your honorable work may not be rewarded in this life, but earthly reward is not our goal; godliness is our goal. We are to walk in a way that is honorable to God, one that does not bring reproach against His name and His doctrine. That's how we are to live.

I would suggest to you that if you live in this way, you will experience a reward in this life. There is great reward for those who live with honor, integrity, and sincerity, though those aren't values that are held high in American culture in the 21st century. Sadly, look at our politics, look at our corporate structures, and look at so much that goes on in our world. These are not values, but they should be values for us.

Then Paul says in 1 Timothy 6:9, "Those who desire to be rich..." I stop there and instantly think, "Well, okay, that's America." Those who desire to be rich might have a lot to say to us. What about them? They fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

Why does this happen? For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some have strayed from the faith in their greediness and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows. I feel this every time I read this verse, and I've read it many times over the years, especially in the last several weeks. Every time I come to this passage, I find that these truths, when we read them, evoke a sense within us that is self-evident. Yet, it is just not common knowledge in our culture today.

When we read these words, we can see this in the world around us. We might even see it in ourselves because the Scriptures are like a mirror—a well-lit mirror. You know those mirrors you find in hotel rooms? The big magnifying mirror with the lights around it? It is the worst invention on the face of the planet. When you look at that, you go, "Whoa, goodness gracious, that's frightening."

That's what the Scriptures do; they often lighten, expose, and magnify our understanding. We can see ourselves in this in so many ways. However, the desire to be rich is dangerous. Why? Because you can fall into temptation and a snare, along with many harmful lusts that drown men in perdition. Do we see anything in our culture that aligns with this, where people are drowning in waste? That is what it means to drown in perdition.

I would say we see this all around us. Point number five on your outline: if godliness is not our goal, the ends will be disastrous. Now, that might be a strong way to say it, but I think it's true. If godliness is not our goal, the ends will be disastrous. Why? Because those who have loved money and pursued that path have found themselves drowned by many harmful lusts that lead to destruction and waste. They have pierced themselves through with many sorrows, having strayed from the faith toward greediness, away from godliness.

So, if godliness is not our goal, the ends are disastrous. This challenges us to meditate on a very simple question. You don't need to answer this before me; you need to answer it in your own heart before God today. What are the gains you are seeking to lay hold of? What is it that you are striving for? If it is acknowledgment, recognition, and riches in this world, there is a danger in that. We may begin to live our lives in such a way that it becomes eye service, as men pleasers. The ends of that can be greatly disastrous.

We have seen people in our own lives or in our culture who have striven for that kind of success to lay hold of something in this life. As a result, they have done things that are immoral, unethical, and wrong. They might gain what they want in this life, but they are missing the bigger picture.

This is not all there is. So, what is the gain? What gain is it that you're seeking today? You might need to bring that before the Lord this week, and it may lead to a place of confession and repentance, and that's a good thing.

What do the Scriptures say? If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. I can tell you, as I look into the perfect law of liberty, the mirror of God's Word, that's what it does. It reveals to me the things in my life that need to change. I realize that I can't change myself, but by Your grace, God, You can change me. So, would You come and transform me?

As we pray that prayer today, maybe some of you standing here need to personalize that. Father, thank You for Your grace that saves us. But, Lord, You rescue us from our sins and You rescue us to righteousness. God, I pray that You would work in our lives so that we would see the growth, the manifestation of godliness, that which aligns with rightness.

I pray that it would be seen in our workplaces, not just when we gather together in a place like this, where it's easy to walk in rightness. But God, on that construction site, in the office building, or on the school campus, wherever we may find ourselves this week, I pray that You would help us to walk in a way that is right.

Not just so that we would gain something here and now, but so that we would walk in a way that honors and glorifies Your name. You, who sees in secret, will ultimately reward openly. So, God, help us. Help us to grow in Christ's likeness, that it would be evident to all we come in contact with that we are Your children because people see Your nature in us. God, work this into us, we pray. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

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