334: Robert Evans – Exhortation: I am a Rich Man, and You are Too!

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Welcome to good Chris Selfian
talks.

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I’m Levi.
I’m Chris.

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I’m Jason.
And I’m Brian, thank you for

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joining us this week on this
podcast.

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We select one talk a week to
help us get the Bible in our

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Daily News feed.
Each week we post talk that we

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previewed from suggestions sent
in by listeners from around the

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world.
Then we record a short intro

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beforehand as a personalized
recommendation to you on why we

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are sharing the talk.
And now?

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Let’s talk more about.
This week’s talk.

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Hi, this is Levi.
This week’s talk is an

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excitation by a brother, Robert
Evans, that he gave at the

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Abilene, TX Ecclesia.
His title is I Am a Rich Man and

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so are you.
Robert does a really good job

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kind of honestly having the
conversation about how wealthy

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almost all of us are here in
North America and he really

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dives into comparing what our
wealth can do to our mindset and

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how it can distract us from a
reliance on God.

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I think this is kind of a maybe
an obvious topic, but he

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presents it so well and and
brings in so really great verses

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make it.
I think like some of the best

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talks are really basic themes,
kind of obvious points expanded

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on and that is definitely what’s
done here.

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Robert is a high school teacher
by trade and you can tell in his

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presentation style, he’s very
easy to listen to.

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And I think this was a really
excellent example of that.

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So I was excited to share it
with everyone.

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I think it would be very helpful
as an excitation.

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And it definitely had me
thinking a lot about my own life

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and my own mindset around money.
So really excited to share this.

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This was a suggestion by a
member of the audience that day.

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So thank you to that person who
sent that in.

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So here is Robert Evans.
I’m a rich man and so are you.

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Good morning brothers and
sisters in our Lord Jesus

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Christ.
It is, as always, a wonderful,

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beautiful thing to see you all
on a Sunday morning where we are

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coming together to remember our
Lord Jesus Christ.

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Now you may not know this, but I
am a rich man.

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I’m a very rich man, as are you.
No matter how poor you may think

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you are, if you live inside of a
closed building in the United

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States in 2023, you are a rich
man.

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You know if asked by a random
person on the street about my

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socio economic status I would
say I’m probably somewhere in

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the middle class right?
But even being lower class in

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our country compared to much of
the world leaves a man with far

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more luxuries and conveniences
than millions upon millions upon

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millions upon millions of people
across the world.

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I mean, I saw this first hand
even when travelling in

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countries that aren’t
necessarily destitute third

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world places in the world, like
when Tabby and I went to Costa

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Rica or when we travelled to
Ireland, we saw some things that

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were very different from the
lifestyle that we’re accustomed

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to and kind of makes you realize
just how rich even the average

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person is over here.
I remember going, ’cause when we

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travelled to Costa Rica, and
same with Ireland and most

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places we went aside from
Africa, we stayed in Airbnb’s.

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And so Airbnb’s in Costa Rica,
nobody had AC in the homes we

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stayed in.
You know, nobody had hot water

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running.
You could get it from the

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shower.
And like two of the three Air

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BNBS ’cause they had this little
electrical thing on there that

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they were like, be very careful
touching it ’cause it might

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shock you.
And surprisingly to us in

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Ireland, two of the three Air
MB, SB, MB S, we stayed there,

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it was the same thing actually.
They didn’t have hot running

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water.
You had to have the electrical

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thing attached to it.
That’s something that, you know,

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growing up in America, even I
can remember when I moved to

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Dallas and I was apartment
searching and the 1st place I

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tried to search ’cause I thought
I was gonna be very poor because

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I my, I was getting my job at
the Dallas World Aquarium and I

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was gonna make starting out
$15.00 an hour.

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And I was like, OK, this is like
I’m really low income.

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And the first department I
looked at had AC and heat and it

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had a refrigerator and a stove
and all these things.

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And I didn’t qualify because I
was looking at a low income

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housing apartment and they said
I made too much money at my

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$15.00 an hour to qualify.
So people that you know, $15.00

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an hour, I don’t qualify for
this apartment that had all of

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these amenities.
So when I say I am a rich man,

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I’m comparing myself to much of
the outside world where it’s

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like, yes, I am a rich man, as
are you, right?

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So yes, by worldwide standards,
in present day, we are rich men.

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And then if we compare ourselves
to, you know, the past, we are

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certainly rich men.
Even just go back 300 years and

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royalty would love to live the
lives and have the luxuries that

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we have.
The richest man in the world 300

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years ago didn’t have a button
on his wall that he pushed or

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nowadays even on his phone
sometimes that he pushed to make

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the house get cooler if he felt
a little bit warm, or a button

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to make things get warmer if he
felt a little bit cool.

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You know, we have an insane
amount of luxuries and

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conveniences that sometimes we
don’t even realize because we’re

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in this rat race of a world that
tells us that we need more and

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more and more and that we don’t
have enough and that we are

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actually down here.
But in reality, we are all very

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rich men now, kind of before I I
dive into James, James 5, where

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we’re going to start out before
I, I get into there, you know,

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it’s what really kind of stuck
out to me.

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The start of James 5.
It says go to now you rich men

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weep and howl.
And I started to think it really

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stuck out to me, you know, and
with my 9th graders, I’m an

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English teacher.
And with my 9th graders, we’ve

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been reading Romeo and Juliet.
And a a little piece near the

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end of Romeo and Juliet that we
actually spent a lot of time

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talking about this past week
with the students was this part

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that they were very confused by,
where if you don’t know Romeo

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and Jr. and Juliet, they end up,
you know, killing themselves at

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the end.
But Romeo, he goes to an

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apothecary to buy a poison that
he’s going to use to kill

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himself.
And the apothecary is like,

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well, it’s illegal to sell this
poison, But Romeo’s like, well,

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I have all this gold and you’re
very poor and starving, so just

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sell it to me, you know, The
apothecary ends up agreeing to

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sell him this poison that
Romeo’s going to use to kill

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himself.
And Romeo kind of comforts the

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apothecary in a sense.
And he tells him, he says, you

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know, I’m really the one selling
poison to you because gold has

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caused far more death and hurt
in this world than poison ever

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has.
And I thought that was really

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interesting, you know, ’cause
that’s been on my mind this

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week.
It’s been a big discussion I’ve

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had with students throughout the
week.

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And then, you know, I open this
up and it says, see, rich men

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weep and howl, for your miseries
shall come upon you.

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That’s James 5 verse one.
All right.

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I think Shakespeare, Romeo and
Juliet had a keen mind because

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it’s true.
Poison.

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Things like that are deadly.
But we all know full well how

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deadly and dangerous they are.
They have warning labels these

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days.
Gold, on the other hand, gold is

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dangerous and deadly also, but
we don’t always fully understand

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it.
We don’t always see it because

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it is shiny and it’s beautiful,
and instead of a warning label

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with a skull and crossbones, it
instead has a society and a

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world that tries to convince us
we need more of it.

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It’s put up as a good thing
rather than something that’s

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kind of dangerous.
What we see in our world is that

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the wealthy of all the nicest
things, They occupy covers of

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magazines.
They grace the recommended video

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section of every teenager’s
Instagram and TikTok and

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YouTube.
Gold is the reward that we all

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get for a hard day’s work.
And obtaining that is their

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motivation to go back to work
and to work harder often.

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And why we try and put in extra
hours and our promotions and

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grow and grow.
Because we’re going to get a

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raise with those promotions and
with the more work that we do.

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And then we can purchase new
things and have a bigger bank

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account and have more comforts
and luxuries and so on and so

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forth.
We all know to not drink a

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bottle of poison, but we don’t
necessarily know to be careful

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about wealth.
OK, so in James 5 verses one to

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three it says go to now you rich
man, weep and howl, for your

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miseries shall come upon you.
Your riches are corrupted and

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your garments are moth eaten,
your gold and silver is

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cankered, and the rest of them
shall be a witness against you,

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and shall eat your flesh as it
were fire.

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Ye have heaped treasures
together for the last days.

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Now, as I made clear earlier, I
am a rich man.

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And as thus sometimes when I
read verses like this, I get a

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bit of trepidation, ’cause I’m
like, that’s me.

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If I think about it, I’m a rich
man.

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I’m full of luxuries and wealth,
you know, so I think you know.

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Am I to be weeping?
Am I to be howling as the rest

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of my riches are a witness
against me?

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Is that me that is being talked
about here?

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Have I slowly been heaping
treasures together which are

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going to rust and rot for the
last days?

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Now this phrase rich men here in
James 5 verse one, Thayer’s

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Greek lexicon defines it as
wealthy and abounding and

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material resources.
And so yes, that does apply to

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me in that sense.
I am, like I said, compared to

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millions upon millions upon
millions in the world and then

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all men of history, I am
absolutely abounding and

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material resources.
And this is the same Greek word

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that is used in Matthew 19
verses 23 and 24, where we read

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Then said Jesus to his
disciples, Verily I say unto

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you, that a rich man, same Greek
word there shall hardly enter

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into the Kingdom of heaven.
And again I say to you, it is

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easier for a camel to go through
the eye of a needle than for a

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rich man to enter into the
Kingdom of God.

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That rich man there that Christ
repeats twice in those verses.

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It’s the same as here in James
51, Ye rich men.

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We can look at Christ’s words in
Luke chapter 6 if we turn to

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Luke 6 and we’ll start at verse
verse 20.

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In Luke 6 it says and he lifted
up his eyes on his disciples and

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said, Blessed be the poor, for
yours is the Kingdom of God,

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right?
Kind of the the exact opposite

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of what we just read of hardly
shall a rich man enter the

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Kingdom of heaven right here he
says, blessed be the poor, for

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yours is the Kingdom of God.
Blessed are you that hunger now,

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for you shall be filled.
Blessed are you that weak now,

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for you shall laugh.
Blessed are you when men shall

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hate you, and when they shall
separate you from their company,

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and shall reproach you.
Cast out your name as evil for

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the Son of man’s sake.
Rejoice you in that last.

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In that day leap for joy, for
behold, your reward is great in

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heaven.
For in the manner did their, in

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like manner did their fathers
unto the prophets.

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But woe unto you that are rich.
That’s that same word that’s

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used for rich men and James, or
that is used for rich man in

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Matthew 19.
Woe unto you that are rich, for

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you have received your
consolation.

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Woe unto you that are full, for
you shall hunger.

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Woe unto you that laugh now, for
you shall mourn and weep.

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Woe unto you when all men shall
speak well of you, For so did

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their fathers to the false
prophets.

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Thinking about reading verses
with trepidation.

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I’m like, oh, right, I’m rich.
I don’t hunger right now.

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I’m full.
I laugh now.

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And so you know, it’s, it’s,
it’s kind of this, this message

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gets hit again and again.
Woe unto you that are rich.

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You have received your
consolation.

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00:14:21,040 –> 00:14:24,560
It’s the same word from Matthew
19, from James 5.

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00:14:24,920 –> 00:14:28,040
It’s also the same word in
Revelation.

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00:14:28,360 –> 00:14:34,440
Revelation chapter 3, right?
Revelation 3 and I’m sorry, 14

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00:14:34,440 –> 00:14:36,880
Revelation 314.
And unto the Angel the Church of

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00:14:36,880 –> 00:14:40,200
the Laodiceans writes these
things, saith the Amen, the

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00:14:40,200 –> 00:14:42,560
faithful and true witness, the
beginning of the creation of

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00:14:42,560 –> 00:14:44,960
God.
I know your works, that you are

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00:14:44,960 –> 00:14:48,440
neither cold nor hot.
I would that you were cold or

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00:14:48,440 –> 00:14:50,080
hot.
So then, because you are

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00:14:50,080 –> 00:14:54,000
lukewarm, neither cold nor hot,
I will spew you out of my mouth,

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00:14:54,520 –> 00:14:58,640
because you say I am rich.
It’s the same Greek word again.

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00:14:58,640 –> 00:15:03,200
Because you say I am rich and
increased with goods and have

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00:15:03,200 –> 00:15:07,840
need of nothing.
And knowest not that you are

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00:15:07,840 –> 00:15:13,280
wretched and miserable and poor
and blind and naked ’cause you

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00:15:13,280 –> 00:15:15,720
say I am rich and increased with
goods.

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00:15:15,720 –> 00:15:20,840
And I look around my life and
other lives and I’m like, we are

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00:15:20,840 –> 00:15:26,120
all rich materially and we are
all increased with goods,

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00:15:26,440 –> 00:15:29,520
whether we think we are or not.
Because like I said, society

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00:15:29,520 –> 00:15:32,080
tries to convince us we always
need more and we never have

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00:15:32,080 –> 00:15:34,280
enough.
But compare yourselves to the

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00:15:34,280 –> 00:15:37,160
rest of the world, or compare
yourselves to men 200 years ago,

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00:15:37,160 –> 00:15:40,000
or 50 years ago even, or 100
years ago, and you are

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00:15:40,000 –> 00:15:45,320
absolutely increased with goods
abounding and wealth and

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00:15:45,320 –> 00:15:48,440
luxuries, whether you realize it
or not.

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00:15:49,200 –> 00:15:52,640
So what are we to do?
We are all rich.

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00:15:53,800 –> 00:15:58,720
We are all rich and we have this
little clump of verses.

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00:15:59,480 –> 00:16:02,080
I didn’t go to all the verses
that popped up when I searched

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00:16:02,080 –> 00:16:06,560
that Greek word and concordance.
But does this mean we’re all

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00:16:06,560 –> 00:16:09,080
doomed?
Does it mean that we need to

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00:16:09,080 –> 00:16:11,920
quickly give everything away we
have and run out and live in the

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00:16:11,920 –> 00:16:14,880
streets, or run off to a third
world country, or live as the

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00:16:14,880 –> 00:16:19,120
Amish do?
No, it does not mean that.

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00:16:20,320 –> 00:16:24,440
For it’s not simply the act of
being rich, of having wealth,

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00:16:24,880 –> 00:16:28,880
that is the issue.
It’s the way in which one allows

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00:16:28,880 –> 00:16:34,240
those riches to affect and rule
their lives that really matters.

250
00:16:34,960 –> 00:16:38,120
So let’s let’s take a look again
back in James 5.

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00:16:39,800 –> 00:16:43,800
James 5 starting in verse one
said, go to now, you rich men

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00:16:44,280 –> 00:16:47,040
weep and howl for your miseries
will come upon you.

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00:16:47,600 –> 00:16:50,480
Your riches are corrupted,
garments are moth eaten, gold

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00:16:50,480 –> 00:16:52,520
and silver is canchored.
The rest of them will be a

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00:16:52,520 –> 00:16:56,000
witness against you and shall
eat your flesh as it were fire.

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00:16:56,280 –> 00:16:59,440
You have heaped treasure
together for the last days.

257
00:17:00,280 –> 00:17:04,319
Behold the higher of the
laborers who have reaped down

258
00:17:04,319 –> 00:17:11,160
your fields, which is of you
kept back by fraud cries, and

259
00:17:11,160 –> 00:17:15,720
the cries of them which reaped
are entered into the ears of the

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00:17:15,720 –> 00:17:20,040
Lord of Sabaoth.
You have lived in pleasure on

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00:17:20,040 –> 00:17:24,480
the earth and been wanted.
You have nourished your hearts

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00:17:24,640 –> 00:17:28,960
as in a day of slaughter.
You have condemned and killed

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00:17:28,960 –> 00:17:33,520
the just and he does not resist
you.

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00:17:34,600 –> 00:17:39,600
So if we really think about
those verses, it’s not just you

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00:17:39,600 –> 00:17:44,040
are wealthy, you are rich men
and therefore you’re done with.

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00:17:44,680 –> 00:17:49,520
It’s the attitude and the
actions of these rich men, the

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00:17:49,520 –> 00:17:53,760
hire of laborers who reaped your
fields, which you kept back by

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00:17:53,760 –> 00:17:56,080
fraud.
They cry.

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00:17:56,280 –> 00:17:59,920
You lived in pleasure, you
nourished your hearts as in a

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00:17:59,920 –> 00:18:02,960
day of slaughter.
You have condemned and killed

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00:18:03,320 –> 00:18:06,720
the just.
The issue is the attitude and

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00:18:06,720 –> 00:18:08,520
the actions of those who are
rich.

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00:18:08,520 –> 00:18:13,160
These rich who shall weep and
howl are those who place their

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00:18:13,160 –> 00:18:15,440
trust and confidence in their
riches.

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00:18:15,440 –> 00:18:19,080
They have heaped them for the
last days.

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00:18:19,680 –> 00:18:21,400
All right.
They’ve mistreated their

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00:18:21,400 –> 00:18:25,960
laborers.
The attitude and actions are the

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00:18:25,960 –> 00:18:30,520
opposite of what we know.
God calls us to act.

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00:18:32,320 –> 00:18:37,880
But that is the difficult part.
Though I wish Tabby was still in

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00:18:37,880 –> 00:18:39,320
here because she would like this
line.

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00:18:39,320 –> 00:18:43,720
A famous rapper once said MO
money, MO problems.

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00:18:45,320 –> 00:18:47,080
I don’t even know who that
rapper was, right?

283
00:18:47,880 –> 00:18:51,000
But you know, there’s there’s
some truth in that.

284
00:18:51,000 –> 00:18:56,720
In a sense, having riches, it
makes our lives a little bit

285
00:18:56,720 –> 00:19:00,440
more difficult to live in a
godly manner often times,

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00:19:00,960 –> 00:19:04,040
because the richer you are and
the more comforts and luxuries

287
00:19:04,040 –> 00:19:07,840
you have, the easier it is to
fall into the thinking, even if

288
00:19:07,840 –> 00:19:11,640
it’s subconscious, that you
don’t need God.

289
00:19:12,080 –> 00:19:15,280
You’ve solved your difficulties
in life, and whenever a new

290
00:19:15,280 –> 00:19:18,720
difficulty pops up, you get more
money and that will solve that

291
00:19:18,720 –> 00:19:22,760
difficulty.
Oh, I have a difficulty of, I

292
00:19:22,800 –> 00:19:25,760
don’t know, whatever it could
be, my house doesn’t heat as

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00:19:25,760 –> 00:19:27,720
well as it should.
It’s fine.

294
00:19:27,720 –> 00:19:30,560
I’ll get more money and then I
can heat my house better.

295
00:19:30,560 –> 00:19:35,600
What Like any difficulty that
comes up, we have this tendency

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00:19:35,600 –> 00:19:39,280
or man has this tendency,
especially Richmond, I think, to

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00:19:39,280 –> 00:19:44,920
just use their riches to try and
solve every little difficulty in

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00:19:44,920 –> 00:19:50,200
life.
You know, we trust and rely in

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00:19:50,200 –> 00:19:52,200
the things and the luxuries we
have.

300
00:19:52,200 –> 00:19:56,520
We have homes that can withstand
all weather save the very most

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00:19:56,520 –> 00:19:59,440
extreme events, you know, like
tornadoes, but those are

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00:19:59,440 –> 00:20:01,240
extremely rare.
Most people live their whole

303
00:20:01,240 –> 00:20:04,800
lives not being affected by one.
We have refrigerators and

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00:20:04,800 –> 00:20:08,080
pantries almost always full of
food, and even if they aren’t,

305
00:20:08,080 –> 00:20:11,920
we have, within a 10 minute
drive, hundreds of options from

306
00:20:11,920 –> 00:20:15,800
which to get food at all various
prices from regions and cultures

307
00:20:15,800 –> 00:20:19,120
all around the world.
Our food comes in prepackaged

308
00:20:19,360 –> 00:20:22,720
with nutrition facts and
expiration dates.

309
00:20:23,040 –> 00:20:26,000
We don’t even know where it came
from most of the time or how it

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00:20:26,000 –> 00:20:30,240
got on the shelf at HEB, but
it’s delicious and ready to eat.

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00:20:30,920 –> 00:20:34,760
So why are we going to give a
half second of thankfulness to

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00:20:34,760 –> 00:20:38,000
God for the origin of this food?
We didn’t need to pray for the

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00:20:38,000 –> 00:20:41,920
rain to come down to grow the
crops, or we didn’t need to pray

314
00:20:41,920 –> 00:20:45,040
for the safety of our livestock
that we had to slaughter.

315
00:20:45,840 –> 00:20:49,360
We just went to HEB and bought
this, and the thing that got us

316
00:20:49,360 –> 00:20:52,600
the food was our paycheck and
our money in our bank account.

317
00:20:54,000 –> 00:20:57,280
When we get sick, we have
doctors and hospitals and urgent

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00:20:57,280 –> 00:21:00,880
cares and pharmacies galore.
The list of luxuries we have go

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00:21:00,880 –> 00:21:04,560
on and on and on.
And I think maybe you can see a

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00:21:04,560 –> 00:21:08,480
little bit why Richmond are in a
dangerous position in a sense.

321
00:21:08,480 –> 00:21:14,600
It’s so easy to rely on all of
those luxuries, right?

322
00:21:15,240 –> 00:21:19,760
It’s an easy way to be caught up
in man made systems of doing

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00:21:19,760 –> 00:21:22,720
things with purchased money
rather than relying on God.

324
00:21:23,440 –> 00:21:28,640
The rich have no feeling of a
need to pray to God because they

325
00:21:28,640 –> 00:21:31,360
just take out their credit card,
right?

326
00:21:32,760 –> 00:21:39,680
First Timothy 617 to 19 says
charge them that are rich.

327
00:21:39,840 –> 00:21:44,600
This is the same word used in
James 5, Matthew 19, Revelation

328
00:21:44,600 –> 00:21:47,120
3.
I charge them that are rich in

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00:21:47,120 –> 00:21:52,320
this world, that they be not
high minded nor trust in

330
00:21:52,320 –> 00:22:00,040
uncertain riches, but in the
living God, who gives us richly

331
00:22:00,160 –> 00:22:04,720
all things to enjoy.
That they do good works, ready

332
00:22:04,720 –> 00:22:08,480
to distribute, willing to
communicate, laying up in store

333
00:22:08,480 –> 00:22:12,760
for themselves a good foundation
against the time to come, that

334
00:22:12,760 –> 00:22:16,040
they may lay hold on eternal
life.

335
00:22:17,600 –> 00:22:23,440
So, as said earlier, the point
of all this talk of the rich man

336
00:22:23,440 –> 00:22:26,640
is not to say that things are
impossible for him or that we

337
00:22:26,640 –> 00:22:29,320
are doomed because we are rich
men.

338
00:22:30,160 –> 00:22:38,960
But it’s rather that there is
hope and that we, no matter how

339
00:22:39,560 –> 00:22:44,440
wealthy we are, we have a
correct way that we’re given to

340
00:22:44,440 –> 00:22:48,040
live our lives.
But it’s good to keep in mind

341
00:22:48,040 –> 00:22:52,080
the warning of how you can
easily fall into trusting in

342
00:22:52,080 –> 00:22:57,120
your riches instead, right?
Notice the point that Paul that

343
00:22:57,120 –> 00:23:00,600
Paul has, as he puts it here to
Timothy, he’s saying don’t trust

344
00:23:00,600 –> 00:23:04,200
in uncertain riches, but trust
in the living God.

345
00:23:05,480 –> 00:23:09,680
All right, He says, lay up in
store a good foundation against

346
00:23:09,680 –> 00:23:13,120
the time to come that you they
may hold lay hold on eternal

347
00:23:13,120 –> 00:23:15,720
life, which is the exact
counterpoint.

348
00:23:16,080 –> 00:23:19,200
So the rich man described in
James Five, who has heaped

349
00:23:19,200 –> 00:23:23,520
treasures together for the last
days, which will corrupt and rot

350
00:23:23,520 –> 00:23:28,480
away and rust and be gone, the
exact opposite, the way we

351
00:23:28,480 –> 00:23:32,000
should be doing things is laying
up in store a good foundation

352
00:23:32,000 –> 00:23:35,760
against the time to come.
And it’s not that only the poor

353
00:23:35,760 –> 00:23:39,280
can lay up a good foundation.
Those who have material wealth

354
00:23:39,280 –> 00:23:41,760
can do that as well.
First Timothy 6, he doesn’t say

355
00:23:42,040 –> 00:23:44,520
charge them that are rich, that
they quickly get rid of

356
00:23:44,520 –> 00:23:47,480
everything so that they can lay
up a good foundation.

357
00:23:47,480 –> 00:23:50,800
No, he just says charge them
that they’re not high minded and

358
00:23:50,800 –> 00:23:55,160
that they don’t trust in
uncertain riches, but that they

359
00:23:55,160 –> 00:23:58,840
trust in the living God.
And that’s the expectation to us

360
00:23:58,840 –> 00:24:02,320
as well as rich men.
This needs to be our focus.

361
00:24:02,520 –> 00:24:05,840
We need to lay up a good
foundation and take care that we

362
00:24:05,840 –> 00:24:09,960
are not simply heaping up
treasures for heaping up

363
00:24:09,960 –> 00:24:14,520
treasures in this world is is
what really the world around us

364
00:24:14,520 –> 00:24:17,600
tries to convince us is the
thing to do and it’s

365
00:24:17,600 –> 00:24:21,240
foolishness.
Our good foundation needs to be

366
00:24:21,240 –> 00:24:26,400
as described here in Timothy.
Now, Speaking of foundation,

367
00:24:26,560 –> 00:24:30,080
this whole thing, it all goes
back to the very start, ’cause

368
00:24:30,080 –> 00:24:34,880
it’s all a line of thinking.
Which line of thinking are you

369
00:24:34,880 –> 00:24:38,080
following?
We were expelled from the Garden

370
00:24:38,080 –> 00:24:41,720
of Eden, and we’ve been building
a world filled with knowledge,

371
00:24:41,840 –> 00:24:44,120
the knowledge of good and evil,
ever since.

372
00:24:44,880 –> 00:24:48,720
We are rich men at the current
pinnacle of all of man’s

373
00:24:48,720 –> 00:24:52,400
machinations, carved from the
very wood that bore the fruit

374
00:24:52,400 –> 00:24:55,400
that Eve grasped at the word of
the serpent.

375
00:24:55,960 –> 00:25:01,000
James 44 says You adulterers and
adulteresses, know you not that

376
00:25:01,000 –> 00:25:04,000
friendship of the world is
enmity with God.

377
00:25:04,680 –> 00:25:08,120
Whosoever, therefore, is a
friend of the world is the enemy

378
00:25:08,560 –> 00:25:12,560
of God.
Are we a friend of the world

379
00:25:12,640 –> 00:25:16,920
that our riches want to embed us
in, or are we a friend of God?

380
00:25:17,880 –> 00:25:19,880
Are we Abraham’s seed or are we
not?

381
00:25:20,160 –> 00:25:22,920
Are we the seed of the woman or
the seed of the serpents?

382
00:25:24,480 –> 00:25:27,600
You know Abraham left the
comforts of his father’s tent

383
00:25:27,600 –> 00:25:29,840
and set out for a land yet
unseen.

384
00:25:30,000 –> 00:25:33,800
Are we walking that journey,
stumbling over rocks and hills

385
00:25:33,800 –> 00:25:35,640
and mountains and wading through
rivers?

386
00:25:36,600 –> 00:25:40,320
Or are we just sunken down in an
expensive mattress of memory

387
00:25:40,320 –> 00:25:45,440
foam as our shades darken the
sun’s rays and thick walls stop

388
00:25:45,440 –> 00:25:50,400
the wind from tussling our hair
or the bird song from reaching

389
00:25:50,400 –> 00:25:54,560
our ears that are likely focused
in on some YouTube video or

390
00:25:54,560 –> 00:26:00,160
television show anyway, right?
We are rich men living in overly

391
00:26:00,360 –> 00:26:03,600
comfortable times.
We being in the truth.

392
00:26:03,600 –> 00:26:08,040
We have seen the path of God,
the way to the tree of life, but

393
00:26:08,040 –> 00:26:10,880
we have unfettered access to the
tree of knowledge of good and

394
00:26:10,880 –> 00:26:14,760
evil, and our riches only make
that fruit tastes sweeter and

395
00:26:14,760 –> 00:26:19,160
sweeter and easier and easier to
come by and to gorge ourselves

396
00:26:19,160 –> 00:26:22,840
upon in the modern world.
So what will you do?

397
00:26:25,560 –> 00:26:28,640
What would Jesus do?
He said that it’s easier for a

398
00:26:28,640 –> 00:26:31,600
camel to pass through the eye of
a needle than a rich man to

399
00:26:31,640 –> 00:26:35,080
enter the Kingdom of heaven.
And I know that camels are

400
00:26:35,080 –> 00:26:38,960
exceedingly larger than a
needle, and we are exceedingly

401
00:26:38,960 –> 00:26:42,720
rich even by modern standards
compared to the world.

402
00:26:43,920 –> 00:26:46,400
But the good news is, is that it
is all a choice.

403
00:26:47,360 –> 00:26:50,280
All right.
As James 48 says, draw nigh to

404
00:26:50,280 –> 00:26:52,520
God and He will draw nigh to
you.

405
00:26:53,600 –> 00:26:58,320
We must not be slack in doing
so, for we are in a position of

406
00:26:58,320 –> 00:27:02,400
great difficulty.
The world is at enmity with God,

407
00:27:03,520 –> 00:27:07,480
and it’s very tempting and very
accessible to all of us,

408
00:27:08,000 –> 00:27:10,240
especially all of us who are
rich men.

409
00:27:10,240 –> 00:27:15,000
If we don’t take care, we could
easily slip into a mindset that

410
00:27:15,000 –> 00:27:17,800
leads to serving mammon rather
than serving God.

411
00:27:19,080 –> 00:27:22,680
Thanks be to God that we have
all of these warnings and

412
00:27:22,680 –> 00:27:28,480
examples in Scripture that we as
rich men may also be wise in our

413
00:27:28,480 –> 00:27:32,760
knowledge and our understanding,
that we might avoid the pitfalls

414
00:27:32,760 –> 00:27:38,640
that come with wealth and
abundant luxuries, right?

415
00:27:38,800 –> 00:27:41,360
We are here to remember Christ
this morning.

416
00:27:41,880 –> 00:27:45,360
You know Second Corinthians 8-9
says, For you know the grace of

417
00:27:45,600 –> 00:27:50,440
our Lord Jesus Christ, that
though he was rich, yet for your

418
00:27:50,440 –> 00:27:55,360
sakes he became poor, and that
through his poverty you might be

419
00:27:55,360 –> 00:27:58,560
rich.
Christ lived a life that was

420
00:27:58,560 –> 00:28:02,920
fully reliant upon and filled
with thankfulness to His Father.

421
00:28:03,520 –> 00:28:08,280
He did not live a life trusting
in the riches of men, gold,

422
00:28:08,280 –> 00:28:13,240
silver, costly things.
His life was lived in the trust

423
00:28:13,240 –> 00:28:17,120
of His Father.
Christ is our example to follow.

424
00:28:17,280 –> 00:28:19,760
If we do not follow Him, then we
are lost.

425
00:28:20,640 –> 00:28:24,600
We are chasing the wrong ending.
We are friends with the world

426
00:28:24,600 –> 00:28:29,680
and at enmity with God.
I’d like to close by going back

427
00:28:29,680 –> 00:28:36,520
to Revelation chapter 3,
finishing out these verses to

428
00:28:36,520 –> 00:28:40,840
the Laodiceans who lived in
environments characterized by

429
00:28:40,840 –> 00:28:45,560
apathy and lack of commitment
and worldly riches but not being

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00:28:45,560 –> 00:28:49,360
rich for God.
As we read these verses, keep in

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00:28:49,360 –> 00:28:54,760
mind that gold refined by fire
is faith that has been tried.

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00:28:55,480 –> 00:28:59,080
White clothes are a symbol of
righteousness and cover our

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00:28:59,080 –> 00:29:02,560
nakedness.
I salve so that we can see and

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00:29:02,560 –> 00:29:04,600
have a clear vision of God in
our lives.

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00:29:05,400 –> 00:29:10,480
These all come from Christ we
remember this morning.

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00:29:10,480 –> 00:29:12,400
We can acquire them nowhere
else.

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00:29:13,160 –> 00:29:16,080
In Him we find faith,
righteousness, and the vision

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00:29:16,080 –> 00:29:20,800
needed to overcome worldly
riches and instead become rich

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00:29:20,800 –> 00:29:25,520
in God.
Revelation 3 starting in verse

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00:29:25,520 –> 00:29:31,360
14 says, And unto the Church of
the Laodiceans, write these

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00:29:31,360 –> 00:29:34,280
things, sayeth the Amen, the
faithful and true witness, the

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00:29:34,280 –> 00:29:36,000
beginning of the creation of
God.

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00:29:36,840 –> 00:29:40,960
I know thy works, that thou art
neither cold nor hot.

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00:29:41,400 –> 00:29:43,200
I would that you were cold or
hot.

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00:29:43,200 –> 00:29:46,400
So then, because you are
lukewarm and neither cold nor

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00:29:46,400 –> 00:29:52,680
hot, I will spew you out of my
mouth, because you say I am rich

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00:29:53,080 –> 00:29:57,760
and increased with goods, and
have need of nothing, and

448
00:29:57,760 –> 00:30:02,400
knowest not that you are
wretched and miserable, and

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00:30:02,400 –> 00:30:09,000
poor, and blind and naked.
I counsel you to buy of me gold

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00:30:09,000 –> 00:30:15,960
tried in the fire, that you may
be rich and white raiments that

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00:30:15,960 –> 00:30:21,200
you may be clothed, and that the
shame of thy nakedness do not

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00:30:21,200 –> 00:30:23,920
appear And anoint thine eyes
with.

453
00:30:23,920 –> 00:30:28,880
I salve that thou mayest see as
many as I love.

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00:30:29,240 –> 00:30:32,440
I rebuke and chasten.
Be zealous therefore, and

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00:30:32,440 –> 00:30:37,480
repent.
Behold, I stand at the door and

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00:30:37,480 –> 00:30:42,360
knock.
If any man hear my voice and

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00:30:42,360 –> 00:30:47,040
open the door, I will come into
him, and will Sup with him, and

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00:30:47,040 –> 00:30:50,480
he with me.
To him that overcomes will I

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00:30:50,480 –> 00:30:55,120
grant to sit with me and my
throne, even as I also overcame,

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00:30:55,520 –> 00:30:58,000
and him set down with my Father
and his throne.

461
00:30:59,000 –> 00:31:03,640
He that hath an ear to hear, let
him hear what the Spirit says

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00:31:03,760 –> 00:31:20,120
unto the churches.
Thank you for listening to the

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00:31:20,120 –> 00:31:21,680
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00:31:22,520 –> 00:31:24,960
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00:31:24,960 –> 00:31:27,320
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00:31:27,320 –> 00:31:29,080
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470
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00:32:12,160 –> 00:32:14,080
God bless and talk to you next
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