Allen Jackson - Work and Money - Part 1
Continuing the series on God’s plan, promises, and people, this message stresses that God’s inheritance for believers is His promises—not land like Israel’s—but these must be appropriated through choice; focusing on money, it warns against the love of money using multiple Scriptures, contrasts it with cultivating generosity and contentment, and ties to the promise in 2 Corinthians 9:8 of abounding grace for every good work.
God’s Plan Isn’t Just Eternity
I want to continue a study we’ve been working on for two or three sessions under this general theme of “God’s Plan and God’s Promises and God’s People,” and I believe they’re very related. I believe God has a plan not only for His kingdom in the earth, for His church in the earth, but He has a plan for His people.
The goal in our lives isn’t just to be born again, experience a new birth or conversion so we can have a different kind of eternity. The purpose of that new birth into the kingdom is that we can be effective ambassadors for God in our journey through time. Which means He has a plan and a purpose for our lives beyond just eternity.
Your Inheritance: God’s Promises
We can imagine that more clearly with the Jewish people—with the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament—there’s a significant focus that God intended to give them a particular piece of property, a promised land right at the end of the Mediterranean. Today we know it as the modern nation of Israel, but He promised it to Abraham and his descendants forever way back in Genesis. He’s still watching over that promise.
That’s still the inheritance of the Jewish people, but for the larger community of faith, He hasn’t promised us a piece of territory. He didn’t give the Jewish people the land of Israel and those of us with my accent the southeastern parts of the United States. For the non-Jewish people in the kingdom of God, we have been given the land denoted by His promises.
Peter says it so eloquently that our inheritance is the promises of God. God’s provisions for you and me are in His promises. But every promise has to be appropriated. It doesn’t just fall on you.
You Have to Choose—Every Day!
We struggle with this mightily. We adopt a lot of language in Christianity that isn’t helpful—we don’t mean to be destructive, but we’ve adopted platitudes and missed the point that God has given us a choice. One of the great gifts He’s given humanity is the ability to choose—free will. It distinguishes you from the rest of creation.
You’re not an insect driven by programming or an animal driven purely by instinct—like salmon knowing which river to swim back up to spawn and die. God has given us free will, and the opportunity is to choose God. We’re amazingly resistant to that.
We’re reading through Judges now—those generations seem so stubborn. Then I think, oh, it couldn’t be us. But in order to appropriate the promises, we have to choose God—in multiple ways, along multiple decision points, on multiple fronts.
Choice Required for Kingdom Benefits
Our entrance into the kingdom requires that God has made complete provision for our participation. Jesus on the cross won a complete, total, irreversible victory over Satan and his entire kingdom—very good news. But for it to benefit you or me or anyone, we have to choose.
We have to choose Jesus as Lord of our lives. It’s not enough to believe He existed, was a miracle worker, healer, or religious figure. You can believe all those and still miss the kingdom. You have to choose Jesus as Lord.
The same is true with forgiveness—Jesus provided it for all our sin. But for it to become part of our experience, we must forgive those who sin against us and repent—say, “I was thinking wrong and I behaved wrong.”
If you don’t forgive others and repent of your sins, Jesus’s atoning work does not bring forgiveness to you. We together so far? We have to believe the promises, appropriate them for the benefit to accrue to us.
Want Everything God Has? Choose It!
Christians often say, “I just want everything God has for me.” That’s incomplete—like saying, “I just want everything the gym has for me. I drive by it every day—I feel healthier. I even circle the health food store three times... while eating drive-through doughnuts.”
We have this laissez-faire attitude toward faith—that God should track us down and shake us. But the Bible says God is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
I’m not raising the bar or asking you to run faster, jump higher. I want to invite you to an imagination that your relationship with God involves your choice—not just historically, but the choices you made today. Did you choose to honor the Lord today? How did you express, communicate, invest time, energy, focus?
Or do we relegate God to occasional interactions or some past point where we think we got most of our God business done?
Money: God’s Counsel for Better Living
We’ve looked at several promises and steps to appropriate them—like fear, anxiety, worry. We began Sunday with something I want to continue: the general theme of money—which usually takes the air out of the room. We’re not distributing commitment cards or launching a campaign.
It isn’t about separating you from your money. I want to invite you to the notion that God has given counsel on dealing with possessions. If we heed it, it will go better for us. God doesn’t need anything I have—the earth and everything in it belongs to Him.
I’m on a temporary assignment—God entrusted me some small portion of His overall asset base. I’m not taking it beyond time. Somebody else will take my baton. But what we do with our assets in that brief period has significant impact on our opportunities in eternity.
Who knew? It’s biblical—Jesus discussed money more than prayer. But we don’t talk about it much. Today: work and money—two exciting topics. Thank you for your enthusiastic response.
The Promise: Sow Generously, Reap Abundantly
I’ll start in 2 Corinthians 9—our promise: “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will reap generously. Each person should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
So far it’s background: What you harvest reflects what you sow. Summertime in Tennessee—if you want green beans, new potatoes, tomatoes, you won’t get them planting alfalfa. Connection between planting and harvest.
Paul told Corinthians: Sow sparingly, small harvest. Culmination: God loves a generous, cheerful giver.
Cultivate Generosity—It’s Supernatural!
Baseline we want to cultivate—with time, attention, energy, possessions—is the spirit of generosity. Not natural, not normal—like sharing. We’re selfish by nature; generosity reflects cooperation with the Spirit of God.
Then the promise in verse 8: “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”
Wow—that’s amazing. If you ask for one verse reflecting biblical abundance, this is the best I know: God causes all grace to abound—unearned, unmerited favor. So in all things, at all times, we can have all we need. That’s a blessing.
The Love of Money: Biblical Warnings
I want to read three or four verses, then comment. Theme is obvious. Ecclesiastes 5:10: “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.”
Luke 16—Jesus teaching: “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
Absolute statement from Jesus. Pharisees, who loved money, heard this and sneered at Jesus. Interesting—the most religious, while Jesus teaches, heckle, mock, show derision. Not even pretending to practice it.
There are still people who sneer at Jesus—religious, influential, powerful. Mistake: Wanting approval from the wrong group—when they sneer, we distance ourselves. Step close to Jesus, no matter who sneers. Not easy.
What Men Value, God Detests
Jesus to Pharisees: “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.”
Build that into your portfolio about possessions: Highly valued among men—detestable to God. Our valuation system—God looks and says, foolish. That should get our attention.
Messaging orients us like people with little knowledge or interest in the kingdom. If we build lives, assets, security identically with those who care nothing about God’s kingdom—we’re on the wrong path.
Love of Money Roots Evil—Guard Your Heart
1 Timothy 6—Paul to young Timothy: “We brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap, into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.”
Doesn’t say wealth is bad—Bible never does. Misquote: “Money is the root of all evil.” No—“The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
Cautionary—attitude toward money can bring God’s blessings or tremendous pain. Best to know the difference. Not having money doesn’t exempt you.
Hebrews 13: “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”
Envy Breeds Every Evil Practice
One phrase repeated: love of money. Whoever loves money—never enough. Pharisees loved money, sneered at Jesus’s counsel—liked their plan better. Love of money—root of all kinds of evil. Keep lives free from it—antidote: contentment.
James 3: “Where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.” Envy—you want what someone else has, think you have right to it. That message thunders across culture today.
Key Observations on Money Attitudes
Observations from passages:
1. Love of money is a problem—biblically. You can’t love money and love God. Don’t have to hate money—but guard your heart, let Holy Spirit help inventory.
Evidence everywhere—professional athletes’ crazy contracts. Parents push kids young: “One day you’ll get that contract.” Is that highest ambition for your child? Plant that in their hearts—rearrange life to succeed in sport?
I like sports—played them once (peach baskets, dinosaurs). But didn’t imagine they held my future. Ambition: skill set and character bringing God’s blessings.
Messaging is profound, immense, unrelenting.
2. You don’t have to have money to love money. Can be broke and love it. Most of us have been there. Politicians use it—telling you deserve someone else’s money. We need Holy Spirit’s help.
3. Don’t resent people with more money. We think they did something inappropriate. “I worked hard, honored God—they got more, must be ungodly.” Resentment, bitterness blocks God’s blessings—like unforgiveness.
Celebrate others, be grateful.
Big Churches? Same Principle Applies
Example: Heard “big churches are a problem”? “I’d never go to a big church.” Many say it—journals full of pastors saying why big churches bad.
Follow-up: Pastor who says big churches bad—what chance he leads growth? Slim to none—attitude prevents blessing, fruitfulness.
Same if wrong attitude about possessions—resent those who have some. If you love money, God can’t bring it—He loves you too much to give what would destroy you.
Listen to what God said. We hide wallets at church thinking someone wants it. God doesn’t need it—giving benefits us, changes heart. Attitudes toward stuff enormously impact promise fulfillment.
4. Envy, covetousness, greed, discontentment—not just rich people’s problems. Many with lots aren’t envious—it’s us looking, thinking we should have more.
We don’t compare to Bezos—just neighbors: bigger TV, lawn mower deck, labels in kids’ clothes, better schools, golf clubs, guns. Leaves us envious, discontented—blocks blessings.
Solution: Declare Contentment Today!
Solution—not overly clever, but if that’s a battle: Stand in front yard, face each neighbor individually: “I declare you the winner. Best snow blower, lawn mower, superior TV, better appliances, tasteful house—Martha Stewart your cousin? I’m opting out. I’m content.”
That opens life to God’s good things beyond imagination.
5. Cultivate contentment—of great value, biblical. Not complacency—there’s difference.