Tony Evans - Rich In Good Works

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Paul wrote 1 Timothy to Timothy. There were three classes of people, like there are today. There’s the poor, the middle class, and the upper class. There are three classes. The first class, the lowest class, was the slave class. Now, if you were a slave, you owned nothing. You owned nothing and you eke out a living. You didn’t have many changes of clothes in your lifetime, no ownership. You did everything you could just to get by because you were a slave. That was the lowest you could go. And so, the slaves were always the poor.

The next group up was the middle class. Back in biblical days, these people had their own dwelling. They could own a place to live and they had some possessions. They could get a change of clothes here and there and that would be called middle class: the rich. The biblical word for rich means to have an abundance. So, they didn’t just eke by like the slave, nor were they limited to the basics. They had extra money or extra clothing or larger premises. They could anticipate eating over an extended period of time because they had an abundance.

So, let’s review. If you were a slave, you were trying to make it. If you were middle class, you had the basics, but not much more. If you had more than the basics in biblical days, you would be in the category of being considered rich. Now he says to the folks who are middle class, who have the basics, in verse 8, «If we have food and covering with these, we shall be content». So he says, «Before we even talk about rich, let’s talk about the folks who have the basic, food, clothes, and shelter. If you have food, clothes, and shelter,» he says, «You should not be known for your complaining».

Contentment means to be at ease where you are until something changes. So, if you’re known for complaining and you have food, clothes, and shelter, that means you’re discontent, which means you’re ungrateful, which means you’ve ticked God off. Because that means that gratitude is not your normative thing because you have not risen to this level of rich that you may want to ascend to. The book of Proverbs over and over again says the way to become rich is to be productive and to work hard. So, the Bible is not against the fact that there are many who fit this category of abundance, more than enough, called rich. But he also wants you to know that riches have a side effect.

Verse 17, «Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited. The more you get, the greater possibility is you begin thinking wrong». You begin thinking more highly of yourself, myself, than we ought to think. You become self-absorbed, conceited, thinking you’re better than other people. You begin to develop this arrogance. You get stuck up and saditty. He said, «You tell them Timothy, you tell them Evans, you tell them just because now they have gone from the apartment to the house, from the bus to the car, from the old car to the new car, from Sears and Roebuck to Neiman Marcus, you let them know to not allow riches to have a side effect». Becoming rich has side effects because it can give you a conceited attitude.

Folks, you used to sit next to, you can’t sit next to anymore. But he says, «You warn them not to get stuck up because now they have a little bit more green back in their pocket than they’ve had before, more influence than they’ve had before,» because the worst thing in the world is a stuck-up saint who’s forgotten that they are who they are and they are where they are by the grace of God. That’s a stuck-up Christian. He says, «Warn them about the side effects and to not fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches». He says riches are uncertain. They can be here today and gone tomorrow. You may be doing fine right now, but it can change on the dime.

Have you ever had extra money? And so, you were feeling good because you got that bonus, you got that income tax return check, and you’re feeling pretty good about yourself, and then something breaks down you didn’t count on. Something goes left, a sickness hits, something that wasn’t part of the plan and what you thought was extra has now become not enough because what you thought was certain when you first saw it, something changed in your circumstance and all of a sudden, you jumped categories. You went from rich to middle class or you may have gone from poor to poor because there is an uncertainty. So, he says, «Don’t put all of your marbles in the money basket». He doesn’t complain that you are rich because he says, «Instruct those who are».

So, for everybody who’s in the abundant category, you have more than enough to meet your needs. This is not talking about all the illegitimate debt you have accumulated that makes you think you’re poor when you’re actually rich, but you’re only actually poor because you made yourself that way. The way Psalm 62, verse 10 says, «If you get rich, don’t set your heart on it». In other words, don’t let the stuff you have grab your heart, grab your affections, grab your love. Now this is going somewhere because this is really not about… it’s about money, but it’s not about money. It’s about something else. You’ll see in a moment. He says, «But set your hope on God who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy».

Okay, so here’s some more good news. If God gave it, it’s okay to enjoy it. If you got it legitimately and are using it legitimately, then you can enjoy it legitimately. Ecclesiastes makes it clear. In Ecclesiastes chapter 5, verses 18 to 20, it says, «God gives you the gifts of life,» and those gifts he actually expects you to enjoy. You don’t have to feel guilty about it, you don’t have to apologize about it, you don’t have to let other people make you feel bad, that you have legitimately accumulated it. He says, «God expects you to enjoy the good things in life». Lord knows life has got enough bad things, so if you get to enjoy some good things because of God’s provision, Ecclesiastes 5:18–20 says, «Enjoy yourself». You got it legitimately, you’re using it legitimately, and you’re enjoying it legitimately. He gives you all things and he gives it to you richly. He says to enjoy.

So, we set the stage. All that was the introduction. We set the stage. We got one of three classes of people here today. We may have some poor, definitely have some middle class, and we got both of those groups wanting to be rich. And many in that category too. He said, «Now I want you to go deeper in your teaching, Timothy,» verse 18, «Instruct them. Teach the saints at Ephesus Bible Fellowship. Instruct them to do good and be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share». Now our series is called «Second,» having to do with what you do for others. We’re to love God first, we are to touch others second. He says, «I want them to do good and I want them to be rich in good works».

So, here it is. The richer God makes you with money, the richer you should be with good works. If your money is going up, but your good works are going down, you have now created a spiritual disconnect with God. If you’re wanting to be blessed, but are unwilling to be a blessing because you’ve so focused on being blessed and not being a blessing. You have created now a spiritual disconnect between first and second. Because the more generous God is to you, the more generous he wants to be able to move through you. And that expression is called good works. Notice, he doesn’t want you to do good works, he wants you to be rich in doing good works. Because why? Because you are rich. He says, «Instruct the rich, those who have an abundance, to have an abundance in good works».

So, now let’s define good works. Good works are not good things. A sinner can do good things. You don’t have to be a Christian to do good things. An atheist can do good things. You don’t have to be a Christian to do good things, but only Christians can do good works. So, let me define a good work. A good work is a divinely authorized activity that benefits somebody else in need for which God gets the glory and for which you do not expect a return.

So, let me define it again. Good works are divinely authorized actions that benefit somebody else in need to which God’s name is attached for which you do not expect that person that you help to return the favor, okay? A sinner can do good things, but he is not obligated to attach God to it. He can do it and tell you, «I don’t believe in God,» because God is not the motivating factor. Humanitarianism may be, his love for mankind may be, but the driver…how does Matthew put it, Matthew 5:13? He says, «Let men see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven». Not glorify their Father, glorify your Father because you’re doing it in His name. Glorify means the advertiser put on display.

So, you’re not just supposed to do good things. In fact, I get, like you get in the mail or knocking on our door, even knocking on the door of our church, to ask us to do things that are good things. But often they will put a proviso, don’t attach God to it. Okay, we want you to do this good thing, but we don’t want the divine attachment. Well that’s a good thing, it’s not a good work. God recognizes good works that he is attached to. So, if I have to leave God out to do it, I’ve done a good thing which any sinner can do. What I’ve not done is a good work which only God can be attached to. In addition, it’s only a good work if I’m not demanding a return.

In Luke chapter 6, in verse 30, we find these words. He says, «Give to everyone who asks you and whoever takes away whatever is yours do not demand it back. Treat others in the same way you want them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what credit is it that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do that. If you lend to those whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. But love your enemies and do good. Lend expecting nothing in return and your reward will be great».

So, what he says there is that when you do a good work, that is, you do something that’s divinely authorized that benefits somebody else in need, in a way that attaches it to God without demanding anything in return, what you have just done is gotten God’s undivided attention. Okay, stay with me because we’re talking about how to supersize God in your life. Hebrews 13:16 says, «Do not neglect doing good and sharing because it pleases God». You want to make God smile? Be rich in good works. Be wealthy in good works. You have now garrisoned God’s attention.

Now to do that, you’re going to have to set up margins in your life where this is possible. And what he says is, «I want you to be rich in good works». He says be generous, write a check, but don’t let the check get you out of the work. Because what a lot of people do is write a check so they don’t have to work. They write a check to assuage their guilt about the need, unwilling to get their hands dirty with the process. They don’t want to associate with that need.

Now, as I said last week, you can’t meet all needs. The needs you see, the needs that God, the Holy Spirit causes you to feel, and then the needs you have some capacity to meet, those are the ones. But the point is the spirit of being rich. So, let me ask you a question. Based on your status, how much wealth is in your good works. In other words, based on your status, because see, in a lot of places, they have to depend on the poor to do the work because the rich don’t have time. They’ve got to depend on the poor or the middle to do the work because the rich are too sophisticated. And so, rather than being rich in works, they’re just rich in money while poor in work, which has created a gap with God.

Now stay with me because we haven’t got to the sermon yet. So, good works includes your involvement, your engagement. Yes it involves the check but it involves also the service. He says, «I want you to be ready to share. I want you to set your life up in such a way where you’re ready». When the Holy Spirit brings it to you, you’re able to respond because you’ve got some leftover for it. You’ve got some time set aside. You’ve decided, «Two hours once a month, I’m gonna give to serving this». You’ve created a readiness to share. Or as Ephesians 4:28 says that, «You work hard with your hands not only to take care of your family, but so that you have something with which to share». So, you have created this margin over here for sharing purposes.

Now the only reason he’s writing verse 17 and 18 is to teach you verse 19. Because this is all about verse 19. He says, «If you explain this to the rich and you get them doing being rich and wealthy and good works, here’s what I want you to tell them. Storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed». Okay, now we’re into supersizing. He says, «When they are rich in good works, they have created their own storage». He says, «You tell the rich to be rich in good works because when they are storing it up, they are actually, in doing good works, building a storage for themselves».

Okay, he says that what God wants to do is give you back what you’ve stored up. But if you haven’t stored anything up, then when you have a need, you have nothing to withdraw to come back your way. So, one of the reasons a lot of people are not experiencing more of God is their storage is empty because they’ve only been concerned about what they have done for them, accumulated for them, and not good works transferred from them. And therefore their storage is empty. You see, he says, «In order for this to work you must be future-oriented. If you are spiritually future-oriented, you are setting yourself up for,» watch this, «life indeed».

Now what does that mean? Let me define life. When the moment you accepted Christ, you received eternal life. That is, the life of God. Now, if you’ve accepted Christ, he’s taken residence in you. But life indeed is not merely the residence of God in you, but the experience of the God who is in you operating through you. So, life is indeed is a deeper experience of God’s reality at work in you. It is prayers being answered. It is miracles being done. It is solutions being made. It’s God letting you know, «I’m right here with you. I’m operating in you. I’m doing stuff for you». It is life indeed. One day you’re gonna need to withdraw from your storage.

When you need to withdraw from your storage, God’s gonna open up your storage and check out your good works. If he opens up that storage and see you’ve only been concerned with me, myself, and I, accumulating for yourself without being a beneficiary to others, then what you have is nothing in there for him to bring back to you for when you need life indeed. And I can guarantee you there is going to come a time in all of our lives when we’re going to need life indeed. When just being saved won’t be enough. We’re gonna need divine intervention. We’re gonna need divine solutions. We’re gonna need, because we will face times in our lives when our riches can’t buy us out of it, our friends can’t deliver us from it, our contacts can’t change it. We’re gonna have a time when only God has to get in here and turn this thing around.

And when that time comes, he’s gonna open up your storage to see what your good works are for the benefit of others so that he can bring it back to you. You remember the saying, «What goes around comes around». What he’s saying is, «If I have been able to work through you, then when you need me to work to you, you have given me the raw materials to work with because you’re future-oriented. You’re future-oriented». So, what he’s talking about is a new vibrant experience with God or eternal life being made manifest in your circumstances. When you are in your situation that your tune-ups can’t fix, when you’re in your situation that your check book can’t get you out of, will there be enough goodness in your life for God to give you the miracle that you need, which is life indeed raising you up out of your situation, raising you up out of your crisis, raising you up out of your difficulty.

I want all of you to go as high as you can legitimately go with your spiritual priorities intact in this present world. He’s talking about this present world. If you’re able to maximize your potential with spiritual priorities intact, then do that. Do all you can. But as your income rises, make sure your good works are rising right with it. As your resources rise, make sure your sensitivity rises with it. While you’re writing out your check to the church or writing out your check to whatever you write out your check to, make sure that you’re getting and taking advantages of opportunities to serve to use some of your time and some of your talent. Don’t say, «God, well I wrote a check». God says, «I’m looking for the work».

Listen, don’t spend your life climbing the ladder of success and when you get to the top find out it was leaning against the wrong wall. I’m gonna show you a person who did that. Our closing verse, Luke chapter 12. Let’s look at my boy in Luke chapter 12, verse 13, «Someone in the crowd came to Jesus, 'Teacher tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.' But he said, 'Man, who appointed me as a judge and an operative over you? ' He said, 'Beware and be on guard against every form of greed, for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist in his possessions.'»

So, your life and your stuff aren’t the same thing. And he says, «In the land there was a rich man, very productive. And he began reasoning to himself,» watch it when you start reasoning to yourself, «saying, 'What shall I do since I have no place to store my crops? ' Then he said, 'This is what I will do. I will tear down my barns and build large ones. And there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I said to my soul, '» watch it when your soul start talking, «I said to my soul, 'So, you have many good things laid up for many years to come. Take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry, ' but God». Next verse says, but God. «But God said to him, 'You fool. This very night your soul is required of you, and now who will own what you have prepared? '»

So, is the man who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. The problem was not that this guy was rich, it was he was only rich for him. It was all about, «It’s my goods and my crop, it’s my retirement and my ease, it’s my pleasure, it’s me, me, me, me, me». But he had nothing to show for God and he became a fool because he spent his life. It is more important that your ladder is against the right wall. It’s not as important how many rungs are in that ladder. It is absolutely critical that as God blesses your crops, as we trust he will, that you bless others because he’s blessed you so that when God looks and calls your number, you have been rich toward God.

One day I’m gonna be up here and you’re gonna be up here in a box. And the attendants are gonna close the box. On that day, it will not matter to you what you left behind. That’s irrelevant to you. It won’t matter to you. On that day when they close the box, it will not matter what was left behind. The only thing that will matter on that day is what you forwarded ahead. And if you didn’t forward it ahead, it was a waste while you had it down here. Woe is the man who is rich, but not rich toward God. Get as rich as you can legitimately get, but also while you’re getting up to that next level, make sure you’re dragging your good works with you so you have a storage on that day.