Not By Worldly Wealth - Apr. 9th, 2023
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· 10 viewsIf you are truly and biblically prepared to die, it stands to reason that you are also prepared for the resurrection of your mortal body, of which Christ is the first-begotten from the dead. One day, as a believer, you, like Enoch and Elijah of old, along with all the saints of God will be "received" when the Trump of God shall sound, and the dead in Christ shall rise to meet Him in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. O death where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The last enemy to be destroyed is death, therefore, we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us, and gave Himself for us.
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Formal Elements / Descriptive Data
Text: a complete thought-unit of Scripture providing the sermon’s basis
Central Idea of the Text (CIT): details of text summarized in a complete, past tense sentence
Proposition: major idea of sermon summarized in a complete sentence using present, active, future indicative or imperative mood; in direct relationship to the CIT
Statement of Purpose:
(1) Major Objective (MO) – only ONE of six possible (doctrinal, devotional ethical, evangelistic, consecrative, or supportive)
(2) Specific Objective (SO) – focuses on only one; calls for specific action (“I want my hearer to . . . “)
Title (Topic/Name): 2 to 4 words with a key or arrow word usually common to all major ideas; innovative, interesting, contemporary; indicative of general sermon content; not sensational or cute
Informal Elements / Rhetorical Data
Introduction:
Introduction:
Get Attention/Raise Need/Orient Theme/State Purpose
- strong, attractive, and interesting opening sentence
No one can escape ultimate corruption by means of wealth.
You can’t take it with you. Many are the biographies of those who had wealth and temporary pleasures, prestige and power, but no peace, no lasting comfort, only a veneer of stimulation over emptiness and anxiety. They ended life with nothing. [Essential Bible Companion]
- personal and social material; personal bridge; social bridge
Faith is misplaced when we trust in worldly wealth instead of God for redemption.
Sign in undertaker’s office: “Try our layaway plan.” —Farmer’s Almanac
May you be in heaven a full half hour before the Devil knows you’re dead. —Irish blessing
When I die, I want to go peacefully like my grandfather who died when the others in the car were screaming.
Old rockhounds never die; they just slowly petrify.
Old skiers never die, they just go downhill.
Old optometrists never die, they just lose their looks.
Old salesmen never die, they just lose their line.
Old tennis players never die, they just lose their bounce.
Old podiatrists never die, they just lose their souls.
Old postmen never die, they just lose their zip.
Old gardeners never die, they just spade away.
Old realtors never die, they just become listless.
Old hunters never die, they just stay loaded.
Old teachers never die, they just lose their class.
Old opticians never die, they just lose their contacts.
Old doctors never die, they just lose their patience.
Old architects never die, they just change their plans.
Old secretaries never die, they just lose their touch.
Old plumbers never die, they just drain away.
Old cooks never die, they just go to pot.
Old farmers never die, they just get plowed under.
Old bankers never die, they just lose their interest.
Old dentists never die, they just get down in the mouth.
Old fishermen never die, they just smell that way.
Old deans never die, they just lose their faculties.
Old policemen never die, they just take arrest.
Old quarterbacks never die, they just pass away.
Old statisticians never die, they just average out.
Old musicians never die, they just decompose.
Old accountants never die, they just lose their balance.
Old anesthesiologists never die, they just run out of gas.
Old procrastinators never die, they just keep putting it off.
Old quilters never die, they just go to pieces.
When D. L. Moody was rushed home to Massachusetts after a sudden illness during a western crusade, he said to his son, “Earth recedes, heaven opens before me. If this is death, it is sweet. There is no valley here. God is calling me and I must go. This is my coronation day. It is glorious.”
—Leslie B. Flynn
[Zuck, Speaker’s Quote Book]
- textual material (CIT); textual bridge
13 This their way is their folly:
Yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah.
14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave;
Death shall feed on them;
And the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning;
And their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.
15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave:
For he shall receive me. Selah.
- focus the sermon’s intent (Proposition)
Spiritual Concern for what will happen after we die. A concern to invest in something that will last and bring about true prosperity.
The truth about money: left to the world's economy it can only corrupt; therefore, prepare wisely for your coming resurrection.
Why we're tempted to trust in worldly wealth rather than God for what will happen after we die.
Understand the deceptive nature of wealth.
Examine the genuine object of your faith.
Renew your hope in the truth of Jesus Christ's resurrection power.
Live today looking forward to grand reception.
- relational and transitional material; structural bridge
Fifty-five Psalms are committed to the care of the Chief Musician. This is the first of them. It was David himself who introduced music and song into the national worship, and the Chief Musician appears to have been the Director of Music with a special collection of Psalms in his care (1 Chr 6:31, 32; 15:16–22; 25:1, 7). “Neginoth” indicates stringed instruments, rather than wind instruments, and was probably a direction as to the preferred accompaniment of the Psalms so entitled. The structure of this Psalm is very similar to that of Psalm 3. Again there are four stanzas of two verses each, with the “Selah” at the end of the first and second stanza. It is thought that the “Selah” at the end of Psalm 3 may be a connecting link between the morning and the evening hymns.
[J. M. Flanigan, Psalms, What the Bible Teaches (John Ritchie, 2001), 26.]
In the inscription, the sons of Korah are mentioned, but there is no general agreement about the preposition which links them with the Psalm. Is it “for”, or “by”, or “to”, the sons of Korah? The singular pronouns in the Psalm may indicate one Psalmist, this being an argument against a multiple authorship of the sons of Korah. But whichever preposition may be the correct one, the important consideration is that this is a Psalm which in some way may be appreciated by the posterity of a man who, having instigated a rebellion against Moses, perished beneath the severe judgment of God (Num 16). Korah was a cousin of Moses who had joined with Dathan and Abiram in the revolt and had died in the judgment with them. He perished, with 250 men, but, as Numbers 26:11 records, “The children of Korah died not”, and now his descendants are remembered in this and other Psalms. These sons of Korah are frequently mentioned in connection with the temple service, both as singers and as doorkeepers (1 Chr 9:19; 26:1; 2 Chr 20:19). Heman, the first of the Masters of Song appointed by David, was a descendant of Korah. They were, as Plumer says, “A Levitical family of singers”. With what dedication and gratitude they must have engaged in the holy service for which they had been preserved when their rebellious father had died.
Some think that this Psalm is David’s. Plumer writes, “There is reason for regarding David as the author … It well suits the case of David in his long exile from Jerusalem in the days of Saul … The geographical position of David in his exile corresponds with that noted in v. 6, the land of Jordan and of Hermon … The great weight of authority is on the side of the Davidic authorship”. He then quotes some fourteen authorities, and refers to the Septuagint, Vulgate, Ethiopic and Syriac versions which all give David as the author of Psalm 43 which is so intimately connected with Psalm 42. Spurgeon remarks, rather quaintly, “It is so Davidic, it smells of the son of Jesse, it bears the marks of his style and experience in every letter”. Regarding the obvious relation between Psalms 42 and 43, several Hebrew manuscripts connect them as one Psalm, but, as Dr Cohen comments, “All the Ancient Versions, however, divide them, so that the separation, if such took place, must have occurred at an early date”. See also the Introduction in the commentary on Psalm 43.
Psalm 42 has been called the “Lament of an Exile”. It is a plaintive cry from the heart of an exile longing for Jerusalem and for the courts of the Lord. If the Psalm is considered in conjunction with Psalm 43 it will be noticed that there are three stanzas, of almost equal size, each concluding with almost identical words in vv. 5 and 11 of Psalm 42, and v. 5 of Psalm 43.
[J. M. Flanigan, Psalms, What the Bible Teaches (John Ritchie, 2001), 190–191.]
The structure of this Psalm is simple and clear, consisting of an introduction (1–4), and two stanzas of eight verses each (5–12, 13–20), each of which stanzas ends with a refrain.
[W. Graham Scroggie, A Comprehensive Analysis of the Psalms: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Psalms, vol. 1, The Guide to the Psalms (WORDsearch, 2014), 277.]
Body – Development – Outline:
I. State major idea drawn directly from the text, in a brief, complete sentence using present active, future indicative or imperative mood, strong verbs (avoid “to be” and its forms); (vs ?)
I. An Introductory Call for All - Listen & Learn (Ps. 49:1-4)
I. An Introductory Call for All - Listen & Learn (Ps. 49:1-4)
1 Hear this, all ye people;
Give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world:
2 Both low and high,
Rich and poor, together.
3 My mouth shall speak of wisdom;
And the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.
4 I will incline mine ear to a parable:
I will open my dark saying upon the harp.
Explanation (EXP): from only the selected text; 3rd person pronouns; past tense; express the “then-ness” aspect of the text itself in its historical context
Unlike the previous three Psalms, there is nothing either historical or national in Psalm 49. Plumer alludes to Henry, who says, “This Psalm is a sermon. In most of the Psalms we have the penman praying or praising. Here we have him preaching … The scope and design of this discourse is to convince the men of this world of their sin and folly in setting their hearts upon the things of this world, and to persuade them to seek the things of a better world; as also to comfort the people of God, in reference to their own troubles, and the grief that arises from the prosperity of the wicked”.
The Psalmist deals with a problem with which philosophers have struggled for centuries, and have never yet resolved, that is, the harmonising of a man’s character with his lot in things material. Why do the wicked so often seem to prosper, and why do the upright often endure poverty? It seems to many that wealth and influence are power, to be envied, but the Psalmist will show, in Dr Cohen’s words, that death is indeed the leveller. No riches can buy immunity from death. It is the common lot of rich and poor alike. As the more modern poet, Gray, has so aptly expressed it:—
The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e’er gave,
Await alike the inevitable hour;
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
[J. M. Flanigan, Psalms, What the Bible Teaches (John Ritchie, 2001), 219.]
Illustration (ILL): fresh, interesting, believable, clearly shed light on this specific portion of the text and on this particular idea being developed; use different sources (use only 1 personal and 1 biblical ill. per sermon)
Application (APP): specific; carry out the stated purpose expressed in the major and specific objectives; 1st and 2nd person pronouns; action-centered; relevant; express the “now-ness” aspect
In the misplaced trust of wicked world rulers (i.e., wealth's tendency toward corruption).
In the persecution of those who lack the monetary resources to stand up against the attacks of those with means who wickedly usurp the advantage over the weak (e.g., lawsuits against Christians because of their beliefs in biblical values, discrimination against anyone who doesn't endorse the LGBTQ++ agenda [adoption, etc.], extortion, racketeering, etc.).
In the advancement of entities with twisted agendas (e.g., NEA, compromised Unions, Liberation Theology Activists, Political Parties, etc.)
A wicked-rich land owners, industries that enable immorality and trafficking (i.e., Porn, Hollywood, Pop Culture, SM Influencers, etc.)
Wealthy corrupted corporate businesses.
Transitional Sentence (TS): sentence indicates change and progression to next major idea; use the unifying word
II. A Warning: Worldly Wealth Cannot Overcome Death (Ps. 49:5-12)
II. A Warning: Worldly Wealth Cannot Overcome Death (Ps. 49:5-12)
5 Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil,
When the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?
6 They that trust in their wealth,
And boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;
7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother,
Nor give to God a ransom for him:
8 (For the redemption of their soul is precious,
And it ceaseth for ever:)
9 That he should still live for ever,
And not see corruption.
10 For he seeth that wise men die,
Likewise the fool and the brutish person perish,
And leave their wealth to others.
11 Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever,
And their dwelling places to all generations;
They call their lands after their own names.
12 Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not:
He is like the beasts that perish.
EXP:
Verse 11 elaborates on the dangers of wealth. Material possessions have only the illusion of lasting. How often are we promised that we have a “lifetime guarantee” on a purchase? Products are marketed to us as “unbreakable,” “waterproof,” “rust-free.” One ad even tells us that “a diamond is forever.” It may be, but we’re not.
Moreover, the wealthy “call their lands after their own names,” that is, they secure their lands legally in their own names. This, again, gives us the illusion of immortality. We think that we really possess things, but we don’t. I recall, when I was younger, the shock of seeing houses which I had known my whole life being demolished in order to put in a new freeway. There was something unnerving in seeing them torn down and carted away. My stable world was shaken.
The conclusion is that we are all a part of the passing show. “Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not remain.” Humanity, however honored, “is like the beasts that perish” (v. 12).
One of German Field Marshal Rommel’s most cherished medals was the Iron Cross, which he always wore around his neck. He received this decoration for bravery in World War I. Years after his death, his biographer visited a small museum where some of his effects were kept. There, he found the cross, dusty and forgotten, in a small box. “Man, though in honor, does not remain.”
[Donald Williams and Lloyd J. Ogilvie, Psalms 1–72, vol. 13, The Preacher’s Commentary Series (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1986), 375–376.]
ILL:
Two friends met on the street. One said to the other, “Did you know that Sam died?”
“Is that right. Did he leave anything?”
“Yeah, everything!” [SQB]
TS:
The Call Is for All: Listen well and Learn the parabolic truth about the deceitfulness of riches. Heed the warning: Worldly wealth can never overcome the strength of sin and the sting of death. Two of the greatest words in the Bible are, “But God . . .”
III. The Promise: God Will Redeem the Believer (Ps. 49:13-20)
III. The Promise: God Will Redeem the Believer (Ps. 49:13-20)
13 This their way is their folly:
Yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah.
14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave;
Death shall feed on them;
And the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning;
And their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.
15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave:
For he shall receive me. Selah.
16 Be not thou afraid when one is made rich,
When the glory of his house is increased;
17 For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away:
His glory shall not descend after him.
18 Though while he lived he blessed his soul:
And men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself.
19 He shall go to the generation of his fathers;
They shall never see light.
20 Man that is in honour, and understandeth not,
Is like the beasts that perish.
EXP:
Psalm 49 forces us to consider our lives and to understand that the only issue that counts is redeeming our souls from death. Once we are clear about this, we are prepared to die. This psalm has done its work.
[Donald Williams and Lloyd J. Ogilvie, Psalms 1–72, vol. 13, The Preacher’s Commentary Series (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1986), 377.]
If you are truly and biblically prepared to die, it stands to reason that you are also prepared for the resurrection of your mortal body, of which Christ is the first-begotten from the dead. One day, as a believer, you, like Enoch and Elijah of old, along with all the saints of God will be "received" when the Trump of God shall sound, and the dead in Christ shall rise to meet Him in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. O death where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The last enemy to be destroyed is death, therefore, we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us, and gave Himself for us.
In Psalm 16:9–11, David was confident he would not be abandoned to Sheol, for “You make known to me the life path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (16:11). There is no hint of danger or sickness in the context of Psalm 16, so David was hoping for something more than the postponement of death.51 Mortality did not negate a future deliverance. God would vindicate the righteous, showing faithfulness to his own, and if this could be fully attained only after death, then God could be trusted to raise the dead.52 The NT certainly applied Psalm 16 in a resurrection context. Peter quoted 16:8–11 in order to explain why “it was not possible for [Jesus] to be held” by death (Acts 2:24). Psalm 16 should be read as a hope for rescue after death.53 Other psalms also hold forth a resurrection hope (such as 49:16 [Eng. 49:15]; 71:20; 73:24). Bauckham is right that hope for resurrection life beyond death is found “especially in the Psalms.”54
Within the Little Apocalypse of Isaiah 24–27, there is a promise in 26:19 that God’s people will see life again: “Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead.”55 The notion of bodily resurrection is clear because the verse speaks of dead bodies rising from the dust. While a corporate application isn’t necessarily excluded, Robert Martin-Achart rightly notes, “The author of Isa 26:19 is not, like Ezekiel, envisaging the political revival of the nation; he is not even speaking about an event that would concern all Israel; he is thinking only of certain members of the chosen People, of those to whom ‘thy dead’ refer.”56 To underscore the plain sense of Isaiah 26:19, Sawyer says its resurrection meaning is something “which no-one but a Sadducee, ancient or modern, could possibly misconstrue.”57
Regarding the clarity and fullness of expressing resurrection hope in the OT, Daniel 12:2 is unmatched:58 “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”59
[Mitchell L. Chase, “‘From Dust You Shall Arise:’ Resurrection Hope in the Old Testament,” The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology 18, no. 4 (2014): 23–24.]
ILL:
Is death the last sleep? No, it is the final awakening. —Sir Walter Scott
Death is the golden chariot that ushers us into the presence of God. —Tertullian
People have not learned to live who have not learned to die. —Jim Elliot
Benjamin Franklin composed this epitaph for himself:
The body of
B. Franklin, printer,
(Like the cover of an old book,
its contents torn out and
stripped of its lettering and guilding)
lies here, food for worms.
But the work shall not be lost;
for it will (as he believed)
appear once more,
in a new and more elegant edition
revised and corrected
by the Author. [SQB]
APP:
Here the context suggests redemption from the curse of death itself to resurrection light (see Psalm 17:15; Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:2).
15 As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness:
I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
19 Thy dead men shall live,
Together with my dead body shall they arise.
Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust:
For thy dew is as the dew of herbs,
And the earth shall cast out the dead.
2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Although Christians can be said to be already redeemed by the blood of Christ (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14; 1 Peter 1:18–19; see Galatians 3:13)
7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
they still await the redemption of the body (Romans 8:23; see Luke 21:28).
23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
On the day when Christ returns in glory the dead in Christ will be raised incorruptible and those believers who are alive at the time will be changed and be for ever with the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:52–53; 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17).
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
[Philip Eveson, The Book of Psalms: From Suffering to Glory, vol. 1, Welwyn Commentary Series (Welwyn Garden City, UK: EP, 2014–2015), 314.]
God is asserting his uniqueness over against idols which can do nothing. Greenspoon, again, is correct: “Since there is perhaps no other action of God’s which displays the totality and uniqueness of His power more forcefully than the process by which He restores His dead to life
[Mitchell L. Chase, “‘From Dust You Shall Arise:’ Resurrection Hope in the Old Testament,” The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology 18, no. 4 (2014): 23.]
TS:
The pharaohs made great efforts to make sure all their treasures went with them into the afterlife but all to no avail. Paul likewise reminds us,
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
[Philip Eveson, The Book of Psalms: From Suffering to Glory, vol. 1, Welwyn Commentary Series (Welwyn Garden City, UK: EP, 2014–2015), 314.]
This may look like using wealth to protect against the encroachment of our liberties (i.e., David used wealth to defend God's people with military power).
Or maintaining entities that promote the propagation of biblical morals and values (i.e., both Moses & Solomon used wealth to build places of worship where people could be instructed in the way of the Lord).
Or in helping those who have been targeted by the wicked-rich (i.e., Joses using his wealth to support those who couldn't support themselves in the Jerusalem church simply because they had decided to follow Jesus and the religious elite put them in their cross-hairs; or the churches of Macedonia with whom Paul sought to take up a collection for "the poor saints at Jerusalem.").
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
[Wiersbe - He] once saw a quaint inscription on a gravestone in an old British cemetery not far from Windsor Castle. It read:
Pause, my friend, as you walk by;
As you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, so you will be;
Prepare, my friend, to follow me!
[He] heard about a visitor who read that epitaph and added these lines:
To follow you is not my intent,
Until I know which way you went! —Warren W. Wiersbe [SQB]
God has the power to keep all of his promises. We will be raised, and all creation will be made new (see Rom 8:22–23). Christ’s resurrection was the firstfruits of this hope (1 Cor 15:20).
20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
Death, the last enemy, will be destroyed (1 Cor. 15:26).
26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
Resurrection will reverse and overcome the sin and curse that grips the world and the grave. From dust you shall arise (Dan 12:2). Believer, you shall awake and sing for joy (Isa 26:19), for Christ comes to make his blessings flow far as the curse is found. [SBJT]
This is a powerful message in our materialistic world where ‘money talks’ and where the young are often encouraged to gain celebrity status and the world’s applause. If the rich cannot be saved who can, asked the astonished disciples. Following the psalmist Jesus replied that with men it is impossible but with God it is possible. Jesus said that he had been sent to give his life a ransom for many and by so doing he has obtained ‘eternal redemption’ (Mark 10:45; Hebrews 9:12; see also Psalm 19:14).
45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
14 Let the words of my mouth,
And the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight,
O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.
[Philip Eveson, The Book of Psalms: From Suffering to Glory, vol. 1, Welwyn Commentary Series (Welwyn Garden City, UK: EP, 2014–2015), 315.]
- forceful, attractive, interesting
- motivational in reporting God’s action (good news)
- possible recapitulation of major ideas or proposition
- in harmony with stated purpose in MO, SO, and all APP
- encourage the hearer in his/her response
The truth about money: left to the world's economy it can only corrupt; therefore, prepare wisely for your coming resurrection.
Inspire us, Lord, by the music of your Word, that through all the darkness of death we may discern that our hope is in you alone, and know that you have ransomed our soul from the grave, to dwell with you for ever. [~Eaton]