Missions and money part ii

Missions and Money

Partially adapted from Missions and Money

Jonathan BonkDr. Robert Patton

Missionary to Suriname, South America

Wealth distorts true wisdom and expertise

Mt. 18:[1] At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?[2] And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,[3] And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.[4] Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

James 2

[1] My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.[2] For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;

James 2

[3] And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:[4] Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?

James 2 [5] Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath

not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?[6] But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?[7] Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?

James 2

[8] If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:[9] But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.[10] For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

Luke 12 Wealth changes our priorities

[13] And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.[14] And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?[15] And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.


[16] And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:[17] And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?[18] And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.


[19] And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.[20] But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? [21] So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

Wealth decreases prayer

Prayer is usually the cry of the person needing God’s help. Often the wealthy think that they don’t need His help but can take care of their own needs with their wealth.

Self-sufficiency and security are enemies of prayer

Wealth’s adverse effects:

Alienation with other humans Can become a god to the

owner Breeds covetousness and

greed Dissipation and indulgence

Wealth chokes the Word

Mt. 13:[22] He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

Love can make us betray Jesus

Judas: Mt. 26:[14] Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,[15] And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.[16] And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.

Judas problem showed in his response to Mary’s sacrifice

Judas complained when Mary sacrificed her heirloom perfume on Jesus. But he was interested not in the poor, but in getting ahold of more money… he held the bag…

The cost of greed… in Acts 5

[1] But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,[2] And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.[3] But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?


[4] Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. [5] And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.


[6] And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.[7] And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.[8] And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.


[9] Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.[10] Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.

Jesus, born poor, ministered to the poor

Isaiah 61:[1] The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; [2] To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

Jesus judged in Mt. 25

Those that treated the poor, the hungry, the imprisoned, etc were blessed.

The new believers in the church shared their goods in common

Examples – Macedonian believers and the church of Philippi were poor but generous & supported Paul

God is pleased…

Heb. 13:[3] Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.…[16] But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

God uses the weak and foolish things to give Himself glory

I Cor. 1:[18] For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.[19] For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.


I Cor. 25] Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.[26] For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:


I Cor. 1:[27] But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;[28] And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:


I Cor. 1:[29] That no flesh should glory in his presence.[30] But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: [31] That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

The parable of the good Samaritan

Shows that it is not religious orthodoxy (both the priest and Levite were orthodox), but one’s relationship with the poor or needy show the individual’s standing with God.

It is with specific people, and not just a sociological class…

Genuine repentance shown by sacrificial giving

Rom. 12:[1] I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.[2] And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

The widow’s mite

Worth a part of a penny, but more than the wealthy

Given to a corrupt clergy but with the right motives

Christ’s followers

Self-sacrifice instead of self-indulgence Mary’s giving the perfume… Peter misunderstood about Christ’s

sacrificial death – and Jesus called him satan because his statement is a satanic lie – save yourself.

The priests said: He saved others; Himself He cannot save; ironically, they were correct

Christ’s followers must be servants

This is a reorientation for the wealthy, including the wealthy missionary

Generosity must go also to Christ’s enemies – Mt. 5:38-45

Those who lose economically are usually resistant to the gospel – e.g., Demetrius and the silversmiths of Ephesus

Religious leaders often love money

They will be judged more severely: James 3:[1] My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. [2] For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.


They will be judged more severely: James 2:[14] What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?[15] If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,


They will be judged more severely: James 2:[16] And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?[17] Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

True faith shows itself in obedience

James 2:[18] Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.[19] Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.[20] But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?


James 2:[21] Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? [22] Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?[23] And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.


James 2:[24] Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

The missionary is affected by western consumerism

Western consumerism is based on the idea that a man’s life indeed does consist of his possessions – especially those that are most up-to-date

Reminder of usual methods of missionary handling

Associate with peers – upper level of developing country – though Christianity is geared for the poor

Ignore and explain away Simplify life but maintain many of

the benefits – medicine, transport, education

Incarnational lifestyle

The gap in finances missionary to national

1800 – two to one 1913 – three to one 1970 – seven to one 1992 – seventy-two to one Most effective missionary work

often done by poorer churches

Repentance, not revolution

Move in the direction of the cross, weakness

We must live what we preach We are assigned a status by the

culture. We should be the righteous rich – how we behave toward the poor.

Job was proactive in helping the poor

Culturally appropriate helping the poor

Deut. 15:1-11 The time of cancelling debts – also help poor brother

Nehemiah 5:1-12: The rich repented of their oppression of their Jewish brothers

We need justice, and not mere legality which can protect the rich

Paul’s instruction to Timothy

I Tim. 6:[17] Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;[18] That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; [19] Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

Jesus

Never too busy to help the sick and poor, although He was to save the world. The good news intersects with the actual needs of people.

We western missionaries often serve on our terms, not that of the people whom we are called to serve!

Two errors in self-denial

Be careful not to seem self-righteous and display that

Do not insist that others conform to the same external standards that we have from our western culture but are not necessarily biblical

Be careful of the church of the west

Often there is more the mind of the west than the mind of Christ

Simplify personal lifestyles. We are Christian soldiers in a cosmic conflict.

We are not the owner but the steward of resources – travel lightly

Do not waste things on self-indulgence

Needs not by western standards

Sometimes we may need to sell possessions to help others.

We need to be careful about our children – Lot and Eli put children’s affluence above spiritual preparation

Wealthy churches must support their missionaries…

According to their own standards. The church of Laodicea will have problems asking members to sacrifice.

But missionaries are free to live according to their conscience.

There is a similar problem with training institutions which coddle their students

We need to be aware of God’s servants who are poor

Often the church advances through the work of humble and poor servants who are largely unknown and unappreciated

Missionaries may play a rather small part in the total story

Institutional repentance

Reformers are usually not welcome Christian obedience cannot be easily

legislated Usually a mission organization will not

appreciate reformation We need to move from independence

to interdependence with national churches

Three major models

Incarnation The cross Weakness as power

Incarnation

It should be prescriptive strategy rather than theological description

Lesson: speed, mobility, power, comprehensiveness, and success are not the measures of missionary strategy

Incarnation: Jesus was

Born poor, ministered to the poor, and died poor

Born as a helpless baby, needing to grow in wisdom by learning obedience

He rejected the tendency to demonstrate His power rather than work in poverty, obscurity, and weakness – the opposite is rejected as satanic

Missionary attitude

God sent Jesus into the world in poverty. So like He sent Jesus, Jesus sends us

We are to be in the world but not of the world

Our attitude should be like Christ Jesus- giving up power and privilege

Missionary standards

Sacrifice more than “what could have been at home”

Jesus had lifelong suspicion, misunder-standings and eventually death

We are a threat to the uncommitted when we give up our treasures, love our enemies, bless our persecutors, surrender to service

The threat of changing standards

The missionary who is not of the world shows the standards of another King, not the prince of the world.

But they have spiritual weapons for a spiritual battle…

The cross

His disciples can look forward to suffering here and now: Mt. 10:38

Peter knew not the things of God but of man when he suggested Christ reject the cross: Mk. 8:31-34

The cross separates us from the spirit of this age, and those of that spirit

Philippians 3:

[17] Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.[18] (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:

Philippians 3:

[19] Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)[20] For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

The cross =self-judgment

Don’t build on self-gratification They may run to the security of the

enemy of their souls away from the lover of their souls.

They live in pleasant self-fulfilling lives but the lives fall down on the ground and die without multiplying

The church of the west must change to take up the cross

Affluent churches as well as individuals need to come to Jesus for what they truly need.

This is also true of mission organizations who insist that they will cover all the risks of the missionary.

Weakness rather than strength

The early church had little funds and no political power, but accomplished the task of spreading the gospel

We must not rely on our strength, but on the strength that comes only from the Lord. When we are weak, then we are strong – if we are in His will

Missions and money part ii

Spiritual

Transcript of Missions and money part ii