This World Has Nothing For Me
James 4

Mo Money?

What would you say if I told you that you had just inherited 50 million dollars?  Then what would you do if I told you to cry about it—scream out to God with misery on what He had given you? 

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived luxuriously[1] on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you.

James 5:1-6 (NASB Update)

• James is targeting this passage towards rich people in the church who have violated people and God’s law to attain their wealth. 

• They withheld the pay of their laborers, cheating them out of their earnings.
• They lived a ridiculously luxurious life, completely aware of the suffering poor around them, wasting their money on “wanton pleasure”.
• They fattened themselves up like cows for “the day of slaughter,” a Biblical term alluding to the coming judgment. 

“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” 

Matthew 6:20-21 (NASB Update)

• All the treasure of this earth will pass—nothing lasts.  

• Jesus is the only treasure that can truly satisfy our souls; He is the only treasure that lasts.

Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be  rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

James 2:5

• Being poor in this world often means being rich in the next one.

Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 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. 

1 Timothy 6:17-19

• God richly supplies us with things to enjoy.  (1 Timothy 6:17)

But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position;  and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away.

James 1:9-11

• God has humbly blessed some to be rich and some to be poor.  (James 1:10-11)

• If we are rich, then let us be generous and ready to share. 

The Lord of The Sabaoth—an un-translated Hebrew word meaning “hosts,” or Lord of Hosts.  The very name means one who hears the cries of the defrauded laborers.  This is an Old Testament name meaning a commander of the armies of heaven.

We see this in the pre-incarnate appearance of Christ in the book of Joshua.  “He said, ‘No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the LORD.’ And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, ‘What has my lord to say to his servant?"  The captain of the LORD'S host said to Joshua, ‘Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.’ And Joshua did so” (Joshua 5:14-15)

• Jesus is the Lord of the Sabaoth, the Commander of the Angelic Host who will bring judgment to the lost (at the Great White Throne Judgment) and to the saved (the Judgment Seat of Christ).   

Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

2 Corinthians 5:9-10

Judgment is guaranteed, and the rich is burdened with the responsibility of what they did with what God gave them. 

JESUS & THE RICH YOUNG RULER

The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?"  Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be complete, go and  sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

Matthew 19:20-22

• Riches are a blessing from God, but they become evil when you treasure them more than Jesus. 

Discussion Questions

Why do you think James was rebuking the rich?

Do you think its sinful to own a lot of possessions?  Why or Why Not?  Get Explanation! 

Is it possible to be godly and rich all at once?  Any Biblical examples?  (ABRAHAM, DAVID, KING SOLOMON…) 

How would you support your answer to this question?

BESIDES THE CHURCHY SUNDAY SCHOOL ANSWER ABOUT TITHING, what are some godly things to do with your money? 

How can riches make a man happy?  Explain.

How can riches destroy a man? 

Name some of the tragic effects of being rich. 

Describe the general attitude you often see with richer people.

How do you think being rich could affect your prayer life? 

Why do you think the poor, farming nation of Israel was chosen by God as a special people over the rich countries around them? Why was the southern United States, a once poverty-ravished farmland chosen by God to be “the Bible belt?”

What are ADVANTAGES of having nothing? 

Do you think you would give it all up for Jesus? 

Is there anything you are holding on to that has your heart instead of Jesus?  Money?  School?  A Relationship?