[Vision2020] Dougie goes phishing for money, money, money

[J Ford]

Didn't I say it earlier?  Dougie is asking his people to GIVE, GIVE,
GIVE as he strives to make up coffers to support his many projects.  Take
a look at this week's sermon entitled "Money, Money, Money".



PLEASE take particular note of his admonitions re: tithing.  Do it or suffer the wrath of GOD!!!! 


***Question for those who are into Bible-ese:  Can you verify what Dougie is
saying regarding such sayings as "The next expression “if your eye is
single” is a Hebrew idiom for “if you are generous.”?  *I* personally have
never heard this kind of explanation before.***



Money, Money, Money  (Doug Wilson Sermon for Sept 16 2007 as presented on his church website; emphasis questions added in red...dare you to answer Dougie....didn't think you would.)



INTRODUCTION:



For many Christians, the practical issues surrounding money are a real
headache. There are

questions about acquiring it, about managing it, and about giving it away. But
we are not left

without instruction—we are to tithe, give, manage, provide, and enjoy.  (Boy, is this skewed or what!?)



THE TEXT:



“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth
corrupt, and where thieves break through

and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth
nor rust doth corrupt, and where

thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will
your heart be also. The light of the body

is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of
light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body

shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness,
how great is that darkness! No man can

serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else
he will hold to the one, and despise the

other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matt. 6:
 19-24).  (Isn't this supposed to be in
reference to Jesus being the Treasure and service

to God what we are supposed to be "laying up in Heaven."?)



OVERVIEW:



Jesus teaches us that His followers must not be graspers. (Well, except if your name is Doug Wilson, I guess.)

They are not to be all about acquisition.   (Except if your name is Doug Wilson or Mike Hoffman? 
Seems to me 

they are all about "acquisition" these days.)

Do not lay up earthly treasures (v.19). You are putting your treasure in an
insecure place.

Rather, lay up treasure in heaven—the most secure investment possible (v. 20).
Jesus tells us

that our heart will be wherever our treasure is (v. 21). From this we can tell
where our treasure

is—where the heart is. The next expression “if your eye is single” is a Hebrew
idiom for “if

you are generous.” If you are generous, your whole life is blessed (v. 22).
Having an evil eye

meant that you were miserly. If you are a miser and a tightwad—how great is the
darkness (v.

23). The issue is mastery, possession. God must be your master, and your money
must be a

fellow servant, along with you. (Cite this one for me,
will ya Dougie...where does it say this in the Bible?)



THE FIRST MEASURE:



Begin with the tithe, God’s tax. The tithe is not extortion money paid to God,
so that you get

to keep ninety percent. Rather, it is tribute money, demonstrating that you
understand that He

really is the possessor of all of it. The tithe is rendered as your way of
saying that you understand

yourself to be simply a steward of the remainder.

Some wonder about the tithe in the times of the New Covenant. First, we believe
that the Old

Testament is binding unless the New Testament says that it isn’t  (Oh, yeah?  Then what about the part

of the New Testiment that specifically states—as we see, for example,
with

animal sacrifices. But if a biblical principle is not fulfilled in the New,
then our operating

assumption is that it continues. But for those who find this insufficient,
demanding that a

practice must be explicitly taught in the New for Christians to be bound to it,
let us consider 1

Corinthians 9:13-14. The Old Testament priests lived off the tithe, and St.
  Paul requires that

those who preach the gospel should live in the same way.  (Well, not exactly, Doug... What Paul says is: "12But we did not use this
right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel
of Christ. 13Don't you know
that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who
serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? 14In the same way, the Lord has commanded that
those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.15But I have not used any of
these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such
things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of this boast. 16Yet when I preach the gospel, I
cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the
gospel! 17If I preach
voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the
trust committed to me. 18What
then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free
of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.")

But to conclude this point, let me commend you, the saints of Christ
 Church, as a tithing

congregation. If you take our church’s annual budget, multiply it by ten, that
should give you

the total amount earned by our families. Divide that number by the number of
our households,

and that should give you the average annual salary—which, if it came out as 6K
a year,

would indicate a big spiritual problem. But the budget of our church indicates
very clearly a

tithing church. The only exhortation here is to “do so more and more” (1 Thess.
4:10).  (Um, this verse is about brotherly love, not about giving to the church: "9Now about brotherly love we do
not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love
each other. 10And in fact,
you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more.  11Make it your ambition to lead a
quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we
told you, 12so that your
daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be
dependent on anybody.")



A SECOND MEASURE:



The Bible links the first table of the law to the second. How can we say we
love God, whom we

have not seen, if we don’t love our neighbor, whom we have seen (1 Jn. 4:20)? In our text, Jesus

mentions the need for personal generosity. (Where is
this text?  I have read and re-read both Chapter 4 and 5 and can not 

find this in either chapter...please point this out so we can all see it,
Dougie.) That would include donations of time, work, money,

gifts, advice. All of these are ways of giving yourself away. As God has given
to us (freely),

and we have returned it to Him (freely), let us also be generous to those
assigned by God to us

in that noble office of “neighbor.” Is the first instinct to hoard? Is the
first instinct to say no? Is

the first instinct “The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth
shall be watered also himself ”

(Prov. 11:25). “He that hath a
bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to

the poor” (Prov. 22:9).  (Em, ok...question: 
Do you consider your "church" to be poor?)  “The
instruments also 

of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with
lying words, even when the needy speaketh 

right. But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he
stand” (Is. 32:7-8)



A THIRD MEASURE:



The second and third must go together, and they must go together in this
order—generous

and then shrewd. Not shrewd and then stingy. The right kind of shrewdness is
demonstrated in

an understanding of the source of God’s blessing, and wisdom in the management
of it. You

give to get, in order to be able to give again. A foolish man can be “generous”
if he drives

down the road, throwing money out the window. But that is not true generosity.
“Be thou

diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds” (Prov.
27:23). Put this

another way—know the value and importance of what you are giving away, and give
it away

anyway. As John Wesley put it once, “Earn all you can, save all you can, give
all you can.”  (He, as were Christ

and His Workers (Paul, Peter, etc.) was talking about giving to those in need
in the community - NOT to one building fund 

after another that benefits only those giving...i.e. to Christ Church which will
be the ONLY beneficiary.)



A FOURTH MEASURE:



We want to provide for our own, and then be generous with whatever is left
over. This is backwards.

You are to be generous in such a way that you are more than able to provide for
those that

God has given you responsibility for. Yes, you must provide, and to not do so
is to be worse than

an infidel (1 Tim. 5:8). But what do I mean—in such a way? Seek first the
kingdom and all these

things will be added to you (Matt. 6:33).  (ACTUALLY, that verse says, in
whole: 30Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of
the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not
much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 

 31Therefore
take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or,
Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 

 32(For
after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth
that ye have need of all these things. 

 33But
seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added
unto you. 

 34Take
therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the
things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.  – Or did you forget this part of that
chapter, Dougie?)

 

 And you should
prayerfuly consider that this encompasses

more than just next month’s rent. “A good man leaveth an inheritance to his
children’s

children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just” (Prov. 13:22).  (Not sure what you’re saying here…should they
consider their children first or what? 
Seems kinda contradictory to me….)



AND LAST . . .



Enjoy yourself. God gave you this wealth so that you would enjoy it (1 Tim. 6:17). The

idolater has enough food but no taste buds. “But thou shalt remember the LORD
thy God:

for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his
covenant which he

sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day” (Dt. 8:17). “And there ye shall eat
before the LORD

your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your
households,

wherein the LORD thy God hath blessed thee” (Dt. 12:7). “Because thou servedst
not the

LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of
all things;

Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against
thee, in hunger,

and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a
yoke of iron upon

thy neck, until he have destroyed thee (Dt. 28:47-48).  (So, in other words,
give to the church or suffer the consequences? 
Wow!  You really, really believe
God is that demanding and cruel?  Boy, do
you worship a meany or what?!)



J  :]

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