(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Now the part of the chapter that I'd like to focus on is beginning in verse 17, where the Bible reads, Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy, that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate. Now if you would, turn over in your Bible to Mark chapter 10. The title of the sermon is this, Not Trusting in Uncertain Riches. Now you heard that in verse 17, he said, Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches. Proverbs 11.28 says, He that trusteth in his riches shall fall, but the righteous shall flourish as a branch. Proverbs 23, 4, and 5, Labor not to be rich, cease from thine own wisdom, wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings, they fly away as an eagle toward heaven. Now look at Mark chapter 10, so we're talking about not trusting in uncertain riches. Look at chapter 10 verse 17, And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is God. And by the way, that's a great verse on the deity of Christ right there. I mean Jehovah's Witnesses are so blinded by their false religions, they're so warped in their kingdom halls, in their Bible space, that they cannot see the truth of this verse, that there is none good but one, and that is God. And yet they will say that Jesus was a good man. The religious world will say he's a good teacher, he's a good prophet, he's the son of God, but he's not equal with God, he's not God in the flesh, he's not co-eternal with God, he was created by God, let me tell you something, either Jesus was not good, or Jesus was not God. Do you understand? Or he's God, actually. He's either God, or he's not good, because there is only one that's good. I'm not good. The Bible says there's none that do with good, no not one. There's not a just man upon the earth that do with good, the sin of God. For all of sin that comes short of the glory of God, I'm not good, you're not good. No religious leader in this world is good. But Jesus Christ was good because he was God in the flesh, he who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. And so this verse proves beyond a doubt that Jesus is God, along with hundreds and thousands of other verses, this proves that Jesus is either, he was either not good, or he was God. That's the choices right there. Is he God in the flesh, or was he a not good person? Was he a sinner? And I've never had it to always be able to answer this for him, because they believe that Jesus was without sin, according to, you know, they say they believe that, and yet they say that he's not God. And they even teach their people to use this verse to prove that he's not God, and it really proves the opposite. Look at verse 19. He's asking this question, what good thing, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? He thinks he has to do something, he thinks he has to earn his way to heaven basically. Thou knowest the commandments, Jesus says to him in verse 19, do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, defraud not, honor thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, master, all these have I observed from my youth. Do you believe that? Do you really think that this man had never stolen, never disobeyed mom and dad, he'd never lied, he'd never coveted something that belonged to someone, of course not. And yet he lies and says, oh yeah, I've done all that. So Jesus says in verse number 21, Jesus, beholding him, loved him, and said unto him, one thing thou lackest. He says, okay, so you've never lied, you've never stolen, you've never killed, you've never coveted. Well, there's still one more thing, if you want to be perfect, he says, in the other Gospel he says, if thou wilt be perfect, he says, one thing thou lackest, go thy way, and sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come and take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved, for he had great possessions. Now, many people will twist this passage and try to say that the reason he could not be saved is because he wasn't willing to give up his money. Now, does the Bible say that you have to be willing to sell everything you have and give it to the poor in order to be saved? That would be buying your way into heaven. It's the gift of God, eternal life. It's not something that you could purchase or buy with money, and yet this man was being shown one thing by Jesus, you are not perfect. He thought he kept the law perfectly, but Jesus exposed his sin to him and said, no, you're not perfect, if thou wilt be perfect, go sell everything you have and give it to the poor. You're greedy. You're not perfect. You don't have compassion on the poor. You're not generous. You're not giving. That's something that God commands you to do in the Bible, and he goes away sad because he showed up believing he had to work his way to heaven. He thought he was good enough on the way there. He just wanted to check it out with Jesus, just verify it. He went away sad because he still believed he had to work his way to heaven, and he realized he wasn't good enough, and he went away sad because he had great riches. But listen to this, and this is what I want to get at. Jesus says he was sad at the saying and went away and grieved, for he had great possessions, and Jesus looked round about, so he's looking on the face of his disciples, and saith unto his disciples, how hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God. And the disciples were astonished at his words, but Jesus answered at the end and saith unto them, children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, who then can be saved? And Jesus looking upon them, saying, with man it is impossible, but not with God, for with God all things are possible. People take this passage and try to say, well, whatever sin it is in your life, you've got to be willing to give it up in order to be saved. No, they're missing the whole point. The whole point of this is showing you that you're not good enough to be saved, you need Jesus to be saved. But the interesting thing is that people will read this where it says, how hard is it, look at the latter part of verse 24, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God. People read that and they actually think that there are people in this world that think that because they're rich they're going to go to heaven. Nobody thinks that. There's, listen to me now, there's not a person in this world who believes, if you ask them, do you know for sure if you die today you're going to heaven? Yes, because I have this much money in the bank. Do you really think that there's a person on the earth that believes that? Of course not. You say, wait a minute, that's not what it says. What he's saying is that the type of person who trusts in riches, and this is what we're going to show, see, whenever you want to understand the Bible you've got to compare scripture with scripture. What did God say to those that are rich that are saved? He was talking about people who are saved in 1 Timothy 6. He said, do not trust in uncertain riches, right? So there are people in this world who live a life not relying on God to feed them, not relying on God to clothe them, not relying on God to pay the bills, but they are trusting in their riches aside from God, and he's saying that type of person who is trusting in their riches it's going to be very hard for them to trust Christ as their savior. Why? Because they're used to being self-sufficient. They don't want to rely on anybody. Now I've known people who were rich, and trying to win them to Christ is difficult. They build a successful business in their mind by themselves. They pull themselves up by their own bootstraps, and they're very confident, they're very self-assured, they're usually very prideful because of the fact that they are trusting in their riches not to get them to heaven, but they're trusting in their riches as a safety net, as their strong tower as it says in the book of Proverbs. Let me illustrate it to you further. Turn to Proverbs chapter 30, because we want to understand this story here. People will twist this and say, well, Jesus was telling them he had to give up his sins in order to be saved. No one could give up their sins completely. Nobody's perfect. Why didn't he tell them to give up lying since he lied to them right then and there? He was showing them that he wasn't as perfect as he thought he was. That's all he was showing them. And then he made a statement saying it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. He's saying that rich people do not have a tendency to rely on Jesus Christ alone for salvation. They have a tendency to want to earn it or pay for it themselves with their own good works. That's why you'll be hard-pressed to find people who are rich who believe that salvation is by grace to faith alone. They believe it's by works for the most part. But you say, well, it's impossible, but with God all things are possible. Rich people can be saved, and many rich people have been saved. Look at Proverbs 30 verse 7. The Bible reads, two things have I required of thee, deny me them not before I die, feed me with food convenient for me, lest I be full and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? Or lest I be poor and steal, and take the name of my God in vain. Do you see that? He's saying here that people who are full, people who have plenty of money in the bank, people who have plenty of food in the fridge, they don't see the need for God or religion or church or the Bible in their life. Do you see that? Lest I be full and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? This is something about somebody who's already saved, somebody who's a Christian. Get to the point where they don't feel like they need God because they are trusting in their own riches. Just as that young man walked away and he went away sad, he thought you had to work your way to heaven because in his life, everything that he had was earned himself, was paid for himself out of his great riches, the rich young ruler, and Jesus was trying to show him, hey, you can't earn your way to heaven, it's by grace through faith, it's free. You must receive salvation as a gift, the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. But we as Christians can have a tendency also to try to lay up treasures upon the earth and that is our safety net, that is our shield, that is what we're relying upon to protect us and to keep us day to day and to feed us and clothe us and take care of us. Look, if you would, just a few pages forward in Ecclesiastes chapter 4. You see, riches are a very uncertain thing, according to the Bible. He didn't just tell them not to trust in riches, he said don't trust in uncertain riches. I read a few verses from Proverbs where he said, Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not, for riches certainly make themselves wings, they fly away as an eagle for heaven. This reminds me of when my children lose something and my wife asks them, where did this and that go? And everybody says, I don't know, I didn't touch it. And she tells, oh, didn't it just grow legs and just walk away? You know how moms always say that kind of stuff. This is what God's saying, riches will sprout wings and fly away on you, and it's true. We're learning that in America right now. America has been the richest, most prosperous nation. I mean, money has flowed like a river, opportunity is everywhere, and now all of a sudden the stock market is down where it was back in, what, 1996? And let me tell you something, a dollar is not worth the same amount as it was in 1996. So basically, we're talking about a major, major drop. People had all kinds of savings in there, people had their retirement in there, people had their money in there, and it's only getting worse and worse every day. As Barack Obama spends more and bailout and stimulus and all this garbage that our government is doing, it's getting worse and worse, and people who've been relying on 401k instead of relying on God are having a rude awakening that riches make themselves wings and fly away. They're gone. You say, well, Pastor Anderson, I've got this and that amount of money in the bank. That money is not secure, you don't know how much they're going to deflate the currency to the point where it's worthless. You don't know what's going to happen. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, God said, where mop and rust death corrupt and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where not mop and rust death corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor steal, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Look at Ecclesiastes 4, verse 7. Then I returned and I saw vanity under the sun. There is one alone and there is not a second, yea, he hath neither child nor brother, yet is there no end of all his labor. Neither is his eye satisfied with riches, neither sayeth he, for whom do I labor and bereave my soul of good. This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore traffic. Here's a picture of a man who has no wife, no brother, no children, and yet he works and works and works and works and amasses wealth and wealth and riches and riches and he never even stops to ask himself, who am I working for? Who am I laying up all these treasures for? Why am I bereaving my soul of good? It's vanity, it's a waste of time. He says, I'm not even satisfied, look halfway through the verse, neither is his eye satisfied with riches. Riches cannot satisfy in this life and yet people work and work and toil and toil to be rich. That's why God says, labor not to be rich, cease from thine own wisdom. Why would you behold, set your eyes upon that which is not? And so many people fall in this trap. Some people, they work so hard, build businesses, they work and work and work to make money and I've asked them before, I said, what are you going to do with all this money? Why are you earning all this money? And they'll say, you know, something like, I'm going to leave it to my children or, you know, whatever. And I was thinking to myself, and you know, what's the big thing nowadays, right? The college fund for the children. It's funny, we're talking about, you know, I was getting a life insurance policy and we're talking about this life insurance policy and as we were going through it, it was like, well, who's the beneficiary of the life insurance policy? Obviously, my wife. So that if I pass away, my wife will not be left high and dry without an income so I turn life insurance so that she can have some money there to live off of if I pass away since I'm no longer the breadwinner and so forth and she'll be a widow. And they ask, well, who should I go to next, you know, on the application? Oh, your children. And I said, no. I'm not leaving my children a dime in this life insurance policy because I said the last thing an 18-year-old needs is tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars. It's going to ruin their life. I'm not laying up. You say, oh, I want to lay up so I can give my children a big inheritance. Why? What's the point? I don't want to leave my children a bunch of money. I want to give them an inheritance of a godly heritage of soul winning and the Bible and preaching and being a Baptist and being a hard worker, not just leaving them a bunch of money that they didn't work for, that they didn't earn. And people work and work and work so that they can leave money to their children and I want to say to them, don't you want your children to grow up and work hard? I mean, if you have daughters, don't you want them to grow up and marry a hardworking man? Don't you want your sons to grow up and toil and slave and work hard? Hey, people who get things for free don't appreciate it anyway. People who work for it and sweat on their face like God told Adam and slave and work and build their own house and their own business and the people who work and earn what they have appreciate it, an 18-year-old with a whole bunch of money in their hand, $100,000 in their hand, it's going to probably ruin them. It's just like people who win the lottery. Usually they end up bankrupt. Usually they end up destroying their life, destroying their marriage, destroying their friends. This is the reality of human nature. But look at the next chapter in Ecclesiastes, we were in chapter 4, look at chapter 5, verse number 10. And let these verses sink down into your ears because we have in a society where it's all about money. Poor people are looked down upon and disdained. The rich are held up and lifted up in high esteem and high regard. That's just not the way that the Bible teaches. Look at verse 10 of chapter 5. He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver, nor he that loveth abundance with increase. This is all so bad. Say, it's a waste of time if you're after money and life. When goods increase, and boys, this is the truth, they are increased that eat them, right? You start making more money, you spend more money, and you still don't have any money, that's what he's saying. And what good is there to the owners thereof saving the beholding of them with their eyes, right? What good is it to have all these riches, just to look at that fancy car in your garage, just to look at your collection, or just to look at your fine artwork, you can just get to look at your riches, and to look at your bank statement and say, oh wow, there's $100,000, there's $200,000, there's $300,000. You can behold it with your eyes, but he's saying, what real profit is it to be rich? What's the point? I mean, those that have no money, those that are poor, those that are working class, those that live paycheck to paycheck, they get up every day, they eat breakfast, they eat lunch, they eat dinner, they go to work, they work hard, they sleep better than the rich man according to the Bible. So what's the point of being rich? Having food and raiment let us be there with content. You see, you say, well, but if you were rich, you wouldn't have to work. Who wants to stop working? I love working. A man is not happy unless he's working. I've seen so many people who retire when they get to be 55, 60, 65, 70, and they don't know what to do with themselves. Oh wow, let's sit in an armchair all day with the crossword. Let's go play golf all day every day. That's not a happy life. Boy, you're happy when you're building something. You're happy when you're producing something. You're happy when you're making something. Hey, you know when you're really happy? When you're doing something for God. When you're working for God. When you're getting something accomplished for all eternity. Sitting around, relaxing, staring at all your fancy stuff, is that really what life is about? Hey, God's going to feed you, God's going to protect you, God's going to clothe you. There's no point in trying to be rich. Hey, just be content with where you're at. Give me neither poverty nor riches, feed me with food convenient for me. I don't want to be poor and steal and take the name of my God in vain, but I don't want to be full and rich and say, who's the one, I don't need God anymore, because I have it all together, trusting my own certain riches. Look at the next verse. It says in verse 11, what good is it, so you can look at it, look at verse 12, the sleep of a labored man is sweet. Labor means hard work, by the way, whether he eat little or much. He goes to bed at night and he sleeps like a baby, is what he's saying here, but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. He's tossing and turning right now as his 401k drops. He tosses and turns and he goes up in the morning and instead of reaching for the Holy Bible, he's reaching for the Wall Street Journal to see how the stock market's doing. Is it up? Is it down? Where are my funds? Next to it is what I say, hey, think on the things of heaven and God and the Bible rather than on things financial, is what the Bible's teaching. He can't even sleep at night because he's so worried about his money. There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely riches kept from the owners thereof to their hurt. Do you see that? And he says in verse 14, but those riches perish by evil travail and he beget of the sun and there's nothing in his hand. As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came and shall take nothing of his labor, which he may carry away in his hand. He's saying, you're not even going to take the clothes on your back when you pass on to be with the Lord. Your fancy clothes will be gone, your house will be gone, your car will be gone, your riches will be gone. You can't take it with you, but if you lay up for yourself treasures in heaven, you'll have something that's worth value on the day of judgment, the judgment seat of Christ, when all the works that you did that were worthless, the wood hanging stubble. I'm talking about the business, the finances, the stocks, the bonds, the gold, you see I want to put my money in gold, it's going to be secure. Yeah, until people break into your house and steal the gold. Oh, it's insured, yeah, until the financial system in America collapses. You can do whatever you want to try to safeguard your riches and your wealth. There is no way to make your riches safe. You say, well, I've got part in bonds, part in gold, part in... Yeah, and then somebody comes and kills you and wears your money. You can sit there and build this fortress, this safeguard, this wall of protection out of money. I'd rather trust on the Lord to protect me, keep me safe, and keep me financially calm right now than to rely on Him. I'd rather have God blessing me than have money in the bank or 401k or a house, it could be God tomorrow. Somebody could sue you and take away everything you have, you don't know what's going to happen. And by the way, if God wants you to lose your money, do you think God's able to do it? No matter how safeguarded you are, look at Job, the richest of all the men in the East. In one day, he lost it all. And he was diversified. His portfolio looked good because he had diversified assets. He had some of it in sheep, some of it in cattle, some of it in different animals. He had servants, he had businesses, he had children, he had it all. And natural disaster came, terrorists came, and the civilians came and fell on him with the sword. Winds came. I mean, it was a fire from heaven, I mean, it was all destroyed in one day because God is going to take away what you have. He can take away what you have. He can take away your health. He's the one who's causing you to breathe right now. And so we need to not trust in uncertain riches. Let's keep reading, though, this is an interesting chapter. It says in verse 16, and this also is a sore eagle, that in all points as he came, so shall he go. Like, he came in naked, he's going out, he came in with nothing, he's going to die with nothing. He said, in what profit hath he that had labored for the wind? All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness. Behold that which I have seen. It is good and company for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor that he taketh unto the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him, for it is his portion. Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat care of, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor, this is the gift of God, for he shall not for much remember the days of his life, because God answereth them in the joy of his heart. Turn to Luke, chapter number 12, he's saying all of it comes from God. Whether you're poor, and you don't know where your next meal's coming from, I'll tell you where it's going to come from, God. If you're saved, if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, if you are living a godly life and following God's laws, he will feed you and clothe you, or he's a liar, that's what the Bible says. And you may not be rich, you may go without food. When he sustained the children of Israel in the wilderness, if you remember there were times when they went three days, no food, no water, I mean they were really struggling. But God kept them alive, he fed them, he sustained them, he clothed them. You may go through a lean time, but God will protect you if you're doing what's right. And so that's the moral of the story, look at Luke 12, verse 13. And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother that he can buy the inheritance with me. And he said to them, Man, who made me a judge or divider over you? This is Jesus, upset with the question. And he said to them, Take heed and beware of covetousness, covetousness is desiring that which belongs to someone else. For a man's life consisted not of the abundance of the things which he possessed it. Now he's going to give a parable to explain that, and he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do? Because I have no room where to distill my fruits. And he said, This will I do, I will pull down my barns and build greater. And there will I distill all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Take thy ease, eat drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee, then who shall those things be which thou hast provided? So here we have a guy who spends his whole life working to try to retire, right? So he's building bigger barns, I mean he's working like a madman, he builds bigger barns, he wants to just get everything just set up just right, so where he's got these giant barns filled with food, filled with riches, everything's perfect, and he just finishes on his last day of work, he says, I've got it all set up, now I can finally take it easy, I can eat, drink, and be merry, and God looks down and says, You fool, this night shall thy soul be required of thee. He didn't even get to enjoy it for one day. Isn't that amazing? You say, I feel bad for him. Well look at the verse 21, So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. So he's saying, wait, don't feel bad for him, just take the lesson from it because it's going to be you. That's going to be your life if you lay up treasures for yourself and you're not rich toward God. And you say, are you talking about giving a lot of money in the plate? You know, instead of laboring to be rich, I'm talking about laboring for the kingdom of God. Instead of laboring to make more money, I'm not just talking about putting money in the plate or something like that, that's not the point. The point is, are you going to serve God with your life, or are you going to serve mammon with your life? And who are you going to trust to take care of you during this recession, during these hard times? Personally, I don't think it's going to get any better. I think it's only going to get worse, because it has to get worse. People think that we're going through a recession right now, that this is part of the economic cycle. I don't believe that. This is just my opinion, I'm not an expert on this, but I'm going to tell you something, I don't believe that we're in a recession right now. I'll tell you what I think is happening, I think that all the debt of our government and all the debt of America, all this magical making money out of thin air, and everybody borrowing and robbing Peter to pay Paul and borrowing from this, borrowing from that, this financial house of cards that we built, money that doesn't even exist, where everyone is in debt, tens of thousands of dollars and hundreds of thousands of dollars and the government is in debt, trillions of dollars, I think it's literally falling apart right now. And it's just going to go, it's just going to get worse and worse, and they're making it worse. Are they solving the problem? Borrow more money. That's how the US government is solving the problem. Of the credit crisis, now let me ask you something, in your personal life, when you get in a credit crisis, what do you do? You borrow more money, right? It's probably the time to stop borrowing money, to stop spending money, and the government right now wants you to keep going out and spending money. They want you to keep borrowing money, they think you're a fool. And so they want you to go out and blow money at all these places to stimulate the economy. And they want you to be foolish and spend money that you don't have. Because that's what they do, spend money on it. You cannot go on like that forever, it's impossible. It's like telling me that you filled your gas tank with gas one time and you're just going to drive across America. It just doesn't work that way. You can't live off holy credit cards every month, eventually you will have to pay the bill. And these politicians don't care about you, they don't care about me, they don't care about my children. They are selling our children into bondage. Every child that's born in America is in debt of $185,000 when they breathe their first breath. That is wicked and ungodly and that's what our government is doing to us. I don't think my children should owe anybody anything. They're born in a free country and yet they're paying interest on a debt of $185,000 per person in America. You can't, it can't go on like that, my friend. Eventually it's going to come to a head. But they don't care as long as it happens as soon as they're out of office. All Obama, your lord and savior Obama, the messiah, all Obama is doing is trying to just borrow more money, throw away more money that doesn't even exist, to try to stretch it out a little bit longer, to keep everybody happy just a little longer, a little longer, a little longer, and either one of two things is going to happen. Either he's just going to push back the crisis until he's out of office and then he, oh yeah, that didn't happen under my watch, or I'll tell you what's going to happen. There's going to be a financial catastrophe in this country unlike has ever been seen and we're going to have a communist dictatorship in this country, a coup d'etat from our government. And you say, oh, yes, we already have a dictatorship, Democrat majority in the House, Democrat majority in the Senate, and Barack Obama in the White House, Democrat, and we have a dictatorship for a government that doesn't care what we think, they don't care what we believe, they don't care that the Californians said, hey, we don't want fags getting married in our state, they're going to do it anyway. Their little Supreme Court's going to decide, listen, the Supreme Court in California right now is deciding whether or not that's constitutional for the people of California to rise up and say, hey, marriage is between a man and a woman. Hey, it's not for these fags to get married. And they're going to decide whether they agree with that. Good night, what kind of a perverted government do we have? You know who's arguing the case on the side of the queers in California right now as this debate goes on? Somebody who has changed gender. Somebody who has switched genders is the lawyer who's pleading the case. I mean, this is the kind of freak show that we're living in in America, my friend. This is in the highest courts of our land. Some freak who has swapped genders is standing up explaining why two men should be able to get married. And two women should be able to get married. And you think it's going to go on forever, huh? You think your 401K is going to be safe, huh? You think your stocks and your bonds and your gold and your certificates and your bank notes and everything, hey, if you're poor right now, just say, hey, I'm blessed to be poor because I've got nothing to lose. Because I'm going to tell you something, it's going to fall apart. Otherwise God's going to have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah if God doesn't destroy America. I'm going to tell you something, things are falling apart around us right now. Every day, every year, every month, it's like the frog in the hot water, they're turning up the heat, nobody's noticing what's happening, but we are losing our freedom, we're being overrun by freaks and weirdos and perverts and pastors across America are asleep at the wheel, they've fallen asleep on the job, they're not even watching, they're not even standing up and saying, hey, wait a minute, something's got to change, this has got to stop. They're telling people to vote for the same weirdos and perverts that are supporting this stuff, that are pushing this stuff, they've fallen asleep, while men slept, the enemy's come in and sowed tares among the weak, and I'm going to tell you something, you better not be trusting an uncertain riches thing, you better put your trust in the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. I mean, I'm sorry, it just burns me up about this thing in California. They've already married thousands of them, thousands and thousands of them in California are married, they're adopting children without even being married in all 52 states, they're adopting children. I mean, this is where we're at in this country, we need to stop and realize, I mean, listen to me, you say, why are you so mad about this? I was in a clothing store in Arkansas, now isn't Arkansas like an old-fashioned place, wouldn't you think of it as, I mean, I wasn't exactly in San Francisco. This wasn't exactly Los Angeles, okay, this wasn't exactly Manhattan, Arkansas! I was doing a fire alarm in a store called White House Black Market, who's heard of it? Anybody? Okay, well, it's a pretty expensive store, it's a clothing store, and they only sell women's clothing, and it's pretty much all black and white clothing. Okay, I guess that's their gimmick, it's just white and black and stripes and polka dots, but it's just pretty much all white and black, it's called White House Black Market. And this one girl walked in, and she picked up a dress, and the sales associate said, oh, that looks really good. She's like, yeah, but I was trying to keep it under $150. Now, I can't even understand spending more than $150 on a dress, but I guess a lot of people spend that much money on a dress, that's probably pretty normal, I don't know. Because when I started this, I'd never looked, I've worked in a lot of these stores on the fire alarm, but I never stopped and looked at the price tag, I started looking at the price tag, it's like a sweater for 90 bucks, you know, this kind of stuff, pretty expensive store. Three fags walk in, while I'm there, while I'm working on the fire alarm, three homos walk in, buying dresses and skirts for cross-dressing, buying high heels, buying skirts, I mean these three sodomites come in, and they're buying clothes to cross-dress, and the sales associate, the lady's just helping them like it's normal. She's giggling and helping them, taking stuff for them to try on. Three men in Arkansas, and you know how old they were, in their early 20s and late teens? That's the generation that's coming up. We have sown the wind with the sex ed, we've sown the wind with the tolerance for gays in church, and behind the pulpit Baptist Church is tolerating them, love them, accept them, give them the gospel, we've been lied to, we've been cheated, we've been defrauded here, and we've thought this, and now today, that crock of children is turning 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and we are reaping the whirlwind, they're cross-dressing, they're taking over, they're everywhere, they're in the government, Barney Franks, all these different people, what's that other guy from, I know, Craig, you know all these sodomites that are in our government? It's unbelievable, my friend. That was in Arkansas two days ago, just me trying to mind my own business and do my job, and it's being crammed out of my throat, I'm supposed to sit there and look at three bags, get in dresses, in the dressing room, and everybody thinks it's normal! I don't think it's normal, and I'm never going to think it's normal, and this country can never be blessed by God, you know, there's all these like, libertarian movements and all this, campaign for liberty and stuff, hey, God will never bless this country while that's going on, you can fix the finances, you can fix everything else, but if that is still going on, then this country will go to hell in a handbasket, no matter what anybody does, no matter who gets elected, this is what we're dealing with in this country, and you are going to rely on our banking system, and our government, how can you trust somebody who thinks that a man and another man should get married, and you trust him to protect your retirement? You trust him to manage social security? Stop and think about that for a minute. You see, we get mixed up and we don't realize that, hey, these things are all connected, okay? But look, if you would, that was my political rant, that was a commercial break, let's get back to the sermon, but where were we, Luke chapter 12, Luke 12, 21, so is he that lieth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. So what does it come down to? Laboring to be rich is selfishness, right? Trying to be rich, trying to have a lot of money, and you say, well, I just want to be secure, that's a lack of faith in God, see, we live in a time where you want to be secure, and you know what, you shouldn't be in debt up to your eyeballs, you shouldn't be irresponsible financially, but you know what, just laying up treasure, laying up all this money as a security net, why don't you let God be a security net? God's always taking care of me, and God's always taking care of the people that I love, and I've been through lean times, I've skipped meals, and you know, it's funny, there's something about skipping meals because you're out of money that makes you go out and work harder, you know what I mean? And that would get us through, I think that would get us through this recession, because when you skip some meals, well, all of a sudden, you're motivated, it's true, I mean, you're very motivated. Well, you want to stimulate the economy, skip a few meals, and you'll say, oh man, I need to go out and work, I need to go out and build something, make something, build something. And so, you say, well, you're not compassionate, I am compassionate, you know, and I, and you know what, with the money that God has given me, I try to help as many people as I can, and give them a hand, and help people out, and do nice things for people that don't have as much money as I might have, but I'm going to tell you something, relying on riches and relying on the government is not the answer in your life. The answer is to labor for God, be rich for God. Let me ask you this, we'll look at Ephesians 6, if you would, keep your finger on Luke 12, because we're going to be right back there, but look at Ephesians 6, here's a great promise. See right now, instead of looking for some kind of a promissory note from the government, why don't you look for the promises of God in the Bible? Maybe you're nervous right now because your job is in question. A lot of people are losing their jobs right now. A lot of people are losing their homes right now. Why don't you rely on God's promises? Instead of relying on Barack Obama's new bailout, or mortgage plan, or whatever it is, instead why don't you rely on God's plan? God has promised to feed you, God has promised to clothe you, why don't you bring that to God in prayer, and cast all your care upon Him, for He careth for you. Why not say to God, God, this is what you promised in your word, I'm relying on you to feed me. I'm going to go out and work, I'm going to work hard, I'm going to do my best, but God, please feed and clothe me as you promised in your word. And say, God, look, hey, I'm going to church, I'm going soul winning, I love you, I'm working hard for you, please take care of me. I believe that God will take care of you. I'm not a prosperity preacher, I'm not saying you're going to be rich. Being rich is not always a positive thing. Some people could never handle being rich. Very few people in the Bible were rich in serving God, because it's hard for them not to say who is the Lord. I'm the one who earned all this. When the Bible says in Deuteronomy chapter 11 that God's the one who gives you the power to get wealth, it all comes from God's hand, according to Ecclesiastes 5. Look at Ephesians 6, here's a promise from God, take this to work with you, it says in verse 5, servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling and singleness of your heart, as unto Christ. He's saying, work as if you're working for Jesus Christ. That'd be good for everybody's work ethic, right? Hey, I'm working for Jesus. That's a great verse. You say, I don't like my boss. You don't like Jesus? You say, my boss isn't fair, Jesus isn't fair? This is what he's saying your attitude should be when you go to work. Hey, I'm working for Christ. Hey, come on Pastor Anderson, if you knew what my job was like, you knew what my boss was like. This is what he's saying. Hey, you work for Christ. Look at the next verse. This will tell you how to succeed at your job, by the way. Not with eye service, as men please us, he's saying not when people are looking because you're trying to please them, but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. He's saying, look, when you go to work, let your heart be in it. You say, Pastor Anderson, I'm sweeping a floor. I'm mopping a floor. I'm cutting grass. I'm pulling wheat. You know, hey, do it as unto Christ with all in your heart. Do the best that you can possibly do, whatever you do. Do it with thy might, God said. But look what he says next. Here's where the promise comes in. With good will doing service as to the Lord, and not to men. So three times he said, hey, it's not for man. You're working for Christ. Knowing, here's the promise, verse 8 is your promise, knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bothered free. That's a great promise right there. You can take that to the bank. Any good thing that you do, whether you're free, whether you're enslaved, God says I'll pay you. Did you hear that? So you go to work, and let's say your boss is ripping you off, you're not getting paid right, God says I'll take care of that. I'll pay you. I'll make sure that you get blessed, and I'll make sure you get what's coming to you. That's a great promise. Or, for example, he's saying here, whatsoever good thing any man doeth. I believe that when we go out soul winning in our spare time, like on Sunday afternoons or a weeknight or Saturdays or whenever you go, hey, I believe when God looks down and sees you working for him, I believe he'll take care of you because he says, okay, you're working for that, let me feed you, let me provide for you, let me pay you for that, okay? Because God doesn't just use our labor for free. For example, our employee of our church here, he goes out soul winning every day, right, and we do what? We pay him to do that. But you know what? We don't get paid, the rest of us, for going soul winning, but I believe we will be paid in blessings from God. I believe God can help us to get money in other ways if we'll sacrifice our time to work hard for him because I know that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. So you see, you always should be worth men. You want to know how to get through this tough time right now? We're in a recession, you know, quote unquote. I think we're just at the beginning of the end of the finances in this country, okay? I think we're at the beginning of the end of our way of life in America, that's my opinion. Maybe I'm, hopefully I'm wrong. I don't think it's just a recession, I don't think it's going to come back. But I'll say this, here's how you get through this recession, men. You work six days a week, like the Bible says. Six days shalt thou labor. God's plan throughout the Bible is that men work a six day work week, that you work hard, you know, work long days, hey, men were created on this earth for work. God told Adam, for the rest of your life, you will work by the sweat of your face. And I'm going to tell you something, if you work hard, I don't believe that you'll suffer want. I don't believe you're going to lose it all. I don't believe that you'll be a bankrupt if you work six days a week. Now you say, well, I don't have any work to do with my job. Hey, work for God, get a second job, but for crying out loud, work, fix up your house, do something. Don't be idle, don't be lazy, don't be just sitting around doing nothing. Oh woe is me, woe is the finest, get out there and do something. Hey, at least just work, get up in the morning, you say, it's my day off, get up and work on your day off. You know, if you want to take one day a week and take it easy, hey, that's a principle found in the Bible. I personally don't, I work seven days a week, but you know, that's a Bible principle of resting and I do take time to rest, it's not a good week. You know, there are days you take a day off, take a day off each week and relax, but man, the other six days spend your life working and God's going to look down and see you doing good. He sees you working. I mean, I remember when I was having a bad time financially one time, I went and got a minimum wage job at a restaurant in the evenings and it didn't really add much money. You know, it didn't really do much for me because I made a lot more of my first job than I made of my second job. But I started working that second job just because I said, you know, I just want to work and I just want to show God, hey God, I'm working as hard, you know, I'm doing as much work as I can here. I mean, I'm working my tail off here and God helped me, God blessed me, God got me through that. Okay. And you say, well, I don't want to get second job. Find something to do that's good, that's productive. Hey, get out soul winning with brother Stuckey, God's going to look down and see you working and God's going to take care of you. I believe that if you're out there soul winning, you're out there working, you're out working your job, fix up your house, clean up your house, just work with your life. Don't sit around. Don't be idle. You're going to be unhappy. The sleep of a laboring man is sleep, whether you eat little or whether you eat much, it doesn't matter if you go the whole day without eating, you work hard, you work physically, you're going to drop into bed at night and you're going to sleep like a baby. It's true. It's what God said in the Bible. And so that's a great promise. Ephesians 6.8 is a verse that you ought to take that and say, hey, wait a minute, any time I work I'm being paid. I'm always on the clock, 24 hours a day with God, in God's eyes. God will take care of me. But you see, this doesn't make sense to the world because this is trusting in God, not trusting in uncertain riches. This isn't trusting a bank statement, this is trusting God. You have to either believe in Ephesians 6.8 or you don't believe in Ephesians 6.8. But back to Luke chapter 12, we saw in verse 21, so is he that layeth up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. Verse 22, and he said unto his disciples, this is Luke 12.2, therefore I say to you, take no thought for your life what ye shall eat, neither for the body what ye shall put on. The life is more than me, and the body is more than rain. Consider the ravens. For they neither sow nor reap, which neither have storehouse nor barn. And God feedeth them. How much more are ye better than the fowls? He's basically saying, look, they have no money in the bank. They have no money laid up for a rainy day. Talk about living from paycheck to paycheck. I mean, these birds live from meal to meal, is what he's saying. They go from one meal to the next, relying on God. You say God doesn't feed them, this is nature. God feeds them. Read the book of Job. God feeds every animal. He feeds the wild goats and the hilt. God feeds every animal. A sparrow falls to the ground. God knows. He says, not a sparrow will fall to the ground without God knowing. Not a hare falls off your head that God does not realize that. And God feeds them. He's saying, are ye not much better than they? Are you not better than a fowl? Than a bird? He says, in verse number 25, Which of you, with taking thought, can add to his stature one cubit? Which is a foot and a half. If ye then not be able to do that thing which is the least, why take ye thought to the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow. They twirl them up, they spin not, and yet I say unto you, That Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothed the grass which is today in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? And seek not what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knoweth that ye have the eat of all these things, but rather seek ye the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell that ye have, and give alms. Provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupted, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Do you want your heart to be down in Washington Mutual? Do you want your heart to be in Bank of America? Do you want your heart to live in the Wall Street Journal? Do you want your heart to be in the New York Stock Exchange? Or do you want your heart to be with things of God in heaven? You say, why, because I gave so much money to church? No. I'm not talking about giving money to church. I'm saying because you worked for God with your life. And you say, hey, I know where my paycheck is. It's in heaven. God's going to recompense me in this earth from heaven. He's going to open up his storehouses and provide for me. And then when I get to heaven, I'll be rewarded with a treasure that no one can ever take away from me. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. What's coming first right now in this downturn? Is it money in your life? Is it the thanks statement in your life? Or is it Bible reading? Is it soul winning? Is it church attendance? You see what I'm saying? If you seek first the kingdom of God, he has promised that you will be provided for financially if you'll seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness. Are you living a righteous life? Instead of worrying about your finances so much, why don't you worry, boy, am I being as righteous as I ought to be? Am I living the clean life I ought to live? Am I reading the Bible first? Am I putting the things of God first priority? Is church first? Is the Bible first? Is soul winning first? God promised he'll take care of you. Or what's the alternative to seeking first the kingdom of God? Trust in uncertain riches. Trust Obama. Trust the banking system. No, the banking system will never fall apart. It has to fall apart. There's no money involved. There's no gold. There's nothing. It's nothing. It will eventually fall apart. The question is, when it falls apart, are you going to have all your money in there or are you going to have your money in heaven? That's the question. Shay Pastor Anderson, you know, you believe in being a hard worker. Look, I'm all for working hard and making money. That's not you. I'm not against that. But I'm against putting anything first before God's kingdom. And I'm against building up and amassing wealth on this earth. Because it'll destroy you. It's not that God just doesn't want you to be rich. He knows what it's going to do to you. And some of you lament the fact that you never have any money. But it's only because God knows for your own good that it could corrupt you. And it's not a criticism of you. It's anybody. The Bible says, They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition, for the love of money is the root of all evil. If you want to be rich, if you desire to be rich, you will fall. Now look, some people, you know, make a lot of money. They succeed. They have a lot of money. But that wasn't their desire in life. That wasn't their emphasis. It's just some people make more than others. And then what does that person do? They should be rich toward God. They should be ready to distribute and willing to communicate. Those whom God has given wealth. I'm not talking about people who desire riches and they want to be rich and they're serving money. Those people are bad people, according to the Bible. They're going to fall into temptation and a snare. They're going to be led into all kinds of evil. But I'm talking about the person who God looks down and gives them riches and gives them goods and gives them money. That person should be generous, God says in 1 Timothy 6. Ready to distribute. Willing to communicate. Giving alms. You know, helping those who are in need. Using their money to be a blessing to somebody else who's even worse off or having a harder time. Being generous. See, the Bible teaches generosity. That's what the rich young ruler was missing. He had a lot of money. He was successful. Who gave him that money? Now he was an unbeliever. He wasn't saved. But who gave him the money anyway? God. God gives everybody everything in this world. So God gave him all this money. He was an unbeliever. He was unsaved. And he had the sin in his life of avarice and greed. And he was not giving anyway. He was not generous to anyone. And when Jesus told him we'll sell this and give it to the poor, he didn't want to do it. He loved his money too much. But we as Christians ought to be... If we do have money, we ought to be generous. Helpful to others. If we don't have money, we ought to just look up and have food and raiment and be content. Therewith. And you say, well, I don't know. I just don't feel very secure. I mean, it's going to get worse. What am I going to do? How am I going to feed my family? How am I going to pay the bills? What shall we eat? Or wherewithal shall we be clothed? Jesus said, don't ask that question. Take no thought saying, what shall we eat? Or what shall we drink? Or wherewithal shall we... He said, hey, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. So the moral of the story is this, if you have nothing, rely on God. Work every day. Work hard for God's kingdom, for your job. Whatever work you have to do, what's our thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. And God will take care of you. Rely on God. If you're rich, hey, give to the poor. Help others out. Be generous and spend less time building wealth for who knows who. For your children to be corrupted by it or whatever you want to do with all this money that you're laying up. Hey, rather provide for yourself bags in heaven of treasure that wax not old where moth and rust have not corrupt. You say, well, I'm right in the middle of the case. You know, I'm just kind of getting by, just cruising by. Well, then stop and say, hey, I've got to trust God, not the little bit of money I do have. It's not going to save me. It's not going to help me. And you ought to still be helpful and generous to others and seeking first the kingdom of God. A faithful man, Proverbs 28, you don't have to turn there, shall a battle with blessings. But he that may get haste to be rich shall not be innocent. Get respect to persons is not good, for for a piece of bread that man will transgress. He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and consider not that poverty shall come upon him. Proverbs 28, 6. Better is the poor that walketh in righteousness, I mean in uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich. He's saying it's better to be poor and to be right than to be rich and to be perverse and ungodly. Proverbs 13, 7. Here's the last thought I want to leave you with, a great verse. There is he that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing. Did you hear that? There is he that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing. There is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches. Did you hear that? Keep that in mind. What are the true riches? What is it that you really want in life? To look at something? To stare at a car that's worth $100,000? To go around and look at all the sights of the world? Hey, Jesus was showed all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time and the glory of them. He said, Get thee hence, Satan. For it is written, I shall worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. You cannot serve God and mammon. The devil's trying to show him what the world had to offer? That the money of this world he could buy? He said, I'm going to spend my time serving God, not mammon. And he saw the glory. He saw it all. Hey, it's better to be poor and have great riches, a home in heaven, souls that you've won to Christ, the Bible at your fingertips, people who love you, a church that loves you, a church where you're preaching, friends, family, treasures in heaven.