can you imagine the determination it takes to be “ pure gold? ”

PureGold

Heb 13:5-6

Pure Gold

Pure Gold

Can you imagine the determination it takes

to be “pure gold?”

Pure Gold Phelps has been described as a man of “rigid

focus.”


focus.”Outside the pool, Phelps must train constantly.


focus.”Outside the pool, Phelps must train constantly.He eats 12,000 calories a day.


focus.”Outside the pool, Phelps must train constantly.He eats 12,000 calories a day. His breakfast: 3 sandwiches of fried eggs, cheese,

lettuce, tomato, fried onions & mayonnaise; one omelet; a bowl of grits; 3 slices of French toast with powdered sugar; & 3 chocolate chip pancakes.

Pure Gold

We live in a world where many pursue

“pure gold.”

Pure GoldTwo-Thirds of AmericansAbandon their entire family.

Abandon their church.Become prostitutes for a week or

more.Give up their US citizenship.

Leave their spouses.Withhold testimony & let a murderer

go free.Kill a stranger.

Put their children up for adoption.

Pure Gold In tonight’s text, the author of Hebrews cautions

against a life of “pure gold.”


against a life of “pure gold.”“Keep your life free from the love of money” (Heb

13:5, ESV).



13:5, ESV). Jesus also spoke about the love of money.




“Out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person” (Mk 7:21-23, ESV).




“Out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person” (Mk 7:21-23, ESV).

“Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist n the abundance of his possessions” (Lk 12:15, ESV).



13:5, ESV). Jesus also spoke about the love of money.“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual

immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col 3:5, ESV).

Pure Gold

We find the antidote to covetousness in our

text.

Pure Gold “Keep your life free from the love of money, and

be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’” (Heb 13:5-6, ESV).

Pure Gold “Keep your life free from the love of money, and

be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’” (Heb 13:5-6, ESV).

If we are content, we shall not covet.

Pure Gold

What is contentment?

Pure Gold The term the author uses means to have

enough, to be satisfied.


enough, to be satisfied.Being content means to see ourselves as satisfied.


enough, to be satisfied.Being content means to see ourselves as satisfied.“There is great gain in godliness with contentment, for

we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content” (1 Tm 6:6-8, ESV).



we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content” (1 Tm 6:6-8, ESV). Paul speaks of only food & clothing necessary for

contentment.




contentment. Contentment is part of godliness.





An elder, the highest example in the church, cannot be “a lover of money” (1 Tm 3:3, ESV).

Pure Gold The term the author uses means to have enough,

to be satisfied. Being content means to see ourselves as satisfied. “There is great gain in godliness with contentment, for



An elder, the highest example in the church, cannot be “a lover of money” (1 Tm 3:3, ESV).

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Mt 6:24, ESV).

Pure Gold

Uninspired men also spoke of the need for

contentment.

Pure Gold Socrates: “He is richest who is content with the

least.”


least.” Shakespeare: “He is well paid that is well

satisfied.”



satisfied.” Chinese Proverb: “He who is content can never

be ruined.”




be ruined.” Johann Georg Zimmerman: “He who wants little

always has enough.”





always has enough.” Unknown: “If you are not satisfied with a little,

you will not be satisfied with much.”





always has enough.” Unknown: “If you are not satisfied with a little,

you will not be satisfied with much.” George Eliot: “The contented man is never poor,

the discontented never rich.”

Pure Gold

Several biblical characters were

content with what they had.

Pure Gold John the Baptist.


“Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey” (Mt 3:4, ESV).


“Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey” (Mt 3:4, ESV).

We don’t read a word that John wanted more.

Pure Gold John the Baptist. The poor widow.


“And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on’” (Mk 12:41-44, ESV).


Mk 12:41-44.There is no other way to describe this woman other

than saying that she was content.



than saying that she was content. This was first-century Palestine. As a widow, she would

likely have had no way to earn an income.



than saying that she was content. This was first-century Palestine. As a widow, she would

likely have had no way to earn an income. This lady put in everything she had.

Pure Gold John the Baptist. The poor widow. Paul.

Pure Gold John the Baptist. The poor widow. Paul.

“I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Phil 4:10-13, ESV).

Pure Gold “O what a happy soul

am I! Although I cannot see, I am resolved that in this world Contented I will be; How many blessings I enjoy That other people don’t! To weep and sigh because I’m blind, I cannot, and I won’t.”

Pure Gold “They took away what

should have been my eyes, (But I remembered Milton’s Paradise) They took away what should have been my ears, (Beethoven came and wiped away my tears) They took away what should have been my tongue, (But I talked with God when I was young) He would not let them take away my soul, Possessing that, I still possess the whole.”

Pure Gold

The Key to Contentment

Pure Gold We trust in God’s providential care.


“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’” (Heb 13:5, ESV).


“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’” (Heb 13:5, ESV).

God has promised that he will not leave us!

Pure Gold “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you

will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all” (Mt 6:25-32, ESV).

Pure Gold

That’s so easy to say!

Pure Gold The One who originally said this lived by it!


“Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Mt 8:20, ESV).


“Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Mt 8:20, ESV).

“You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Cor 8:9, ESV).

Pure Gold We must also recognize that we can take nothing

out of this world.


out of this world.“We brought nothing into the world, and we cannot

take anything out of the world” (1 Tm 3:7, ESV).

Pure Gold



take anything out of the world” (1 Tm 3:7, ESV).“Greed is the logical result of the belief that there is

no life after death. We grab what we can while we can however we can and then hold on to it hard.”

Pure Gold



take anything out of the world” (1 Tm 3:7, ESV).“Greed is the logical result of the belief that there is

no life after death. We grab what we can while we can however we can and then hold on to it hard.”

“The day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed” (2 Pt 3:10, ESV).

Pure Gold “Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and things you have prepared, whose will they be?” (Lk 12:20, ESV).

Pure Gold We must also recognize what is truly “essential”

in life.


in life.“If we have food and clothing, with these we will be

content” (1 Tm 6:8, ESV).



content” (1 Tm 6:8, ESV).Notice that Paul only mentions the need for food &

clothing to make him content.



content” (1 Tm 6:8, ESV).Notice that Paul only mentions the need for food &

clothing to make him content. “Seek first the kingdom of God and his

righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Mt 6:33, ESV).

Pure Gold

Pure Gold If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on

your back, a roof over your head, & a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% in this world!

Pure Gold If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on

your back, a roof over your head, & a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% in this world!

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, & spare change in a dish somewhere, you are among the world’s wealthiest 8%!

Pure Gold We must also recognize that material things do

not satisfy.


not satisfy.“He who loves money will not be satisfied with money,

nor he who loves wealth with his income” (Eccl 5:10, ESV).




Material things do not satisfy our true needs.




Material things do not satisfy our true needs: “All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied” (Eccl 6:7, ESV).





Evelyn Adams.





Evelyn Adams. Won $5.4 million.





Evelyn Adams. Won $5.4 million. All her money is gone!





Evelyn Adams. Won $5.4 million. All her money is gone! “I won the American dream but I lost it, too. It was a

very hard fall.”

Pure Gold

Pure Gold

How much gold do we want in our lives?

Pure Gold

How much gold do we want in our lives?

Are we content or always wanting more?

Pure Gold

Are you content with your spiritual life?

can you imagine the determination it takes to be “ pure gold? ”

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