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Review: Hope you have come to dine at our table today.  All are welcome.  We continue our study of the book of James and his blunt assessments of church culture and the roots that hinder the work of the heart. 

Read James 5:1-7 

Here we go again.  James wants to talk about his concerns for how wealth can corrupt.   

• James 1:10-11 The rich need to be humbly dependent upon God as life and death show no favoritism.  
   
• James 2:1-4 We should not show favoritism to those who are rich as if they were more favored by God than someone who is poor.
   
• James 2:5-13 In humility as rich people, we should be merciful and act justly.
   
• James 3:14-16 Selfish ambition will set you up as an enemy of God.
   
• James 4:1-3 Involving God to bless your business pursuits to further your own indulgence is a bad idea.  
   
• James 4:13 The pursuit of making money at the cost of yielding to the Lord presumes upon the time you have on earth.  Lord willing… 

James 5:1 The wealthy are charged to burst into tears if they realize that they have become rich in a manner that God is not pleased.    

Wealth becomes sin when… 

1. Our motives are more driven and impassioned for what wealth brings rather than how we use it for God’s purposes. (2-3) 
   • Hoarding what you make reveals your true end game. 
   • Gratefulness takes a back seat to pride in accomplishment.
2. We pursue wealth with methods that are not glorifying to God.  (4) 
   • Gaining wealth at the expense of others impoverishment. 
   • Stingy with your profits and reluctant to be generous with those who enabled your profit. 
   • Failing to use your wealth to lift others up. 
3. Our wealth is hoarded for self-indulgence without generous blessing. (5) 
   • You are compared to fattened cattle for slaughter. 
   • Your luxurious life will be proven to have been a waste. 
   • You will go before God completely broke.  
4. When our impulses are to discredit or harm others who stand in the way of our pursuits. (6) 
   • How many movies have the plot where someone is fired or killed so that someone can get to the top. 
   • We do whatever we can in making sure we are in the better position to make out money-wise than anyone else.  
     • We see this root of sin happen separations and divorces.   
     • We see this root of sin when handling estates of aging parents. 
     • We see this root of sin when handling inheritances. 

James is in alignment with Jesus’ teaching on wealth.  Matthew 6:19-24 

• Jesus highlights the eternal value of the things of Heaven verses the shrinking and vulnerable value of anything on earth. (19-20) 
  

• Where you invest is where your heart will be driven.  (21) 
  • Lost sheep, lost coin, lost son reveal that as well. 
  • Whatever the value of what is lost to you will determine the effort you give in searching for it. 
  • Your eyes are always on what you prize, and it will be evident. (22-23)
     
•  You must choose your purpose. (24) 
  • Pursuit of Money and the Pursuit of God are at odds with one another. 
  • Which one do you despise?   

Tips for redeeming our wealth. 

1. Assess your motive for earning money.
    
2. Assess if your method in earning money glorifies God and blesses others.
    
3. Surrender control of your wealth to Jesus.
    
4. Ask God how you can you pay forward your blessings today?  Repeat tomorrow! 

Every generous act loosens the grip that money can have on your heart.