Hebrews chapter 13 verse 5. That's going to be
toward the back of your Bible. Hebrews chapter
13 verse 5. The author of Hebrews is bringing
the letter here to a close in these verses. And
there's really a lot of good stuff. and the verses
surrounding this particular verse. We won't look
at those things today. Maybe at some point we
will. But today we're just going to look at one
little verse, Hebrews chapter 13, verse 5. We'll
read through it, then we'll pray, and then we'll
get started. Your life should be free from the
love of money. Be satisfied with what you have,
for he himself has said, I will never leave you
or forsake you. Let's pray. God, we thank you
for this simple command, this simple verse, this
simple truth, dear Lord. It is so easy to read
this, and it's easy to understand this, dear
Lord, but it is quite difficult for us to live
this out. So I pray, God, that you would help
us to grow from your word today. I pray, God,
that you would help us to be a people who would
seek you, to fight the temptations, to live for
the world, and to seek the things of the world,
dear Lord. I pray that you would free us from
distractions today. We come in here with our
worries and our pains and our stresses of this
world and things that happened last week. Worry
about what will happen next week, but I pray
that in these few moments, dear Lord, that your
Holy Spirit would just be among this place, God.
We want to hear from you today, God. There is
no good word that I can speak if it does not
come from you, so I pray, dear Lord, that your
Spirit would come upon us today, that you would
be glorified today, dear Lord, that you take
away any fear or any pride that is within me,
and that every word that is said today is for
your glory. That every word, dear Lord, points
us to Jesus Christ. That every word would be
an encouragement or a correction to us. Whatever
we may need, dear Lord, you know where we are.
So I pray, God, that you just would be with us
this morning. And I ask these things in Jesus'
name. Amen. There is lots of good instruction
in the Bible. I suppose we could say it's all
good instruction. Some of it is not as easy to
understand. Some of it is very easy to understand,
but a lot of it is very hard for us to live out.
We live in a world where we are constantly bombarded
with temptations. There's a fleshly part of us
that is... that is longing for and tempted by
the things of the world. And more times than
not, the very things that we are drawn to are
the things that the Word of God tells us to be
on guard against. And so it's a constant struggle
because the things of the world butt heads with
the things of God's Word. And so many of the
things that our world holds up as important,
that our world tries to say, these are the things
you need to do. This is what you need to strive
for. This is what you need to be successful.
Many of those things are things that the Bible
would say are things that will destroy us. And
one of those things that's talked about occasionally
in Scripture is greed, is a love for money. It
is a desire for material things. Now our world
has a certain metric, a certain standard that
says, you know, here's how you can gauge if you
are successful. Have you graduated high school?
Have you graduated college? Do you have an undergrad
degree? Do you have a master's degree? Do you
have a doctorate? And every level that we get
that next little peg up the ladder, then that
shows, that's the evidence that we are successful.
Do you have a job making $50 ,000 a year or $100
,000 a year or a million dollars a year? And
every time we make it to that next level, it
proves that we are successful. Do people know
your name? Do people talk about you? Are you
famous? Do people want to get their picture made
with you? Are you an athlete? Are you the best
at what you do? There are all these things that
the world would kind of prop up and promote,
and we see it on social media, and we see a kind
of target in our young people that this is what
you need to strive for, and this is what success
is, and this is what you need to be. And a lot
of times money is right at the center of that.
A lot of times, rightly or wrongly, we gauge
our success on the amount of money that we have.
And so money becomes a God to us. And we may
not like to say that. We may not like to admit
it. But maybe more times than we want to admit,
or maybe even that we know, maybe God, our God,
has become our money. That has become what we
strive for. That has become what we find our
comfort in. And when our bank accounts have plenty
of money, we're pretty relaxed. When our bank
accounts get pretty low, we get kind of freaked
out. Now what does that tell us? If you fall
into that category, and maybe we all do, well
that might tell us that we're trusting in our
money more than we're trusting in God. Now we
probably would all come in here today and we'd
give the church answer. I would say, what do
you love more than anything? And you would all
say, God! Because that's the right answer. That's
the church answer. But that might not be what's
really the answer in our heart. That really may
not be true for us. And there's a really easy
test for us all to take, whether we are young
or whether we are old, to determine what we really
love in this world. And the way we determine
what we love is what we spend our money on. It's
just that simple. Now you can think about, not
right now, listen right now, you can get your
pen and paper out later and you can start figuring
it up. But you don't have to think very long
because you already know after I said that that
I'm spending way too much money on X, Y, and
Z. And that's an easy way for us to tell what
we love. Do we love God? Well, if we love God,
we're probably going to use what God blesses
us with to bless other people. We're probably
going to use what God blesses us with, whether
it's our money or our skills or our time, and
we're going to use that to bless other people.
And so the question that we have to think about,
and this is scary, because probably some of us
are not going to like the answer we get, because
we're going to start figuring up, and we're going
to start seeing, Maybe we spend way more money
on stuff than we do on service to God. Maybe
we spend way more money on ourselves than we
do on people who are in need. You know what that
tells us maybe? Maybe that tells us we love ourselves
more than we love other people. That's not to
say everything we do for ourselves is evil. But
the Holy Spirit can help us to be able to discern.
The Holy Spirit can help us to know when we maybe
need to pull back a little bit. The Holy Spirit
can help us to know if we begin to place things
of the world and our wealth of the world over
God and the commands of God. And in Hebrews chapter
13, verse 5, he said, Your life should be free
from the love of money. And we probably would
all say in here, I don't love money. Well, maybe
you don't. Praise God. There's probably some
that don't. But maybe we don't care necessarily
about having a big bank account, but we might
like stuff. Probably got some stuff that we like.
We like our technologies. We like our vehicles.
We like our other hobbies, whatever they may
be, fishing, hunting, golfing, whatever it may
be. We can find a variety of things. And guess
what those things cost? They cost money. And
so we may look at verses like these and say,
well, I'm off the hook. I don't have a bunch
of money in my bank account. I'm not storing
up a bunch of money. And this verse is a good
verse for us to consider today because God's
word says that our life should be free of the
love of money. So what does God want us to do
with our money? Well, some people. They just
want to hoard their money. They want to be stingy.
They're a miser, and the Bible talks about that.
Not in a good way. God blesses us. Praise the
Lord. God doesn't want us to be stingy with our
money. On the flip side, God blesses us. He doesn't
want us to just blow it all on ourselves. God
wants us to use what he has blessed us with to
bless others. So the question that we have to
answer is, do we love our money? More than we
love God? Do we love our things that our money
buys us more than we love God? And if we love
our money more than we love our God, then guess
what our money has become? It has become our
God. Now the scripture talks a lot about the
poor. In James chapter 2 verse 5, listen to what
it says. It says, listen, my dear brothers, didn't
God choose the poor in this world to be rich
in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he has
promised to those who love him? Didn't God choose
the poor to be what? To be rich in faith. Now,
there's a problem that we experience, especially
as Americans. Now, some Americans have it better
than others, but generally speaking, as Americans,
we're doing pretty good. We're doing pretty good
when we compare ourselves with the rest of the
world. We are pretty blessed. And there are many
people in the world, the vast majority of the
people in the world, who would look at us today
and say that we are all wealthy. Now, we may
not consider ourselves as wealthy, but quite
frankly, we are. You look at Americans in 2025
today, and we are blessed beyond measure. But
the problem with that is the more we get, the
more we want. And the more we get, the more that
begins to pull our focus from God. The more we
get, the more we begin to trust in the things
that we get and the wealth that we have. The
more we get, the more we trust in the things
and we quit trusting in God because what need
is there for God when we're wealthy? That's why
it's hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom
of God. That's why it's the poor who have greater
faith in God as we see here in James. Now that's
not to say that rich people can't have faith
in God. They certainly can. There's certainly
been plenty of wealthy people throughout the
history of the world that were genuinely and
truly servants of God that had faith in God.
But it's not easy. It's not easy. And I suspect
that more of us... fall into that trap of trusting
in our money and trusting in our material gain,
then we realize. And Hebrews says, look, you
should be free from the love of money. And then
it goes on to say this in the next part of Hebrews
chapter 13, verse 5. Be satisfied with what you
have. Now that's the hard part right there. We
see that idea. Some of your translations there
may say be content. We see that idea of contentment
and being satisfied with what we have. So he
says, look, don't love money. Don't be consumed
by money. Don't put your trust in money, but
be satisfied with what you have. There's another
test there for us to take today. Are we content
with what we have? Maybe you are. That's a beautiful
thing. To find contentment and to be satisfied
is a beautiful thing. But to be discontent, it's
a horrible thing. Because to be discontent, we
continually strive for more and more and more
and more. And we're looking for that next thing
that's going to fill that longing that we have
in our life, to fill that void that we have in
our life, to give us that joy that we're looking
for and that happiness that we're looking for.
And we're never happy with the thing we've got.
We always want the next thing, and that comes
with a lot of burden. But to be satisfied comes
with a great deal of peace. Proverbs chapter
17 verse 1 says, Better a dry crust with peace
than a house full of feasting with strife. You
see, our world would say we're successful if
we have the fame and if we have the wealth and
if we have the positions of power. But the Bible
would say just the opposite of that. The Bible
would say, It's better to have a little and to
be at peace. It's better to have nothing and
trust in God than to have all of the wealth in
the world and trust in your wealth. So the book
of Hebrews in 13 verse 5 here gives us a good
command, some good instruction, a good test for
us today. Are we free from the love of money?
Are we satisfied with what we have? I can look
back at my life and I can say, and maybe you
can too, but the times in my life that I was
satisfied and content were the happiest times
of my life. And you know what? Most of the time
when I look back at those times, they were times
when I did not have anything. And what little
I had, I was glad to have it. But there's this
problem that we have. The more we get, the more
we want, the more we expect, the more we think
we are entitled to these things. When we don't
have and God blesses us, we appreciate it. And
the more blessings that we receive, all of the
sudden we stop being thankful to God and we start
trusting in those blessings more than the one
who gives them instead of just being proud that
God loves us, that God has blessed us and being
satisfied with what little or what great amount
we have to know that it is God who has provided
it for us and we are satisfied in God. I remember
when I was probably... Oh, this was like 1998
probably. I went back and I did the math. I was
probably like 15 years old. And I was at my grandma
Irene's house one day, and she told me, I want
you to go look in the back seat of the car. I
got you something. All right. I was pretty excited
about that. And so I go out there, and I open
up the door in the back seat of her car, and
lo and behold, there on the back seat is a 13
-inch color TV that she had bought at a garage
sale. And when I say color TV, I use the word
lightly. It was slightly tinted. It was wore
out 15 years before she bought it at the garage
sale. But you know what? I was so happy to get
that. I was so proud to get that. I was like,
I got a TV, a 13 -inch TV. It wasn't even as
big as this tablet. And I was so proud, and she
got it. Because she was tired of me playing my
Nintendo games on her TV. She wanted to keep
me out of there. And I'm telling you, and I used
that TV for like five years. I used that TV for
a long time. It was horrible. But I didn't know
it was horrible. I was like, this is the greatest
thing ever. I was just excited to get it. I was
satisfied. I wasn't even thinking about getting
another TV. And that's how we need to be when
the Lord blesses us. We need to be excited when
God blesses us. We need to be satisfied and say,
God, thank you for what you've given me. But
sometimes we may say, God, you give me this and
it's okay, but couldn't you give me a 17 -inch
TV? I mean, Mario, I can't hardly see him. But
the problem is that not maybe that we're not
satisfied with the things of the world, the real
core of the issue, When we're not satisfied with
the things that we have, when we're always complaining
about the things that we have or the things that
we don't have, when we are not satisfied with
the things of the world, the real problem is,
is that we are not satisfied with God. is that
we are not content with God. Because if we were
content with God, if we were satisfied with God,
then we wouldn't care about these other things.
If we got them, we would say, praise God. If
we didn't get them, we would say, praise God.
And so our real problem with discontentment and
dissatisfaction that we face is that we are not
content with God. We have not gotten to the point
where we love God more than we love our stuff.
And Paul talks about this in his writings. He
says in Philippians chapter 4, verses 12 and
13, he says, I know how to have a little, and
I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances,
I have learned the secret of being content, whether
well -fed or hungry, whether in abundance or
in need. I am able to do all things through him
who strengthens me. Paul says, I don't care what
the world has for me because I have Jesus. If
I have a lot to eat, praise God. If I don't,
praise God. My strength does not come from what
I have in this world. It comes from Jesus Christ.
And so many times what happens to us is we put
all of our strength in the things of the world,
and the things of the world disappear. We put
our strength in our wealth, and our wealth is
gone, our strength is gone. We put our strength
in our health, when our health is gone, our strength
is gone. We put our strength in our friends and
our family and our spouses and our kids, and
they abandon us. Our strength is gone. If our
strength is based on and founded on things of
the world, those things can be gone in a moment.
And when those things are gone, our strength
is gone. But Paul says, my strength is in Jesus
Christ. And because of that, I can do all things.
I live in a world and I have things or I don't
have things, but that's not who defines me. That's
not what defines my success. What defines my
success is whether or not I'm living in obedience
to Jesus Christ. And Paul got it. But what about
us? Can we say that today and really mean it
from the heart? Can we say that today, that I
have learned to be content in all things? And
maybe you can. And maybe you can't. And praise
God that we're here. That's why we come. We don't
come here because we're like a bunch of super
Christians, like we just do it all right and
we're just kind of like, oh yeah, these are good
words for the peasants, but we can do it. No,
these words are for us that sit in these pews
because this is a struggle for us. Maybe it's
a struggle for some of us more than others, but
I suspect it's a struggle for all of us. But
Paul understood what it meant to be content.
And as long as we're striving for things of the
world, we will never be content. I had that 13
-inch TV. I thought that thing was pretty hot
stuff. I loved it. And then one day I got a 55
-inch TV, and then I thought, that's pretty good
stuff too. But you know what I thought, too?
I thought a 65 would be better. And so now we've
worked our way up to an 85. And you would think,
you know what you would think, you'd think, that's
pretty big, you ought to be happy with that.
You know what I look at every once in a while?
I look at a 100 -inch. I think you know. And
that's our problem. And that's not good, by the
way. Y 'all can pray for me on that. That's not
a joke. I'm serious. That's one of my struggles.
We all have our struggles. But what I should
say is I should say I just need to be content.
And I need to rejoice in the 85 inch that I got.
Woe is me that I can only watch the Super Bowl
in 85 inches of 4K ultra high def. But you know
what? My life was a lot simpler and a lot more.
peaceful in the world of TVs when I had a 13
-inch TV that barely had any color because I
was satisfied. So there's something to this being
satisfied. There's something to this saying,
you know what, the things of the world look pretty
good and they feel pretty good and they're pretty
enticing, but the problem with the things of
the world is that they leave us empty and broken.
and just wanting the next new shiny. But if we
are content with Jesus Christ, we will be satisfied
with everything else. And if we're not satisfied
with the other things in our life today, then
the fact of the matter may be that we are not
content with Jesus Christ. Paul said, In 2 Corinthians
12, verse 10, So I take pleasure in weaknesses,
insults, catastrophes, persecutions, and in pressures
because of Christ. For when I am weak, then I
am strong. That statement, those words, are words
that can only be spoken by one who is satisfied
with Jesus Christ. What about you today? Can
you say that? Can you say, look, I take pleasure
in my affliction. I take pleasure in my pain.
I take pleasure in the persecution. I take pleasure
in the difficulties of this world. I take pleasure
in not having the things of this world. I take
pleasure in the ridicule that I receive from
other people. I take pleasure in these things
because of Jesus Christ. Can we say that today?
Paul could say it, and he could mean it. only
because he was completely satisfied in Jesus
Christ. Perhaps today we need to change what
our goals are. Stop trying to accomplish the
goals of the world and start trying to accomplish
the goal of Scripture, which is to trust in Jesus
Christ, which is to allow him to be our strength.
And the moment we begin to trust in Jesus, the
moment we realize that he is a Savior who gave
his life on a cross so that our sins could be
forgiven, and he is the only source of strength
that there is, he is the only source of strength
that there is. There is no other today. And we
try to find strength in all of this junk in the
world. And we could just make a long list of
the things that we try to find comfort in, but
it only comes through Jesus Christ. The scripture
says that God is the God of all comfort. He is
the God of all strength. There is no other comfort,
there is no other strength tonight, today, excuse
me, apart from God. And he is the only one who
will sustain us today. And if we are sustained
with Jesus Christ and content with Jesus Christ,
then nothing else will matter in our life. And
if there are things in our life of the world
today that are overwhelming us, then we need
to give those things to him. And we need to humble
ourselves before Jesus Christ. Are you satisfied
today? You ever, you remember the hymn? Some
of you may have sang it before. Maybe you've
heard it before. I am satisfied. I am satisfied.
I am satisfied with Jesus. I'm satisfied with
Jesus. Can we sing those words today? And then
the chorus ends. But the question comes to me
as I think of Calvary. Is my master satisfied
with me? Let's pray. God, we come to you today.
We thank you for your words. And I pray, dear
Lord, that Jesus would be our strength today.
God, maybe there are some in this room and they
do not know who Jesus is. Maybe they know the
scripture, they've heard it, but maybe they don't
know him, God. They don't have a relationship
with him. They know of him. But God, maybe today
there's some in this room and Jesus is not their
strength. Maybe they have been searching this
world over for strength and comfort in their
careers or in their wealth or in their families
or whatever it may be, dear Lord. But these are
not the things that define us, dear Lord. These
are not the things that give us strength. These
things only leave us longing for more, looking
for more, searching, dear Lord. And maybe there
are some that have come into this room today
and they were searching when they came into this
place, dear Lord. And I pray today that their
search may end at Jesus Christ. That they would
just give up the rat race, dear Lord, and try
to keep up with the world. And that they would
submit themselves to Jesus Christ. That in this
moment, God, that they would ask that you would
forgive them. That they would repent of their
sinfulness, dear Lord. God, maybe there's some
in this room today and they are yours, but maybe
they have put other gods before you today. Maybe
we all in some way, shape, or form, we trust
in our wealth and our junk a little more than
we should, dear Lord. But God, I pray today that
we would trust you all the more, dear Lord. Your
word calls us not to... Not to love money, but
to be satisfied, dear Lord. And it ends with
the promise that you will never leave us or forsake
us, dear Lord. We can be sustained by that truth,
dear Lord. While the things of this world may
fail and may fall away, dear Lord, you will never
leave us or forsake us. God, that is our strength
today. We cannot make it through this life. We
cannot make it through all the struggles and
the pains and the difficulties of this world,
dear Lord. We can't fight against sin on our
own. We can only do so knowing that you are with
us. So God, I pray that you would remind us of
that truth today, that we see at the end of this
verse, God, that you will never leave us or forsake
us, dear Lord. I pray today, God, that if there
are some who are yours, that have tried to find
the power to carry on in things of the world,
that they would give those things up today, that
they would trust you, that they would be sustained
by you, that they would be content with you today,
dear Lord. I thank you for each one that's here.
I pray that you'd watch over each one that's
here. I pray that you'd bless them. I pray that
you would just work on them right now, dear Lord,
whatever you need them to hear. I pray that you're
working on their heart. And I pray, God, that
if there are any who are here that do not know
Jesus Christ, who want to put their faith and
trust in Him, who want to repent of their sins
today, who've already made that decision, God,
where they see it, I pray that as we sing in
a moment, that they would come forward, that
they would make that decision known, that we
would rejoice with them. God, maybe there are
some here today and they just struggle. Maybe
they're like me and they just struggle with the
dumbest things, dear Lord. Help us to be content
even with the simple things in this world. Help
us to be able to fight those temptations and
to rejoice in you. God, maybe if there are some
that just struggle today that need prayer, let
them come down to get prayer today. Let them
pray where they are. But God, if you've spoken
to anybody today, I pray that they would respond
in these next few moments. And I ask these things
in Jesus' name. Amen.