Wealth

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Wealth Poverty
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• Lord Shaftesbury
• (1801 1885)
• personal faith
• practical mission
• political activism

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• What does this picture of Rio de Janiero make you
  think feel?

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(No Transcript)
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The Bible and wealth

• Why does Jesus talk so much about money and
  wealth?
• Being honest, how does it make you feel?

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• I used to think when I was a child, that Christ
  might have been exaggerating when he warned about
  the dangers of wealth. Today I know better.
• I know how very hard it is to be rich and still
  keep the milk of human kindness. Money has a
  dangerous way of putting scales on ones eyes, a
  dangerous way of freezing peoples hands, eyes,
  lips and hearts
• Dom Helder Camara
• (Brazilian Archbishop)

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The dangers of wealth

• It can blind us to Gods sovereignty (Proverbs,
  Parable of the Rich Fool Luke 1213)
• It is a barrier to following Jesus (Mark 10
  17-31, Luke 1433, 1 Timothy 610)
• It makes us greedy (Luke 1215, 1613-15)
• We can forget our responsibility to the poor
  (Proverbs 1125, Parable of the Rich man and
  Lazarus, Luke 1619)
• It is a root of injustice (Amos 511-13,1 Timothy
  610 James 51-6)

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• How can Christians in the UK adopt a more
  Biblical approach to wealth?
• What would it mean for your church?

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A Prayer from Proverbs 307-9

• Two things I ask of you, O LORD do not refuse
  me before I die
• Keep falsehood and lies far from me give me
  neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my
  daily bread.
• Otherwise I may have too much and disown you and
  say Who is the LORD?
• Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonour
  the name of my God.

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• If someone asked you
• What parts of the Bible speak about poverty?
• How would you answer them?

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The Bibles meta-narrative (or big story)
Creation
Fall
Redemption
New Creation
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The Bible and poverty 1
Creation

• Creation
• Humanity made in image of God
• Sharing, stewarding, working, prospering
• Shalom right relationships

Fall
Redemption
New Creation
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The Bible and poverty 2
Creation

• Fall
• Violence, selfishness, greed, corruption
  (Gen.3-11)
• Economics, politics, religion all affected
  (Ezekiel 22)

Fall
Redemption
New Creation
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The Bible and poverty 3
Creation

• Redemption
• OT Covenant, liberation, law, prophets, monarchy
• NT Jesus and the kingdom of God, the early
  Church
• The Church today

Fall
Redemption
New Creation
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• Covenant
• all peoples on earth will be blessed through
  you (Gen 123)
• Liberation
• God liberates his people and them from slavery
  and oppression
• Law
• Jubilee (Lev 25, Deut 15), widows and orphans
  (Deut 2419)
• Prophets
• Social injustice in Amos, Jeremiah, Isaiah,
  Habakkuk, Micah
• Monarchy
• Just rule (Deut.1714-17, Proverbs 318-9)
• hatred of poverty (Psalm 456-7)
• Jesus and the kingdom of God
• The Nazareth Manifesto (Luke 4) scripture
  fulfilled
• Comforting the disturbed and disturbing the
  comfortable
• The death and resurrection of Christ and the
  victory of God
• The early Church
• Living now in the new age that is to come

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The Bible and poverty4
Creation

• New Creation
• Judgement putting the world to rights
• God will consummate and complete his work of
  redemption and renewal
• The New Heavens and New Earth (Isaiah 65, Rev.
  21)

Fall
Redemption
New Creation
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Material poverty Not having what we need
Poverty of identity Seeing ourselves negatively
Poverty of relationships Not having good
relationships
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• Conclusion 1 Timothy 617-19
• Command those who are rich in this present
  world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in
  wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their
  hope in God, who richly provides us with
  everything for our enjoyment.
• Command them to do good, to be rich in good
  deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.
  In this way they will lay up treasure for
  themselves as a firm foundation for the coming
  age, so that they may take hold of the life that
  is truly life.

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• A recipe for faithfulness
• Reject arrogance and hope in money
• Acknowledge God is the source of everything
• Be rich in good deeds, generous, willing to share
• Build a firm foundation for the age that is come

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• The time is coming when matters will not
  measured by talent, or ability, or by fine
  clothes, or by power to speak, or by being on
  platforms, or by listening to those upon
  platforms.
• But the time is coming when matters will be
  measured by those who have the truest faith, the
  deepest love, and the most sincere acts of
  obedience to their Lord and Saviour, and most
  devoted and strong imitation of his blessed
  example.

Lord Shaftesbury 1867