Fountain of Life Churches International

TRUST IN GOD, NOT WEALTH

Psalms 49:1-4 Hear this, all peoples; Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, Both low and high, Rich and poor together. My mouth will speak wisdom, And the meditation of my heart will be understanding. I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will express my riddle on the harp.

The question of wealth and the ultimate destiny is age long. We will address this subject from the stand point of psalm 49. This psalm is a bold contrast between the destinies of the wicked and the righteous. It addresses an age-old question: the prosperity of the wicked. The psalmist was living in a time when many evil men were boasting of their wealth vv5, 6 as we also see today. The psalm is therefore written to enable God's people to rise above the ungodly drive for riches. It encourages the faithful to overcome the mere drive for riches and trust in wealth. Verse 1- 4 is an INVITATION to listen to WISDOM and UNDERSTANDING. The terms wisdom and understanding are used to describe genuine spiritual perception. It is the ability to approach life from God's perspective.

The psalmist invited the people of God to listen to wisdom and understanding concerning wealth and life. In the same manner I invite you to pay attention to wisdom and understanding concerning wealth and life in general. I must encourage all of us to approach life from God's perspective. IT IS ONLY IN APPROACHING LIFE FROM GOD'S PERSPECTIVE THAT WEALTH WILL HAVE MEANING IN THIS LIFE. Otherwise, riches are an elusive matter in this life. Wealth is meaningless without God but wealth is of great value with righteous.

Psalms 49:5-8 Why should I fear in days of adversity, When the iniquity of my foes surrounds me, Even those who trust in their wealth And boast in the abundance of their riches? No man can by any means redeem his brother Or give to God a ransom for him-For the redemption of his soul is costly, And he should cease trying forever-

Now join me as we present this puzzle. As I said before, the psalm is a bold contrast between the destinies of the wicked and the righteous. The question at hand is the prosperity of the wicked and their boasting about their wealth v6. God's people are invited to rise above the ungodly drive for riches. Let us now examine the INADEQUACY OF RICHES v5-12. The psalmist asks why should I fear times of trouble, why should I bother about those who trust in their wealth and boasts of the abundance of their riches. He reminds the singers that every single person has the same end that is death v7-12, no one can bribe death. No one can ransom another or give God price for his life v7-9. No riches can pay the price of life to cushion one from death. No one can bribe death v10-12, death happens to all of us. It happens to both the wise who embraces God's perspective of life and the fool who idiotically rejects the statutes of God that is God's perspective of life. All die.

It is therefore a TOTAL FOLLY to trust in riches because RICHES CANNOT BUY LIFE. Eternal life is obtained by faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ on Calvary not on the amount of riches one possesses. Many people work very hard to build empires and call after their names, which is a good thing to do by the standards of the world. Others steal and amass wealth for themselves though doing this in total disregard to God. Now that is called foolishness by the Bible. The Bible declares that Man in all his pomp will not remain v12, BUT those who believe in the eternal God will remain forever. In Deut. 8:17-18, the Bible tells us ". . . you may say in your heart, 'My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.'

But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day." WEALTH IS GIVEN BY GOD TO CONFIRM HIS COVENANT COMMITMENT TO THE SAINTS. Wealth is not a sign or proof of right standing before God. But those who trust in Him who m He has made a binding covenant with by faith obtains blessings upon blessings as confirmation that they are loved by God. Deut. 6:3 "O Israel, you should listen and be careful to do it, that it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey . . . 18 You shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may be well with you. It is a call to trust in the God of riches, not riches, live according to God's perspective, and that is wisdom. Those who live according to God’s perspective of life are said to possess wisdom and understanding for this life.

Psalms 49:13-15 This is the way of those who are foolish, And of those after them who approve their words. Selah. As sheep they are appointed for Sheol; Death shall be their shepherd; And the upright shall rule over them in the morning, And their form shall be for Sheol to consume So that they have no habitation. But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol, For He will receive me.

We will conclude this article by contrasting between the destinies of the wicked person and the righteous person. Let us scrutinize the DESTINIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED v13-20. We established previously that riches are inadequate and cannot help one in the day of death v5-12, you cannot buy life with money. One life is not worth all the riches of this world. So what is the end of everyone? The divergent destinies of the wicked and the righteous are vividly stated v13-20: the wicked man has no hope beyond this life v14, but the righteous man will be resurrected to eternal life v15. The soul of the wicked man is left to the power of the grave/shoel, but the righteous soul is redeemed from the power of Shoel. v15 "But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol, For He will receive me." Grave has no power over the righteous.

God treats these two groups differently when they die. The unfaithful are like sheep appointed for Shoel, while God ransom the faithful person's soul from the power of the grave. It is therefore a total folly to trust in wealth which one cannot carry away when he dies, v17 "For when he dies he will carry nothing away; His glory will not descend after him." Do not trust in your riches nor your fame or honor, the name and empire you build v11, 18. But the psalmist invites us to get understanding and wisdom, which in this case is God's perspective of life. we should take God’s perspective of life because "Man in his pomp, yet without understanding, Is like the beasts that perish" v20. WEALTH IS INADEQUATE AND MEANINGLESS WITHOUT GOD, TRUST IN GOD. It is great wisdom to trust in God who possesses the power to make us rich, the God who is able to make us what he pleases. Trust in the Lord God not wealth.