Sunday, January 28, 2018

WHY A TESTIMONY IS BETTER THAN A TREASURE

Proverbs 22:1-2 (KJV)
A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.
The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.

I learned, when I first began to preach, that a good message will attempt to provide the congregation a reason they ought to take the message to heart.

Every message ought to at least try to answer for the listener the “Why?” question.
  • Why should I hear this message?
  • Why should I respond to its appeal?
  • Why should I obey its commands?
  • Why should I practice its principles?

In other words we want to tell the congregation how they benefit by the message.

There is a very practical reason for doing this. 
People are selfish. We do almost everything we do for some sort of personal gain, whether real or perceived.

You might think that we should not try to appeal to people’s selfish nature but,
There is abundant evidence that the Bible does this too.
Doesn’t the Bible teach us that there are rewards awaiting Christians in heaven?
  • For faithfulness
  • For loving his appearing
  • For witnessing
  • For pastoring
  • For finishing our race

As we have worked our way through the Proverbs we have seen many passages instructing us to set our priorities around our faith and not around wealth and riches.

This passage tells us why a good name is better than riches.

Why should I seek a good testimony rather than a great treasure?

I. A DEFINITION
Proverbs 22:1 (KJV)
A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.

I going to begin by defining what a testimony is. Notice the two terms, “a good name” and “loving favor.”

Both of them apply to the two directions all of us should be concerned.
  • To God
  • To our neighbor

Matthew 22:37-39 (KJV)
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

My chief concern is pleasing God. But this in no way implies I have no concern with my relationship with others.

Paul said, Acts 24:16 (KJV)
And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.

A. A Good name
The Hebrew word here means “reputation.”

The word good has been added by the translators for clarification and I believe we can use the second term to help us define it.

Notice the word loving. It means good:
  • Pleasant
  • Agreeable
  • Valuable

Your reputation is valuable.
If you have a reputation for paying your bills, for example, you are more likely to get a loan when you need one.

If you have a reputation of taking care of things, you are more to have someone loan you a tool when you ask to borrow it.

If you have a reputation for being kind, you are more likely to find that people want to be around you.

Here’s a truth – wealth cannot purchase a good testimony.

There comes a day in every person’s life when we need a friend.

Wealthy people can sometimes gather people around them, but unless they have a good name, none of those people will be true friends.

B. Loving favor
The word favor means:
  • Grace
  • Charm
  • Elegance or, most fitting for the context
  • Acceptance

Esther 5:2 (KJV)
And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre.

Esther needed to speak to the king about the decree to kill all the Jews in his kingdom.

She was the queen and God had put her in this office just for this purpose.

But it was not lawful, even for the queen, to approach the king unless he had called for her.

So she and her friends fasted and prayed and then she went to see the king.

  • Would he reject her? or
  • Would he accept her?

The Bible says when he saw her; “she obtained favor in his sight.” He accepted her into his presence.

The Bible teaches us that to have such a reputation that people want you in their presence – this is more valuable than silver and gold.

And it is all the more true when that reputation concerns our standing before God.

We have in the passage secondly
II. A DESTINATION
Proverbs 22:2 (KJV)
The rich and poor meet together: ….

I am using the word destination a little bit loosely. 

What I mean is that each of us will stand before God and, when we do, our standard of living will be worthless.

On earth we tend to gather with people in our own social level.
  • The upper class with the upper class
  • The middle class with the middle class
  • The lower class with the lower class

People with certain levels of education tend to build around them others with the same level of education.

  • People with similar occupations tend to gather together.
  • Athletes tend to hang around athletes
  • Computer geeks tend to hang around other computer geeks

We tend to be more comfortable with people who are like us.

But the Bible says, Romans 14:11-12 (KJV)
For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

When that day happens, 
  • That your name is written in the book of life and
  • That you are accepted in the beloved
Will be the only thing that matters.

Silver and gold, riches of any sort, will be useless.

Notice finally,
III. A DECLARATION
Proverbs 22:2 (KJV)
… : the LORD is the maker of them all.

This is the great leveler. 

The Lord has made us all.

It is true that we make choices and those choices effect our reputation and very often our standard of living.

The decision to trust Jesus Christ as Saviour or not is the difference between being accepted into the family of God to being condemned to eternal hell.

But every one of us has the same opportunity:
  • To become a child of God
  • To come boldly to the throne of grace
  • To obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need 

Because every one of us has the same Maker.

Conclusion
One of the greatest reasons to choose a good testimony over great riches is because all of us will stand before God and give an account one day.


And God is no respecter of persons.

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