1. Sin was the weed in the “Garden of Eden.”
2. We never know when it will crop up, it is like the dandelions, if you don’t get all of the root, it will spring back up in a very short time to reclaim your well cultivated yard.
3. Riches cultivate the same problems that dandelions do.
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (1 Timothy 6:10)

1. Often times we look around us and see rich people everywhere.
2. You ask about their prosperity and you will be told that they worked for their money and they deserve to keep its.

1. God has no qualm with rich men, but he does have a problem with those who have ill gotten gains.
2. Those who make their money by extortion (Prov 28:8), dishonest scales (Prov 11:1) and religious fraud for which Jesus cleansed the temple twice (Matt 21:12, John 2:15) during His time here on earth.
Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight. (Proverbs 11:1)
-------------------------
Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. (Matthew 21:12)
--------------------------
3. If you need an example to study, look at the conversation Jesus had with the rich man, in Matthew 19:21, Mark 10:21, and Luke 18:21-23
Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." (Matthew 19:21)
4. Ill-gotten or legally gotten riches have a strong worldly hold on mankind, just like a dandelion root in your garden or like the sin of the “Garden of Eden” has on mankind.
But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. (Luke 18:23)

1. How much better it would have been for him to be poor and follow Jesus, than rich and walk away sorrowful.
2. That one lust of the flesh, the perversion of money, would cost him his eternal reward.
Better is the poor who walks in his integrity Than one perverse in his ways, though he be rich.
(Proverbs 28:6)

1. To get away from the sin in the “Garden of Eden”, God gave us a task to do:
In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return." (Genesis 3:19)
2. Even in this task of tilling the ground, the Lord did not condemn the riches of honest labor, nor did he hinder making wealth.
He who tills his land will have plenty of bread, But he who follows frivolity will have poverty enough! (Proverbs 28:19)

1. If you do not properly weed your garden and you harvest the tares with the wheat and sell it all “as wheat”, you cover your sins with false righteousness and your gain is now ill gotten gain.
2. Then what will your end be? Will you walk away from your Master sorrowfully?
He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. (Proverbs 28:13)

1. The Lord has a plan for the rich and the poor, notice: that confession is joined with “and” to forsake, confession is followed by forsaking the sin involved in your transgression.
2. If you are willing to weed your garden of the dandelions of sin, AND forsake them, We will help you. If you the prayers of the church, or you want to put “on Christ” and be “in Christ” we offer you that opportunity while we stand and sing.

By Gary Murphy

Return to the Sermon Outlines page