“Money? It’s Really Not All That Complicated!”
February 13, 2022
Text Verse: Matthew 6:24 – “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
You can’t have giving you two bosses giving different sets of company values. Either God is going to be the primary driving force and values-setter, or money will be.
Matthew 13:22 – the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. A distorted view of money can make us unfruitful.
Money is not the root of all evil. It is the love of money that is the problem. Like any other inanimate object, money is amoral.
1. Is it wrong to want enough money to live comfortably?
1 Timothy 6:17-19 According to this passage, describes the way to have money as a servant and not as a master
- Don’t put hope in wealth, but in God.
- Do good with your wealth.
- Be generous and willing to share.
- He did not tell them to get rid of their riches.
Money is like dynamite. Properly used it can clear the way for terrific life improvements.
Mishandled and it can blow up and destroy the most precious of things.
Sometimes a proper attitude towards money is the difference between life and death. Some people say, when they’ve suffered a major financial loss, “I’m ruined.”
Ecclesiastes 5:10 As goods increase, so do those who consume them.
Luke 12:15 Not even when a man has an abundance does his life come from his possessions.
2. Does God need or want my money?
Job 41:11: Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.
Psalm 24:1: The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,
Malachi 3:10 – Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.
- God’s storehouse versus our “tithe” is like my grandson’s piggy bank versus my bank account.
1 Chronicles 29:14-18 “Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand… Lord, the God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep these desires and thoughts in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you.
- Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
- Jesus rejoiced with Zacchaeus because Zacchaeus had a heart change. A shift from having his identity, his security and his happiness rooted in his money to being rooted in his God.
Does God need or want my money? The answer is no. He wants your heart.
But the church you are part of does need your money in order to operate.
3. What does the Bible teach about how much to give?
2 Corinthians 9:6-8 [New Living Translation] You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”
- Give to the boundaries of your faith as indicated by your cheerfulness.
1 Corinthians 16:2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income…
- Give regularly and proportionately.
- Tithe is a guideline for decision-making. Some can give more. Some give less. It is not intended to be the ceiling of our giving nor is it the floor.
The best version of ourselves is known only by our Creator and one of the opportunities He presents us with to help that “self” emerge is engaging Him regarding our attitude about money.
Homework Assignment: “Lord, what role does my present attitude towards my finances play in getting to know You better?”
Machelle Bryant says
Pastor,
Thank you for the message yesterday regarding Money. It truly blessed my soul. The word money has plague my family for decades and God knows it. That is why he placed that message on your heart because he new I needed to hear it. My mother is currently treating her immediate family with such anger and it is all because of money. She is very unhappy and we don’t know why. She won’t set down with us to have a conversation about the descension that is plaguing our family. No one wants to be around her and it is breaking my heart and God knows it. Please pray for my family it is really bad. Thank you in advance for your prayers. Machelle