Introduction

As Americans, we love our reality television shows. There was one series that aired for six years on A&E called Hoarders. It was people who had real-life struggles and received treatment for their compulsive hoarding disorder. As each hoarder received help and treatment, the primary battle was parting with their belongings.

While this may be a radical behavior, many have a hoarding mentality when it comes to money. So how can we be set free from this mindset and tendency? That is precisely what we want to jump into today in part 2 of our series, Money Talks: The world’s money says, “Hoard Me.” God’s money says, “Save Me.”

As Jesus taught His disciples, “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” (Matthew 6:24). If we’re not careful, money can easily replace God as our master. Someone once posed the question, “Which statement scares you more: There is no God, or there is no money in your bank account?” If you’re honest with yourself, which statement raises your level of anxiety more?

For many of us, running out of money is the greater fear—so we chase after it or we cling to what we do have. We hoard our money.

You cannot serve both God and money

Main Teaching/Body

There are some who claim that saving isn’t biblical. Jesus didn’t save, so we shouldn’t either, right? Jesus told the parable of the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-30, Mark 10:17-31, and Luke 18:18-30) in which a wealthy young man came to Jesus asking what he needed to do to earn eternal life. Jesus replied, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (Matthew 19:21). People will often argue whether this was Jesus’s response to just this one individual, or if it was a command to every Christian against saving money. After all, the disciples left their livelihoods behind to follow Jesus. If we really believe in God, shouldn’t we trust Him for our daily bread like the Israelites did in the wilderness? This belief system is often referred to as the “Poverty Gospel.”

On the other side of things, we have this idea of the “Prosperity Gospel” preached in some churches today. The Prosperity Gospel says that if you believe in God (and give to the XYZ ministry of the person preaching), you will become richer than you ever imagined. Pretty soon you’ll be driving a luxury car, living in a brand-new mansion, and going on tropical vacations every other month.

The reality of the Gospel is a little different. Scripture is filled with examples of godly men and women who were poor—whether by choice or through circumstance—such as Ruth, the widow who gave her two coins, and the story of the rich man and Lazarus. Perhaps the most famous story of someone choosing a life of poverty for the sake of the Gospel is Jesus Himself—God becoming man to come and live on Earth as one of us.

But Scripture also shows us many examples of God-fearing individuals who were wealthy and prosperous: Abraham, Joseph, King David, King Solomon, Matthew, and Lydia, just to name a few. Then there were people like Job and the apostle Paul who experienced both poverty and wealth at different points in their lives.

The question then becomes not how much money you should have, but how to honor God with the money you do have.

The key in every area of your finances is putting God first. When you do, watch how He provides. The Israelites spent 40 years in the wilderness totally dependent on God. He provided manna each morning: a white flakey substance like bread. Manna literally means “What is it?” in Hebrew.

Each morning, the Israelites were told to gather what they needed for that one day ... View this full sermon with PRO Premium