We want to learn how to use our money in a way that is pleasing to God.
We are all stewards of God’s gifts; we do not really own anything here.
• We did not bring anything into this world, and we are bringing nothing out.
• The resources we have are a trust from God; we need to answer to Him one day.
• Be it time, talent or money, God wants us to use it for the work of His Kingdom.
We talk particularly about money last week. The 2 main points we learnt:
1. God gives you money as a TOOL to fulfil His purposes on earth.
2. God gives you money as a TEST to see how much well you can handle it, before He decides to grant you greater honour and responsibility in heaven.
We run through 4 warnings from the Bible regarding “What NOT to do with money”:
• You don’t love it, don’t live for it, don’t trust it, and don’t hoard it.
• We want to make the best use of this TOOL and pass the TEST with flying colours.
• We want to use it to finish God’s work and bless people.
• Each time we do that, God bless us with MORE so that we can do MORE for Him.
So how should we use money, according to the Bible? Follow these principles:
1. The Principle of Tithing: Honour God, Give Him 10% of your Income
I know many of you are tithing, faithfully. That’s good.
I just want to run through the WHYs of tithing so that we do not do it legalistically.
The Lord taught the people of Israel:
• Lev 27:30 “A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.”
• Even for the Levites, who own no land - Num 18:26 The LORD said to Moses, Speak to the Levites and say to them: “When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the LORD’s offering.”
Why 10 percent? Why not 2 percent, or 5 percent? We don’t know. He could have said 50 percent!
• Since God owns everything, obviously He doesn’t need our 10 percent.
• God wants us to take the first 10 percent and give it back to Him for 3 reasons:
(1) It shows your gratitude, that you realise it all comes from Him in the first place;
Ten lepers healed, only one returned to thank. “Where are the rest,” the Lord asked.
(2) It shows your priorities are right, in the present, and
(3) It shows you are going to trust Him to take care of your needs in the future.
Prov 3:9-10 “9Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.”
• He said “I will make you prosperous. I will prosper you if you do this. You will succeed in life if you do this.”
• The way you USE your money is a TEST. Can you really trust God?
There are more promises in the Bible about giving than any other thing? Why?
• Because God wants you to become like Him. And God is generous. “God so loved the world that He gave…”
• Everything you have is because of God’s generosity. He wants us to be like Him.
The purpose of tithing is… because God is poor and He needs your money. No.
• God doesn’t need my money. He doesn’t even want my money.
• What He wants is me. He wants my heart. The Bible says where your treasure is your heart is.
• The Lord says, “I want you and I want you to show it to Me in a physical, material way.” He says, “I want you to put Me number one.”
• The purpose of tithing is to teach you to always put God first in your life.
We may be in debt to other people but don’t be in debt to God. Give to Him first.
• Owe people but don’t owe God. Set aside a tenth of your income first and give it to God.
• The Bible says it’s more blessed to give than to receive. It makes you a happier person. The more you give the more you become like Jesus.
Mal 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 you will not have room enough for it.
• You cannot out give God. You just can’t.
• So here is the principle - whatever you want God to bless, you put Him first.
You want God to bless your family? Put Him first in your family.
You want God to bless your study? Put Him first in your study.
You want God to bless your work? Put Him first in your work.
You want God to bless your finances, put Him first in your finances.
That’s called tithing. If you haven’t done that you ought to start now. It works.
Plan for it. How much is a tenth of your income? Check it through.
• It is not an emotional giving. It is not pressure. If you have little, you give a little. If you have more, you give more. It’s just 10% you keep the 90%.
• Plan for it and prepare to give it.
• That’s the first thing. You put God first. You pay God first.
2. The Principle of Saving: Be a good steward, be prudent.
Save so that you can meet needs. Don’t use up all your money.
• Don’t buy things you do not need, with the money you do not have, to impress the people you do not like.
• Prov 21:20 “In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has.”
The average European saves 18% of their income. The average Japanese person saves 20% of their income. The average American spent 1% more than they made. Not only did they not save anything, they went into a hole. This is deficit spending. This is foolish.
As Christians our purpose is very different from what the world thinks.
• The world thinks savings is for security. The world thinks you’ve got to save it up so you’ll be financially secure.
• Wrong! My security is not in money. My security is in God. He says I will supply all your needs. It has nothing to do with how much or how little I have in my savings account.
You don’t save it for security, you save it for stewardship.
• A good steward is plan how to spend and save, and is prudent.
• Learn from the ant, the Bible says in Prov 6 6Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! 7It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, 8yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.
• They store up for tough times. If an ant-sized brain can figure out the need to save up (and God says they are wise), then we need to do the same.
It is about being wise. You don’t spend on impulse; you don’t spend unnecessarily.
• You are not driven by greed. You plan your finances to meet your future needs.
• 1 Tim 5:8 “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
• 1 Tim 3:12 “A deacon… must manage his children and his household well.” It is a sign of maturity.
• The opposite of a prudent man will be one who gambles money away, like the TV commercial we see, the father begging the child to give him her piggy bank.
Don’t live above your means. Live on less than you make. Learn to live on less. Adopt a plan. Many successful people have learned the 10-10-80 principle.
Sir John Templeton is a multi-billionaire, one of the wealthiest men in the world.
He’s a dedicated Christian now in his nineties now. He invented the idea of trust funds in investments and started the Templeton Fund.
Someone asked him, “How did you make such enormous wealth?”
He said, “From the very start I did the ten-ten-eighty rule. Ten- percent goes to God; at least ten percent goes into savings. Then I live on the rest.”
And he kept raising the savings part every year, 11 percent, 12 percent, on and on, saving more and more and more. And he puts it in a fund and makes his money work for him.
If you have no plan, then it’s a good place to start.
• You tithe 10%, you save 10 and you live on the 80. I think I’m going to do that.
• I save quite a bit, but I do not plan for a fixed amount. But this is good. It’s a good discipline.
3. The Principle of Giving: Give and you will be blessed.
Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Last week we read 1 Tim 6:18-19, “18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”
John Wesley says, “Earn all you can, save all you can, and give all you can.”
There’s one group of people God says He especially cares about - the poor.
• There are over 2000 verses in the Bible that talk about the poor.
• James 2:15-17 “15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
• Don’t call yourself a Christian if you don’t act like one.
• Jesus said to the rich young ruler, “…give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Matt 19:21)
• Prov 19:17 “He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.” When you give to the poor it’s like lending to the Lord and the Lord will pay you back.
• By the way, He pays better interest than anybody else.
Conclusion
Rev 14:13 "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labour, for their deeds will follow them."
• The only thing the Bible says that will follow us into heaven will be our deeds.
• You’re not taking your clothes to heaven. You’re not taking your stuff to heaven. You’re not taking your home to heaven. But your deeds will follow you, the Spirit of the Lord says.
• You’re either piling it up on earth or you’re piling it up in heaven. You’re either storing up treasure on earth or you’re storing up treasure in heaven.
Start making the right choices today. Tithe, save and give.
Prayer:
Lord, I don’t want to have the wrong attitude toward money. I don’t want to love it. I don’t want to live for it. I don’t want to trust in it. And I don’t want to hoard it. I realize that money is a tool to be used and I’m asking You to forgive me for the fact that I haven’t always used it in the right way. Please forgive me.
Help me to set godly goals. Starting today I want to use ten percent to honour You. The first 10% of what I receive. I want to trust You and put You first in my life. Starting today I’m going to start saving some, and provide for my loved ones. Help me to learn how to live on less.
Lord, we want to store up treasures in heaven. This we pray in Jesus’ Name, AMEN.
