“MONEY MATTERS” Selected Verses in Proverbs
FBCF – 6/9/24
Jon Daniels
INTRO – No coincidence that the day that we roll out our plans for a new Sanctuary is the day that I had scheduled a sermon on money. The announcement about the sanctuary was not planned back in Nov when I laid out my preaching schedule for 2024. But God knew where we would be & what He would be doing in our midst a Church FAMILY right now at this very moment. So, let’s lean in together to hear what HE has to say to us about that place of money in our lives as Christ-followers.
Share a true story about a grandfather & his grandson
- Grandson’ name is Grant. 7 years old.
- In his grandfather’s bedroom. Saw the little bowl where grandfather emptied his pockets at night of
all the change. Was about half full. "Grandpa! what are you going
to do with that money?" I said, "Well, various things. Sometimes I give it to the missions offering at church. Sometimes I give to a friend in need." Then grandfather had an idea.
- "Grant," I said, "Would you like to have this money?" His eyes lit up. "Yes!" "Okay, talk to your parents on what you would do with it & then I’ll give it to you." Grant did. Called, "Grandpa, I'm ready."
- That evening took the coins over to his house. About $30
- Grandfather played w/ other grandkids outside. When he came
inside, saw that Grant & dad had separated the coins into stacks
of one dollar – about thirty stacks. Had 3 banks to put coins in: SAVINGS BANK – CHURCH BANK – FUN BANK (for any toy he wished to purchase.) Savings bank and church bank each got 10%; the other got 80%.
- HERE’S THE POINT: As grandfather walked by, Grant was on the
floor with the stacks of coins, putting them into the banks. Every time he would pick up a coin & put it into the church bank, he would softly say softly, "Bye bye.” Another coin into church bank: “Bye bye." Another coin: "Bye bye. Bye bye."
- IT WAS KILLING HIM TO PUT THOSE COINS IN THE CHURCH BANK!
- "How like human nature! All these coins were GIFTS to him.
he did nothing for them. And yet it was killing him to give 10% to the Lord."
- 1 Corinthians 4:7 asks, “What do you have that you did not receive?” Answer: Not one blessed thing!!!
EXPLANATION – Conclude “HomeWork” series on Proverbs today. So many important topics in this books that give us practical advice for everyday life – parenting, marriage, sexual purity, friendships, hard work, &, today’s subject: MONEY MATTERS. Lots of financial wisdom found in Proverbs. In the 31 chapters in this book, over 130 references to financial issues.
Interesting that one of best article I found in my studies this week was actually from the Forbes website – “The Financial Wisdom Found in Proverbs.” Don’t know if author is a Christian, but Forbes not known as a Christian financial resource. May go to Dave Ramsey or Ron Blue to find that type of info.
But author of article made some good points w/ these themes in Proverbs:
- Prosperity & Poverty
- The Call to Generosity
- Compassion for the Poor
- The Pitfalls of Ill-Gotten Gain, Borrowing, & Lending
- Money is Not the Ultimate End
- The Benefits of Advice
But his introductory statement is what grabbed my attention: “Personal finance is more personal than it is finance.” (https://www.forbes.com/sites/timmaurer/2023/04/16/the-financial-wisdom-found-in-proverbs/?sh=379c8b11350c)
APPLICATION – God gives us money to do His Kingdom work.
Why are there so many Proverbs that talk about money?
MONEY GIVES US THE ABILITY TO HELP OTHERS
Proverbs 11:24-25 – “The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller. The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped.” (MSG)
The only category in our budget where we are over budget is our missions budget. Why are we over budget there? B/c our missions giving as a church is based on a percentage of our overall budget receipts. So, the more you & I give to the Lord’s Church, the more money goes out to support Kingdom mission work around the world!
Money gives us the ability to help others by doing the K’dom work that God has called us to do individually & corporately. And the greatest way we can help someone is by sharing the Gospel w/ them & making disciples of all nations!
- Money helps us spread the Gospel around the world in greater & greater ways.
- …helps us build buildings to worship God in, to preach the Gospel, to make disciples & train people to do K’dom work in greater & greater ways
- …have the resources we need to continuing making much of JESUS in every way we possibly can, to grow God’s Church numerically & spiritually, to impact our community & world w/ the Gospel of JESUS CHRIST in greater & greater ways!
MONEY SHOWS US THE CONDITION OF OUR HEART
Our attitude toward $ will show us the real condition of our heart. What’s your attitude?
- Stingy? – Proverbs 28:22 – “The stingy are eager to get rich & unaware that poverty awaits them.”
- Dishonest? – Proverbs 13:11 – “Dishonest money dwindles away…
- Generous? – Proverbs 22:9 – “The generous will themselves be blessed…”
- Kind? – Proverbs 19:17 – “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, & He will reward them for what they have done.”
- Wise? Proverbs 19:8 – “The one who gets wisdom loves life; the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.”
MONEY REVEALS OUR TRUE DEVOTION
Nothing wrong w/ being concerned about your finances in a healthy way.
- Turning 60 in a couple of weeks. Vick & I have been single-income family most of our lives, so I want to do my best to make sure that we are prepared if & when I’m able to retire. Want to be able to provide for her if something happens to me. So I check my retirement account balance & its performance about once a week. Talk to an adviser.
Nothing wrong w/ making money – even making a lot of money. Nothing wrong w/ being aggressive in your pursuit of financial gain & investments.
But we have to balance our proper desire to make money & provide for our families w/ the proper faith that our God is Jehovah-Jireh – The Lord our Provider.
And we must be careful that our desire to make money doesn’t become a domination by money.
- Proverbs 23:4 – “Do not wear yourself out to get rich…”
- Matthew 6:24 - “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one & love the other, or he will be devoted to the one & despise the other. You cannot serve God & money.”
- You will only serve one Master
- You will only have one true Love
- “Having money is not the problem. The danger is when money has YOU & becomes more important to you than spiritual things.” (Tony Evans)
