Ps. 24:1
As our memory verse reflects everything on the earth is the Lord’s, however he gives us each a portion to use. How we use the portion given to us is called stewardship. Over the past two weeks we have looked at how we are stewards of the time and talent God have given us. We have explored how God desires for us to manage and use our time, talents, and gifts according to God’s priorities. Remember if it is God’s in the first place we are simply seeking how God expects us to use them. Today our focus is on one of the hardest subjects to teach and preach about, our treasure. It is a hard subject because most of us are very touchy when it comes to our finances. Yet Jesus spoke more about money and possessions than any other topic because, as Jesus reflected, in Matthew 6:21, we tend to place our treasure where our heart or our values really are. I have heard a preacher say, if I were to take your checkbook and go through it, I could tell what your true values and priorities are. Yet, God wants us to reflect his values, which is therefore reflected in how we use our treasure. We can say what is important for us, however how we use our money reflects our real priorities. Today we are going to look at God’s priorities for the treasure he has blessed us with.
1. I must live within my means.
Living within our means, means we do not spend more than we make on a monthly basis. It means we control our spending keeping our needs, wants, and desires in their proper relationship. Just so that we are clear, our needs are the basic requirements food, clothing, shelter, medical. Wants are the choices of quality of goods we regularly purchase, Ambercrombie & Fitch clothes vs. Wal-mart clothes, hamburger vs. steak. Desires are the things we wish to have but do not need. God promises to take care of our needs, however God does not promise to meet our wants and desires. God promises to feed us, but he did not promise to feed us steak every night for dinner. So as we begin to look at God’s plan for financial peace, we need to get our priorities straight.
A. Do not spend what you do not have.
"Never spend your money before you have it."
Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)
Message Proverbs 24:27 "First plant your fields; then build your barn (house)."
Plant your field and then you can build your barn for storing the grain. Don’t get the cart in front of the horse. If you build your barn or your house first then you may miss the season of planting, and it¡¦s too late you run out of money to and come harvest time you’ve got nothing, your income is dry, and you can’t pay for the barn or house you built.
My dad said something similar to me as I was growing up, "do your chores or your homework first, and then you can play."
We are increasingly living in an instant gratification society. We want it, and we want it now. I think it is a Burger King slogan in a nutshell which emphasizes this, "Have it your way, right away at Burger King now." Burger King’s slogan reflects what society wants and they made a slogan which would meet the needs of people.
Unfortunately our wanting our way right away influences the way we spend our money. We want it whether we can afford it or not. We buy impulsively because we can. If I was around forty years ago, I might not be preaching on using money, but the invention of the credit card has changed everything, we now buy everything on credit, which allows us to buy impulsively. Don’t have the money, no problem, charge it. I’ll pay for it later. As long as I can have the satisfaction of enjoying it now.
As of February 2004, the average credit card debt is $7,500/household, or $9,000/household of those who actually have credit cards.
Buying on credit is based on the false understanding that if I buy it today, even without the money to back it up, I will have the money next month to pay it off, so we argue, it’s ok to buy it. If I can’t pay it off at that point, I can pay the minimum payment.
In my first job out of college I worked with another recent college graduate who managed to build up $25,000 in credit card debt. It snowballed on him because he would keep charging, and when payment time rolled around he would pay the minimum payment. The high interest on credit cards continued to mount until he found himself in so much debt he had to file bankruptcy to get out. Fortunately by the time I had met him, he was heading successfully getting himself out of debt.
"I’m living so far beyond my income that we may almost be said to be living apart."
E. E. Cummings (1894 - 1962)
"My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income."
Errol Flynn (1909 - 1959)
Message Proverbs 17:18 It’s stupid to try to get something for nothing, or run up huge bills you can never pay.
Questions to evaluate purchases before buying (Larry Burkett, How to Manage Your Money, p. 38)
1. Does it enhance God¡¦s work through me?
2. Is it a necessity?
3. Can I do without it?
4. Is it the best possible buy?
5. Does it add to my family relationships?
6. Will it depreciate quickly?
7. Will it require costly upkeep?
If we can answer yes to these and we have the funds, than it is probably a good purchase.
B. Recognize God’s priorities of expenses
1. Tithe to God first (Malachi. 3:8; Proverbs 3:9)
2. Pay our taxes (Matthew 22:21)
3. Take care of our family needs (1 Timothy 5:8)
4. Pay our debts (Psalms 37:21)
5. Use the surplus to bless others (2 Corinthians. 8:14)
2. I need to be content with what God has given me.
NRS 1 Tim 6: 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 After all, we didn’t bring anything with us when we came into the world, and we certainly cannot carry anything with us when we die. 8 So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. 9 But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is at the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
Paul reminds us that we find the greatest gain in our faith, when we learn to be content with what God has already given us. The problem is we are frequently tempted into desiring all sorts of things of this world, it becomes a trap for us, because we cannot get out of the cycle, it sucks us downward like a whirlpool. Paul even warns us that if we follow this path if can lead us away from our faith. Why? Because where our treasure lies is where our values are. If our treasure is in things, that is what we value, instead of God. This is the way the cycle works. We first desire something so much that it becomes a central focusing point for us, we think about it all the time, it consumes us until we purchase it. Then once we purchase it, it provides a great source of satisfaction, for a while, but eventually the newness wears off, and then we move on to the next thing, and the next until it becomes a pattern. Being content means we learn to be satisfied with what we already have.
Would I like to have a new 64" plasma HDTV with Dolby Digital 5.1 theater surround sound? Sure I would. Would I like to have a whirlpool tub on my back porch so I could climb in after a long day of work? Yeah. I would like to have these things and more but the Bible teaches that I need to learn to be content with what I have.
How do we become content as Americans? After all we are surrounded by a sea of advertising on television, radio, and the internet which is founded on convincing us that we need to buy their product to be happier in life. How many commercials have you seen where people are miserable from using their product? None, they want to demonstrate how wonderful your life will be with their product. If we are bombarded with these ads everyday is it even possible to find contentment? Benjamin Franklin back in the 1700’s didn’t think so, he said:
"Who is rich? He that is content. Who is that? Nobody."
Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790)
While Benjamin Franklin may not have found contentment, there was someone who did, the Apostle Paul. He claimed he had found the secret to contentment no matter what was going on in his life.
A. We can find contentment through the strength of Jesus Christ
NIV Phil. 4:11 I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through him [Christ] who gives me strength.
Paul tells us he had it all, he experienced the "best of times and the worst of times." He had times when he had it all, he was on top of the world. There were other times when he didn’t even have a meal to eat or anything to drink. There were times when he was thrown in jail, beaten and left for dead outside a city gate. He knew the full scale of having much all the way to having nothing. But Paul claimed he found contentment in whatever situation. He could be content because Jesus Christ gave him the strength to endure any situation in life, including the ability to resist the tempting of desiring more stuff.
We can find contentment with where we are at right now in Jesus. If we ask Jesus, he will give us the strength to endure. Receive God¡¦s promise.
NLT 1 Corinthians 10:13 And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it.
3. I need to give back to God a portion of my income
God teaches us that we give back to him in proportion to our income. But before we learn about God’s expectation of us in reference to giving. I believe it is important to settle the issue that God gave first. Any teaching on giving must begin with what God gave.
God gave first by sending Jesus
NIV John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
God gave his one and only Son so that we might have eternal life. Our eternal destination has been determined based upon God giving first. Jesus, the Son, gave of himself by being willing to come to earth and become human, and eventually to die a cruel death on a cross for our sake.
God continues to give. God is the source of all our good things.
NLT Psalm 16:2 I said to the LORD, "You are my Master! All the good things I have are from you."
NLT 1 Chronicles 29:14 Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you have already given us!
If we understand that God gave first, and continues to give to us, it makes it a whole lot easier for us to give back to God. The first reaction I usually feel when people begin to tell me about how to manage my money, is it’s none of your business what I do with my money. But if we understand that our money is a gift to us from God, it helps us to relax.
What is God’s expectation on giving?
Tithing
NLT Deuteronomy 14:22 (God speaking ) "You must set aside a tithe of your crops-- one-tenth of all the crops you harvest each year. 23 The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to fear the LORD your God."
During the time of Moses all the way to the time of Jesus, and even to today, God established the tithe as a minimum standard of giving. A tithe was 1/10 or 10% of a families crop or herd.
God chose the tithe for a purpose, so that God’s people might fear him. When we think of the word fear we think of cowering in terror, which is part of the meaning. However to fear also means to be in awe of, to honor, or to revere. When we tithe we are standing in awe of God because we realize it is he who takes care of us. [Demonstrate awe by going to a member of the congregation and being in awe that they are there]. We also have fear because we realize God can also take everything away from us at a moments notice. Tithing causes God’s people to trust him. By giving 1/10 of their crop they had to trust that God would take care of them with the 90% which was left over. They could have used the proceeds from the crop to help care for their family. If we choose not to tithe, we are being confident in ourselves rather than being in awe of God, and trusting in him.
If right now you do not tithe and are having a difficult time with accepting tithing ask yourself why? Why am I having a difficult time with this? It usually boils down to two reasons: My money is none of yours or God’s business, or I can’t afford to give that much away.
The first issue is a control issue, we want to have control. Even though the Bible says otherwise we don’t care what God says about money, we believe it is ours to spend in the way we choose. The truth is, if we use our money according to God’s plan, we will find contentment. I’m not saying it will be easy, but it will bring contentment.
The second issue is that we find it difficult to trust God to take care of us if we give that much away. Our finances are strapped already, and it seems impossible to give that much back to him. It requires trust to give sacrificially.
If we have a difficult time trusting God, God allows us to test him. It the only passage in Scripture which God challenges us to test him.
NIV 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 you will not have room enough for it."
God says to test him. If you think that you will not have enough money, God promises he will provide if we give to him first. God promises us that he will bless us, and take care of our needs, if we bless him first. It may require a shifting of priorities in spending habits, it may require being content with what we have now. For others it may mean God has to provide a miracle to make ends meet, but the challenge is the same either way. God challenges us to test him by giving our tithes (10 percent of our income), and offerings, that which is above and beyond the tithe (such as the building fund).
This isn’t about how much money the church needs, or if we are meeting our budget. It is about your relationship with God. I don’t know how much you give, I don’t want to know how much you give. What I want is for everyone to have the faith God has called
[Testimony about Amy and I attending Wesley Park and learning about tithing for the first time]
What now?
"Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matt. 6:21)."
God may be challenging you regarding your treasure. Perhaps it is regarding your spending patterns, in order to honor God perhaps you need to cut back on spending. There is a section called my commitment. If God is speaking to you this morning about living within your means. Check that box. Make a stance today that you are making a choice to live within your means. Perhaps you are caught in the trap of keeping up with the Jonses, and you have a hard time being content with what you have. Check the box, I will pray for God’s strength to be content with what I have. Some of you may already be tithing and giving offerings. If you have been tithing for a while, please write me a short testimony of how God has provided for you, and ask if God is challenging you to possibly give more. For others of you who may not yet be tithing but have sensed God challenging you this morning to honor God with your finances take the step and sign the commitment card for your own purposes. Perhaps there are others here this morning to whom tithing ten percent seems too big of a jump for you, you aren’t ready to jump out in faith that much, perhaps you need to baby steps. Calculate how much you give as a percentage of your income. Once you have determined that percentage, let’s say it is 3% you can commit to increasing it to 4 or 5% and then every year afterward increase it another 1-2% until you have reached the goal of a 10% tithe.
