The Use Of Money

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.