Giving Series 1

Matt 6: 19-21 “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.”

Dr. Billy Graham once said, ''If a person gets his attitude toward money straight, it will help straighten out almost every other area in his life.''

I’m going to show you today that money matters on many levels.

We’re going to see that how you handle your money reveals a great deal about how deeply God has gotten hold of your heart!

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It might surprise you to know that Jesus talked about money more than He did Heaven and Hell combined!

11 of His 39 parables talk about money.

1 of every 7 verses in the Gospel of Luke talk about money.

—He did not teach that we should all try to be rich, but mainly focused on the power of money to lure us away from what is most important, and the stewardship we’ve been granted over our finances.

Here are a few things the Bible says about money...

Money can keep you away from God: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!" (Matt. 19:24)

Money issues can choke spiritual fruitfulness: “The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the love for money choke the word, making it unfruitful” (Matt 13:22).

Riches are uncertain: “In the blink of an eye wealth disappears, for it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle” (Pr. 23:5).

Money doesn’t bring happiness: “Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!” (Ecc. 5:10)

Money troubles can break up a home: “The greedy (those who go into debt for things already consumed) bring ruin to their households...” (Pr. 15:27)

Now, let’s define money: Money is the resource that empowers us to get what we need or want.

We need money to live, to eat, to be clothed, to stay healthy, and to have a roof over our heads.

And what we do with our money reveals the priorities we have chosen.

If you want to know a person’s priorities, you need only look at their calendar and checkbook!

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How you handle your money also reveals a lot about your level of spiritual maturity.

If you are financially responsible it shows self-control, wisdom about life, and that your heart is primarily free from covetousness.

On the other hand, financial irresponsibility manifests in a wasteful lifestyle that doesn’t save, doesn’t tithe, and accumulates debt for things already consumed.

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Now, when we become a committed follower of Jesus Christ, we discover that Biblical Christianity brings a whole new orientation to money.

The way we handled money in the kingdom of the world is very different from how we’re taught to handle it in the kingdom of God!

For instance, The world teaches us to chase the dollar, while Jesus teaches us to chase Him! “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these (material) things will be added to you” (Matt 6:33).

The world says chase stuff—that next new car, new house, new wardrobe, new whatever...

But the Bible says, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above...” (Col. 3:1)

It’s not that God wants us all living in a shack somewhere, it’s that He wants our primary pursuit in life to be Him, not things.

The world’s message is that success is measured by what you own, how much stuff you accumulate—Like the false message on a popular bumper sticker that reads,

“He who dies with the most toys wins!”

But Jesus said success is not measured by accumulated stuff, but is measured by whether or not you are saved and are fulfilling God’s will for your life.

Actually, do you want to know what REAL FAILURE is?

—Failure is when you’re successful in things that don’t really matter.

Jesus asked, “What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul” (Matt. 16:26).

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So...my question to us today is: If your heart has been converted, has your wallet been converted too?

—You see, Jesus taught that how we handle money reveals whether our hearts have been fully conquered by God, or not.

He said, “Your heart will be where your treasure is” (Matt. 6:21).

Paraphrased, “Where your wallet is, there will your heart be also.”

It is not enough to give Jesus your heart, your head, and your calendar...You must also give Him control over your money.

Question: Have you ever said to Jesus, “I not only give you control of my heart, but I give you control of my finances”?

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Now, I want to talk today about 4 types of financial lifestyles...

We are all in one of these four, and I’ll start with the worst and end with the best....

They are—Living ABOVE your means, living AT your means, living WITHIN your means, and living BELOW your means:

First,

Living ‘above’ your means

This is the person who regularly spends more than they earn...as a result, they are always on the brink of a financial crisis.

This person lives by Wimpy’s philosophy in the Popeye cartoon whose famous line is, “I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.”

Wimpy is willing to be in debt tomorrow for something consumed today.

He lives on credit and never has the cash to pay for the hamburger he wants.

He is the classic “live above your means” man.

LISTEN: The person who lives above their means may have the nicer car, bigger house, and finest clothes, but they’re probably sweating behind closed doors over how in the world they’re ever going to get out of debt.

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The second financial lifestyle is:

II. Living ‘at’ your means

This is the person who lives paycheck to paycheck, and is stretched tighter than a guitar string.

They pay their bills and aren’t foolish enough to go into a mountain of debt, but there are no savings, no retirement fund, and no extra to have any fun with.

When the offering plate comes by at church they discreetly fold up a twenty dollar bill and slide it under the other offerings, a little embarrassed they can’t do more.

Did you know that most Americans live this way!

A recent poll revealed that seventy-eight percent of full-time workers said they live paycheck to paycheck!

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Then, the third financial lifestyle is:

III. Living ‘within’ your means

This person is getting more Bible wise...

They recognize that they don’t really own anything, but that God has entrusted money to them as a steward for a season and a reason...

God says in Haggai 2:8 “The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, says the Lord of All.”

Ps 24:1 “The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;”

Hence, the person living WITHIN their means makes purchases with an eye turned upward, seeking the Lord’s counsel.

Their provider is Jehovah Jireh, not Jehovah Visa!

They think about and plan for the future, and are willing to suffer momentary lack for long term gain.

They don’t have to get what they want NOW, but can wait, according to the passage that reads, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Heb. 13:5).

They can say an anointed “NO” to Wimpy’s philosophy of going into debt for things already consumed, and have learned to live WITHIN their means.

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Finally, we have the last and most desired financial lifestyle:

IV. Living ‘below’ your means

Here’s what living ‘below’ your means looks like...

This person or couple don’t serve their money, they make their money serve them by serving their values and their priorities.

They have decided that investing in the kingdom of God is more important than getting everything they want.

So they have disciplined themselves to give 10% of their income to God’s work, and to save 10% for their future out of every dollar they earn.

As a result, they have money in the bank for unexpected needs...

And they have peace in knowing that they’ve been “rich toward God” as Jesus taught in His parable of the rich man.

So...Those who live BELOW their means have learned to live on 80% of their income.

It takes time and work to get there, but this is the most Biblical lifestyle of all!

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Question: which of these 4 categories are you in today?

How’s that working out for you?

Do you need to rethink your financial lifestyle?

Let’s pray

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