June 18 - Funding the Great Commission

The important aspect for you to remember is that you are working with a unique person. Because of this, you must approach each person without assumption but a desire to explore who they are. Understanding who your client is will help you provide the best guidance for the individual.

Personal experiences shape and influence a person’s perception, feelings, and beliefs about money. Those who went through the Great Depression were known for their frugality and, sometimes, their hoarding. The lack of financial and physical resources left an imprint on their lives and future behavior.

A person’s past relationship with money and possessions, specifically during their childhood and early adulthood, can have a large impact on their current relationship with money. Major financial events, like the Great Depression or the 2008 market crash, can impact a person for many years. The resources a person possesses while growing up can influence their perception,

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mentality of Funding the Great Commission - from Pastor Jerome idea

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feelings, and beliefs, about money. Likewise, how a person’s parents spoke about money and managed money can have a significant influence.

15 And you Philippians know that in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone. 16 For even in Thessalonica you sent gifts for my need several times. 17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the profit, that is increasing to your account. 18 But I have received everything in full, and I have an abundance. I am fully supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you provided—a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. 19 And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 20 Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

FINAL1

1 Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Php 4:15–21

Philippians 4:15–21 CSB

And you Philippians know that in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone. For even in Thessalonica you sent gifts for my need several times. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the profit that is increasing to your account. But I have received everything in full, and I have an abundance. I am fully supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you provided—a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send you greetings.

Rather than pursue a life filled with worldly wealth, which will be destroyed by moth and rust, let us pursue a life with Christ, which is of eternal value. Along the way, if God entrusts you with worldly wealth, give him thanks and ask him how you can use those resources to expand his Kingdom. Pursuing wealth is not the same as being entrusted with wealth.

Interestingly, there is much consensus around the need for a better process of forming true disciples in our churches. And yet, I’m not hearing the conversation around discipleship as it relates to generosity, stewardship, and giving. This is the most neglected area of discipleship in the American church. And I believe that is a problem.

In the church over the last 50-60 years, we have allowed the conversation about giving and generosity to be more transactional than transformational, especially in our worship services. In other words, more about how to give (online, appreciated assets, and other ways) and where to give (to this budget, to this project) than why to give. I’m not saying the “how to give” conversation is unnecessary. We have allowed it to monopolize the conversation to exclude “why we give,” which is the transformational perspective. And that makes it a conversation about discipleship.

A lot of people have a problem with the Church and money. They think the Church is after their money. Well, let’s clear that up.

God doesn’t want your money. God doesn’t need your money.

God is not after your money. God is after your heart. And so is the Church.

God is not after your money. God wants to see your faith increase. And so does the Church.

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MANAGE | May 29, 2023 Financial Surrender By: Mark Biller At some point in our Christian walk, many of us come to a fork in the spiritual road where the Lord makes us aware that we’ve been asking Him to join us in what we are doing, rather than us joining Him in what He is doing. That’s often the uncomfortable bottom-line of the choice we have as Christians when making decisions. It’s easy to take all the available information, set our course, then ask God to join us in what we’ve decided. It’s much harder to surrender a decision to God, ask for His direction, then wait for an answer. (No, I don’t always hear clear direction, even when I ask, wait, and seek. Be encouraged — the Lord often grants us the freedom to choose among our available options. Moving forward in a case like that is quite different from not asking, waiting, and seeking first!) The problem with setting our own course without listening first for God’s direction is that even seemingly great ideas don’t always line up with God’s plan. Surrendering completely to God often leads to surprising outcomes. King David’s experience with the temple offers a great illustration. If ever someone could have reasonably assumed his thoughts were being led by God, it would be David in 2 Samuel 7-10. These chapters are the glory years of David’s life. God had shown him incredible favor, established him as king, and given him victory over his enemies. As David reflected, it bothered him that the Ark of the Covenant was sitting in a tent while he was living in a palace. So David decided to build God a temple. But David had learned (in 2 Samuel 6) that God can be very particular about how He wants things done. So before taking action, he called the prophet Nathan to confirm this plan was indeed God’s will. At first, this seemed to be such an obviously good idea that Nathan immediately agreed David should proceed. Oops. See, building a temple was something God wanted to happen. The idea was right. David’s motive was right. The problem was God didn’t want David to be the one to build it. The reason wasn’t obvious at the time; only later do we learn why God chose someone other than David to build the temple: “You are not to build a house for my Name, because you are a warrior and have shed blood” (1 Chronicles 28:3). God corrected Nathan’s assumption, reminding us that His plans don’t always line up with our “common sense.” David was humbly surrendered to do whatever God wanted. So David’s son Solomon was given the honor of building the temple, and God was pleased. Each of us can apply the lessons of this story to our lives — including in the area of our personal finances. First and foremost, have we really surrendered our finances 100% to God, or are we merely asking Him to join us in what we’re doing? (This requires regular check-ups. Even if we’ve surrendered before, we have a tendency to gradually re-assume control of areas that were once fully given over to the Lord.) When we’re sure our heart is surrendered to whatever God’s answer may be, the next step is simply to ask Him to show us His will. Here are a few specific areas to ask the Lord about: your job or career path;retirement plans and amount of saving;current and future giving;family plans/children/childcare-work decisions;lifestyle and other purchase choices. Could it be the Lord desires something out of the ordinary from you in one (or more) of these areas? Once you’ve prayed and asked Him to reveal His will in a particular area, be diligent to look and listen for His answer! If we come with an open heart, God is faithful to show us areas we need to surrender. The path to true financial freedom begins with surrender and the realization that God owns it all anyway. We are merely His managers and stewards. Too often we believe the age-old deception that God’s plans and our personal best interests are two separate things. Pride whispers that we really do know best; that giving up our rights costs us something of value. But as we lay down our agenda and surrender to God, we realize that His plans and our best interests are perfectly aligned. As John Piper says, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” We get maximum satisfaction in the same place He gets maximum glory. The journey to that place begins with our surrender and a willingness to follow His lead. image used with permission 📷 Since 1990, do-it-yourself Christian investors have relied on SMI for proven strategies and trustworthy guidance. You May Also Like 📷 Debt and Death Jun 2, 2023 Do you know what happens to credit card debt when a loved one dies? 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3. Debt cannot steal your hope.

In Luke 12:13-21, Jesus tells the story of a foolish rich man. In the story, the man gains significant material wealth and finds that his barns can no longer hold everything.

His solution?

Tear down the barns and build bigger ones.

The result?

He relaxes and rejoices that he will have no worries for years to come.

Oh, and he dies. God even says, "You fool! Tonight you die!" (paraphrased).

So, why did God call this guy a fool? It wasn't because he had wealth. It was because his hope was in his riches and not in God.

You may be thinking, "But I'm not rich! What does this have to do with me?"

You may not be rich. However, a lack of earthly wealth does not mean you haven't misplaced your hope. In other words, you might look at your debt and start to feel an inkling of hopelessness. If that's the case, you've placed your hope in your finances.

We place our hope in something much bigger than money. Money cannot give you true life and hope. Nor can it fill that empty void in your life. Only Christ can offer you true life and true hope.

Christ has given us immeasurable hope in him. He gives eternal life to all who believe in him. And nothing, not even debt, can separate us from him.

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Matthew 19:16-69, 1 Timothy 6:10, and Hebrews 13:5 are important passages for Christian stewardship. However, none of these passages make the claim that money, on its own, is bad or that being rich is sinful. What these verses all have in common is the simple truth that (1) money can be dangerous when abused, (2) money should never be idolized, and ultimately, (3) money is not our salvation.

The reality is that many of us who live in the United States are wealthy. God has likely blessed you with significant resource when compared to the rest of the world’s population. According to CNN Money, it only takes $34,000 a year, after taxes, to be among the richest 1% in the world. If that’s the case, a vast majority of us are considered the richest in the world! Our perspective changes when the 1% is closer to us than we think.

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The idea that our money and possessions belong to us, not God, is a dangerous misconception. Many of our problems begin when we forget that God is the Boss of the universe. But in fact, He is more than the boss; He is the owner.

From beginning to end, Scripture repeatedly emphasizes God’s ownership of everything: “To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it” (Deuteronomy 10:14). When I grasp that I’m a steward, not an owner, it totally changes my perspective. Suddenly, I’m not asking, “How much of my money shall I, out of the goodness of my heart, give to God?” Rather, I’m asking, “Since all of ‘my’ money is really yours, Lord, how would you like me to invest your money today?”

I believe the only way to break our grip on material things is first, to see ourselves as stewards that God has entrusted these money and possessions to, and second, to give. Jesus says, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). As long as I still have something, I believe I own it. But when I give it away, I relinquish the control, power, and prestige that come with wealth. At the moment of release, the light turns on. The magic spell is broken. My mind clears, and I recognize God as owner, myself as servant, and other people as intended beneficiaries of what God has entrusted to me.

I once loaned a new boom box to our church’s high school group. It came back beat-up and that bothered me. But the Lord reminded me it wasn’t my boom box—it was His. And it had been used to help reach young people. Who was I to complain? I also owned thousands of books that I valued highly. I loaned them out, but it troubled me when they weren’t returned or came back looking shabby. Then I sensed God’s leading to begin a church library. I started looking at the names of those who checked them out, sometimes dozens of names per book. By releasing the books, I was investing in other lives. Suddenly the more worn the book, the more delighted I was. My perspective totally changed.

Christ’s words were direct and profound: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). What we do with our possessions is a sure indicator of what’s in our hearts. Jesus is saying, “Show me your checkbook, your credit card statement, and your receipts for expenditures, and I’ll show you where your heart is.” What we do with our money and possessions doesn’t lie. It is a bold statement to God of what we truly value.

So put your resources, your assets, your money and possessions, your time and talents and energies into the things of God. As surely as the compass needle follows north, your heart will follow your treasure. May God’s people be liberated from money- and possessions-love, break the back of materialism through generous giving to the needy, and pursue the lasting pleasures found in knowing and serving Christ.

*Image used with permission. *

For seven years, Joseph stored up grain in Egypt, knowing a famine was coming. At first, it may not have appeared to amount to much. But over time, so much grain was accumulated that he stopped keeping records of it. And this grain sustained not only Egypt but surrounding countries as well during the seven years of famine that followed (Genesis 41:41-57). We can learn a couple of things from Joseph's diligence:

1. Urgency. Joseph didn't wait until year 6 of abundance to start preparing for the famine. He took it seriously from the first day and immediately implemented a program to collect and store grain during the years of plenty. Similarly for us - the best time to get started is now!

2. Consistency. Joseph didn't just collect grain when it was convenient or easy. He faithfully persevered for seven years, gathering and storing the grain in a time of need. In the same way, our practice of productive financial habits needs to be consistent.

3. Thoroughness. Joseph didn't just collect grain from a few areas. He collected it throughout Egypt, storing it in the cities near the fields where it was harvested (verse 48). Likewise, we need to apply positive habits throughout all our finances in order to reap their benefits.

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https://www.christianstewardshipnetwork.com/blog/2023/4/17/do-generosity-and-stewardship-mean-the-same-thing

You cannot bite the hand the feeds you

James 1:19 –

We are all aware that in America we are the

Put someone

When we put something before God. Don’t put money before God

Control us

Isolate us

Destroys us

The love of Money

God is first and not Money

Why

He does not need our money

Why does God talk so much about money

1. God wants us to love him more then money – Matthew 6:19 – Where ever your treasure is Store in Heaven. The desires of you heart will be there also

2. Wherever we put our money first our hearts naturally gravity to move to the thing or person

3. How do I know if God is first and not my money? Do you tithe? Tithes in the first of your increase. Tithing is not I give some money. Tithing is not I give 5% of my income. Tithing is I give the first 10% of my income to the local church? The local church is charged to spread to learn to follow Jesus to the city.

4. Genesis 4 – Cain and Able. Able gave the first. Cain see what he has and then gives. Cain is a giver but not a tither. Cain is self-sufficient.

5. Tithing helps us turn from independence to total dependency in God. When we give our first fruit.

6.

80% of the room does not tithe. Jesus loves you. The rich fall in self-sufficient. Giving God first helps us to be dependent on God.

Giving builds by character. Luke 11:42 –

Some of you believe that a tithe is old testament rule and we are under grace. I don’t keep the law anymore I am living under grace. Under Grace God expectation and the way we live does not down but goes up. They don’t talk about tithing much because they have given it ALL. They sold everything. Under grace is more.

Need to building Generosity muscle. The heart opens to the Lord. Mark 12:41 – Jesus is watching the crown. She gave everything she had.

Some people say when I make more I will give more. – Sample

The more we make the less we give - Luke 12:48

Tithing is the starting point.

Giving sacrificially actually builds our faith – Hebrews 11:6

When is the last time you prayed about your financial faith?

Haggie 1:2

Luke 6 – Give and

When I tithe and Jesus is first it set me free from the deception that more stuff will make me happy, I start to live within my means, Start making better financial decisions and I end up with more. And exercise my generosity muscle.

Giving allows me to identify with Christ - Matthew 16 …Give up your own ways and follow me…

Jesus sacrifice we should also sacrifice. What are you sacrificing for the sake of the Kingdom?

What would have to change for your giving to be a sacrifice?

I timothy 6

We are never more like Jesus then when we give.

Given allows me to make a difference.

Over the last 50-60 years, we have allowed the conversation in the church about giving and generosity to become more transactional than transformational, especially in our worship services. In other words, it has become more about how to give (in person, online, through an app, etc.) and where to give (to this budget, to this project, to this church) than why to give.

I’m not saying the “how to give” conversation is unnecessary. But we have allowed it to monopolize the conversation to the exclusion of the “why,” which leads to the transformational part – the piece that makes it a conversation about discipleship.

Generosity is one of the marks of a person whose heart has been profoundly transformed by Christ. Let’s not ignore this.

Our relationship with money is critical, and if we seek to honor God with it, he can use it to transform us into Christlikeness. And if we leave it out of our discipleship discussions? It has the power to destroy us.

Don’t get off-balance in your theological approach to money. Some people lean toward “prosperity theology,” which says if we have faith, God will bless us materially. Others lean toward “poverty theology,” which says having money turns us away from God, so money and possessions are not good.

There’s some truth in each of those views, but rather than lean one way or the other, let’s have a stewardship theology. That’s what Patrick Morley advocates in his book The Man in the Mirror.

He says good stewards understand money and “possessions are a trust given [by God] in varying proportions, according to His sovereign will and plan for our lives and God-given abilities." I think that’s exactly right. So stay in balance—and be a good steward.

I had a great conversation on this topic with Jason Myhre from the Eventide Center for Faith & Investing, which you can listen to here.

James 1 Christian Standard Bible

Greeting 1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ: To the twelve tribes dispersed abroad.[a] Greetings. Trials and Maturity 2 Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing. 5 Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith without doubting.[b] For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord, 8 being double-minded and unstable in all his ways.[c] 9 Let the brother of humble circumstances boast in his exaltation, 10 but let the rich boast in his humiliation because he will pass away like a flower of the field. 11 For the sun rises and, together with the scorching wind, dries up the grass; its flower falls off, and its beautiful appearance perishes. In the same way, the rich person will wither away while pursuing his activities. 12 Blessed is the one who endures trials, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God[d] has promised to those who love him. 13 No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God,” since God is not tempted by evil, and he himself doesn’t tempt anyone. 14 But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire. 15 Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death. 16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 By his own choice, he gave us birth by the word of truth so that we would be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Money Measures Three Personal Attributes:

Confidence – do you trust God to provide? (brief pause)

Contentment – is Jesus enough or is it Jesus and stuff (mammon)? (brief pause)

Character – do you own your possessions or do your possessions own you? (brief pause)

As Martin Luther said,

“There are three conversions necessary:

1. the conversion of the heart,

2. the conversion of the mind,

3. and the conversion of the purse.”

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It’s a Heart Issue

Our heart reveals our true treasures.

No pressure to add this, but it hit me this morning as a potential TT:

How you consistently “store” reveals who you consistently serve!

Looking forward to how God will use you tomorrow!