IN GOD WE TRUST?

Week 1 — God Owns It All

One of the most powerful spiritual shifts a believer can experience... is the moment we stop asking:

“Why does God want my money?”

and we begin asking:

“Why did God trust me with what I have?”

OH COME ON SOMEBODY....DON’T GET QUIET....

Before we go any further, let me say something honestly.

Any time the church begins to talk about...

money, giving, or generosity,

there is a temptation for people to quietly tune out —

not because they don’t love God,

but because finances are...

personal, sensitive, and sometimes uncomfortable.

ONE OF MY RESPONSIBILITIES AS YOUR PASTOR

IS TO TEACH YOU WHAT THE WORD OF GOD SAYS

And Scripture teaches something important:

Money is not just a financial subject —

it is a spiritual formation subject.

WE CAN SEE IN SCRIPTURE....

THAT Jesus spoke about money more than almost any other topic...

IT’S because He understood that what we trust with our resources...

often reveals what we trust with our hearts.

OH COME ON....

IF WERE HONEST....

FOR MOST....THE SUBJECT OF MONEY IS A PROBLEM FOR US

BECAUSE WE WOULD RATHER SAVE OUR MONEY TO BUY THE NEXT BEST THING.

RATHER THAN GIVE OUR MONEY BACK TO GOD

THE ONE WHO GAVE IT TO US IN THE FIRST PLACE....

Matthew 6:21 NIV

21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

WHAT HE IS TEACHING US IN THIS PASSAGE IS THAT....

WHAT YOU VALUE MOST....DICTATES WHERE YOUR....

FOCUS, YOUR DESIRES, AND YOUR EFFORTS ARE DIRECTED

HE IS URGEING US TO PRIORITIZE ETERNAL, HEAVENLY THINGS OVER EARTHLY WEALTH

OH COME ON.....

EARTHLY THINGS WILL BE LOST AND DESTROYED

HE IS CALLING US TO ALIGN OUR LIFE’S PURPOSE WITH SPIRITUAL VALUES...

NOT JUST MATERIAL POSSESIONS.

Generosity is not about church budgets.

It is about growing into mature discipleship.

Just like prayer stretches our faith,

just like forgiveness stretches our character,

learning to trust God with our finances stretches our dependence on Him.

So I encourage you this morning:

Don’t tune out because we’re talking about money.

Lean in — because God is not trying to take something from you.

He is trying to grow something inside of you.

HERE IS THE THING....

when we understand this correctly,

conversations about generosity stop feeling uncomfortable

AND WE start LOOKING AT THEM AS opportunities for spiritual growth.

OH MY LORD.....

I PREACHED A SERIES AWHILE BACK ON.....BEING ROOTED AND GROWING INTO MATURITY IN CHRIST

THAT’S EASY TO LISTEN TO

CHALLENGING..... BUT ENCORAGING

HERE IS THE PROBLEM.....

OUR MONEY, OUR FINANCES, OUR GIVING....

IF WE NEVER TALK ABOUT IT AND YOU NEVER MATURE IN IT

YOUR MISSING OUT ON SO MUCH OF JESUS’S TEACHING

SO MUCH OF WHAT GOD HAS FOR YOU

WATCH THIS.....DID YOU KNOW....

There are over 2,000 verses in the Bible dealing with

money, possessions, stewardship, and generosity.

THIS is more verses than those dealing specifically with prayer or faith individually.

In the Gospels, approximately 1 out of every 6 verses touches on money or possessions in some way.

AND.....16 of Jesus’ 38 parables involve money, stewardship, or resources.

Sometimes people wonder why the Bible — and especially Jesus — talked so much about money, possessions, and stewardship.

It’s not because finances are the most important thing in life.

It’s because money touches almost every decision we make.

How we earn it.

How we spend it.

How we save it.

How we give it.

Money quietly reveals

what we trust,

what we fear,

and what we value most.

That....IS why Jesus said:

Matthew 6:21 NIV

21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Jesus understood something profound:

If God truly has our hearts,

our resources will naturally follow.

But if our resources control us,

our hearts will struggle to follow God fully.

OH MY LORD.....THIS IS SO GOOD...

SO UNDERSTAND THIS....

when Scripture teaches about giving and generosity,

it is not trying to manage our wallets —

it is shaping our discipleship.

CHURCH……

generosity doesn’t even begin with giving.

It begins with ownership.

AND....Until ownership is settled,

stewardship will always feel like pressure.

But when ownership becomes clear,

giving becomes worship.

THIS IS WHAT GIVING TITHES AND OFFERING IS....

IT’S WORSHIP

THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS WE GIVE YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO BRING YOUR GIVING TO THE ALTAR

AS A SIGN OF WORSHIP TO GOD

YOU DON’T HAVE TO

AND IT DOESN’T MAKE YOU MORE SPIRITUAL TO GIVE HERE ON THE ALTAR

BUT ITS AN OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE BACK TO GOD

LETS LOOK AT......

Psalm 24:1 NIV

1 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH....

David begins with a declaration:

Everything belongs to God.

The Hebrew word for EARTH in this passage is...

erets

it refers not only to the earth itself...

but to everything contained within it...

resources, provision, opportunity, and increase.

David is telling us:

Everything we hold.....

first came from God’s hand.

TEACHING POINT 1 — OWNERSHIP DETERMINES ATTITUDE

BORROWING SOMEONE ELSES CAR OR ANYTHING

If I believe something is mine,

I protect it tightly.

BUT If I understand something belongs to God,

I manage it differently.

Haggai 2:8 NIV

8 ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty.

CHURCH.....

God is not asking for what is ours.

He is reminding us what has always been His.

WATCH HOW GOD BLESSES AND RESTORES WHEN WE TRUST HIM AND OBEY HIM.

Biblical Story — Widow of Zarephath (Trust in Scarcity)

1 Kings 17:10–14 NIV

10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.” 12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.” 13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’ ”

God asked her to release what she believed was her last provision.....

not because He wanted to take from her,

but because He was revealing that He was still her source.

OH COME SOMEBODY......

Her miracle did not begin when the jar filled.

It began when trust opened her hand.

OH MY LORD....

Church,

generosity is rarely tested when abundance is obvious.

It is tested when trust is required.

CAN SOMEBODY SAY AMEN

Ownership determines attitude —

and attitude determines obedience.

THE NEXT THING YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND IS...

WE ARE STEWARDS, NOT OWNERS

1 Chronicles 29:14 NIV

14 “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.

David recognized that giving to God was not LOSING SOMETHING —

it was returning IT

The biblical steward was a manager entrusted with the responsibility of someone else’s resources.

That means:

God provides

We manage

God is honored through our management

ANYBODY FAMILIAR WITH....

The Parable of the Talents

Matthew 25:14–18 NIV

14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

Jesus intentionally uses financial imagery to teach a spiritual truth:

Faithfulness is measured not by how much we receive,

but by how faithfully we manage what we are entrusted.

ASK YOURSELF THIS QUESTION.....

If God evaluated my stewardship today,

would it reflect fear,

comfort,

or trust?

WRITE THIS DOWN......

TRUST BEGINS WHERE CONTROL ENDS

Many believers struggle with generosity

and it’s not because they are unwilling —

its because control feels safer than trust.

Deuteronomy 8:18 NIV

18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

Even the strength, THE opportunity, and YOUR ability to earn...

IT ALL COMES FROM GOD

CHURCH

generosity is not subtracting from YOUR future —

IT’S acknowledging who holds YOUR future.

when ownership is clear,

giving stops feeling like loss

and begins to feel like alignment.

Because GUESS WHAT....

the same God who provided yesterday

is the God who provides tomorrow.

OH COME ON......I SAID....

THE SAME GOD WHO GAVE YOU THAT JOB....

IS THE SAME GOD WHO ALLOWS YOU TO KEEP THAT JOB

THE SAME GOD WHO PUT A ROOF OVER YOUR HEAD.....

IS THE SAME GOD WHO ALLOWS YOU KEEP THAT ROOF OVER YOUR HEAD

HE IS OUR SOURCE CHURCH.

OH COME ON SOMEBODY.......

IS THERE ANYBODY IN HERE THANKFUL FOR HIS PROVISION IN YOUR LIFE????

WORSHIP TEAM JOIN ME

The question is not:

“How much does God want from me?”

The question is:

“Do I trust the One who placed provision in my hands?”

(SLOW IT DOWN)

THIS MESSAGE IS ABOUT PERPECTIVE

“Lord, teach me to steward what already belongs to You.”

THE PASSAGE SAID.....REMEMBER THE LORD YOUR GOD.....

HE IS THE ONE WHO GAVE AND ALLOWED

Deuteronomy 8:18 NIV

18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH WHAT HE ENTRUSTED YOU WITH???

Church, this moment is not about an amount.

It is about trust.

every believer reaches a place in their walk with God where...

faith moves from what we say…

to what we are willing to place in His hands.

STAND TO YOUR FEET

For some of us,

trusting God with prayer was easy.

Trusting Him with our future felt manageable.

But trusting Him with our finances — the place where security often feels most tangible

that is where faith becomes real.

And TODAY, this altar is not about giving something to the church.

It is about giving control back to God.

If you are honest and you would say:

“I want to grow in trusting God with my resources.”

“I want fear to stop guiding my financial decisions.”

“I want my heart to be aligned with God in every area, including this one.”

I want to invite you to come.

Not because anyone is asking you for something —

but because you are choosing to say:

“Lord, everything I have comes from You, and I trust You with what You’ve placed in my hands.”

WOULD YOU COME??? LET’S WORSHIP

Prayer at the Altar

“Lord, teach me to trust You more than I trust what I can control. Help me to steward faithfully what You have given me. Free my heart from fear, and grow my faith in every area of my life — including my finances. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

I CHALLENGE YOU....

TO take one intentional step of faith this week that says,

“Lord, I trust You with what You’ve placed in my hands.”

And remember:

the same God who calls you to trust Him

is the same God who promises to provide for you.

AMEN????

over the next three weeks i will be teaching more about firstfruits and tithing and THE BLESSINGS OF GENEROSITY

but what i would like to do is

the first SUNDAY of march....first fruit Sunday.

THIS WILL BE THE LAST WEEK OF THIS SERIES

AND A GREAT TIME TO PRACTICE WHAT WE’VE LEARNED....

MANY OF YOU MAY NOT KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT....COME NEXT WEEK AND SEE WHAT FIRST FRUIT OFFERING IS ALL ABOUT.

CLOSING PRAYER

FATHER WE’RE SO THANKFUL FOR YOU...

WE’RE THANKFUL FOR YOUR PROVISION AS A CHURCH

AND WE’RE THANKFUL FOR YOUR WORD THAT TEACHES US THAT WE CAN TRUST WITH EVERYTHING....

INCLUDING OUR FINANCES.

LORD WOULD YOU help us remember

that everything we hold

first came from Your hand.

WOULD YOU Teach us to steward faithfully,

TO trust deeply, and TO honor You with what You have entrusted US WITH.

WE NEED YOU LORD AND WE GIVE YOU THE GLORY FOR IT ALL.....

In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.”