Stewarding Money with Godly Wisdom
Wisdom for Life: Proverbs • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction
Introduction
Welcome: Good morning and welcome to those here in person and those who are watching online, my name is Kent and I’m the youth and college pastor here at Crosspoint. This is the last Sunday that we are in a series called “Wisdom for Life” as we have looked at various topics that the book of Proverbs addresses. This morning we will look at the topic of “Stewarding Money with Godly Wisdom”. With that said I want to start of with this quote,
“Money is a lousy means of keeping score. The futility of riches is stated very plainly in two places: The Bible and the Income Tax Form.”
Instead of looking at tax forms this morning as our source of truth on how to steward money, we will be looking at God’s word. Which stands true and never changes.
Even though gas prices may change, inflation will keep changing, taxes, jobs, bills, stock market; you name it. We deal with financial changes every single day. Financial changes often causes us stress, causes fears and anxiety. So let’s go to God’s word which never changes, brings comfort and hope to the hurting.
There are three points that we will be looking at that Proverbs teaches us on how to steward money with Godly Wisdom.
1. The Source of Money
2. The Attitude Toward Money
3. The Stewardship of Money
Transition Statement- Before we get right into the practical ways of stewardship of money we need to lay a foundation of how to biblically view money.
1. The Source of Money
1. The Source of Money
This morning we will be spending the majority of our time in Proverbs 19. Please open your bibles and meet me there in Proverbs 19 starting in verse 21.
Read Proverbs 19:21
Many plans are in a person’s heart, but the Lord’s decree will prevail.
There are a couple of things we see in this proverb.
We make plans- often based off of what we see in our present and what’s in front of us.
God has plans- already made before we were even born and His plans prevail.
This means that whether our plans are within God’s plan or against God’s plan, God’s plan will prevail, his sovereign will does not change.
Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began.
This means that events that happen in your life are not by accident. Either God has allow it or has caused it to happen.
Right now, the fact that you are listening to this here in person or online is no accident. It is within God’s sovereign plan for your life that you are listening to this right now. This truth applies on a broad scale but also in specific areas of our lives such as our finances. Where you are at right now financially is within God’s sovereignty (repeat). This does not necessarily mean that it’s God’s sovereign will for you to stay where you are but it is where God has you right now in this specific moment in time.
Because it’s where God has you right now in this specific moment of time, we must live out our purpose of life of glorifying God and enjoying Him forever in the present moment. To glorify God with what we have and to praise Him for where He has us.
For some of you, this is an easy truth for you to accept. You’ve seen clearly how God has blessed you and it’s easy for you to be thankful and to glorify God with what has been given to you. For others who are here, you might be thinking, Kent how can this be? Why would a God who declares He loves me allow me to struggle financially? My answer to you is this, I hear you, I’ve been there, I know the struggle is painful, I don’t know the why behind your specific situation. Only God knows that. Sometimes He reveals the why but sometimes He just asks for us to trust Him.
Take Job for example, not in order to compare hardships, but rather to give an example of encouragement. Most of us know the story of Job. Job was a godly man and God had blessed him with extreme wealth. Satan wanted to tempt Job to see if Job’s heart was truly with God or if it was actually tied to his possessions. In God’s sovereignty, He allowed Satan to take away everything away from him. His children, his wealth, so much so that even his own wife told Job to curse God. When he was at his lowest, he never cursed God, he sure had some anger, he had a lot of questions for God but he never turned away from God. At the point of desiring death, God spoke to Job and told him about His sovereignty, His power and goodness, and in response Job worshipped God. When Job was at his lowest he glorified God. Job never got the answer to his why but when met with the truth of God’s attributes, he worshipped God.
The Apostle Paul had learned this principle throughout his life as well and while in prison wrote these verses to the church at Philippi.
I know how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me.
Paul is able to be content because of his trust in God’s sovereignty and strength. It’s because of this attitude that Paul also wrote this to the Thessalonians.
Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
This means that where God has us in the present time in life, financially, is enough (say enough again) for us to give thanks and to praise Him. So wether you have much or little, it’s God’s will for you in Christ Jesus to give thanks and to rejoice.
I know this can be hard for some of us. It goes against our sinful and selfish nature. Our flesh wants more and more. Our sinful flesh wants us to believe that satisfaction can be found in something material, something tangible. That if I just had more of this or more of that, then I will be content. We as believers need to battle against our flesh and remind ourselves to be content because God, in his sovereignty has us in the present moment and our ultimate satisfaction is to be found in our relationship with Him.
I want to put this truth into practice. This truth of being content with whatever we have.
I want you to read with me the words on the screen.
God thank you for where you have me right now financially. I praise you for you are sovereign and in control. Please continue to teach me how to glorify you with what you have given me.
To know the source of where our money comes from is foundational to glorifying God with our finances.
Transitional statement: Let’s continue from head or knowledge about the source of money to our heart and talk about the attitude toward money.
2. The Attitude Toward Money
2. The Attitude Toward Money
In your bibles, let’s continue reading Proverbs 19.
Re-read Proverbs 19:21.
Christian Standard Bible Chapter 19
21 Many plans are in a person’s heart,
but the LORD’s decree will prevail.
22 What is desirable in a person is his fidelity;
better to be a poor person than a liar.
23 The fear of the LORD leads to life;
one will sleep at night without danger.
I want to campout for a moment on the first line of verse 22. “What is desirable in a person is his fidelity” If you would allow me to have a quick Bible geek out moment I want to look at the word fidelity a little deeper. Fidelity is a word that means loyalty or faithfulness. Hence why the word infidelity (which we might be more familiar with) means unfaithful or disloyal. For example when a spouse is unfaithful in their marriage toward the other spouse we would say they have committed infidelity.
The word fidelity that we see in Proverbs 19:22, in the Hebrew language is the word hesed. Some of you have heard this Hebrew word hesed. Others might be like, Kent I don’t know a single thing about Hebrew. If you stay with me for a moment, hopefully the dots will start to connect for a beautiful picture. The Hebrew word hesed is the same word that describes the faithful love that God has toward the people He has a covenant with.
(ḥěʹ·sěḏ) חֶ֫סֶד - an unfailing kind of love, kindness, or goodness; often used of God’s love that is related to faithfulness to his covenant.
Hesed reveals the heart of God. Hesed reveals what His affections are.
This same word that describes the heart of God toward those who are in a covenant with Him is used in this proverb to describe the heart of a person.
Re-read the first line in v. 22.
“What is desirable in a person is his fidelity;”
Show scripture slide here.
Since we know that word fidelity is the Hebrew word hesed. This verse can be read, “What is desirable in a person there will be is his faithful love, kindness, and goodness. What we desire, reveals where our affections are. It reveals where our hesed is. Then the verse continues and says better to be a poor person than a liar.” What does the second half of that verse mean? “Better to be a poor person than a liar”
What Solomon is saying is since a person’s hesed reveals their desires, it’s better to desire faithfulness to God as a person who is poor rather than being someone who craves what they do not have and lies to get it. The focus is not on wether the person has wealth or not but rather on their heart’s desire of who they are wanting to please. God or self.
In his book, Dangerous Virtues, John Koessler addresses this concept of desiring more in order to serve self as he shares a conversation between an electrician who was rewiring a house of someone who was wealthy. The electrician asked the wealthy man, “So how much money is enough?”. The wealthy man replied, “Just a little more.”
Koessler, continues in his book and says this about the wealthy man’s response.
“There is a word for this condition. It is what the Bible calls greed. Greed, like lust and gluttony, is a sin of appetite… Most of us are pretty sure we don’t suffer from greed because we don’t see ourselves as wealthy. The rich are greedy, perhaps, but not us. The flaw in this reasoning is that desiring is not necessarily synonymous with having. It is certainly possible for a rich person to be greedy but so might one who is poor. It is not the having but the wanting that is the problem… Whatever I possess will not be enough if I succumb to the influence of greed. I must always have a little more.”
When we talk about the sin of greed we must see that greed is misplaced worship. We are trying to find satisfaction, comfort, peace, joy from something materialistic. When in reality true satisfaction, true comfort, true peace, true joy can only come from being a relationship with a sovereign and faithful loving God who cares for you.
This is the main point of these three verses in Proverbs 19.
God wants our heart which includes how we view money. (x2)
We see this in v. 21-23.
Re-read Proverbs 19:21-23. When reading emphasize “Heart” “desirable” “Life”
Christian Standard Bible Chapter 19
21 Many plans are in a person’s heart,
but the LORD’s decree will prevail.
22 What is desirable in a person is his fidelity;
better to be a poor person than a liar.
23 The fear of the LORD leads to life;
one will sleep at night without danger.
We see this same focus in the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 6.
“Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
From these two passages we see what a God-glorifying attitude toward money looks like.
It’s an attitude that first acknowledges God as the source of all satisfaction and joy.
It’s an attitude that says money is something that should be used to for God’s glory not my own glory.
It’s an attitude toward money that is other oriented rather than self oriented.
Transition statement: It’s by having this kind of attitude toward money that we can then steward money in a godly way.
3. The Stewardship of Money
3. The Stewardship of Money
When we talk about stewardship, we are again acknowledging the fact that what we have comes from God. Whatever we have been given is from God so therefore we have been entrusted by God to oversee it and to utilize it for His glory.
Balloon and wallet illustration.
The pastor of a church that I attended when I was at Moody Bible Institute used this illustration when talking about money and it’s made an impact of my life since on how I think about stewardship of money. This illustrates the principle of the Matt. 6 passage I referenced earlier, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
This illustration shows that how we spend money reveals where our hearts are at. (imagine the ballon being heart shaped).
Are we being other oriented of self oriented in how we spend money? Where we spend our money shows where our affections are at.
Now I don’t want you to misunderstand me. I’m not saying you can’t have nice things. I’m not saying that at all.
What I am saying is don’t let your lifestyle become an idol so that it’s a hindrance for you to bless other people.
Is how you steward money enabling or hindering you to bless other people?
Is how you steward money enabling or hindering you to bless other people?
This is the question we must ask ourselves when we are making a budget and thinking through how we spend the money God has given us.
On a practical level of blessing other people we need to look at our family. If you are spouse and/or a parent, you have someone else that is impacted directly by how you spend money. Is how you steward money enabling or hindering you to bless those closest to you?
The next level of being other oriented is your church family. Is how you steward money enabling or hindering you to bless those in your local church?
The final level of being other oriented is anyone else you come into contact with outside of your local church. Maybe it’s the random person who needs food on the street, or maybe an organization you want to support, or possibly sponsoring a child in sponsorship program. Is how you steward money enabling or hindering you to bless those outside of your local church?
Conclusion
Conclusion
(Worship Team to come back up)
Now the reality is this, we often fail of stewarding all of our money with Godly wisdom.
Sure we might have seasons of life where we are other oriented vs self oriented with our money but I’m sure I’m not the only one in here who has made some poor financial decisions. I’m sure I’m not the only one in here who has caved into the temptation of greed and wanted and then bought something that was not from an other oriented heart but rather a self focused heart.
If you haven’t already confessed that sin to God and ask for forgiveness, I want to give you hope found only in Jesus. If this is you, I want to tell you that you don’t have to carry the guilt of your sin or past decisions. The payment for your sin and my sin was nailed to a cross over two thousand years ago in the form of God the Son, Jesus Christ. He bore our guilt and shame that results from sin. So if you are here today, and you have a relationship with Jesus Christ, you sin has already been paid for. God does not hold your sin against you. You are free to live the life that glorifies God and one that enjoys Him forever. And if you’re here this morning and you’ve never confessed and repented of your sins and submitted to Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life. I want to share with you that your guilt and shame that you feel from your sin, you don’t have to carry with you anymore. Come to the cross of Jesus where the penalty of your sins was paid. God has promised us that if we confess and repent of our sins He is faithful to forgive us. Not holding our sin against us anymore but accepting us as a Son or Daughter in His family. I hope and pray if that’s you today that you would humble yourself and and confess Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life today.
Let’s Pray.
Offering
Benediction
The Lord spoke to Moses: “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. You should say to them, “May the Lord bless you and protect you; may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.” ’
As the Lord blesses you, may you also be a blessing to one another this week.
One final thing before you leave. We need the chairs stacked in stacks of 10 and the use the chair dolly to put them against the walls so that we can have an open space for VBS tonight. Thank you for your help and may you have a blessed week in the Lord. You’re dismissed.