Stewarding Our Money

Money, possessions is a hot and dangerous subject in the church sometimes.

! It ought not to be though, but just a disclaimer,

I'm just going to be faithful to read the Word and try to expound on what it says.

If something is my opinion, I'll make it clear that it's my opinion.

And if you have a problem, I guess, with what the Word says,

like if you're going to throw something at me, you're going to hit Jesus.

I'm just going to try to do my best just to say what the Word says.

And let it fall.

Because it's really tempting on this particular topic just to give you a bunch of rules and laws.

Like, give this much, go and do this.

And I don't think that that's the goal of what Jesus is aiming at.

But I'm still learning, I'm still wrestling with this topic.

Feel free to continue to do that.

So I have three points for you as we walk through Matthew 6.

Let's read the text together.

Matthew 6, verse 19.

Matthew 6:19

Jesus says,

If your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light.

But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.

If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness?

No one can serve two masters.

For either he will hate the one and love the other,

or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.

You cannot serve God and money.

Just join me in a quick word of prayer.

Father, we just offer up this time to you again.

Just work in through me, Lord, if you would be pleased.

Help us to see the meaning of what you have inspired here in your holy word.

And help us by your spirit, Lord, to apply this to our hearts.

Give us eyes to see and ears to hear.

In Christ's name, amen.

Amen.

So point number one.

Point number one.

Walking through this text.

And it just comes right out of the text.

But very clearly, point number one.

There are two kinds of treasures.

There are two kinds of treasures.

He said,

Do not lay for yourselves treasures on the earth where moth and rust destroy,

and where thieves break in and steal.

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.

So really quickly, without like over-defining this word,

the word treasure just simply means what you love, what you treasure,

what you value, what you cherish.

Right?

That's what you treasure.

It's what your heart takes delight in.

It's what gets you out of bed every morning

and keeps you going throughout the day.

Our English word, worship,

is connected to this idea of what we hold to be the most worthy thing.

We worship what we have the greatest focus on as our worth.

The worth or value of something.

And everyone has a treasure.

Now notice that Jesus says,

We shouldn't have a treasure.

He doesn't say that.

He just says,

Be careful to choose wisely what that treasure is.

Okay?

So he doesn't forbid treasure.

He just wants us to be careful at what we choose to make our treasure.

And so the first kind of treasure that he mentions here is earthly.

Right there in verse 24,

he refers to treasures in verse 24 as mammon.

Okay?

That's just a Semitic word for money or material possessions.

It's what's in your bank and your wallet and your purse

and what's all the stuff that you've accumulated.

But today in America,

I think I can say this with a great deal of confidence.

I'm not, you know, I don't know everything.

But as a history guy,

I can tell you that we live in one of the wealthiest, affluent,

prosperous countries in the history of the world.

It's just true.

Even if you're a college student,

you have more money than most of the rest of the world does.

I think you're in the top 1 or 2% of the wealthiest people,

which is shocking to us, right?

But in America,

money, possessions, wealth, comforts, luxuries

are what we have in our civilization all around us.

In short, though,

earthly treasures are what are seen

and what are temporal.

Okay?

An earthly treasure is what we can see

and what is temporal,

something that's actually not going to last forever.

The second treasure,

very clearly, just right out of the text,

is a heavenly treasure, right?

So, heavenly treasure is not just

a heavenly version of mammon.

It's not big houses or riches or toys or stuff

to play around with when we get to heaven.

No.

The Scripture reveals

that heaven will have something

far greater than all these things.

Scripture clearly teaches us

that the treasure of heaven

is the king of heaven.

It's not the stuff that we get to do in heaven,

the toys that we get to play with.

It is, heaven is synonymous

with the presence of God.

All right?

So, when we talk about the gospel,

we're not talking about just getting people

to not go to hell

and go to heaven.

We're talking about saving people

unto God,

unto His presence.

He is the king of heaven.

Psalm 16.

Many of you know this.

You make known to me the path of life

and in your presence

there is fullness of joy.

And at your right hand

there are pleasures forevermore.

This is why Paul could say,

after considering everything he's done,

everything he's had,

he says,

I can count all things lost

in comparison to knowing

Christ Jesus my Lord.

Right out of Revelation 21,

Revelation 21:3

verse 3,

towards the end,

when the new heaven

and the new earth have come,

you want to get a glimpse of heaven,

this is it.

John says,

I heard a loud voice

from the throne saying,

Behold,

the dwelling place

of God

is with man.

Right?

Remember this?

He will dwell with them

and they will be His people

and God Himself

will be with them

as their God.

This is a picture of it.

It's a picture of

presence and fellowship

with God forever.

And remember,

Jesus prayed

in John 17,

praying to the Father.

He mentions this.

This is eternal life.

Okay,

so what is eternal life?

Right?

It's not just living forever

and not dying.

It's more than that.

Jesus says,

eternal life

is that they know you,

the only true God

and Jesus Christ

whom you have sent.

Shortly after that,

in verse 24,

He prays,

Father,

I desire

that they whom you've given me

may be with me

where I am

so that they may

see my glory

that you have given me

because you love me

before the foundation

of the world.

So all these images

of heaven

that we have

throughout Scripture

are more about

the fall

being restored

and regaining

what was lost

because of sin

and being in God's presence

forever.

A period of many years ago,

it might be attributed

to Richard Baxter

possibly,

but I've always

really loved this quote.

He says,

a believer's life

is very different

from an unbeliever's life.

So also,

a believer's death

is also very different

from an unbeliever's death.

The believer

prefers

heaven to hell.

Excuse me.

The unbeliever

prefers heaven to hell.

The believer

prefers heaven

over earth.

See that?

The believer desires

heaven above earth.

The unbeliever

prefers heaven

only over hell

because he cannot

imagine anything

more blessed

than this life.

But,

the believer

prefers heaven

over earth

because the believer

cannot imagine

anything

more blessed

than life

with God.

And that's it.

Though heaven

there has many blessings

to be in God's presence

forever

is the greatest

thing

possible.

So,

Jesus means

to devote your life

to accumulating

treasures

that are in heaven

and not

on the earth.

Alright?

So,

Scripture

gives much attention

to the teachings

on money

and possessions.

Much.

just looking

at the Gospels

alone,

it's said

that nearly

15%

of everything

that Jesus

said

connected

to this topic.

He used money

in some way

more than even

teaching on

heaven and hell

combined.

So,

interesting enough

though,

tithing,

which is the

Old Testament

maximum,

or should I say

minimum,

of your income,

Jesus only refers

to it one time

and that's it.

And this is what

he says,

you tithe

even your spices,

he said to the

Pharisees,

that's right,

you should,

but you have

neglected the

weightier matters

of the law,

justice and mercy

and faithfulness.

So,

in other words,

you're just doing

what's required

of you

and nothing more.

You're not really

getting at the

heart of the law.

And so,

I have another

thought or opinion

on the tithe,

but I always,

just really quickly,

I say,

it's a good

starting point

for giving,

but not a law

that translates

into the new

covenant,

I would say.

Come talk to me

later.

So,

our hearts

and our treasures.

Why does the

Bible talk so much

about money

and possessions?

Like,

why?

Jesus gives us

an answer.

He just says,

from where your

treasure is,

there your heart

will be also.

It talks about it

a lot because

there's a real

fundamental connection

between our

spiritual lives

and what we think

and how we use

our money.

It's just there.

It just reveals

where we are.

Jesus says,

your desires

show you

what you love

and you treasure

and you worship.

Your desires

reveal that.

So,

what you treasure

will show you

who your God is.

who you ultimately

treasure

will show you

who your God is.

Many years ago,

many years ago,

when I was in college,

myself,

Nathan,

and Wes Shelnut

would drive down

and we would hear

Louis Giglio preach.

Not a perfect guy,

but I appreciate

what I've learned

from him over the years.

But,

he says,

how do you find out

what you worship?

How can you know

what you worship?

He says,

you simply follow

the trail of your time,

your affection,

your money,

and your loyalty.

At the end of that trail,

you will find a throne.

And whatever

or whomever

is on that throne

is what is the highest value

to you.

Okay?

So,

you follow that trail

wherever it is.

That's where it leads,

right?

So,

what does the issue

of money and possessions,

why does it make us

so uncomfortable,

right?

Well,

evidently,

it just reveals

how we live.

What's on that throne

of our lives?

Do we live with a view

of the goal of life

as just to accumulate things?

Or,

do we accumulate things

that will have

an eternal value

one day?

Jesus says,

right,

that a mark

of a true believer

means that his eyes

are on heaven.

they're on the eternal,

in the unseen,

not the temporal.

He also says here

clearly

in our text

in verse 24

that there's no middle ground.

Because some people

want to be able

to say,

can't we store up

treasures in both places?

Is that an option?

Can we like have

a lot here

and then a lot there?

And,

I hate to disappoint

myself and you,

but Jesus says no.

I mean,

you can have

some treasures

here on the earth

and store up

some treasures

in heaven,

right?

But,

clearly,

he says,

no one can serve

two masters.

For one will either

hate the one

and love the other,

or,

he will be devoted

to one

and despise the other.

Then,

he gives us the answer.

You cannot

serve God

and money,

right?

And,

he uses the word,

the servant here idea

is this word

of a slave.

Not an employee,

right?

But a slave.

A slave's soul

is the sole property

of one master,

okay?

And his service

is exclusively

for that one master.

So,

either you will be

mastered by money,

ignore God,

and seek to make him

a servant of your

earthly kingdom,

or,

you'll be mastered

by the living God

and make money

a servant of his kingdom.

It's not,

you can't have it

both ways.

This is why Jesus said

it's hard for a rich man

to enter the kingdom

of heaven.

It's very hard.

Okay?

And so,

in this culture,

though,

it was wrongly taught

that if you were poor,

or you didn't have a lot,

then somehow you weren't

really as pleasing to God.

But if you had

a lot of wealth

and a lot of affluence,

that's why the religious

leaders just thought

that they were A-OK

with God,

it meant, like,

God's blessing you.

Look at your life.

Like,

how could he not be

happy with how you live?

Spurgeon once wisely said,

if earthly goods

were of much value,

the Lord would not give

so large a measure of it

to those who have

the least of his love.

Very heavy.

If earthly goods

were of much value,

the Lord would not give

such a large measure of it

to those who have

the least of his love.

So it's not a good indication

of whether or not

you're living a life

pleasing to God or not.

Right?

Then he goes down

and he mentions the eye

being the lamp

of the body.

The eye is similar

to the heart.

It reveals the qualities

of someone's inner life.

Right?

A healthy eye

or a clear vision

suggests loyalty

and devotion to God.

While a bad eye

or like an impaired vision

means sinful corruption.

So which treasure

are you seeking?

Which one am I seeking?

Which will master you?

It will be evident

in your life.

Our lives show these things.

In Matthew 5, 22 there,

he says,

the eye is the lamp

of the body.

If it's healthy,

your whole body

will be full of light.

But if your eye is bad,

your whole body

will be full of darkness.

If then the light

is in you as darkness,

how great is that darkness?

So,

this gets on to point number two.

So there's the admonition.

There's two treasures.

An earthly one

and a heavenly one.

Point number two.

Don't

set your heart

on things

that won't last.

Don't set your heart

on things

that won't last.

Right out of verse 19.

Do not lay up

for yourselves

treasures

on this earth

where moth

and rust

destroy

and where thieves

break in

and steal.

So,

Jesus is warning us

against making

these things

that are temporal

and seen

to be the ultimate things.

To be our ultimate treasure.

Don't spend your life,

your life,

your goal,

the focus of your life

just set on storing up

money and material possessions

because they will rot.

They won't last.

You can't take it with you.

Nothing will be taken with you.

Nothing goes on

to this next life

that is from this world.

It will all stay here.

You'll find

no U-Hauls behind

somebody may know that.

No U-Hauls behind the hearse.

Right?

Proverbs 23 verse 4.

Proverbs 23:4

Do not toil

to acquire wealth.

When your eyes light on it,

it is gone

for it has suddenly

sprout swings,

flying like an eagle

toward heaven.

So,

in this life,

money will just disappear.

Scripture never says,

again,

that money in and of itself

is evil.

So,

don't hear that.

Scripture very clearly says

the love of money

is the root of all evil.

Money is just a tool.

But sadly,

our sinful hearts

use it

to attain

our idols,

use it to obtain

things that we

pursue

inordinately.

So,

Paul says,

money isn't evil,

but we have to be

very,

very careful

and cautious

dealing with it.

Because it's a powerful

thing that can

master us.

I'm trying to limit

the number of times

you have to turn

for sake of time,

but turn,

hold your hand there,

but turn to 1 Timothy

1 Timothy 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6

really quickly.

1 Timothy

1 Timothy 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6

and go to

verse 6.

1 Timothy

1 Timothy 6:6

chapter 6

verse 6.

Paul writing to

his apprentice

Timothy.

He says,

but godliness

with contentment

is great gain.

Here it is.

For we brought

nothing into the world

and we cannot

take anything

out of the world.

but if we have

food and clothing,

with these

we will be content.

But those

who desire

to be rich

fall into temptation,

into a snare,

into many senseless

and harmful desires

that plunge people

into ruin

and destruction.

For the love

of money

is the root

of all kinds

of evil.

It is through

this craving

that some

have wandered

away from the faith

and pierced

themselves

with many

pangs.

So in short,

if you are

pursuing an

earthly treasure,

it will be

a diminishing

return.

So stop

thinking that

mere accumulation

of money

and material

junk is going

to satisfy.

It won't.

And most of us

who have lived

longer,

we know that.

We're like,

it never ever

delivers on

what it promises.

Ever.

No matter what it is.

Whether it's money

or any kind

of possession,

I once dug up

a list of things

that I wanted

to obtain

when I was

in high school.

I was working

a job

and getting paid

$8.50 an hour,

which was huge

back then.

And I thought,

man, I want this,

I want that,

I want that.

And I'm pretty sure

I attained all those

things,

and man,

it did not bring me

the satisfaction

I thought it would.

And so,

we need to beware

of making all

the junk and toys

of this temporal

life our treasure.

They are not.

Scripture,

and I'm pretty sure

history just teaches,

there is no positive

correlation at all

whatsoever between

joy and material things.

None, right?

It's foolish

and it's damning.

That's what Jesus

says here.

He says,

in another part,

it's easier for a camel

to go through

the eye of a needle

than it is for a rich man

to enter the kingdom

of heaven.

Why does he say that?

Because a rich man

is tempted to focus

on the gift

and forget the giver.

The rich man

is tempted to find

some security

or some kind of

fickled happiness

in his riches.

There is nothing there,

no positive correlation

at all.

I think if

one text lands on us,

lands on me,

I'm including myself,

I think it would be

Luke chapter 12

Luke 12 · chapter mention

where Jesus

very clearly teaches

on this.

I think this is just

such a picture

of the way we are

in the West.

And it's been this way

for a long time.

Luke 12 verse 13,

Luke 12:13

if you want to turn there.

Someone in the crowd

said to him,

Teacher,

tell my brother

to divide the inheritance

with me.

But he says,

man, who made me

a judge

arduber over you?

He said to them,

take care

and guard yourself

against all forms

of covetousness.

And here's this phrase,

listen,

for one's life

does not consist

in the abundance

of his possessions.

And he told them

a parable saying,

the land of a rich man

produced plentifully.

And he thought to himself,

what shall I do

for I have nowhere

to store up my crops?

And he says,

I'll do this.

I will tear down my barns,

build larger ones,

and there I will store

all my grain

and my goods.

And I will say

to my soul,

soul,

you have ample goods

laid up for many years.

Relax,

eat,

drink,

be merry.

This kind of sounds

like what we do

in the West,

isn't it?

But God said to him,

fool,

this night

your soul

is required of you

and the things

you have prepared,

whose will they be?

And then he wraps it up.

Jesus says,

so it is

the one who lays up

treasures for himself

and is not rich

toward God.

Very hard.

Very convicting.

I'll skip this part

for the sake of time,

I think,

but in Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 5:10–15

chapter 5

verses 10 through 15,

this is where

we believe that Solomon

more than likely

was Solomon,

is reflecting on

money

because he had

a ton of it

and he basically says

it's vanity.

It doesn't satisfy.

It never is enough.

It only seems to take life

more than anything.

So,

this just jumps

to point number 3.

Point number 3

is set your heart

on things

that will last forever.

Set your heart

on things

that will last forever.

That's in verse 20.

Jesus says,

lay up for yourselves

treasures in heaven

where neither moth

nor rust destroys

and where thieves

do not break in

and steal.

So,

the treasure in heaven

will not rot

and will not rust

and no one can steal it.

So,

we,

as believers,

those who have been

reconciled to Christ,

reconciled to God

through Christ

who belonged to Him,

we can make

spiritual deposits

for life

in eternity.

in Colossians chapter 3,

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

Paul says,

if you have been

raised with Christ,

seek the things

that are above

where Christ is,

seated at the right hand

of God.

Set your minds

on things

that are above,

not on things

on the earth.

For you have died

and your life

is hidden

in Christ Jesus.

Right?

So,

that's a command,

right?

It's not like,

maybe,

I'm going to encourage you to.

It's a command.

Seek the things

that are above.

Set your minds

on the things

that are above

and not on the earth.

So,

what is the remedy,

then,

for what we would say

is greed

or hoarding?

The remedy

is giving.

That's God's remedy

to keep that idol

in check,

to keep our money

from overcoming us.

We're to distribute

and not accumulate.

Jesus says,

possessions on earth

are not for accumulating

but for distributing

in ways

that honor Christ.

Right?

And that increase

our joy

that are in heaven.

So,

the remedy

for hoarding

is giving.

Proverbs 22,

Proverbs 22:9

verse 9,

He who is generous

will be blessed.

Acts 20,

35,

it is more blessed

to give

than to receive.

So,

God,

I'm trying to remember

who I once heard this from

but it doesn't matter.

God blesses us

with money

and possessions

so that we might

use them

in a way

that shows

they are not

our treasure

but God is.

Okay?

to make

intentional

decisions

that show

that Christ

is our treasure.

Jesus says

in Luke 12,

33,

Sell your possessions,

give to the needy,

provide for yourselves

with money bags

that do not grow old

with a treasure

that is in heaven

that does not fail

where no thief

approaches

and no moth destroys

for where your treasure

is that your heart

will be also.

So,

I want you to think

about where your

true home is.

Okay?

My wife and I

just moved into

a new house.

Where is

your true home?

Often,

our single

greatest deterrent

to giving

and living more

simply

is this illusion

that this world

is our home.

You're full,

you're fickled.

That's what causes us

to think that.

Where we choose

to store up

our treasures

depend largely

on where we see

our home.

The believer,

the child of God,

heaven is our home.

Scripture says

that we are pilgrims,

strangers,

aliens.

We're not settlers.

Alright?

That's Hebrews 11, 13.

We're ambassadors

representing

our true country

and our true king.

2 Corinthians 5.

Philippians 3.

Our citizenship

is in heaven.

We are citizens

of a better country,

a heavenly one.

Hebrews 11, 16.

So I'll try to

give you this analogy

without taking up

too much time.

Let's say

that someone

from England

moved over here

for a job.

And in that job description

they said

you can make

a ton of money

in this job.

Alright?

But you're only

going to be here

for an indefinite

amount of time.

We don't know

how long

this job

is going to take

so there's uncertainty.

And you're going

to make a ton

of money here

but just keep

this in mind.

Whatever you spend

here stays here.

You can't take

any material stuff

back to England

with you at all.

So,

but you can

wire your money

back to England.

Right?

You see the difference there?

So if that was true

you probably would

just like

live in somewhere

that didn't cost

too much money.

You would just keep

you would just spend

your money on the

bare necessity

and you would send

a ton of money back.

Right?

Because you can't

take anything with you.

You can't take

anything back overseas

when you leave.

And very similar

we do not know

how long

we are going to be

on this earth.

We don't know.

But we can

store up treasures

that are in heaven.

We can push that

forward.

Right?

It would be foolish

to spend so much

of it here.

It would be foolish.

So don't spend

too much time

and money

and energy

on all the things

of this world.

Hebrews 13

keep your life

free from the love

of money

and be content

with what you have.

For he has said

to us

I will never

leave you

or forsake you.

That is Jesus

speaking to us.

So the best thing

I can do

I think

is to give you

some examples

of what this

looks like.

It is better

to give you

pictures of it

than to give you

a bunch of

rules and regulations.

And these

have challenged

me

over the years.

I will give you

one from history

and then

a present day

a couple

present day

examples.

Okay?

In Cairo,

Egypt

there is

an exhibit

of King Tut

in the Egyptian

National Museum.

He was known

as the

Boy King.

He died

when he was

17.

He was buried

with a solid

gold chariots,

thousands of

golden artifacts,

tons of gold,

and a coffin

that was made

with gold.

And so

it was uncovered

nearly 3,000 years

or from 3,000

years ago

in 1922.

He had all that

gold but he was

just lying there

a corpse.

Right?

Untouched

for 3,000 years.

All this

treasure

just sitting

there in his

tomb

that he clearly

took none of it

with him

wherever he went.

But if you

walk down

a dusty

back street

of Cairo,

same city,

there's a tiny

insignificant

cemetery

of American

missionaries

that were

there.

one tombstone

reads William

Borden,

1887

to 1913.

Borden

was heir

to great wealth

and privilege

here in America.

But he gave

it all up.

He gave

tons of his

money to

reaching Muslims

abroad.

And then

finally he

himself went.

Borden

gave so much

of his wealth

and prosperity.

But only after

coming into

Egypt for

four months

he died.

He contracted

spinal meningitis

and died

at the age

of 25.

But listen

to this.

On his

epitaph,

right,

on his

tombstone,

describes his

love for God

and the Muslim

people.

It says

on this,

apart from

faith in

Christ,

there is no

explanation

for such a

life.

Apart

from faith

in Christ,

Christ,

there is no

explanation

for such

a life.

So you have

this Egyptian

king who

took none

of his

goal with

him and

you have

this American

missionary who

died very

young and

they just

said,

like,

this doesn't

make sense.

Apart

from,

like,

the work

of God,

this doesn't

make sense

why he

would do

what he

did.

One other

example,

I think I

have time

for maybe

two and

I'll quit.

I have

a really

good friend,

friends,

I should

say,

that live

up in

Hiawassee,

Jason and

Lorenda.

They went

to North

Georgia back

in the

90s.

He was

in the

Corps.

I think

she was

in KD.

Funny

enough,

those existed

in the

90s.

And he

is a

dentist up

in

Hiawassee.

I've known

him for

probably

about 20

years.

And this

guy,

like,

loves the

Lord.

Really

loves the

Lord.

Lord,

he's,

but when

I first

met him,

he definitely

was all

about accumulating

money for

the here

and now.

He had,

I think,

three different

homes,

a lake

house,

a family

farm,

and some

other stuff,

and a

bunch of

other toys

and gadgets,

boats,

cars.

And I

really

believe that

it was

just more

of a result

of just

not having

good teaching

on money.

Nothing

to do

with,

like,

his lover

of God.

So,

I actually

will recommend

a book

to you.

A small

book,

for those

who don't

want to

read a lot,

but it's

called The

Treasure

Principle

by Randy

Alcorn.

The Treasure

Principle.

So,

I actually

just kind

of slipped

Jason a

copy of

that book

and just

let him

read it,

and he

came back

and he

was like,

dude,

that book

just rocked

my world.

And the

result was

he sold

two of the

places that

he owned.

He sold

a lot,

I think he

had four

vehicles,

he ended

up selling

like most

of them.

And he

basically

folded it

all back

into living

on the

family farm.

And today

he gives

tons of

money to

missions,

tons of

money to

people that

are just

advancing the

cause and

unreached

peoples.

And he

and his

wife both

have gone

on medical

missions to

do things.

And he

doesn't want

any kind

of glory or

attention for

it, but he's

just one of

those guys

who, when

he knows

what the

command of

God is, he

prays for the

grace to do

it, and

then he

does it.

And again,

apart from

faith in

Christ, there's

no explanation

for such a

life.

He's like, I

just want to

store up

treasures in

heaven.

I do not

want people

to look at

my life and

be like, wow,

he is all

about the

here and

now.

And finally,

I have

another friend,

one of my

mom's really

good friends.

Her name is

Mary.

She grew up

watching me and

my brother

grew up, my

parents are

really good

friends of

her and her

husband.

But sadly,

her husband was

not a believer

and ended up

passing away and

leaving a great

deal of money

to Mary.

And now she

has all these

resources at

her hand.

And every

day she

just prays

like, God,

how would

you have

me use

this money?

How?

And I'm

one of the

beneficiaries.

I raise

support in

addition to

receiving some

income here.

And I

asked her to

write something

in relationship

to this.

And this is

what she

said.

She said,

I know

that my

financial

resources are

a gift from

God.

God, when

our finances

exceed our

normal living

needs, then

God allows us

to help others

as he brings

their needs to

our attention.

I am

privileged to

experience someone

giving me a

gift, and if it

made such a huge

difference.

It was the

difference in my

going forward or

my not knowing

if forward was

possible.

through another

person, I saw

God's provision.

When we are

able to give to

others, it is a

privilege.

We are then

connected to

God's miracle in

someone else's

life.

We give, we

receive much

more than we

ever could

imagine.

And this is

how God

works.

It is one of

his fundamental

principles.

Believe it.

Giving is a

privilege.

church.

And so, I'm

really hoping

that you're

catching on to

some of these

very clear

principles that

are in

Scripture.

That you will

run your

decision making

with your

money and your

finances and

your stuff

through these

principles.

And there are

many great

things to give

to.

The church is

one.

We could

definitely use

more here.

I would say

start here and

then move

outwards.

right?

Let's just join

together in

prayer and just

ask God to do

a work in our

hearts.