Stewarding God’s Resources Well | Money Matters
Money Matters
Stewarding God’s Resources Well…
1 Chronicles 29:11 – 12 (NLT) 11Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O LORD, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. 12Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.
SOUL TATTOO: The tithe matters because our hearts and our money are closely connected.
Matthew 6:21 (NIV) 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
SOUL TATTOO: Stewardship compels me to balance finances God’s way, rely on His provision, practice generosity and be content.
THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS
Matthew 25:14-30 (CSB) 14 “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey. He called his own servants and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent, depending on each one’s ability. Then he went on a journey. Immediately 16 the man who had received five talents went, put them to work, and earned five more. 17 In the same way the man with two earned two more. 18 But the man who had received one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money. 19 “After a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five talents approached, presented five more talents, and said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I’ve earned five more talents.’ 21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’ 22 “The man with two talents also approached. He said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I’ve earned two more talents.’ 23 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’ 24 “The man who had received one talent also approached and said, ‘Master, I know you. You’re a harsh man, reaping where you haven’t sown and gathering where you haven’t scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went off and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’ 26 “His master replied to him, ‘You evil, lazy servant! If you knew that I reap where I haven’t sown and gather where I haven’t scattered,27 then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and I would have received my money back with interest when I returned. 28 “‘So take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have more than enough. But from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 30 And throw this good-for-nothing servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
TITHING + RESPONSIBLE STEWARDSHIP + GENEROSITY + CONTENTMENT =
FINANCIAL FREEDOM
1.) Stewardship: God owns it all.
Psalm 24:1 (NIV) “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”
1 Peter 4:10 (NIV) 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
STEWARD: a person who manages another’s property or financial affairs; one who administers anything as the agent of another or others.
STEWARDSHIP: the position and duties of a steward who acts as the surrogate (proxy) of another or others, especially by managing property, financial affairs, an estate, etc.
- A steward gladly acknowledges that he or she belongs to the Lord.
Psalm 100:3 (ESV) 3 Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
- A steward recognizes that everything belongs to the Lord.
1 Chronicles 29:11 (ESV) 11Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O LORD, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things.
- A steward seeks to faithfully oversee all that God has entrusted to their oversight.
1 Corinthians 4:2 (ESV) 2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.
We don’t own, we manage.
2.) Generosity: Giving isn’t about what we have; it’s about the heart we give with.
Generosity: giving things freely and even sacrificially not grudgingly or forced.
John 3:16 (KJV) 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
- Generosity reflects God’s heart.
Proverbs 11:25 (NIV) 25A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.
Generosity and giving is an act of love.
2 Corinthians 9:7 (NIV) Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
- Generosity stores treasures in heaven.
Matthew 6:19-21 (ESV) 19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Mark 12:41-44 (ESV) 41 And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. 43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
Giving isn’t about what we have; it’s about the heart we give with.
3.) Contentment: Being content is trusting God with what I have.
Contentment: the state of being mentally or emotionally satisfied with things as they are, it is being satisfied with what we have, who we are, and where we’re going.
Philippians 4:12-13 (NIV) I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty… I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Contentment is not found in how much we have but in trusting God to provide for our needs in every season of life.
- Contentment brings true gain.
1 Timothy 6:6 (NIV) But godliness with contentment is great gain.
- Contentment trusts God’s provision.
Hebrews 13:5 (NIV) 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.
- Contentment strengthens in all circumstances.
Philippians 4:12 (NIV) I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.
Contentment comes not from our wealth, but from our trust in God.
SOUL TATTOO: Stewardship compels me to balance finances God’s way, rely on His provision, practice generosity and be content.