Series Subject: What the Bible teaches Christians about money

Series Purpose: To provide the listener with 12 financial principles rooted in God's Word.

Series Relevance: Because we handle and deal with money every day of our lives, we tend to think of it in a strictly practical light. But, at their core, money matters are profoundly spiritual. In fact, for many Christians, understanding and applying God's principles of money—submitting their checkbook to the Lord—is the next step in their spiritual growth. And that, despite what they may think right now, is one of the most liberating things they could ever do.

Series Big Idea: There are twelve principles that will help every believer improve as a steward of the resources God has given.

Title: The First 6 Things You Need to Know About Money

Subtitle: Exploring important biblical principles that you can bank on as a follower of Christ

Text: Matthew 6:24

Subject: What the Bible teaches Christians about money

Purpose: To provide the listener with six financial principles rooted in God's Word

Relevance: Because we handle and deal with money every day of our lives, we tend to think of it in a strictly practical light. But, at their core, money matters are profoundly spiritual. In fact, for many Christians, understanding and applying God's principles of money—submitting their checkbook to the Lord—is the next step in their spiritual growth. And that, despite what they may think right now, is one of the most liberating things they could ever do.

Big Idea: God wants us to grow as stewards of the resources he has given us.

Introduction
• We need to think biblically about money, because money matters are profoundly spiritual at their core.
• Along with sex and power, money is one of the big three character assassins that many of us will struggle with our whole lives.
Transition: This morning we will look at The First 6 Things You Need to Know About Money.

Number one: It's not yours.
• God doesn't just own the cattle on a thousand hills; he owns the thousand hills.
• We are temporary stewards of someone else's property.
     - Genesis 1; John 1:1–5
• And, for the record, God claims all rights to that property.
     - Psalm 24:1
     - Illustration: According to Abraham Kuyper, "There is not one square-inch of this universe about which Jesus Christ does not say, 'Mine, mine, mine.'"

Number two: This life is Act I of a three-act play.
• It will be followed by judgment (Act II) and then eternity (Act III).
• The author of the play does not feel any obligation to work everything out in Act I.
• If you are focused either primarily or exclusively on this life, then the Bible will confuse you, and its view of money will make no sense.
• This doesn't mean that money is bad, but we can't afford to forget that we are accountable for all that we have.
     - Matthew 19:29; Luke 12:33
• One of the first things we have to understand about money is that Jesus is telling us how to handle it in light of the fact that we are going to live forever.

Number three: Money is more than paper.
• Money is not a neutral object; it is a force.
     - Matthew 6:24
• Money is a good thing that can become a bad thing—that can become a character assassin—if we let it.

Number four: Money cannot buy happiness.
• Luke 12:15
• Many believe that their life would be substantially better with more money; for those who make over $20,000 a year, that is not the case.
• In light of history and world economics, we are at the top of the food chain—we already have more money.
     - Illustration: Americans Running Out of Room for Possessions [see Illustrations and Quotations below]
• If money could make you happy then you would already be happy.
     - Illustration: Jim Carrey: Money and Fame Are Not the Answer [see Illustrations and Quotations below]
• Being content is a spiritual issue, an issue of the heart.
     - Philippians 4:12–13

Number five: There are no simple formulas that guarantee a certain financial result.
• If there were such a formula, then these Scriptures would not make sense: Matthew 8:20; 2 Corinthians 6:10.
• When it comes to giving, there are things that are generally true: live below your means, give generously, and be content.
• But when it comes to giving, there is no magic number. The tithe (which we'll discuss next week) is just a starting place.
• As a rule, if we follow God's laws of money (live below your means, give generously, and be content), we will be better off in this life.
• But there will always be tensions.
     - Illustration: John Wesley said: "Whenever riches have increased, the essence of religion, the mind that was in Christ, has decreased in the same proportion. Therefore I do not see how it is possible, in the nature of things, for any revival of true religion to continue for long. For religion must necessarily produce both industry and frugality; and these cannot but produce riches. But as riches increase, so will pride, anger, and love of the world in all its branches."

Number six: There is enough money to make this world a better place.
• We often wonder how God can allow the world's suffering to go on, but we have the ability already to make this world a much better place.
• Illustration: Tithing Christians Would Meet Global Need [see Illustrations and Quotations below]
• 2 Corinthians 8:13–15
• Tensions will always exist, but God has given us everything we need to eradicate severe poverty and be his witnesses in the world.

Americans Running Out of Room for Possessions
According to the Self Storage Association, a trade group charged with monitoring such things, the country now possesses about 1.9 billion square feet of personal storage space outside of the home. All this space is contained in nearly 40,000 facilities owned and operated by more than 2,000 entrepreneurs, including a handful of publicly traded giants like Public Storage, Storage USA, and Shurgard.

According to a recent survey, the owners of 1 out of every 11 homes also own a self-storage space. This represents an increase of 75 percent since 1995. Most operators of self-storage facilities report 90 percent occupancy, with average stints among renters of 15 months. Last year alone saw a 24 percent spike in the number of self-storage units on the market.

But, amazingly, as the amount of storage space required by homeowners has grown, so has the average size of the American house. In fact, the National Association of Homebuilders reports that the average American house grew from 1,660 square feet in 1973 to 2,400 square feet in 2004.

So let's get this straight—houses got bigger, average family sizes got smaller, and yet we still need to tack on almost two billion square feet of extra space to store our stuff?

Jim Carrey: Money and Fame Are Not the Answer
I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer.

—Actor Jim Carrey

Tithing Christians Would Meet Global Need
A husband and wife team of researchers, the founders of Empty Tomb, Inc., in Champaign, Illinois, have tracked American and American Christian expenditures as well as global needs. John and Sylvia Ronsvalle have estimated that $70-$80 billion a year could meet the most essential human needs around the world. "Projects for clean water and sanitation, prenatal and infant/maternal care, basic education, immunizations, and long-term development efforts are among the activities that could help overcome the poverty conditions that now kill and maim so many children and adults."

The Ronsvalles go on to write: "That figure of $70-$80 billion may sound like anything but good news. God may be generous, you may agree, but has he been that generous? Consider this: If church members in the United States would increase their giving to 10 percent of their income, there could be an additional $94 billion available for overseas missions."

In addition to providing the $80 billion a year needed to eliminate world poverty, tithing Christians would also provide the $7 billion needed to provide primary education for all children, and the $5 billion needed to end the preventable deaths of children under 5.

Title: The Second 6 Things You Need to Know About Money

Subtitle: Exploring important biblical principles that you can bank on as a follower of Christ

Text: Malachi 3:6–12

Subject: What the Bible teaches Christians about money

Purpose: To provide the listener with six financial principles rooted in God's Word

Relevance: According to several different studies, Americans have more debt than ever before and give less to the church than ever before. What does the Bible have to say about these tendencies? How can the church turn things around?

Big Idea: God wants us to grow as stewards of the resources he has given us.

Introduction
• Most of us are rich, and being rich is a spiritually dangerous thing.
     - Illustration: C. S. Lewis said: "Prosperity knits a man to the world. He feels that he is 'finding his place in it,' while it is really finding its place in him."
     - Matthew 19:24
• The Bible talks about money three times more than it talks about love, seven times more than it talks about prayer, and eight times more than it talks about belief.
• [Review last week's discussion of the first six things people need to know about money.]
Transition: Now we move on to the second six things you need to know about money.

Number seven: The tithe is the starting point.
• When talking about God and money, people always want to know, "Just how much am I supposed to give?"
     - Illustration: Man Too Wealthy to Tithe [see Illustrations and Quotations below]
• Many Bible passages discuss the tithe as the starting point for our giving, but none are more critical than Malachi 3:6–12.
• The tithe is a test of our faith and obedience—a test that you can't fake.
• Don't kid yourself into thinking that you can wait until you have enough money before you give what you are expected to give. That day never comes. It doesn't work that way.
• The New Testament examples about giving—while they don't focus on the tithe—go beyond it.
     - Matthew 19:21; Mark 12:40
• Don't be a fool and withhold from God what he has claimed as his own.

Number eight: Some ministries are more deserving of your support than others.
• Remarkably and regrettably, being a good steward is not as simple as giving money to every cause that looks good.
• Choose carefully what ministries to support.
• Give out of relationships.
• Give to programs you intend to support in other ways, like prayer.

Number nine: Debt is a bad idea.
• You may be wondering how you can give more away without changing the way you live—maybe you can't.
• Christians should live below their means so that they can invest their resources in God's work.
     - Illustration: Consumer Debt Increasing [see Illustrations and Quotations below]
• Proverbs 22:7
• If you are in debt, you have plenty of company.
• If you are in debt, you need to get out.

Number ten: You need to understand that the market is not God.
• 2 Corinthians 9:8–11
• When we allow an amorphous force like "the market" to determine what is valued and what is not, we are giving it the kind of power that should be reserved for God.
• Illustration: Churchill said about democracy: "It's the worst form of government. Except for all the other forms of government." The same can be said for capitalism.
• While capitalism might be the best economic system our government can put in place, it should not be the guiding force for those of us in the church.
• Evangelicals spend too much time driving the ambulance (helping those who are in need) and not enough time installing streetlights to stop the accidents.
• Those who follow Christ will take their marching orders from the Book, not from the market.

Number eleven: Understand that giving is not just an act of obedience; it's an act of worship.
• Philippians 4:18
• 2 Corinthians 9:7. Give generously and hilariously.

Number twelve: It's all God's.
• Illustration: Our Lives Belong to God [see Illustrations and Quotations below]
• James 1:17
• Romans 11:36

Man Too Wealthy to Tithe
D. James Kennedy tells a story of a man who came to Peter Marshall, former chaplain of the Unites States Senate, with a concern about tithing. He said: "I have a problem. I have been tithing for some time. It wasn't too bad when I was making $20,000 a year. I could afford to give the $2,000. But you see, now I am making $500,000, and there is just no way I can afford to give away $50,000 a year."

Dr. Marshall reflected on this wealthy man's dilemma but gave no advice. He simply said: "Yes, sir. I see that you do have a problem. I think we ought to pray about it. Is that alright?"

The man agreed, so Dr. Marshall bowed his head and prayed with boldness and authority. "Dear Lord, this man has a problem, and I pray that you will help him. Lord, reduce his salary back to the place where he can afford to tithe."

Consumer Debt Increasing
The following financial facts came from a June 7, 2002 Federal Reserve statistical release:

Consumer credit debt stands at a record $1.6 trillion.

Consumer debt including home mortgages is $7 trillion.

Debt is double what it was in 1990.

Over the last 10 years, debt has increased 123 percent.

The average family spends $400 more than it earns each year.

Personal consumer debt is increasing at a rate of $1,000 per second.

Twenty-three percent of the average person's take-home pay already is committed to payment of existing debt.

Fifty-six percent of all divorces are a result of financial tension in the home.

The average credit card debt held by a student just out of college is $2,748.

Our Lives Belong to God
Writing on the topic of worship, author Greg Laurie shares the following:

I heard the story of a woman who had finished shopping and returned to her car. She found four men inside the car. She dropped her shopping bags, drew a handgun, and screamed, "I have a gun, and I know how to use it! Get out of the car." Those men did not wait for a second invitation; they got out and ran like crazy.

The woman, somewhat shaken, loaded her shopping bags and then got into the car. But no matter how she tried, she could not get her key into the ignition. Then it dawned on her: her car was parked four or five spaces away! She loaded her grocery bags into her own car and then drove to the police station to turn herself in.

The desk sergeant to whom she told the story nearly fell off his chair laughing. He pointed to the other end of the counter, where four men were reporting a carjacking by an old woman with thick glasses and curly white hair, less than five feet tall, and carrying a large handgun. No charges were filed.

You see, she thought it was her car, but it really belonged to someone else. We think our lives are our own, but they really belong to God.

Mike Woodruff is senior pastor of Christ Church Lake Forest, in Lake Forest, Illinois.