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Introduction
We have a lot of things to discuss about in this world. One of the things that we discuss quite often is money. Almost every conversation ends up either in money or the use of currency. Do you have a plan for your finances? If yes, does that plan match God’s plan for your money?
Money can be very constructive in life or money can be very destructive in life. How many lives have gone down, how many families have gone down as a result of the mismanagements of money and personal possessions. It has been my experience over the years in talking with couples and families one of the top issues in family counseling.
God has a plan for our money. God’s plan for our finances is a plan backed by a divine promise. Your banker may promise you something or your planner may promise you something, but only God when it comes to promises can keep his promise.
It is wonderful to have money and the things that money can buy as long as you make you have the things that money cannot buy.
I. Things money cannot buy.
1. Good Reputation.
Our reputation means more than money. Proverbs 22:1 A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches.
2. Wisdom.
Wisdom is better than money. Proverbs 3:13-15 13Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, 14for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. 15She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Wisdom matters more than money.
3. Integrity.
Character means more than money.
Proverbs 23:23 Buy the truth and do not sell it – wisdom, instruction and insight as well.
MSG Buy truth – don’t sell it for love or money.
4. Intelligence.
Intelligence is greater than money. To be smart intellectually. Proverbs 20:15 Gold there is, and rubies in abundance, but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel.
5. Relationships.
Relationships are better than money.
Proverbs 15:17 Better a small serving of vegetables with love than a fattened calf with hatred.
6. Eternal life.
Jesus himself said eternity is more important than money. Mark 8:36-37 36For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37Or what shall man give in exchange for his soul?
The fact is that we all have to pay a price to make money, and I hope the price is never the price of your character. If we are going to protect our families and provide financial security.
II. How to earn money?
1. Earn money little by little.
Proverbs 13:11 KJV Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.
NIV Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.
So winning the lottery, doing it though some kind of scam or get rich quick scheme is not God’s plan of increase. We ought to save little by little and that money grows, that is God’s principle.
2. Earn money by hard work.
Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.
It is important that we are to work hard and as a result of that get out pay check. Laziness is condemned throughout the scripture. Whatever we do, making a code, preaching sermons, providing health care, teaching students, you name the profession, you name the carrier, it is a calling in life. You are not doing that by an accident, and you realize that you are partnering with God with the work of your hands.
In fact, our jobs are so important to God that they are to be offered to him as an expression of our faith, the works of our hands to glorify him. So would not your work from Monday to Friday or Saturday be a lot better if you realize that in working hard you are pleasing God. In doing a good job you are not just earring money and a paycheck but you are doing something that matters in life.
3. Don’t’ borrow.
Some people earn their money by borrowing.
Psalm 37:21 The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously.
Proverbs 22:7 The borrower is slave to the lender.
5. Earn money honestly.
Proverbs 13:11 KJV Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished….
NIV Dishonest money dwindles away….
There is a lot of pressure today to get rich quick and to make it at whatever cost or consequences as soon as possible. So making money by manipulating people if you are in business, manipulating your work and boss if you are an employee is not right. Money made by exploiting others is dishonest money.
Proverbs 16:8 MSG Far better to be right and poor than to be wrong and rich.
Don’t allow the money monster to devourer your integrity, your character. Don’t allow greed in any of its form to capture your heart and to put you in bondage to things.
Dishonest money flies away.
Proverbs 23:4-5 4Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness. 5Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.
Did you ever think about money with wings flying away? There is a human proverb which says easy come, easy go. Ill-gotten wealth will go the way it came. Proverbs 10:2 Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value.
III. How to manage your money wisely?
1. Spend wisely.
Proverbs 21:20 KJV There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up. Most people spend far too much of their hard earned money paying their creditors than paying themselves. We are to make good choices to secure our future.
Proverbs 21:5 The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.
2. Save money.
Proverbs 13:11 ….whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.
3. Give generously.
Give generously to God. Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Some people think they can disobey God in your giving but God will take care of the other needs. You cannot disobey God in a given area and not affect you in other areas in your life. I have seen people who have good finances but not following God’s plan of giving and they are facing some other obstacles in life besides financial troubles. Their money is good, but there are other things that are not right in their life, they cannot figure it out what is wrong.
Everything in your life will be affected by the way you treat what I am going to tell you now about your money.
In Malachi God is displeased with the Israelites by the way they were living and handling their money. They were bringing sacrifices that were sick, sick sheep instead of spotless. They had to be spotless because they represent the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. God said I am going to give them some discipline because they are not living up to their law.
Malachi 3:3-4 3He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years.
Malachi 3:6-12 6“I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 7Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’ 8“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings. 9You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. 10Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. 11I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. 12“Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.
The Bible is very clear for God’s plan for financial growth. This is by giving.
IV. God’s financial Plan: Tithe.
Malachi 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse…
God’s plan is for God’s people to bring 10 percent of their entire income to his presence. God is saying, “My policy is that you give back one-tenth of all that I give to you.” A tithe is Rs. 1 out of Rs. 10, Rs.10 of Rs. 100, Rs. 100 out of Rs. 1000, and it can go on to lakhs of rupees. Make sure that you bring the whole tithe. Don’t break your tithe.
1. When to tithe? Tithe first.
Proverbs 3:9-10 9Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. Not only one-tenth, it is the first tenth, first fruits. You take your tithe first and then use the remaining 9% for yourself.
2. Where to tithe? Church you attend.
Malachi 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse…
Storehouse in the OT, tabernacle, then temple. Today it is church. 1 Corinthians 16:2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.\
3. Purpose of tithe & offering
a. Provide for ministerial needs.
i. Provide for the needs of ministry in the temple.
i. Provide for all the priests.
iii. Provide for the poor, widows, orphans, and foreigners.
God’s plan was for the church needs and also for the needs of the society.
b. Test God’s promise.
Malachi 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. God says test me in this. My purpose for this is to provide for all those needs, but to prove me if I will not pour you out a blessing.
c. Act of worship.
We have come here to worship God, our worship is not complete without our giving.
d. Obey & honour God.
The purpose of giving generously in life is to obey and honour the Lord. God says, “The one who honors God, God will honor.”
4. Heart of a giver.
a. Give Generously.
1 Chronicles 29:14 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.
b. Give Willingly.
1 Chronicles 29:17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you.
c. Give with honest intent.
1 Chronicles 29:17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you.
d. Consistently.
1 Chronicles 29:18 Lord, the God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep these desires and thoughts in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you.
5. God’s promise for a giver.
a. Prosperity.
Malachi 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.
b. Protection.
Rebuke the devourer. Malachi 3:11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty.
c. God will bless your testimony.
Malachi 3:12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.
6. What if a person does not tithe?
If God says something and I do not do it, what is it, it is:
a. Rebellion.
1 Samuel 15:22-23 22But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying theLord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. 23For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
b. Unbelief.
c. Ingratitude.
d. Commits theft.
Malachi 3:8 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings.
e. Curse from God.
Malachi 3:9 You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me.
Conclusion:
Acts 20:35 It is better to give than to receive.
There are two kinds of people in the world – gives, takes. Be a giver. Be generous with your life and who you are.
You see in a 100 years from now, everything we own will be in somebody else’s name. Our houses, our assets our portfolios, everything we have will be in somebody else’s name. Really it is only what we give away is what we keep. No wonder the Bible says it is more blessed to give than to receive.
Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Dear loved ones. I have shared with you the secret of God’s financial plan for your life. If you have to do what God says about your finances it comes down to two Christian values – Trust and obey. If you cannot trust and obey God’s word, you cannot do what God said to do. Finally it comes down to me – Will I trust God in the area of my giving? Am I willing to put myself in God’s financial plan and watch him bless me in my life. Amen!
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