Sermon Central
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God Is Not Against Money Series
Contributed by Fred Sigle on Feb 6, 2007 (message contributor)
Summary: Believe it or not, God is not against you and me having money. He does, however, want us to handle our money His way. In doing so, we will be blessed abundantly.
GOD IS NOT AGAINST MONEY
(Based on Dr. Kregg Hood’s book: Take God at His Word and Dave Ramsey’s book: Total Money Makeover)
A. There is a misconception among many Christians that God is AGAINST MONEY.
1. We have taken passages that contain WARNINGS to the RICH and have concluded that God is against people with LOTS of MONEY and that the truly BLESSED are the POOR.
a. Paul- "The LOVE of MONEY is the ROOT of all EVIL" not having MONEY- I Timothy 6:10.
b. MONEY itself is neither GOOD nor BAD. In fact, if used the way God intended, MONEY can be a tremendous BLESSING.
2. However, the "LOVE of MONEY" is always BAD.
COMMENT:
LOVERS OF MONEY are SELFISH not SELFLESS. LOVERS OF MONEY place HOPE in their WEALTH not in GOD. LOVERS OF MONEY are never SATISFIED with what they HAVE, and will often STOP at nothing to GET MORE, no matter who gets HURT in the PROCESS. LOVERS OF MONEY are the ones Jesus is referring to when He commented, "It is easier for a CAMEL to go through the eye of a NEEDLE than for a RICH MAN to enter heaven."
3. It is this ATTITUDE about MONEY that God is AGAINST, not MONEY itself.
B. The sermons I have heard on GIVING in the PAST have never been about the BLESSINGS of GIVING, just about the RESPONSIBILITY of GIVING.
1. The reason many preachers shun away from talking about the BLESSINGS of GIVING (especially MONETARY BLESSINGS) is because of the HEALTH and WEALTH Gospel that many TELEVANGELISTS espouse.
COMMENT:
Most often their MESSAGE is, "GIVE TO ME and God will BLESS YOU with WEALTH." And they get WEALTHY while the PEOPLE they CHEAT get deeper and deeper into a FINANCIAL BIND. Paul condemns those who "use GODLINESS as a means of FINANCIAL GAIN"- I Timothy 6:5.
2. We are not to GIVE to GET!
a. But do understand that God promises to BLESS those who GIVE GENEROUSLY if their MOTIVE is to GIVE to GET to GIVE SOME MORE!
b. II Corinthians 9:10-11- "Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made RICH in every way so that you can be GENEROUS on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God."
COMMENT:
I think when Paul says that "Generous GIVERS will be made RICH in every way," He is talking about both SPIRITUAL and MATERIAL blessings. Yet the purpose of BLESSING us SPIRITUALLY and FINANCIALLY is so that we can turn right around and "GIVE GENEROUSLY on EVERY OCCASION."
c. Wouldn’t it be GREAT just to WRITE a check and to GIVE not only GENEROUSLY to the CHURCH, but to HELP whenever a NEED arises?
COMMENT:
We can if we follow God’s PRINCIPLES about MONEY. Again, God is the one who BLESSES us with MONEY, and He knows what it takes to gain the GREATEST BENEFIT we can from our MONEY.
MESSAGE:
COMMENT:
In Jesus’ SERMON on the MOUNT, He told His
listeners: "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money"- Matthew 6:24.
Our MONEY is not to take the PLACE of God--it is not to RULE over us. But neither does MONEY need to CONFLICT with God. Again, God is not AGAINST MONEY--He gives it to us. And if we understand the proper RELATIONSHIP between GOD and MONEY, we will be
BLESSED even more.
I. GOD WANTS TO BLESS US FINANCIALLY
A. God knows that we need MONEY.
1. He OWNS everything and reserves the RIGHT to GIVE money and possessions to His SERVANTS.
a. God- "All the gold and silver is mine"- Haggai 2:8.
b. "It is God who gives us the ability to produce WEALTH"- Deuteronomy 8:18.
COMMENT:
God is the one who provides MATERIAL WEALTH. He has nothing against the RICH or against the RICH enjoying their WEALTH. Apparently it DELIGHTS God to see His children do well FINANCIALLY, because He often REWARDED the FAITHFUL with RICHES.
In fact, I believe that God would rather see His people PROSPER than Satan’s BUNCH, because Christians are going to GENEROUSLY use their WEALTH to His GLORY. Maybe tha’s the reason Satan wants us to believe that it is more GODLY to be POOR, so that we will stay POOR and not have the ability to FUND the WORK of God.
2. Now please don’t misunderstand, I’m not saying that the Bible teaches that everyone who GIVES GENEROUSLY will be FILTHY RICH. But the Bible does teach that God will make sure that your NEEDS are TAKEN care of.
