MATTHEW 6:19-21, 24, 33 AND MALACHI 3:7-12
“IS IT MY MONEY OR IS IT GOD’S MONEY?”
A) Boy do I have the stewardship program for us.
* Let’s call it “MONEY SUNDAY.” – The rules are simple, so listen up.
* All offering envelopes will be placed into a large round tumbler,
(on the altar of course).
B) One of the “elected few” will step forward and draw out one of the
offering envelopes from the big round tumbler on the altar.
* The winner (person or family whose offering envelope is drawn) will receive
“DOUBLE THEIR MONEY BACK.”
C) Now before you jump the gun, it is biblical.
* Hezekiah 6:15 “As a man giveth, so will he winneth.”
* (Hey, there is no book of Hezekiah) And just listen to the spiritual benefits
we as a church will receive .......
1. More and more members will begin using offering envelopes.
2. When we make offering envelopes available only to members, you will be
astounded at how our membership will grow.
3. Members will naturally put in more money because they know that if their
envelope is drawn, they will get more back.
* Never underestimate the intelligence of our church members.
4. Worship service will reach new heights of excitement ... You can imagine the
excitement and drama each Sunday as the winning envelope is drawn.
* People will be praying harder than ever, “Lord please let them draw my envelope.”
5. We will never again have to worry about buying expensive offering envelopes.
* Once the idea catches on members will be willing to buy their own.
* You will discover that many will buy more than one pack of envelopes, much like
bingo cards.
6. The pastor will no longer have to work quite so hard on his sermons, as that
will no longer be the “main event.”
* Drawing the winning envelope will be the main event.
* The possibilities are endless of what we could buy and do as a church with
using the stewardship program, “Money Sunday.”
D) But does God want a stewardship program of “Money Sunday” or does
He have another plan?
* Let’s look and see – Matthew 6:21, Jesus says, “For where your treasure .......”
E) It’s an interesting thought to think that whatever has captivated you
(that which we treasure), your heart will follow .......
* And with the heart, your actions are close behind.
F) How we handle money is perhaps the truest indicator of the spiritual
condition of the heart – It quickly reveals our fleshly nature.
* The Bible contains more than 2,000 references to money and possessions.
* Out of the all the parables Jesus told, many of them deal with how we
handle our money.
G) Jesus said more about money than He did about heaven or hell.
STEWARDSHIP IS A HEART ISSUE
A) Always has and always will be – God wants to put more into your heart
than He wants to take out of your paycheck or wallet.
* Unfortunately, most stewardship emphasis center around the aspect of the church
needing more money.
B) We preachers make statements like, “If everybody tithed, we’d never have
to worry about money.” – And I’ve even said that before.
* But where in God’s Word does He ever say worry about money?
* He doesn’t – God says just the opposite, “Do not worry.” – Matt. 6:25; 31 .......
C) Don’t worry about your life (v.25) ... About what you eat or drink,
or about what you wear (v.31) – These are all possessions.
* When life and possessions become our goal, the relationship with God
is hampered.
D) How many times have we heard or said, “I’m too busy to go to church,
or to serve?”
* How about this one, “I wish the preacher would shut up so we could go eat.”
E) And this one takes them all, for a lady once said this was the reason she
didn’t come to church .......
* “I looked in my closet and there wasn’t a thing to wear to church, so I stayed home.”
* Luke 12:15 “And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of .......”
F) Treasures of earth grip us ... They seize our feelings, our affections, and they
hold them in an iron grip.
* Let someone try taking them from us and we become bitter, angry and even violent.
G) What you treasure, is where your heart is.
* Matthew 6:24, Jesus goes on to say, “No man can serve two .......”
* The man who said, “Money is not everything, but it is way ahead of whatever is
in second place,” speaks the truth for many a persons.
H) The truth of the passage is, we are going to serve something.
* We cannot get away from it – The idea of serving moves us into the realm of action,
choice and decision .......
* If a material outlook controls us, then we are really godless, even though we talk
about God all the time.
HEALTH AND WEALTH GOSPEL
A) Today in the health and wealth gospel that is proclaimed, it is materialism
that thinks itself to be godly.
* Rev. 3:17 “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased .......”
B) Just as Jesus points to the truth we will serve something, He also points out
you cannot serve God and money ... It’s a love-hate relationship.
* You must ask yourself today, “Who am I serving?”
* Matt. 6:33, Jesus promotes a solution to it all .......
C) Seek God first – Simple but profound.
* The Churches of Macedonia exemplify this stewardship principle in their lives.
* Turn to 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 (emphasis on v.5) .......
D) To seek God’s kingdom and righteousness first says you are seeking a vital
relationship with God before all else.
* Seeking God first will ultimately bring blessings into all aspects of our lives.
* Are you giving to God, or are you robbing God? – Malachi 3:7-8 .......
E) What we treasure, serve and seek will bear itself out in our lives and actions.
* If you treasure, serve and seek money, then be assured that giving to God will
become a burden.
* Mechanical giving of our finances to God is the scenario of most lives – In doing
so we miss the blessings that God has for us.
F) Those in Malachi are living testimony of materialism being treasured,
served and sought – Two mistaken views of Malachi 3:8 .......
1. To give tithes and offerings, then say, God owes me and I can do whatever
I want with the 90%.
2. I am no longer under the law, but grace, therefore I do not have to heed the
command of God to tithe.
G) Often the passage is abused by well-meaning pastors and teachers .......
* They are plugged into the “needing money syndrome,” using the passage to
guilt people into giving.
* However, a closer examination of the passage will prove itself not to be that at all.
H) In 450 BC, Israel was in the grasp of a god called money.
* Their lives were consumed with the treasure of money, the serving of money,
and the seeking of money ... So the prophet Malachi issued a call to return to God.
* Tithing too often becomes the most important part of the passage, but the most
important part of their lives and ours, was, and is obedience.
DO WE TRUST GOD ENOUGH TO OBEY HIM?
* Remember Malachi 3:7 “Even from the days of your .......” (Back)
A) The prophet is calling the people to repentance, to return to God.
* There is an extremely close relationship between giving and repentance.
B) Malachi says, “Return to God.” – The people asked, “How?”
* And Malachi says, in effect, “Start with the most visible sin in your life,
your money.”
C) If the Christian does not tithe, the need is not for “more money,”
the true need is for “repentance.”
* The people piously asked, “Why do we need to repent?”
* To which Malachi responds with a question, (Forward) “Will a man rob God?”
D) Can we rob God? ... Is that possible?
* The word “rob” is from the same root word for the name Jacob which means
to deceive, to always be taking from people.
* So, to rob God is to take what is rightfully His – Now we must decide, is it God’s
money or is it mine?
E) God does not need our tithes and offerings, but He does want our obedience.
* The truth is God has laid claim to the tithe for our benefit.
* He wants us to be free from the destructive god of money.
F) To willingly, freely and joyfully give Him the tithes and offerings allows us
to treasure, serve and seek Him through obedience.
* He desires that you and I treasure Him over money ... Serve Him over money ...
And seek Him over money.
LET ME TEACH YOU SOMETHING IN Proverbs 3:9-10 .......
A) “Honour” – “A showing of great respect, to make glorious, to glorify.”
* The Hebrew word is “Kabed” [kaw–bade’] and means “to be heavy.”
* “Substance” ... The Hebrew word is “hown” [hone] and means “riches, wealth.”
* “Firstfruits” ... The Hebrew word is “reshiyth” [ray–sheeth’] and means “the first.”
B) Now let’s break the verse down ... “Honour the LORD.”
* God loves to be honored, applauded – If you honor Him, He will honor you.
* If you dishonor Him, He will dishonor you.
C) Honoring the Lord comes from a thankful and grateful heart.
* Psa. 100:4 “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise:
be thankful unto him, and bless his name.”
D) The Hebrew word for “Thankful” is “yadah” [yaw–daw’] and means
“to revere and worship with extended hands.” (explain)
* When you take God’s money and pay your house payment or car payment, you are
honoring your house or car more than you are honoring God.
* (Remember, the Hebrew word means “to be heavy.”)
E) Now notice v.10 ... He didn’t say “bucket or cup” ... He said “barns.”
* “Your presses shall burst out with new wine.” ... Wine represents ultimate
joy (not happiness).
* Luke 6:38 “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed .......”
* 2 Cor. 9:6 “He which soweth sparingly .......”
F) By way of closing, let me ask you this question ... Should you and I tithe?
* Yes, but not for the sake of the church ...Yes, but not to give mechanically.
* Yes, but not so that God will automatically increase the 90%.
G) Yes, we should tithe because we love God ... Yes, we should tithe because
we want to obey God.
* Yes, we should tithe because we treasure our relationship with God more than
anything else we can seek and serve in this life.
* God blesses those who love and obey Him.
H) We got to get the church into a “want to” mode.
* Serve God with your mind, “I have to.” – Serve Him with your will, “I ought to.”
* Serve Him with your heart, “I want to.”
