A Step of Faith - 1 Kings 17:8-16
February 25, 2024
takeaways from first two weeks… not about money, about your heart… trust God, seek Him first… everything belongs to Him… money not evil, love of money is…
1Chron 29:17… “You test the heart… people willingly and joyfully given all…”
Matt 6:25-34… “seek first His righteousness… and all these things will be added…”
1Cor 4:7… “what do you have God hasn’t given you… everything you have is from Him…”
1Tim 6:10-19… “love of money is root of all evil… set your hope on God…”
said nothing about amount you should give… attitude about money comes first…
Psa 50:7-14… “I do not need your sacrifices… make thankfulness your sacrifice…”
Prov 10:22… “blessing of the Lord makes one rich… adds no sorrow with it…”
Prov 28:22… “man with evil eye chases after riches… poverty will come to him…”
Mark 12:41-44… “many put in large amounts… widow 2 small coins… she gave more…”
2Cor 9… “gift, not extortion… each decide in heart… God loves a cheerful giver…”
1Tim 6:10… “by craving money… some have tortured their soul with sorrows…”
in middle of talking about money… Jesus talks about eyes… why… wants to know where your focus is… His kingdom or money… can’t focus on both… focus affects your entire body… either be filled with light… or filled with darkness…
Matt 6:19-34… “where your treasure is, there your heart will be… if your eye is healthy, whole body is full of light… if eye is bad, whole body full of darkness… can’t serve both…”
Mark 3:22-26… “a house divided against itself cannot stand…
seeking after true riches of His kingdom… not empty stuff money can buy… pray…
Luke 12:33-34… “give to those in need… store up treasure in heaven…”
Rom 14:17… “kingdom not eating and drinking… but righteousness, peace, joy in HS…”
Phil 3:8-13… “everything is worthless compared to the value of knowing Jesus…”
money is least area of faith… smallest, most insignificant way we can trust God… don’t expect to do greater things until you can trust Him with the least of things…
Luke 16:10-14… “he who is faithful in what is least is also faithful in much…”
Luke 18:23-30… “sell all you have, give to poor, follow Me… went away sad, very rich…”
very few would question how we get saved… we trust the word of God…
Mark 10:52… “your faith has saved you…”
Acts 2:21… “everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved…”
Acts 15:11… “we believe we are saved thru the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ…”
Rom 10:9-13… “confess with mouth… believe in heart… you will be saved…”
why don’t we trust His words in the area of money…
Psa 37:21… “the wicked do not repay… but the righteous give generously…”
Prov 11:24-25… “one person gives freely, yet gains more… another withholds what is right only to become poor… a generous person will prosper… one who gives will be given to…”
Prov 21:26… “some people are greedy… but the righteous love to give…”
sometimes we don’t trust God with money because we believe lies… one, that money is evil… and two, for some reason we think God wants us poor…
Gen 13:2… “Abram was very rich in livestock… silver… and gold…” Gen 26:12-14… “Isaac became rich… kept getting richer… until very wealthy…”
Gen 30:43… “Jacob became exceedingly prosperous…”
Gal 3:14… “purpose was so blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles…”
2Cor 9:8-15… “He will provide and increase resources to produce generosity…”
3John 2… “I wish above all things that you prosper and be in good health…”
over course of your life… you will likely earn more than a million dollars… how do we take a step of faith and start trusting God with money (census.gov)… .
- No HS Diploma or GED - $ 850,000 to $1,750,000
- HS Diploma or GED - $1,100,000 to $2,240,000
- Associate degree - $1,400,000 to $2,800,000
- Bachelor’s degree - $1,875,000 to $4,140,000
- Master’s degree - $2,250,000 to $4,700,000
- Doctorate - $2,700,000 to $5,800,000
Matt 6:19… “don’t store up treasures on earth… moth and rust destroy, thieves steal…”
Mark 8:36… “what does it benefit to gain the whole world… and lose his soul…”
2Cor 3:5… “can do nothing of lasting value on our own… only success comes from God…”
1Tim 6:17-19… “be generous… willing to share… storing up treasure for the coming age…
first step is understanding people are more important to God than stuff… He’s not against having stuff, just doesn’t want stuff having you… highest form of giving is to ministries that share Gospel… what good is a cure if people don’t know Jesus…
Eze 18:32… “I have no pleasure in the death of anyone… so turn and live…” 2Cor 4:17… “light and momentary afflictions… compared to eternal weight of glory…”
1Tim 2:4… “God wants everyone to be saved… come to a knowledge of truth…”
Heb 12:2… “Jesus… for joy set before Him… endured the cross…”
2Pet 3:9… “God is patient… not wanting anyone to perish… but all to be saved…”
second step is to start giving away those millions now…
1Kings 17:10-16… “widow gathering wood… Elijah said, please bring me water and bread… she said, I don’t have anything, only a handful of flour and bit of oil, I’m gathering a couple of sticks to prepare it for myself and my son, so we can eat it and die… Elijah said, don’t be afraid, do as you have said, but first make me a small loaf, afterward, you may make some for you and your son, for this is what the Lord says… the flour jar will not become empty and the oil jug will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land… so she proceeded to do according to the word of Elijah… then they ate for many days and the flour jar did not become empty and oil jug did not run dry according to Word of the Lord…”
imagine reports people would have heard… Pastor Steals Widow’s Last Meal… God Demands All from Poor Widow… Selfish God Kills Woman and Her Son… she stopped hearing reports… believed with her own eyes… saw God’s goodness…
1Kings 17:17-24… “son died… Lord listened to Elijah’s prayer… boy came back to life… widow said, now I know you are a man of God and His word is true…”
Job 1:21; 42:1-6… “heard reports about You… but now my eyes have seen You…”
what else did she do… took step of faith… trusted God and gave when she had nothing… God didn’t want to take everything she had… He wanted to supply everything she needed… same is true for us… time to take a step of faith… pray…
Prov 3:9-10… “honor the Lord with wealth… then barns filled with plenty… vats overflow…”
Mal 3:7-12… “test Me… see if I will not open heaven… pour out blessing without measure…”
Luke 6:38… “give and it will be given to you… amount determines what you get back…”
2Cor 8:2… “severe troubles… abundant joy and extreme poverty overflowed in generosity…”
Phil 4:9… “do what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me…