Tru$t I$$ues

Warning Labels and Directions
November 26, 2023
Chris Seidman, Lead Minister, The Branch

1 Timothy 6:9-10 (NIV)
Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

1 Timothy 6:17-19 (NIV)
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

Directions When It Comes to How We Relate to What We Have …

• Stay humble with what we have.
  1 Timothy 6:17 (NIV)
  Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant … .

Proverbs 30:8-9 (NIV)**
… give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or I may become poor and steal, and dishonor the name of my God.

Deuteronomy 8:10-14, 17-18
When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God … .

(vs.12) Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

(vs.17) You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth … .

• Put our hope in our Provider and not our provisions.
  1 Timothy 6:17 (NIV)
  … nor to put their hope in wealth which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God … .

Questions To Consider …

• Do you make plans in your life around financial concerns before seeking God’s will?

• Do you think more about material wealth than the wealth you have in Christ?

• Do you visualize more what money can do for you or the ones you love than what God can do for you or them?

• How many of your emotional conversations involve money and material possessions?

• How much time do you spend preoccupied with what your children will do financially one day as opposed to how they will do spiritually one day?

• Is your pursuit of money and material things choking out time in Scripture, prayer, rest, or time with loved ones?

• Would you be willing to live on ten times what you give away each year?

• What’s your first reaction when you’re asked to share or even give away something important to you?

• How did you respond when you heard there was going to be a series about money and possessions?