Dollars & Sense - Stewardship
Randy Hageman
July 15, 2024

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God’s View of Money

God desires financial

for you and me, because, unfortunately,
too many of us know all too well what it’s like to experience financial
bondage.

If you’ve made some

with money, join the crowd.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

…So God created human beings in his own image. In

the image of God he created them; male and female he

created them. —Genesis 1:1, 27 (NLT)

The Bible tells us God is the

of everything, including human
beings, and He everything.

The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it. The world

and all its people belong to him. —Psalms 24:1 (NLT)


In the big picture, all I’m really doing is for a time some of God’s matter, with resources God provided me in the first place.

…What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if

everything you have is from God, why boast as though it

were not a gift? —1 Corinthians 4:7 (NLT)

The biblical view of our existence is that

has been created by God.

A steward is one who

the property of another.

Stewardship is the

of managing that which belongs to
another.

Money is a place where the values of God’s Kingdom and the values of
this world often come into

.

If you start thinking to yourselves, “I did all this. And

all by myself. I’m rich. It’s all mine!”—well, think

again. Remember that GOD, your God, gave you the

strength to produce all this wealth…. —Deuteronomy 8:17-18 (Message)


The essence of this mentality is our nature that puts me first.

God didn’t create things to be

in our lives or give us the answers;He didn’t even create people to be in our lives.

Then God gave the people all these instructions: “I am

the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of

Egypt, the place of your slavery. You must not have any

other god but me. You must not make for yourself an

idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or

on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to

them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a

jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any

other gods.…” —Exodus 20:1-5 (NLT)


Throughout the Bible, God shows us there are
consequences when human beings worship other gods.

Jesus: No one can serve two masters. For you will hate

one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and

despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. —Matthew 6:24 (NLT)

Money in and of itself isn’t evil, and God entrusts it to us to do lots of good, but it so easily

us, leading us to believe it will solve all our problems.

For the love of money is a source of all kinds of evil.

Some have been so eager to have it that they have

wandered away from the faith and have broken their

hearts with many sorrows. —1 Timothy 6:10 (NLT)


The love of money too often lures Christ followers the path God has for them.

God has commanded His people to give a portion of all the resources
He has entrusted to us as a visible reminder and affirmation that
money is not our

.

Returning to God a portion of what He has first given to us
acknowledges He is our God – it’s an act of

.

Honor GOD with everything you own; give him the first

and the best. —Proverbs 3:9 (Message)

Giving is always a

issue, because it’s about our hearts – do we believe God, do we trust Him, is He first in our lives and our God?

One tenth (the tithe) of the produce of the land,

whether grain from the fields or fruit from the trees,

belongs to the LORD and must be set apart to him as

holy. … Count off every tenth animal from your herds

and flocks and set them apart for the LORD as holy —Leviticus 27:30, 32 (NLT)

The tithe is not just any gift to God but the first

percent of our income, while are that which we give above and beyond the tithe.

Christ followers also give out of

and as a sign of our .

What can I give back to GOD for the blessings he’s

poured out on me? —Psalm 116:12 (Message)


There’s no way we can ever earn or repay God for what He’s done for
us, but we give our lives and our resources, especially the , as an act of gratitude and a tangible act of trust that we believe God and His promises, and this act of trust grows us spiritually, as disciples, in ways nothing else can.

My tithe is an act of obedience, an act of gratitude, an act of trust, but it’s also an act of

.


God only asks for ten percent back, allowing us to in His mission of saving the world and all its people.


Investing in God’s work is the only way to invest in .

Jesus: Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets

eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen

by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s

safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious,

isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you

will most want to be, and end up being. —Matthew 6:19-21 (NLT)

Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds

will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously

will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your

heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in

response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives

cheerfully.” And God will generously provide all you

need. Then you will always have everything you need and

plenty left over to share with others. —2 Corinthians 9:6-8 (NLT)


God desires our giving to be because we to and not because we have to.

…and you will always be rich enough to be generous.

Through our action such generosity will issue in

thanksgiving to God —2 Corinthians 9:11 (NEB)


Most of us in here have been blessed by the faithfulness and
generosity of those who’ve gone before us, and we have the
opportunity to continue that through our own generosity and
giving.

Blessings sometimes are financial, but more often, we feel joy in
seeing lives transformed, discover God’s peace because we learn we
really can trust God, and experience

.

Actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything

personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content

whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with

little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found

the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands

full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I

can make it through anything in the One who makes me

who I am. —Philippians 4:11-13 (Message)

God understands how big a

tithing is.

God invites us to

Him in this one area.

Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me!

“But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever

cheat you?’ You have cheated me of the tithes and

offerings due to me. You are under a curse, for your

whole nation has been cheating me. Bring all the tithes

into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my

Temple. If you do,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “I

will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a

blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it

in! Try it! Put me to the test!” —Malachi 3:8-10 (NLT)

90 Day Tithing Challenge: gateway.cc/give#90day

Next Week: Dollars & Sense: God’s View of Saving Money