#4 Invest in What Matters

Justin McAuliff

Part of Take the Journey Series—Start moving toward God's best for your life.

July 31, 2021

Matthew 4:18-22 (MSG)
Walking along the beach of Lake Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers: Simon (later called Peter) and Andrew. They were fishing, throwing their nets into the lake. It was their regular work. Jesus said to them, “Come with me. I’ll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I’ll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass.” They didn’t ask questions, but simply dropped their nets and followed. A short distance down the beach they came upon another pair of brothers, James and John, Zebedee’s sons. These two were sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, mending their fishnets. Jesus made the same offer to them, and they were just as quick to follow, abandoning boat and father.

A disciple of Jesus: a personal follower, learner and imitator of Jesus.

1. GOD DESIRES US TO BE GIVERS.

• BECAUSE GOD IS A GIVER.

John 3:16 (NIV)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

1 Corinthians 12:4-7 (MSG)
God’s various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people!

Matthew 10:8 (NIV)
…Freely you have received; freely give.

• BECAUSE GOD IS A REWARDER.

Genesis 8:22 (NLT)
As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.

Galatians 6:6-8 (TPT)
God will never be mocked! For what you plant will always be the very thing you harvest. The harvest you reap reveals the seed that you planted. If you plant the corrupt seeds of self-life into this natural realm, you can expect a harvest of corruption. If you plant the good seeds of Spirit-life you will reap beautiful fruits that grow from the everlasting life of the Spirit.

• BECAUSE GOD IS A REFRESHER.

Proverbs 11:25 (NIV)
A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.

2. WE ALL HAVE SOMETHING TO GIVE.

We can all give our time, treasure, and talent.

• OUR TIME MAKES A DIFFERENCE.

• OUR TALENTS SERVE OTHERS.

• OUR TREASURE CHANGES LIVES.

1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

1 Timothy 6:17-19 (TPT)
To all the rich of this world, I command you not to be wrapped in thoughts of pride over your prosperity, or rely on your wealth, for your riches are unreliable and nothing compared to the living God. Trust instead in the one who lavished upon us all good things, fulfilling our every need. Remind the wealthy to be rich in remarkable works of extravagant generosity, wiling to share with others. These spiritual investments will provide a beautiful foundation for their lives and secure for them a great future, as they lay their hand upon the meaning of true life.

3. CHOOSE TO BE A GIVER.

Acts 20:35 (NIV)
…It is more blessed to give than to receive.

• BE WISE

Matthew 13:44 (NIV)
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

2 Timothy 2:20-21 (NLT)
In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use. If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.

Malachi 3:8-10 (NIV)
“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”

Matthew 7:24-27 (NIV)
Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.

• BE FAITHFUL

Luke 16:10 (NIV)
Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.

Matthew 25:14-28 (NIV)
Parable of the Bags of Gold.

Revelation 3:15-17 (NLT)
I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!

• BE ENTHUSIASTIC

2 Corinthians 9:6-7 (TPT)
Here’s my point. A stingy sower will reap a meager harvest, but the one who sows from a generous spirit will reap an abundant harvest. Let giving flow from your heart, not from a sense of religious duty. Let it spring up freely from the joy of giving—all because God loves hilarious generosity!

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