Money: 7 Truths about Missional Christians
Bob Harrington
Attractional Christians Missional Christians
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1. “God owns everything. I'm His money manager”. "The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world and all who live in it." (Psalm 24:1) "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." (Deuteronomy 8:17-18) Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand." (I Chronicles 29:14) "Am I treating You as owner and CEO/CFO of ’my’ assets, or am I treating You merely as my financial consultant, whom I pay a fee (10% or greater)?"
2. My heart always goes to where I put God's money . Jesus summed it all up when he said, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6: 21). Where we put money shows where our heart is. But it also determines where our heart goes. Don’t wait to take action until your heart’s in it. Take action so your heart will be in it. Don’t let your giving follow your heart. Give so your heart will follow your giving. John Wesley offered four questions to help decide how to spend money. Notice how the last three flow directly out of the first one: In spending this money, am I acting as if I owned it, or am I acting as the Lord's trustee? What Scripture requires me to spend this money in this way? Can I offer up this purchase as a sacrifice to the Lord? Will God reward me for this expenditure at the resurrection of the just? 3. Heaven, not earth, is the place for my biggest investments. Do not store up treasures on earth…Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven." (Matthew 6:19-20)
God is the highest good of the reasonable creature, and the enjoyment of him is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied….Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, children, earthly friends…are but scattered beams, but God is the sun. These are but streams, God is the fountain. These are but drops, God is the ocean.Jonathan Edwards, 1733 He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.Jim Elliot, 1927 – 1956 Strategic question: Five minutes after I die, what will I wish I would have given? Strategic plan:Spend the rest of our lives closing the gap between what we’ll wish we would have given and what we are giving. 4. Giving is the only antidote to Materialism.Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world and it is certain that we will not carry anything out. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil." (I Tim. 6:10)
"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 treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life." (1 Timothy 6:17-19)
In the book, The Treasure Principle, Randy Alcorn shows why tithing has been a doable and God honoring bench-mark throughout the centuries. When people tell me they can’t afford to tithe, I ask them, “If your income was reduced by 10 percent would you die?” They say, “No.” And I say, “Then you’ve admitted that you can afford to tithe. It’s just that you don’t want to.” I’m not saying that it is easy to give. I’m saying – and there are thousands who will agree – that it’s much easier to live on 90 percent . . . inside the will of God than it is to live on 100 percent outside it. 5. “First-fruits” Giving is blessed . Proverbs 3:9-10 states the promise succinctly: “Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the first-fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.” First-fruits are the “first-part.” In the Bible, God’s people give the first part, the first 10% to God. We live on that which was left. The people in Bible times gave the first born animal, the first part of the grain, the first part of the oil, the first part of the wine, etc.,. They also made sure that it was the best part. To give the first 10% is a test of faith; it is a test to rely on God for a wonderful promise. 6. “Tithing” and “Above” Tests and Proves God’s Promises. Test me in this [giving: not only of tithes, but freewill offerings] and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. * Malachi 3:10 Randy Alcorn describes the consensus of most Biblical scholars on the topic of tithing in the New Testament when he writes the following in his book, The Treasure Principle: “I have no problem with people who say ‘we’re not under the tithe,’ just as long as they’re not using that as justification for giving less.” 7. God prospers us not to raise our standard of living, but to raise our standard of giving . “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap, for with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38 The richest person in the universe became the poorest. He took the Hell we deserve to give us the Heaven we don’t deserve. We can never outgive God. Small Group Questions: 1. What was a big event in your life this past week?2. Review the 7 principles from the teaching today. Which one stands out the most to you? Explain why?3. Review the concept of first-fruits. What are first-fruits? Why is that an important practice? How do we practice it today?4. Under point #4, review Randy Alcorn’s statement, as quoted about living on 90% of our income. Is this a fair challenge? Explain why or why not?5. Is there a desire in your heart to personally apply one of these principles over the next week or month? Which one would it be? Explain why? John Bunyan's couplet: "There was a man, some called him mad; The more he gave, the more he had."
