Pastor Scott Applegate
“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. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Luke 16:10-13 NIV
- Everything we have is on loan from God
“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it…” Psalm 24:1 NIV
- I am a steward of God’s stuff
- Money is a tool and a test
How to steward God’s money:
STOP loving it
“Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.” Ecclesiastes 5:11 NIV
“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 6:10 NIV
STOP living for it
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Luke 16:13 NIV
“Even wise people are fools if they let money change their thinking.” Ecclesiastes 7:7 NCV
STOP trusting it
“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.” 1 Timothy 6:17 NIV
“If I have put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security…I would have been unfaithful to God on high.’” Job 31:24,28 NIV
STOP hoarding it
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Matthew 6:19-20 NIV
START RIGHT NOW by honoring God with your money
“Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce.” Proverbs 3:9 NLT
- Honor God by giving cheerfully and consistently to the local church
“…see that you also excel in this grace of giving…Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.” Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” 2 Corinthians 8:7, 9:6-11 NIV
“Now about the collection for the Lord’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.” 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 NIV
- Honor God by giving to what is near and dear to His heart
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27 NIV
“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.’” Mark 16:15 NIV
- Honor God by providing for your family
“But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” 1 Timothy 5:8 ESV
- Honor God by enjoying what He has provided for you
“Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart.” Ecclesiastes 5:19-20 NIV
- Honor God by saving and investing a portion of what He has given you
“The wise man saves for the future, but the foolish man spends whatever he gets.” Proverbs 21:20 LB
“Invest what you have, because after a while you will get a return. Invest what you have in several different businesses, because you don’t know what disasters might happen.” Ecclesiastes 11:1-2 NCV
“Earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can” John Wesley