The Bible and Money

So, the Bible has a lot to say about money, but what does the world, specifically

Hollywood, tell us about money? Show me the money, right?

Money, according to Hollywood, is the goal. Many of you probably saw that movie, right?

What else does Hollywood say about money? Hollywood says greed is good, right?

If money's the goal, whatever the motivation is to achieve that goal must also be good.

So, greed is good. Then you got Tony Montana, right? In this country, you gotta make the money first.

Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, you get the women, right? So money's about power, right?

And we have to use that power to gain other people's admiration and interest.

Then there's a philosopher. Always borrow money from a pessimist. He won't expect it back, right?

So prey on people. As long as you get the money, hey, they're not gonna expect it back.

Who cares? I got it. They don't. Then, if you don't find a way to make money while you sleep, you'll work until you die.

And that's, who's that guy? Warren Buffet, right? This is the king of money.

Say again? His brother, Jimmy, is more laid back. His brother, Jimmy, is more laid back for the video and the podcast.

All right. Good one. Then we have Steve Jobs. Now what he says does make sense.

He says, my favorite things in life don't cost any money. It's really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time, right?

So in his mind, time equals money, so to speak. He values that time because with it, he uses it for whatever he truly loves.

Then we have a really interesting one. If only God would give me some clear sign, like making a large deposit in my name in a

Swiss bank account. Woody Allen, right? Woody Allen. Here's another good one you're gonna like.

Nickel ain't worth a dime anymore. Yogi Berra. You gotta quote Yogi with these kind of things.

All right. So that's what the world and all kinds of sports people and business people say about money. But what does the

Bible say about money? Anybody want to guess how many verses there are in the scriptures pertaining to money?

Give me a guess. Give me a number. 110. Oh, that's a lot. What else?

Who else? Somebody else want to venture a guess? How about 2 ,350 verses that concern money, saving, you know, turning it into an idol.

And thankfully, because we have so much time today, we're gonna go through every one. Time is money.

No, I'm only kidding. We're not gonna hit every one. Out of 2 ,350 verses, that's twice as many as faith and prayer combined.

The Bible says a lot about money. So is money sinful?

No. Okay, let's see. Money has no life of its own, so it doesn't have a will. It cannot spend itself and it can decide where to be spent.

It has no control over that. It cannot do good deeds and it cannot commit crimes. Money is amoral.

Money itself is neither good nor bad. It is not the root of all evil.

However, the love of money is a root of all kind of evil.

So money in itself isn't the root of all kind of people, evil. It's the love of money.

It can only do what you tell it to do. And the question is, does your bank account tell you what to do or do you tell your bank account what to do with the money?

Does your money control you or do you control your money? 1 Timothy 6, 10,

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. And listen to this. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Right? It can cause you to go astray and hurt yourself. It's what we do with money that is good or evil, faithful, unfaithful, honoring

God, dishonoring God. So what we do with the money will determine what the condition of our heart is.

And that's the issue. The issue is the issue of the heart. So Sproul says this,

Broadly understood, economics has to do not only with money or taxes or business, but with the management of those resources.

How we use our resources is the subject of economics and in the biblical sense is the chief concern of stewardship.

The English word economics and economy come from the Greek word oikonomia, which is made up of two parts, oikos, the word for house or household, and nomos, the word for law.

Oikonomia is transliterated into English as economy. The English word that translates the word oikonomia is the

English word stewardship. So stewardship and economics are closely related concepts.

And in fact, to a New Testament Christian, there was no distinction between them. So how you handle your money in your household is stewardship oikonomia.

Right? It's a very, very important principle. And how you manage your money in your household is either moral or immoral.

Very important considering the fact that God talks twice as much about money than prayer and faith combined.

This is a serious issue. This is something we need to know what the Bible says about. So I came across an article by Jesse Wisniewski, who is a

Christian and a money management guy. Very, very bright guy. I took his nine principles about money and I want to go through them and we're going to talk about each one.

So first, God owns everything. Money is a tool. Worship God with your money.

Earn your money. Fight for contentment. Kill greed in your heart.

Be mindful of debt. Manage your finances. And sometimes more money equals more problems.

So these are the nine principles and what I want to do is just go through each one pretty quickly and then we'll have some questions.

So first, God owns everything. God doesn't talk this much about money because He's broke and needs a helping hand.

He owns everything. God is the owner of the entire world. He created it.

It's His. As are we. He owns us as well. Since God is the rightful owner of everything we have, this means the money we earn actually belongs to God.

He lends it to us. So God calls us to manage the money we accumulate on His behalf, not to have a love of money.

This is the essence of biblical stewardship. And growing up, I told my kids, do you love the gift or the giver? If you love the gift, the giver is going to stop giving you those.

But if you love the giver, the gifts will flow. Why? Because God wants our relationship to be with Him, not with what

He gives us. So people turn money into an idol. They turn all kinds of different things into an idol.

Those are gifts from God. You're to love the giver, not the gift. You appreciate the gift, but you love the giver.

Exodus 19, 5, Now, therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is mine.

All the peoples of the earth, the entire earth, all the resources in the earth belong to God. Job 41, 11,

Who has first given to me that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.

All right? There's nothing that you're going to give to God where He says, Ooh, thanks, I really needed that. It's His anyway.

So really, everything belongs to God. It's up to you to be a good steward of what He gives you.

How are we going to use that to further the kingdom? Money is a tool.

It is about discipleship. Money is a tool God uses to help us to live and love like Jesus.

Regardless of how much or how little you have, God is at work in your life as a

Christian and leading you to deeper trust in Him. I've said it over and over and over again. You were created to depend on God for everything, not just your salvation, your finances, your relationships, everything that the

Bible speaks of, which is the entirety of life. You were created to be dependent upon Him for.

This is exactly what we see in Philippians 4, 11 and 12. I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well -fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or living in want.

So the Bible says, Paul says, he learned the secret of being content.

The secret of being content is to trust God, whether you have little or you have a lot. When you have

Christ, you have everything you need. Now it's how do I manage the things that He's given me in the meantime?

Regardless of your situation, instead of asking why or just saying thank you, be sure to ask

God what you can learn, since there is a connection between your faith and your money. Are you stewarding your money well?

Is your money Lord or is Jesus Lord? Matthew 6, 12, no one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

You cannot serve both God and money. Now I know money doesn't have a life of its own, but money wants you to serve it.

The enemy wants you to turn from God to the resources, to love the gift more than the giver. You have to guard against that.

Luke 12, 34, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Anybody who's invested in the stock market knows that. The minute you invest in a stock, the next day you're looking, what is it up to, what is it up to, or what is it down to?

As soon as you put your money there, your attention goes there. That's why we're called to give

God money, because when we invest into the kingdom, that's where our heart goes. We're going to follow that.

When you invest big into the kingdom, your heart goes big into the kingdom. And I'm not telling you to give

God money because the pastors make a lot of money off of that. I'm telling you to give your money to God because it's a biblical principle and the stock in the kingdom never goes down.

It's the best investment you'll ever make. You get on the other side. You know how long the other side lasts?

Forever. You know how long the stock market's going to last on earth? Until the earth is gone.

When I say gone, I mean the world system is gone. So you're going to invest in something that's for eternity.

So what do we do? We worship God with our money. If you're not careful, it can be easy to place your hope in money.

It's something we can hold in our hands and look at in our bank account. We feel the weight of its absence or possess a sense of self -sufficiency when we have it in abundance.

The Bible has tons of warnings. Be careful. Guard your heart. Don't be a fool with your money.

And wealthy people are not the only ones who will be tempted to sin. Regardless of how much money you have, you will be tempted to sin in different ways.

And instead of placing your hope in money or whatever generates income, place your hope in God.

He owns everything. He's the one who will provide what you need to live your life for Him.

So again, is Jesus Lord? Is God the Lord of your life? Or are you going to let money get in between that?

1 Samuel 2 .7, the Lord makes poor and makes rich. He brings low and exalts. Maybe it's not your life to make millions of dollars.

Maybe it's not your life to be poor. It's in God's hands. Just be diligent with what He's giving you.

Again, it's a tool. Money's a tool. It's a form of discipleship. Proverbs 3 .10,

honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of your produce. Then your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will be bursting with wine.

And one of the things that comes to mind when I read this verse is Cain and Abel. Right? Cain kills

Abel. Abel came with the sacrifice, the firstfruits of his flock. What did Cain do?

Aside from not sacrificing an animal, he brought grain. But the Bible says, and through the passage of time, after much time, he brought the grain.

In other words, he waited until he had enough and then said, I'll give God. Bible's telling us, you give up front.

I'll provide the rest. Right? You don't wait till the end and say, oh, I got a ton.

Now I'll give. That doesn't take faith. It takes faith to give up front and then trust

God for the rest. It builds your faith on God. So worship

God with your money. Next, earn your money. In general, you need to work to earn money.

We observe many examples and commands in the Bible encouraging Christians to work diligently. Since we are created in the image of God, we are hardwired to work, to create.

What is more, God has commanded us to work. How many days did God start off working? Six. He rested on the seventh.

That's a model for us. To work six days, rest on the seventh. We are in the image of God.

We are created to work. He's given us the raw materials. He says now take it and go make something good of it.

Now let me ask you something. Does God make trees or chairs? He makes trees. Who makes chairs?

We do. We take the resources that God's given us and turn it into something that we can use, a chair to rest.

But we take what God gives us and we convert it into something else that's going to benefit the people here on earth and so into people.

Right? So God's given us resources. The question is how are we using those resources to bring the kingdom to earth?

When it comes to God's command to work, it was given before sin entered the world and the human heart. Work is rooted in God's good created order.

So when God called us to work before sin, the soil was automatically going to bring forth what it was supposed to.

We wouldn't have to toil. We wouldn't have to strain and strive. Once sin entered the world, the curse came on the ground as well, on the land as well.

However, after the fall, God redeems our work in Christ. He took the thorns and the thistles.

We work among and he wore a crown of thorns on his head as a reminder that he is the king of kings and the

Lord of lords. He redeems our work. He blesses our work. Second Thessalonians.

This is a heavy passage. Keep away from any brother who's walking in idleness. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it.

But with toil and labor, we worked day and night that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have the right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate.

For even when we were with you, we would give you this command. If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.

Right? So, certainly as men, we're to be the providers of our home, the leaders of our home.

We're the ones who are supposed to be out providing a living and taking care of our family. Paul says, if you don't work, you're not going to eat.

You're not going to share. That doesn't mean that people get laid off, people have hard times, and we all pitch in and we help each other.

But you can't sit home idle. You can't just think, like a lot of kids today, oh, money's just going to come in.

My parents are here. It just keeps coming in. No. You need to get out. You need to ask the Lord, what talents, gifts, and abilities has he given you to go into the world and take the resources he's given us to make this a better place?

How are we going to leave it better than we found it? Right? Long Island is Christ's Island. What are we going to do with what he's given us here?

How are we going to use it to further the kingdom? Next, we need to fight for contentment.

The world we live in compels us, and as we hear every Sunday, it catechizes us to what?

To be dissatisfied with who we are and what we have. You need a new car.

You need a bigger house. You need a promotion. You need to take a flashy trip. You need to go to this place, that place.

Discontentment is a subtle sin leading us to desire more or something different. It makes us covet things that we don't have.

Why is coveting such a sin? It's a sin because you're not grateful for what

God's giving you. Right? You want something else. Oh, if I had that, I'd be happy. God says, no, no, no.

You don't need that to be happy. You need me to be happy. Right? And we forget about that.

Yet, it leaves us, these things leave us lacking and empty -handed in the end. It contempts you to take on unnecessary debt.

Well, if I want that, if I want the new Mercedes or car, whatever it is, I'll just take out a loan and get it.

It can cause you to cheat on your spouse. Oh, I like that woman. She looks better than my wife. I'm going to go after that.

It can cause us to make unwise decisions at work in an attempt to get ahead. You might cheat at work.

You might cut corners. You might do things differently. Why? To get more money. Because when you get the money, you get the power.

When you get the power, you get the women and the car and the vacations. You got to guard yourself against that.

You got to work hard. You have to fight for contentment in this world. Now, contentment is more than just being happy with who you are and what you have.

Contentment is rooted in God's love for you. If you truly recognize that God loves you and he has you in the palm of his hand, then wherever you are right now is because he's brought you there.

You were created to be dependent on him for everything in every situation that you're in.

It's learning to be satisfied wholly with Christ, regardless if you have little or a lot.

We sing, Christ is enough for me. Right? We can't just sing that with our minds.

We have to trust and believe that in our hearts because it's true. When you have Christ, you have everything.

Whether you have a lot of assets and things in this world or whether you have little or no assets and things in this world, you have

God's love for you. You have salvation if you're in Christ. In the

Bible, we learn two essential truths. First, you have to fight for contentment. And second, you can be content.

You can find contentment in this world. Philippians 419, and my

God will supply every need of yours according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. Notice it says, my

God will supply your every need, not your every want. All right, so what can you do?

You can change your wants. Right? If I want what God wants, well, he's going to give me that.

If I want what God doesn't want for me, I'm not going to get it. And I'm going to fight like crazy to get something that he doesn't want to give me.

That's not going to help me. So all I got to do is change my wants, my desire. I change my desire to desire what

God desires. Now I'm walking in accordance with God's rules, with God's law. Psalm 37, 16 and 17, better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked.

All right? So again, money is not evil in and of itself. What you do with money and how you pursue money is a condition of your heart.

And that's what needs to change. Kill greed in your heart. This is important.

What did we learn from Gordon Gekko, Wall Street? Greed is good. The Bible, greed is not good.

That's what the world wants to tell you. Go after it. Greed is good. It motivates you.

Greed is not good. As per Jesus. Greed is bad, and it's something that all of us will have to fight in our life.

In the words of the Apostle Paul, Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature, sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.

Do you see? He puts greed in the same sentence with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires.

Notice how quickly the church wants to condemn homosexuals and transsexuals and people who have gender issues, yet they don't condemn greed.

You never hear about it. Why do we gloss over that? We, as Christians, need to bring the solution to these people's problems.

We need to bring the solution to our own problems. Maybe we're suffering from greed. Maybe we're suffering from evil desires.

Before you go condemn someone else, I have to ask you, Do you hate your own sin as much as you hate theirs?

Your job is not to condemn people. You're not the judge. Your job is to show them where the solution lies, in Christ.

What you have is not what you are. Never confuse your net worth with your self -worth.

If you're in Christ, you are His. You were bought with a price, a rather heavy one. Recognize who you belong to.

That is what you are, or aren't, if you're not in Christ. Luke 12,

Be on guard against all covetedness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.

What you have is not a marker of who you are. Don't confuse the two. What you have, if you have, praise

God. Thank Him for it, and use it to minister to people and bring the kingdom on earth.

Bring them. Show them. Say, listen, I live by biblical principles. This didn't happen by accident.

It was hard work. I was called to be diligent. I worked hard, and God blessed me, but I'm generous as well.

My hope is in God, not in these things. 1 Corinthians 6, 9,

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor the drunkards, nor the revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

We tend to isolate some of those things and focus on them to the detriment of others.

All of those things will exclude you from the kingdom. This is an issue of your heart, right?

So money is a tool. It's going to be an indicator. How you use it is going to reflect what's going on in your heart.

So it's very important that our hearts are in line with God and we use money the way God tells us to use money.

Everybody tracking? Be mindful of debt.

Listen to this. Total household debt in the United States was $13 trillion at the end of 2017.

It's probably a lot more than that. And look at our government. Our government just doesn't stop.

So there's a good chance most of us here, some of us here, have some kind of debt that we're working with.

So a couple of things. First of all, God doesn't forbid debt. You can have healthy debt.

God does highly caution against it. If this is something that's outside of your means, don't go for it.

Most people don't have an income problem. They have a spending problem. If you make

X amount of dollars, you need to spend less than X amount of dollars at the end of the year. Very simple.

Taking on debt is generally a bad thing. You're going after something that you want but may not necessarily need.

Even though God doesn't forbid debt, you still want to be cautious when considering taking on debt.

It's also a good idea to seek the advice of a financial advisor or a godly counsel to speak into your financial situation.

So when somebody comes to the church and they're having money issues and let's say they need money from the fund that we set up, we want to go through their budget.

Thank you. Through their expenses. That's the word I was looking for. We want to go through their expenses. When you have 16 channels that you have on cable that you spend $800 a month on, we're going to say, hey, listen, you need to sacrifice like six or seven of those channels.

That's going to save you like $500 a month. Now my normal attitude towards people is, listen, what are you willing to sacrifice?

Because you're asking me to sacrifice my money from my family to help you. What are you willing to sacrifice?

If you're not willing to sacrifice anything that you have going on, then I'm not going to sacrifice anything.

You need to be willing to sacrifice and recognize that you're spending more than you're making.

Very important on things you probably don't need. And we all do it. It's not like this is one person. We all do these things.

Deuteronomy 28, the Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens to give you rain for your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands.

And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. When you work and you do things based on godly principles, you're going to see

God's flow. God does bless people. And in that case, then you're able to now lend your money to others who may need it more than you, all right, and earn interest on it maybe.

Proverbs 22, the rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender. You recognize that when you borrow money, you become a slave to whoever you lent it from.

You want to make sure that if you're borrowing money, you're not borrowing more than you should. And you're able to pay it back.

Why? Because the wicked borrows but does not pay back. But the righteous is generous and gives.

Okay, so you see the principle? You have to be mindful of debt. You don't want to go take on more debt than you can handle.

You want to spend less than you make. Manage your money.

Most people do not have an income problem. They have a spending problem, right? So what's the solution? First, make a plan.

Step two, keep the plan. Make a plan and keep it, right?

Stay within your budget. Don't spend over, don't spend under. You can take

Dave Ramsey's financial prosperity course. He teaches you how to budget your money and how to set up certain emergency funds and things.

Cut up your credit cards if you don't need them. You need to start getting yourself into a habit of how much comes in and how much goes out and how much goes to God, how much goes to savings.

I set it up with my kids. They got three envelopes. You get money, you get cash, you made money or something, you put 50 % into saving.

First is the 10 % to God, then 40 % you can spend, and 50 % goes to savings.

And because they're making cash, this avoids tax for Uncle Sam, but that's going to change once you get a job, right?

So anyway, I just want to train them to do it that way. In your financial plan, you need to answer the following questions.

What is your total income? How much of that do you need to tithe? Tithe means a tenth. How much are you going to give to God?

How much money do you need to save and invest? What are your monthly expenses and your debt repayments?

These are all things you have to take into account when you put together your plan. After you know your income and expenses, here are four more questions.

What costs can you reduce? What can I eliminate out of my monthly expenses that I don't need?

Many of us, it's TV, you know, it's things like that, going out to eat. You remove some of that stuff, you're going to save yourself a lot of money.

Which costs can I reduce? Should I shop my homeowner's insurance, right?

Should I shop these things that I just normally take for granted that maybe, you know what, I can go someplace else and get it cheaper, get the same coverage for less.

How much more money can you pay towards your debts? Maybe you can take some extra money and pay your debt down so that you don't have this outstanding debt for the next 20 or 30 years.

Can you give more money to your church or a non -profit organization? And if you're not giving anything, what are you going to give, right?

God's going to bless that money. You're called to give to him first. It's God first.

Giving to God first is an act of trust. It's an act of dependence upon God for the rest.

How can I save more money? These are questions you want to ask yourself. Luke 14, 28.

Which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?

Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, this man began to build and was not able to finish.

Before you take on an endeavor, buying a house, buying a new car, make sure you understand how much money you have.

Make sure you understand your financial condition before you jump into something that you don't know you're going to be able to afford.

Acts 20, 35. Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, it is more blessed to give than receive, right?

In my mind, I always said to myself, I want to put myself in a position to give rather than receive.

Why is it better to give than receive? Anyone? True, right?

And if you're on the receiving end, that means you don't have. If you're on the giving end, that means you have.

And it's a blessing, right? A couple months back, I did a message on a building with gold, silver, precious jewels, wood, hay, and stubble.

You meet somebody's financial need and you sow the gospel into them. You're not sowing into their soul.

Meeting a need of theirs as the body of Christ, that's what we're called to do, right?

So when you're in need and you can't make a bill and you're really abiding by godly principles and the church comes along and says, listen, we'll help you.

That's a blessing. It's a family of God working together to make everybody whole.

Next, sometimes more money equals more problems. The CFP Board of Standards says nearly one -third of lottery winners eventually declare bankruptcy.

And lottery winners are more likely to declare bankruptcy within three to five years than the average

American. That's often because winners can become reckless with their newfound wealth.

And I put up there Ecclesiastes 5 .12, the abundance of the rich permits them no sleep. When you win the lottery, the next week, you know what you're gonna get in the mail?

A thousand letters, people asking for money. Please, so -and -so's sick.

I need this. I need your help. And sometimes you feel guilty and you end up giving them the money and you don't realize this giant chunk of money that you got is gonna be cut in half first by the government.

They're gonna take half in taxes, right? And then you're gonna start buying things that have monthly ongoing expenses and you don't count the cost.

And you start thinking at night, you're on your bed, how do I protect my money? How do I keep it from dwindling?

The abundance of the rich permits them no sleep. Most people think that the solution is to make more money, but that may actually cause more problems.

Here are some steps. First, trust the Lord. That may sound trite, but listen to what the

Bible says. You need to make a plan, curb your spending, and get yourself out of debt.

But the heart of your problem isn't your finances. The heart of your problem is whether or not you're worshiping your money or you're worshiping with your money.

What are you using your money for? Are you telling your money what to do or is your money telling you what to do?

Are outside influences telling you what you need? And are you buying into that?

Listen, the Ed people, they have this down. You know, you heard it, obey your thirst.

That's a soda commercial, obey your thirst. What does the Bible say about obeying your heart? It's foolish.

Don't listen to your heart. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding.

Acknowledge Him in all your ways. Let Him direct your paths. We need to know what the

Bible says about money. Luke 6, 38, Give, and it will be given to you.

Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it, it will be measured back to you.

So what does that tell you? Receive with an open hand. Don't clench that money.

Don't think that that's where the power is. The power is in God. Keep it with an open hand.

Whatever gets taken out of your hand, God can easily replenish. Final thoughts.

Truths you can bank on. Here's what we learn about God and our money from the

Bible. God will provide for you. God's a provider. God is aware of your financial situation.

This didn't catch Him by surprise. He knows what He's doing, and He knows you. God will forgive you if you made sinful financial choices.

Thank goodness for an advocate with the Father. And that precious promise that we had, that if we confess our sins,

He's faithful and just to forgive us our unrighteousness. God doesn't want you to worry about money.

You were created to depend on God, not money. God wants you to know that life is more about your relationship with Him.

Do you love the giver, or do you love the gift? If you love the giver, don't worry about your finances.

You have everything you need. If you worry, if you love the gift, well, that's when the giver's going to say, no, your heart's in the wrong place.

God wants you to seek Him first before you go after money. Before you make a financial decision, pray.

Read what the Scriptures say about it. Did you count the cost? Is this something that you can afford? Is this something that you actually need?

Oftentimes, people with Amazon, you know, you buy something, boop, one click, and it's on its way.

It's like that fast. What I suggest you do if you have an issue, put it in your cart and wait three days.

Then go back. Say, do I really need that? I forgot that I was even wanting to order it.

And then just delete it. If you don't need it, don't buy it. God, what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit your soul?

Do you realize all the money, all the real estate, all the everything in the world isn't as valuable as your soul?

Why would you make that trade? And you're not even getting all the money. You're not even getting a tenth of all the money or a one -hundredth of all the money.

Don't trade your soul for money. Proverbs 38 and 9, remove far from refinement.

Give me falsehood and lying. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you, or lest I say,

Who is the Lord? I'm sorry, full and deny you and say, Who is the Lord? Or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my

God. Remember these nine principles we just went through. God owns everything. Money is a tool.

Worship God with your money. Earn your money. Fight for contentment. Kill greed in your heart.

Be mindful of debt. Manage your finances. More money can equal more problems. Like I said, those nine principles were taken from Jesse Wisniewski.

And the article is cited in that. I'll have it up in the video as well. So money can be a test of our faith.

No servant can serve two masters, for he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

You cannot serve both God and money. Both God and money. I said that before. So you have two choices.

You have the cross. You have the dollar sign. Money. And you're stuck in the middle.

What do you do? You turn to God. Ultimately, Jesus is

Lord. Your finances need to come underneath the cross of Christ. And it's the cross, you, and then your money.

Not the cross, your money, and then you, as if money is still over you. You need to take dominion over the money.

You need to tell it where to go. You have to tell it. You don't tell me what to do.

I tell you what to do. Money does not have a life of its own. What you do with it is going to be a reflection of your heart.

So now, how should we think about money? Show me the money. Show God the money.

It's all His anyway. Serve and honor God, not mammon, with gratitude. Thank you,

Lord, for whatever it is you've given me. You've given me more than enough in Christ. Greed is good.

How you handle money is a hard issue. Greed is bad. Take dominion over it.

Money is power, right? Money gives you that power. Jesus has all power and authority, and He owns everything anyway.

You earn your money. You bless others, and you further the kingdom with it. Always borrow money from a pessimist, right?

It's better to give than receive. Be generous. Give to the needy. Right? As agreed, if you don't find a way to make money while you sleep, you'll work until you die.

Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. When you put God first, you seek the things of the kingdom.

God will take care of your material needs. You don't have to worry about that. Don't get caught up in what the world is doing.

You need to be caught up in what the kingdom is doing. Steve Jobs, my favorite things in life don't cost any money.

It's really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time, and he's right to a certain extent. However, what you do with your time is very important.

You fool. This very night, your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?

So it is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich towards God. This is the guy who works day and night so much, though, that he has to build two storage places for all his money.

Let me store it. And all of a sudden, boom, God pulls the trigger, and this guy has to now stand before God.

His life is taken away from him. Now what do you do? Right? Riches do not profit on the day of death, but righteousness delivers from death.

If God would only give me some clear sign, like making a large deposit in my name in a

Swiss bank account. There's your sign. For God so loved the world, he gave.

God is a giver. He gave what was most costly to him, his son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Later on in the same gospel, he says, Tetelestai, it is finished. In other words, your debt, your sin debt, is paid in full.

Don't now go into monetary debt, okay? Be generous with what God gave you.

He gave you everything in Christ. You need a sign? The cross is your sign.

God's payment on your behalf. Nickel ain't worth a dime anymore. You're right.

You were worthless before God purchased you, but now you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ.

You went from owing God everything to owning everything with God. You are now a co -heir with Christ.

You're gonna share in the inheritance of the entire world. Stop worrying about that now.

You'll have plenty of time on the other side to enjoy it. Now we're called to work, not just work to provide for our families, but work to defend and extend the kingdom on earth, right?

We're to take dominion over it all. Let's do it. Any questions?

It just strikes me that people who have no resources or who have very limited resources or can also be greedy.

Sure. And they could also make God and things their, I mean, money and things their

God. So it's not just the rich or the people who have, you know, great resources.

And the question is why? Because it's a heart issue. It has nothing to do with the resources you have.

It has to do with what's going on in your heart. You know how many times, like, they do these YouTube videos, man -on -the -street videos, and you'll see a guy, he'll go up to somebody and say, listen, you know,

I ran out of gas. I just need $5. And all the people who look like they have money all refuse.

And along comes a guy who's sitting on the side of the curb with a bag and has got maybe a beer in his bag.

He'll go and ask the guy, the guy's like, hey, I have $2. You can have it. Right? It's the guy who has nothing who's willing to give it away.

And then, you know, in the video, the guy will give him $500 and say, listen, you were helping me. I want to help you. And it turns into a really neat situation.