©2014 Pinedale Christian Church

WEEK 23 DAY 155

Love of MoneyREAD 1 TIMOTHY 6:10, MATTHEW 6:21

1 Timothy 6:10“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.”

Matthew 6:21“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Why does God care about our money so much? He does care you know. In fact, if you take everything that Jesus said about salvation, heaven, and hell and combined them, you will find that He said more about money. The question is, why? Why does God care about our finances so much?

It’s not because God is trying to get our money (remember everything belongs to God anyway); instead, He’s trying to keep our money from getting us. God cares about our money because He cares about us and He knows we can’t separate our relationship with Him and our money. Money is a spiritual issue.

With that in mind, in Matthew 6:21, Jesus said “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Jesus meant that whatever you value the most, your heart will naturally follow it. Isn’t it ironic that in America the back of a one-dollar bill says, “In God We Trust” while many people trust, serve, and worship the very money on which that slogan is printed? It is so easy to give lip service to God, but to put our trust and our best efforts into money.

What about you? Where is your treasure? Do you find your security in money? Do you spend all of your time trying to make money? Have you allowed the pursuit of money to run your life? If so, it is time to remember where your real treasure is. God wants your heart, but you can’t give it to Him if it belongs to your wallet.

In 1 Timothy 6:10, Paul wrote that the love of money is the “root of all kinds of evil.” What do you think he meant by that?

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What are some ways that we put money on the throne of our heart?

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©2014 Pinedale Christian Church

WEEK 23 DAY 156

Freedom From Entanglement(DEBT)

READ PROVERBS 22:7, MATTHEW 6:24

Proverbs 22:7“The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.”

Matthew 6:24“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.”

We read yesterday that Jesus had a lot to say about money. In fact, He said that it is a huge competitor for your heart. When your personal finances are “out of whack,” your heart is too. You can’t follow God when your heart is wandering around after your dollars.

With that in mind, Solomon wrote in Proverbs 22:7 that the “borrower is slave to the lender.” Here’s why that is true – if you have “bad debt,” you are trapped until you get it paid off. The debt becomes your number one financial duty, which means you can’t serve God whole-heartedly because you are bound to someone else.

“Bad debt” does not necessarily mean your mortgage. I’m talking about debt that causes you to make payments on things that you don’t use anymore or that are not appreciating – a meal charged on your credit card, tickets to the big game, a television upgrade, a shinier car. These are things that have no appreciation of value, yet because of debt you are in bondage to them. By the way, debt is packed with pressure, worry, and stress.

If this describes your situation, get help. Talk to a financial counselor or a pastor at church. In Matthew 6:24 Jesus said, “no one can serve two masters.” Serving money is the opposite of serving God, because your heart and your money are linked. So if we are going to follow Christ, we have to surrender that arena to Him.

Examine your heart. Have you been “serving” money? If so, how can you change that?

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©2014 Pinedale Christian Church

WEEK 23 DAY 157

Freedom From Entanglement(POSSESSIONS)

READ 1 TIMOTHY 6:17-19, 1 TIMOTHY 6:6-7

1 Timothy 6:17-19“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 6:6-7“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.”

Whether you realize it or not, our economy runs on the fuel of discontentment—turn on the television and you’ll see commercials every 15 minutes or so; listen to the radio and you’ll get the same; drive down any highway and you’ll see billboards every few miles; walk in any store, just to grab a few basic necessities, and you’re 100% sure to see some display that is made to grab your attention.

In each instance, no matter what the ad, the message is this – “You need something else. You need something bigger or better or shinier or newer. You just need it.” You look at these things and many times you agree. You didn’t even know it existed a few minutes ago, but now that you see it you need it! You’ve just got to have it!

In the same way your heart can be entangled by a love of money or by bad financial decisions, it can also be damaged by this pursuit of “stuff.” You can become so consumed with the need for “something else” that you lose the ability to be satisfied, and you lose the ability to be fulfilled. Life loses its joy for you until you just become jaded and bitter. Your heart becomes possessed by possessions.

So what is the solution to this problem? Paul gave the solution in 1 Timothy 6:6-7 as he told Timothy to remind people to use their energy and their money to do things for other people. Instead of making wealth our chief pursuit, we are to use our wealth to do good for others. Andy Stanley interprets 1 Timothy 6:17 as “Awareness of needs greater than your own drives generosity, and generosity bridles our discontent.” By focusing on helping others we are able to take hold of “life that is truly life.” Isn’t that what we all really want?

Paraphrase what Paul said in 1 Timothy 6:6-7:

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Why do you think it is true that “generosity bridles our discontent”?

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©2014 Pinedale Christian Church

WEEK 23 DAY 158

Learning to GiveREAD LUKE 6:38, MALACHI 3:10

Luke 6:38“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.”

Malachi 3:10“‘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.’”

Yesterday, we learned the principle that generosity bridles discontentment. The truth is there is a battle for our heart, and God knows that if we don’t learn to generously give of our money, our possessions, our time, and our talents, our hearts will become cold, stagnant, and discontent. For this reason, among others, He calls on His people to give.

Over and over, the Bible reaffirms the concept of tithing – giving 10% of your income back to God. This obviously makes many people squirm, but it is a valuable exercise in trusting God. When you rearrange your life around God, every sacrifice reminds you that God is first in your life – that you serve Him alone – not your money.

The best way to do this is to pay God first. Don’t give Him the crumbs left over at the end of the month, but instead give Him your first fruits. Choose a percentage to give every month – (10% is the Biblical standard, but it is NOT a requirement) – then pay Him first. This may seem scary, but this is God’s way. He challenges us to test Him on this one, and He will absolutely honor it.

You know why? Because when you live like this, you are putting God first, and you are putting OTHERS before yourself–God does that! That means you align yourself with God’s values and as you do, you break the power of greed in your life and you bridle discontentment. In this way, your life and your heart both become blessable.

Paraphrase what Jesus said in Luke 6:38. How is it similar to what God said in Malachi 3:10?

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Make an action plan for giving. What percent do you want to give each month? Ask God to give you the courage to follow through and put Him first.

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©2014 Pinedale Christian Church

WEEK 23 DAY 159

Give “Hilariously”READ 2 CORINTHIANS 9:7

2 Corinthians 9:7“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.”

I never truly understood the concept of cheerful giving until I had children. I still remember the first Christmas my son was old enough to really be excited. We had bought a Playmobile set, complete with a ship, sailors, an island, and a treasure chest. I knew he would be excited. That’s why, even though it took HOURS to figure out how to put all eight trillion of those tiny pieces together, using directions with no words, I still didn’t mind (too much). Whenever I got frustrated I imagined how happy my son would be when he came downstairs and saw his present, and I would feel excited again. It was fun to give!

That is how God wants us to feel about giving to Him. He doesn’t want us to give out of compulsion, guilt, or any other impure reason. God wants us to give with cheerful hearts – excited about what He will be able to do with our gift. He wants us to reach in our pockets, imagining the lives that will be changed with what we offer Him. He wants us to share in His enthusiasm for reaching out to others.

2 Corinthians 9:7 reiterates God’s desire for a “cheerful giver.” The literal translation of the verse reads that God loves a “hilarious” giver. Hilarious implies that God wants a giver filled with exuberant, jovial glee – a giver with an enthusiastic heart.

Take a moment and read 2 Corinthians 9 in its entirety (it is a short chapter). List the benefits that Paul gave for generous giving.

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©2014 Pinedale Christian Church

WEEK 23 DAY 160

Stretching Your FaithREAD 2 CORINTHIANS 9:6, 1 KINGS 17:14

2 Corinthians 9:6“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”

1 Kings 17:14“For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain on the land.’”

One of my favorite Old Testament stories is found in 1 Kings 17. It is the story of Elijah who was living during a time of extreme drought, as he took refuge at the home of a widow and her son. Elijah had traveled for days to reach her house and was famished, but when he asked for something to eat she hesitated. Apparently, this widow was down to her last bit of flour and her last drop of oil – after one more bit of bread, she and her son were going to starve.

Elijah’s response to the widow’s predicament was strange. He insisted that she go ahead and use the flour and oil and that she feed him first. “If you will do that,” he promised, “God will not allow your flour to run out or your oil to run dry.” How difficult that promise must have been for the widow to believe… but she did what Elijah said, and as a result God blessed her. She continued to find oil in the jar and flour in the bin. Her family stayed alive.

That story from the Old Testament illustrates one of God’s principles when He asks us to give – God wants us to stretch our faith when we give. He wants us to reach further than we think is comfortable and to give more than feels safe. When we do that, without holding back, we find that God doesn’t hold back on His end! Ask God to help stretch your faith.

Have you seen the principle Paul described (in 2 Corinthians 9:6) in practice? How?

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Why do you think God wants us to “stretch” in our faith?

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©2014 Pinedale Christian Church

WEEK 23 DAY 161

The Sin of PresumptionREAD 1 JOHN 5:14-15, ROMANS 8:26

1 John 5:14-15“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him.”

Romans 8:26“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”

One of the most confusing (and dangerous) doctrines to affect the Church in recent years is the idea that, because of His promises in Scripture, God must give you what you want in the way that you want it. If your finances are in trouble, insist that God bless you with wealth. If your health is less than perfect, force God’s hand and He will make you well. Whatever you want today, God will give it to you… because He must. After all, God promises to answer prayers.

This type of teaching is misleading, inaccurate, and downright sinful. God is not some cosmic genie, waiting to patiently do our bidding. He is the holy, sovereign Creator of the universe, and we were created for His glory… not vice versa.

1 John 5:14-15 tells us that God DOES promise to hear (and answer our prayers), but God does not promise to give us whatever we want. He promises to hear and to answer, it’s just that sometime His answer is no.

If you don’t get the answers you expect or desire from your prayers, you are in good company. Paul prayed that God would remove a thorn in his flesh; God didn’t but He strengthened him through it. Elijah prayed that he would die; God chose to restore Him. Jesus prayed in the garden that God would remove this cup; God didn’t because it wasn’t His will and of course, Jesus prayed for God’s will to be done. Each of these men held onto faith in God, despite not receiving the answers desired. By the way – not one of these men lived with material comforts or wealth.

God does not promise to make our lives comfortable either. As long as we live in this sinful world, pain and discomfort will be an ever-present reality. The hope of Christ is that, even in the midst of that, God is with us and we will never be forced to live without Him. As a result of that, commit yourself to follow Jesus… even when the path is tougher than you expect.

Can you think of how you have “presumed” on God, expecting Him to give you X _____________?

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_________________________________________________________________________What do you think is a natural result of “expecting” too much from God? God could give us ANYTHING we want, but a good parent would NEVER give their child everything they want for obvious reasons!

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