Money! What does God want you to do? - Jacob Stanley

3 key points:

1. Be a good steward of the blessing

2. Honour God with your first fruits

3. Becoming a people of blessing

1. Be a good steward of the blessing In Matthew 25 we have the story of the talents A master goes on a journey and gives huge sums of money to his key servants to invest on his behalf. Even though this parable is about the kingdom of God and the people of Israel, we can also see the principle of stewardship God cares about how we Steward what he gives us Mat 25:21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. [e] You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ God cares about how we treat what he has given us Time People Moments Our kids Our money. It’s from him. So we must be good stewards of our money Proverbs 21:20 Precious treasure and oil are in the dwelling of a wise person, but a foolish man consumes them. We must budget our money so that we can be faithful with it Through budgeting we can be intentional about using our money to honour God, and become a blessing to other people. —————-

Steward: Our time People Money 2. Honour God with the first fruits 10% As a young bible college student I didn’t want to tithe or budget But the Holy Spirit convicted me to tithe The first time we see the tithe is actually before the law is not actually in the Old Testament laws. The laws of the Old covenant were created to trigger a heart response by the person doing the ceremony. The law of tithing comes from a moment where Abram had an experience which moved him to respond with a tithe. Gen 14:14-20 14 When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people. 17 After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). 18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19 and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. 20 And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. Abram worships God with the tithe as a reponse to: 1. The blessing of God 2. the ministry he receives from the priest of God Abraham understandings that his blessing comes from the Lord Abraham also understands that when he gives to the priest he is giving to God.

This is why we tithe to the church, we understand when we give to the church we give to God Unltimately, We tithe to worship God and to say thank you for all the blessing we have already received - we tithe when we understand that the blessing comes from the Lord. ——— Hundreds of years later Abraham’s children have multiplied a nation and God has rescued them from slavery in Egypt. They are now walking in the wilderness, in between slavery and prosperity. The promise land ahead of them. Tithing is a response. When we remember everything God has done in our lives we are moved to worship. Deuteronomy 26:1-10 When you have entered the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, 2 take some of the firstfruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the Lord your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name 3 and say to the priest in office at the time, “I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the land the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.” 4 The priest shall take the basket from your hands and set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. 5 Then you shall declare before the Lord your God: “My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt with a few people and lived there and became a great nation, powerful and numerous. 6 But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer, subjecting us to harsh labor. 7 Then we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression. 8 So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. 9 He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey; 10 and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, Lord, have given me. We tithe to say thank you We tithe to worship We give back a portion of what he has given us, the first fruits of his blessing Has anyone here ever been in captivity? Enslaved in something? Christ has set you free!

You now live in the abundance and blessing- it’s as a response to living in the goodness of God the we give back the tithe as worship. —————- You can trust God to take care of you Luke 12:29-32 NLT 29 “And don’t be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don’t worry about such things. 30 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs. 31 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need. 32 “So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom. Jesus is saying “ I want to bless you, follow me. —————- God is welcoming you into a new reality, a new way of living John 10:10 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly The key to the abundant life is following the example of Christ- giving, not just giving to the church or in offerings, but by becoming people that are generous in all areas of our lives. God is inviting us To become a people of blessing This was always the call - to Abraham, to Israel, to the people of God, and to us as Christians, with the seed of Abraham through faith. The call is to become a people of blessing Eph 3:6 NLT 6 And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus.

Gen 12:1-3 NLT 1The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” In Deuteronomy 28 just after our previous passage on making the tithe - God makes this beautiful promise to the people of God Deuteronomy 28:1-11 If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God: 3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. 4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. 5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. 6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. 7 The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. 8 The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. 9 The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in obedience to him. 10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you. 11 The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you God wants us to become a people of blessing The key to stepping into this abundance God has for us is generosity, it’s in blessing others that we are most blessed God wants our lives to be big, not small Outward focused, not self focused Selfless not selfish Looking for opportunities to give rather than oppertunity to take To become people of blessing we become generous giving people.

Our blessing comes from the Lord and Our cups to pours over Apostle Paul said he has poured out his life. God wants us to become a people of blessing Become a blessing to your wife Husband Kids Parents Colleagues Boss Why not make a decision today to become a blessing to everyone you encounter A person of blessing is a generous person- giving freely, Because a person of blessing knows that prosperity comes from the Lord. Breakthrough comes from the Lord Victory comes from the Lord Provision comes from the Lord Fulfilment comes from the Lord And Joy comes from the Lord This is the abundant life you are called to A selfless, big life. Become a person of blessing. Budget to tithe Budget to bless others ————————- Altar call God called abram and today he is calling some of you Come and give your life to Following Jesus Come and experience the abundant life.