Title: Tithing and Beyond (4)
Series: A Pathway to Generosity
Author: Tim Melton
Text: Matthew 6:21-24
Today we will be talking about money. I would imagine that as soon as I said that many thoughts and emotions came to your mind. The same happens to me.
I know that church and money is not a winning conversation piece for many people. There has been so much abuse and corruption that the subject has become taboo. Many would say that "all the church wants is money!"
It is interesting to consider that one of Jesus' most common topics was money. Money often is a tool that shows the priorities of our hearts. If someone watched how we spend our money it would likely show them what is most important to us.
Jesus told us that our financial giving is one key indicator of the status of our faith and heart. In Matthew 6:21 he said, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Money has the power to become our first love. As Jesus said in 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."
There are two stories from Jesus's life that show how money is often the external indicator of what is happening in our hearts. In Luke 19 we read of a Jewish man named Zacchaeus who is a tax collector for the Romans and who had grown rich by overcharging his own people and keeping the extra.
After an interaction with Jesus, Zacchaeus chooses to follow Jesus and speaks these words,
"Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount" (Luke 19:8b). Jesus responded, "Today salvation has come to this house ..." (Luke 19:9a).
His financial response was an outer indicator of his newfound faith and his inner change of heart.
Compare this to the rich young ruler who comes to Jesus and asks what he must do to inherit ...
Series: A Pathway to Generosity
Author: Tim Melton
Text: Matthew 6:21-24
Today we will be talking about money. I would imagine that as soon as I said that many thoughts and emotions came to your mind. The same happens to me.
I know that church and money is not a winning conversation piece for many people. There has been so much abuse and corruption that the subject has become taboo. Many would say that "all the church wants is money!"
It is interesting to consider that one of Jesus' most common topics was money. Money often is a tool that shows the priorities of our hearts. If someone watched how we spend our money it would likely show them what is most important to us.
Jesus told us that our financial giving is one key indicator of the status of our faith and heart. In Matthew 6:21 he said, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Money has the power to become our first love. As Jesus said in 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."
There are two stories from Jesus's life that show how money is often the external indicator of what is happening in our hearts. In Luke 19 we read of a Jewish man named Zacchaeus who is a tax collector for the Romans and who had grown rich by overcharging his own people and keeping the extra.
After an interaction with Jesus, Zacchaeus chooses to follow Jesus and speaks these words,
"Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount" (Luke 19:8b). Jesus responded, "Today salvation has come to this house ..." (Luke 19:9a).
His financial response was an outer indicator of his newfound faith and his inner change of heart.
Compare this to the rich young ruler who comes to Jesus and asks what he must do to inherit ...
There are 16267 characters in the full content. This excerpt only shows a 2000 character sample of the full content.
Price: $5.99 or 1 credit
