Fearless Faith Fear of Financial Loss Matthew 6:19-34 19 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24 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 God and money. 25 Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. 1 Timothy 6:6-10 6 Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. 7 After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can t take anything with us when we leave it. 8 So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. 9 But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered
from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. Job 3:25-26 25 What I always feared has happened to me. What I dreaded has come true. 26 I have no peace, no quietness. I have no rest; only trouble comes. James 5:1-3 1 Look here, you rich people: Weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you. 2 Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags. 3 Your gold and silver have become worthless. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This treasure you have accumulated will stand as evidence against you on the day of judgment. Luke 12:13-21 13 Then someone called from the crowd, Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father s estate with me. 14 Jesus replied, Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that? 15 Then he said, Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own. 16 Then he told them a story: A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. 17 He said to himself, What should I do? I don t have room for all my crops. 18 Then he said, I know! I ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. 19 And I ll sit back and say to myself, My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry! 20 But God said to him, You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for? 21 Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God. Psalm 10:3-4 3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD. 4 In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, There is no God. Fear Afraid Some basic pre-thoughts about dealing with fear. Fear is like an alarm a security or fire alarm when it goes off or starts blinking red it means that something is not right something is wrong. In some cases it is like an early detection warning system in our emotions Fear in the bible is associated with the devil and his lies.
John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. Adam and Eve in the garden. Satan s lies. They steal your freedom not to do what you want but the freedom to do what you should. They steal your peace Jesus John 14.. peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. They steal your joy.. abundant life Jesus in John spoke several times about His joy will be our joy and it will be full.. In 1 John these things are written that your joy might be full or complete You can t experience fear and experience joy or peace at the same time. Financial fears can be very destructive.. Some are probably productive Fear of losing job because your slothful or lazy Because you re not being honest lack integrity Because you re not being kind or thoughtful. Because of a bad attitude not loyal Not getting along with others at work Because you re late all the time not keeping up with your assignments or work Fear of losing your good credit rating Not paying your bills on time. Because of not paying attention You should be fearful.. should wake you up Get some help Some financial fears are of our own making. Other fears can be beyond our control.. Today we can believe the lies of Satan and continue to experience fear or we can believe the truths and promises of God s Word and experience peace and joy and contentment 2 Timothy 6:10 The Love of Money. Focus is on My money possessions Temporal Values. Something that is temporary passing. Not eternal I spend my time, my money, my resources, my energies and my talents on these things Ownership and control is the issue They lead to bitterness and guilt. A life of trying to please and satisfy the flesh myself.
I m reading the book Jonathan Cahn Shemitah the seventh year. Reverend Halverson - He was the United States Senate Chaplain from February 2, 1981, until his retirement on December 31, 1994. Jesus said more about money than about any other single thing because, when it come to a man s real nature, money is of first importance. Money is an exact index to a man s true character. All through Scripture there is an intimate correlation between the development of a man s character and how he handles his money. You are a financial counselor. Two appointments back to back one day How would you advise a poor widow. Who is elderly husband died 6 years earlier she says, I only have two dollars left to live on but I feel like God wants me to put them in the offering plate what do you think? We would probably say you should be reasonable. God intends for you to take care of yourself. Food is not going to fall out of heaven How would you advise a middle age farmer successful, hardworking His crop production has been excellent lately He says, I m going to tear down my old barns and build bigger ones and store up more crops and goods for the future then I can retire, take it easy and do some traveling, maybe some golfing what do you think? What do you think Jesus would think? We know what He would think. In Mark 12 we can meet this widow woman In Luke 12 we can meet this rich farmer. Jesus said the widow was wise and a great giver would have great rewards and the farmer was a fool was going to lose everything How do Americans spend their money???? Wow!!!! You would be surprised!!!!! Important to understand the money that you control. That you have is representative of your life. You exchanged you life time for that money to buy shelter, clothing and food How you spend your money is how you spend your life. Three things you can do with money or your life You can waste it You can spend it Or you can invest it.
Understanding that you belong to God everything Belongs to Him Psalm 37:25-26 25 I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. 26 He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing. The Truth. Paul in Philippians and 2 Timothy 6 Philippians 4:10-20 (ESV) 10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. 14 Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. 15 And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. 16 Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. 17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. 18 I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. 19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 20 To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. Satan s Lies It s your life. It s your money do with it what you want God doesn t love you. God is holding something back from you You can t trust someone or something you can t see or understand. If you give it away you will be broke. God truth I will take care of you I love you The shield of faith Ephesians 6. You must hold it up!!!!!!!! You can t take it with but you can send it on ahead.
Habakkuk 3:16-19 16 I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us. 17 Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. 19 GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer s; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. Story of Darlene Dobler Rose
Treasure Principle Keys 1. God owns everything. I m His money manager. We are the manager of the assets God has entrusted not given to us 2. My heart always goes where I put God s money. Watch what happens when you reallocate your money from temporal things to eternal things. 3. Heaven, not earth, is my home. We are citizen s of a better country a heavenly one Hebrews 11:16 4. I should live not for the dot but for the line. From the dot our present life on earth extends a line that goes on forever, which is eternity in heaven. 6. God prospers me not to raise my standard of living, but to raise my standard of giving. God gives us more money than we need so we can give generously. My Giving Covenant 1. I affirm God s full ownership of me and everything entrusted to me. 2. I set aside the firstfruits at least 10 percent of every wage and gift I receive as holy and belonging exclusively to the Lord. 3. Out of the remaining treasures God entrusts to me, I seek to make generous freewill gifts. 4. I ask God to teach me to give sacrificially to His purposes, including helping the poor and reaching the lost. 5. Recognizing that I cannot take earthly treasures from this world, I determine to lay them up as heavenly treasures for Christ s glory and the eternal good of others and myself. 6. I ask God to show me how to lead others to the present joy and future reward of the Treasure Principle. 5. Giving is the only antidote to materialism. Giving is a joyful surrender to a greater person and a greater agenda. It dethrones me and exalts Him.