Christ Wesleyan Church
Join us for our primary worship service each week on Sunday.
Matthew 6:19-21 NLT
A. Our Intelligent Designer created us for giving, not getting...
Acts 20:35 NIV
1. God created us to give!
“The joy of giving lasts longer than the joy of getting. The happiness we feel after a particular event or activity diminishes each time we experience that event, a phenomenon known as hedonic adaptation. But giving to others may be the exception to this rule, according to research forthcoming in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.”
2. Jesus spoke on money more than He taught on heaven and hell combined.
“Randy Alcorn reckons that ‘15 percent of everything Christ said relates to this topic — more than His teachings on heaven and hell combined’ ("The Treasure Principle", 8).”
3. Jesus used 500 verses on prayer and over 2300 verses about money.
“Think about it this way: There are 500 Bible verses pertaining to the topics of faith and prayer and yet 2,350 Bible verses on money. Why is that? Because God knows that our attitude toward money is an indication of where our heart is with God. We will either follow after gold or God and we cannot serve two masters. We will either turn to our wallet or our worship when we look to the source of our security. But we have to remember: Money is to be a resource, but it is not to be My Source.” Howard Dayton
4. Money is dangerous, whether you have it or not! If you have it, you may depend on it, or if you don’t have it you may crave it--either perspective is dangerous.
Ecclesiastes 5:10 NLT
5. God created us for dependency on Him, not our own resources.
Hebrews 13:5-6 NLT
B. "God wants our hearts, not our money”…
Matthew 6:21 NIV
1. Follow the money and you will find the heart.
Matthew 6:19 NIV
2. God doesn’t need our money. So, hold onto it if you want. But, you need God and you can’t have both as your God.
Matthew 6:24 NIV
3. Our money management reveals our level of trust.
1 Timothy 6:17 NLT
4. God wants to be your provider!
2 Corinthians 9:8 NLT
5. Being a manager of God's resources is a spiritual adventure!
Luke 6:38 NLT
C. God gives us a clear pathway to freedom...
1. Store your treasures in heaven rather than on earth.
Matthew 6:20 NIV
2. Don't worry...trust God!
Matthew 6:25-27 NIV
3. Seek God first, and everything else will fit into place.
Matthew 6:33 NIV
D. "Generosity brings blessing"...
Proverbs 14:21 NLT
1. Be rich in God!
1 Timothy 6:18-19 NIV
2. Trust God as your provider!
Psalms 62:8 NLT
3. Learn to live the blessed life by giving as God has instructed! Our “returned” tithe and offerings regulate our management of His resources. Our “Sabbath rest” regulates our physical management of this body!
Malachi 3:10 NLT
Matthew 23:23 NLT
4. God loves a cheerful giver!
2 Corinthians 9:7 NLT
5. Remember, this is not our home!
“Randy Alcorn, in The Treasure Principle, says, ‘I’m convinced that the greatest deterrent to giving is this: the illusion that earth is our home’ (44; see Colossians 3:1-3). It’s not; Christ is our home. And therefore to live is Christ and to die is gain. And it will be all the more gain as we learn to lay up treasures in heaven by giving.”
Colossians 3:1-3 NLT