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SERMON SUMMARY
Last week we focused on the negative side of wealth. We learned that it’s not a sure sign of God’s favor, it can’t bring contentment, and pursuing it as a life goal can take down a path you don’t want to go. But if we stopped there, that would be a very unbalanced view of wealth. Compared to most people in the world, we are rich. And God’s wants us to use that which he has entrusted to us for our good and his glory (1 Timothy 6:17).
First of all, we should be humble. There is something about having wealth—relative to others, that can
make us proud and conceited (Deuteronomy 8:7–14; 17-18). And when we don’t have what others around us have—we become jealous. I don’t care what you do for a living, or how much money you make; I care about who you are, and who you are becoming. Are you growing in Christlikeness? Do you have a servant’s heart? Are you willing to say, “God here I am use me, change me; all that I have is yours; it is all at your disposal.”
Place your trust in God, not in your wealth. Any appearance of control that we have is illusory. God is in control of the universe, and we are not. And, enjoy God’s blessings. God is not a cosmic killjoy! The problem comes when “things” begin to possess us. That is when discontentment begins to creep in. There is no real joy without contentment. God richly supplies us with all things to enjoy, but it never was his intention that we narcissistically indulge ourselves with all these resources.
Employ God’s blessings to bless others (1 Timothy 6:18-19). Why has God blessed you the way that he has? Why do you have more than you need? So that we can “do good”. Good works won’t get you into heaven, but those who are heaven-bound should be rich in good works (Ephesians 2:8–10). We also are to be generous and ready to share. We are never more like God than when we give. We have a great example of this in 2 Corinthians 8:14–15. As followers of Jesus Christ, we work, not just to provide for our families, but so that we will have something to share with the needy (Ephesians 4:28). By wisely using our God-given wealth, by generously blessing others out of our abundance, we experience life as it is meant to be experienced.
APPLICATION / CHALLENGE
- Thank God daiy for his abundant provision.
- Develop a Biblical Stewardship Plan by creating a:
- Savings Plan
- Giving Plan – Learn more here about making TCC an important part of your Giving Plan
- Living Plan – If you need help with your finances, check here for classes at TCC with Financial Peace University.