Good Better Best | First and Foremost

Message Recap

[Romans 8:1]

…there its therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus

[II Corinthians 3:17]

…where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

____________

Time, Energy, & Money

1 out of every 10 Bible verses deals with money

• 2350 verses in the Bible deal with money

• There are twice as many verses dealing with money than with faith and prayer combined

• 15% of Jesus’ recorded words deal with money

  • Jesus said more about money than about heaven and hell combined

4 Reasons Why We Give to God

1. Express gratitude, honor, value, love to God

[II Corinthians 9:7]

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

[II Samuel 24:20-24]

When Araunah looked and saw the king and his officials coming toward him, he went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground. 21 Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?”

“To buy your threshing floor,” David answered, “so I can build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped.”

[II Samuel 24:22-24] 

Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take whatever he wishes and offer it up. Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. 23 Your Majesty, Araunah gives all this to the king.” Araunah also said to him, “May the Lord your God accept you.” 24 But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”

2. Store up Treasure in Heaven

[Matthew 6:19-21]

Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

3. Break the Bond of Greed

“I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.”  - Maya Angelou

[Matthew 6:24]

…You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.

[I Timothy 6:10]

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.

[Ecclesiastes 5:10]

Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!

4. God Blesses Everything You Give Him

[II Corinthians 9:6]

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

[Jeremiah 17:7]

Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.

Action Steps

  1. Make sure God is your priority.

  2. Give to God first.

  3. Pray about what or how much to give.

Message Discussion Questions

  • How do you evaluate where and how you spend your time, energy, and money?

  • Where do you find yourself playing “whack-a-mole” in your life?

  • When it comes to giving to God, how do you… 

    …express love?

    …store your treasure in heaven?

    …break the bondage of greed & develop generosity? 

    …allow God to bless it? 

Amanda Majors