Introduction:

Treasures

• What you prize

• What you are willing to work for

• What you are willing to suffer for

• What you are willing to prioritize your life for

Are you uncomfortable with the topic of money?

What is your attitude toward money?

What have you been taught regarding money - by your family, your friends, culture, the church?

• Money is evil

• Money is god

• Money is a tool

Biblical Financial Principles:

1. GOD - Give Generously

• Proverbs 3:9 - Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the first fruits of all your produce

2. Government - Pay your taxes

• Romans 13:7 - Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed

3. Expenses - Cost of living

4. Savings - Prepare for the day of trouble

• Proverbs 30:25 - the ants are a people not strong but they provide their food in the summer.

• Proverbs 13:11 - Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.

5. Investment - Save for the future and for a generation yet to come.

• Proverbs 13:22 - A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children…

• Proverbs 27:23-24 - Know well the condition of your flocks and give attention to your herds, for riches do not last forever…

1. Two Rival Treasuries:

Matthew 6:19-21

a. Temporal - fleeting - earthly

b. Eternal - lasting - heavenly

• Matthew 6:19-21

• Matthew 10:42

• Luke 12:33-34

• Luke 16:9

• Ephesians 2:10

• Hebrews 6:10

• Revelation 22:12

Whose idea was the reward for generosity and good works?

What do we get to do with those rewards? (Revelation 4:9-10)

2. A Rival Vision:

Matthew 6:22-23

• A healthy eye affects the whole body and its course.

• A healthy heart affects the whole person and their direction.

3. A Rival god:

Matthew 6:24

Mammon is not just wealth - it is wealth that has become your god.

• Control

• Enslavement

• Sacrifice

• Greed - Power/Position - show

• Lust - Pleasures/Things - spend

• Fear - Security - hoard

Application:

• Matthew 22:36-40 LOVE GOD AND LOVE PEOPLE

• Use your money to glorify God and love people!

• You cannot take it with you, but you can send it ahead!

CG Questions

• Are you uncomfortable with the topic of money? Explain why or why not.

• What is your attitude toward money? (Good, evil, or god?)

• What have you been taught regarding money (by your family, your friends, the culture, or the church)?

• What are your takeaways from the sermon?