Hello people....
This is the powerpoint content in Unc Chris's Sunday message...
I had a lot of movie ideas listening to the message... .hmmm... :D
Anyway, here it is:
LIVING IN JESUS’ VICTORY 
The Light Side of Money
OLD TESTAMENT
• The provision of God in the Garden of Eden
• The generosity of God shown to:
• Abraham (Gen 13:2 - Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold)
• Isaac (Gen 26:14 – Isaac was blessed in a similar fashion)
• Job (Job 1:1 – Job was a man of great wealth and he was blameless and upright)
• The wise men brought their wealth to the Christ child as a means of worship
• Zacchaeus gave generously
• The poor widow gave sacrificially
• Wealthy women helped support the band of disciples (Luke 8:2-3)
• Barnabas used his land investments to aid the early church (Acts
• Cornelius gave alms liberally to the people (Acts 10:2)
•
CAN MONEY ENHANCE OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD?
YES!
GOD’S PROVISION
• To recognize that everything God created is good, very good and it is meant to bless and enhance human life. All that were necessary to carry on human life is seen in the gracious gift of a loving God. The very bounty of the earth can draw us closer to God in thanksgiving & praise!
• So much of what comes is not the result of our doing but a GIFT, UNEARNED & UNEARNABLE. (Deut 6:10b-11)
GOD’S OWNERSHIP
• In the bible, God’s absolute rights as owner and our relative rights as stewards are unmistakably clear.
– Job 41:11
– Exo 19:5-6
• As absolute owner, God puts limits on the individual’s ability to accumulate land and wealth (Deut 14:28-29, Exod 23:11)
• (Every 50th year was to be a Jubilee Year, in which all slaves were to be set free, all debts cancelled and all land return to its original owner….)
• God’s rationale for so doing upsetting everyone’s economic applecarts was very simply that “the land is mine”
– We know what we are having and all the things around us actually belongs to Another
• This awareness frees us from a possessive and anxious spirit
– Our focus goes to God and not on things
• After we have done what we can to care for those things that have been entrusted to us, we know they are in bigger hands than ours.
The Grace of Giving
• Offering is correctly placed as part of worship experience
• Giving brings authenticity and vitality to our devotional experience
• Money is an effective way of showing our love to God bcos it is so much a part of us
– You give money, you give your “self”
– Giving frees us from the tyranny of money
– Giving frees us to care. We are being used to help make a difference in the world, and that is worth living for and giving for.
Controlling & Using
• The call of God is upon us to use money within the confines of a properly disciplined spiritual life and to manage money for the good of all humanity and for the glory of God. And this we are drawn deeper to God.
• Resources are channeled into life-giving ministry – the helpless are helped. Projects that advanced Christ’s kingdom are financed. Great good is accomplished.
• Money is a blessing when it is used within the context of the life and power of God.
The lessons of Trust
• Money used by God to build trust.
– Jesus teaches us to pray for daily bread he is teaching us to live in trust.
– When the children of
• In the above illustrations, money is used by God to build a spirit of trust within us and not meant to cause us to give up our retirement plans or saving accounts etc.
• We celebrate the light side of money by learning to cultivate a spirit of thanksgiving.
• Help each other grow in gratitude
• When we have a spirit of thanksgiving we can hold all things lightly. We receive; we do not grab. And when it is time to let go, we do so freely. We are not owners, only stewards.
FINALLY
• Our lives do not consist of the things that we have, for we live and move and breathe in God, not things. Also intangible “things” i.e. status, reputation, position.
Questions
Dark side
Light side
The Dark Side of Money & The Love of Money
Money ! Money ! Money!
Is it good? Bad or Neutral?
Is it OK to accumulate more & more?
Introduction:
There are 3 conversions mentioned according to Martin Luther…….
The conversion of the heart, mind and the purse.
Reading passage - 1 Timothy 6
3 If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching,
4 he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions
5 and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.
7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.
8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.
9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.
19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
Examples verses related to money
Ø Heb 13:5 – Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
The Love of Money
Why do we tend to love money?
Why is it a temptation to love money?
3 myths or lies that the world tells us about money.
Ø WE DESERVE WHATEVER WE HAVE, AND WHO WE ARE IS WRAPPED UP IN WHAT WE HAVE
§ My self-image is dependent on what I own.
Ø MONEY BRINGS HAPPINESS
§ If I only had such and such, then I would be happy.
Ø MONEY BRINGS SECURITY AND SECURITY COMES FROM HAVING SUFFICIENT FINANCIAL RESOURCES
§ Be secure for the rest of your life once your finances are all lined up.
PREVAILING DISTORTIONS
Ø MONEY IS A SIGN OF GOD’S BLESSING, AND HENCE POVERTY IS A SIGN OF GOD’S DISPLEASURE
§ Love Jesus and get rich.
Ø VIEW STEWARDSHIP OF MONEY AS COMPLETELY NEUTRAL AND DEPERSONALIZED
§ It is merely a medium of exchange.
We deserve whatever we have
Ø What I own, I have gained from my own hard work!
q From a economist viewpoint – Is there a cor-relation between “wealth & income” with “effort & hard work”?
q Yes, to some extent….but only to a small extent! (even from a secular perspective)
WE DO NOT DESERVE WHATEVER WE HAVE AT ALL!
1 Chronicles 29 – David’s prayer when he is commissioning Solomon as his successor, and talking about the money they have raised to give to God for the building of the temple. David says, “Wealth and honor come from you, Lord”
Deut
Ø So what God is saying that even if what we have is the result of our hard work, that hard work itself is a gift of God. Our ability to do hard work is a gift of God. So, who we are does not consist of what we own. Our status does not depend on our income.
WE DO NOT DESERVE WHATEVER WE HAVE.
Money brings happiness!
Ø If only I had a new car, a larger house, a higher salary, better clothes or better education.
Ø Almost always wealthy people, famous people, who are envied because we tend to think this is what life is really about.
q Does money leads to happiness?
q Yes, to some extent….if we follow the Economist law of ceteris paribus..(holding all things constant)
- If we could hold all other things constant like our attitudes constant, the way we relate to people constant, and everything on ourselves constant, then the additional money that gives us more choices, more opportunities, we would probably be happier.
q The problem is that when we desire more, that desire itself changes us. When we get more, we want more….we become not content with what we have. WE WANT YET MORE!
What is the Biblical perspective?
If we have what we need in order to live, both to nourish and protect us from the elements, we will be content with that
Ø The Bible tells us that whether we are poor or rich, or somewhere in the middle, if we have desire for more money, if that is driving us, we will never be satisfied.
Phil
Ø Paul is saying that God is in control of our lives. And whatever, He wants us to do, He will provide us with the necessary resources to accomplish.
Money brings security
Ø If only we have one million dollars, then we would be secure.
q Why is it not true?
q Because money and finances are fleeting.
- Riches can disappear, and we can spend a lot of worry, and time, and energy trying to make sure that they don’t.
Luke 12: 15 - 21
16 And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop.
17 He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'
18 "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
19 And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '
20 "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'
21 "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."
This man’s problem was not that he had been very successful in his work. This man’s problem was not necessarily that he was thinking how to build better resources for storing what he had. This man’s problem was that he was thinking of this wealth as his security. He was not using the wealth that God had given him for the purposes that God had intended, but only for himself, and thinking that he was perfectly secure because of what he had.
Distortion that lies on a Biblical teaching of the great generosity of God
• Even the disciples of Jesus struggled with this distortion.
– They were amazed that a “camel could slip through the eye of a needle more easily than the wealthy could enter the
– Their amazement comes from the belief that the rich young ruler was a sign of God’s special favor upon him.
– No wonder they exclaimed, “who then can be saved?” (Matt
Distortion that money is neutral and harmless
• This talk of stewardship fails to see money is not just a neutral medium of exchange but a “power” that is demonic in character
Ø Not purchasing power
Ø Not something vague or impersonal
Ø But real spiritual power with spiritual forces that energizes it and is capable of inspiring devotion
The Rich Young Ruler
17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
18 "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good-- except God alone.
19 You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.'"
20 "Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy."
21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
22 At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
• Jesus wants this guy to have the kind of relationship that will open up eternal life to this man and open up his life now to everything that God can give him.
APPLICATION
• Our fear, insecurity and guilt about money
• We are afraid we have too little and we are also afraid with too much
• We do not need to be ashamed of our wealth but to conquer it and use it for God’s good purposes
• Helping each other relates to it
• A conversion of our understanding of ownership
• Even the poor need to know that they can give. Just the very act of letting go of money, or some treasure, does something within us. It destroy the demon greed.
• Are we possessed by our possessions or are we possessors? Do we control our money and our possessions? Or has it gotten out of control? If we control our possessions, if we possess things instead of them possessing us, then it means that our possessions and our money are tools. We can use those tools for our own enjoyment, but we could also use those tools to serve other people and to serve God. It means that we can part with our possessions and part with our money, if that's what we need to do. It means that as we make more money, we don't have to spend it all, but we can give it. It means that we can even scale back our lifestyle if that is what we need to do. That's what it means to be a possessor instead of being possessed.
Hi everyone, as y'all know... Hui Ling (Chua) is gonna be joining us in Bethel!!!
Woo hoo!
We'd like to welcome her into our family, and God's graciousness and spirit be upon her and her family.
Hui Ling accepted Christ last August, and is a regular in Youth Voltage for more than a year. Her parents are not Christians, but her brother shares her faith.
Let us be an encouragement to Hui Ling in her walk with Jesus.
Booyashaka!
Hiya everyone,
I've discovered that I can link to my facebook account so everyone can view photos I'vev uploaded...
So, here it is!!
Our GG Retreat Photos, enjoy!
A preview:
