Part 4: Whose Money is it Anyway—by Danie Vos and Fungai Blake
May 15, 2023
Sermon summary:
God uses money to work on our character.
Proverbs 11:24 Ask guidance about your finances.
Financial pyramid:
*Get a job.
*Give to God.
*Take care of your immediate family.
*Give to the poor.
*Save.
*Honour God with your wealth.
Debt:
*Don't be a slave to the lender. Ask yourself: what is your debt a symptom of? You need margin. Don't conform to the standards of the world where credit is normalised.
*Understand how much debt you have and make it a priority to pay it off.
*Get advice about spending. Have a budget and keep track of your spending. Have goals (e.g. to tithe, become debt-free, give to the poor, and to save).
*Save.
*Honour God with your wealth.
Watch the full service here (the sermon starts at 47 mins)
The Holy Spirit gives guidance and direction in our missionary work. Are we doing the work the Spirit has set aside for each one of us to do? He knows the time, place and person to reach out to. Are we listening and obeying when he nudges us? The Holy Spirit forms Christ in all of us and it's a lifetime journey. Seek to be filled. Listen to his voice. Step out boldly.
Giving is an act of trust. It is also not an obligation but an act of worship. Give from the heart, not as a duty, but as a way to express gratitude. Giving is about unity in the church, it is motivated by grace, not guilt, and a spiritual act of joyful worship. Jesus demonstrated sacrificial giving through his actions, leaving us an example to follow.
To embrace Jesus's mission, I must first clothe myself with Jesus and have his character formed in me. He must become greater, I must become less. Then I"ll be able to do as Jesus did.
God's grace is with me. We need each other. Grace is a gift.