Part 3: God First

Part 3: God First

Stewardship Part III God First

Nearly two weeks ago, I was spending my Tuesday morning in prayer and reading the Bible. I was praying over a number of things, and I was excited about some good things that are happening at Stonebrook.
As I was praying, the Holy Spirit touched my heart with this word: “In all the good things, Brad, still keep me first.” It was a short but impactful word to my heart.
The word was, “Keep in line with me and walk with me FIRST. In the exciting things. In the hard things. In the mundane things.”

I was greatly comforted by that, and those words have been steering me every day since then. Keep the Lord first. Line up with him. Then I remembered a song I heard a month ago. The song is a prayer to God, and the theme is, “I will follow you, Lord.” One phrase in the song says, “Like a shadow behind you we will be.” I love that image. I want to line my life up with the Lord, and to be so in step behind him, that I’m like his shadow.

Our theme in this 3-week series is Stewardship. Being good stewards—good managers—of the financial resources that God has entrusted to us. He is the Owner. We are managers.
That lines up with that quiet message I had from the Lord: “Put him first.” He is the Owner. Do what he wants. Line up with him. Walk with him and behind him like a shadow.

In fact, in a significant passage on money in Matthew 6, Jesus speaks of that theme.
Matthew 6:33 ESV “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Seek first the kingdom of God. Seek first the KING and his kingdom. Go after FIRST the Person of the King and all his doings. Jesus said later, “Love the Lord with all your Heart and Soul and Mind.” With ALL.

Today as we think about money, this is our theme: God first. In our earning money. In spending. In saving. In giving. God is to be FIRST. I am to line up with him in every dealing I have with money.

There is no better place to be than NEAR the Lord. To walk close to him. To love him. And to line all things in life up that we might do his will. There is no better place.

As the psalmist said,
Psalm 73:23–26 ESV “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
There is no better place than to be near the Lord. To walk so closely we are his shadow.

God is First: Earning

The first of the four areas of MONEY is EARNING. We put GOD FIRST in our Earning. Most of us will earn money. We have jobs and get a paycheck.
I understand not all work gets a paycheck. A MOM at home works tirelessly, but there is no paycheck. We volunteer to work in many ways in the community and in the church. But our series is about MONEY, so in some way, we have to have money to live. We work for it.

How does putting GOD FIRST relate to that? Let’s look at a passage I memorized years ago, and God has used it to direct my life countless times.
Colossians 3:22–24 ESV “Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

This passage gives several Ways to put God first in your earning:

1. Acknowledge Jesus Christ as your Boss.
Even if you are a business owner, Jesus is your CEO.

Paul wrote this to slaves. Slaves! They can’t go out and find a better paying job. They’re stuck. He tells them, “Take heart. Your True Master is Jesus.” Wow. No matter how mundane or boring or menial the task, Paul says, “Do it for Jesus.”
Do it for Jesus, and he will reward you some day. Don’t work hard only when the Boss is watching you. Don’t work hard merely to please people. Please God. Work for the Lord. He is your Boss. Your ruler. At the workplace…on campus, in a business….tell the Lord Jesus that he is your Boss. And ask him what he wants you to do this day.

2. Honor and obey employer.
Paul says, “Obey your earthly master.” Honor him. Do what he says.

One of my goals when I worked as an engineer for 15 years was to make my earthly boss successful. Make him look good.

3. Work hard.
Paul says, “Whatever you do, work heartily.”

We put the Lord first and line up with him by working “HEARTILY.” With all our heart.
Diligence is such a beautiful quality.
I started out my Christian life as a very lazy 19-year old.
God had to instill in me a desire and even a LOVE for work.
It wasn’t until my 30’s that I could honestly say, “I’m a consistently hard worker.”

Proverbs 14:23 NIV “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.”
A godly work ethic leads to productivity and good. The wise man or woman is not merely a Talker. They are a Doer.

4. Live for the gospel at the workplace.
Because Jesus is your Boss, your work is highly spiritual.
When you leave this building, life does not get any more or any less spiritual. ALL of life is under the headship of God. He is your Boss, so everything done at the workplace is highly significant in the eyes of God. Even the most mundane work.

If you can find a job that you love, a job that fits your skills, and a job that pays more, it generally is a good thing. But finding a job you love and a job that pays more is not automatically God’s will.
The first and most important question to ask is, “Is God first?”

Let me share a powerful story to explain.
A friend of mine here at Stonebrook was offered a promotion. More money. God’s will, right? Not necessarily. He sought counsel: Should I take this? Yes, the money would be nice. But I am trying to influence my current office for Christ, and I don’t want to lose that influence. And I’m not sure if my skills will be used in the best way in the new job.” God was honored by this man.
He wasn’t being greedy for more. He was humbly submitting his life to the Lord. It’s like Jesus prayed in the Garden before the crucifixion, “Not MY will, but yours be done.”
In summary, he was putting God first.

Put God first in all your EARNING.

God is First: Spending

With money we earn, we use it for something. And much of that will be spending.

Ways to put God first in your spending:
1. Pray.
Regularly pray. Have a spirit of prayer in your life.
What I’m really saying is to have a spirit of dependence on the Lord. And a spirit of submission.
Psalm 24:1 NIV “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it…”
The Lord owns you me and our money. We are merely managers.
Daily praying, “Lord, what would you have me do?” is acknowledging that God is the OWNER of all things.

Love the Lord by regularly, even daily, submitting your life and your money under his Headship. He’s a good Father who will lead you wisely and tenderly.

2. Have a plan.
One way to ensure you’re spending money in a way that honors God is to have a plan. It takes diligence to have a plan and to follow it, but it’s worth it.
Proverbs 13:4 ESV “The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.”
Even a sluggard has good desires and good intentions, but he doesn’t get it because he’s lazy. Be diligent, and put thought into what you should do with God’s money.
A crucial part of a plan is living within your means.
Plan enough so that you don’t have to go into debt.
Plan enough so that you can be a GIVER. So that you don’t become selfish.
Plan enough so that you can SAVE money.
Plan out your spending. Where is the money going to go?

The dirty 6-letter word for the plan is what? “BUDGET”.
Over the past 10 years, we have occasionally offered a 9-week class called Financial Peace. We don’t have one going right now, but it’s time to have another one soon. You should take that class.
Let me know. Email the Stonebrook office to express your interest.

If you are in debt, I strongly recommend that class.

One of the best lessons for Annette and me from that class was to use a “cash envelope” system. In our budget, we have so much allocated for food and eating out and a couple other categories. So on the First of each Month, I go to the bank and get cash for those budget categories. When we buy groceries or eat out, we only use that cash. When the money is gone, we’re done for the month. I don’t have to add up receipts. I can see the cash and I know what I have left.

Also, an important part of living by a Plan is to LEARN to WAIT to purchase some things. It’s God’s money, and I don’t want to be impulsive and spend it where I shouldn’t.

When our girls were young, if we were in Walmart and they saw something they wanted—even if it was spending their own money— we often would say, “Let’s wait a week. If you still want to spend your money on that, you can get it.” Usually, they completely forgot about it. It taught them patience and self-control. Some of you should do that.

As a side note: Some of you are the OPPOSITE of impulsive. You are tightfisted. You hate spending money. You need to learn to relax. It’s not a sin to spend money. It’s only a sin to spend it apart from faith in the Lord.

3. Be content.
Often we are bored and restless and ungrateful, so we are discontent with what we have. And that discontentment drives us to spend money. We’re driven by a self-centeredness, not by faith. We see someone with a Bigger home. A newer car. The latest gadget. And we grow discontent with what we have. We complain. We nag our spouse to get more. So we spend money from the wrong motivation.

Philippians 4:11–13 NIV “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

Whether Paul had a little or a lot, Paul was content, because he found his strength in Christ.

In order to be like a shadow behind the Lord, if we are discontent and complaining, we need to REPENT. It can start with thankfulness. Determine to give thanks for everything you have. And give thanks that you don’t have all the possessions you want. If you lack nicer things, the Lord can be enough.

Go on a mission trip overseas. I’ve been overseas 7 or 8 times, and each time I’ve gone, my thirst for “THINGS” has been diminished because I see how little others have. And I realize, “People all over the world live with far less. I’m OK if I don’t have more or the newest gadget or a cool car or a bigger house.”

This is not to say we CANNOT have such things. But when our reason for buying them is driven by discontentment, we are sinning. Because we are saying to God, “You are not providing well enough for me. I don’t like it. I don’t like how you’re treating me. I’m going to go out and get what I deserve and want.”

As an aside, one important truth here: We must remember there is an eternity. If I believe that there is another world, and that the Lord will reward me for faithfully earning and spending and saving and giving, then the things of this world won’t have as much hold on me.
Matthew 6:19–21 ESV “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

We remember souls. That there is a heaven and hell, and the Lord wants to use us to influence people. The use of our money is connected to that, because MONEY can be connected to our hearts.

Money is not the problem. Our HEARTS are the problem. Jesus says, “Set your treasure on heavenly things. Not on all the temporal things that will fade away and wear out and break. Where your treasure is, your heart will be there.” If your treasure is in your earthly possessions and bank accounts, your heart will be there. If your treasure is in heavenly reward and concerned with eternal things, your heart will be there.

God is First: Saving

The third area concerning money, and lining our lives up behind the Lord in his shadow, is SAVING.

Saving money is a wisdom topic. God in his wisdom tells us this:
Proverbs 21:20 NIV “The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools gulp theirs down.”
Rainy days happen. And we have known future needs like vehicles and school and furnaces.
It is wise to save up for those known needs. It is foolish to spend all you have and have nothing for tomorrow. Saving will often keep us from having constant emergencies that crush us. Saving allows us to stay out of debt.

We don’t save money simply to alleviate our stress. We don’t save because we are AFRAID.

Our hope is not in a FAT Bank Account. We do all this with a spirit that the Lord is over all. He is first. He is our good Father who knows what we need (Matt 6:24).
Annette and I are saving for some known future needs. A replacement vehicle someday. Some major house repairs that are coming. Wedding for my daughter Kelli. We know these expenditures will be needed some day, and so we applying wisdom to save for those needs.
Plus, it is so much more rewarding to save up for something you want, and THEN buying it. Going in debt to buy something, then paying for it for 24 months is a burden.
I’m a saver by nature. I enjoy saving. Some of you are like me. But I recognize that I can easily fall into the trap of having my HOPE in my savings.

Jesus calls us to be utterly dependent upon him. He taught us to pray, “Father, give us THIS DAY our daily bread.” Often in history and in many parts of the world, people are in a daily mode of survival. So each day provokes a spirit of dependence.

STILL, it is wise to save up for known needs if you are able. And if you honestly cannot save, you may need a long-term look at how you can earn more money. I recommend you sit down with a Wise, Godly friend who understands the Bible, and get some advice.

God is First: Giving

The fourth area with our money, and walking in God’s shadow, is GIVING. Generosity.

Dave talked about generosity last week. If you weren’t here, I highly recommend listening to it at www.stonebrook.org.

Why is giving important? Because it’s important to God, and he is first. We live to please him and love him. So when I give, I may be tempted to give or not give due to ungodly motivations.

Ways to put God first in your giving:

1. Remember righteousness is by faith, not by works.
Never give to try to impress God. To earn a righteous standing. To appease the GUILT you feel inside.

Righteousness is by faith thru the grace of God. And it’s found only in Jesus. The only way to be cleansed from Guilt and Shame is to run to the cross. Hebrews 4 says to approach the Throne of Grace with confidence. And there you will find grace and mercy.

A number of years ago, a good friend of mine was a very generous man. I was encouraged by his heart to give to meet needs in our church and in our city. I thought, he may have the spiritual gift of giving. But a few months later, life fell apart for him. Some hidden, destructive sin came into the light. He had been hiding this sin for many months. I was unaware. His wife was unaware.

Then in a moment of candor, he told me that the reason he was giving money was to appease his guilty conscience. He felt guilty before God. Rightly so. But instead of repenting of his sin, humbling himself, and running to the Cross of Jesus for his cleansing, he rejected the gospel and turned to the RIGHTEOUS ACT of giving to try to cleanse himself.

Love the Lord with all you have. And do this by believing that the work of Jesus is enough to cleanse you.

As an aside for a minute: In all our dealings with money, walk in grace.
In our earning. Spending. Saving. Giving. Remember the gospel. Remember God saved us by grace. Now go walk in that same grace.

You won’t handle your money perfectly. You will be careless. You will sin. I hope you don’t, but when you do, rest in the grace of our Lord. He loves you. The Lord loves you and sent his Son to die for you. Rest in that grace. Don’t use money as a means of penance to pay for your sins. Stop feeling guilty about your usage of money.

2. Seek reward from God, not from man.
If you want to honor God and walk in his shadow, seek to please HIM first, not man.

Jesus warns us: An ungodly motivation…and a very short-sighted motivation…is giving to impress others.
Matthew 6:1 ESV “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.”
Jesus warned the people, don’t do righteous deeds….giving, praying, fasting…in order to be noticed by people. To impress them.
If you do, you will get no reward from the Lord. The only reward you will get is the applause of man. To give for the approval of man more than the approval of God is a slap in his face.
Plus, it is incredibly short-sighted…a temporal view of life….a faith-less way of living…to give $ in order to be noticed by man. Never, ever give to impress someone.

3. Err on the side of generosity.
When in doubt how much to give or whether you should help someone, if you’re going to err, err on the side of generosity. A need in the church comes up. A ministry asks for a donation. A random person you meet has a need. A server in the restaurant is worthy of a tip.

We hesitate sometimes. We worry if we’re giving too much or if someone is worthy of the money. Or we realize we might not have enough to buy all our WANTS. If you’re in doubt, generally I say be generous. SHOW GRACE. Maybe they don’t deserve that much. But God, with extraordinary generosity, gave you his Son, and you didn’t deserve that. It’s called GRACE.

I am guessing some of you are sitting here thinking, “Yeah, but I don’t want to be an enabler of bad behavior.” I agree. Definitely use wisdom God gives you.
Still, I will press my point. Generosity, even if someone doesn’t deserve it, honors the SPIRIT of the Gospel message.

To whom should we give?

Support those who are feeding you spiritually.
1 Corinthians 9:14 ESV “… the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.”
We give to support those who serve us in the gospel. Annette and I have tithed to the church for 31 years, and love doing it. We’re giving to God, and it’s a joy.

Support those who are disenfranchised, suffering in justice. Widows, orphans. The unborn. Annette and I support a pro-life clinic here in Ames. Informed Choices. Some of you do, too. And out of the church’s budget we support them.
Persecuted Christians. Annette and I support a ministry called “Voice of the Martyrs.” This ministry helps persecuted Christians all over the world. Middle East. Asia. They are suffering because they are telling people about Jesus.

Support people because of relationships you have.
Friday we received a letter from the daughter of some old friends who live in another city. The daughter is going on a mission trip.
It’s not our church, and I generally like to focus much of our effort here.
But the family are old friends whom we love, and we want to help them because of that friendship.

And remember, in your giving, you cannot meet every need.
Too often many of us walk around with a low-grade guilt because there are so many needs and we can’t give to them all.

Remember you are walking by grace. God is not calling you to do things you cannot do.
He will lay out some good works before you, and he asks you….out of love for him…to simply and humbly walk in those things. NO MORE. NO LESS.

Conclusions

A final guiding passage.
2 Corinthians 5:14–15 NIV “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”
This has been my Life Verse for the past 35 years.
And last September, I made it official by having the reference tattooed on my right arm.

In all of life, may the lord of Christ compel you. He died to give you new life. And he asks you to spend that new life now living for him, not for yourself. And in all things related to money— your Earning, Spending, Saving, and Giving—may you no longer live for yourself, but for him.
God is FIRST. Pray to him, telling him, “Like a shadow behind you, I’ll be.”
To be near the Lord is a beautiful thing. There is no better place to be than in his shadow. Walking with him. Loving him.

King David of Israel was intimate with God, and here is his conclusion:
Psalm 16:11 ESV “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
Life. Joy. Pleasures.