The Principle of Faithfulness
Matthew 6:19-21 NKJ
“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.”
Matthew 6:24 NKJ
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and
love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the
other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
CURRENT REALITY:
• Current National debt: $17.9 trillion
• Paid $420 billion in interest in 2013
• $71 trillion in debts and liabilities obligations in 2013
• $579,761 per household in U.S.
• $23.8 trillion obligation to Social Security
• $27.3 trillion obligation to Medicare
“There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One by the sword, the
other is by debt.” – President John Adams
Deuteronomy 28:43-44 NKJ
“The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you
shall come down lower and lower. He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to
him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.”
SLAVE: a person who has lost control of his/her life and is dependent upon
someone else for their sustenance
Proverbs 22:7 NAS
The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.
Luke 16:10-13 NKJ
“He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust
in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in
the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if
you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is
your own? No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and
love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You
cannot serve God and mammon.”
Three Important Things You Must Settle to Handle Money Well:
- GOD IS THE OWNER – I AM THE MANAGER.
Three Levels of Control:
- TOP LEVEL: GOD IS IN CONTROL OF ALL POSSESSIONS
- SECOND LEVEL: YOU’RE IN CONTROL OF POSSESSIONS
- BOTTOM LEVEL: POSSESSIONS ARE IN CONTROL OF YOU
- SMALL THINGS ARE BIG THINGS
Luke 16:10-12 NKJ
He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust
in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in
the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if
you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is
your own? - GOD’S BLESSINGS CONNECT TO OUR FAITHFULNESS
Three Areas of Faithfulness That Affect Our Finances:
- Faithfulness in our COMMITMENTS
- Faithfulness in our TIME.
Ephesians 5:15-16 NKJ
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the
time, because the days are evil.
Matthew 6:33-34 NKJ
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things
shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will
worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. - Faithfulness in our use of MONEY.
Luke 16:9 NKJ
“And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that
when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home.”
Luke 16:10-13 NKJ
“He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust
in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in
the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if
you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is
your own? No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and
love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You
cannot serve God and mammon.”
Malachi 3:7-11 NKJ
“Yet from the days of your fathers you have gone away from My ordinances and
have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of
hosts. “But you said, ‘In what way shall we return?’ Will a man rob God? Yet you
have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and
offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole
nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My
house, and try Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you
the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be
room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that
he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for
you in the field,” says the LORD of hosts…