Chris Hanbury 28th january

Money

Luke 18 v 18-30 the parable of the rich young ruler.

1 Timothy 6 v 6-10 we come into this world and we bring nothing out, the love of money is the root of all evil.

Malachi 3 v 10 blessings through tithing.

Chris' hero in terms of tithing is John Wesley, he made a fortune in his lifetime, and he gave 98% of it away.

As a church we want to be on the high speed track to the heavenly city, we want to be on the fast rail track not in the sidings.

Proverbs 10 v 21 fools die for want of wisdom

Other verses in the Bible cover:-

love your enemies

take up your cross and be my disciples

where is your treasure

seek first his kingdom

don't look back

What does it mean to be an apprentice of Jesus?

Chris watched a recent documentary on the development of cruise missiles, early models were strapped to mini planes and had gyros to keep them steady, but the missile still drifted off target. They tried locking it onto the stars but that didn't work either. Then they photographed the land and loaded the photos into the missile’s memory, and as it flew the missile compared where it was with what its photo map said, which made it very accurate.

If we compare ourselves with Jesus as we go along, we will be an accurate weapon for good.

The rich young ruler in 1 Timothy 6 was a member of the sanhedrin, the highest court in . He thought Jesus was a good man and thought he was too, thought he was on the way to heaven. He valued his money but didn't have an understanding of Romans 8 the glory which will be revealed to us, he needed the values which are greater than money.

Mark 14 v 3 the perfume being poured over Jesus’ feet

Mark 12 v 41 the widow's mite

The Pharisees tithed as well but they forgot the love of God and his mercy. The widow loved God.

Chris told the moving story of a man called Bill who worked for a mission to seamen, and retired on a tiny pension. But when he died his children found that he subscribed and gave to many missionary organisations. His son John Barron then talked to us. He and his wife run a small organisation in on a tiny budget.

John Barron

When Jesus was before Pilate and said my kingdom is not of this world.  Pilate had no idea what he was talking about. We can go through life as believers and still not fully understand what the kingdom is about.

Jesus’ whole life was about giving us snapshots and stories about how we can live the life of the kingdom here on earth. His main topic within the kingdom was money, he knew it can work for good or evil.

Kingdom aspects of cash

The kingdom aspects of cash are very different to the world, as the kingdom is different from the word.

1) We are stewards.

Psalm 24 v 1 the Earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. This isn’t just a nice verse, it's a theological statement. The essence of the kingdom. We sing ‘Jesus is Lord’, but does he really own all we have and are.

Our view is often the Roman view, what’s mine is mine and belongs to me, it is natural to own things. Instead, God is the owner and we are his stewards.

In the Old Testament, God put limits on ownership and wealth, ensuring that the poor would have something too. The jubilee year etc.

When John and his wife first started out 20 years ago, they often stayed in other people’s houses in while the owners were away. It was clear to them that the house belonged to another, eg the pictures, the décor, the pets!

Being aware of Gods ownership frees us from the anxiety of possession. A quote from Wesley when a church burned down: ‘the Lord’s house has burned, one less responsibility for me!

When we fully understand God's heart it changes the questions we ask about our giving. Not ‘how much should I give’ .... but ‘how much of God’s money should I keep for myself’.

2) Give it away

In the kingdom, money is to be enjoyed but it is also to be given away. Giving figures greatly with Jesus, he told stories about money, tithing, gleaning in the fields, the jubilee year.

The tithe is an Old Testament principle, it’s great as a starting point, but neither Jesus nor the early church confirmed it, they went beyond it.

Generosity. They shared everything in the early church. Sacrifice, the widow giving all she had, Barnabas giving a field.

Do not lay up for yourselves treasure on earth, but treasure in heaven is a guaranteed income. Where our treasure is there our heart is. Where is our heart?

You can't take your money with you ... unless you invest in the kingdom of God . Invest in people, grow the kingdom on earth.

The lady with the alabaster jar gave extravagantly, threw caution to the wind. She needed to have that spirit of risk in her giving. God calls us to be methodical and regular in our giving, but sometimes to take a risk.

We can also give time and talents but this morning it's about money.

3) Brings us closer to God

Money should enhance our relationship with God. Money can express love to God and to our neighbour. The wise men brought expensive gifts, Zaccheus gave extravagantly, used her resources and status for the church. Not just giving of money, their relationship with God was enhanced.  In giving God blesses

Isiaih 58 pious people who do and say all the right things but counted for nothing because they weren’t giving to the poor and the needy. I you want your fasting to count, give your bread to the homeless.

This morning if your spiritual vitality is low, if your prayer is hollow, maybe the prescription is a joyful dose of giving. As we give God blesses us. Brings vitality to our spiritual experience.

Money is part of us, we are intimately related to it, we cannot give it without giving of ourselves. We sing ‘take my life and let it be consecrated to thee, take my silver and my gold not a mite would I withold’. We consecrate ourselves when we consecrate our money.

It turns the attention to God, makes us outward in our thinking, where would God like me to give, what will make a difference, how can I see the kingdom extended, where is God working.

We hold things lightly which leads to an attitude of thanksgiving.

A story from Africa

Brian had a 12 mile long farm in . He became a Christian. One can earn a lot from tobacco in , but he looked for something else to grow instead. The local town was very poor, he thought about how he could help them with their yields. The land in is poor , it usually requires expensive fertiliser which most Africans cannot afford. Brian felt that Africa shoudn't have to look to the West, God has made the lands as it is so there must be a way of making it productive. He discovered ways of farming which didn't need bought-in fertiliser. He began to practise it himself and became the number one wheat grower in the whole of .

He asked John's help to get the message to the local town about how to make the land more productive without expensive fertilisers, but John told him to get the message to the whole of Africa . However within 6 months Mugabe had taken the farms away from the white people including Brian. But John knew that what he’d discovered was special. He prayed with churches back here. Step one in giving money is to have faith. People gave sacrificially of their money towards this project.

John and Brian set out plots outside the Zimbabwean churches they knew, demonstrating the traditional method versus the new method. They made a significant contact who could put them in touch with influential people. Now 6 nations have adopted Brian’s method of farming, on a small scale. Brian is being asked to speak at conferences and at government level.

When you give to God, God gives back in huge percentages. Brian isn't paid and his income fluctuates but what God is doing with his investment is huge.

Invest in evangelism, invest in people, invest in building the kingdom of God . Our call is to walk in the spirit not in the flesh.

The ruler of this world tempts us with all things material and flesh, but we stand with Jesus and say that the kingdom of which I am a citizen is not of this world.