Pastor Mike Sanders

More than one million households declare bankruptcy each

year. More people now go bankrupt each year in America than

graduate from colleges and universities. The U. S. census bureau

says, “Over 62% of Americans retire on annual incomes below

$10,000.” The Wall Street Journal reports, “Nearly 70% of all

consumers live from paycheck to paycheck…”

These stats remind us that many people make too many

mistakes with money. David Thoreau once observed, “Almost

any man knows how to earn money, but not one in a million

knows how to spend it.”

What kind of mistakes do we make in finances?

1. Trying to get rich quick (Proverbs 28:20 KJV) “A faithful man

shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich

shall not be innocent.”

2. Not living within your means. Ninety percent of people in

our culture buy things they can’t afford. (Proverbs 21:20 KJV)

“There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the

wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.”

3. No communication about money. Numerous studies

confirm that money is the leading cause of divorce today.

4. Impulse buying. (Proverbs 14:29 KJV) “He that is slow to

wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit

exalteth folly.”

5. Getting into too much debt. (Psalms 37:21 KJV) “The wicked

borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth

mercy, and giveth.”

6. Refusing to budget. (Proverbs 27:23 KJV) “Be thou diligent

to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.”

7. Failing to save for the future. (Proverbs 6:6-11 KJV)

Pastor Mike Sanders

1 Corinthians 4:2 KJV

“Moreover it is required in stewards,

that a man be found faithful.”

Six months after the owner of a small crossroads store was

appointed Postmaster, not one piece of mail had left the village.

When deeply concerned postal officials from Washington D. C.

investigated, and asked why? The local Postmaster explained,

“It’s simple; the bag ain’t full yet!”

Today our bags don’t have to be full for us to share some of our

blessings with others. We don’t have to be in perfect health to

serve others through our church. We don’t need to be literary

geniuses to write an encouraging note to a lonely person. We

don’t have to be a professional musician to lift our voices in song

to our Lord. We don’t have to be a talented orator to share the

love of Jesus with a child. We don’t have to be a movie star to

brighten the lives of others by giving a loving smile. We don’t

have to be a VIP in the eyes of the world to be a genuine Christian

friend. And we don’t have to be wealthy to give a portion of God’s

resources to expand His love & grace through the ministry of our

Church family.

Don’t wait for your bag to be full before you give!

Dr. Pete Rathel

2 Corinthians 8:1-12

I know that giving is not the most popular subject for most

Christians and really I do not understand that. Giving to God is

and should be a joy. If you read closely the passage that we are

using today you see some really important words. Look at

several phrases:

Verse 1 - “The Grace of God” - Folks, nothing is more important

in our lives than the Grace of God. Without it we are not saved.

Without it we cannot live. Without it we are really among all men

most miserable.

Verse 2 - “A great trial of affliction” - These people were more

than poor. They had nothing yet they were willing to give to help

get the Gospel of God out to others. They were so thankful for

having received the Grace of God that they wanted, at any price,

to share it with others.

Verse 3 - “And beyond their power” - If we are going to be

faithful, then we need to use the power of God and let Him

empower us to go beyond that which we think as possible,

because all things are possible with God. (Philippians 4:13)

Verse 4 - “but first gave their own selves to the Lord:” This is

essential if we are going to be effective for God. We must first

yield our hearts TOTALLY to Him so that He and He alone can work

through us to show the Grace of God.

Verse 5 - “Now therefore perform the doing of it;” It is not just

enough to know that it is right, we must do what is right. The

Bible tells us, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and

doeth it not, to him it is sin.” (James 4:17) Therefore we need to

perform the doing of it as God has instructed us.

When we look at stewardship, it is giving, giving of one’s time,

talents, love, tithe, offerings and everything that God expects of

us. The question you must ask yourself is this, “Am I willing to do

what others have done for me so that someone can hear the

Good News of God’s Word?

Pastor Mike Sanders
Mark 6:34-43

In the story of the little boy and the five loaves, we see how God

prepares us to accomplish a miracle through us. First we must…

Admit You Have A Need For A Miracle. Vs 34-37

God won’t help you until you admit you need help. What are you

asking God to do that only He can do?

Find Out What You Have To Work With. Vs 38-40

Two Questions to ask. What do I have? What am I doing with it?

God always starts with what I have when he wants to do a

miracle. Has God ever asked you to do something that is humanly

impossible?

Give God Whatever You Have. Vs 41

He asked them to give what they had. When the disciples

searched and discovered only one boy who had 5 loaves and

2 fishes — they asked him to give it to Jesus. (John 6:9) Jesus

took that small amount of food and used it to create

abundance.

God will use whatever I give Him. God doesn’t want what you

have, he wants what it represents - your heart.

Expect God to Multiply What You Give Him. Vs 42-43

Whatever I give God, He gives me more back. While we’re waiting

for God to do something for us, He is waiting to do something in

us and through us.

Pastor Chuck Rathel

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Luke 12:34

Most of us don’t like to carry a lot of money around with us,

so we put our money in the bank and when we need something,

we just write a check or use our debit card to pay for it. It is

important to keep track of all of the purchases you have made

so you don’t spend more money than you have in the bank. Each

time we make a purchase, we record that purchase. That way

we have a record of exactly how much money we have spent

and where we spent it. You know, you can tell a lot about people

by looking at their spending habits. You can tell what is really

important to them by how they spend their money.

Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there will be your heart

also.” The heart is a symbol of love. So, what Jesus is saying, is

that you can tell what a person really loves by what he

treasures the most. How do you know what a person treasures

the most? Do you ask them what is the most important thing in

their lives? No.

There are two ways you can tell what is important to a

person. The first is how they spend their money and the second

is how they spend their time. If we say that we love God, but

spend all of our money on ourselves, do we really love God or

self? If we say we love God, but never spend any time with Him,

do we really love God? Jesus said that we should love our

neighbor as ourselves. If we say we love our neighbor but never

share what God has given us, do we really love our neighbor? You

don’t learn what a person’s treasure is by asking him. You learn

by where they spend their time and their money. Look at the

things you spend your time and money on and ask yourself,

“What is most important to me?”

Pastor Mike Sanders

The Philippian Christians had learned the secret of joyful, liberal financial

giving. The church in Philippi had taken up an offering to give to Paul, in

prison because of his faith. Paul wrote back to the church and expressed

his joy.

(Philippians 4:10 ESV) I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have

revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no

opportunity.

Giving makes us joyful because it revives our concern (v. 10)

Giving takes the focus from ourselves and puts it onto someone or

something else.

Giving makes us joyful because it teaches us contentment (v. 11-13)

Can a Christian really attain joyful contentment, especially in our

materialistic world? Yes (Read verse 13). From our union with Jesus comes

the strength to learn contentment.

Giving makes us joyful because it allows

us to become partners in ministry (v. 14)

The Open Door Church recognizes the importance of partnering with one

another. We do this through the Faith Promise Missions Giving, an ingenious

missions support plan that allows us to do far more together than we

could individually.

Giving makes us joyful because it pays spiritual dividends (vv. 17-18)

A study of the giving patterns in churches of five major denominations

revealed that those who commit to tithe, give an average of $4,042 per

year. Those giving “what they can afford each week” average $1,882.

Seventy-five percent of the money given to churches comes from 25

percent of the people. These figures show just how many people are

missing the blessings that result from giving.

Giving makes us joyful because it grows our faith in God (v. 19)

As we give financially to the Lord’s work, we become keepers of the

flame. We help spread the gospel message. We meet people’s needs. We

assist people in growing spiritually. We enable our churches to shine as

God’s light in the world. Such privileges fill our hearts with joy.

Pastor Doug Kaler

Romans 6:13

“And do not present your members as instruments of

unrighteousness to sin: but present yourselves to God as being

alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of

righteousness to God.” (NKJV)

Tongue

Your tongue should always give praise to the Lord (Ps 66:17). Do

not use your tongue to give glory to yourself or worldly things.

(Ps34:13) Give all you say to the Lord.

Hands

Be quick to use your hands for God’s work. Do not let your

hands accomplish works that glorify un-Godly things. Give all

your manual labor to the Lord.

Feet

Always walk in the Light of the Lord (Psalm 89:15). Do not let

your feet guide you to things of this world that would displease

God. Give all your paths to the Lord.

Ears

Listen to things that glorify our Father. Do not listen to songs

or things that will lead you away from God. Give all that you hear

to the Lord.

Mind

Have thoughts of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord. Never

let your mind wander on things of destruction or ruin that will

bring harm to Jesus Christ (Phil 4:8). Give all you thoughts to the

Lord.

Heart

Love God with all your heart and give Him all of your heart today.

Do not let your heart get hard with the sins of this world. Give

your all to the Lord.

Serve God today with all of your heart, soul, spirit and physical

being so that others might come to know Him through your

faithfulness.

Pastor Jeremy Blount

Amos, chapters 4 and 5, have some harsh realities that God

addresses with boldness. In 4:1 the people were oppressing the

poor and crushing the needy. God says to them, in 4:4, “Come to

Bethel and transgress, at Gilgal multiply transgression; Bring

your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days. In

4:5 “Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, proclaim and

announce the freewill offerings; for this you love, you children of

Israel!” says the Lord God.”

These people were not living their lives as God desired. They were

giving their tithes and offerings, but they were doing it with the

wrong heart and the wrong motive. They were not taking care

of the poor and needy and they were giving their tithes and

offerings so that others would see how great they were.

I believe this passage points out that God’s people were not

living their lives according to His word. They were doing good

things, but their hearts were wrong. They were doing it their

way, not Gods, and they loved it.

I think we, too, find ourselves living opposite of God’s commands.

He desires for us to bring our tithes and our offerings. He

blesses us so that we can be a blessing, and yet we hold on to

our money. We, like these people, oppress the poor and crush

the needy. God warns them in chapter 5. “You have built stone

mansions, you will not live in them; though you have planted lush

vineyards, you will not drink their wine.”

Are you giving? Are you giving the way YOU love to give or the

way that God desires for you to give? How is your heart? Are

you living for God or yourself?

Pastor Mike Sanders

D. James Kennedy tells a story of a man who came to Peter

Marshall, former chaplain of the Unites States Senate, with a

concern about tithing. He said: “I have a problem. I have been

tithing for some time. It wasn’t too bad when I was making

$20,000 a year. I could afford to give the $2,000. But you see, now

I am making $500,000, and there is just no way I can afford to

give away $50,000 a year.”

Dr. Marshall reflected on this wealthy man’s dilemma but gave

no advice. He simply said: “Yes, sir. I see that you do have a

problem. I think we ought to pray about it. Is that all right?”

The man agreed, so Dr. Marshall bowed his head and prayed with

boldness and authority. “Dear Lord, this man has a problem, and

I pray that you will help him. Lord, reduce his salary back to the

place where he can afford to tithe.” Kevin G. Harney, Seismic

Shifts (Zondervan, 2005), p. 200

We need to think biblically about money, because money

matters are profoundly spiritual at their core. The way we look

at and use money is a sure barometer of our spiritual

condition.

(1 Timothy 6:17 KJV) “Charge them that are rich in this world, that

they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the

living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy”.

Pastor Carl McKee

Luke 6: 38  “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed

down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into

your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it

shall be measured to you again.”

What a wonderful verse with a tremendous promise from

God. This verse speaks of acts of charity or the giving of one’s

resources.

The illustration used to demonstrate how we are to give to

others is in how to make a good measure of grain. First the grain

is poured into a basket and then shaken to make room for more

grain. Then, it is pressed down with the hands to compact it and

make room for even more grain and finally more grain is poured

in until it overflows.

What a beautiful picture of how God blesses those who

willingly give to His work and His people. The blessings may come

immediately or in the future, but we can be assured God is

faithful to His promises.

Are we giving to bless and help others? When we are obedient

to His will, we are blessed beyond measure.

I trust you will see the joy there is in giving to others.