Sermon Title: Trust in the Lord (Finances)Sermon Text: Prov 3:5-6Preached on: July 17th, 2011Rob Fleshman

Opening: Bow heads.pray. I am going to preach this morning on trusting God. And probably most of us would say in general that we trust in God, but this morning and again tonight, we are not going to deal in generalities. This morning, and then again tonight, we are going to look at two areas in the life of every born again child of God, that are essential. Two critical areas that left to him/herself, everyone in here would try to control, and position, and posture, and scheme, instead of just simply taking God at His Word and trusting in Him. How many in the service this morning will say with an open, honest heart, God, I dont know what Pastor is preaching this morning so much, but I know He will preach the Bible. And God, I know many of the truths in this Book, but I dont want to just KNOW truth, I want to live the truth. Please help me to live the Bible truths that are preached from the pulpit this morning. With raised hands, how many would say, thats my heart this morningI want to live the truths in this Book, and specifically, I want to live the truths that you are going to preach from this Book this morning.

Proverbs 3:5-6-- 5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 are two of countless verses that need to go FROM this Book TO your and my heart. We live in a day and age where, by and large, we trust in ourselves with all our heart, and lean on our own understanding. But scripture admonishes us to trust in God, and God alone. I believe it comes down to a matter of the heart...God wants your heart! Yes, its dirty, and flawed, The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). But the reason God wants our heart is that by the power of the Holy Spirit working in you and working in me, He wants to change it; to clean it. Only God can cleanse our heart; Proverbs 20:9 tells us that no man can make his own heart clean, which is why we need to pray to God as David did and ask God to.Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

Why the battle for the heart? Because God asks for our heart that we might learn to trust Him more and more and more and more. God wants His children to trust in Him with all their heart.and unless God has your heart, He will not have your trust. REPEAT. Proverbs 31:10-11--10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. 11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. Satan is absolutely, undeniably, and thoroughly spoiling the lives of countless Christians, because this world, which Satan is the little g god of, has a pull on you and your heart is divided. Matthew 6:24--No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. No where are our hearts more divided, and apart from salvation, perhaps no where does the Christian need to trust God more than in this matter of money.

II Will Trust God With the Whole of my FINANCES (Luke 6:38)TURN TO PROVERBS 11. Quote: One man was speaking about his finances. He said, I am like a walking economy. My hairline is in recession, my waistline is going through inflation, and together they are pushing me to depression. It might interest you to know that Jesus talked about money in over 1/3 of His parables. The Bible devotes some 500 verses on prayer, far less than those many verses on faith, but some 2000 verses on money and possessions. Let me just say up front that giving is a hard command. We are TAKERS by nature Apart from God, we are covetous and greedy and discontented. We want more & more & more, and are never satisfied. Proverbs 27:20--Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied. Many Christians today are enslaved by selfishness; a selfishness that cannot be broken until we fully and completely trust God with all our hearts and lean not to our own understanding. Quote: Someone was trying to convince the great radio preacher and Bible commentator, J. Vernon McGee that, while he did not tithe and give like he should to the Lords work, that he still was trusting in God. McGee said, Dont tell me youre trusting God until you trust Him with your pocketbook. Nothing brings us to the realization of our priorities better than hearing what God has to say about the subject of money. Giving isnt about the church needing your money, but God wanting your heart. Who or what has your heart, has your wallet. But, when it comes to money and giving, we can be hard of hearing.

Illustration: Its like the story of the doctor whos driving down the road. He looks out his car window and he saw an elderly man jogging along the side of the road with a very young, beautiful woman. As he looked at the elderly guy he realized, That old man is my patient. So he stopped his car, rolled down his window and hollered to the elderly man. Hey, what are you doing? and the old man realizing that it was his doctor said, Im just doing what you told me to do on my last visit into your office. You told me to get a hot mama and be care free. The doctor looked at him bewildered and said, I told you, you had a heart murmur and be careful! Youre in Proverbs 11, NOW TURN TO LUKE 6. Lets look at some scripture on this matter of trusting God with our finances, and not leaning to our own understanding. Our own understanding says make all you can, and can all you get. But Gods plan is to make all you can, and then to give all you can. And the same degree to which you give, you will likewise receive. 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. Proverbs 11:24-25--24 There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. 25 The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. Now when the Bible says the liberal soul shall be made fat, it is not talking politics and liberals vs conservatives; Liberal here means that the freely giving soul, shall be rewarded. Now, in OUR understanding, it makes no sense that in order to accumulate, we must distribute. In order to get, we must give. But we are not talking this morning about your understanding or my understanding, but Gods. We are not talking about your ways or my ways, but Gods ways. Isaiah 55:8-9--8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. And so in Gods wisdom, when we follow Gods plan and we give Him the tithe, and we give as He leads, and we are generous towards others, and we give willingly, and liberally to Gods church, then He will bless us and we will have plenty. TURN TO Mal 3. Illustration: Like me, some of you are old enough to remember a marketing venture by the PepsiCo company known as the "Pepsi Challenge." In 1975, Pepsi decided to test whether Americans preferred Pepsi or Coca Cola as their soda of choice. To test their theory that Pepsi was preferred, they set up tables in malls and stores across America. At the table were two unmarked cups, one containing Pepsi, the other Coke. The testers asked passers-by to try the two drinks and state which they preferred. Once the tasters' opinion was recorded, the testers would reveal to them which drink they chose. PepsiCo struck gold with the Pepsi Challenge. People recognized the "testing tables" wherever they went, and Pepsi won the taste test. Buttons were even made that said "I took the Pepsi Challenge." . I remember taking the Pepsi Challenge right here at Bobs Food Mart, and I picked Coke. I did not get a button. Apparently, they did not want anyone to know my choice. I took the Pepsi challenge a few years later, and picked Coke again. And today, I still pick Coke. Notice with me if you will another challenge of a much more important sort that is given today. Malachi 3:10-11 shows us the "God Challenge." God states the challenge to His people.10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. 11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. Dont miss the instruction of prove me. when God says, prove me, He is issuing a challenge; a challenge to you regards your personal finances. It's God vs. the economy; God vs. your bank account; God vs. your budget. God vs your way of thinking. God says, "I have all you need to survive and thrive and prosper in life. Will you trust your own ways of financial survival or will you trust Me?"While those that took the Pepsi challenge received a button afterward, those that take the God challenge receive much more than a button; they receive blessings unimaginable. God promises to open the windows of Heaven and pour out heavenly blessings to those who take up His challenge. He promises that as you trust Him over your own financial plans, He will bless you more than you can receive. So with that truth, what are some reasons we dont tithe? What are some reasons we dont give to God that which He requires? Well, let me share with you three core reasons. 1) TURN TO 1 COR 16. There are those Christians that simply dont know what Gods Word has to say about giving back to Him. Perhaps they are new in their faith, or maybe they have been saved for awhile, but just never have been taught from the pulpit, or read in the Bible for themselves, Gods plan for giving. 1 Cor 16:1-2--1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. 2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. Let me make the math on this real simplelets say a teen over here works p/t and makes $120/week. That means come Sunday, as a minimum, we are to give back the tithe, 10% which would be $12, in this example. Some adult makes $450/week. They are to give back as God has prospered them, and God has prospered them more, so they give $45/week. Illustration: My leap of faith in tithing. OK, so, if you are a Christian that doesnt tithe, and not knowing what Gods Word has to say about it WAS your reason for not tithing.well, now you know. You are either going to have to tithe or come up with another excuse!

2) TURN BACK TO MAL 3. Vss 8-9 offers some perspective on a second reason, but let me just say, I dont think this is nearly as common as the 1st or 3rd reasons that I will share. Malachi 3:8-9--8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. 9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Illus: A father gave his little girl two dollars and said, You can do anything you want with one of the dollars, but the other dollar belongs to God. With joy she ran to the candy store. On the way she tripped and one dollar fell into the storm drain. She got up and said, Well Lord, there goes Your dollar. Now we laugh at that.but listen to me, some unexpected expense comes up thats not in the family budget, and where does that money to cover that expense come from? The money comes from robbing God.

So, a second reason that we dont tithe and give as we ought, and I am going to say it just like God said it, no sugar coating, is that we have robbed him. This group of Christians is not like #1, they KNOW they are supposed to tithe.but giving back to God means that they are not going to be able to maintain their standard of living, because their tithing check is going every month to GMAC, or to Ford Financing, or to pay the credit card bill from last summers overseas vacation. TURN TO GEN 14. One of the most common excuses I have heard for not tithing from this group, in an effort to salve the conscience, is this, The tithe was part of the law.we are not under the law, but Grace. True, we are not under the law, but under grace, but God in His foreknowledge from eternity past knew that there would be a handful of His children that would think this way and rob Him, and so He put time/date stamps on BOTH SIDES of the law affirming the tithe.

Hundreds of years before the Law, Gen 14:18-20--18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. 19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: 20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. So, hundreds of years BEFORE the Law, Abraham gave tithes of all to Melchizedek, a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. TURN TO Matthew 23:23--Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. So, several thousands years AFTER the giving of the Law, the Lord Jesus Christ affirms the tithe. Now, He also says that there are far weightier matters to be considered than this, but nonetheless, there you have it. Tithing that predates the law. Tithing as part of the law. And tithing that post dates the law.

3) And this is the most common reason, I believe, of the three for why many Christians dont tithe. Fear. We are simply afraid to step out in faith and to trust God.a. Its not that we dont want to see the cause of Christ flourish around us. We do. b. Its not that we dont want to see souls saved, and new ministries taken on. We do.c. If I could personalize it just a bit here at Midway Baptist ChurchIts not that we dont want to see us support new missionaries like the Fluegges to the Dominican Republic, and the Grove Family to New Zealand. We do. d. Its not that we dont want to see our parking lot expanded, and a carport built at the entrance, and a nice looking sign out front. We do.e. Its not that we dont want to see some basketball goals go up and some flooring go down, in our gymnasium. We do.f. Its not that we dont want to see four upstairs classrooms completed, and a steeple go up on top of the building. We do. We absolutely do.

We want all these things and more for our church, BUT we are fearful. 2 Timothy 1:7--For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Many people, good people, saved people, nice people, lack the faith to TRUST an unseen God with a seen problem. God tells them to trust, but all they see are the bills and the lack of sufficient income. Proverbs 3:5-10 --5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. [If you are going to fear...anything or anyonefear the Lord!] 8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. 9 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: 10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.