HouseParty 2007:Money Matters

i came out of this houseparty pretty encouraged. some of the things really hit me..which im thankful for having such a great speaker and also God for allowing him to put on such great talks. Some of the things that really hit me from Wal.

Talk 2: Which Master will I serve?

2 Masters

No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Matthew 6:24

The right trail

recognising anxiety - Wal was talking about a story..how there was a guy that bought a new car and deliberately made a dent in his car. You may ask, "what fool would do such a thing?". The man did it so he would not care for the car in the sense to not feel the anxiety an average person would due to from an accidental scratch. At this i thought "wow". That's pretty gutsy but it was real encouraging. I've had my fair scratches and i can honestly say i've been tempted to 'touch' them up with paint. I figured i could spend that money on the car (ultimately on myself) or someone in need of it. The latter option was the right one.

Talk 3:God loves a cheerful giver

Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Cor 9:7

Another great point made during this section of the study. During my early years of being a christian it felt like a burden giving to the offertry. One major factor was that i was on low income (or so it seemed). I forgot the money given was to support the people in the church (obviously these guys weren't paid by the government). At the start of this year i upped my giving. We were exposed to expenses of the church and its expectations. I had decided to up my offerings as i genuinely thought that it would benefit the church by providing the services outlined that it would aim to fulfill. Quickly my mind had thought "hmmm..how long can i keep this up by offering X amount of money every month.. i feel like im gonna cut back!"

Wal then said during the talk. If you are struggling ask why. Are you still storing up? Not trusting what God has already given? Is money still your master? The last point really hit me. For me to realise that it was to build God's kingdom was an awesome thing. Why should i waste my money on MYSELF and buy endless amount of clothes, electronics when it could be greatly used to help out the NEEDY..not on myself (that being the WANTY :P).

Being Content

Implications

1.the accumulation of goods

its not hard to figure that over time ive noticed from my trip from Hong Kong after accumulating so many clothes there have been times of wanting more. Its a real scary thing i reckn. I dont need that many clothes at all. As i've said b4..money could be put in good use in God's eyes.

I need to remember that the money i earn from work is God's money and at the same time to respect that. It must be part of my logical make up but i end it with this..

Where will it get me if spend most of God's money on myself as opposed to where will it get me to spend the money on those that really need it and in turn to build God's kingdom?