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Month #4
Sunday Bulletin
The amount of money we have is determined by God.
“But remember the Lord your God, for it is he
who gives you power to get wealth” (Deut. 8:18).
© Kenneth L. Williams
Christ the King Lutheran - Omaha, NE - Month #4
Month #4
Lay Speaker Presentation
Speaker’s Name:
“But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth” (Deut.
8:18).
The amount of money we have is determined by God. According to His wisdom and
sovereignty, God has placed each of us at some point on the economic spectrum. He has
entrusted some people with considerable wealth; to others, He has provided lesser
amounts.
The Bible does not assume that it is wrong for people to make money, but rather, it
clearly states that God allows people to earn money. Solomon said that money is one of
God’s many gifts to mankind. In fact, in Ecclesiastes 5, Solomon said that God wants us
to enjoy the fruit of our labor, namely, money which we have earned and the things it can
buy.
David expressed it this way in his prayer recorded in the 29th chapter of First Chronicles:
“Yours, O Lord, are the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty; for
all that is in the heavens and on the earth is yours; yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you
are exalted as head above all. Riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In
your hand are power and might; and it is in your hand to make great and to give strength
to all. And now, our God, we give thanks to you and praise your glorious name.”
When you stop to think about it, Christians have a great thing going when it comes to
money. According to this passage and to other scriptures, God gives us the power and
ability to get wealth. He provides the energy, the stamina, the mental and physical ability,
the creative juices, and whatever else it takes for us to earn a living. As we saw recently,
since God owns everything, He is actually enabling us to earn that which is rightfully His.
What is really great about God’s plan from our perspective is that He then provides a
blessing to us for giving back to Him what was His in the first place! Sometimes the
prayer offered before our church offering is received includes the thought that we are only
giving back to God a portion of what He has given us. That prayer is very scriptural, for
in the First Chronicles passage, David said, “For all things come from you, and of your
own we have given you.”
In reality, then, there is no such thing as a self-made man or woman. As the Apostle Paul
so clearly asked the believers at Corinth, “For who sees anything different in you? What
do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Cor. 4:7). This morning as you give to God,
remember the source of your funds. Yes, you did your part by working and by laboring by
“the sweat of your brow,” but in reality, God gave you the ability to get money.
© Kenneth L. Williams
Christ the King Lutheran - Omaha, NE - Month #4
And as the old chorus by Wendell Loveless asks, “After all He’s done for me, After all
He’s done for me, How can I do less than give Him my best, And live for Him
completely, After all He’s done for me?”
© Kenneth L. Williams
Christ the King Lutheran - Omaha, NE - Month #4
Applying Bible Principles
There are some wonderful principles in the Old Testament which apply to present-day
Christians. One of these is in Deuteronomy 8:10-18. Stated in contemporary language, it
says, “When you have eaten and are full, when your cars, houses and bank accounts
multiply, don’t forget where it came from: Remember the Lord your God.”
In truth, all that we have comes from God. He determines what we will receive, whether
it be money, gold, silver, houses, land, bank accounts, stocks, bonds, etc. It all belongs to
Him in the first place, and He entrusts it to us. According to David’s prayer in 1
Chronicles 29, riches, honor, power, and wealth all come from God.
That’s why there is no such thing as a self-made man or woman. Oh, we have to do our
part. God’s plan is not that we just sit around praying and reading the Bible all day long
so that what we need to survive will miraculously drop into our hands. We’re not just to
pray for “our daily bread,” but we’re also to get up each day and work for it! That’s why
the Apostle Paul stated clearly, “Anyone unwilling to work should not eat” (2 Thes.
3:10). But in reality, the amount of money and wealth which we receive is determined by
God. According to His divine will and knowledge, He entrusts to each of us the amounts
which He knows will be best for us.
What should be our reaction to our financial state? Some might pray, “Dear Lord, you
must have made a mistake concerning me and my finances. Please give me more money.”
Others might try to circumvent God’s design for their lives by trying to win the lottery or
to obtain large sums of money through some other means. Mature Christians, however,
will realize God’s infinite wisdom far surpasses their limited perspective. They will
accept with a thankful spirit what God has entrusted to them and seek to honor God by
their living and by their giving.
© Kenneth L. Williams
Christ the King Lutheran - Omaha, NE - Month #4
Instruction to S.S. Teachers and Youth Workers
Month #4
This month, we are seeking to emphasize the scriptural truth that the amount of money
we have is determined by God. Read these verses aloud in class:
Deuteronomy 8:10-18
1 Chronicles 29:11-14
1 Corinthians 4:7
Relatively few Christians are very wealthy people. Most are average or below average
when it comes to the amount of their possessions. Why doesn’t God entrust greater
wealth to more of His people? Could one of the primary reasons be that we cannot handle
it, that we will think that we alone are responsible for our wealth? Could it be that we will
ignore the admonition from Deuteronomy 8 and “forget the Lord” when our material
possessions increase?
Ask your students this key question: If you were to inherit $20 million without advance
notice or any effort on your part, how would it change your lifestyle? Would it cause you
to walk closer to God, or would it possibly make you less dependent on Him?
Sad to say, for most of us, such a sum of money (especially tax free!) would harm our
relationship to God. It would cause us to become independent and self-centered. It would
take first place in our lives and become the one thing around which we would build our
entire existence.
Emphasize to your students that money is a gift from God (Ecclesiastes 5:19), and we are
to enjoy the fruit of our labor, namely, money and the things which money can buy. There
is nothing wrong with this. But emphasize as well that money is only the means to a dual
end: To enable us to live, and to glorify God. And how we view what God has entrusted
to us makes all the difference in this life and the life to come.
© Kenneth L. Williams
Christ the King Lutheran - Omaha, NE - Month #4