Trusting God in Troubled Times 

Sermon #39  – What is the Blessing of Giving?

Genesis 47:13 – 31

Trust the Lord with your money. 

We are stewards not owners. 

3 major themes in the Bible:

  • Sin (Jesus forgives it)
  • Suffering (Jesus provides comfort)
  • Stewardship (Everything ultimately belongs to the Lord)

About 800 verses in the Bible talk about stewardship.

2 principles in Joseph’s life:

  • If you want to do great things you have to start with the little things and wait for an opportunity from the Lord (Luke 16:10)
  • You will either love money and use people, or you will love people and use money to bless people (Matt. 6:24)

Genesis 47:13 – 31

  • Just because God increases your income doesn’t mean you should increase your spending. 
  • Believers need to have wisdom, discretion, and integrity in the marketplace
  • It is easy to criticize a leader, it is hard to be a leader
  • Spirituality is a failure
  • The two biggest pain points in life tend to be family and finance 
  • We need to think biblically rather than culturally

The world puts people in two categories: rich and poor. The political spectrum is based on this.

Four categories of people according to the Bible

  • Honorable rich people
  • Dishonorable rich people 
  • Honorable poor people
  • Dishonorable poor people

Which category is Joseph in? At first he was poor yet honorable when he was a slave and in prision. Later he was honorable and rich.

Which category was Jesus in? He was poor yet honorable, he still paid his taxes and tithed. Today, Jesus is ruling and reigning in Heaven. 

It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, it matters if you are like Jesus. 

Your income does not change your behavior. We need to think in terms of honor and what Jesus would do rather than worldly terms. 

3 Christian approaches to money:

  • Prosperity theology (I give to get)
  • Poverty theology (stuff is bad, say that money is the root of all evil)
  • Generosity theology (whether you are poor or rich be honorable and share God’s heart of generosity, Acts 20:35)

The goal is not what you have or don’t have, it’s about loving the Lord. 

The giving is the blessing. Giving brings joy. It is more blessed to give than to receive.

God is a great giver. He takes 100% of our sin and completely pays off our debt. He is a great forgiver.

Following seven years of incredible prosperity, there came seven years of incredible poverty. As nations were on the brink of starving to death during a famine, God raised up his servant Joseph to manage the crisis and steward one of the largest business deals recorded in all of Scripture. In this section of Scripture, we learn the blessing of giving. And, we also will consider whether or not Joseph has acted with integrity in his business dealings – something that has been debated for a very long time by God’s people.
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