Acts 10:1-5
There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, 2 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. 3 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, "Cornelius!" 4 And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, "What is it, lord?"
So he said to him, "Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter.
“It means a monument to preserve the remembrance of a person or thing”
Prayer and Giving was a memorial
Moved the heart of God – God says, “I can’t forget about them”
Salvation for family
How we use our money can move God
When you talk about money, people think you’re trying to take it from them
Many times they feel shame
I’m here to add value to you and your life
Isa 48:17. "I am the Lord your God, Who teaches you to profit (succeed – NET), Who leads you by the way you should go.
But, information without application is poverty
The Bible says a lot about money
Jesus says a lot about money
Jesus says it’s a measure of the heart
Matt 6:21. For where your treasure (wealth, riches) is, there your heart will be also.
For where your money is, that’s where your heart will be
Money can actually become a god, and come between us and God our Savior
Don’t serve money – make money serve you
Money is a tool… which we must learn to master – it’s not bad or evil
Eccl 10:19. Money answers everything.
Make Friends of Mammon
Luke 16:9. And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon.
How?
1. Spend time with it
I didn’t say “Spend it,” I said “Spend time with it”
How much time do you spend with your money?
Do you have plans to get rid of it before you even get it?
Blacks aren’t very good friends of money – we don’t spend enough time with it
As soon as we make it, we spend it
We don't invest it, or use it to produce
Matt 25:29. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.
If you want friends, you must be friendly. Prov 18:24
2. Check on it & account for it (care what happens to it)
You must pay attention to your financial status
Too many avoid addressing the reality of their financial situation
Open your mail; look at bank statements & credit card statements
It’s costing you interest, messing up your credit & blocking more money
Budget & Save
Know how much you have so that you will know what you can and cannot do
Prov 21:5. The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty,
But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.
3. Divide & Multiply it
Eccl 11:2. Divide your investments among many places,
for you do not know what risks might lie ahead. NLT
From the beginning, we were created to multiply and increase
Divide: “don’t put all of your eggs in one basket”
Jesus speaks repeatedly about “unprofitable servants
Matt 25:24-30
"Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.'
26 "But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.
29 'For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
4. Change Your Name
Prov 22:1. A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,
Credit: Your reputation for character and integrity, entitling you to be trusted
God cares deeply about your name & your debt
Established Year of Jubilee – released from debt
God is in the Debt Cancellation Business
God doesn’t want anything to interfere with our ability to be servants of The Most High:
Prov 22:7. The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
Debt & poor stewardship prevents us from the full definition of “good”
Prov 13:22. A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children
If not a miracle, God wants to give you a plan for Debt Release
What’s in your house? – 2 Kings 4
5. Trust God & Don’t Be Afraid When He Asks You for Some
Prov 11:25. The generous soul will be made rich,
And he who waters will also be watered himself.
1 Kings 17:10-16
The Lord told Elijah go to Zarephath. “I have commanded a widow to provide for you."
A widow was there gathering sticks.
10 He called to her and said, "Please bring me a little water in a cup that I may drink." 11 As she was going to get it, he said, "Please bring me some bread."
12 So she said, "As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die."
13 And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the Lord God of Israel: 'The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.'"
15 So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah.
God told her she was going to have to give
But He waited until she had only a little bit left to put the demand on her
The Word of the Lord ~vs~ the reality of the situation
The responsibility of a single mother – she wasn’t being selfish
She said “Yes” to what didn’t cost her – the cup of water
You pray for more
Instead of receiving more, you’re challenged to give the little you have left
Now God was “His God” vs. 12
Do not fear
If you’re doing what God told you to do, He’s obligated to remember you
When she gave, God continually gave to her
“Give when you have little. You’ll teach your brain that there is more than enough. You leave scarcity behind & move toward a world of abundance.”
Prov 3:9. Honor the LORD with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; So your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.
Cause and effect