Investment of our treasure through regular and proportional giving exposes a heart of faithfulness that moves us toward a growing relationship with Jesus...

This week we are looking at the third of the three ways a person who is involved in a growing and maturing relationship with Jesus will invest their lives. We are discovering why consistently investing our treasure in a way that reveals and reflects the generosity of Jesus through regular and proportional giving results in a growing and maturing relationship with Jesus. To do that, we are looking at a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Luke.

In Luke 16:10, Jesus, after telling a parable, explained that when it comes to how we handle the money possessions, and treasure we have been given, the issue is not about the amount of money, possessions, and treasure. Instead, the issue is faithfulness. Jesus point is that if we are unfaithful, we are unfaithful; whether it is with $10, $100, or $1,000,000.

After exposing the problem, Jesus revealed for us the reality that how we handle money, possessions, and treasure here on earth impacts the depth of our relationship with God and our spiritual maturity. Jesus used two rhetorical questions to hammer His point home. First, in verse 11, Jesus revealed that if we are unable to demonstrate faithfulness with the temporary treasure that we are given while on earth, then we will be unable to demonstrate faithfulness with the vastly greater spiritual treasure that flows out of a growing and maturing relationship with Him.

Then, Jesus asked a second rhetorical question in verse 12: “If you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?” Jesus point is that is we are unfaithful with someone else’s treasure, we prove to be unworthy of being given anything of our own. Jesus makes that point unmistakably clear as He concludes His explanation of this parable in verse 13:

"No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."

Here we see Jesus expose the heart issue that lies beneath our faithfulness of unfaithfulness: no servant can serve two masters.  Now when Jesus uses the word serve here, He is referring to someone who acts in total allegiance and total commitment to someone or something. Jesus point is that you cannot be totally and faithfully committed to two differing options. Jesus is reminding His followers that we cannot serve God and money because we will only be faithful to what we are devoted to.

The timeless reality is that God, on the one hand, and money, possessions, and treasure, on the other hand, compete for our total devotion. We will either be totally devoted to God, or we will be totally devoted to money, possessions, and treasure. Jesus point is that how we manage the treasure that we have been given reveals who or what we place our faith and trust in. And the level of faithfulness that we demonstrate when it comes to managing the temporary treasure that we have while on earth serves to provide the proof and reveal the depth of our faith. Because the measure for how well we manage the money and possession we have received from God is faithfulness.

And in is here in this statement by Jesus, that we discover a timeless reason why investing our treasure in a way that reveals and reflects the generosity of Jesus through regular and proportional giving will result in a growing and maturing relationship with Jesus. And that timeless reason is this: Investment of our treasure through regular and proportional giving exposes a heart of faithfulness that moves us toward a growing relationship with Jesus.

The timeless reality that that individuals who are involved in a growing and maturing relationship with Jesus Christ consistently invest their treasure in a way that reveals and reflects the generosity of Jesus through regular and proportional giving. And because of this reality we have set as a goal that everyone who attends City Bible Church would be investing their treasure in a way that reveals and reflects the generosity of Jesus.

We feel strongly about this goal because we believe that transformational spiritual growth occurs when we are leveraging the treasure that we have been given to create environments where people can explore faith, grow in their faith, and experience genuine and authentic community. We feel strongly about this goal because we believe that Jesus teaches us that, as His followers, we are to be generous because He is generous. And when we reflect the generosity of Jesus by being open handed and generous with the money, possessions and treasure He has given us, we reveal and reflect Jesus to others.

However, to invest our treasure through regular and proportional giving in a way that exposes a heart of faithfulness that moves us toward a growing relationship with Jesus requires that we recognize two very important things. The first thing that a person who is engaged in a growing relationship with Jesus will recognize when it comes to money is that God owns everything. If you think you own anything, let me ask you a question: What happens to everything that you own after you die? You see, you do not own anything; you are only managing it while you are here on earth. The Psalmist best captures this reality in Psalm 50:12:

"If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains.

And because God owns everything, a person who is involved in a growing and maturing relationship with Jesus will make a shift in thinking when it comes to how they invest and handle their money and finances from “What am I going to do with all of my money” to “What does God want me to do with all of His money”?

The second thing that a person who is engaged in a growing relationship with Jesus will recognize when it comes to money is that God requires that we honor Him with our finances. A person who is involved in a growing and maturing relationship with Jesus will demonstrate that they treasure Jesus as their ultimate treasure by giving back a portion of the treasure that they have received from Jesus back to Jesus through regular and proportional giving so that treasure can be leveraged into the kingdom mission we have been given by Jesus.  

A person who is involved in a growing and maturing relationship with Jesus will give regularly and proportionally because they recognize that God is the owner of everything. A person who is involved in a growing and maturing relationship with Jesus will recognize all that God has given them and that He only asks for 10% of what He has given them and lets them use the remaining 90% of His money.

But not only will a person who is involved in a growing and maturing relationship with Jesus honor Him with their finances; a person who is involved in a growing and maturing relationship with Jesus will be faithful in whatever God gives them. God requires us to be faithful in 100% of God’s money, not just 10% of my money, because God is the owner. And the issue is faithfulness with whatever we are given. The standard is the same, whether you make $100 a year in allowance, $1,000 a year; $30,000 a year; or $100,000 a year.

Because the issue isn’t money or finances; the issue is faithfulness. You see, God uses money to reveal what is in our heart. God uses money to reveal what we are really devoted to. And God uses money to test and grow our faith. And the investment of our treasure through regular and proportional giving exposes a heart of faithfulness that moves us toward a growing relationship with Jesus.

So here is a question to consider: Are you being faithful with what you have been given? And what does how you handle the money, possessions, and treasure that you have been given reveal about where you are spiritually?

Because, as we have discovered, the investment of our treasure through regular and proportional giving exposes a heart of faithfulness that moves us toward a growing relationship with Jesus.