Day 24 - Delivery Man

Key #7 – God Prospers Us to Give Not Have More


2 Corinthians 9:10-11
• God has given most of us considerable material blessings especially when judged from the prism of all human history
• Have you ever wondered why he has provided you with so much?
• What is Paul’s answer to that question here?
• Paul says that we have been made rich in every way so that . . .
• Prosperity gospel would finish that sentence thusly, “so that we might live in wealth, showing the world how much God blesses those who love him.”
• But Paul says that it is so that we can be generous on every occasion
• We aren’t given money to indulge ourselves, to get more, or to spoil our children; it’s so we can give generously
• When God provides more money it is a blessing but it’s also a test
• We are God’s money managers and he is generous
• He doesn’t demand we live in poverty or keep us from spending reasonably on ourselves
• We need to be very careful to not cross the line of reasonable to where we are encroaching on the master’s generosity

• Do you see the purpose of the blessings that you have to be so that you can give more generously?
• How does embracing the idea of being given to so that we can give change the normal view of handling our wealth?


1 Corinthians 4:1-2
• We are required to prove faithful with everything that God has given us in Christ
• There’s a point where we can go beyond spending what’s reasonable and start squandering money that is not meant for us on ourselves
• We are God’s delivery men and women and we should keep that in mind when setting our own salaries and living expenses
• Let’s not over estimate our value
• We don’t own the store, we just work here

2 Corinthians 8:14-15
• Imagine if you gave a UPS guy a package and he took it home and opened it up for himself?
• Just because God puts his money in our hands doesn’t mean he intends for it to stay there

• Do you truly keep your eyes on the fact that you are God’s delivery man or woman or do you sometimes being to act like the things that God has given you are all for you?

Proverbs 30:8-9
• God doesn’t want us to have too much or too little
• God distributes wealth unevenly not because he loves some more than others but so that his children can share in the mutual benefit of humbly giving and humbly receiving
• Abundance isn’t God’s provision for me to live in luxury but to help others
• God entrusts me with his money not to build my own castle but to build his Kingdom

• Are you eager to plant God’s money in the field of a world that badly needs Jesus?
• Does the thought of sharing the abundance that God has given you motivate you or challenge you?



Convictions
• What will be your legacy? Will you use what God has given you to give and be a good steward to give yourself even more opportunities to give?
• Will your legacy be as someone who invested greatly in the world or as someone who invested greatly in the Kingdom?