You Don't Own Me

Pat Steeves · Tidal Church Moncton · May 5, 2024 · If Money Talked series

Pat Steeves looks at Luke 12:15 and the parable of the bags of silver in Matthew 25. He shows that money can add meaning to life but is never the meaning of life, and that we are managers of what God has entrusted to us.

More from Pat Steeves · The If Money Talked series

Topics: Identity, Money & Generosity, Discipleship

Transcript

[1:19] Talking to you today about your money. Now, before you get up and leave, before you tune me out, because I know that this topic, you know, can be a bit controversial, especially when it comes to church. I need you to know these two things today, alright? Number one, know that, first of all, I don't want your money, okay? Secondly, know this, know that God doesn't need your money. And maybe I'll add one more. Know that we're not gonna take up a special offering after today's message, alright? But I believe when it comes to our finances, we have a lot to learn. Maybe you've heard this said, I know I've heard this said a lot where people say, church is just after your money.

[2:12] The church is just after your money. Well, you know what? Here's the sobering reality that we live in. Finances impact our life significantly. The leading cause to divorce is financial pressure, not infidelity, but financial pressure is the, is the leading cause of divorce. Recently I read an article just this week in preparing for today that 60% of seniors are financially assisting their adult children. Today, we have a financial crisis. We have something that we need to talk about, from ages 18 to 35, ages 18 to 35.

[3:04] Canadians are feeling the most pressure today when it comes to our finances. And so, I don't know about you, but I feel as though it's important that the church talks about money. Just a week ago I was hanging out with the seniors here. They hang out here on Thursdays. How many seniors do we have in the place? They're the most fun group. But one of them asked me, they said, so Pat, what are you preaching again? And so I don't know whether she asked because she wanted to make sure she missed that Sunday. But I said, actually, I'm speaking in two weeks and I'm talking about money. And I said, what do you think about that? And this was so intriguing.

[3:49] She said, I've been coming to this church for 55 years. 55 years. I'm like, wow. And she's like, we haven't talked about money a lot in the last five years. So I'm like, interesting enough, we're gonna spend a month talking about our money. But here's why I feel like it's so important, because the Bible is so full of principles in how we can live our life, and how we can live out our life when it comes to our finances. And Proverbs talks about leaving an inheritance to our children's children. Now, as a father, that's important to me, right?

[4:37] As a father, I wanna be able to figure out the principles of the word of God so that I can leave an inheritance to my children's children. Now, I love my kids, but I don't want them living in my house for their entire life, right? So I wanna help them figure this out. I was just talking to a real estate agent the other day who said that in-law suites are selling, we can't find enough in-law suites because parents are buying these up because their kids cannot afford to have their own house. So they're buying up these in-law suites, and I'm thinking, dear God, I need to be able to teach my kids how to manage their finances, right? Also, as we lean into this topic today, Jesus, did you know this, but Jesus talked more about finances than He talked about heaven.

[5:30] You know, heaven's a big deal, right? But Jesus talked more about money, about finances, but He never asked for money. But He talked about it. But here's the reality. He talked about it because He knew that money followed something else. He was after people's hearts is what He was after. And so that's why He talked about money more than anything. You see, this week and for several weeks, we're gonna kind of flip the script a little bit. See, we're used to telling our money what to do, right? Like, go get us some groceries, pay for some groceries at Costco, right? Fill up our tank with gas, right? We're used to telling our money to pay the bills or to get us something else on Amazon, right?

[6:19] We're used to telling our money what to do. But what if we flipped the script today and we asked our money to give us some advice? Like, this may seem weird, okay, but what if we just asked our money today just to pull up a chair and to just, we flipped the script and allowed our money for a moment to just tell the story on our life. Now, just bear with me. But the reality is, our money could tell us a story about our life. It could tell us how much we spend, how much we give away, how often we think about our money. Our money tells a story about who we are.

[7:05] And if we were to just take a moment and just allow our money to pull up a chair, what would it say about our life? Would we be embarrassed or would we be proud of the choices that we have made? Now, this is not what today's conversation is gonna be. I don't know if you've ever been in one of these conversations where your parent has pulled up a chair and they looked at you as a son and daughter and said, listen, son, I'm not mad at you, but I'm just disappointed, alright? That's not what today is gonna be about. Alright? And I've often sat there thinking, I just wish you would rather be mad at me because hearing that you're disappointed in me is actually worse. But today we're not gonna go there, but we're gonna find out that there is a parallel with what our money would say and what Jesus says.

[7:56] We're gonna see that there's a parallel and there's some things in common from the perspective of our money. Are you guys ready to journey with me today? I gotta ask you this question. I wanna ask you this question. What do you do with your extra, what do you do with your extra money? And some of you're like, extra money? What are you talking about, right? With your extra, like, not the change that you, you know, give to the cute hockey player that begs your groceries. But what do you do with your extra, you're thinking, now we don't have any extra, but it's interesting enough that sometimes, we can find enough money to go on vacation. I don't know if this is your story, but like, have you ever brought, like, a perfectly good working phone to the store and traded it in for another phone?

[8:49] Like, there was nothing wrong with it, but you just wanted an upgrade, right? We have extra. Now this is a funny one. Have you, you know, as adults here, like, have you ever had a perfectly functioning kitchen, you know, with a fridge and a stove and all these different things, and you ripped them all out and you just changed the color, right? Or made it a little bit different? The truth is, we have extra now, kind of my extra that I just wanna openly admit is how many of you guys ever like camped or like stayed out in the woods like tenting and all this stuff? I don't know why we do this. Okay? We have perfectly good houses, you know, running water and toilets and all these certain things, but yet we feel like we wanna take our kids out into the woods.

[9:38] And so as a good father, I got on board with this and we had this big tent and we would go to these different campgrounds and it was actually around this time of year in early May, we went to Fundy Park. Fundy Park, alright? It's always a few degrees colder there. Why do we go anyway? I can remember staying there and it got, the temperatures got below zero, okay? We were staying with some friends of ours that we had just met. Lori and Byron, maybe you guys are here. They were camping with us, but they weren't in a tent. They were in a trailer. And I can remember waking up each morning thinking, this will be the last time I will ever stay in a tent.

[10:30] Now, man, I don't know if you've ever heard this. Maybe it's just me, but maybe if your spouse has ever said men or women, you always seem to find money if it's something that you want, okay? I dunno if that's ever been said to you, but I found some money to be able to invest in a trailer and I never stayed in a tent ever again, okay? But the reality is, we have extra, we do, we find extra. And we wanna be able to kind of flip the script, okay? But here's the deal, here's the reason why we don't feel like we have extra. It's because of this word that none of us want to hear.

[11:16] But the Scriptures talk about this word and it's greed. Greed. And I want us to just talk a little bit about this. The reason we don't feel like we have extra is because greed has nothing to do with the amount of money we have. It has everything to do with an assumption about money. Now let me explain that. Greed is the assumption that it's all for my consumption, and that's why we don't feel like we ever have enough or we don't have extra because we see money as a means of it's all for me to get more.

[12:05] And Jesus actually talked about this, and I think that as Christians, we need to be able to develop and change. And I'm hoping over the course of this series that we're in, we will get an understanding that our money is not for us, but it's a means to do something meaningful. It's a tool that we can use. And so I'm hoping that we'll have a mind shift that will change, that greed is the assumption that it's all for my consumption. And here's what I learned. How many of you guys would say you're a spender in the room? Okay? No judgment, no judgment, but you're a spender. There's like, I see this one girl, her hand's like this, barely see it.

[12:54] How many savers do we have in the room? We've got a few more. You're like, yeah, I'm a saver, right? The savers are like so proud of themselves. But here's what I learned this week in preparing for this, whether you're a spender or a saver, if it's all for us, it's still greed. It's this assumption that whether I spend, spend, spend and buy whatever I want, life is short. Do what you want. The focus is on who? Me. If you're a saver and you're like, you know what, I'm gonna hoard all my money. I'm gonna save, save, save, save, save.

[13:39] Who is the focus on? Me. That was like, I don't know. I was like, I thought, you know, I thought if you're saving, that's, I know I'm all right with that. But the reality is if it's all for us, it's all for more, greed is attached to it. And here's what Jesus says here in Luke 12:15, in Luke 12:15, Jesus addresses this. And first off, He's like, watch out. Like when somebody says, watch out, when Jesus says watch out, that should get our attention, shouldn't it? When Jesus gives a direct like, watch out, we need to listen to what follows.

[14:27] I don't know if you guys ever experienced this as a kid, but driving in the car with like your mom, I don't know, it just seems to be the moms that do this. But when somebody pulls out in front of the car, have you ever had your mom just like, reach out with a just a strong forearm and like watch out, right? And she thinks she's protecting you and she just like throat chops you, right? Right. And He says, watch out. Be on guard, Jesus strongly commands and is speaking to us. What are we to watch out for? Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.

[15:14] Watch out, pay attention because there's all kinds of greed. And then He goes on to say, this life does not consist of an abundance of possessions. How much does that not speak to us today? Right? I just watched an ad the other day. It was surprisingly enough, I believe it was a bank that had this ad and it stuck with me. And it said this, it said, life is, I forget it. It was so good. There we go. There is more to life than more. There is more to life than more. That statement.

[16:05] Just like, does that not speak to where we are as a society where it's all about getting more, right? Upgrading, and Jesus is warning us and He's saying life is more than possessions. What a key verse that I don't know about you, but I want to get a mind shift and a change that life is not about more, life is not about me. And if we were to sit down with our money today, I believe that our money would say, I can add meaning to your life, but I am not the meaning of life. That's a powerful statement that money can add meaning to your life, but so many of us are working so hard, but we need to remember that it is not the meaning of life.

[17:06] If your money could talk today, what would it say about your life? You see, money is a tool to do something meaningful. Here's a sobering thought. If your money could talk, if your money could talk, it would tell us what's really in charge of your life, right? If money could talk today, it would show us, it would tell a story of who's really in charge of your life. And again, these are some heavy thoughts, some heavy statements. But I hope that as a church, you know, We just heard a few minutes ago about launching more campuses and it's gonna require some finances.

[17:53] It's gonna require some tough choices from this church. But it's also gonna show who's in charge of our life today. You see, I believe that you cannot be a devoted follower of Christ today and not include Him in the realm of your finances. Isn't that the truth? You see, we wanna say, okay, you know, God, You're Lord of my life, except for these different areas. And one of the big ones is in terms of our finances today, you see, maybe you've experienced this tension of maybe feeling God's calling or leading in your life in a certain direction. Or maybe God's called, you know, saying, you know what? I'd like for you to go on the next missions trip.

[18:40] And you hear that voice and that leading is very clear. But you also looking at, you know, these Visa statements and these MasterCards that these previous decisions are now kind of dictating your choices. And I believe that as followers of Christ, as Jesus followers, we need to be able to live in a level of freedom, should we not? Where when God speaks, we can obey. And that's why it's so important when it, in terms of our finances as believers, we can't allow these things to rule our life. Money might say, "I can add meaning to your life, but I am not the meaning of life."

[19:28] I dunno if you've ever heard this joke before, but if you heard about this elderly Christian man who used to save every penny that he had, and as he got up in age, he asked his sweet, precious, loyal wife, he said, "Honey, when I die, will you promise? Will you swear that you will ensure that you bury me with all my money? Like, I want all of my money in the casket." And this sweet Christian saint of a woman, she was like, "Yes, I will grant you that wish." And so at the funeral, he's laid out in front, you know, and the coffin is there.

[20:19] And just before the pallbearers close up the casket, she puts this shoebox into the casket and her friend looks at her and she's like, "You didn't actually just put all of his money in the casket." And she said, "Well, listen, I agreed that I would honor his wish. And so I gathered up all of his money and I deposited into my bank account and I wrote him out a check, put it in the box and put it into the casket." But here's the reality, here's the reality that I think if our money could speak, it would say this: "The moment you think you own me, the moment you think you own me, I actually own you."

[21:17] And this is powerful because a lot of times we get this, I don't know what we would call it here today, but we get this, maybe it's power or entitlement, I don't know. But we feel like the more money we get, we feel like we're in control. And if we were to put the statistics up today, but the reality, the trajectory of our spending, and it goes like this, the more we make, the more we spend, right? And if we were to look up on a graph, you could check this out online, but if you make $45,000, we typically spend $45,000. If we make 80, we begin to spend according to what we get. And here's the trap in this: the more we make, the more we spend.

[22:05] But then what happens is we face this increasing financial pressure that if uncertain times come, we are beyond our means. And money would say, "The moment you think you own me, I actually own you." You see, we need to understand that we are actually not owners, but we're managers of money. You see, I think that we would again want to take this tendency that we're this notion that we are owners and we own everything that we have. But just like in that story of the old man that took his money, the reality is you can't take it with you.

[22:54] Which would tell me that we are actually managers of our finances, which would lend the question of who are we managing it for? And actually, Jesus talks about this in a parable in Matthew 25. Jesus talks about this very thing about whose money we're managing. And He goes on to tell this story and we'll pick it up here in Matthew 25. It says, and again in verse 14, again, it will be like a man going on a journey who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them.

[23:41] Now here's what, maybe you know this already, but it bears repeating. Anytime you hear Jesus tell a story, it's not a real story. Jesus used stories to make a point to help people understand. And so typically in any parable, one of the individuals that Jesus is usually referring to is usually God. And the other people in the story is you and I. So in this particular story, He's talking about this rich man that was going on a trip. This person represents who? God. Okay? And he entrusts his money to his servants, which is us.

[24:28] And so we wanna, I wanna drive this home today that we understand that we are managers of what God has entrusted us with today. So here's what we gotta know. The wealthy man didn't give his money to them. He entrusted this money to them, okay? The parable goes on to say he gave one person five bags of silver, okay? To another two bags and to another one. Okay? Here's what's really interesting, this actually would be the equivalent of like one bag would be $1 million, two bags would be $2 million, and five bags, $5 million, okay?

[25:17] Now, I don't know about you, but when I read this story, I'm like, that's quite a lot of money. Here's what the interesting thing is. Do you know how much money you'll manage in your lifetime? If we take a simple equation of if you were to earn $45,000 a year over 25 years, you'll manage over $1.125 million. Interesting, right? And often we don't think, well, it doesn't really matter if I manage my money, I don't have any money. But the reality is we've been entrusted with a lot. And some of you make more than that.

[26:02] But here's what this master, he entrusted his servants, they weren't owners, they were managers of what the master gave them. And so the master leaves and goes on a trip, and then he comes back and he brings his servants in before him. And he said, so he gave them, and he said after a long time, the master of those servants returned from a long trip. And he called them to give an account. He called them in to give them an account on how they used his money. Now, I want us to begin to see ourselves in this story because I believe that God has given us some talent, some gifts, some money, some things to be managers of.

[26:59] And so he goes to the one with five and the one with five. Many of you know the story, but he doubled his investment. And the master said, "Well done. Good and faithful servant, well done, good and faithful servant." The one with two talents, same thing. He doubled his investment and he said, "Well done, good and faithful." Now, the one servant with one talent, with one, he was scared and he took his money and he just buried it in the ground and didn't do anything with it. The master was furious, furious. And he took the money that he had and he gave it to the one with five.

[27:46] And there's an important lesson here that we've been entrusted to be managers of what God has given us. And it's up to us to do something with it today because I believe it's so important that we realize that we are not owners, but we are managers and we are entrusted with something that God has given us. Do you feel responsible? Do you feel accountable that you are managing what God has entrusted you with today? Could you give an account of what you're doing with what He's given you? You see, it's an important question that oftentimes we just want to overlook, and sometimes we just want to kind of just bury ourselves in the busyness and life and realize that God has entrusted us.

[28:48] And sometimes I've read this story and I'll be really honest, and maybe you have too, but sometimes we read this story and we think, well, it's not really fair. He gave one guy five and one guy two, and he just gave one to the other. And we tend to read this story and we're like, that's not fair. And oftentimes, I don't know if this is true for you, but sometimes I've looked around and I'm like, man, God, You've done more for these other people and I don't have anything. I just got one. And we tend to compare what others have been given and what others have been entrusted. And I just wanna remind you today, no matter your age, whether you're a teenager here today, an adult, a senior, but you've been entrusted with something today by God that is so significant and is so much bigger than you can even imagine.

[29:52] And sometimes we waste it looking around at what other people have and diminishing what God has entrusted us with and why this is so important. Because I want us to realize as a church that we need to see what God has given us in finances, in time, in talents and say, "God, I want to give an account for what You've given me. I wanna put this to the best use that it can, because when it comes to our finances, I believe we can do something so meaningful." And I believe that's when life can really get exciting.

[30:38] You see, I believe that we can fall into the trap of culture and we can buy more stuff or we could use our money to create more meaningful stories. And I don't know about you, but as I prepared for this message, I'm like, "God, check my heart. God, I wanna be accountable. I just don't want more stuff. But I wanna be able to tell more stories, God, of what we can do through this tool called money." Now, I wanna invite you guys to continue to come back each and every week, 'cause we're gonna actually begin to look at how we can apply this to our lives.

[31:25] I believe there's three categories we're gonna look at in the next few weeks. We're gonna look more at giving. We're gonna look at spending, we're gonna look at saving. And I believe there's a lot that we can learn, but when we understand that we are managers of what God has given us, would you guys stand with me this morning? I'd just like to pray over us today. But again, this topic of money can sometimes make us feel uncomfortable. But you need to understand that no one has ever regretted when it comes to giving away something that God has entrusted you with.

[32:13] I've never been at a funeral where they've talked about how much money someone has kept for themselves, but I've sat at funerals where they talked about how generous this individual was, and that's who I want to be. Could we just bow our heads, close our eyes. I also wanna, with your heads bowed, eyes closed. If there's some people in the room here, maybe, maybe you would say, "Today, I've kind of fell into that comparison trap where I've been more concerned about what others have had and envious and jealous, and never really see the significance of what I've been entrusted with, and I've been missing it."

[33:07] If that's you, would you just look up at me? This comparison is such a trap and it robs us from what God has entrusted us with. And I wanna pray specifically, pray for all of you, but specifically for each and every one of you. Join me in prayer. God, we come before You this morning. God, I pray that the word of God would come alive today in terms of our finances and You being Lord of all of our life. God, I wanna pray for people that are here today, that they've fallen into that trap of comparison and they've looked at other people's lives and what they've been entrusted and they've overlooked what You've placed in their life.

[33:57] I pray that You would make that so clear, God, that they would see that God-given ability that You've placed in their life today. God, I pray that You would give them dreams and visions, God, of using the gifts that You've placed in their life today. God, as a church, may we be less focused on us and the extra that we have. God, be focused on how can we do more for others than more for ourselves? God, I believe it can transform our church, transform our lives so that we can have more stories to glorify You.

[34:44] In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.