Welcome to the For the Gospel Podcast, where we provide sound doctrine for everyday people. I'm your host, Kosti Hinn. And whether you're listening to this on your favorite podcast platform or watching on our YouTube channel, I'm really thankful you've joined me for this episode. And just want to also say thank you for the comments you've been leaving, the reviews you've been leaving, letting us know that the series has been really helpful. I was hoping something practical like this to start the year would be a blessing. And it's an answer to prayer to know that it has been. This is the fourth T as we walk through five Ts for a strong 2025 and beyond. I've been saying really a stronger life, and that each T can make or break you in a good way. I don't want you thinking in a fearful way of that, but in a strengthening way, when we prioritize these and do them right, the Lord does much through it. The first T was time. We talked about how to use it. The second was your temple spiritually and physically and how you strengthen it. And then third, last time we looked at how to uh submit your talents, how to use your skills and your spiritual gifts as under the Lord. And then this one, number four, T for treasure. And this is your stewardship of resources like money and possessions. And then next episode, we're going to talk about your trusts, who your circle is, who you run with, your relationships, the people you let get close, the people you give your heart to. Very important that we prioritize healthy relationships. But here and now, number four, steward your treasure. This is your money and your possessions. And whatever level of these you have, we would call this our material wealth. Everybody has some level of material wealth. Everyone's been given a stewardship when it comes to money. And part of living a life of purpose for Christ is managing the material wealth that we've been entrusted with. Many wise men have said money is like a microscope. It reveals and magnifies what's going on inside of our hearts. That could be greed, fear, selfish ambition, or it could be a lack of knowledge because we're ignorant on what the Bible teaches about this subject. Whatever the case, money reveals our level of maturity. I want to say that twice so we really think through this. Money reveals our level of maturity. The more we grow in the Lord and the more knowledge we have of his teaching on this, the more we're going to be faithful stewards of what he's given us. And the less we grow in the Lord, the less we know from his word, then we're going to be a lower level on the maturity scale and we're going to be selfish and ambitious for the wrong things. It doesn't mean that mature people are perfect people. They just walk in the truth because they have knowledge of the truth. In 1888, Alfred Nobel was a Swedish chemist, and he had become incredibly rich by inventing dynamite. One day, right after his brother Ludwig died, his brother Ludwig Nobel, Alfred picked up the newspaper and in hopes of reading his brother's obituary, he read his own. And there was an editor who got the brothers mixed up. He thought Alfred had died instead of his brother. And so the rare opportunity of reading his own obituary was before him. This was the headline. That was the headline. The merchant of death is dead. The obituary went on to describe how he had gotten rich by inventing something people used to kill each other. Alfred was so crushed by the legacy he'd left that he determined from that moment on to invest his money and his time into that which would benefit life and not take it. He died eight years later, having had the unique opportunity to change his legacy, to alter his obituary after catching a glimpse of what it had become. He gave millions and millions of dollars to fund awards for people whose work was benefiting humanity, and those awards became known as Nobel Prizes. Alfred Nobel was afforded the rare chance to see life and legacy from the perspective of the grave and then still getting to live to change it. And better than a botched obituary, we have the advice, the commands, the instruction, and the direction of Jesus Christ Himself. The Bible gives the best investment advice the world has ever known. And there are so many people who scramble in panic. And investors will promise big returns on the next big thing. And people go nuts over crypto. And everyone's really at this fever pitch when it comes to money. People stress out, they operate in fear, and they hold on so tight, thinking that the money's mine and I've got to do it, or else I'm not going to have, and then fill in the blank with whatever people are chasing. But Jesus comes along and he offers a strategy that can never be shaken by the markets of this world. And so in 2025, if you would steward your treasure faithfully, I believe you can experience a great degree of peace in this area. Maybe peace you've never felt and contentment you've never experienced, no matter what you own. One of the best passages for considering our stewardship of treasure comes from the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is calling his followers to a new way of thinking in that passage. And I've got my Bible. If you want to grab yours, you can. Or if you're listening to this, I'll read it to you. But it comes from Matthew chapter six. Jesus is talking to his followers and teaching people what it really means to be a genuine follower. And he comes to this particular section on external righteousness, we'll call it, good deeds and how to live and perspective. And he's talked about fasting and prayer and many other things, but in particular, money and an eternal perspective. He says this in Matthew chapter six, verses 19 to 21. Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth or rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal. And then this incredible verse, short but powerful. Jesus going right for the heart, talking about money, talking about motives. And you look at verse 19: Do not lay up for yourselves treasures. This first statement is referring to hoarding and storing something for safety. It's like putting your trust and hope in the fact that your money is piling up and you've got all your possessions nice and secure. It's this idea of feeling content and you've got peace because your stuff is safe. You're feeling really good about your life. And there's a false security in that because if you obsess over hoarding and you've got all this money on earth, well, it doesn't matter. Moth and rust destroy, Jesus says. Thieves will break in and steal. What is he talking about when he says that? Well, in the ancient world, this was a constant problem. They didn't have a banking system, no money market account on your phone, no app, no safety deposit boxes. Most of their treasure also was cloth and metal, and those were susceptible to moths and rust. The idea of destroy, these things will be destroyed. That word has at least three definitions that can be applied here. All of them are helpful. It means to disappear or literally to destroy something, to obliterate it, and then to disfigure. Whatever the case, your earthly treasures can vanish or they can change into something else entirely without a moment's notice. And if not moth and not rust, well, then robbers. Theft was rampant in the Bible days. Robbers would attack, they would break in, they would loot. People's possessions were an easy payday for a band of robbers who would split it up amongst themselves. They were the original pirates, just not on the sea. All of this makes money fleeting. You think about how that would apply to our own life. The market, it can go up, it can go down. Money can come, money can go. I'm thinking about friends in California just now, their homes just gone like that. People that live in places where there are tsunamis, natural disasters, earthquakes. I mean, on and on and on it goes. Even just in places where there may not be as many natural disasters, there could be a house fire, there could be an accident. Just like that, money can come and go. And so the Bible teaches to be careful of putting your hope in it and finding your security in it. A believer doesn't find true and lasting security in how much we have. We're only gonna end up empty if we take that mentality. We're also gonna be very disappointed and filled with fear and anxiety because our precious little things can be taken away in a split second. If that's what you live for, you've wasted your life. There was an old rap song. I don't know if you remember it. I was a 90s kid. And so I remember uh Mo Money, Mo Problems was this song by this rapper back then. And I used to wonder, kind of like, no, I think being rich is awesome. The more money you have, the more freedom you have, everything gets easier. And the older I've gotten, I realize actually more money, more problem, more money, more worries, more money, and you're more scared of what you have to lose, more money, more distractions. Then you read the Bible and you realize that Jesus talks about money just about more than anything else, knowing that the heart is gripped by it so easily and so quickly. Instead of being bound by earthly treasure, he says in verse 21 store up for yourselves treasure in heaven. Why? Well, none of those things are an issue in heaven. The market never crashes, thieves can't break in, there's no moths, thank God. Some people say there's no mosquitoes either, there's no rust. It's the best investment anyone could ever make. And at that time, the people would not have interpreted his words as anything but literal. There's a real treasure, real reward waiting for you in heaven. If you live and you give for the glory of God and unto the kingdom of God now, real treasure, this life, the money you make, the possessions you have, if you leverage those things for the kingdom of God, guess what? That counts in heaven. Investing in heaven meant no weathering, no infestations of insects, no thieves, no Ponzi schemes, no cryptocurrency roller coasters, and no regrets. You lived and invested for Christ while on earth. What Jesus is commanding here is that your safety and security not be in what you keep, but in what you give. And that money be something you view as an investment, not insulation. And I know that's difficult for people. Proverbs speaks much about how wealth has wings, it flies away, but also that the wealthy think their money is a hedge of protection. Look, nothing, no net worth can stop natural disasters, disease, trials, none of it. But if you're investing in the kingdom of God, you have nothing to fear. A few moments later, Jesus is gonna tell these people don't get so caught up in the things of this world, and you're all worried about what you're gonna eat, what you're gonna wear, how you're gonna live. That's why he says in Matthew 6, 33, and then 34, seek ye first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So don't worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Jesus, in this section, is providing the antidote for anxiety when it comes to money, and he's reminding his followers that it's not all about what you can get, it's about what you can give. It's not about stacking paper on earth, it's about investing in the kingdom of God while you're on earth in preparation for heaven. And then he finishes in verse 21 with this very convicting statement for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Jesus ties the heart and your giving, your money, your possessions together forever. Bound together. Your heart and your money are tied together. They show the priority of your earthly agenda. Are you living for heaven? Are you focused on the kingdom of God or is it all about you? Many will say they love Christ and that they live for Christ, and then the management of their money betrays their witness. It reflects not obedience to Christ, but love of self. Money's like a microscope. It magnifies what's going on inside of our hearts. And there is the issue, isn't it? It's not about the money. It's about the heart. It's not about the 10%, it's about the heart. It's not about rich or poor, it's about the heart. It's not about whether or not you're wealthy, it's about the heart. What do we love? And deeper and better, who do we love? When you look at where your treasure is, when you analyze the bank statement and you see what matters, well, you know what you love. One of the most convicting realities about this passage is not that Jesus is saying you can't buy your salvation, that's not what he's saying. But that the way you handle money and view money says a lot about your salvation. It's not that you give and you'll get saved. It's that the way you give and the way you live bears the mark of salvation. The root creates the fruit. Jesus says in John 14, verse 15, if you love me, you'll keep my commands. So you ask, what do you love? If you love Jesus, you're gonna obey him. The obedience will follow. We say it this way: your direction will follow your affection. It's affection first. You love Jesus, and therefore all of these things are what you do. Well, if you love him, what do your actions show? And if your actions don't show it, go to the root. Do you really love him? One commentator puts it this way as always, the heart must be right before anything else can be right. If the heart's right, everything else falls into place the right way. The person who's right with the Lord will be generous and happy in his giving to the Lord's work. By the same token, a person who is covetous, self-indulgent, and stingy has good reason to question his relationship with the Lord. The words of Martin Luther are fitting here. He said, Whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is really your God. Let me give you some questions to ask yourself as you seek to steward your treasures in 2025. Number one, do I view money as mine or God's? The Bible teaches that God is the one who owns it all. He distributes it to us as stewards. So it's not yours, it's not mine, it's his, and we're just managers. And that perspective changes the way we see money. It's not yours to do whatever you want with. You and I are accountable to him. Number two, do I have a budget and plan for stewarding my money? Budgeting is one of the most biblical things you can do with the money God gives you. And people who don't assign every dollar are going to end up blowing here and there and spending a lot more than they wanted to. Pretty soon the credit card is racked, savings is non-existent, and giving becomes an afterthought because the checking account can't hold water and things are just spinning out of control. If you have not set a budget for the year, if you don't make a plan for getting out of debt, or you don't have some kind of spreadsheet or app or system for tracking your money management, you're letting money make you its slave rather than making your money work for you. We always say at our church, on our team, for the gospel as well, with our staff, goals without deadlines are just dreams. A lot of people have a lot of money goals, but they don't set deadlines. They don't set a plan. Well, you're just dreaming. You've got to set a deadline. You've got to make a plan. You've got to hold yourself to it. People say that's hard, or it's a lot of stress, or it's just, oh, well, you're going to get out what you put in. And if you are putting in laziness and you are laxadaisical and apathetic, that's what you're going to get out. You got to wake up. You can set goals, put a deadline to it, and shoot for it and watch the Lord work through your prudence, which is something we've talked about on the podcast before. Number three, do I make giving a priority in my budget? It's an important question. I have a budget like most people do. I've got a full spreadsheet for formulas and apps that I utilize, monthly review of where we're at, all that. I never used to be that way when I was younger, newlyweds, I was terrible with money and budgeting and planning and spreadsheets. I didn't know what I was doing because I had never really grown up that way. It was prosperity gospel. Oh, we're low on, you know, buying Benzes. Great. Take more offerings and rob some more people. And then I get married and realize like you actually have to have a grocery budget and think about these things. Well, now we do that. And budgets require flexibility. Life is always changing. You don't want to get too rigid. We say we're cemented in flexibility, meaning we've got a system, we're here, but it can change. We just had a baby and that's going to change the budget. But overall, a good budget gives you a baseline to work from. And that is a biblical thing. Proverbs 6.6 says, Go to the ant, oh sluggard. Look what the ant does. What does the ant do? The ant prepares its food ahead of time. It knows what season's coming. It uses the summer to prepare and the fall harvest to prepare. And then it gets there in the winter into its storehouse and sees preparation. Budgeting is biblical. And look, you gotta know that I go through the same thing you do. I look at a spreadsheet and I see the prioritization of groceries, of clothing, of fuel, and of utilities, the basics of life. I see the extracurriculars. And one of the questions that my wife and I have to ask, and you have to ask when we're going through our budget, is when you get to that little budget line that says giving, what's it gonna be? And you look and you think, okay, am I really excited when I get to increase the vacation budget or the clothing budget? Or am I always thinking, like, well, yeah, the grocery budget has to go up? I mean, we've got to eat good food and we've got to this and gotta that. And then we get to giving and you go, you know, I, well, that's gonna cut into my life. Do we get annoyed at how giving cuts into our life, or do we see it as a privilege? We get to give. Do we say things like, man, imagine if we didn't give so much to the church? Imagine how much money we would have for ourselves. I met with a financial planner one time who wasn't a Christian, and he was looking at my spreadsheets. He says, What is this? I said, Well, that's that's giving. I some people call it tithe, whatever, but it's giving. Our church. He's like, Oh, well, if you want to get out of debt and do this and achieve this and just take that right out of your budget and you'll be fine in 10 years. And I remember thinking, well, not really an option. But there's a little voice inside of you that begins to talk and think, yeah, what? I mean, you know, I mean, free will giving, it's grace-driven. The New Testament kind of, maybe I don't have to give as much. I can have a little more fun. God's okay with it. And you start justifying being cheap with God when you have the means. That's different than people who are in poverty or struggling and they give their best that they can. And then there's those that think, well, I, you know, I'll give a little something. That's fine. And they could do way more, and we could do way more, but we don't because we're putting our needs first. And we call them needs, but they're really wants. What gets tested? Our heart. Are we more excited for high-end clothing? The shoes are Jordan's, the iPhone has to be up to date, the nice car that stretches us into our financial overdrive, and we know we're out spending what we make. Eating out for some people, it's never up for debate. They're lazy, they don't cook, they just go eat out. But when it comes to giving to God's work, well, now we're gonna think about, you know, whether or not we can actually do that. But you didn't think that way when you saw a drive-thru and you thought, I'm hungry, why not? And you waste money doing that. People love spending on themselves. We all do. The temptation is ever present. And then giving to God's work is like these coffee shops now. I don't know if you ever go through these places where everybody wants a tip. I don't know if it started during COVID or what, but the option, like you're buying a $3 coffee somewhere, and you're asked if you want a tip. Like, no, I just want to drink my coffee and and go on with my life. We kind of treat God's work like that. Like, stop. What is even in the no, whatever. And we, you know, throw a little something there. One of the things I'm finding as I age is how guilty we all can be of saying, you know, oh, I just can't afford and can't afford, and oh, there's so much. And then we we overspend and we're wasteful and we spend money on trivial, silly things, and we live in denial. We could do more when it comes to stewardship for eternal purposes, but are we joyfully putting that in our budget? When you increase or I increase, does our giving increase? When you get a raise, do you think nice, we can live a little better and we can give a little more? Or is money your idol and materialism your master and God's work something you put on the shelf? Number four, do I regularly check my heart for greed, selfishness, and hoarding? John MacArthur says this it is right to provide for our families, to make reasonable plans for the future, and to make wise investments, and to have money to carry on a business, give to the poor, and support the Lord's work. It is being dishonest, greedy, covetous, stingy, and miserly about possessions that is wrong. To honestly earn, save, and give is wise and good. To hoard and spend only on ourselves not only is unwise, but sinful. Look, I don't know what you're going through when it comes to finances, and we've got a ton of resources on money from a lot of different angles, including on the blog. You can search our articles and our website and the playlist on YouTube. You'll find plenty about money. But when it comes to this particular tea, I hope you'll consider however the Holy Spirit is convicting you or instructing you to level up your stewardship this year and prioritize how you manage what God has entrusted to you. Thanks for listening. If these resources have been a blessing to you, be sure to subscribe here on YouTube or drop us a review on Apple. We're so thankful for how God has enabled us to provide sound doctrine for everyday people and how your support makes that possible. And so thank you. I pray you have a great week, and I'm looking forward to being back next Monday with another episode. Keep on Living for the Gospel.