June 5, 2011 Investing in the Kingdom

Wrapping up the Elevation Fire Series, we close with a message on Investing in the Kingdom.

If you want a study tool to go along with the podcast, see Lift Notes here:

Investing in the Kingdom

June 5, 2011

We at Elevation want to approach the issue of money and possessions with the heart that as followers of Jesus we want use the resources God has blessed us with to generously __________ in furthering His ____________.

Practically we want to all “move towards a regular offering of at least 10% percent.”

Money is another practical way that reveals who is in ________ of our life and what we are truly _________ _____.

⁶“I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. ⁷ Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’ ⁸ “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ “In tithes and offerings. ⁹ You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. ¹⁰ Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.                                                 Malachi 3:6-10

What is a tithe?  Taking the first and best _____ of your income and giving it back to Lord, as a way of _________fully acknowledging that every good thing you have in life is a gift from him.

God puts money in the same category as a bunch of other things that all reveal how much God is God over your life, and they all come down to the same basic question:

“do you trust ______’s way or your ______ way?” 

Tithing is part of the __________ God calls us to that tells him:

“Yes, __ trust you as Lord of ____ life.”

As we line up this and other aspects of our life with God’s will, then we will experience more of the abundantly ________ life that God wants for us.

We want to “move towards” tithing because the stats say that less than ___% of American “born-again” adults tithe, and the average church-going American gives _____% of their income to God causes.

But we want to move towards “at least 10%” because when Jesus came along and spoke about money all the time he _______ taught his followers to tithe just 10%, instead he regularly taught things like this:

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”                    Luke 12:32-34

God has given you the greatest possible inheritance-___________God has, his entire kingdom, is yours in the coming _________.  So then, since we are living to see his kingdom come, our money should reflect that, and rather than spend on perishable and fleeting things, we want to ________ our resources in what advances God’s eternal kingdom on earth.

Jesus doesn’t put a specific __________ amount on what to give because he knows we could turn that into a legalistic box to check, he wants it to be about the relationship he has with you.

Along the adventure of following him, ask him to lead you ______ and ______ to give so that you can experience the freedom and joy of a life of investing the resources he has given you to see His kingdom come.

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