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Short Clip
ARE YOU INVESTING IN THE ETERNITY PORTFOLIO? Christ’s Simple Guide to Money. If we could slip into the back of the crowd and hear some of those messages on money, possessions, and eternity that filled Christ’s teaching times, here is what we would hear:
 
1. Jesus said your money can’t stay neutral, we either serve god or our money: Matthew 6:19-24 (NKJV) “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and riches (Greek word mamonas).
 
2. Jesus said never forget your money already belongs to God, we are God’s stewards: Matthew 25:18 “But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. NKJV (and hid his master’s money. NIV)
 
3. Jesus said your giving must be proportionate to gain my favor: Mark 12:43 So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; NKJV
 
4. Jesus said selfishness ruins giving: Luke 6:35 “But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. NKJV
 
5. Jesus said always remember giving will be eternally compensated: Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” NIV Ask people around you that are happy and successful in God’s ways and you will find they are sacrificial givers and tithers.
 
6. Jesus said temporal treasures can always be exchanged for eternal wealth: Luke 16:9 (NKJV) “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. Luke 16:9 (NIV) I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves [in Heaven is implied], so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
 
7. Jesus said I love and bless givers: Acts 20:35 (NKJV) “I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
 
What is Our Responsibility as Stewards?
 
Each of us are given a stewardship by God of the time and treasures (money) that we have in our oversight. God is watching each of us individually to see what we do with what He allows us to possess temporarily in this life.