When Money Becomes Your Master

Pastor Jon Verwey

What you treasure will shape your heart, so let Jesus be your master and money your servant.

Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. — Matthew 6:19-20 NLT

Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. — Matthew 6:21 NLT

Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is! — Matthew 6:22-23 NLT

The leech has two daughters. ‘Give! Give!’ they cry… — Proverbs 30:15a NIV

No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money. — Matthew 6:24 NLT

Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. v. 21

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. — Proverbs 3:5–6 NLT

The wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whatever they get. — Proverbs 21:20

Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it. — Proverbs 13:11 ESV

Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything. The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. — Proverbs 11:24–25 NLT

What you treasure will shape your heart, so let Jesus be your master and money your servant.

The Widow’s Offering and the Heart of the Gospel

Pastor Jon Verwey

Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.” — Mark 12:41–44 NLT

Jesus called his disciples to him… v. 43a

“I tell you the truth…” v. 43b

This poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions… v. 43c

…she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on v. 44b

Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich. — 2 Corinthians 8:9

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. — Ephesians 5:1–2 NLT

Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? — Romans 8:32 NLT

You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” — 2 Corinthians 9:7 NLT

The cross of Jesus calls us to trust God completely and live with open hands and generous hearts.

A Warning Against Religious Pretending

Pastor Jon Verwey

Later, as Jesus was teaching the people in the Temple, he asked, “Why do the teachers of religious law claim that the Messiah is the son of David?

For David himself, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, said, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’ Since David himself called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?” The large crowd listened to him with great delight. — Mark 12:35–37 NLT

No one could answer him. And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions. — Matthew 22:46 NLT

Jesus also taught: “Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets. — Mark 12:38–39 NLT

Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. — Mark 12:40a NLT

Because of this, they will be more severely punished. — Mark 12:40b NLT

Is there a scribe living in me?

There is a little scribe living inside all of us, and it wants to be in charge.

Because when we truly know Jesus and follow His lead, we stop playing at religion and start becoming like Him from the inside out.