17 mins - the film stops with the words "you don't get diddly"
The middle bit
In that clip, Montgomery Brewster inherits 300 Million dollars on the
condition that he spends 30 million dollars in 30 days and has nothing at all
to show for it
That's means spending at least 1 million a day!
Is that an easy thing to do?
If you were Montgomery, how would you waste your 30 million dollars?
Are you the kind of person who finds it easy to spend money?
Have you ever blown a load of money on stuff you don't even need?
Do you ever feel the urge to spend?
The Bible says a lot about self control
Luke 16:13 P1038 "No servant can serve two masters. The servant will hate one master and
love the other, or will follow one master and refuse to follow the other. You
can not serve both God and worldly riches."
What do you think this tells us about money?
Hebrews 13:5 P1291 "Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be satisfied with what
you have. God has said, 'I will never leave you; I will never forget you.'"
So how do you think we can stay in control of our finances?
Need to be responsible
Savings…do you think about the future?
Keep out of debt…credit cards etc.
Have you ever felt out of control?
There was a time when I had a problem with credit cards…
The Bible has a lot to say about money…
It tells us that everything we have comes from God and that includes
money…
Philippians 4:19 P1236 "My God will use his wonderful riches in Christ Jesus to give you
everything you need"
But it's up to us what we do with it
Jesus told a parable about this to try and explain how things are in the
kingdom of heaven
Matthew 25:14-18 The Message "It's also like a man going off on an extended trip. He called his servants
together and delegated responsibilities. To one he gave five thousand dollars,
to another two thousand, to another one thousand, depending on their
abilities. Then he left. Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled
his master's investment. The second did the same. But the man with the single
thousand dug a hole and carefully buried his master's money."
Which of the three servants made the right choice? Why?
Matthew 25:19-30 The Message "After a long absence, the master of those three servants came back and
settled up with them. The one given five thousand dollars showed him how he
had doubled his investment. His master commended him: 'Good work! You did your
job well. From now on be my partner.'
"The servant with the two thousand showed how he also had doubled his master's
investment. His master commended him: 'Good work! You did your job well. From
now on be my partner.'
"The servant given one thousand said, 'Master, I know you have high standards
and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for
error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and
secured your money. Here it is safe and sound down to the last cent.'
"The master was furious, 'That's a terrible way to live! It's criminal to live
cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less
than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the
sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest.
"'Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of
this "play-it-safe" who won't go out on a limb. Throw his out into utter
darkness.'
The master was pleased with the first two servants and made them partners…
But he was so upset with the third servant that he threw him out…
What would you have done?
The Bible says that the kingdom of heaven is like this story / parable
What do you think that means?
Who's the master? Who are the servants?
What do you think the money represents?
Why do you think the master took the thousand dollars and gave it to
person who made the most?
Who do you relate to in this story?
The master?
The servants who made money?
The servant who wasted money?
How can we be more like the first two servants?
How can we avoid been like that third servant?
Conclusion
The Bible tells us that God will provide for all of our needs…
But it's up to us what we do with it…
However, God does expect us to be responsible…the 'R' word…
That does not mean we have to make millions, but we should at least
try…that applies to money and other things…
I'd like us to close tonight by thinking about that:
I've got some balloons…I'd like you to take two
On the first balloon I'd like you to write some ideas of how you could use
the things that God has given you wisely
And the other, I'd like you to blow your balloon up and write down some of
the ways that we are wasteful
When you'd done that you can pop your balloon - get rid of those wasteful
things
But I'd like you to blow your other balloon up - make those things that
God was given you 'grow'
