The Treasure Principle
by Randy Alcorn
– 15% of what the Lord spoke about has something to do with our money – that is more than he spoke about heaven and hell combined.
– God spoke so much about money and possessions because they have so much to do with our heart.
– Storing up treasures on earth is not only unwise, it is stupid. You cannot keep it here, so why would you try to store it all up here?
– It’s not that Jesus does not want us to store up, He does want us to store up, but He has our best interest in mind so He tells us where to store up.
– What person, place and possessions are you living for?
– The treasure principle put simple is that although we cannot take anything with us, we can send it ahead.
– Treasure Principle Keys:
1. God owns everything
• God owns it, but He placed me as a manager.
• We should think like stewards, finding the best way to invest and use our money.
• Don’t wait until you feel like giving because the feeling may never come. Just give and the joy will follow.
• Giving is not a luxury of the rich, it is a privilege of the poor.
• The more you gaze upon Christ, the more you will become a giver.
• Christ’s grace defines, motivates and strengthens our giving.
• We give because He first gave to us.
• If you want to empower your prayer life, start giving.
• Giving will break us free from the orbit of all our possessions. When we give, we let go and show that our possessions are not the most important thing to us.
2. My heart always goes where I put my money.
• If you put shares in something, you will begin to have interest in it and pay attention to it every day.
• As surely as the compass points north, so does your heart follow the treasure.
• If you want to love stronger missions, your church or anything else, start supporting that area and you will begin to feel stronger about it.
• Moses left Egypt’s treasures because he was looking for another reward – Hebrews 11:26
• There are many roadblocks to giving – our hearts desire, society, etc. but the greatest deterrence to giving is probably that of realizing that the earth is not our home.
3. Heaven, not earth is our home
• Where we choose to store treasure largely depends on where we believe our home is.
4. I should live for eternity, not just the present.
5. Giving is the only antidote to materialism.
• Giving takes our eye off of ourselves and reminds us that it is not about us.
• As long as I have something in my possession I feel like I own it, but giving it away relinquishes that feeling.
• We can use our lives and possessions to make a difference.
• Giving can get better with practice – we can give more frequently and more strategically.
• If you’re giving while you’re living than you can be knowing where it’s going.
• Give your money away as fast as possible before it makes its way to your heart.
• When God gives us more, it’s not so that we can increase our living, but increase our giving.
• What would you wish that you gave away five minutes after death – than give it away right now.
6. God prospers me not to raise my standard of living but to raise my standard of giving.
• When it comes to our possessions and God, are we acting like managers of a store that we do not own or are we acting like we own the store?
• Man’s life does not consist of what he possesses – Luke 12:15.
• When I meet Jesus, will I wish I had given more or less?