Get Your Hands Out My Pocket
Have you ever looked at your bank account and said, "I know I make more than this... where did it go?" Have you ever wondered why you can't seem to keep money? It seems like money just can't stay in your pockets. The question today is: has the thief been in your pockets?
Here's a sobering reality - if you have $10,000 saved, you're wealthier than 70% of Americans. Most people can't cover a $400 emergency. Something is stealing from us, and we need to find out what it is.
The Power of Consistency
Consider what just $3 a day - set aside consistently at 10% interest - could become over time:
Years : Future Value
5 : $7,102.26
10 : $18,811.11
15 : $38,114.41
20 : $69,938.00
25 : $122,402.64
30 : $208,896.28
If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always gotten. Change begins with you.
Know Your Enemy
There's a funny scene in the Malcolm X movie where someone shouts, "Get your hands out my pocket!" That image captures something real. Before we can stop the theft, we need to understand who we're dealing with.
"The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life."
- John 10:10 (NLT)
There's a distinct difference between a thief and a robber that matters here:
- Thief: Operates through stealth, no direct confrontation - a property crime
- Robber: Uses confrontation and violence - a personal crime
The enemy works like a thief. He doesn't announce himself. He operates in the shadows, quietly draining what God has given you.
God Started Us With the Best
God has never been stingy with His people. From the very beginning, He placed humanity in abundance.
"Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers. The first river is named Pishon; it flows around the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. The gold of that land is good; bdellium and the onyx stone are found there."
- Genesis 2:10-12 (AMP)
Onyx is a highly valued precious stone, often associated with gold and fine gems. God didn't put Adam in a barren wasteland - He placed him in a land of gold, precious resins, and valuable stones. God's original design for humanity was provision and abundance.
"So the Lord God took the man and settled him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, 'You may freely eat the fruit from every tree of the garden; but only from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat...'"
- Genesis 2:15-17 (AMP)
God gave Adam meaningful work and almost unlimited freedom. One boundary. That's it.
But when disobedience entered:
"Therefore the Lord God sent Adam away from the Garden of Eden, to till and cultivate the ground from which he was taken."
- Genesis 3:23 (AMP)
Notice something powerful - either way, Adam was working. In the garden or outside of it, he was cultivating. The work didn't disappear. But the environment changed dramatically. The blessing makes the difference between laboring in a garden versus grinding in the dirt.
The Spirit of Cain
When the topic of giving comes up, something interesting happens. The spirit of Cain often rises up in people.
"When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. Abel also brought a gift - the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected."
- Genesis 4:3-5 (NLT)
Abel brought the best. Cain brought some. The difference wasn't the act of giving - it was the posture of the heart.
"'Why are you so angry?' the Lord asked Cain. 'Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.'"
- Genesis 4:6-7 (NLT)
God was essentially saying: "I'm giving you a chance to close the door or leave it open." The work didn't change - but the atmosphere in which Cain did his work would change based on his choice. Sin was crouching at the door, ready to walk right in.
The question worth sitting with: Why do we insist on learning through painful experience rather than through obedience?
Bags With Holes
The prophet Haggai confronted a people who were working hard but seeing little return. They had their priorities upside down - building their own comfortable homes while God's house sat in ruins.
"Take a good, hard look at your life. Think it over. You have spent a lot of money, but you haven't much to show for it. You keep filling your plates, but you never get filled up. You keep drinking and drinking, but you're always thirsty. You put on layer after layer of clothes, but you can't get warm."
- Haggai 1:5-6 (MSG)
"He who earns wages earns them just to put them in a bag with holes in it - because God has withheld His blessing."
- Haggai 1:6 (AMP)
More money doesn't fix holes. You can pour as much water as you want into a bucket full of holes and never fill it up. The problem isn't the amount coming in - it's the holes that let it pour right back out.
God told them plainly:
"Because while you've run around, caught up with taking care of your own houses, my Home is in ruins. That's why. Because of your stinginess."
- Haggai 1:9 (MSG)
The question we all need to ask: What are you doing that isn't working? And if it isn't working, why do you keep doing it?
How the Thief Gets In
The enemy doesn't kick down the front door. He works through subtle deceptions that get us to sabotage our own financial future. Here's how:
- He gets you to believe God doesn't have your best interest at heart - Once you doubt God's goodness, you stop trusting His instructions about money.
- He gets you to believe the grass is greener on the other side - Comparison and covetousness open doors to destructive financial decisions.
- He gets you to assist him in opening the door to your own finances - We become our own worst enemy.
- A theft must have an access point - The thief cannot steal what you haven't given him access to.
Point 1 - The Nature of the Blessing
"The blessing of the LORD brings true riches, and He adds no sorrow to it - for it comes as a blessing from God."
- Proverbs 10:22 (AMP)
The Blessing of God is holistic - it builds your resources without destroying your peace. When God blesses, there's no hidden invoice. No fine print. No side effects of guilt, anxiety, or destruction. The blessing builds without breaking.
The Hebrew word for blessing - Barak - and the Greek word - eulogia - both carry a meaning far deeper than a material windfall. They speak of divine empowerment to prosper and fulfill your purpose. The blessing isn't just about what's in your bank account. It's about being equipped to do what God put you here to do.
Point 2 - The Four Dimensions of Blessing
God's blessing operates in four powerful dimensions:
Multiplication - The ability for a small amount to grow supernaturally. Think of the five loaves and two fish. What was in the boy's lunch basket was not enough - until it was placed in the right hands. This is the supernatural increase on your "seed."
Protection - The Priestly Blessing in Numbers 6:24-26 opens with: "The Lord bless you and keep you." The word "keep" is preservation. This is God guarding what you already have so the holes don't drain it away.
Favor - This is unearned preference. It's when doors open for you that your credentials or your bank account could never open on their own. Look at the life of Joseph - sold into slavery, thrown into prison, and yet favor kept advancing him until he was second only to Pharaoh. Favor isn't fair. That's the point.
Legacy - Biblical blessing is rarely individualistic. It is designed to flow through you to your children's children and your community.
"I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others."
- Genesis 12:2 (NLT)
You are not the destination of the blessing. You are the channel.
Point 3 - How the Blessing Is Activated
God's love is unconditional. But the experience of His blessing is often connected to specific choices - what we might call conductors.
The Conductor
The Biblical Logic
Obedience
Deuteronomy 28 - If you "fully obey," the blessings will "overtake you."
Generosity
"A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed." (Proverbs 11:25)
Humility
God resists the proud but gives grace - favor and blessing - to the humble.
The thief wants you to believe that obedience, generosity, and humility are the things that will cost you. In reality, they are the things that close the door to him and open the floodgates of heaven.
Discussion Questions
- Personal Reflection: When you honestly look at your financial patterns over the past few years, where do you see "holes in the bag"? What habits or mindsets have contributed to money leaving faster than it comes in?
- The Spirit of Cain: Cain gave "some" while Abel gave his "best." In what areas of your life - not just finances, but time, energy, and attention toward God - are you giving "some" when God is asking for your best? What would shifting to your "first and best" look like practically?
- Access Points: The sermon teaches that a theft requires an access point. What access points have you knowingly or unknowingly given the enemy into your financial life? (Examples: debt habits, avoidance, comparison, fear, lack of generosity) What would it look like to close one of those doors this week?
- The Blessing Dimensions: Of the four dimensions of blessing - Multiplication, Protection, Favor, and Legacy - which one do you feel you've experienced least in your life? What might be blocking that dimension, and what conductor (obedience, generosity, or humility) could help activate it?
- The $3 a Day Challenge: The compound interest illustration shows that small, consistent faithfulness over time produces extraordinary results. What is one small, consistent financial step of obedience you could begin this week? How does this connect to the spiritual principle that faithfulness in little things leads to being trusted with much?