THE JOY OF GENEROSITY
(Based on Dr. Kregg Hood’s book: Take God At His Word)
A. I Chronicles 29:12-14 (READ and COMMENT)
LLUSTRATION:
Arthur DeMoss, a gifted and godly BUSINESSMAN, built one of the most successful businesses of its kind in America and in the process gained a fortune of an estimated half-billion dollars. You may have seen some commercials on television promoting the PRO-LIFE STANCE and SEXUAL ABSTINENCE funded by the Arthur DeMoss Foundation. A few years ago during an ECONOMIC recession, STOCK in Demoss’ company PLUMMETED. He lost $360 million dollars in only four months, an average of $3 million dollars a day more than anyone had previously LOST in such a short time.
DeMoss was a GENEROUS GIVER to his home congregation and other Christian organizations. One would think that his LOSS would be so DEVASTATING that it would force him to CUT BACK on his Christian GIVING.
Instead, he JOYFULLY INCREASED it. "The Lord GAVE me everything I have," he explained to a friend. "It all belongs to Him, and if He wants to take it away that’s His business. I don’t lose any SLEEP. I still have a wonderful family. I will do anything God wants me to do. If He takes away EVERYTHING He has entrusted to me and calls me to the MISSION FIELD, I’m ready to go. All He needs to do is OPEN the DOOR."
Arthur DeMoss placed his COMPLETE TRUST in God and not in his FORTUNE. God HONORED his FAITH and OBEDIENCE and eventually RESTORED all that he had LOST and much MORE. Arthur passed away some time ago, but his FORTUNE is still being used for the GLORY of God.
COMMENT:
This story illustrates once again how important it is for us to realize that ALL that we have comes from God, and our TRUST is to be PLACED in Him and not in what He GIVES US. Arthur DeMoss was a GENEROUS GIVER even during the TOUGH TIMES because he knew where the SOURCE of His WEALTH came from, and he believed that God would take care of Him as long as he remained FAITHFUL in His SERVICE.
B. Those who find JOY in their GIVING understand this PRINCIPLE very well.
ILLUSTRATION:
During World War II this slogan was often heard: "Give until it hurts." And people did!
Some have taken this same SLOGAN and applied it to Christian GIVING. I’ve heard preachers say, "If you haven’t GIVEN UNTIL IT HURTS, then you haven’t GIVEN nearly enough." Yet, this principle of "Giving until it hurts," goes against what Scripture says about our ATTITUDE in giving.
1. The Bible says that we are to "GIVE UNTIL IT FEELS GOOD."
a. Acts 20:35- "It is more blessed to give than to receive."
b. II Corinthians 9:7- ". . . God loves a cheerful giver."
c. II Corinthians 8:1-4 (READ and COMMENT) (Does that sound like it was HURTFUL for them give as they did?)
2. It DELIGHTS God to GIVE to His children, and we should be DELIGHTED to SHARE what He has GIVEN to us.
MESSAGE:
I. GIVING CREATES A SENSE OF PEACE AND GRATIFICATION
A. I think that’s what Jesus meant when He said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive."
1. There is something about GIVING GENEROUSLY to the church or GIVING to people in need that makes you feel good.
ILLUSTRATION:
A Boston FLORIST named Henry Penn once told how two boys and a girl came into his shop one day and explained: "We"re the committee, and we’d like to buy some pretty YELLOW flowers, sir. So, you have any yellow flowers? He’d like them better if they were YELLOW. He had a yellow sweater."
"Are they for someone"s FUNERAL?" asked Penn. The children nodded and fought back the tears. "She"s his sister," explained one of the boys. "He was a good kid. A TRUCK yesterday . . . we were playing in the street . . . we saw it happen." Then the other boy added, ¡§Us kids took up a COLLECTION. We got 18 cents. Would ROSES cost a lot, mister? Yellow ROSES?"
Touched by their tragic story, Penn replied, "You know what? I have some nice YELLOW ROSES here that I am selling for 18 cents a DOZEN just this morning."
One of the children reached into his pocket and pulled out 18 cents, gave it to the FLORIST, and walked out with a beautiful bouquet of YELLOW ROSES. Henry Penn said, "I felt UPLIFTED for days. I had been given the INEXPRESSIBLE privilege of SHARING."
2. Many people live FRUSTRATED lives because they do not know the JOY of SHARING.
COMMENT:
SHARING does not DIMINISH--it is an OPENING through which we RECEIVE. GIVING makes it POSSIBLE for God to GIVE to us--the more we GIVE, the greater the BLESSING.
B. During these past three weeks since I have INCREASED my CONTRIBUTION, I have felt INVIGORATED by it.
1. In fact, I have felt a RELEASE.
COMMENT:
I have been ENSLAVED by FEAR. I was AFRAID to GIVE to God what I knew I should GIVE, because of all my BILLS and other OBLIGATIONS. But after I STUDIED and PRAYED and MADE up my MIND to GIVE 10% of my INCOME right off the TOP before I paid my BILLS or bought GROCERIES or anything else, I had a sense of PEACE to come over me.
Now, I must admit that the ANXIETY returned when I made out that first CHECK. In fact, I almost TORE it up and made out another CHECK for half the amount (even that amount alone would have almost doubled my OFFERING--that’s a good increase, isn’t it?). But I made a promise to God that I was going to give 10%, and I wasn’t going to BACK OUT no matter how much Satan wanted me to! Once this series is over I will continue giving at least that amount.
2. The sense of PEACE and GRATIFICATION that one has after GIVING generously to the church or helping those in need comes from TRUSTING God that He will take CARE of those who SHARE.
II. THROUGH GIVING WE BECOME PARTNERS WITH GOD IN HIS WORK
A. God’s people has always used the RESOURCES given to them by God to CARRY ON His WORK.
1. In Exodus 25- "God told the people to bring OFFERINGS of gold, silver, and bronze; fine linens and other fabrics; oil, spices, and incense; and precious stones and gems, to build the tabernacle in which He was to DWELL."
COMMENT:
"The people were so DELIGHTED to GIVE to this effort that finally God told Moses to tell them not to BRING anymore OFFERINGS to Him„othere was more than enough to finish the WORK"- Exodus 36:6-7.
2. In Acts 2 and 4- "We find God’s people gladly selling their POSSESSIONS, including HOUSES and LAND, and GIVING the money to the APOSTLES to be DISTRIBUTED among their fellow-Christians so that no one would be in NEED."
COMMENT:
Here is OLD and NEW TESTAMENT example of people who understood the JOY of GIVING GENEROUSLY to God and becoming PARTNERS with Him in His WORK.
B. We also become PARTNERS with God when we GIVE to certain MINISTRIES.
1. Did you know that you can put God in your DEBT?
a. Proverbs 19:17- "He who is kind to the poor LENDS to the Lord . . ."
COMMENT:
When you CONTRIBUTE to our FOOD PANTRY, or send a CHILD to CAMP whose PARENTS cannot AFFORD it, or help a NEEDY FAMILY buy clothing for their children, or pay the DOCTOR BILL of someone who has no INSURANCE and no MONEY to PAY it, you "LEND to GOD." Caring for the NEEDY is a WORK that God wants His people to be INVOLVED in. That’s why in "GIVING to the POOR we LEND TO GOD." And God always PAYS his DEBTS: ". . . and He will REWARD him for what he has done."
b. This is what the RICH YOUNG MAN misunderstood- Mark 10:17-22 (READ & COMMENT)
COMMENT:
I don’t think Jesus is telling him that he must GIVE all that he has to the POOR so that he will be POOR„obut for him to be BLESSED! He may have KEPT the COMMANDMENTS, but he didn’t understand the
PRINCIPLE "that those who SOW GENEROUSLY will REAP GENEROUSLY." He TRUSTED in his WEALTH, not in God the SOURCE of his WEALTH.
2. By giving to the church you become PARTNERS with God by helping SUPPORT MINISTERS and MISSIONARIES- III John 1-8 (READ and COMMENT)
ILLUSTRATION:
Bill Smith, in his book: As Stewards of God, tells about a time when he was a boy in his early teens going with his father to a Sunday afternoon BUSINESS MEETING in their small congregation. In that small stuffy little frame building, six to eight men who made up the MALE POPULATION of the congregation discussed the possibility of having "REGULAR PREACHING," which consisted of a BROTHER driving down from a neighboring town every Sunday to PREACH, rather than once a month.
Just when it looked like the MOTION would be voted down, Bill heard his Dad say, "I’ll give $5.00 a week on it if you can RAKE up the other ten." Bill thought his Dad was out of his mind. He was only making $20.00 a week and had six people to SUPPORT. "Not only that," Bill thought, "I could have bought a BB gun and all the shots I¡¦d ever need with just one week’s amount. Less important, I could have worn SHOES that had no HOLES in the SOLES. What was my Dad thinking?"
Bill writes, "Little did I realize what my Father bought that day; I doubt he really knew, himself. From that day forward, the CHURCH meant something to me. I wasn’t quite sure, at first, what it meant, but I knew there must be something PRETTY IMPORTANT about it for my Dad to GIVE $5.00 a week for it (25% of his income)."
III. GIVING GENEROUSLY DEVELOPS A GREATER TRUST IN GOD
A. This entire series has been about TRUST: Taking God at His Word.
1. If you think about it, there are very few things that we do for God by FAITH.
COMMENT:
Now I realize that it takes FAITH to accept Christ as Lord and Savior and be BAPTIZED into Him. However, my decision to become a Christian didn¡¦t take a lot of FAITH on my part. I grew up in the church all my life, reared by faithful Christian parents. Turning my life over to Jesus was a very NATURAL and EASY thing for me to do.
Some of you, on the other hand, took a GIANT LEAP of FAITH to become Christians. You weren’t raised in Christian homes. You had to leave behind ungodly INFLUENCES and LIFESTYLES to LIVE for Jesus. Some of you may have left FRIENDS and FAMILY and even JOBS that would have been DETRIMENTAL to your Christian walk. That takes FAITH.
However, I believe most of you are like me, you are a child of God because of your Christian parents. And it really wasn¡¦t a BIG LEAP of FAITH to become a Christian at all.
2. II Corinthians 5:7- "We live by FAITH and not by SIGHT."
COMMENT:
We say we do, but it reality we want to make sure that everything LOOKS GOOD and is JUST RIGHT before we take those steps of FAITH. Seldom do I walk by FAITH and not by SIGHT! This is certainly the case when it came to GIVING! I LOOKED at my PAY-CHECK and my BILLS and thought, "There is no way that I can INCREASE my CONTRIBUTION."
I was walking by SIGHT and not by FAITH. So I decided to take a LEAP of FAITH and GIVE over three times the AMOUNT than I¡¦ve been GIVING. I don’t tell you this to receive your PRAISE, but only to CONFESS to you that I have told you how important it is to WALK BY FAITH AND NOT BY SIGHT, and wasn’t PRACTICING what I PREACHED!
I don’t know how many times I’ve stood up here and said, "Put your TRUST in God and He’ll take CARE of you," but didn’t believe it enough to TRUST God in my GIVING. Oh, I’ve TRUSTED Him with SPIRITUAL MATTERS but not with PHYSICAL THINGS. I believe that LETTING GO of the TANGIBLE for God is the greatest TEST of FAITH!
B. Today is a good day to make some IMPORTANT DECISIONS.
1. We have read the book: Take God At His Word and studied the Scriptures provided. We’ve heard SERMONS on the POWER of GIVING and how God has BLESSED those who took Him at His word and GAVE GENEROUSLY. We’ve PRAYED about our FINANCIAL SITUATION.
2. God’s Word promises that He will provide MATERIAL BLESSINGS to those who GIVE GENEROUSLY to Him.
COMMENT:
The question is: "Do you believe it?" Maybe you are thinking, "I want to BELIEVE it, but I just don’t know."
The only thing I can tell you is what God told the children of Israel who also had trouble BELIEVING Him in the matter of GIVING. He said: "Test Me in this, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it"- Malachi 3:10.
Put God to the test in your GIVING and just see if He doesn’t KEEP HIS PROMISES to BLESS you ABUNDANTLY with what you need to take care of your FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS and much more!
PRAYER:
Dear Heavenly Father,
We have learned a great deal about your promises and your power during these last few weeks. You alone are the source of all our blessings. You are the creator of everything in this world. Your mercy and your goodness are a testimony to your nature, and it¡¦s our privilege as your children to receive from your hand the good gifts of life, salvation, and daily provisions. We praise your name, and we say thank you.
Father, we also confess our lack of trust. We struggle to fully believe that you will carry through with the clear promises from your Word to bless us with material blessings when we give generously of our money. Father, we ask you to erase our doubts and increase our faith.
Father, I have been afraid to give, and I know others have too. We depend on ourselves to provide for our needs instead of looking to you. We know this is wrong, and we choose today to seek the blessing Jesus promised those who give: "A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, to be poured into our laps." Help us to believe that you can do even as the apostle Paul said, "make us rich in every way," if we only trust you in our giving. Help me to be strong when Satan tries to convince me that you are a liar who doesn’t keep His promises. Forgive me for not trusting you, Father.
Be with the leaders of this church, and help them to use the money that is given by this congregation to your glory so that this surrounding community will know that we are your children who love them and want to make a difference in their lives.
Father, thank you for all that you have done for us both spiritually and physically.
In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen!
