The Sermon On The Amount
1 Chronicles 29:10-11
INTRODUCTION:
Today we are going to address the topic of giving, and explore what the Word of God says about this dynamic area of not only Christian life, but also of the life of anyone who simply wants to “win” at life by becoming a giver.
Most likely, in the heart of hearts of most people there is a desire to be a giver, but often the discussion goes way off the map when it goes into “how much” should I give, and does it matter what kind of attitude I have when I give?
There are so many questions regarding giving, but the world might often ask, how it is that anyone who gives something away can actually in turn become a better person, and have their needs met unless they keep it all.
A favorite story is of a man of substance approached to contribute to a major financial campaign. The urgent need and compelling case were stated, and the call was made for his support. The man responded: "I understand why you think I can give fifty thousand dollars. I am a man with my own business and, it is true, I have all the signs of affluence. But there are some things you don’t know. Did you know that my mother is in an expensive nursing home?" Well, no, we didn’t know. "Did you know also that my brother died, and left a family of five and had almost no insurance?" No, we didn’t. "Did you know my son is deeply religious, has gone into social work, and makes less than the national poverty level to meet the needs of his family?" No, we hadn’t realized. "Well, then, if I don’t give any of them a penny, why do you think I’ll give it to you?"
Donald E. Messer
This is simply going to be an honest look at the issue of stewardship from a passage in 1 Chronicles which talks about how David and the people provided the resources for building the temple of God.
As we look at this passage together we will be asking and answering three questions:
1) Why do we give?
2) How do we give?
3) What do we give?
We will not be exhaustive in our answers to these questions but will primarily stick to this passage and see what it has to say to us regarding these things.
In today’s message we will learn that stewardship is a matter of the heart, and a sign of loyalty to God. David writes, “O Lord, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire (for stewardship) in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you” (29:18).
Godly Stewardship of our finances is the evidence that our hearts are truly loyal to God. This is the case because our finances are usually one of the last areas that we are willing to turn over to God. Therefore, when one becomes a good steward of finances through becoming a giver, we can be sure of their devotion to God. A pastor I know once said, “If God has their checkbook, you know he has their heart.” I think that is very true. Let’s look at this passage together.
I. WHY SHOULD WE GIVE?
This is a very good question to start with as it is foundational to understand the purpose of stewardship. Many would say that they have worked very hard to earn their money and so why should they turn around and give it away to God. They worked for it. They earned it. It belongs to them. But as we begin to delve into the passage at hand we quickly learn that this simply isn’t true.
A) Because Giving Reminds Us That Everything Belongs To God.
If it really belongs to you, you can do with it as you please. However right off the bat we learn that it doesn’t really belong to us but to God. David prays, “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours” (v. 11).
This exposes a fundamental flaw in the world views of most people including many Christians. It shows us that our possessions and our money really belong to God and not to us. And since it doesn’t belong to us in the first place we have no right to hoard it for ourselves.
A steward is like a manager of a local McDonald’s Restaurant who carries out the aims of the owners, maximizes profits, while handling all the problems. Dr. Elmer Towns, who co-founded Liberty University also teaches a stewardship lesson in the Pastor’s Bible Class at Thomas Road Baptist Church which is the most requested lesson of all he has taught. "Who Owns Your French Fries". It is the story of a man who buys his little boy some french fries. Then the father does what all fathers do, he reaches over and takes one french fry to taste it. The little boy slaps his father’s hand and says, "Don’t touch my french fries." The father thinks that his son is selfish. The father knows that he bought the french fries and they belong to him. The father knows that his son belongs to him. The father could get angry and never buy his son another french fry again to teach his son a lesson, or the father could "bury" his son in french fries. The father thinks, "Why is my son selfish, I have given him a whole package of french fries; I just want one french fry." God has given us money, when He asks for a tithe, people figuratively slap His hand and say, "Keep Your hands off my money." God owns everything we have.
B) Because Everything Comes From God.
Not only does God own all things, but also everything we have comes to us as a gift from God. “Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all” (v. 12).
We give to God because in reality he is both the owner of all things and the source of all things. David clearly understood this when he wrote: “Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand” (v.14).
When you understand this truth you realize that when you give you are not giving God what belongs to you, but you are giving God what already belongs to him.
SHOW VIDEO CLIP OF LARRY AND MARK FROM DAVE RAMSEY
II. HOW SHOULD WE GIVE?
This question deals with what manner we should give to God. Did you know that it is not enough to simply give to God? Did you know that you can give to God, but do it in the wrong way? It is important that when we give to God we do it for the right reason and in the right way.
A) We Should Give Generously.
David and the people gave very generously to the Lord’s work. “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand” (v.14).
We can give generously to God because God has given generously to us. How generous were David and the people in their giving? Consider these numbers. “Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple: three thousand talents (110 tons) of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents (260 tons) of refined silver” (vv. 3-4).
When the people saw the generosity of their leader they were moved to follow suit. “They gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents (190 tons) and ten thousand darics (180 pounds) of gold, ten thousand talents (375 tons) of silver, eighteen thousand talents (675 tons) of bronze and a hundred thousand talents (3,750 tons) of iron. Any who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the Lord” (vv. 7-8).
That is some very generous giving. But before you get overwhelmed with those massive numbers remember that that they were able to generously give to God because God had given generously to them. Without God giving to us, we would have nothing to give including the next breath that comes out of our lungs!
The Bible tells us that we should give to God in proportion to how we have been blessed. This is the principle of tithing. This is the practice of giving 10% of what God has given us back to him. We give to God generously as he has blessed us.
B) We Should Give Willingly.
It is one thing to give generously, but it is another to give willingly. Would you be able to give as generously as the people of Israel did, and do so willingly or would you have to be coerced? When you give willingly, it’s a Tithe or Offering, but when you are Coerced, it is called TAXES!
There are many examples throughout history of kings collecting money from the people by force. But David did not have to send out the army to go door to door collecting from the people at the point of a sword. “The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord” (v. 9).
David also said, “I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you” (v.17).
I remember when I first started out in ministry, we would often have special offerings, much like we do here at this church, and any church that is moving forward, and there was one individual who often became quite upset at the fact that extra offerings were received. He happened to be a Doctor, but easily could have been a Ditch digger or factory worker. I have always believed that appeals will always be part of the house of God, and if a person can participate, they can, and if they can’t, they can’t! Another thing I firmly believe is that if everyone actually tithed like the Word of God tells us to do, there would be very little reason to EVER receive a special offering because there would be plenty in the Storehouse as God declares in a verse we will look at in a moment.
In verse eighteen David prays that this will always be the desire of the hearts of the people. That they would always desire to give to God both generously and willingly. It is this attitude of giving generously and willingly that identifies one as being loyal to God.
III. WHAT SHOULD WE GIVE?
We have learned why we should give to God and how we should give to God. Now we turn our attention to what we should give to him. There are three things that we should give to God that are suggested by this passage. David gave gold and silver “for all the work to be done by the craftsmen” (v.5).
A) We Should Give Our Tithe.
David and the people gave God there gold and silver. They gave to God financially. As I mentioned earlier, our financial giving is governed by the principle of the tithe. “A tithe of everything ... belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord” (Leviticus 27:30).
The Bible identifies a tithe as a tenth. So ten percent of our increase belongs to God and he expects us to honor him by giving to him. To keep the tithe that belongs to God is considered stealing from God, and can hardly expect God to be well pleased with this.
In the Old Testament they brought their tithe to the temple which is where they worshiped. So I believe that we give our tithe where we worship. If you worship here at Millersburg Assembly of God, you should give your tithe here. If you attend another church, you should give your tithe there. You should give your tithe at your place of worship.
A tithe is not an offering. The Bible distinguishes between tithes and offerings so they are not the same thing. The tithe is what you owe to God, its what belongs to God. An offering is what you choose to give above your tithe.
An offering is usually given for a particular cause or ministry. That also distinguishes it from a tithe. The tithe was given to God to be used as he specified, not as the people specified.
To give money that is earmarked for a particular purpose is not a tithe, but an offering. The tithe belongs to God and because it belongs to God we have no right to determine how it will be used. That is up to him.
I was at a Conference on time and one of the speakers spoke for just a few minutes on the two types of giving:
1. Responsibility Giving – The Tithe – Which talks about ownership of Faith – Doing that which God requires us to do as we live for Him, and obey Him. It is knowing what to do with the commands of God, and simply responding in obedience.
2. Sacrificial Giving – Over and above the Tithe – This refers to ownership of the Future – This type of giving has less to do with the “head knowledge”, but more to do with giving from the heart with a desire to impact the future. This is most likely where the “cheerful giving” aspect enters in.
Someone asked him one time about the fact that when tithing is mentioned, it is usually mentioned in the Old Testament, so therefore should it not be done away with?
The man responded to him in this way:
When you see Jesus responding to the questions of the people in the New Testament, did He usually “amp it up”, or “amp it down”? What do you mean?
a. 27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ a 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
b. 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor a and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies b and pray for those who persecute you,
c. 38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ a 39 But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Matthew 23:23 - Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
So, from the Old Testament to the New, did Jesus amp it up, or down?
In this age of Grace, should we be more thankful, or less thankful for what God has done?
Not only should we give of our Treasure…
B) We Should Give Our Talent.
The gold and silver was given so that the craftsmen would have the necessary provisions to work with. These craftsmen were giving their talent to God and we should be doing the same.
You may not think of yourself as being particularly talented but everybody has things that they are good at and that they enjoy doing. These are the talents that God has given you and you have a responsibility to give them back to God by using them in his work. You may think of your talent only as a way to make a living, but you need to start seeing as a way to do ministry as well.
C) We Should Give Our Time.
This is closely related to giving God our talent. If the craftsmen were to give God their talent in constructing the temple, then they were going to have to give him a good amount of their time as well. Next to our money our time is probably our most precious commodity. It seems like we never have enough time.
But if we are to give our talent to God we must also give our time to God. It takes time to prepare for and teach a Sunday School class or Bible study. It takes time to clean the church. It takes time to make repairs. It takes time to minister to our community.
Everything takes time and so we must be willing to carve the necessary time out of our busy schedules.
God expects us to generously and willingly give him our tithe, talent and time. That is the sign of loyalty.
Here are some facts on Stewardship I thought I would share with you:
• Overall, only 3 to 5 percent of the people who donate money to the church actually “tithe” their income.
• Jesus talked about money in 16 of 38 parables.
• The average contribution by adults who attend Protestant churches is $17 per week. (Does this mean they are making $170 per week?)
• The Bible devotes 500 verses on prayer, less than 500 on faith, but 2,350 verses on money and possessions.
• Among adults that average attending church at least once per month, 37% did not give any money to the church in the past year.
CONCLUSION:
A few years ago, one of Pepsi’s most popular commercials was The Pepsi Challenge. The challenge was to a taste test between Pepsi and Coke. They believed that if you would be willing to give Pepsi a try, you would find that you liked it better. In Malachi chapter 3 God introduces us to The Tithe Challenge. “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘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).
God says test me. Give tithing a try and you will find that God blesses you. As we begin a new month I want to encourage you to take The Tithe Challenge. If you are not currently tithing, I would like to challenge you to give 10% of your income to God this month.
If you do you will be blessed by God. If you don’t, the Bible says you will be cursed by God. “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse ... because you are robbing me” (Malachi 3:8-9). But if you tithe you will avoid this curse and receive God’s blessing.
That doesn’t mean that God will make you rich. But it does mean that the 90% you have left will be sufficient to meet your needs (not your greeds) and if you were honest many of you are having a hard time doing that on 100%. Give tithing a try this month.
