Keys to Unlocking God’s Blessing in Your Life, Part 1
Giving With An OPEN HAND”
By Pastor Ralph Juthman
Matthew 6: 19-24
‘No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.’
INTRODUCTION:
A country preacher was known for his enthusiasm in the pulpit. One Sunday, He got up and began to shout out:
"IF THIS CHURCH IS GOING TO SERVE GOD IT’S GOT TO GET DOWN ON ITS KNEES AND CRAWL!!!"
And the audience yelled back "Make it crawl preacher, make it crawl!
"AND ONCE THIS CHURCH HAS LEARNED TO CRAWL, IT’S GOT TO GET UP ON ITS FEET AND WALK!!!"
"Make it walk preacher, make it walk" the audience moaned.
AND ONCE THIS CHURCH HAS LEARNED TO WALK ITS GOT BEGIN TO LEARN TO RUN!!!"
"Make it run, preacher, make it run!"
"AND ONCE THIS CHURCH HAS LEARNED TO RUN, ITS GOT TO BEGIN TO GIVE!!!!...
The congregation was quiet for a moment, then in unison responded,
“LET IT CRAWL PREACHER…”
Giving and money has about as much interest from people as waiting in the dentist’s office for a root canal. Tragically, many preachers avoid this topic for fear that people will accuse them of being after their money.
This is not how the Bible approaches the topic of finances at all. In fact, the Bible is a very practical book. If we truly believe what it says, then it behooves us to understand what God’s word says about this very important area.
According to Jesus, money is a spiritual issue. And, since it’s a spiritual issue, we need to address it for at least four reasons: I was listening to Pastor David Jeremiah, this week, and he listed four reasons why we cannot ignore this topic.
First of all, stewardship is a priority of scripture:
The Bible has placed a priority on the proper stewardship of our finances. IN the New Testament alone, there are 40 verses that deal with water baptism; 275 verses talk about prayer; there are 350 verses on faith and 650 verses on love.
For those who give the excuse that “I am in the New Testament, and tithing is the Old testament”, consider this, there are 2350 verses that talk about finances. IN fact a full 15% of Jesus teaching dealt specifically with money.
In Matthew Jesus talks about finances and wealth 88X. In Mark 54X. 92X in the book of Luke. Jesus drew a connection between our spiritual life and our attitude between our possessions and money.
Our attitude towards our wealth ( and we are all wealthy) serves as a barometer of our spiritual health.
Businessman and Leadership guru, Ken Blanchard hits the nail on the head when he said,
If you want to take the pulse of your faith, there are many places to look— beginning with your checkbook. The church treasurer counts what we give; God counts what we keep.
John Blanchard
Stewardship is a priority of scripture and in Luke 16:11, Jesus teaches that it is a prerequisite for service. Listen to what Jesus says,
So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?
If we are unfaithful with how we handle our finances, why would God trust us with ‘true riches?”
God is preparing us for service in His Kingdom, and what we do now is writing our job description for the future.
Stewardship is the prerequisite for service, it is the priority of scripture and it is the program for success.
I heard it said recently, “When we serve the Lord He lifts us up and sense His blessing in our lives.” God wants to bless us on order that we would be the conduits of His blessing to others.
IN 2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9, the apostle Paul gave instruction to the Corinthian church concerning giving. He says in regard to their faithfulness in giving to the need in Jerusalem, 13Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. 14At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need.
It would seem that there were some who were excusing themselves from their responsibility of giving, by saying, “I don’t have anything to give. God understands if I don’t participate”
However, their seeming lack of resources was not an excuse to not fulfill their responsibilities. Paul reminds them, that it is not what we don’t have the issue is what are we doing with what we do have?
In other words, our obedience in giving will overflow to blessing others and the result will be God is glorified and His name exalted. Listen to what Paul goes on to say in 2 Cor.9:12
… 12This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.
Notice Paul refers to their giving as ‘service” . It was not a chore or a ritual. They gave out of a sense of ministry to the Lord.
David Jeremiah reminds us that, Our attitudes and actions about money and possessions convey a lot about our spiritual condition. It is difficult to be faithful in service if we are not faithful in the simple command of giving to God.
The first key that we need to grasp if we ever hope to unlock the blessing of God on our lives, is;
GIVING IS NOT ABOUT OUR MONEY, IT IS ABOUT THE CONDITION OF OUR HEARTS!
In our passage we read from Mathew, Jesus is in the middle of His sermon we have affectionately called, The Sermon on the Mount.” It could also be called, Keys to the Abundant life. Jesus spells out in very clear terms how a person can really enjoy life. It is not by following a set of rules. It is knowing a Person and following God’s will for your life.
The one thing which robs people of the joy and contentment God wishes for us to enjoy in life, is a bondage to materialism and things.
In our world, there is a belief that life is divided into spiritual and material. But Jesus makes no such division. Jesus makes it abundantly clear in this sermon, that a RIGHT ATTITUDE towards possessions, money and material wealth is a mark of true spirituality.
I’ve come across four different attitudes that people have concerning money and materialism: ( with the help of Dr. Susan Juthman)
1. “I Will Never have Anything’: The person who says this only sees what they don’t have rather than what God has given them. The excuse the person gives for not giving, is “God doesn’t expect me to give what I don’t have, does He?
It is pictured by the widow of Zarephath in 2 Kings, who when asked by the prophet, “What do you have I your house?” She responded, NOTHING but a handful of flour. I am going to cook it, then die.” The widow missed the point, ‘SHE HAD SOMETHING”
This is the person who is constantly looking for the quick fix to their problems. They place their hope in luck, buy lottery tickets and then wonder, “Why am I not getting blessed?” They are constantly worried about what they don’t have, instead of trusting in the faithful promise of God who says, “25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear… your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
2. I Don’t deserve anything:” This person sounds humble and spiritual. Make no mistake, this attitude is rooted in pious humility. It may sound spiritual, but no matter which way you slice it is still PRIDE.
In fact both these attitudes are different ends of the same measuring stick we call pride. And God hates it.
To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. ( Proverbs 8:13)
On the opposite end of the spectrum is the person who says,
3. “I have to get everything”: Quite often I will hear people say “I will begin tithing when I have enough.” Or “Pastor, when I this deal goes through, I promise I will give a tithe.” Listen, if you are not tithing on 200 per week you won’t tithe on 1000 per week.
This person is pictured in the parable of a rich man produced a terrific crop. He talked to himself: ’What can I do? My barn isn’t big enough for this harvest.’ Then he said, ’Here’s what I’ll do: I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll gather in all my grain and goods, and I’ll say to myself, Self, you’ve done well! You’ve got it made and can now retire. Take it easy and have the time of your life!’
This is the person who lives life for today, never considering the impact his choices will have for the future. But listen to the somber conclusion Jesus gives to this mans life,
"Just then God showed up and said, ’Fool! Tonight you die. And your barnful of goods—who gets it?’
The last thing I would ever want to hear from God’s mouth is, FOOL”!
This attitude is closely aligned with the person who says,
4. I Deserve Everything: If the first two attitudes are rooted in pride, then these last two attitudes are rooted in “GREED”! Greeds epitaph reads, “The person who dies with the most toys wins.”
Jesus gave a clear warning against greed, Speaking to the people, he went on, "Take care! Protect yourself against the least bit of greed. Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot."
The attitude which describes the believer whose confidence is in God’s hand to provide says,
5. GOD HAS GIVEN ME EVERYTHING!
Nowhere did Jesus magnify poverty or criticize the legitimate getting of wealth. The Bible says that God made all things, including food, clothes, and precious metals.
From the very beginning of creation, God declared that all things HE has made is GOOD! ( Gen. 1:21). God knows that we need certain things in order to live. In fact, the Bible says “ He has given us richly all things to enjoy.” ( 1 Tim.6:17).
In fact, the Lord is bold enough to declare to ISreal “If you start thinking to yourselves, "I did all this. And all by myself. I’m rich. It’s all mine!"—well, think again. Remember that God, your God, gave you the strength to produce all this wealth. ( Deuteronomy 8:17)
The proper way to view our possessions is that they are a trust given by God that we are responsible to manage.
[Oh, I’m sorry. I just forgot something. I promised to take Sue out for lunch after the service. This is really embarrassing. I don’t have any money on me. Could someone give me $20? Thanks a lot. I appreciate it.]
Everything belongs to Him and we are to serve as stewards whether we are blessed with a lot or with a little.
Now, I can tell that many of you are wondering why someone would just pop out of their seats and hand me $20. Do you know why he did it? It’s because it wasn’t his money. It was mine. I gave it to him before the service.
He was simply returning it to me.
That’s exactly what we do when we practice the joy of biblical stewardship. ¬ We give back to God that which is His in the first place. Friends, we’ve never given God one thing. When we make an offering or a tithe, we’re giving what He already owns. We’ll talk more about this next Sunday.
Let’s take a close look at what Jesus is saying in this passage. Jesus addresses the one thing that will rob us of the joy that God wants us to experience in life. If we are to truly enjoy what God has provided, then we must be aware of the danger of MAMMON. MAMMON is simply the sin of living for the THINGS of this life, only. Jesus says that mammon is akin to idolatry. When we turn our attention to THINGS as our source, then the sad result is bondage. Jesus points out that Mammon enslaves the heart, it enslaves the mind and it enslaves the will.
If our hearts are devoted to material things and places them above God’s agenda for our lives, then the inevitable result is eternal loss.
Jesus realizes that most people struggle with mamon.
Now before you turn the preacher off in your mind or say to yourself, “I hope so and so is listening, they need to hear this sermon…” I want us to listen to the question Jesus asks in this passage. Jesus challenges us with the question, “Where is your treasure?” He helps us find the answer by giving four tests.
1. The Durability Test. The first test is found in verses 19-20 and asks the question, “How long will it last?” Verse 19 is a negative command: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.” Verse 20 is the positive: “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven…”
The first word that leaps out at us in these verses is the word “treasures.” Jesus did not say, “money” because while everyone does not have a lot of cash, we all have things that we treasure. Our treasure may be a home, a car, a computer, our clothes, or even a position that we hold or seek after. While Jesus is not saying that it is wrong to have treasures, He is telling us that our focus should be on laying up treasures in heaven, not on earth.
The first life-skill that Jesus wants us to develop is to stop living just for today. This command is in the present tense. It literally means to “stop storing up.” We’re to stop doing something that by nature we’ve been doing for most of our lives. Jesus knows that our natural, inborn desire is to accumulate things.
That doesn’t mean that we can’t have material possessions, or own property, or save for the future. The key lies in the little phrase, “for yourselves.” Jesus is forbidding the selfish, self-centered accumulating of goods as the major end of life.
Two things happen to the things we own. First, they decay. In ancient times, wealth was measured in part by clothing. Garments represented a considerable investment. The best clothes were made of wool. No matter how beautiful the clothing, moths would often attack and chew right through the garments. Coupled with the attack of the killer moths, rust would corrode and consume things of value.
Second, our possessions can disappear. Anyone who has invested in the stock market knows this all to well. In Jesus day, valuables were often buried out in the field or hidden in a brick wall. Back then, thieves would literally break into the walls and dig up the yard as they searched for valuables.
If you try to store your wealth, the moths will find it, or rust will consume it. If you try to hide it for yourself, thieves can steal it. Jesus is saying that earthly wealth is very insecure. It either decays over time, or it disappears altogether.
Job 27:16, 20 provides a vivid description of this process: “Though he heaps up silver like dust and clothes like piles of clay…he lays down wealthy, but will do so no more; when he opens his eyes, all is gone.”
Earthly treasures are fleeting and futile but heavenly treasures are secure. 1 Peter 1:4: “And into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade -- kept in heaven for you.” Treasures that we send on ahead are mothproof, rustproof, and burglarproof. Verse 20: “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
The issue is not whether we will store up wealth. That’s a given. The only question is where we will do our banking. Since earthly treasures are unstable and insecure, Jesus challenges us to make long-term investments that are permanent and guaranteed.
How do we make deposits on earth that yield dividends in heaven? Let me answer that in just one sentence: You store up treasures in heaven by investing your money in that which lasts for eternity. I know of two things that will last forever: Te word of God and People.
Since only the Word of God and people last forever, we need to develop a long-term view. When we give of our financial resources to people in need, we are making a difference. The ultimate investment you can make is to give financially to help communicate the Word of God to people.
2. Heart Test. The second test asks the question, “Where are you investing your time and money?” and is found in verse 21: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
To put it plainly, Jesus is saying that your heart follows your money. That’s not the way most of us think. We tend to think our money follows our heart -- if our heart is right, we will spend our money wisely. That’s not the way it works because your heart always follows your treasure.
Whatever you invest your time and money in will become very important to you. Too many of us spend all that we have on the things of this world and then we wonder why we have trouble concentrating on the things of God. Our problem is that we’ve invested everything down here and hardly anything up there! Our money has kept our heart tied to the earth. You’ll never be able to get your heart focused on heaven as long as your attention is on material things. Your heart will always follow your money. Your heart will be wrapped up in what you treasure. Possessions can very easily become the center of our life.
3. The Mind Test. The third test asks the question, “Where is your focus?” and is found in verses 22-23: “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”
The eye is a symbol for the mind. Jesus is saying that there are only two possible ways to look at things. If our minds focus only on things down here, we’ll be full of darkness. The natural eye focuses on our physical existence but the spiritual eye locks into what really matters. When money becomes our #1 obsession, it can put blinders on our eyes and ruin our spiritual life. If our thoughts are filled with how we can deposit treasures in heaven, our bodies will be full of light.
4. The Master Test. The fourth and final test focuses on our will and asks the question: “Whom do you serve?” Let’s look at verse 24: “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
To “serve” means that we’ve made a choice and engaged our wills. If we’re not careful, we can be deluded by thinking material things will last forever. Our emotions can then affect our minds, which in turn can cause our wills to be in the grip of money with a capital “M.”
The word Jesus uses here for money is the word, “Mammon,” which is a proper noun, or a name. Jesus viewed Money as a rival for preeminence. Attachment to money leads to a detachment from God. The Bible is absolutely clear about the venomous nature of money. It fights for supremacy in our lives and it has many of the characteristics of deity. It promises security, freedom and power.
To be a committed Christ-follower is not merely a matter of the emotions but also of our minds and wills. To love God requires service and even sacrifice. This type of allegiance cannot be rendered to two parties. Whatever we devote ourselves to becomes our God. The tension that many of us experience when we try to love both God and money will sooner or later begin to show where our real loyalty lies. Only one master will win out.
If you’re serving the Money Master, Jesus says you will be unable to fully serve God. He doesn’t say, “you better not” or “it would be unwise to serve both,” He says, “you cannot serve both God and money.” As such, how we handle our money has a lot to do with how serious we are about obeying God. His words are unsettling. If you love money, you will end up hating God. If you are devoted to the pursuit of possessions and the making of money, you will find yourself despising the things of God.
I suspect that most of you do not want to hate God. In fact, you’re here because you want to learn how you can get to know Him better. Let me put it right on the table. You will never be able to fully love God if you are in love with money and all that money can buy. Loving God and loving money are mutually exclusive.
We’ve all heard the expression “Money Talks.” Have you ever listened to what it says?
“You hold me in your hand and call me yours. Yet may I not as well call you mine? See how easily I rule you? To gain me, you would all but die. I am invaluable as rain, essential as water. Yet I do not hold the power of life -- I am futile without the stamp of your desire. I go nowhere unless you send me. My power is terrific. Handle me carefully and wisely, lest you become my servant, rather than I yours.” As someone has said, “Money is a wonderful servant, but a lousy master.”
CONCLUSION:
In the Congo, poor people who have nothing to give when the Church offering is taken will dip their hand in the offering plate to symbolize the giving of themselves. There’s also a story of a little crippled girl with a crutch who came to church and saw everyone place their offerings in the offering bag. She had no money on her but wanted to give to God so much, that she gave the usher her crutch!
Here is the point of the story. God doesn’t want merely your money. Many people think that. They see God as having a giant hand extended toward them, ready to take whatever they have. It is a picture of selfish mankind.
God wants all of you. He wants a life totally and completely committed to Him in love and service, a life dedicated to doing things God’s way and to being God’s person on this earth. God wants a relationship with you that holds nothing back. And in return, He desires to hold nothing of Himself back from you.
Who gets the better end of this relationship? You do. You are a finite, imperfect human being. God receives you as you are. He gives you in return all of who HE is, infinite, perfect. He asks you to receive Him in fullness. And when you do, you can’t help prospering.
( Charles Stanley)
