Over the last several weeks we have been taking a “Dragnet” approach to the subject of giving to God’s work. We have considered what the Bible tells us about the way God works. We have seen that Scripture teaches that God is at work in our world today to accomplish His purposes through His people through means of His provision. In other words, God has entrusted to you and me as His children, the means whereby His work through the local church can be funded. The funding of God’s work, of course, happens when we give.
We have seen that the Bible says we should give our tithe (10% of our income) to the general support of the work of the church. The tithe is an undesignated gift. Beyond the tithe, I am to give offerings as God directs. This is a gift that is designated, for example, to missions to the youth program, to the building fund, to a love offering, etc.
Finally, last time we talked about the importance of attitude in giving.
We made the point that God is far more concerned about the attitude with which I give than He is about the amount I give. We looked to the father’s example in giving His only Son for our sake as recorded in John 3:16, and found that if we are going to give in a godly way, we should give lovingly - as an expression of our love for God, generously - seeking to give our very best to the Lord, and purposefully - desiring to support the work of the one institution established for the sole purpose of reaching others for Christ, the local church. Today, we will answer the final of our “Dragnet” questions, “Why should I give?”
As we have said, the primary focus of the church and the reason for its existence is to fulfill the Great Commission, which means the church must give priority to the work of evangelism. If this is to occur, I have heard it said, there are five ships that must be sailing if a church is to stay afloat and accomplish its primary purpose:
1) Leadership - The church must have leadership that is visionary. Leadership that can not only point people to the task at hand; but who can lead them to trust God to enable them to tackle the task at hand.
2) Worship - The church needs to worship “in spirit and truth.” through worship, we maintain our vertical relationship and make sure we are in a position to hear from God.
3) Fellowship - The church is made up of people who are all different. We must celebrate our differences! Just as God, for Christ’s sake, loves us as we are; we, for Christ’s sake, must accept each other, encourage each other and love each other.
4) Discipleship - Believers must be committed to becoming more like Christ. In fact, evangelism alone does not fulfill the Great Commission. Christ calls us not just to lead folks to make decisions for Christ but to lead believers to become disciples of Christ.
5) Stewardship - If the church is to fulfill its ministry, then each member must answer the call to ministry. In answering the call to ministry, I must recognize that my time, my talents, and my treasure have been trusted to me by God and he expects me to be a good manager, or steward of them and surrender them to be used in His service. All that I possess belongs to God and is mine to enjoy because of His grace.
In recognizing this, I must choose to let Him guide me in how it is to be used for his honor. He will then direct me as to how I am to give my time, talent, and treasure to His service through his church.
Here in our text, Paul cites the example of a congregation that had all its “ships’ sailing in the right direction. In telling about the Macedonian believers, Paul deals with the question of “Why should I give?” as he identifies three reasons why every believer should give of their time, talent, and treasure to God’s work through his church.
1. Give as a personal expression of your devotion to the Lord - v. 5
We note that the Macedonians had first given themselves to God and then gave of themselves to the support of Paul’s ministry. In effect then, the generous support given to the ministry of the Apostle Paul was a personal expression of the Macedonian believers’ devotion to the Lord.
It must be pointed out, however, that the generosity of their support was not found so much in the amount they gave, as it was in the attitude with which they gave.
“They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem.” - 2 Corinthians 8:4 (NIV)
The Macedonians, because of their devotion to God, counted it an extreme privilege to give to support His work. In light of all God had done for them, they reasoned, it was a tremendous joy to give to support His work.
In the same way, you and I should give to support God’s work as a personal expression of our devotion to the Lord.
When I look up at the cross, Where God’s great Steward suffered loss, Yes, loss of life and blood for me! A trifling thing it seems to be To pay the Tithe, dear Lord, to Thee, Of time or talent, wealth or store. Full well I know I owe Thee more. Were the whole realm of nature mine. That were a present far too small; Love so amazing, so divine. Demands my soul, my life, my all! A million times I owe thee more. But that is just the reason why I lift my heart to God on high; And pledge thee by this portion small, My life, my love, my all in all!
Do you love God? If so, then give to God’s work through His church as a personal expression of your devotion to the Lord.
2. Give as a person expression of your faith in the Lord - vs. 2-3
Note how Paul says that they gave “beyond their ability.” Because they honored God with their generosity, the Macedonians experienced the power of God that Paul described in Ephesians 3:20:
“God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!” - Ephesians 3:20 (The Message)
As Paul explained in that passage, when we let God work through us by being obedient to His call, we will then experience the over-whelming nature of his power! Because the Macedonians allowed God to work through them to meet the ministry needs of the Apostle Paul and the Jerusalem believers, they were blessed to experience the power of God to enable them to go far beyond what they imagined they could go. Though they were in poverty, they took a step of faith, and God honored their faith by filling their lives with overflowing joy and expanding the effectiveness of their gift.
If we will be faithful to obey God’s call, he will be faithful to keep his promise. And what has He promised with respect to giving?
“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” - Luke 6:38 (NIV)
“Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.” - Luke 6:38 (The Message)
“You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” - 2 Corinthians 9:11 (NIV)
I once heard Dr. M.C. Williams, a pastor from Denver, Colorado, speak at a pastor’s conference in Oklahoma. He preached on Matthew 13:44, which says, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” He went on in the sermon about how we need to be more like the man in the parable, when it comes to our faith and trust in the fact that since the church is the focal point of God’s work in this world, that it’s worth whatever sacrifice is necessary to support the work of the church because THERE’S A TREASURE IN IT!
Do you believe God? If so, then give to God’s work through His church as a personal expression of your faith in the Lord.
3. Give as a personal expression of your growth in the Lord - v. 7
In light of the Macedonian example, Paul encouraged the Corinthians to develop their spiritual maturity by growing in the grace of giving.
What does it mean to be mature? A good definition is “to assume responsibility for one’s actions.” A parent, for example, knows his child is demonstrating maturity if he accepts responsibility for his actions. Likewise, God recognizes spiritual maturity in His children when we accept responsibility for our obedience or lack thereof.
Too many Christians have not matured in the area of giving. This is demonstrated by the fact that they blame their lack of obedience on the kids, the car payment, the grocery bill, the size of their pay check, or even the unreasonableness of God’s expectation. Well, the time has come to GROW UP! The time has come to accept responsibility for my actions with respect to practicing the spiritual discipline of giving. The bottom line is that if I am not seeking to honor God in my finances by giving to support His work through his church, it is because I am not willing to make the lifestyle changes that are necessary to do so!
I am not saying to ignore your bills or living expenses. To the contrary, I am saying, “Give thought to your expenses and the management of your finances. Ask God to guide you in the management of your money and possessions; and you will be able to not only pay your bills, meet your expenses, AND give as you should to support God’s work.” And as you adjust your lifestyle so that you can give to support God’s work, your giving will be an expression of your commitment to grow in the Lord.
Have you ever avoided doing something you knew needed to be done, knowing full well that it wouldn’t go away on its own?
It reminds me of the farmer who had plowed around a large rock in one of his fields for years. It had caused him to break several plowshares and a cultivator. He knew he should have removed the rock; but it was so large, he figured he’d need help, and he just never got around to it.
One fall, after breaking another plowshare and remembering all the trouble the rock had caused him through the years, he finally determined to do something about it. When he put a pry bar under the rock, he was surprised to discover that although the rock was large in diameter, it was only about six inches thick. He picked up his sledge hammer, pounded the rock a few times, and it broke up easily.
As he carted away the pieces, he had to smile, remembering how he had bypassed the rock all these years, and how easy it would have been to have gotten rid of it sooner.
There’s often the temptation to bypass an obstacle that appears large on the surface when in reality it’s not as big as it seems. This happens often when it comes to giving to God’s work. 10% (a tithe) can, on the surface, look too big to handle. But when determine that you are going to obey the Lord, you will find that He will guide you in breaking down your life in such a way as to enable you to obey Him and be even more productive in the process.
“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!” - Malachi 3:10 (NLT)
It has been pointed out the “opening the windows of heaven” refers to God shedding his light your life so as to provide you with the guidance you require to adjust your lifestyle and lead you into his blessing.
“God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” - 2 Corinthians 9:8 (NIV)
Conclusion: (Show video: “The Plate”)
For most of us, it’s never easy to begin a systematic program of giving freely and generously and regularly to the Lord’s work. But once you overcome those first obstacles, the rewards are so wonderful you would never return to anything less than your fullest financial commitment.
Let me encourage you to commit to the discipline of tithing and giving to God’s work as He directs. Do so as an expression of your love for Him, your faith in Him, and just watch how you will be blessed as you grow in your relationship with Him.
