As a parent, when I had young children, I remember times that I would give something to one of my children and ask them to share it with their brother/sister. For example you are on a trip in the car and hand child “A” a bag of French fries and ask them to share it with their brother/sister. Before long a fight breaks out. Upon investigation I discover that child “A” does not want to share what I gave them with child “B”. So, I take the French fries back from them. It seems that child “A” forgot I was the provider of the French fries. You might say, in their world, I am the God of their French fries.
Child “A”, like many of us, begins to think that what we have is ours and forget that …
God is the one who gave it to us and
He is the one- determines how we are to use it
Bible talks a lot about money and about being generous in our giving.
God does not need your money or my money.
Bible talks about money because money and way we handle- reveals the spiritual condition of our hearts
Question: How many would like to be known as a below average giver?
Most of us probably would not want to wear that badge, however last week we learned …
The more people have, the less they tend to give, the less people have the more they tend to give.
The richer we become, the more likely we will become a below average giver.
Average American- gives 2-3% of their income.
Those below $10,000 in earnings give 5.2%.
Now, we are not below average in everything.
Many of us are above average spenders.
We know how to shop, find sales, save lots of money.
Some- such good spenders- not only do we spend all that we have, we spend more than we earn.
Over 292 million credit cards in use in- US. Average consumer- 13 credit obligations between credit cards/installment loans. Total consumer debt in US, not including mortgages- $2.5 trillion- we are living beyond our means.
Review
We are in a series- How to be rich.
Not how to get rich- how to be rich and honor God.
Strange time- talk about money- economic turndown.
However, in times like this- good to remind ourselves to live our lives by principle, not by circumstances.
First week looked at- good news and bad news.
Good news is that you are rich.
If earn 45K- in top 1% of wage earners.
When we compare ourselves w/world- we are rich.
Bad news is that you are rich.
Being rich- one of our greatest spiritual challenges …
easy to trust in riches, rather than trust in God.
Good news- you are rich, bad news- you are rich.
Last week we talked about the deceitfulness of riches.
Wealth- deceitful- promises things- cannot deliver.
Promises security/happiness-which only God can give
It causes us never to be satisfied with what we have.
Giving with Intent
Since we are rich- Why did God make us rich?
As we look around at the rich in our nation- obvious conclusion- so they can buy/have/consume more.
Very rarely would I say, based on my observations- God made people rich,
not so they can get more,
but so they can give more.
I have seen a few- as their resources increase, their lifestyle has remained relatively constant.
They created financial margin and are using this to make a difference in other people’s lives.
Why has God made us rich?
2Co 9:10-11 NLT
Image being so generous- causes others to thank God.
I pray our testimony would be …
God has made us rich
but we are not living for ourselves,
though we enjoy the blessings we have,
we do not think it is all for us and
we are giving generously to make a difference.
One reason God makes people rich- so they can give.
We are building a declaration, let’s review it …
God has blessed me
with more than I need,
I am truly rich.
I will not trust in my riches,
but in God who richly provides.
Now let’s build on this declaration …
God has blessed me
with more than I need,
I am truly rich.
I will not trust in my riches,
but in God who richly provides.
Because I have more,
I will give more.
This is how to BE rich- not how to GET rich.
Now we might ask ourselves this next question.
How can I live and give more?
By nature I am selfish- we put our trust in our riches.
Typically as our income increases, we increase our life style- bigger house, go on that vacation.
How can we learn to become bigger givers?
Key thought: Become an intentional giver.
We are not going to be after the fact/left over givers.
We are going to become intentional/prayerful givers.
By contrast- most of us are intentional consumers.
We intentionally scheme to get the things we want.
I will not eat lunch out for a month-to buy what I want. I will figure out how large my income tax return will be, shop for a better deal, buy online- no sales tax, use next pay raise, etc.
We scheme to consume, but rarely scheme to give.
If we kept our life simple, and if we downsize and if we do not buy this thing, then we would have more money to give- this is exciting.
Do we really believe the words of Jesus-
Acts 20:35 … remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ’It is more blessed to give than to receive.’" NASU
How can we learn to more generous in our giving-
By becoming an intentional giver.
2 Cor 9:6-7 NLT
How do I give? I become intentional, I pray/ask God.
Two ways to be intentional in our giving …
1. Return to God what belongs to God
Remember the story about children and forgetting where their French fries came from.
God is the one who gives us what we have and determines how we are to use it.
Deut 10:14 "Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it. NASU
Bible teaches- God is- Creator/giver of all we have.
Ja 1:17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. NASU
We can learn a lot about- condition of our hearts- by examining our check books- how I spend money.
Lev 27:30 ’Thus all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord. NASU
In the OT, when it talks about the tithe- it is talking about how the first tenth belongs to God.
Do not want us to focus on- whether tithe is for today.
I want to look at- principles- whether OT/NT verses
Principles that are true eternally- reveal God’s heart.
If you read further in- OT- discover- God asked not only for- tithe, but free will offerings above- tithe.
So the tithe was really just the starting point of giving.
It becomes more difficult to give- more that we have.
Using the tithe as an example … (counterfeit trick)
Suppose make $10 in a year- pretty easy to give $1 because there is not much you can do with it.
You might even feel extra generous and give $2.
One year you make $10K …
Oh my gosh, now I have to give away $1000. It is more difficult to give away $1000 because you could really do something with that money.
Let’s assume God really blesses you- earn $100K.
Now 10% of 100K is $10K, there is no way I am giving $10K, I can do a lot with that money.
HOWEVER, we are not going to be selfish, we are going to be intentional in our giving.
Return to God a part of what He has given to us- it always belonged to Him (ie. French fries).
There are several principles the tithe can teach us.
A. The tithe teaches us to put God first
Teaches us to organize our lives around God.
Let’s use a pie to demonstrate … (cooking show)
1st pie … a 100% of this pie represents what I have earned. Cut a piece to represent my mortgage, car payment, cable, electricity, credit card debt, children- by the time you are done the pie is gone- only crumbs left over. It is out of these left over crumbs that we give to God.
Let’s look at a better approach-
2nd pie- what we want to do is say the first fruit belongs to God- cut out our first piece and give it to God. Lord, thank you for blessing me with this whole pie, but it is not mine, it belongs to you, I want to honor you by giving you a part of the pie first. Pick up pie- this teaches me to prioritize my whole life around God.
Tithe- teaches us to …
put God first, and
organize my life around Him.
B. The tithe increases my faith in God
By giving to God first it is building my faith as I learn to trust God to take care of me with what is left.
(Hold up 2nd/3rd pie) I believe that whatever portion of the pie is left after I give to God, will go further with the blessing of God, than a 100% of the pie without the blessings of God.
It takes faith to give to God first.
It does not take faith to give what is left over.
It fact, this is a picture of how God gave to us.
Jesus Christ died for our sins, while we were still sinners- before He had any assurance we would believe in Him/receive- gift of eternal life.
So, what have we learned …
A. The tithe teaches us to put Him first
It teaches us to prioritize our lives around him.
B. The tithe increases my faith in God
It takes faith to give to God first and believe He will take care of me with what is left over.
So the tithe teaches us to be intentional givers.
Two ways to be intentional in our giving …
1. Return to God what belongs to God
2. Give more and more as God gives to you
If we want to be generous givers- we must do what we have to do in other areas of life to be successful.
If you want to become a champion bowler, what must you do- you must practice bowling (Dawnie).
If you want to write books- practice writing (Rachel).
If you want to be- generous giver- practice giving.
You may be a reluctant giver, but through practice you can become a generous giver.
2 Cor 8:7
Make it a goal to become a generous giver.
One of the most effective ways to be an intentional in our giving is to be a percentage giver.
Look at- how much give against how much you earn.
You might currently give 5%, 8%, or 10%.
God would challenge you- give 13%, 15%, 18%, 21%
Decide ahead of time what percentage- going to give.
Simple observation- God blesses the generous.
I also believe it is Biblical to support the work of the local church- giving should begin here.
Beyond giving to- local church God might have you-
support a missionary,
give to a local ministry or benevolence fund.
Commit to- increase your offering as God blesses you.
Do not spend every increase entirely on yourself.
Instead of scheming about how we can get more and more, let’s be more intentional in our giving.
Declaration
God has blessed me
with more than I need,
I am truly rich.
I will not trust in my riches,
but in God who richly provides.
Because I have more,
I will give more.
Closing Remarks
I hope we can see how rich we are as a people.
I want God to change our entire approach to living.
May God show us how to live where …
He is first/we prioritize our lives around Him.
How many would like to be more generous?
Biggest giver is God- He gave His Son to us.
Pie Illustration
A. The tithe teaches us to put God first
Teaches us to organize our lives around God.
Let’s use a pie to demonstrate … (cooking show)
1st pie … a 100% of this pie represents what I have earned. Cut a piece to represent my mortgage, car payment, cable, electricity, credit card debt, children- by the time you are done the pie is gone- only crumbs left over. It is out of these left over crumbs that we give to God.
Let’s look at a better approach-
2nd pie- what we want to do is say the first fruit belongs to God- cut out our first piece and give it to God. Lord, thank you for blessing me with this whole pie, but it is not mine, it belongs to you, I want to honor you by giving you a part of the pie first. Pick up pie- this teaches me to prioritize my whole life around God.
Tithe- teaches us to …
put God first, and
organize my life around Him.
B. The tithe increases my faith in God
By giving to God first it is building my faith as I learn to trust God to take care of me with what is left.
(Hold up 2nd/3rd pie) I believe that whatever portion of the pie is left after I give to God, will go further with the blessing of God, than a 100% of the pie without the blessings of God.
It takes faith to give to God first.
It does not take faith to give what is left over.
It fact, this is a picture of how God gave to us.
Jesus Christ died for our sins, while we were still sinners- before He had any assurance we would believe in Him/receive- gift of eternal life.
In Malachi God says, put me to the test …
give to me first and see if I will bless you.
