“God loves a giver – Sometimes – Part 2”
Gladstone Baptist Church – 14/5/06 am
(Much of this material is sourced from Randy Alcorn’s book. “the Treasure Principle”)
Read Luke 12:13-34 & Matt 13:44-46
Last week I think that I stirred up a bit of hornet’s nest didn’t I. And I am glad. If you were with us last week and you are back again today – I commend you for coming to find out what I believe strongly the bible teaches us on this incredibly important spiritual discipline of giving. If you weren’t here last week, I want to give you a quick recap of where we got up to so that you know where we are heading today.
Last week I started off by saying that Jesus while on earth put a huge emphasis on what we do with our money. In fact it has been stated that 15% of all that is recorded about what Jesus said relates to money. You see, Money is so important, because God knows that our attitude to money actually is a barometer of our attitude to him. Jesus said that you can’t serve 2 masters – you either serve the God of the dollar or you serve the God of the universe. Your attitude to money shows what your attitude to God is. God is looking for people who will honour Him in their lives (their worship) and this means honouring God in their use of money.
I also admitted last week that I didn’t think that I was honouring God in the use of my money. I tithed religiously, but I was no better than the Pharisees and teachers of the law that Jesus condemned in Matt 23:23. I had the wrong attitude to my money and so I had made it into a religious practice rather than an act of worship.
Last week we started off by looking at the first 2 of 5 characteristics of a God honouring giver. Can anyone remember what the first characteristic was?
Characteristic 1) A God honouring giver sees money as “GOD’S MONEY” rather than “MY MONEY”
Everything on this earth belongs to God. We are not owners of anything – we are God’s investment managers and that has some huge implications for us. Firstly it means that we need to invest God’s money for his benefit – not our own. God does give us permission to use his money for our own existence – to pay the bills, to feed our family, to provide for them as responsible parents. But the other side of the coin is that given that this money is God’s we need to use it responsibly. God is expecting a return on his investment, just like the master in the parable of the talents expected his servants to achieve a return on his money. We need therefore not just to consider what we do with the amount we give back to God, but also what we do with the bit we keep for our own use. See everything we have is God’s and we need to use it responsibly for him.
Now I believe that providing adequately for our family is using our resources responsibly for God. The return on this investment is children who grow up living for Christ and serving Christ. But there is a difference between providing adequately for our children and spoiling them.
I also stated last week that we have often been misled when it comes to giving back to God. I don’t know whether it was always taught this way, or whether it was just what I wanted to hear … but I believed that I owed God 10% – a tithe and that is it – the rest is mine. This doesn’t fit with the investment manager concept does it. Everything is God’s and he is just as interested in the 10% as the 90% or the 20% and 80% whatever it be.
I said that in the Old Testament the tithe was only part of the worship of God. It is likely that the Israelites gave 20-30% back to God. In the New Testament Jesus takes this even further. He says – sell everything and give to the poor. He told his disciples to leave every and follow him.
Now I know that quite a few people this week have been a bit put out that I said that as a minimum you need to be giving 10% to God and if you are not giving 10% - you are stealing from God. They think this is quite legalistic. But let me challenge you to show me where in the New Testament is the tithing principle revoked. You see it isn’t. But you say, Paul says we are no longer under the law, but grace – yes we are. The question is – which laws is he referring to??? Would any of you say that it is okay under the New Testament covenant to commit murder or adultery or steal? No of course not. We are still bound by that law. Why? Because these things are not revoked in the New Testament - actually Jesus upped the anti on these things. Don’t murder – but hating a person is as good as murder. Don’t commit adultery – but looking at someone in lust is as good as sleeping with them. And in exactly the same way, Jesus upped the anti on giving. He didn’t revoke the tithe, he said – “I don’t want you to make it into a religious ritual of 10%. Actually – what I want is everything.” See the investment manager mentality coming through.
When Jesus said don’t hate, he didn’t allow people to murder, just because he expanded the breadth of it. When Jesus said, I own everything and want you to use everything you have for my kingdom, in the same way he didn’t give permission for people to stop giving 10%.
I honestly believe that God still requires us to tithe – to give 10%. But he expects this as a minimum. Hear me now – a minimum. He actually expects us to exceed it if we can.
What is the law we are no longer under – the sacrificial and cleanliness laws which were given by God to enable his people to be forgiven. Tithing has nothing to do with being justified before God or being saved – it has everything to do with recognising God’s lordship of our lives and I don’t think this has changed. So tithing is still relevant – but as a minimum standard.
The second characteristic was this 2) A God honouring giver focuses on what is GIVEN, rather than what is KEPT. They don’t ask the question – “Is what I am keeping enough”. They ask - “Is what I am giving away enough.” A good investment manager will minimize his or her own costs to try to maximize the return for the owner. I believe that God is looking for us to minimize or limit our life’s expenses in order to maximize what we can do for his kingdom. This may involve downsizing our house or lifestyle to make it simpler and free up our time and money for God’s work. This may involve giving up some of the commitments we have to enable us to give more time to God without neglecting our family. We need to limit our consumerism to maximize what we can free up for God’s work.
This is all pretty heavy isn’t it and it seems like a fairly big ask, but is it really?
Characteristic 3) A God honouring givers look at the ETERNAL rather than the TEMPORARY.
The two parables that we read at the beginning of the sermon today illustrate this characteristic by contrasting 2 men. They each saw something of value and sought to attain it. The first man was a wealthy farmer and had a couple of good years. His barns were overflowing with grain and so he thought – I’ll tear them down and build even bigger ones so I can store even more food. The question has to be asked – why? How much grain do you really need to store for food? After all – it is not going to last for ever – it will degrade and rot, mice will get in and eat it. What is the point of storing up so much that is temporary. This story ends by the man dying and losing everything he has worked for.
The second man is walking through a field and stumbles on a treasure hidden there. He doesn’t just pick it up and walk away with it – that is stealing. But he goes and sells everything – he gives up all he has to be able to acquire something that he sees will be of ultimate value and will last.
Jesus’ advice for us in Luke 12: 33f is to “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
You see there is a treasure that is worth seeking after – but it is not found here on this earth. Jesus says – the treasure that is worth pursuing is in heaven. It won’t rust, it won’t be eaten by moths, it can’t be stolen.
Many of us (me included) are consumed with building up our treasures on this earth. In today’s society, though we don’t build barns. We build houses. We buy cars, boats, entertainment units. We buy investment properties and share portfolios. We invest into superannuation schemes. When we have excess money, we either spend it on some luxuries of life or we put it away for a rainy day. God is looking at us and saying … , ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
Imagine you were alive at the end of the American civil war. The land was divided and they even had different currencies. There were Confederate money in the south and Union money in the North. You were from the North, but you were living in the South and while you were there you have accumulated a lot of Confederate money. Now imagine that you know for a fact that the South, the confederates were going to lose the war very soon. What are you going to do with all that Confederate money. If you are smart, there is only one thing – immediately cash this confederate money into Union money. Only Union money will have any value after the war is over. You would only keep enough Confederate money to meet your short term needs.
This is exactly how we need to look at our own money. We live in a temporary world for 80 or so years. But then after that is eternity. We need to just keep enough money to meet your short term needs here on earth and invest the rest into kingdom money.
Randy Alcorn pictures it as a dot followed by a line that goes on and on. Our current life is the dot. Our lives in heaven is represented by the line. The problem we have is that most of us are living for the dot rather than the line. Our focus is on the blink of the eye that is this life and we aren’t even thinking about eternity.
Jesus says - Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
When you think about this, storing up treasures on this earth is not just wrong – it is plain STUPID!!!! We think that the person with the most stuff is the most successful. God looks at them as the most stupid.
What is this treasure in heaven? We don’t really know, but Jesus talks about it as power (Luke 19:15-19), possessions (Matt 19:21), pleasures (Ps 16:11), living with Christ (Phil 3:7-11), a place in heaven, eternal rewards (crowns - 1 Cor. 9:25; 2 Tim. 4:8; Jas. 1:12; 1 Pet. 5:4; Rev. 2:10), and probably one of the best things will be other people’s souls who we have somehow been a part of bring to know Christ. Heavenly treasure is real and worth working towards.
The Author A.W. Tozer has written “As base a thing as money often is, it yet can be transmuted into everlasting treasure. It can be converted into food for the hungry and clothing for the poor [remember Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats – we do it for the least and we are doing it for God]; it can keep a missionary actively winning lost men to the light of the gospel and thus transmute itself into heavenly values. Any temporal possession can be turned into everlasting wealth. Whatever is given to Christ is immediately touched with immortality.”
How do we get this treasure in heaven – we SEND IT ON AHEAD through our generosity and good deeds. 1 Tim 6:17- 19 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
It is a fact of life that you can’t take your possessions with you. I’ve never seen a hearse with a U-Haul trailer behind it loaded up with lots of stuff. You can’t take treasure with you, but you can send it on ahead. A God honouring giver is more concerned about eternity than about their lives here on earth. They will store up treasure and rewards for themselves in heaven.
Characteristic 4) A God honouring giver is motivated by LOVE NOT DUTY. I said last week that I had made giving a ritual. It was like paying a bill. I did it out of duty. But God isn’t looking for dutiful givers, but JOYFUL givers.
2 Cor 9:6 says Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion [Not out of duty], for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And 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.
I’ve just talked about the fact that our generosity and good deeds is credited to us as heavenly treasure. But to balance this, our motive should not just be what can I get out of it. God seeks people who give not because they have to or because they will gain, but because they want to. Remember that I said at the beginning of this service that tithing isn’t about earning your way to heaven, it is about showing the due RESPECT AND GRATITUDE to the God of this universe. Giving yourself – your time, money, possessions to God is not about earning brownie points, but about serving in love. God desires people who give because they love Him not because they have to.
Remember a time when you were in love with another person. You’d do anything for them. You’d give up watching the football grand final or you’d forgo a fishing trip or a night out with the girls. You’d be happy to spend a lot of your hard earned cash on them – on cards, gifts, flowers, chocolates. Love motivates a generous spirit and God honouring givers give out of love. They love God and so they want to give as much as they can back to him and they give it back cheerfully. Do you see why I said that our attitude to our money shows what our relationship with God is like. Do you love God? Then it will be seen in how you use your money.
Characteristic 5) A God honouring givers act by FAITH NOT REASON.
I know that many who are sitting here are thinking – “I would love to give, but I honestly don’t know where the money will come from. I am flat out paying the bills now. It doesn’t make any sense to give 10% or more away when I can hardly meet the bills now.” Life is expensive and I know that, but I also know Jesus’ promises. In Jesus tells his audience not to worry about the things of this world because God will provide for your needs if you seek his kingdom.
Look at Luke 12:22
22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
27 “Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
Sometimes we have to be willing to take a step of faith and test God. In Mal 3:10 he says
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.
This is a promise that God will bless those who bless Him. It may not be that he will shower you will material blessings (more money or possessions) – that is not what he promises. But he will bless your life because of your faithfulness. I know it may not make sense to give away money when you think you can’t afford it, but doing just this will show honour to God. God honouring givers act in faith, not from reason alone.
God loves a giver when that giver is honouring him. We honour him when
1) We see our money as His money
2) We focus on what we give not on what we keep
3) We look at the eternal rather than temporary
4) We give out of love not duty
5) We act by faith not reason.
Some Practical Things to get us started …
Okay, lets wrap this up by talking really practically about how you might start to become a God honouring giver.
1) If you are not giving 10%, START NOW. This may mean that you have to get some help to reorganize your finances. Maybe you need to clear some debt or downsize your consumerism. Maybe in an extreme – you need to sell your car or house that is crippling you with debt and buy a cheaper one. Maybe you need to just find someone with some financial nouse who can help you put together a budget and figure out where you can free up some money. Out on the table out in the foyer there are some sheets you can take to help you put together a budget. There is also a sheet of paper where you can write your name down if you would like some help to put together a budget. We’ve got some people in this church that are definitely able to help out in this way and if there is enough interest we might try to get a group together and teach you some basic financial management principles.
If you aren’t used to giving regularly – put on God’s training wheels and start by giving 10%. Put God to the test and see if he provides for you. When he does and your faith grows – that 10% might be able to grow.
If you have been giving 10% comfortably for years, maybe God is calling you to take another step. Personally for me, this is where I am at. Deanna and I used to have 2 wages which we tithed. Now we are dropping down to one wage and soon adding 3 kids. But I have been challenged to keep up the same level of giving as we were when we were on 2 wages. I don’t know how we are going to do this, but it is a step of faith and I believe that God will provide.
2) Ask God to give you wisdom in USING & INVESTING his money. Ask him to show you where you can limit your lifestyle to fund his kingdom. If you can afford to give more than 10% ask God to show you how to use some of the remainder of His money. Given it is his money anyway, he probably has some thoughts about where it is needed. I hope that God thinks that it is worth investing some of it in this church because I think we are doing some stuff here that expands his kingdom.
3) Give to God FIRST. What I find is that what ever money I have in my pocket or bank account it is easily spent. But if it is not there, I don’t spend it. So the habit we need to get into is to give the money to God first. That is what he has always suggested anyway – give my first fruits. Probably the best way you can do this through direct debiting. You can set this up so that on the day after you get paid, your bank takes your gift and deposits it straight into the account of the church or other organization you are giving to. This way, you don’t even see it – it is automatically done and you can rest assured that God gets the first and therefore never misses out. Again, out on the foyer table, there are forms for direct debiting to our church if you want to formalize your giving to this church. Alison is the expert here and will be out in the foyer to help answer any questions you like.
If you are used to working with cash. Another thing you can use is offering envelopes. They aren’t labeled in any way so we don’t know who is giving what – but it is a great way for you to know that you are giving regularly. There is 52 weeks in a year so if you have some left over at the end of the year, you know you’ve missed some weeks and can make up. We’ve put a box of these in everyone’s pigeon hole this week. If you don’t need them – just leave them on the front table. If you need another box or haven’t got a pigeon hole, grab one from the table in the foyer.
4) Give in proportion to your EARNINGS. The last practical piece of advice is to give in proportion to your earnings. Some people can afford to less and give more. Some may have a bigger family and maybe all they can give is 10% for now. That’s okay. God is not looking for everyone to go into debt to try to match the Jones’ giving down the road who are giving thousands each week. But what he does ask is that we give according to our means. The widow who put in 2 small copper coins gave far more than the full money bags of the wealthy, because it cost her. God is not interested so much in the figure you give, but the attitude you give it with. The widow gave all she had and it was credited to her in glory. What is God asking you to give? Give it and don’t compare.
God wants to be God honouring givers. For some of us, we have to change some things to make sure this occurs. Are you willing to change? I pray so.
