Excellence In Giving—How It Touches Me 10/17/2010
2 Samuel 24:18-25 Luke 12:13-21
Today we are in the final of 3 messages under Excellence In Giving. Pastor Toby preached on How Our Giving Touches God, Pastor Kellie preached on “How Our Giving Touches Others”, and “I’ll be preaching on “How Our Giving Touches Me.” This message is important for us all, because few things will determine more of what kind of a person we will be in life, more than the way we learn to give.
How we give is going to impact who is willing to marry us, who is going to be willing to be our friends, and who is going to be willing to show up at our funeral and say something about us. It is also going to determine, what heaven is going to be like for those of us who enter into it as well as what life will be like in hell for those who choose to enter it.
When it comes to giving, you are either a giver or you’re not. Giving has nothing to do with how much you have. It has everything to do with, how you see what you have. In our clip, Chris #1 & Chris #2 had the same amount of donuts in the box. Chris #1 held on to his donuts, Chris #2 gave them away.
Chris number one could only see that,” I might need this for something I want to do in the future.” Chris #2 could only see that “I have been blessed, let me make the opportunity of being a blessing to someone else.
Which Chris is going to have a greater impact in life? Which Chris is going to have a more meaningful life? Which Chris is going to be loved more by his children? Which Chris is more likely to be a tither in the church? Which Chris is more likely to get on board with the Campaign for Excelling in giving? Now look, you could tell all that from what he did with a box of donuts. It was not what Chris had that made the difference, it was the attitude toward what he had.
The attitude we are to have is to come from Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “let this mind, this attitude, be in you that was also in Christ Jesus.” Do we really want the mind of Christ running around in our heads. It could really mess up some of the things we normally do. The mind of Christ will cause us to see things in a way we have not seen them before.
God is at work on two levels in our campaign for excellence in our giving. There is the level we will all see which is the way in which our church building is going to be transformed. We will see the doors, the parking lot, the classrooms, the robes, the carpet and all the other stuff being changed and come into being. What we will not be able to see is the God at work in each of our individual hearts. But know God is going to be at work. Some of us are going to be willing to listen to the Spirit as the Spirit seeks to develop a giving spirit within us, but some of us will fight it from the start and will be changed with time. Some of us will fight it to the end. God is more interested in what is going to happen in our hearts than God is the amount that actually comes in. This building will one day collapse. You will be around forever.
There are two ways, we can look at our campaign. “We can ask the question, what’s the most I can give” or we can ask the question “what’s the least I can give and feel good about it.” Now the answer might be the same to both questions, but the choice of question we ask, is going to determine what God is able to do in and through us as individuals. Our giving affects how God is able to send things into our lives, even before we give the first dime.
We like to cry that we are broke and poor. How many of us realize that we are far wealthier than Jesus was when he walked the face of the earth. If you’ve got 4 changes of clothing, your wardrobe is probably much larger than Jesus ever had on earth.
Many of us get a check at least once a month. Jesus did not have that steady income coming in. Just think of all the stuff we have in our homes, garages, and attics. Jesus did not come close to possessing that kind of wealth. Many of us have cars or a bus pass. Jesus walked almost everywhere. Jesus had to borrow a donkey to ride on just a few days before he died for our sins.
Many of us have jewelry. I doubt if Jesus had a gold necklace or diamond earrings or the like. The only thing we know he left behind was the clothing on his body, and they rolled dice for that while he was still on the cross. Can you imagine one of us standing before Jesus and saying, “I would have liked to have given something, but I just didn’t have anything to give.” The Bible tells us that Jesus became poor in order that we might become rich.
In our OT reading, David refused to offer a sacrifice to God from something somebody gave him for free. He said, look if you give me the sheep, it’s your sacrifice not mine. I will pay you the full value for it. I will not offer God a sacrifice that cost me nothing.
A guy came to Jesus one day, and said, “Jesus, I want you to tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Now we do not know what the circumstances were surrounding the inheritance problem. Maybe the guy deserved a portion of the inheritance and maybe he did not. He wanted Jesus on his side in this dispute with his brother.
Jesus, told the man, “Man who appointed me a judge or arbitrator between the two of you.” Jesus refused to get involved in this money squabble probably, because he knew there was another issue lurking here. It was not so much an issue of justice or compassion as it was the issue of greed. Now Jesus directs his next comment not solely to the man, but to his followers. He said in Luke 12:15, Luke 12:15 (NIV) 15 Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
Notice that Jesus used the words all kinds of greed. All kinds means that there is more than just one type of greed. We can be greedy with our possessions, our money, our family, our children, our lifestyle, our time, our home, our pleasures, and a host of other things.. My willingness to give is the best weapon I have against greed. The less I give the more greedy I become.
Greed is not something we talk about a lot, because it affects all of us more than we know. Greed is found not only in corporations, but it in each of our hearts. Greed makes us afraid of what’s going to happen in the future. It paralyzes our ability to become more generous because we fear the change that may happen to us if we don’t have enough. Once we get a certain level of possessions, the possessions begin to own us and demand that we take care of them at a certain level that limits our ability to become givers.
Andy Stanley wrote this. People with greed lodged in their heart fear that God either can’t or won’t take care of them. More to the point, they’re afraid that God won’t take care of them in the fashion or style in which they want to be cared for. And the gap between what they suspect God might be willing to do and what they want becomes a major source of anxiety. Greedy people then carry the burden of getting and maintaining everything they need to provide the sense of security they desire.
The problem of greed really boils down to the issue of trust. Can we trust God to provide for us when we need. If not, then we are going to hold tightly to what we have. Our ability to give, is directly related to our ability to trust God. Now if God was going to give you the option of choosing to learn to trust Him through difficult circumstances, which option would you take. God says “choose one, would you rather lose your wealth, your health, or your family?” Which one would you choose to willing to let go of in order to learn what it is to trust God?
In response to the request to “help me get my share of the money, Jesus tells a story. He said the ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. First of all do you see where this increase came from. It came from the ground, which means it came from God and the things that God had provided. When the rich man saw this abundance, he thought to himself, “What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.
Now this is the same thing as the person, who got a raise, got a bonus, got a promotion, received an inheritance, or won some amount of money. It was an unexpected blessing in his life. There was nothing wrong with the rich man’s question. “What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.” We have all asked that question in one form or another.
Far too often we respond by saying, “now that I have this, I can get this for myself.” What shall I do? I already have what I need. But I just got this increase, what am I going to do. Unfortunately the tv ads have already told us what to do, spend it or upgrade.
Did it ever occur to you, that an unexpected blessing in your life, just might be a test from God to see if He could bless you with more? Remember Jesus said, “the one who is faithful with little, will also be faithful in much. But the one who is unfaithful in little, will also be unfaithful in much.” If we feel, this is mine as opposed to this is from the Lord , what makes us think we won’t feel the same if we got a huge amount. Everything that God sends through your hands is not for you to keep. God wants some vessels that God can pass things through to other people. Giving puts you in a place to be a channel for God to work in and through.
The rich man came to the conclusion, the most logical thing to do is to tear down my barns, and build bigger ones and there I will store all my grains and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry. Isn’t what this rich man’s plan is the goal and the dream of American society. Store up as much wealth as you can, so that in your retirement, you can take life easy, eat, drink and go to Florida for the winters or better yet move to Florida all together.
If you had of asked this guy if he was being greedy, he would have said “of course not. Building bigger barns is a sound a sound business investment strategy. I might have another big crop next year.” He was searching for security in life. He had thought he had enough, but that was before he had the chance to get some more. The idea of sharing the blessing never crossed his mind. Jesus told this story to a group of people who lived from day to day. The average poor person in Jesus’ day didn’t know where his next meal was coming from the following day.
All these people would have gladly exchanged places with this rich man, until Jesus got to the next part of the story. God said to him, “You fool. This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself.” Do you realize that we never fully own anything. Everything we get is on a lease. The word used by God that’s translated “demanded” conveys the idea of life as a loan that must be repaid to God upon demand.
Whether you are serving God or not today, God owns you and God is going to demand you give an account for your life. Nothing we have is going to last forever, so even when we pay for it, we’re only paying to get to use it for a certain amount of time, until we sell it, trade it, give it away, or it falls to pieces. We never own anything. Even if they put it in the coffin and grave with our bodies, we still can’t take it with us into the life that is to come. Naked we came into this world and naked we go out.
Now we can’t take anything with us into the next life, but it is possible to send some of it ahead and have it waiting for us. But the only way to do that is to overcome the issue of greed. Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV) 19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 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. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Where do we want our hearts to be. In things or in God.
We put things into heaven, by fully and completely giving away things here on earth. Our giving affects what is waiting for us in heaven and likewise what is waiting for us in hell. I know what my area of greed is, but I do not know yours, but you do. What is it that you just have to have and would not even consider giving it up? Jesus said there are many kinds of greed. The problem of the rich man in the story, was not his wealth, but his selfishness.
When God entered , the picture farmer realized that there was ONE THING he had not prepared for. He had made a good plan to store his crop, he had made a good plan to save up for the future, he had made plans to enjoy himself. In fact, he had done many things well but he had not prepared for his own soul. Death was not in his planning book. It was not on his calendar or in his Blackberry.
Security in life does not lie with barns and bank accounts, but with God. Luke 12:29-31says "And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well."
Could we put our trust in God, not in barns and bank accounts or our particular lifestyle. Could we be mindful of the reality that God placed you here to help in the work of God’s kingdom, and not just in building a more pleasurable lifestyle. In the eyes of people , this farmer was successful and a good business man, but in the eyes of God, he was a fool and failure. He had the things that money could buy (possessions) but he lost the things that money cannot buy (his life). If someone ask at his funeral, "And how much did he leave behind?" The answer will be "Everything!"
Jesus reminded us of the need to remember God - the Source of all our blessings. God does not have to check to see if there is a recession, a depression of financial crisis going on before He can pour blessings into the lives of His children. There were people who lost jobs when times were good, and there are people who have found jobs in the midst of the recession. God calls us to be givers in both times. Our God is lord over this world’s financial mess. Our call is the same which is to trust God in either financial climate.
God wants us to invest in things that have eternal value. We must invest our life - time, talent, knowledge - in the work of His Kingdom. Lay up "treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal." (cf.12:33). Live life in the light of eternity and we shall be greatly blessed.
We are not asking for you to give money you don’t have. We are asking you to choose to make sacrifices so that God can put you in the place of becoming an even greater giver. We do not lose when we give what we have for the purposes of the kingdom. I’ll never have my name on a building downtown. But God see’s my name written in the stones of this building along with the names of all the other saints who have poured their giving into the ministry of this church. Which brick out there has your name on it, which beam going across has your name on it, and which chair is here because of you.
None of us knows how many days we have left to be shaped into great givers, before we are called to give our accounting. What legacy do you want to leave behind? The more giving you are in your attitude as a person, the more you will be able to accomplish for the cause of Christ. This week, I want everyone to give away a dollar to someone who needs it. You can give away more if you want, but give at least a dollar.
Write on a card to let us know what you did, and it will be our testimony of our desire to become better givers. We have a dollar for anyone who needs one so that we can all participate. If you don’t give it, then you must bring it back whether you take one of ours or use one of your own. We can’t grow into givers if we simply hold on to what we have.
It has nothing to do with how much you have. It rests on how you view what God has given to you. Make up your mind to ask the question, “What’s the best that I can give, when I think about all that He continues to give to me.”
Sermon Outline
Excellence In Giving-How It Touches Me Pastor Rick 10/17/10
2 Samuel 24:18-25 Luke 12:13-21
A. What Kind Of Person Do I Want To Be
1. Which Chris Are You
2. Our Campaign
3. What God Wants To Do In Us
4. Which Question Are You Asking
5. You Are Better Off Than Jesus
6. A Sacrifice Which Costs Me Nothing
B. Jesus Will You Settle The Issue
1. The Issue Of Fairness
2. The Issue Of Greed
Andy Stanley wrote this. People with greed lodged in their heart fear that God either can’t or won’t take care of them. More to the point, they’re afraid that God won’t take care of them in the fashion or style in which they want to be cared for. And the gap between what they suspect God might be willing to do and what they want becomes a major source of anxiety. Greedy people then carry the burden of getting and maintaining everything they need to provide the sense of security they desire.
3. The Issue Of Trust
4. What Trust Option Would You Choose
a. My Wealth
b. My Health
c. My Family
C. Wrong Ways Of Thinking
1. Thinking It’s Mine
Luke 12:15, Luke 12:15 (NIV) 15 Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
2. Thinking I Have Time
3. Thinking God Has Nothing To Say
D. Choosing A New Way Of Thinking
1. Building A New Legacy Today
2. Choosing To Love
3. Jesus Can Do More With You
4. Choosing To Live
5. Remembering Jesus
1 Timothy 6:17-19 (Today's New International Version)
17 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.
Matthew 6:19-21 (Today's New International Version)
Treasures in Heaven
19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 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. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
2 Corinthians 8:9 (NIV)
9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
