OPEN: I want to start today by introducing you to a man named Amedeo Obici. Anybody familiar with him? Well, you might not know who he is but I'd bet you know about the company he founded. Let me tell you a little about him. He was born in 1876 in a small village near Venice, Italy. His widowed mother read him letters from his uncle in America, and Amedeo told everyone he was going to America one day. Everyone knew he was an exceptionally bright and enterprising child. By the time he was 11 years old, his family had helped him save enough money for an immigrant's ticket to America, and he set sail by himself. Amedeo had very little money for food and he spoke no English, so his mother gave him a bag of peanuts, which was all he had to eat for the 10-day trip across the ocean. His parents had pinned his destination on the lapel of his coat so that he would end up in the right place after landing here. So he ended up on a train headed for PA. He was supposed to get off in Scranton, but made a mistake and hopped off in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Not knowing what to do with him, since he only spoke Italian, they took him to the owner of the local fruit stand, who also spoke Italian. Amedeo ended up working at that fruit stand as a helper and as a bellhop in a local hotel.. He worked hard and saved his money as he had promised his mother.
So let me put a second image up that might give you a clue to who he is.
Are you familiar with this guy? (Mr. Peanut)
Amedeo soon learned that Americans liked the peanuts he had enjoyed on the ship. Interesting enough at Musante's fruit store they had a peanut roaster and a fan that blew the fragrance of the roasting peanuts out to the street to lure customers to buy fruit and peanuts. The time Amedeo spend with the Musante's inspired him to get his own peanut cart. Soon he found a place to plant a few peanuts. While his peanuts were growing, he saved enough money to buy a horse and wagon. When his peanut crop came in, he drove around calling himself "The Peanut Specialist" selling roasted peanuts. By 1906 he had developed his own method of blanching and roasting peanuts and eventually founded Planters Peanuts headquartered in Suffolk, VA. He became wealthy enough to send money to his family in Italy; and, years later, he gave to the city of Suffolk the Louise Obici Hospital named after his wife. Now, Amedeo had only a handful of peanuts; but he had the choice of what he could do with them. He could have eaten them or sold them, but he wisely chose to plant what he had so that, in time, he would have enough to eat, give away, and sell to send money to his family.
Now this morning everyone had a bag of peanuts given to you as you came into the sanctuary. Every once in awhile you might hear someone say "we had peanuts for an offering." Well, this morning we are going to take a second offering at the end of the service and this is literally going to be true for our church. We are going to have peanuts for an offering. So do not eat your peanuts during the service. You will need them after the message --
Today we are going to be talking about the issue of giving. Typically on the Sunday before Thanksgiving we address half of the word (the thankful part) and seldom get around to talking about the second part of the word (the giving part). The last passage we looked at in the book of James addressed the issue of longing for wealth. So I thought it would be wise for us to explore what the Bible says about giving our wealth away. Now for the preacher, there is probably no area that is approached with more sensitivity and sometimes fear and trepidation than the area of money. We've all probably seen the "televangelist" on our TV sets work the crowd up to an emotional frenzy then come those words flashing across our TV sets "Call and Make your $5000 pledge today! Receive your money miracle." So before we get too far into the message today we want to acknowledge that there are some who approach this topic with mixed and sometimes something less than pure motives. We recognized that, but at the same time we also don't want to avoid the topic of dealing biblically with our resources because the Bible does have a great deal to say about money. Most of us understand that this is just another area that needs to be addressed from a spiritual perspective. Proper stewardship is a matter of Lordship in our lives -- establishing Christ's reign. So while we don't major on this topic week after week, we don't shy away from it either.
Poor giving (lack of generosity) -- reveals a lack of true spirituality.
In 2 Corinthians 9 Paul is writing the church in Corinth in regard to a special missionary offering for Christians who were living in Jerusalem. That area of the world was experiencing a severe famine, and there was a persecution towards believers which was impacting people in a rather dramatic way. Paul at this time is on his 3rd missionary journey and as he goes from place to place he is collecting a "relief offering" to send back to Jerusalem. So he was collecting money from the Gentile churches and taking it back to Jerusalem to help relieve the poverty they were experiencing. The problem was that the giving from the Corinthians had been interrupted. They had begun to participate but not long after they had begun to participate, some false teachers came to Corinth, they began an all-out assault and character assassination on Paul. And that confused them and the spiritual water table of the church took a dive. Like many people, they had made promises, but they failed to keep them. There was a low spiritual level in the church and when the church is not spiritual it is not generous. When people are not spiritual -- they are not generous. A good portion of 2 Corinthians is written to rekindle and reestablish the relationship between Paul and the church. By the time Paul writes this -- that relationship has been restored. So when Paul writes chapters 8 and 9 he wants to re-motivate them in the area of giving.
We are going to focus primarily on chapter nine this morning as we look at principles from God's word in the area of giving. One of the most famous promises in the entire Bible is Philippians 4:19 "My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." That's a pretty broad statement. God says, I will meet all your needs according to my riches in Christ Jesus. Some of you don't understand that verse. You say, "I have needs in my life that are not being met. I have physical needs, I have spiritual needs, I have social needs, I have financial needs. I have a lot of needs in my life that are not being met. So why doesn't this verse work for me? Why isn't this promise working in my life?"
It's not God's fault. You need to understand that behind every promise is a premise. There is a condition. And God says, "If you will do 'this' then I will do 'that.'" And today we're going to look at those conditions. And if you follow those conditions -- the premises behind the promise -- you can count on the fact that God says I will meet all your needs." He doesn't say, I'll meet all your greeds. He says I'll meet all your needs in your life. God spells out first the principle -- what God wants us to do -- then He spells out the procedure -- how to do it. Then finally He gives us the promise -- the guarantee. First Paul lays the foundation:
The Generosity Of Our Giving Should Set An Example For Others To Follow.
Now this isn't a new concept is it? We are to set an example in every of our life that is worthy to be followed, so this isn't introducing anything new. We should set an example in the area of faithfulness, in righteousness, in speech and conduct -- in purity, every area of our life is an area that is being watched by someone. Paul says, Follow my example as I follow Christ." What's true about one area of my life should be true in others. And Paul is just reminding them about this in the area of giving.
There is no need for me to write to you about this service to the Lord's people. For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you in Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action. But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you in this matter should not prove hollow, but that you may be ready, as I said you would be.
Some translations says "it is superfluous for me to write to you about this ministry to the saints." It is not necessary -- it goes beyond what is needed -- it's excessive. He says, "I know that you're willing to give. In fact I've been boasting about your willing to give to others. Over in Macedonia, I've been telling them all about you." in other words -- I've been using your willing to give as an example to motivate others to give. And that motivation apparently worked. If you look back in your Bibles to chapter 8 verses 2-4 you read, In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord's people. 5 And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. Paul there is using the Macedonian church as a motivation for the Corinthian church. In the beginning it was the Corinthian church that set an example for them. "The Macedonians responded with amazing generosity and liberality, and you were the ones that stirred up most of them" Now the Macedonian church was setting an example for the Corinthian church. "I've said you have great love. I've said you were generous. I've said I believe in you, I have confidence in you. Don't make me eat my words. I want you to have a powerful witness to other churches." "So don't be stingy, don't be tight fisted -- be faithful and generous and set a model that other churches can follow." I.E. Speaking at a church in Denver that had a blessing box. You don't go into ministry with a desire to make or accumulate money - but at the same time we had three kids to feed. We drove away from that church with a few potatoes and an invitation to visit the blessing box -- which was filled with old discarded items that people had tossed into it -- there was actually a used toothbrush in it. "That's how you express love to others?" Credibility is always at stake, isn't it? I want every guest that visits this church to drive out of this parking lot, saying, "Wow, they really blessed us." The question should never be, "What's the least we can get by with?" it should always be, "What's the most we can possibly do?" Paul goes on to teach them some basics on giving. Here's the principle:
THE PRINCIPLE - When You Have A Need Plant A Seed.
2 Corinthians 9:6 "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and whoever sows generously will also reap generously."
This is the principle of sowing and reaping. When a farmer looks at a barren field and he wants to have a crop what does he do to get a crop? Does he pray about it? No. Does he complain about it? No. Complaining is worthless at that point. What he needs to do is go out and sow some seed. Until he sows some seed nothing is going to happen on that piece of barren property. He has to start by giving.
Imagine two farmers and they're both in debt. They both have a sack of seed. One farmer says, "This is all I've got. I'm going to hold on to it. I'm not going to give it away. I'm not going to spread it because it's all I've got and once it's gone, it's gone." He's never getting out of debt. The other farmer says, "Here's a sack of seed. I'm going to go spread it out. The only way I'm going to get out of debt is to give what I've got away." That is the principle. The more seed you sow the bigger the harvest. If I want a little crop, I sow a little bit of seed. If I want a medium crop I sow a medium amount of seed. If I want a big crop, I sow a whole lot of seed. When you have a need, plant a seed.
What is God saying here? God is saying His financial plan for your life starts with giving in faith. It's a test of faith. That may seem illogical. You say, "I don't have enough. Why would I give away what I've got?" Because God's ways are not your ways. And God wants to teach you to live by faith. God says, "My ways are not your ways." What's man's way when you get in a financial bind? Typically our response is to hold on to it -- clutch it, preserve what we have. And if that doesn't work - Charge it. Put it on a credit card. I don't have enough so I'll just put it on credit. If that doesn't work, you do what you got to do to get by. You steal it. Remember the wealthy in James chapter 5? They protected their wealth by grinding the face of the poor -- by withholding wages that were due -- by stealing and embezzling, by hoarding. God says, "Time out! That's not My plan." God's way is Give it. He says when you have a need, sow some seed. You want to talk about something that will challenge your faith -- wow! It's exactly opposite of what the world says to do.
But understand this -- our willingness to embrace God's plan is a statement of faith. I've talked to a lot of people who say, "When I get out of debt, then I'll start giving." God says, "You don't understand. Start giving and I'll help you get out of debt." We walk by faith and not by sight. It's a statement of faith. The best time to plant seed is when you have a need. The best time to be generous is when you're under financial tension. Paul speaking about the churches in Macedonia, says this, "Out of the most severe trail, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity." (8:2) Why is he commending them? Because they gave in spite of their difficult circumstances. (and God blessed them because of that) They modeled the biblical principle that we give to God regardless of our circumstances. Is he above our problems and difficulties? Or do we attempt to get the ship in shape ourselves and then start giving to God when we can afford it?
This principle of sowing and reaping applies to every area of your life. Not just finances but every single area.
One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. (Prov. 11:24-25)
Whatever you give out in life you're going to get back. If you give out criticism, what are you going to get back? Criticism. If you give out kindness, people are going to be kind to you. If you give out anger, you know what you're going to get back? Anger. Whatever you give out you're going to get back. If you give out love you're going to get back love. If you need more energy, you give it away. How do you get more energy? By sitting around eating potato chips and watching the ball game? No. By going out and exercising. By giving away energy when you exercise, you build muscle by using a muscle. Whatever you need more of you use it. Give it away and God will bless it. That's the principle. When I have a need, whatever I need more of, I give it away. The procedure is in the next verse.
THE PROCEDURE - Give With The Right Attitude.
There's a right way and a wrong way to plant seed. There's a right way and wrong way to give. It doesn't work unless you do it with the right attitude. 2 Corinthians 9:7 "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."
Let's clarify this right up front. God doesn't need your money. God owns all the money anyway. In fact your money isn't really yours any way. It's God's. He just gave it to you. You get to use it while you're alive and then when you're dead He's going to give it to somebody else. We don't really own anything. It's just kind of on loan from God while we're here on earth. So God doesn't need our money. What is he after?
He wants our heart. He wants what our money represents. Most of us spend all our lives thinking about money, planning about money, saving money, spending money, worrying about money, investing money, using money. God says it's such a major part of your life I want to be in your life. God wants your heart, not your money. He doesn't need your money. He wants your heart. That's what it represents. The Bible says, "Where your treasure is, your heart is." God is far more interested in your attitude than He is in the amount. He's not interested in how much you give as much as He's interested in why and how you give that amount.
Now I want you to notice that in this verse there are two kinds of givers that are being compared to each other. One represents bad giving. The other represents good giving. In fact if you look at verses 5-7 there are terms that are given to compare these two kinds of people:
Bad Giving: Grudgingly (v.5)Sparingly (v.6)Reluctantly (v.7) Under Compulsion (v.7)
Good Giving: Generous (v.5) "Willingly" in some translations, Generous (v.6)Cheerful (v.7)
There are three descriptions of how not to give and three descriptions of how to give. Let's think for a moment about bad giving. In each of these descriptions the essence of what's wrong is the desire to hold back. There is giving! But it's coming from a heart that wants to hold back. Take the word "grudgingly" in verse 5. KJV uses the word "covetousness" A person who gives grudgingly has a coveting heart - It indicates grasping to hold more, grasping to get more at the expense of others. Or take the word "sparingly," for example, in verse 6. If I say, "Spare my life!" I mean, let me keep it; don't take it from me. If I say, "Spare no effort!" I mean, hold back no effort. Give all the effort you can! When Paul said, "God did not spare his only Son," he meant, God did not hold him back. He didn't keep just Jesus for himself. He shared him. So to give sparingly is to give from a heart that deep inside wants to hold back. "Reluctantly" - You're doing it but you're sad about it, you're sorrowful about it. It's painful. You're doing it but you really don't want to do it. "Under Compulsion" - outside pressure because somebody told you have to. "I'm not happy about this -- but I'm compelled to it." That's how not to give.
Take the positive side now. In verse 6 the word is "generous". In the Greek it's the same word as the one used in verse 5. Literally, it means give on the basis of blessing. Our giving should rest upon the great truth that God is a generously blessing God, and then our gift in turn should be a generous blessing to others. Verse 7 says, it should be "cheerful". So giving generously means giving from a heart that wants to share things. Something has happened in the heart so that the basic desire is now to give and share as much as possible instead of keep as much as possible. It's as though there was a magnet in the soul that was used to be turned so that it pulled possessions into itself; and now something has happened to turn it around to the other pole so that it pushes things out toward others.
That leads us to ask, what makes the difference between these two kinds of hearts? -- the sparing heart, and the generous heart? I would answer like this, and then we will see it from the text as we read on.
The "spairing" heart has a relationship to God that sees God as a Taker rather than a Giver. If my life is being drained away by God because he is so incessantly and solely demanding, then I feel like grasping after the things of the world to meet my need. If every time I look up I see the pointing finger of God demanding, "Give me! Give me! Give me!" how can I look at the needs of the world and say "Use me: I will gladly spend and be spent for your good." Now this person will give something- but because of the draining demands that he hears when he looks to this ever demanding ever taking God is: "Give something to the church!" So out comes the gift -- the draining, life depleting, exhausting, sparing gift.
But what a difference between this gift and the gift that flows from the heart that has a relationship with God that feels him as a Giver rather than a Taker! Beneath the generous giving of verse 6 and the cheerful giving of verse 7 is a heart that looks up to God and sees a Giver, a Supplier, a Helper. When this person looks to God he feels replenished not drained. Just like the literal translation of verse 6 implies, his giving is based on blessing -- God's blessing. What makes the difference then between the sparing giver and the generous giver is their relation to God. For one he is an incessantly demanding, draining Taker. For the other he is an inexhaustible Giver.
And so THE big issue for our lives this morning how we see God. What do we feel him to be when we look up into his face? This is the issue. We can't give with a right attitude if we do not understand him properly. If you want God to meet all your needs you need to have five good attitudes in your life. They're all in this verse:
Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (verse 9:7)
1. I am to give thoughtfully. It says, "Make up your own mind." Don't let anybody tell you what to give. They can't. You have to make up your own mind. Thoughtfully. You don't give impulsively, you think about it. You pray about it. You make a deliberate decision based on prayer and conscious thought.
2. Be enthusiastic. I'm to give enthusiastically. He says "... not reluctantly," not out of guilt motivation. Never give out of guilt. "... not grudgingly." Not grin and bear it ("I've got to give something now!") Don't give reluctantly.
3. I am to give voluntarily. It says "... not in response to pressure." If you've been around here any length of time you know we don't believe in pressured giving. Some of you say, "I feel pressured just you talking about it!" That's your problem! I'm not pressuring you. That's an internal problem and you may need to deal with that. We do have counseling. I'm not putting any pressure on you. In fact, let me tell you just the opposite. If you ever feel pressured to give -- don't. Because you don't get any credit for it. God says it's your attitude that counts. So if you ever feel pressured to give, the Bible says don't do it. That means if somebody ever comes to your door and they give you a sob story and they're putting you under pressure to give you can say, "Pastor Tim told me not to give!" Because I am. Never, never, never give under pressure. If you feel pressured it's not going to count anyway in God's book and what He's looking for is your heart.
4. I am to give cheerfully. If I want God to meet my needs the Bible says, "God loves the person who gives cheerfully." The New Testament of the Bible was originally written in Greek and the word for cheerful there is hilaros. I'll bet you can't guess what word we get from that. Hilarious. God says I want you to have a good time when you give. It should be a gut busting laughter time. The Bible doesn't say, "Give till it hurts." The Bible says, "Give cause it feels good." And the truth is it does. It's always more fun to give because you know its making a difference. If you haven't learned that you just haven't given enough yet. The Bible says give because it feels good. Why does God love a cheerful giver? Because He's one. God cheerfully gives to you every single second of your life. The breath you just took, God cheerfully gave it to you. You would have nothing if it weren't for God's cheerful giving. And God wants you to learn to be like Him.
When you are giving cheerfully, you are more like Jesus Christ than any other time. You are more like God, you are more godly when you are cheerfully giving than any other time because cheerful giving represents the essence of God. And you cannot be a Christian, a follower of Christ, without learning to give cheerfully. Because that is the nature of God. God loves to give. And He loves to see you give cheerfully and He looks down and goes, "That's my boy! That's my girl! She's giving cheerfully. He's becoming like Me." I'm to give cheerfully.
5. I am to give weekly. 1 Corinthians 16:2 "On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income..." On every Lord's Day (when is the Lord's Day? Sunday, the first day of the week. Why do we worship on Sunday? Because Jesus was resurrected on Sunday. So we celebrate Jesus' resurrection.) put aside some from what you have earned during the week and use it for the offering." Giving is an act of worship and you're to give it on the day of worship in your place of worship. Worship is not just come, sing some songs and hear a message. There are other parts to worship -- prayer, commitment and giving. God says, "I want you to give Me the first part of your money on the first day of the week because I want to be number one in your life." So the principle is when you have a need, plant a seed. And the procedure is give with the right attitude. If you do those two things, then comes the promise.
THE PROMISE - I Can Expect God To Meet All My Needs.
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. (2 Cor. 9:8) God promises this over and over in the Bible. There are more promises about giving in the Bible than any other thing. God has more promises in the Bible about this and that's why we have to deal with it during this series. Because God wants to teach you to expect Him to meet all your needs. 2 Corinthians 9:8 "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." Circle all the "all"s.
"All grace." God says I'll give you all grace. Not some grace. All grace.
"So that in all things." Not in some things of life but in all things.
"At all times." Not some of the time but all of the time.
"You'll have all that you need." Not some of what you need but all of what you need.
"And abound in every good work." Question: What does that verse not cover in your life? It covers everything. Does that include mortgage payments? Yes. Does that include school bills? Yes. Doctor bills? Yes. God says all. Here's the real issue. Is God a liar? That's the issue. you see, when you talk about giving, it's not really about giving. It's about faith. Giving shows whether I have faith or not. Will God do what He says He will do? Will God keep His promises? Can I depend on God? Giving is not about giving; it's about faith.
You see the issue is what do you really believe God is able to do? Ill. Daniel 3:17, the three young men in the fiery furnace, "If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire." We're going in that thing because we believe He is able. God is powerful enough to do it. He is able. Romans 16:25, "Now to Him who is able to establish you." He is able. He has no limitations. Ephesians 3:20, "He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all you can ask or think." Jude 24, "He is able to keep you from falling." He is able. We need to be like Abraham of whom Scripture says in Romans 4:21, "He was fully persuaded that what God had promised He was able to perform." SO when it comes to giving, people think to themselves, "Can I really put God first? Can I really trust Him? If I put Him first in my finances will He take care of all my needs? I don't know how some people can trust God with their eternal salvation but can't trust God with their finances. That doesn't make sense. If I can trust God to save me, forgive me, and get me into heaven - can't I depend on Him to keep His word if I do what He tells me to do? Of course.
Giving Is A Test Of Faith
"Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else."
When I give it proves my faith, (by which you have proved yourself) it is a testimony to other people that I really do believe what I say I believe that God will take care of me. The verse here says there are two things that stand as a testimony to others -- obedience to the Gospel -- and generosity in sharing. Now those are not my words, but the words of Scripture. Two things that others use as a measurement to the reality of our walk with Christ. Obedience to the gospel. (does our walk match our talk) and have you put Christ in a position of reigning in the last area that there is to get converted -- the checkbook. "the checkbook is a theological document -- it tells what and who you worship)
Not only does our giving test our faith, but God says you can test him to see if he doesn't come through with keeping His promise.
Malachi 3:8-10. "Bring your whole tithe into the storehouse. Test Me in this," says the Lord. "And see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have enough room for it." Circle the phrase "test Me".
God issues a challenge here. Here's the Pepsi challenge verse of the Bible. He says, "I dare you." God says, "I'll prove it to you. Test Me and I'll prove it to you." He says, "Let's play a little giving game. You give to Me and I'll give back to you and we'll see who can out give the other person." It's amazing to me that the God who created the entire universe puts Himself on trial. God did not have to make this promise. He could have just said, "I want you to tithe because I say so and I'm God and you're not. And you owe Me everything anyway." But He doesn't do that. Because God is a loving, faithful, giving God. He wants you to learn to be like Him. He wants you to learn to not be stingy. He wants you to learn to be generous. Did you know that the most sensitive nerve in your body goes from your heart to your wallet? We get nervous even talking about this. I could talk about all kinds of other stuff and you wouldn't get nervous.
He could have just said, "Give it!" but instead He makes a promise. And He puts His character on the line. And He says, "Test Me. Is God real? Is God loving? Will God keep His promise?" You'll never know until you start tithing. Tithe means ten percent. It doesn't mean an eighth or fifteenth. It means ten percent. God says if I make a hundred bucks the first ten bucks goes back to God. If I make five hundred bucks the first fifty bucks goes back to God. Why did God say ten percent? Beats me! I haven't the slightest idea. I don't know. I do know it all belongs to God and He could have said, "Give Me fifty percent and you take fifty." He could have said, "You give Me ninety and you live on ten." But He just said ten and I figure He knows what He's doing.
Close: Are we nuts to give away our finances? Well you're going to get the opportunity to respond to that question.
You all have been given a bag of peanuts when you came into the sanctuary today. Open the bag. We are going to take another offering this morning. If you are already tithing or you would like to make a commitment to the Lord to begin tithing I am going to ask you as a symbolic gesture to the Lord, put one tenth of your peanuts in the offering plate. Amedeo Obici left a lasting legacy that started with planting a few nuts in the ground and trusting God for the increase. How will you respond?
