Believe 19: Giving our Resources
2 Corinthians 9:6-15
March 1, 2015
Have you ever heard of Don Lapre or Dave Del Dotto? I remember watching these guys in the late 1980's. They were on late night television all the time.
Don Lapre told us how he made over $50,000 dollars a week by placing tiny classified ads in newspapers. He made it sound so believable, and he reminded you how simple it was.
After all, for a small fee, he would teach you how to create one tiny ad and place it in the classified section of a newspaper. If the ad made just $30 dollars a week and you place it in 3,000 other newspapers you can earn $90,000 per week. Not bad.
While in seminary I went to a Dave Del Dotto seminar. He had a cash flow scheme that allowed you to invest with no money. Sounds great! I should have known it was a farce simply because he came on the stage in a bright cranberry suit and told everyone how they could make money off of foreclosures and he went on with such excitement that I was hooked. But there was a catch. It would cost you $400 or more to buy his system. UGH! Good thing I’m cheap!
Eventually, Del Dotto was accused of false advertising, and got out of the business.
Lapre was convicted of defrauding people out of $52 million, was arrested and eventually committed suicide in prison.
Who wouldn't want more wealth, freedom and financial stability? What was it that hooked me and hooks thousands of people? We all know the answer. We say we want financial security! But is that really it . . . OR . . . is it that we really want to total control over everything in our lives. Of course, we forget money will not buy joy, peace and love, nor will it buy health and salvation.
Today we are on week 19 of the Believe Series and we are looking at Giving our Resources. We’re going to look at a passage from the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 9. Paul organized a collection of money to be given to the church in Jerusalem. The church in Corinth had agreed to give money and Paul was reminding them of this opportunity to help another church. Beginning in verse 6 – Paul tells the church ~
6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
9 As it is written, “He has distributed freely, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.”
10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.
11 You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.
12 For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.
13 By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others,
14 while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you.
15 Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!
Before we get into some practical thoughts about our resources, I want to dispel something you may read into this passage. Some people believe if they just give they will be blessed with more money. That’s not the way it works. That would be really nice, though, wouldn’t it? We would be amazing givers. But that would be living life on the condition that God will reward me if I follow the rules. In the end, we would not be living by grace, but by the law.
Paul is telling us we need to give freely, willingly, joyfully, cheerfully! In Greek, the root word of cheerful means “hilarious!” Isn’t that a great way to give? We give laughing, with a spirit filled with God’s joy. We don’t always do that, do we? We get all antsy when the pastor is talking about money.
Yet, Jesus spoke more about money and possessions than heaven and hell combined. You see, Jesus knows where our hearts are at. He knows what moves us away from the kingdom. We don’t mind reading about it in the Bible when Jesus is talking about some ‘rich young ruler,’ but Pastor don’t get too personal and step on my toes.
The goal really isn’t to step on your toes. I want you to hear some statistics. I want you to see where you fit in. Maybe there’s an issue and we want to help! We live in a world where we spend and spend — and we spend money we don’t have. And too many people have no money in the bank. There are no savings accounts.
Understand these statistics ~
Average credit card debt per household is $15,799.
Average family from Indianapolis has household debt of $49,000
Average outstanding student loan balance: $25,000
Almost 20% of Americans own at least 10 credit cards.
26% of Americans admit to not paying their bills on time
41 % of Americans do not have at least $500 in savings
36% of people over 50 have less than $500 in savings.
So, that’s the bad news! When we hear those numbers we want to duck and hide. We want to run away from reality. The good news is that it’s never too late to take action. There are ways to get out of debt and become financially secure and believe me it will take a load off your mind. Finances are one of the main reasons marriages end. Want to end one of the major causes of marriage difficulties, get your finances in order.
Some of these statistics means if you have an emergency, you’re in real trouble. This message is not about making you feel bad about your finances. But I want to be real about the state of America, and I believe for the church as well.
So this is what I’m going to do . . . and I don’t have the answer right now, but I will seek them out. As a church I will commit to you that we will do all we can to help those who are willing to learn how to balance your budget, how to save money, how to make wise purchasing decisions, how to be wise and more. I did this in my first church and some families went from near bankruptcy to financial freedom. I believe that is what God intends for us. The stress is overwhelming.
You see, when we’re struggling with our finances — it’s not easy to feel grateful and blessed for the blessings in our lives. We tend to be on edge, stressed, ungrateful, feeling like the world owes us something. When we have financial freedom, we move from feeling the weight of the world on us to feeling the joy of the blessings of what we do have.
That’s what God wants for us. He wants us to feel filled with joy. God wants us to recognize how much He has already given us.
When we are in this position, we can do what Paul said in verses 6-7
6 Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
When we realize we give sparingly, we have no cause to demand to receive more than we give. But often times, we’re not happy, again, we feel we’re owed something. But the goal is to give, believing God will always give to us. The more we give, for pure reasons, with pure motives, because of our faith and the many blessings we have received, we in turn will receive. It will not always be financial. Sometimes our blessing is a spiritual blessing. We need to be open, having an open heart to receive from God in the way in which believes we need to receive.
Paul then says – 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
We decide what we are going to give. You shouldn’t be surprised when the offering plate gets passed. We do it every Sunday. Before you arrive at church you should know what you are giving. You should also schedule when you give. Is it a particular Sunday, every week, quarterly? Make your plan so you know what works for you and your family — and within your set budget.
When the Bible talks about tithing, the word tithe simply means 10%. The biblical image is to give a tenth of what we receive. I’ve said it before, Debbie and I do that. If we expect you to tithe, then so should we.
Let me give you and example of tithing. Let’s say we have these 20 wonderfully tasty honeycrisp apples. Let me ask you this math question. If we tithe, give 10% to the church to make a difference in the world . . . how many apples does God get?
God only gets 2, we get 18. Can you tell me which 2 apples God received? That doesn’t sound really fair, but that’s God’s economics. So, when we say we can’t give to God, that means we are keeping all 20 apples. Again, it’s a matter of planning how we are going to give, looking at what we have and doing it.
Ultimately, giving of our resources can also mean we help other people who have needs. Maybe we give them money or mentor them, or give them clothes, furniture or we make something for them at no charge. Those are other examples of ways to give our resources.
I also believe the first place we bring our firstfruits is to the church. Then we give beyond that.
At the same time, I want you to understand that giving is a matter of the heart. We all have to start somewhere. I remember when I was in the church in my early Christian days. I didn’t tithe. I gave from my leftovers. I gave sparingly and begrudgingly. Ultimately I came to understand the opportunity I was missing. I’m so glad I learned.
If you don’t tithe . . . if you don’t know what to do, we’re here to help. But at the same time, I don’t necessarily expect people to start giving at 10% when they give 1%. Bump up that number to 3%, then use faith and wisdom to give. Giving is also an act of faith. It’s not an easy thing to part with money and not see the tangible results. When I buy a shirt, I get to wear it. It’s different in the church.
Ultimately, if we want to generate a more generous spirit in us —
The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing — which means — keep your focus on Jesus. Don’t give out of compulsion or coercion. But give when you’re happy, cheerful and feeling giddy that God actually has allowed you to give back to build His kingdom. God has entrusted you to help that person who doesn’t know Jesus to learn and find life transformation. All because you gave. Work at keeping Christ in the center of your life. When we really consider the fact that Jesus left the riches of heaven and became poor so that you and I can enjoy the riches of heaven — we should be awe struck. WOW! He did that for me. We especially experience that during the Easter season.
We should give because of what Christ did for us. He has richly blessed us. We have an abundance of everything, even when we feel like we have so little, we still have so much.
We should give prayerfully. Our giving should always be from the heart. We never tell you, if you want to attend FBC you must give. That never happens. Each believer is to give from their heart. If you’ve never asked God to direct you in your giving, you need to. And whatever He leads you to give, give that cheerfully and honor Him with your gift.
