As I share with you a second message in a four sermon series on Living the Generous Life, I want you to know that I consider it a great thing that the Lord would allow me to share with you what He has to say about the subject of giving. I say this for at least three reasons:
1) It puts me in good company. Speaking about what God says about money and possessions puts me in good company, namely, with Jesus.
“15 percent of everything Christ said relates to this topic – more than his teachings on heaven and hell combined.” - Randy Alcorn (The Treasure Principle - p. 3).
2) It has the potential to expand mercy, ministry, and missions.
According to research done by Nonprofits Source in 2018, tithers make up only 10-25 percent of a normal congregation; and the average giving by adults is $17 a week.
The thought of what could happen should God’s Word take hold of us and free us to live generous lives where we give as God directs to His church, is enough motivation to be excited to preach on giving.
3) Giving people are happy people.
If we were set free to give the way the Bible talks about giving, you and I would be the happiest people on earth.
That’s God’s promise.
“Blessed are those who are generous . . .” - Proverbs 22:9a (NLT)
“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” - Acts 20:35b (NIV)
If we’re going to keep in step with Jesus, see His work move forward in the world, and find true blessing in life, we must learn to live a generous life by keeping our eye on the prize.
1. Don’t just focus on earthly treasure - v. 19
A. To focus on earthly treasure is to focus on the temporary.
A miser, just before he died, called his doctor, lawyer and minister to see him. He told them, “I always heard you can’t take it with you, but I am going to prove you can,” he said. “I have $90,000 cash hidden underneath my mattress. It’s in 3 envelopes of $30,000 each. I want each one of you to grab one envelope now and just before they throw the dirt on my grave, you throw the envelopes in.”
Weeks later, they attended the funeral, and threw their envelopes into the grave. On the way back from the cemetery, the minister said, “I’ve got to confess, I desperately needed $10,000 for a new church we’re building, so I took out $10,000 and threw only $20,000 in the grave.” The doctor said, “I, too, must confess. I’m building a clinic and took $20,000 and threw in only $10,000.” The lawyer said, “Gentlemen, I’m surprised and ashamed of both of you. I want you to know that I threw in a personal check for the entire amount.”
You can’t take earthy treasure with you. It’s only temporary.
B. Realize earthly treasure is a means to an end.
Now, Jesus isn’t against us making money. He’s not against us having things. He’s not saying to renounce our treasures; but relocate our treasures. You can’t take it with you, but you can send it on ahead.
God’s the owner and I’m His manager. My name on the account with His so I might manage everything He has entrusted to me for Him. So I need to be careful not to embezzle or misappropriate His funds.
Instead, I need to see how He wants me to invest what He’s entrusted to me. As I do, it’ll be used to glorify Him, benefit His household (the church) and expand His kingdom. And when I stand before Him one day, I’ll be rewarded for my faithfulness.
So, it’s OK to make money. It’s fine to get ahead financially. But understand, what you’re blessed to have isn’t the end, but a means to an end. As we manage what God has trusted to us, it brings Him glory, benefits His church, brings others to Christ, and blesses us with joy.
2. Focus on treasure in heaven - v. 20
Jesus says if we will maintain our eye on the prize and manage what He’s entrusted to us to glorify Him, benefit His household (the church) and expand His kingdom, we’ll build up treasure in heaven that will never be moth eaten, never grow rusty, and will never be stolen.
A. This world is not my home.
We are made for a person and we are made for a place. Jesus is that person and heaven is that place. We’ll never find satisfaction with any other person less than Jesus, nor will ever find satisfaction with any other place less than heaven. Perhaps the single, greatest deterrent to giving is the illusion that this world is our home.
Suppose your home is France and you’re visiting America for 80 days and living in a hotel. Here’s the rule: You can’t take anything back to France on your flight home, but you can earn money and wire deposits back to your bank in France.
Would you fill your hotel room with gifts and wall hangings? No! Since your time here is short, you would send your treasures home, where they’ll be waiting for you when you arrive.
So, let’s not spend too much time fixing up the hotel room. Sure, we can stay in a nice hotel room. That is understandable. We’re not saying we can’t have anything, but we are saying we should wire as much on ahead as possible, because we aren’t going to be here much forever.
B. We should live for the line, not the dot.
Life here on earth is like a dot. From that dot begins a line that extends into eternity and will never end. People will spend eternity one of two places, heaven or hell. For us who have experienced the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we’re going to spend eternity in heaven, and that’s a wonderful thing. So let’s learn to live for the line, not the dot. Now we all live in the dot, we can’t help that. That’s where we are. But if we’re smart, while we are living in the dot, we’ll also live for the line.
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” - Jim Elliot, missionary martyr
You may think Elliot was a radical who wasn’t concerned about gain. No, Jim Eliot was concerned about gain.
That was the whole point of his statement. But the focus of our lives should be on eternal gain.
3. My heart will go where I put God’s money - v. 21
So what do our financial records say about where our hearts are? Where we put our money does not simply show where are hearts are, but it also determines where our hearts go. So if you want to develop a heart for God, you need to give as he directs to His work.
Suppose you’re sitting in the doctor’s office and you pick up a magazine with an article about Microsoft. You’re not interested in Microsoft, so you keep flipping the pages, looking for something more interesting. But let’s say the next day you buy several shares of Microsoft and as you’re surfing the internet, you see an article on Microsoft. Well, now that you are a shareholder, you want to find out what’s going on. You have vested interest in the company.
When you put your treasure somewhere, your heart will follow. Buy up shares in God’s Kingdom through generous giving and you will develop a passion for God and His Kingdom.
Conclusion: So, how can I make sure I do not focus only on earthly treasure, but also focus on building treasure in heaven and make sure my heart is where God wants it to be? By giving as God directs.
Jesus warned against the trap of materialism.
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” - Matthew 6:24 (NIV)
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” - 1 Timothy 6:10a (NIV)
A person can love money whether they have any or not. What Jesus says here is not only advice to those who have a lot of money, but also for those who have a little money. In either case, having money or not having money can take our focus off Jesus. That is why we must give.
Giving is like the Copernican Revolution, when people realized the earth revolves around the sun and not the other way around.
When we give, we realize that life doesn’t revolve around us.
As a Christian, my life should revolve around Jesus, His causes, His Kingdom. With giving, we shift our center of gravity from earth to heaven. My life revolves around the things of heaven instead of the things of earth.
Don’t be so earthly minded that you’re no heavenly good.
Commit to seeking God about how He wants you to give to His work.
