Why Should I Give When I’ve Got Bills To Pay
Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 Luke 15:1-10
I can remember when I got my first lawnmower. I was about 12 years old. My mother wanted me to be able to learn how to earn money and to work for myself. I’m not sure how she managed to scrape the money together to buy me that lawnmower.
We lived in Dublin Ga, and there were plenty of yards up and down the street that I could possibly cut. My mom wanted me to not only learn the discipline of work, she wanted me to be happy and to have some spending money in my pocket. She was thrilled when she presented the lawnmower to me. She could see the happiness in my face and I in hers.
I could see little dollars dancing in my head. She then asked me, “how much would I be able to give her toward the lawnmower. “ I told her well, I have to buy gas, I have to buy oil, and I have to by some things for myself, but if there was something left over, I would give her some of it. All the joy in her face disappeared, and she slowly walked away.
I realize now today, that I probably hurt my mom more in that instant, that I had ever done before. She had made this huge sacrifice for me, and all I was willing to offer to her were parts of my leftovers. I did not fully understand the gift I had been given and the cost that she had paid.
Suppose for a moment you took in a friend or a family member who was just plain down and out. They had no money, no food, no anything. You took care of them for a year. They finally got a job. You noticed one day, they had put a 60 inch tv in the bedroom you let them use.
You noticed a new i-phone, I pad, and the expensive ear buds for their music. You noticed the nice new designer jeans that had perfectly cut holes in them. You realize they have been their spending money, but are still eating, sleeping, and using your utilities as before.
Finally you tell them, “Look, I want you to start paying for some rent and food?” How would you feel, if they told you, “I love you and I appreciate all you have done for me, but I can’t pay rent, I’ve got bills to pay. Look at all this stuff in my room. I was wondering if I could put some stuff in your basement.” What would you want to say to them.
Do you know the number one reason most followers of Christ give little or nothing to the Lord financially. They say, It’s because they say they don’t have enough to give. They have too many bills to pay. Let me ask you this, “When you have too many bills how do you decide which one to pay and which one to just sit there?”
Jesus told us what the single largest bill was that we have would have to pay when he said, “What will it profit a person to gain the whole world, and lose their soul.” What is the price of your soul?
What would you accept as the price of your soul if you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is a heaven and a hell which lasts for eternity? Suppose God took you to both for 5 minutes each. How many of you would say, “for $150 million dollars, I will gladly spend 30 years being rich in this life, and then spend eternity in hell with all its pain and suffering.” Do you have more important bills than where you and your loved ones will spend eternity?
We are becoming a church in which we value the souls of men, women and children. We want to be that place, where Jesus is in the business of saving souls. That’s why we have our 50/50 goal of 50 new members and 50 new souls saved which is standing at 7/5. Jesus gave us a new commandment and a marching commandment in the pursuit of souls. The first was to love one another as he has loved us and the second was to go into all the world, preach the gospel and make disciples of all nations.
The commandments of Jesus cost money. This is the bill that the church has been given to pay. Everybody in the church has been given a share of the bill by God. Somebody in the past paid their portion of the bill and that’s why we are believers in Christ today. Some paid with their lives to get us the gospel. Others gave all they had to provide us with the opportunity to save those coming behind us.
Most people who don’t give, simply assume its no big deal. It doesn’t matter to God if I God any money or not. Besides I have bills to pay. I’m not sure where they got that idea. When God loved us, God gave the most precious thing to save us, and that was Jesus Christ. For God so loved, that He gave.
When it comes to giving, most people give for one of three reasons. The weakest and the most frustrating of the motivations is fear. “If I don’t give, God is going to get me like He did Ananais and Sapphira. Ananias and his wife were a married couple who wanted to impress people with their giving, by lying about the kind of sacrifice they were making to give. They saw how much the church admired Barnabus when he went and sold his property and gave all the money to the apostles. He was held in high esteem by the saints for doing so.
They went and sold a piece of property and agreed to split the money three ways. A little bit for Ananias, a little bit for Sapphira, and a little bit for the Lord. Now there was nothing wrong with that, because it was their property to sell. But they got to church and lied because they wanted people to think they were putting in more than they were. They are like people who shout amen every time the preacher mentions we need to tithe, but never get beyond the amen.
Annaias got to church early that day and wouldn’t even wait for his wife to get ready. He could barely wait for them to start to take up the offering. He told Peter, “ Brother we sold our land because of our love for God, and every penny of it is right here for the needs of the saints. Peter said, “ Brother Ananias, Satan has crept into your heart. You’re not lying to the church, but lying to God.” Ananias fell dead right there in the service and they took him out.
His wife was really late for church. She came three hours later. She was so late all the commotion about her husband’s death had died down and she didn’t know about it yet. Peter said, “Sister Ananias did you and your husband bring in all the money from that land you sold.”
She said, “Brother Peter, it is a joy and privilege to give all that God has blessed us with back to you and the saints.” Peter said, “I cannot believe the two of you sat down together and deciding to lie about giving to the work of the Lord. Here come the men who just buried your husband, and now they got to back again to bury you.” She then immediately fell over dead.
The bible said, “Great fear seized the whole church.” Now don’t you know they had a record offering that next Sunday. People gave because they were afraid, not because they loved. The only problem with this kind of giving is that it is poor theology. Our God will still provide blessings in our lives even if we don’t give. Because God is gracious and merciful so that we might be led to repentance.
We misinterpret this to believe what we are doing is fine. We then gradually lose our sense of fear that God is going to get me, and become comfortable giving very little or nothing at all. We wait until something bad happens and then think its because of us not giving. That may be true and it may not be true. God deals with us as individuals. God’s problem with Ananias and Sapphira was not what they gave, but lying to God about a love relationship with Him that really did not exist.
The second motivation for giving is that God promises blessings to those who give. Now I do not believe each time we give a tenth to God, we can expect a huge check in the mail. But the bible does teach that those who give, will receive special blessings from God. God has no problem with making people rich. God has no problem with you having a lot of money. God has no problem with your getting a better paying job. God simply wants to make sure the money does not have you. The more God gives, the harder it becomes to give 10% yet nobody prays, “Lord keep my salary low enough to make it easy for me to tithe.”
In Malachi God promised the people if they tithed, He would give them a blessing they would not have room enough to store. He blessed Abraham, Jacob, Solomon and others with wealth. Jesus said, “Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
There is nothing wrong with giving in order to receive something back. Our Old Testament lesson we were encouraged to sow seeds in the morning and in the evening so that we can get a return on our investment.
People like to quote the verse, “And my God shall supply all of your needs according to the riches in Christ Jesus.” But the only reason that verse is in the Bible is that a group of poor Christians in Macedonia, had sent money to take care of Paul’s needs while he was in prison. It was because they first gave, that Paul could give them the promise, “Look out, God is about to do something for you in meeting the needs you have because of the sacrifices you made in meeting my needs.”
Sometimes it is in our giving, that we free ourselves to truly grow in the Lord. You can pray all you want to and try to keep all the commandments, but if you’re not a good giver it will stunt your growth spiritually. There was a guy in the bible who asked Jesus, what did he need to do in order to get close to God. Jesus said, “sell what you have and give to the poor and you will have the life you’re seeking.” Jesus didn’t tell the man he had to give up all that he had, only to put his wealth in a form that He could readily give to those in need.
The third motivation for giving is the highest and most long lasting. It is giving out of a profound sense of gratitude and appreciation for what God has done for us. Jesus came into this world for the purpose of making a difference in our lives here today and where we will spend eternity tomorrow. If you do not understand that Jesus was concerned about your life before and after you die, it will hinder your ability to understand the price he paid for you and the debt that you owed.
The religious leaders of his day got very upset with Jesus, because of the kind of people he spent his time with. Jesus was spending time with and talking to the homeless, the prostitutes, the traitors, the ex-cons, and the people nobody wanted to be bothered with of his day. The good religious people sort of got ticked off by this. They said, “Man what’s your problem, instead of spending time with us, you running with sinners and welcoming and eating with them. You’re hanging with the wrong group of people.”
Jesus’ reply is like, “But fellows you don’t understand what I’m all about and what it is I’ve got to do. He says, This guy had a hundred sheep and lost one of them. He left the 99 in the open country and went after the one sheep until he found it. When he found it, he joyfully put it on his shoulders and went home. He called all of his neighbors together for a party and said rejoice with me, I have found my lost sheep. Now I tell you there is going to be more partying and jammin in heaven over heaven over one person who starts to live for God than over 99 who are already living for him.
Jesus is trying to drive home the point, that people are lost and this concerns God. God makes an all out effort to go and search for this missing sheep in order to bring the sheep home. Now how is it that a sheep gets lost. There are five ways people become lost and each of us fits in one of the five forcing the shepherd to come looking for us.
1. The sheep is attracted by something out “in the wilderness,” away from the flock or the Shepherd. What the sheep sees is more attractive and appealing. It tempts and seduces the sheep, and the sheep desires to have it for more than what the shepherd appears to be offering. Who among us had not made the mistake of thinking that something Satan was offering looked like the right way to go, but in the end you discovered it came with a price you didn’t want to pay. We all know what Satan uses to turn our hearts away from the Lord. Sometimes we can’t wait for the Shepherd to find us.
2. The sheep is aimless, not paying attention to what is going on. It aimlessly wanders off, and while it is getting lost, the sheep does not know it is losing its way. The sheep is already lost when it discovers it is lost . This may better describe you. You were not out acting the fool like others, you just didn’t have God as a high priority in your life. You were lost thinking all was well. But one day you discovered that all was not well and that you needed Jesus at the center of your life and not way out on the outer ring.
3. The sheep refuses to heed the warnings of the shepherd and the example of the other sheep. You may have been the kind of person who just has to try it for yourself. You didn’t want anybody’s advice on how to run your life. You heard that this could happen to you, or that could happen to you, but you didn’t believe a word of it until it happened. Then you discovered that God only gave you rules because He loved you and wanted you to avoid the pitfalls others had made.
4. The sheep is not attached enough to the shepherd or to the other sheep. There is not the bond or union there should be. Therefore, the sheep stays off by himself, eating and resting and working alone until eventually the sheep wanders off without anyone knowing it, including himself. You may have been the kind of person who felt you didn’t really need anybody else to know God.
You were going to be right with God, without the church or anybody else. Your hope is in God knowing you want to be right, but on your terms, not the ones found in Scriptures. But then one day you discovered that not only did you need Jesus, you needed the church as well.
5. The sheep does not trust the shepherd. It does not think the shepherd will take care and see that there is satisfying food. It goes astray in search of greener pasture and more satisfying food. You may have been the kind of person who says, “Child I’m going to have a good time with my life. That religion stuff is for old folks who can’t do anything any more and now they don’t want you to do what they use to do. But then you discovered, that everything that glitters is not gold. You put your trust in the wrong thing.
The thing about the lost sheep, was it did not start the process of returning home by itself. It could not, because its condition was too far gone by the time it realized the danger it was. In.
When the shepherd found the sheep, he embraced the sheep and threw it over his shoulders. He received it, with arms wide open. embracing it. rejoicing in heart. supporting and carrying it to his home. One of greatest compliments we can receive as a church, is that, this church is open to receiving all kinds of sinners. When God brings in a lost sheep, we can’t be worried about where the sheep has been.
It does not matter which of the five type of sheep we were. The reality is that we were lost and in great danger, but the great Shepherd came looking for us, and he kept on looking until he found us. How many of you are thankful that Jesus, the Shepherd thought enough of you to come looking for you? How many of you are grateful, that even though you did not know the full danger you were in, God felt you were worth coming after because He knew you were missing your rightful place in life.
When you made the decision to start living for God, all of heaven threw a party on your behalf. God says, “rejoice with me, because I’ve found another one”. Can we consider it a joy and honor to do our part in saying thank you Lord. I want to equip the body of Christ to go forward and rescue more sheep. How much are you willing to give because of the fact that you once were lost, but now you’re found. Your future in eternity is secure. You’re not trying to purchase your salvation, but you are saying, God in profound appreciation for what you have done for me, I do this sacrifice as a demonstration of love and commitment to You.
If you honestly believe you can’t give because of your bills, will you agree not to make another bill so that as you pay one off, that money goes to the work of Christ. If you’re not a tither today, do you think you could trust God to move up 3% or 4% in your investment in the souls of others including your own. If you’re tither today, could you perhaps think of giving an extra 1% or more.
The apostle John put it this way. We love God, because God first loved us. None of us can pay the debt it cost to save our souls. God is not asking us to try to do it. God is asking us to partner financially in making it possible to bring others in the kingdom of God. Somebody will be in heaven because we chose to give. Somebody will be lost because we were disobedient to God. Your pledge is as much a love for God as it is a true love for people.
Why should we give when we have bills to pay? Because the greatest bill that all of us had, was freely paid by another when they nailed spikes into his hands, and raised his body on a cross so that we could be forgiven. We give as a reminder of God’s gift to us. Jesus Christ, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
