A mother wanted to teach her daughter a moral lesson. She gave the little girl a quarter and a dollar for church saying, "Put whichever one you want in the collection plate and keep the other for yourself," she told the girl.
When they were coming out of church, the mother asked her daughter which amount she had given.
"Well," said the little girl, "I was going to give the dollar, but just before the collection the man in the pulpit said that we should all be “cheerful givers…I knew I'd be a lot more cheerful if I gave the quarter, so I did."
This mother made a big mistake when trying to teach her daughter about Christian stewardship. She taught her daughter that she should give, but neglected to give her a few reasons why.
When it comes to living for Christ, we're often told we "should" do something without being told "why we should do it"
For example, we are told that we "should" read our Bible every day. But how many of us know why we should read it? Perhaps you are having problems reading your Bible because you haven’t formed a conviction on the “why you should do it.”
We are also told that we "should" give to God. Today’s message will give everyone, regardless of their financial situation, five biblical reasons why to give faithfully to God's work.
1) Generous giving helps you to see God as your Provider
Every time you give to God, you are acknowledging Him as your source.
Your job is not your provider; they are your employer. God is your provider. Every time you give to God you are saying to God, “God you are my source; God You are my provider”. Though God may choose to use your job to bring money into your home, He is ultimately your provider.
Think about it, what would you rather have? Would you rather have what your company can pay you or what God can provide for you? What God provides for you is much sweeter and much bigger than what your company could ever pay you.
Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof; The world, and they that dwell therein.”
The earth belongs to the LORD. In other words, God owns everything. We even belong to the Lord. Someone has said, “God owns and God loans everything.” We are only managers of what belongs to Him.
Deuteronomy 8:17-18 – “Beware lest you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.' You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth…”
God gives us the air we breathe, presence of mind, the articulation of speech. He keeps our heart beating in our chest and keeps the blood running warm through our veins.
Don’t say in your heart (through unfaithful giving) that it is by your power and by the might of your hand that you have earned your income. The Scripture says, “You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth!”
When King David received from the people all that he requested in order to have the money and material to build the temple, he prayed a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord in 1 Chronicles 29. Listen to what David prayed:
“Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name. But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you… O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own. I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you.” (vs. 11-14; 16-17)
Generous giving allows you to see or experience God as your Provider and David and the children of Israel did—everything comes from Him!
It’s important to see this or else money and material things will become our god. It’s important to see God as our Provider or we will love the money or love ourselves or both.
This is why Jesus warns us saying, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (Matthew 6:24)
2) Generous giving allows you to overcome financial fear and worry
The economy and the stock market changes all the time and is scary. The cost of housing is increasing. The Wall Street Journal reports that the annual supply of industrial robots has nearly doubled since the start of the decade and that two-thirds of Americans expect that robots and computers will do much of the work currently done by humans within 50 years. This could cause many to be without jobs.
Economic fear causes people to hold on to our money because of fear or to spend and enjoy all of our money while we still have it. But faith turns us into “open-handed people in a tight-fisted world.”
In 1 Kings 17:10-16 we find the story of a widow trying to live during a famine.
This widow and her son were on their last bit of food. In fact, she only had a handful of flour and a little oil in a jug. When Elijah arrive she was about to get some sticks to start a fire in the oven so she could bake some bread, eat it and die (vs. 12)
Elijah says to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.'" (vs. 13-14)
The woman obeyed and God provided as she made provision for God’s servant first and then for herself and her son.
In Genesis 27 we find the account of the betrayal of Esau by Jacob and him mama Rebekah. Jacob was a mama’s boy and not the hunter like his brother Esau. He had already stolen his older brother’s birthright and now he conspires with his mother to steal his brother’s blessing.
They trick his father Isaac, who was practically blind, into blessing Jacob rather than Esau. Esau returns and finds he was robbed again and threatens to end the life of his younger brother Jacob.
In Genesis chapter 28 Jacob quickly leaves town with nothing but the clothes on his back and runs to Paddan-aram and it was there that he receives a vision from God who reaffirms the covenant made with Jacob’s grandfather Abraham, the covenant that speaks of the land that God will give His people and the descendants that will be as numerous as the dust of the earth and through this offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed (28:14).
Jacob awakes from his sleep and says, “Wow! God is awesome!” (vs. 17) and then still broke, busted and hungry he makes a vow in verses 20-22 saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you”.
Someone has called this the “Jacob Decision”. The Jacob Decision is: “When you have nothing…that’s the best time to make a decision to God to give.”
I remember when Deb and I first met, she was on public assistance and had a part time job working in a laundry mat. When we got married, the government cut her off of everything because of my income. A couple months after we got married, she got pregnant and would soon leave her job. All of a sudden, this 22-year-old had to support a family of five.
We had to make a decision early in our marriage to trust God with our tithe, even when we couldn’t afford it. We held desperately on to Matthew 6:31-33 which said, “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
God kept His word. God provided for our needs when we had little and 35 years later, we are still holding on to this truth.
Generous giving allows you to see or experience God as your Provider.
Generous giving allows you to overcome financial fear and worry.
3) Generous giving allows you to bring order to your finances
In his study, 40 Days of Generosity, Pastor Brian Kluth has a wonderful sermon illustration. When he gives it, he usually is wearing a 3 button suit that has been improperly buttoned and says that “Giving is the first button in your financial life. Get the first button in the wrong hole and everything else is messed up.” He shows his suit, where the first button is in the second button hole.
Pastor Kluth says, this is the way a lot of people’s finances are. There is: mess, stress, confusion, foolishness.
He says there is nothing wrong with the buttons; nothing wrong with the button holes. The problem is that you’ve got the order wrong. If you get the order of your financial giving wrong, like the suite jacket, your whole life is wrong.
The answer is not more buttons; the answer is getting the order right; it is getting the first button (give to God first) right. Some people are giving God second place, 4th place or last place and as a result there is mess, stress, confusion, and foolishness.
When you give to God first, there is wisdom and provision and security. Deuteronomy 14:22-23 tells us that when the Israelites tithed to God first, they learned to fear the LORD.
Putting God first focuses his faithfulness and graciousness on you. Psalm 37:5-6 says, “Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday”.
As you put God first, He will stretch your meager resources. God will give you the grace to make some decisions that you weren’t able or willing to make before…when you learn to give to God first.
Malachi 3:10-11 says, “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the LORD of hosts.”
This is why Proverbs 3:9 says, “Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the first and best part of all your income.”
When you honor the LORD first, you are placing Him first in your life and when you put Him first in your life, all the other buttons of your life will be in place. There will be order, there will be peace, there will be security.
But when God is not first, you are serving “YOU” as god. What happens is that sooner or later the bottom falls out… you might lose your job or get sick and can’t work…or your transportation stops working for you and then everything else in your life falls like dominos. I’ve seen this happen in the lives of people who do not put God first.
This is why Proverbs 23:4-5 says, “Be wise enough not to wear yourself out trying to get rich. Your money can be gone in a flash, as if it had grown wings and flown away like an eagle.”
Generous giving allows you to bring order to your finances—God must be first!
4) Generous giving allows you to fight the dragon of materialism
"There was once a great and noble King whose land was terrorized by a crafty dragon. Like a massive bird of prey, the scaly beast delighted in ravaging villages with his fiery breath. Unfortunate victims ran from their burning homes, only to be snatched into the dragon’s jaws or talons. Those devoured instantly were deemed more fortunate than those carried back to the dragon’s lair to be devoured at his leisure. The King led his sons and knights in many valiant battles against the dragon—but to no avail.
Riding alone in the forest, one of the King’s sons heard his name purred low and soft. In the shadows of the ferns and trees, curled among the boulders, lay the dragon. The creature’s heavy-lidded eyes fastened on the prince, and the reptilian mouth stretched into a friendly smile.
"Don’t be alarmed," said the dragon, as gray wisps of smoke rose lazily from his nostrils. "I am not what your father thinks."
"What are you, then?" asked the prince, cautiously drawing his sword as he pulled in the reins to keep his fearful horse from bolting.
"I am pleasure," said the dragon. "Ride on my back and you will experience more than you ever imagined. Come now. I have no harmful intentions. I seek a friend, someone to share flights with me. Have you never dreamed of flying? Never longed to soar in the clouds?"
Visions of soaring high above the forested hills drew the prince hesitantly from his horse. The dragon unfolded a great webbed wing to serve as a ramp to his ridged back. Between the spiny projections, the prince found a secure seat. Then the creature flapped his powerful wings twice and launched them both into the sky. The prince’s apprehension melted into awe and exhilaration.
From then on, he met the dragon often, but secretly, for how could he tell his father, brothers or the knights, that he had befriended the enemy? The prince felt separate from them all. Their concerns were no longer his concerns. Even when he wasn’t with the dragon, he spent less time with those he loved and more time alone.
Over time, the skin on the prince’s legs became calloused from gripping the ridged back of the dragon, and his hands grew rough and hardened. He began wearing gloves to hide the condition. After many nights of riding, he discovered scales growing on the backs of his hands as well. With dread he realized his fate if he were to continue riding, and so he resolved to return no more to the dragon.
But, after a couple of weeks, he again sought out the dragon, having been tormented with desire. And so it happened time and time again. No matter how hard he tried, the prince eventually found himself pulled back, as if by the cords of an invisible web. Silently, patiently, the dragon always waited.
We live in a time when the dragon of TV, magazines, billboards and other media tells us that we can’t be happy…we can’t be satisfied and we can’t be content, unless we get more stuff.
The exhilaration of entertainment and material things keeps us coming back again and again for more, even though we as Christians, notice that something about us has changed.
We feel a disconnect from God and His people. And, even when we aren’t with the dragon, we spend less time with those we love and more time alone.
How do we fight the dragon? In our story, the son of the King didn’t fight at all; he had no strength in and of himself. He was actually spotted and identified while riding the dragon and then caught later as he tried to hide himself in a crowd of people.
When he was arrested and brought to his father, his father told him to take off the gloves and the clothing that hid his scales. He thought his father was going to order him executed when his father saw how much more his son looked like the dragon than himself.
But the father told the son, “You are still my son; my blood is still running through your veins.”
How do we fight the dragon of materialism? We fight the dragon of materialism by giving in; and in your giving in, you are declaring that all you are belongs to God, and everything you have comes from Him.
Contentment never comes from getting everything you want; contentment comes from being thankful for what you have.
The King’s son in our story gave in to pleasure—he defined himself by the way he felt.
In Luke 12:15 Jesus said to a man who was having a feud with his brother over a piece of property, “Watch out and guard yourselves from every kind of greed; because your true life is not made up of the things you own, no matter how rich you may be.”
Your true life is not made up of what you own or how good you feel. That’s a trap that has been baited and set by Satan to lure you away from life in Jesus Christ.
1 Timothy 6:10 – “For the love of money is a source of all kinds of evil. Some have been so eager to have it that they have wandered away from the faith and have broken their hearts with many sorrows.”
Is your love for money causing you to hold on to it tighter than you should? Is it causing you to wander away from the faith? Is it breaking your heart with many sorrows? Proverbs 10:22 says, “The blessing of the LORD makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.”
Did you ever notice that $100 takes more people to carry it in the church than it does at the Home Depot, the restaurant or some other place where we spend our money?
When we need to replace a stove or refrigerator, we can easily transfer several $100 bills into the hands of the cashier or by swiping our card, but when it comes to reaching into our wallet or purse to put something in the offering plate, that same plate has to go to several people before it totals to $100. There would be lots of “sorrow” if we offered up to the Lord some “big bucks” today in our offering.
Do you want to be successful in life? Do you want to prosper? 1 Timothy 6:6 tells us the secret of having “great gain”: “godliness with contentment is great gain”. The Bible goes on to say in this chapter, “but having food and covering we shall be therewith content.” That’s all we really need when you think about it. Food and covering.
There’s the true story of a man named Steve who owned a small business and had an annual salary of $50,000. He went to a conference where the late Dr. Bill Bright (the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ (now called Cru)) challenged people to give a million dollars to the LORD's work.
Steve told Dr. Bright it would be impossible for his family to give a million dollars.
Dr. Bright asked, "How much money did you make last year, and how much did you give?" Steve said, "My salary is $50,000 and we gave $15,000."
Dr. Bright said, "Next year, trust God to help you give $50,000."
But Steve said, "That's my entire salary!"
Dr. Bright said, "Trust God and see how He provides."
With God's help, Steve's business did well and his family joyfully gave $50,000. The following year, God helped them give $100,000.
How did they do it? Here is the secret of their success: Each year, Steve’s family lived on his $50,000 salary and gave all their extra income to the LORD's work. Within several years, they gave over a million dollars!
The key to Steve’s family reaching their goal was living on his salary, even with all the increases, and giving all the extra income to the Lord.
Randy Alcorn (The Treasure Principle) said, “Too often we assume that God has increased our income to increase our standard of living, when his stated purpose is to increase our standard of giving.”
Many of us could do like Steve’s family but what happens is that when we get a raise, we buy a new car or when we get a promotion, we buy a new house. Could it be that God gave you that raise or that promotion not to increase your standard of living but to increase your standard of giving?
By the way, did you know that your bank and credit card statements are theological documents? They tell who and what you worship.
Generous giving allows you to fight the dragon of materialism
5) Generous giving allows you to discover experience true financial freedom and joy
Financial freedom is not dependent on the economy. It is being dependent on God who has promised to supply all your needs. It doesn’t matter what you have in the bank or in investments—all of which can be lost instantly...in a moment.
The stock market crash of 1929 led to the Great Depression. During the Depression, unemployment rose to 25%, wages fell 42%, economic growth fell 50%, and world trade plummeted 65%.
We are still feeling the effects of the stock market crash of 2008 where many lost much of their retirement savings. The job market is still suffering. Some states are still paying back loans for money borrowed from the federal government to cover costs.
So if you want to be financially free, don’t depend on the government or your retirement account…you trust should be in the Lord who has promised to supply all your needs. Let Him be first in your life and demonstrate this priority in your giving.
2 Corinthians 8:7 says, “But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in the grace of giving also.”
When the Bible commands us to “excel in giving” it is letting us in on the hope that our greatest acts of generosity are still ahead of us…no matter what our age—you still have an opportunity to begin today to be faithful to God in your giving.
Here’s a truth to consider: “If you haven’t excelled in your giving, you aren’t growing.”
So generous giving allows you to experience true financial freedom and joy.
God wants us to learn to become generous…not a taker but a giver.
Giving to God should become the highest priority in our lives. We should be able to answer the question, “Why does God want giving to Him to become the greatest priority in my life?”
If we can’t answer that question we will never become a generous giver. But today you heard five life-changing reasons to become a generous Christian.
