(This sermon series is based on a book by Randy Alcorn entitled "The Treasure Principle)
OPEN: Years ago, there was a comedian named Joan Rivers that said: “People say that money isn’t the key to happiness, but I always figured if you have enough money, you can have a key made.”
A preacher spoke of having served at a small congregation for a short time. He said the church building could seat 400, but only 40 came. The average age of the congregation was now over 70. They were a dying church. They hadn’t grown or changed much over the last 40 years and they’d fired their last three preachers because… well, let’s just say they were a tough crowd to please. There wasn’t a lot of JOY in their church.
On Sundays - when it would rain - they’d put buckets around the auditorium to catch the water that dripped through the ceiling. It would seem that they couldn’t even afford to fix the leak. Well… actually they could. They had over a million dollars in the bank but they refused to spend it. (Alan Danielson) They had the money but they couldn’t buy the joy! They were a poor little rich church. A church without joy or hope … or even God. WHY??? Because and the money in the bank belonged to them… not to God.
Now… supposedly they were Christians. I mean, they did go to church, but just because they met in a church bldg. didn’t make them Christians any more than sleeping a garage would have made them cars. Let me repeat their money (and their building) belonged to them… but not to God. And that robbed them of joy and hope and their closeness with God. They had the money, but they couldn’t buy the Joy!
(PAUSE) Why? Because money messes with your mind. According to a study reported in 2006 edition of the journal “Science” a team of psychologists noted that “The mere presence of money changes people,” said Kathleen Vohs, a professor of marketing at the University of Minnesota and the lead author of the report. And “Money changes people’s motivations,” said the co-author “They are less focused on other people. In this sense, money can be a barrier to social intimacy.” Back in 1998, researchers at the Univ. of Chicago studied the lives of 800 teenagers and found that the wealthier the community, the less happy the teenager. (October 1998 issue of "Monitor on Psychology") And another source even went so far as to say: “The only way money buys happiness is when people give it away.” (Ronald Brooks, a Louis A. Bantle professor of business and government policy at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and Whitman School of Management).
Money is funny that way. The more we cling to cash, the more miserable we seem to become. Money can rob us of JOY and hope and … even God. Jesus said “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
The Bible seems to teach us that, if we want the joy God can give us, you and I need to think of the money we have as being God’s money. It belongs to Him! Then we need to use that money for God’s purposes.
In our text today, we’re looking at a church that had virtually no money… but the money they had bought them the kind of JOY that many people crave. In II Corinthians 8:1-4 (Paul wrote the Corinthians Church) “We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints.”
The Macedonians were really poor - and yet they had an abundance of joy. Why??? Because they overflowed in a wealth of generosity to needy.
Just a little background info: There was a famine in Israel at the time, and the Christians at Jerusalem were suffering. So the NEW churches throughout Asia were taking up a collection to send back to Jerusalem to buy food and supplies for the Christians there. And the Christians in Macedonia (despite their poverty) were giving above and beyond their means to help out. And God was impressed! And they received an abundance of JOY.
Now THAT is a Biblical principle. Jesus said ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ Acts 20:35
ILLUS: Randy Alcorn told of attending a gathering of givers. We went around the room and told our stories, the words fun, joy, exciting, and wonderful kept surfacing. There lots of smiles and laughter, along with tears of joy. One older couple eagerly shared how they are always traveling around the world getting involved in ministries they’re giving to. Meanwhile, their home in the states is becoming rundown. They said, “Our children keep telling us, ‘fix up your house or buy a new one. You can afford it.’ We tell them, ‘Why would we do that. That’s not what excites us.”
These people were excited by being able to help others. When they gave money away, these folks had fun… they enjoyed doing it. The question is… HOW do we do that? How do we learn to give money away? I mean, I can understand a “wealthy” person giving away a lot of money. They’ve got money to spare. In fact, Paul wrote to Timothy: “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” I Timothy 6:17-19
But, what about the rest of us? Don’t we get to do this “it’s more blessed TO GIVE than receive” thing? Or are we always destined to just “receive?” Well, the Macedonians were GIVERS! Paul tells us: “The churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, BEGGING us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints”
How could they do that? How could they view themselves as givers rather than takers?
ILLUS: That’s how God built us. Someone once wrote: If there was a dog walking down the street, healthy coat, obviously in good shape, and he had a bone in his mouth, and that dog passes a flee bitten mutt that is near starvation. Do you think that the healthy dog would stop and drop his bone in front of the sick dog? Oh, no. He would clinch his bone that much tighter in his teeth as he passed by. That is the nature of animals. Only man knows how to be a giver. God is a giver. He gave us life itself. And his ultimate gift was that of his son. What more cherished, more precious, more intimate gift could one give than that of his only child? If we want to achieve --- God likeness --- we have to be givers too. God does not ask us to renounce our possessions. He does ask us to renounce our bank accounts. He does not ask us to give up our necessitates - but he does ask us to share out of our abundance. The deepest joy in life is not by TAKING all that we can get, but by SHARING from all that we have got. (Staff, www.eSermons.com, November, 2000)
So how do we do that? Well, first we begin viewing the money we have … as belonging to God. In essence – we should see ourselves as being God’s “money managers.” And when we do that… that makes a great deal of difference. IF God owns everything we have then, every dime we spend is God’s money.
So let’s imagine that God were to come to you today and ask you “How are you handling my funds?” What would tell him?
ILLUS: Years ago I read the story of an 87 year old woman named Oselola McCarty. Most of her life had been spent working 12 hour days doing other people’s laundry. That’s why people were amazed when she generously donated $150,000 to establish a scholarship fund at the University of Southern Mississippi. What’s even more amazing is that this gift represented only 60% of her total life savings of about $250,000. When asked how she did it, she simply said she lived modestly, saved regularly and gave generously. (https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/oseola-mccarty-1908-1999/)
Now, I don’t know if she was a Christian or not - but that’s what God’s money managers do. They live modestly; They save regularly; And they give generously. And they do that because they realize – the money they have isn’t theirs… it belongs to God. And God has permitted us (you and I) to be His partners in ministry.
Now for centuries… God’s worked at building that kind of thinking into His people, and the tool God has used to do that is called the tithe. The tithe is when we give 1/10th of our income in our offerings to the church. The tithe belongs to God. Leviticus 27:30 declares “Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the LORD’s; it is holy to the LORD.” Malachi 3:10 tells us “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.”
God loves the tithe, and the tithe belongs to God (always has). Now, I know that we’re no longer under the Law. And because we’re not under the Law you are not forced to pay a tithe. At this church, no one keeps track of what you put in the plate, and you will NEVER receive a letter demanding a you “PAY UP!” Although I’ve heard of churches who have done that!
ILLUS: When you put in money in the plate… that’s your gift to God. Nobody here wants to know what you give because this is YOUR gift! But now when I give a gift to somebody (someone I LOVE) I try to get them something I know they’ll like. I knew a woman who's step-mother would buy birthday and Christmas gifts for her step-children from garage sales and Goodwill. And the kids knew it. But when she bought her own biological children, this mother would go to stores and buy new toys and clothing. Why? Because she loved her biological children, but really didn't love her step-children. So the question is, do my offering to God - my gift to Him - tell Him He's my step-God... or the God I really love? For the people I love, I try hard to get gifts that I know they'll like.
And we know God likes the tithe because He liked the TITHE long before the Law was given. All we need to do is look at the meeting between Abraham (who’d just returned victorious from a battle) and Melchizedek (a priest who was a “type” of Christ). Abraham gave a 10th of the spoils of battle to Melchizedek – a type of Christ. The tithe belonged to Him.
So we know that God loves the tithe. And when I give my offering on Sundays, I give a 10th of my income. And I do it because I know that’s something would like. I’m not forced to that… but I do it because I love God. One man put it this way: “When I give, I’m saying ‘I love you Lord.’” (a businessman named Hal Thomas)
One of the beautiful things about this congregation, is that people here take that idea seriously. This is a church that loves Jesus; This is a church that invests in Jesus; This is a church that honors Jesus. And because that’s true… we are not only able to pay our bills (which, of course, includes paying me). But we are able to support missions, help the poor and struggling (benevolence), give out free lunches, and free food (from the pantry), and free clothes.
And because you honor God… in your giving, we can afford to have Spanish speaking worship, and a vibrant youth program for the kids, and we have buses we can use to pick people up for church activities. We don’t have a million dollars setting in the bank - but we’re not worried about that, because we have a God who will take care of us. And we have a church family who almost begs sometimes to do ministry. We have people who willingly give of their TIME, TALENTS, and TREASURE to make God’s Kingdom grow.
CLOSE: But if you’re not tithing, understand this: God still loves you, you just haven’t matured in your faith. One preacher put it this way: “Not only is it hard to get started tithing my income or sharing my faith (and a hundred other discipleship things), but God likes it that way. Watch the butterfly emerge from its chrysalis. The struggle, we are told, is a necessary part of its development. Only people of faith and determination will set out to learn to tithe and witness and understand the Bible and then stay with it until they are able to do it well. Everyone else drops by the wayside, intending to wait until it’s easy. In doing so, they’re expecting what never WAS… and never SHALL BE. The members of the church need to be reminded that God does not need their money. God does not suffer from a cash flow problem. God is all about growing disciples, preparing us down here so we will fit in up there.” (Joe McKeever)
Let me repeat: God trains people to be givers… because God is a giver. Do you remember the time Jesus took His disciples to the Temple? We’re told “Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. Then Jesus said “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on." Luke 21:1-4
The teacher of a pre-school class was teaching this to her students, and she used props to make the story more understandable. She gave one child several paper “bills” representing great wealth. Others were given varying number of bills. But then she gave little Mary two small coins. The teacher explained about how people gave money to God – a portion of their wealth (represented by the paper money they had). But this woman (little Mary) gave everything she had. Then she had little Mary put her two coins in the box and explained that was all the money she had. She had nothing left for food or clothing or shelter. At that point… another little girl in class looked she was going to cry. And she quietly went over to Mary, and handed that Mary half of her paper money.
God trains His people to be givers, because the only way that money could ever buy joy for us is if when we give it away.
INVITATION
