“RIGHTEOUS GIVERS” Psalm 112
FBCF – 7/27/25
Jon Daniels
INTRO – What does it mean to be righteous? Simply put: It means to be right w/ God. It is both who we are in Christ & how we live for Christ. It’s our identity & our activity. It’s positional & it’s practical.
- 2 Corinthians 5:21 – Our positional righteousness – “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” (NIV) – We BECOME the righteousness of God – we are transformed into the righteousness of God.
- 2 Timothy 2:22 - Our practical righteousness – “Flee from youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”
- If you try to practice righteousness w/out having Christ’s righteousness in you, then you’re practicing self-righteousness, & that doesn’t please God at all!
- Saw this phrase on a business’ sign in Clinton: Soli Deo Gloria – “To the glory of God alone.” That’s how a righteous person lives their life.
What are some of the characteristics that can be seen in a righteous person’s life? I.e., someone who is living a normal Christian life – someone who has a heart for the Lord, is striving to live for the glory of the Lord, is desiring to be obedient to the Lord – a normal Christ-follower. The word “righteous,” doesn’t refer to some kind of “super Christian” who has some kind of inside track w/ Jesus. We are talking about living the normal, Biblical life of a Christ-follower. If you know Jesus, then everything we talk about today applies to you.
Still in Psalms (finishing today): What are some characteristics that we find in the Psalms?
- Psalm 1:2 – The righteous person delights in God’s Word
- Psalm 64:10 – “The righteous will rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in him; all the upright in heart will glory in him [celebrate Him – brag on Him]!” (NIV)
- Psalm 92:12 – “The righteous thrive like a palm tree and grow like a cedar tree in Lebanon.” (CSB)
EXPLANATION – Psalm 112 (read from slide – keep it up)
We see some more characteristics of those who are righteous:
- V. 1 – They are joyful. They delight in obeying God
- V. 2 – Their righteousness impacts & influences their kids & their generation
- V. 4 – The light of the Lord leads them
- V. 5 – They are fair in business dealings
- V. 6 – They are not overcome by evil – Resist temptation.
- V. 7-8 – They don’t live in fear but walk in confident faith in God. They’re not scared of folks who oppose them.
- V. 9 – They influence others positively & are honored by others. They have “God-granted success” (David Jeremiah).
- “The Righteous Will Never Be Moved” – heading in my Bible for Psalm 112
I could build a sermon on any of those characteristics. But there is one that we see in this Psalm & that I want to focus on today: Generosity – righteous people are generous givers – which leads to today’s application:
APPLICATION – Righteous living leads to generous giving.
3 questions: WHAT – WHY - & HOW
WHAT DO RIGHTEOUS PEOPLE GIVE TO THE LORD? – Their time, talents, & treasure
Their time – This is happening right now all across this campus. And it happens every week between Sundays w/ both church staff & folks in the church membership.
If God has given you time to live, you still have time to give. Don’t waste it on meaningless pursuits, sinful passions, & empty posturing.
- Tillie Burgin at Mission Arlington – almost 90
- Maybe you can’t do that, but you can still give your time discipling a younger man or woman. SO needed!
- You can still give your time in prayer – NEVER say, “All I can do is pray” as if that’s not important. SO needed!
Their talents – We see this all over our church! Musicians, carpenters & handymen, cooks, builders (new sanctuary), public speakers & preachers, LG leaders & Bible study teachers, people back at sound booth right now running sound board & computer, up in broadcast booth right now (you never see them), artists/photographers, Victoria Purvis doing our social media posts, Judy Tucker decorating tables for Sonshiners every month - & the list goes on & on.
- V. 9b – “Their good deeds will be remembered forever. They will have influence & honor.”
Their treasure – Financial resources – Amazing testimonies from so many people of how God will faithfully provide & take care of us when we trust Him w/ our money & give so His K’dom work will go forward. Ed Newton, CBC, San Antonio, sermon few wks ago:
“We give to a church, not just with our time, our talent, but also our treasure. We don't tip the church; we tithe to the church. Why? Because…we believe in what God's doing here…it drains greed out of my heart…God is Jehovah Jireh [our Provider]. When I give Him my first fruit, then watch God stretch out my tires to make them last a little bit longer, [He] lets my air conditioner unit that's beyond warranty last longer than what I thought it was gonna last…allows Freon to stay in it. Groceries go a little bit further. Money stretches a little farther, & God goes, ‘And you thought you can outgive me?’…Why do I tithe to this church? Because I believe in what God's doing here.” From The Ed Newton Podcast: We Are CBC: Sonroof, Jul 13, 2025 - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ed-newton-podcast/id1604260722?i=1000717237802&r=1675
If you are walking w/ the Lord, you don’t pick & choose which of those 3 you do. You do all 3! That’s the normal lifestyle of a Christ-follower.
- Christian life is not a “Mama Hamil’s” buffet where you pick & choose: pick fried chicken & mashed potatoes & WISELY choose NOT to pick the squash & English peas!
WHY ARE RIGHTEOUS PEOPLE SO WILLING TO GIVE TO THE LORD? Have deep reverence for the Lord, deep faith in the Lord, & deep desire to be used by God. (put Ps 112 back up)
v. 1 – They “fear the Lord” – In total awe of Him – Blown away by Him, His goodness, power, steadfast love, GRACE, mercy, presence!
v. 4-8 – They trust the Lord in good times & in dark times – Not “overcome by evil” but stand strong in face of temptation – still fall but are quick to confess & repent when they fall – When get bad news, they keep trusting the Lord, pressing on no matter what life throws at them or who comes against them.
v. 9 – They share & give, not for recognition, but just b/c they want to be used by God.
Video – “We Give” (https://sermoncentral.com/church-media-preaching-sermons/sermon-video-illustrations/we-give-5018-detail)
HOW DO RIGHTEOUS PEOPLE GIVE TO THE LORD? – Cheerfully, generously, & systematically
Cheerfully – 2 Corinthians 9:7 – hilaros – We are filled w/ joy when we give. We don’t get mad & check out when preacher preaches on giving & challenges us to give. We get fired up that we GET to give to the Lord’s work & we give willingly & cheerfully!
Generously – v. 4b, 5a, v. 9a – Generosity has nothing to do w/ the size of your gift but has everything to do w/ the size of your heart. Mark 12:43-44, when widow put a penny in offering box, Jesus: “…this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together. [They] gave what they’ll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn’t afford—she gave her all.” (MSG)
Systematically – God’s people have always given to the Lord in a systematic way by regularly tithing 10% of our income.
- Malachi 3:10 – “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!” (NLT)
- 1 Corinthians 16:2 – “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him” (KJV)
CONCLUSION – Jesus gave His life for you. Have you given your heart to Him? Start there.
If you have, then are you living a giving life? Time, talents, & treasure.
