NUTS For Christ In Stewardship
4/14/2002 Eccl.11:1-6 2 Corinthians. 8:1-12 9:6-9
This is our third NUTS sermon. NUTS stands for Never Underestimating The Spirit. We are indebted to Leonard Sweets from the Beyond All Limits Conference for getting us started with NUTS Passion. Today is our day for financially committing ourselves to supporting the ministry of Christ. Whatever we do for God, we ought to do it with a passion to offer our best.
Let’s meet Bobby for a moment. Bobby is eleven years old, and knows his parents 20th anniversary is coming up. He tells his parents, “Mom and Dad, you’re the greatest parents in the whole world. I sure wish I had a $100 because if I did, I would get you the best anniversary gift ever.”
In the past, Bobby had always drawn them a picture card and told them how much he loved them. Bobby’s parents were interested in seeing just what their son would get them if he had the money. The next day, they sent him a hundred dollars in the mail, with no return address, and with a typed message saying, “this is for you, to do as you please.”
Bobby was thrilled when he opened the envelope. “Wow, a hundred dollars, and it is mine to do what I want to do with it.” Two days later on his parents anniversary, the anticipation was building in their hearts as to what their son would give to them. Expectation mounted as Bobby came through shouting as he always did “Happy Anniversary!”. He presented them with another hand drawn card. In it he told them they were the best parents ever, and he loved them very much.
They smiled and said, “this card is great where is our gift.” Bobby said, “You’ve got it. I always make you a card for your gift.” His father said, “but son, you said, if you had a $100, you’d get us best anniversary gift ever.” Bobby replied, “well Dad I would have, if you had of given me the $100 when I said it. The father said, “but, son you got a $100 in the mail.” Bobby replied, “I would have used some of my money, but after I bought my new game, and two cd’s, I barely had enough left to go to the movies, so you can see why I didn’t have anything left for gifts for you.
How would you have felt if you were Bobby’s parents? It’s not that Bobby did not love his parents or even that Bobby was a bad kid. Bobby simply did not understand the concept of being grateful and demonstrating it by making personal sacrifices. Being NUTS For Christ in Stewardship means never underestimating the Spirit when we make personal sacrifices because we are grateful for what God has done for us. Who knows how many envelopes Bobby would have received if he had of acted differently?
There are many people who are willing to give, only when they think it will not cost them anything to do it. This week, Super Lotto fever of 70 million had many people giving away millions to the church and to the cause of Christ. Why, because they did not have it to give.
Let me ask you something for those of us who know Christ, if you had to choose between winning 70 million dollars and living and dying without Christ or having what you have now and living and dying in Christ, which would you choose. No let’s not play the game of a deathbed confession. What if you had won and God said give it all away if you really want to know Me, then what would you have done.
This morning we sang songs, “Lord you are more precious than silver, precious than gold, and beautiful than diamonds, and nothing I desire compares with you.” I wouldn’t trade you for silver or gold. I wouldn’t trade you for riches untold. You are my everything. Were we telling the truth to God in our praise and worship, or were those just idle words? God can already knows based on what w do with the little silver and gold we do have.
Jesus came to earth with a mission. He said, “I came to seek and to save those who were lost.” That was the most critical aspect of Jesus’ ministry. Then Jesus turned around and gave the mission to us. He tells us in John 15:16
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Notice that as a result of us doing what God tells us to do, God is able to bless us with answers to our prayers.
Our purpose statement flows out of Jesus’ mission. He came to seek and to save—Our purpose is to bring people into a right relationship with God. We all share this obligation and this privilege together. One of the things which hinders doing what God has told us to do, is money. It’s not the lack of money that’s the problem, it’s our love of money.
Like Bobby, we’re committed in our love to God, but it’s not grown from a feeling to a level of gratefulness which leads to self sacrifice. Now we know that Jesus does not lie. Jesus told us, we cannot love God and also love money. Well how do we know, when we’ve started to love money. We know it , when we and our money determines how we live rather than our God determining how we live. Money transforms us in to playing little god.
The Bible gives us standards for our giving. We find that one person gave 100% of what she had, but it was only a one time sacrifice. We find that one person gave 50% of what he had with a promise to give an additional four times the amount he had cheated from others. We find that Jesus requested one very wealthy person to sell all he had and give it to the poor.
Yet when it comes to consistent regular giving, the Bible speaks of us giving a tithe. A tithe is giving God one penny out of each dime that we get. It never ever gets more than that. Yet the more money we get, the easier it becomes to get greedier. You have to be NUTS to keep it from happening in you. Somehow, the more of those dimes we get, the more we feel we should not have to give God quite as many pennies.
Suppose you’ve been dating a guy who you think is really a great guy, but he’s very low on funds because he’s got a low paying job. When you go out to eat, he takes you to McDonald’s and buys you the medium size meal. You’re ready to marry this guy in a few months. But then a lawyer contacts him, and tells him he’s sending him a check for $200,000 from a relative’s estate.
When the money is in the bank, the two of you go out to dinner to celebrate. You think you’re going to finally see Red Lobster or Ruby Tuesday or Charlie’s Crab. Once again though he pulls up to McDonald’s and says, “today, I want you to feel free to super-size your meal.”
How are you feeling about your future mate? You’d hope his love for you would be demonstrated in proportion to what he has to give to you. This is why God asks for a tithe and not an amount. God gives us the opportunity to give in proportion to how we have been blessed.
Now with God there is a whole different level involved. The Bible is clear that everything in this world belongs to God. God has made it possible for us to have everything that we have. If you think your stuff is your stuff because you earned it, just imagine what would have it happened if God had of decided to have formed you in a mother’s womb in some small Indian tribe in Brazil?
Would you have your degree, your bank account or your home then? Suppose God had formed you 200 years earlier, would you have accomplished the same thing. We owe our very existence of time and space to the mercy of God. Who was it that gave us the breath of life.
No one anywhere is more generous than God. God takes His stuff, and gives it to us and then ask if we will keep 90% of it give Him back 10%. Now God knew that some of us would not be grateful for the exchange so He throws in an extra blessing. God says, “Let me help you become NUTS in your giving for my work.”
So we see in the promise in Malachi 3:10-11 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. 11I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty.
Now we see what’s in the word of God. We see the principle give today and be blessed tomorrow. The only problem is that the money I have in my hand right now, looks a whole lot better than what God says He might give me in the future. One of the members called in last week and said, “I’ve got my tithes in my hands, but I don’t want to wait until Sunday to bring it because I’m being tempted to spend it and I don’t trust myself. Therefore I’m coming by to drop it in the mail slot to make sure it goes where it is supposed to go.” He was struggling with whether he was going to obey God with his money, or give in to temptation to use it on himself.
If it were me, I would not use what I see as harsh words from the Scriptures in this passage. God told his people, they were thieves by not paying their tithes. According to Malachi 3:8, the people who did not pay their tithes, were charged by God with robbing Him. In addition God sent curses upon the people, so that even what they had never was enough. Anyone who thinks that it does not matter what you give to God, so long as you give something, should read the books of Malachi and Haggai. It’s not possible to be NUTS in our Stewardship for Christ, if we’re just giving anything that’s left over.
Some people say, “Well did Jesus ever tell us to tithe.” Let’s see. One group that did not have a problem with tithing was the Pharisees who were the Pharisees. Look at Luke 11:42 Luke 11:42 "Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.”
Now Jesus is saying to them, fellows when it comes to paying tithes, you tithe on everything you get and that’s good, but remember you also have to practice justice and show others the love of God. You should have done these two things, along with your paying tithes. Paying tithes is not paid in our service to the church or to others. We are to excel in both our service and our giving. The Bible tells us in 2 Cor. 8:7 “But just as you excel in everything--in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us--see that you also excel in this grace of giving.”
We need to see ourselves, not as owners of wealth but as bank managers. A bank manager knows that money that is in the bank belongs to someone else. The manager is allowed to do some things with some of the money, but the money belongs to the person who has deposited it in the bank. Every week, God deposits different amounts of money in our banks. God is very generous in the way He allows us to use His money. Would you take your money to the bank, and say” now 10% of this money I always want to claim, but use the other 90% of my money in a very productive way? Spend some of it on yourself if you like”
Now one day, Jesus is going to ask us to give an account of all the money that He gave to us, not just the 10% but the 90% as well. Let’s imagine entering into the courtroom of heaven. All the saints are standing around, and we go before Jesus to see how we did with what was put in our care. Jesus looks at us with His piercing eyes. He shows us his hands and his side to remind us of the price he paid for us to be saved. He then says, “I came to seek and to save those who were lost, how did you help in my mission? How much did you use to spread the gospel, to feed the hungry, to help the homeless, to care for the sick, and to remember those in prison.”
How many of us are planning on saying, “Lord you know I did the best I could.” Do you realize that if this is going to be our line of defense, our first words spoken to Jesus will be a lie?” Do we actually plan to try to lie our way out of how poorly we managed what God gave to us?
The best time to prepare for that day is now. When we say “I can’t afford to tithe, let’s be honest without God and with ourselves. What we’re really saying, is the decisions I have made for my choice of lifestyle requires that I spend up the money God told me to set aside.” God will never allow us to use the excuse, “I could not afford it.”
No the reality is we could not afford that home, or that car, or that vacation, or that dress, or that place to eat, or that furniture, or that savings plan, or that brand of clothes, or that school, or that apartment or that neighborhood, or that jewelry, or that amount of savings or whatever it was.
Some of us are in so much debt because of either greed or some unfortunate experience in our lives that we cannot make ends meet. Does God expect you to start tithing tomorrow? No, but God expects you to begin to make changes today in your lifestyle, so that you can become faithful in this area of your life as well. What would you be willing to let go of, if all of a sudden you lost your job and your income was half of what it is now. Well those are the kinds of things we need to examine if are serious about getting our lives in spiritual order.
Tithing is never a matter of the amount of money we make. It is always a matter of how much do we appreciate what God has done for us and how important is being in the will of God to our lives. God never intended for tithing to be a means to keep people poor. Tithing was both a means to support the work of Jesus Christ for the church and means to a step of faith to being blessed by God in a number of areas in our individual lives. Tithing teaches what it means to be grateful to God.
People all the time asks God to bless them. But the issue is, “are you blessable by God.” We do not know how many blessings we have missed out on because we used our money as we wanted to rather than according to God’s plan for it and for us. Have you already shown God you can be faithful in the little areas of life? When we actively live in disobedience to God’s will for our lives, we are not blessable by God. For the Scripture tells us everyone the Lord loves, the Lord disciplines to get back on the right track.
Even before we knew God, and we thought all we had was our own. We were still facing death and on our way to hell. Everything would be left behind on this earth. But Jesus comes along and loves us. Provides us with new life here on earth and eternal life beyond. He pays for our salvation with His own life. He forgives our sins and gives us purpose. He then turns around and tells us, “come and use what you have that I might save others.” How much are you willing to give just to say thank you?
It’s okay to give because you believe you’re going to get something back. That’s just one of God’s promises. But it is a much higher form of giving when we say, Lord I can never repay my debt to you. But I do just want to say Thank You. Please use this, to help bring someone else into a right relationship with God. Won’t it be great to see your family members and your friends in heaven, because somebody chose to tithe and others chose to be NUTS for Christ in their stewardship.
5. Not For Keeping God’s People Poor
6. To Support The Work Of Christ—A Door To
Blessings
1. Teaches What It Means To Be Grateful
L. Are We Blessable By God
1. Know What We Have, But What Did We Miss
2. Faithful In Small Things, Faithful In Much
3. The Lord Disciplines Us As Needed
Hebrews 12:5-6 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons and daughters: "My child, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, 6because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son or daughter."
M. God Had A Love Plan For Us From The Start
1. Facing Death, Destruction, Hell
2. All Would Be Left Behind
3. But Then Comes Jesus & Love
4. New Life, Forgiveness, Salvation, Purpose
5. Come Help Me Do For Others What I Did
6. Willing To Say Thank You
7. Okay To Give And Expect To Get
8. Higher To Give, Because We Are Grateful
9. I Just Want To Say Thanks
10. Choosing To Be NUTS
2 Cor. 8:9
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
Sermon Outline NUTS For Christ In Stewardship
4/14/2002 Eccl. 11:1-6 2 Corinthians 8:1-12
A. NUTS Never Underestimating The Sprit Passion
1.Offering Our Best With Passion
2. 11 Year Old Bobby Parents 20th Anniversary
3. Great Parents “If I Had A $100” Secret Mail
4. The Expectation, The Gift, The Reality
5. $100 But For The Games, The CD, Gift
6. The Feeling Of The Parents
B. NUTS Stewardship Involved Personal Sacrifices
1. Don’t Miss Out On What You Could Receive
2. Giving What We Don’t Have Super Lotto 70
3. If You Had To Choose—No Deathbed Confession
4. How Real The Choruses Of Praise—Silver, Gold
5. Trades Or Not---God Already Knows
C. Jesus Came With A Mission—To Seek & To Save
John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
2. Our Purpose Is Bring People Into A Right
3. Gospel Message –Privilege & Obligation
4. What Hinders The Mission—Love Of Money
5. Like Bobby—Committed But Not Matured
6. Jesus—Can’t Love God And Money
7. Who Is The Real God In Our Lives
D. The Standards For Biblical Giving
1. 100%, 50% Plus 400%, Sell All
2. Tithing Regular Giving Penny From A Dime
3. Be NUTS To Keep More From Becoming Greedy
4. More Should Not Mean Less For God
E. Our Love Should Remain Proportional
1. Dating The Guy At McDonalds—A Phone Call
2. $200,000 Red Lobster, Ruby Tuesday, Charlie’s
3. Supersize That Meal---To Be Or Not To Be
4. Loving In Proportion, Not Amounts
F. Just Where Did All The Stuff Come From
1. God Made It All, Owns It All, Has It All
2. Change Mom To Brazil Indians—Educated?
3. Change Date To 200 Years—Time And Space
4. God Gave The breath
5. God Gives 100% Stuff, Keep 90% Stuff, 10% Stuff
Malachi 3:10-11 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. 11I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty.
6. Give Today, Be Blessed Tomorrow—But I Have It
7. Member—I Need Help, I’m Tempted, I’m Coming
G. God Uses Harsh Words
Malachi 3:8-9 "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, ’How do we rob you?’ "In tithes and offerings. 9You are under a curse--the whole nation of you--because you are robbing me.
1. Are We Robbers For Real
2. What About Giving As We Please Malachi-Haggai
3. Jesus On Tithing With The Pharisees
Luke 11:42 "Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.
4. Do All That You’re Supposed To Do
2 Cor. 8:7 But just as you excel in everything--in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us--see that you also excel in this grace of giving.
H. Did You Know You’re A Bank Manager
1. Our Job Is Not To Own But To Manage
2. God Makes Weekly, Monthly Deposits
3. God Super Generous Take 90% & Use It
I. One Day Jesus Is Going To Ask For An Accounting
1. The Courtroom Of Heaven—The Saints—Jesus Eyes
2. The Hands, The Nails, The Price, The Mission
Matthew 25:42-43 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
3. How Will We Answer
4. Will You Say “I Did The Best I Can” Please Don’t
5. Today Is The Time To Start To Prepare
J. What If We Really Can’t Afford To Tithe
1. Is It The Tithe Of The Lifestyle Choices
2. What Is It We Really Can’t Afford
3. Individuals Making Choices
4. None Will Be Able To Say I Couldn’t Afford It
5. Changes Need To Be Initiated Today
K. What About When Debt & Unfortunate Circumstances Come Into Our Lives
1. God’s Grace & Mercy—Our Responsibility
2. What Would You Surrender If ½ Income
Disappeared
3. Tithing Never Based On Amount Of Money Made
4. Appreciation & Being In God’s Will
5. Not For Keeping God’s People Poor
6. To Support The Work Of Christ—A Door To
Blessings
8. Teaches What It Means To Be Grateful
L. Are We Blessable By God
1. Know What We Have, But What Did We Miss
2. Faithful In Small Things, Faithful In Much
3. The Lord Disciplines Us As Needed
Hebrews 12:5-6 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons and daughters:"My child, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, 6because the Lord disciplines those he loves,and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son or daughter."
M. God Had A Love Plan For Us From The Start
1. Facing Death, Destruction, Hell
2. All Would Be Left Behind
3. But Then Comes Jesus & Love
4. New Life, Forgiveness, Salvation, Purpose
5. Come Help Me Do For Others What I Did
6. Willing To Say Thank You
7. Okay To Give And Expect To Get
8. Higher To Give, Because We Are Grateful
9. I Just Want To Say Thanks
10. Choosing To Be NUTS
2 Cor. 8:9
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
