You, Your Money & God
Malachi 3:6-10
If you have your Bibles, please turn to Malachi 3:6-10
My daughter came up to me the other day about nap time and said, "Daddy, if you give me a dollar, I’ll go to bed." I told her, "I don’t think it works that way." I’ll tell you what. It starts young. People and money, there’s just something about it.
Well we are going to spend one Sunday talking about the topic "You, your money, and God."
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I want to talk to you today about giving to God. We refer to it as tithes and offering. The tithe is an Old Testament word and it meant to give 10% of what you have to God. An offering is usually defined as anything over and above a tithe. And we’ll speak more specifically a little bit later on the two.
But I want to talk to you today about giving to the Lord. If I asked you to raise your hand if you believed it was important and scriptural to tithe, to give generously to the Lord, just about every hand would go up but when it comes to doing it ourselves that’s another matter altogether.
I love the story about the grandmother who took her young grandson to her Sunday-School class. And when the collection plate came around the young boy held the quarter his grandma had given him in his clenched fist. And she tried to encourage him to put his quarter in the plate and he was reluctant but finally dropped it in.
A little bit later he became restless and she said would you like to go down to the nursery. He said yes, and so they got up and began to leave and on the way out the boy stopped by the class treasurer and said, "Can I have my quarter back, were not staying.
Well we can be reluctant when it comes to giving, and we can even be reluctant when it comes to listening to a sermon on giving. But starting off right now, let me give you four reasons why I’m not hesitant to preach on giving this morning, four reasons why we need to reaffirm this important aspect of the Christian life.
#1 We don’t preach on it very often.
Not that it’s wrong to preach on it, but we just don’t do it. I’ve been here a year and a half and this is the first sermon I have preached on money or giving. Over the last 75 sermons this is the first one. So if you’re visiting with us today and think, Oh no, here we go again, a church asking for money, realize that since I’ve been here this is the first time we’ve preached on money. We don’t preach on it very often.
#2 – Second reason we need to preach on it is that it’s Biblical
The statement has been made in regards to preaching and in regards to the preacher, that I wish he would quit preaching on giving and get back to preaching on the gospel. The truth however, is that you cannot preach on the gospel and not preach on giving. Jesus saw fit to include it in the majority of his teaching.
In fact there are 39 parables in the gospels. Of the 39, over half of them deal with greed, generosity or giving. Our finance, money, generosity, greed are mentioned over 2000 times in the Bible. It’s Biblical.
#3 It’s a needed subject for our culture
Money magazine says not only do we consume like no culture before us, but we pursue money like no other culture. Money has become the number one obsession of Americans, quote, "Money has become the new sex in this country," end quote.
We want the money and we want the stuff the money buys. Whether or not it serves any purpose seems irrelevant at times.
The comic strip Kathy depicts a scene in which she is looking at all the things she has accumulated. She says, "Safari clothes that will never be near a jungle. Aerobic footwear that will never set foot in an aerobics class; A deep sea dive watch that will never get damp; keys to a Four-Wheeled drive vehicle that will never experience a hill; Architectural magazines I don’t read, filled with pictures of furniture that I don’t like; Financial strategy software that I don’t know how to work, keyed to a checkbook that is lost. An art poster from an exhibit I never went to, by an artist I never heard of." And Finally, with a blank stare she says, "Abstract materialism has arrived."
And the "bumper sticker" says it, "I owe, I owe, so off to work I go." What are we living for? To consume.
Consider that 88% of the population have more debts than assets
Consider that money is a factor in 90% of divorces
Consider that the avg. family in America carries nearly $8,000 in credit card debt.
Consider that only 2% of the people in America when they reach age 65 are financially stable – they need no additional income – only 2%.
And all of this speaks to the need our society has in dealing with finances and greed and giving.
Well then #4 Not only is it needed in our culture but it’s needed in our churches.
A cartoon showed a man hiding under the pew bench at church and his wife is saying, you can come out now dear, the offering is over.
And that’s what many feel like doing even those who have been Christians for years.
A study of thirty plus denominations points out that although income after taxes and inflation, increased 31% in the last 17 years, giving has gone down 8.5% in the same period of time. We have more than we have ever had and we give less than we have ever given.
Now I want to emphasize that I don’t know how much you give. The Elders don’t know. We don’t want to know. That’s between you and God. The treasurer is the only one that knows.
But I do know how our giving is as a body and it doesn’t approach anywhere near 10%. Just based on average income and going on a strict tithe, that is 10%, if over the last year we had given just 10% we would have enough money in the bank to
- Meet our annual budget
- Pay off the $600,000.00 debt from the Educational wing.
- Hire additional staff.
- Be ready to expand our facilities.
- Increase our giving to missions by $100,000.00. All in one year!
So why don’t we do that? And I think the answer is in our failure to understand our tithes and offering.
Well, that’s four reasons why we need to look at our giving. And what I want to encourage to you this morning is that in the year 2004 to put God first in the area of giving and see how blessed you become and what a blessing it is to others.
In Luke 12:15 Jesus said, “Watch out. Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
1 Timothy 6:6-8 says, “Godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into this world and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing we ought to be content.”
Now, we hear that, we know that. We know that God wants us to give back to him and we know that he blesses us for it, and yet we have a problem with it, when it comes week to week.
I heard the story of a game warden that saw a fellow heading downstream with his fishing pole and tackle box. He went up to him and asked to see the man’s license. The man said, “Warden, I don’t need a license. I’m not fishing. I’m just carrying this here pole and tackle box. No law against that. Don’t need a license just to carry a pole.
Well there is no law against that so the warden fell back and began to follow this guy at a distance. Well the guy headed downstream and finally crossed in some rapids. The warden followed after him getting soaking wet in the process.
The man then headed through some heavy brush and then doubled back across the river, went up a steep embankment and then back down the other side and back across the river. The warden was determined and scrambled after him.
The man then headed through the thickest part of a briar patch and the warden came right after him getting scratched up in the process.
Finally after about two miles of this back and forth, the man stopped by the edge of the stream, baited his hook and cast his line out in the middle.
Immediately the game warden jumped out and said, “I caught you, now you’re fishing.” And the man looked at him, and said, “Yep warden I am” and pulling out his wallet he said, “And now, you can see my license.”
Well, there’s no law that says you have to give. But you cannot claim that you have made God the ruler of your life and withhold this area from him. You cannot do it. And if I’m not giving to God, if I’m holding back or just tossing in a buck or two here and there, then I cannot claim that I have made him the ruler, the director of my life in this area.
And so with that in mind I want to give you three Scriptural attitudes in which we are to approach the giving of tithes and offering.
Attitude #1 is to Give Cheerfully
Giving is not a debt you owe. It’s not something you have to do. It’s something you get to do. 2 Cor. 9:7 says "God love’s a cheerful giver.” And the Greek word used for cheerful is the word "Hilarios" God loves an hilarious giver. A cheerful giver.
Suppose you and your wife are about to celebrate an anniversary. How well do you think it would go over if you picked her out a gift and said, "Here you go. I HAD to get you something. I knew you’d be mad if I didn’t. I didn’t want to, but everybody says I have too. Cost me too much but, here it is. Hope you enjoy it."
Well, she’s not going to. And God’s the same way. He doesn’t want you to give grudgingly. He doesn’t even want your gift. He wants your sacrifice, your allegiance to him in this area. He wants you to feel so much love in your heart for him that you wouldn’t think twice about not giving.
Not grudgingly. Not reluctantly. Not under compulsion. But giving cheerfully. And that’s why you won’t get pressured around here to give. As long as I’m here we are not going to do the things that some other churches do.
We are not going to knock on your door once a year and say, "fill out this card, we’ve come to see how much your going to give the church this year." We aren’t going to send out offering envelopes every month. We aren’t going to have an offering meditation every Sunday. We don’t want to do that. Why? Two reasons.
#1 We might miss an illness in your family, but there we are to collect money. No. That’s not going to happen. We are not going to do that.
But #2 – is simply because I don’t believe that a Christian should need all that. If it’s not enough to know that Jesus Christ gave everything he had, hung on a cross, spread his arms out and had them nailed to cross. That he gave everything including his very life for me, and all he asks back is a portion that we are willing to give, and we won’t do that, then there’s a problem there.
Now, we don’t always grasp what exactly were talking about with a tithe. It seems like a lot when we talk about money. But put it this way. Say I gave you ten apples. Ten apples. And there you’ve got these ten apples in front of you. And I gave them to you every week. And every week I only asked for one of those apples back to help feed other hungry people around the world. You still have nine apples to eat. Now, would you happily give me back one of those apples when you still have nine apples to eat? Of course you would. I’ve got ten apples, I’d be happy to give just one to help feed a multitude out there that’s hungry. And still have nine to eat myself.
So why isn’t it that way with our finances? Shouldn’t we cheerfully give back just a portion to help feed and evangelize a host of people out there that don’t know Jesus Christ? And still keep 90% for myself. And yet it needs to come cheerfully. God would rather have your heart than your money. And that’s the principle we need to understand.
The Apostle Paul, writing 2 Cor. 8:2 about the church in Macedonia said "Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.”
These were poor people. And he goes on to say that they gave as much as they were able and even beyond their ability and then earnestly pleaded for the privilege of sharing with the saints. They wanted to do it. They were eager to share what they had.
Well, the first principle of giving is to give cheerful. It’s got to come from the heart.
And then Biblical principle #2 is to give generously.
Give Cheerfully, Give Generously.
There is no set amount in the New Testament. In the old it was a tithe or 10% and that’s probably a good starting point. And I have had people ask, should I tithe off of my gross or net? Well, where’s your heart. If it’s to give as little as possible and you’re looking for a way to reduce the amount, then there’s a deeper problem to deal with.
But if you give cheerfully and also generously it will be a reward to others and to yourself.
Acts 20:35 says The Lord Jesus Himself said, “It is more blessed to give then to receive.”
And we know this. Experience shows us that there is so much more joy in giving than in receiving. And God tried everything he could to get the point across in the scripture.
1Chronicals 29:9 says that the people enjoyed, rejoiced in that they had given freely and generously to the Lord.
Does that type of giving characterize the average church member?
Several years ago, the largest Assembly of God Church in Denver Co., Charles Blair is the minister, asked their radio and T.V. audience, and their congregation to tell them what they wanted their minister to preach on.
Over 7000 people responded. And then Charles Blair wrote a book about those sermons, and then he wrote the last chapter on the sermon that no one asked for. Not one person in 7000 asked for a sermon on giving.
You say, if I had more money I’d give. No you wouldn’t. I don’t want to dispute your word, but the Bible clearly says that if we aren’t faithful in little we won’t be faithful in much. And an attitude of generosity starts on whatever level you’re at now.
A very wealthy man came to his minister and said, I’m having a problem with this tithing thing. You see I made $500,000 dollars last year. If I gave 10% then I’d have to give $50,000. I can’t do that. And the pastor took him aside and said, would you pray with me, “Dear Lord please reduce this man’s income so that he can afford to give.”
Well, generosity should be the standard for a Christian.
I heard a fascinating true story some time back. The leader of St. Malkies Parish in Chicago Illinois wanted to find out where the hearts of their people were. You see they were only giving about $300 a week to meet the needs of others through the church.
And specifically they wondered what influence the Illinois State Lottery was having on them. And so on a specified Sunday they had their members bring in all their losing lottery tickets and place them in the offering tray.
To their amazement they gathered over a thousand dollars in losing lottery tickets, and the total offering for the day was less than $300
The POEM says
20,000 for a brand new car, 40,000 for a piece of sod,
100,000 I paid for a house, and $20 bucks I gave to God.
And there’s one question for the answer that I still search
With things so bad in this old world, what’s holding back my church?
Bernard Ettinger said “the world will not be won to Christ on what we can conveniently spare.”
We are to give generously to Christ. Well, principle #1 Give cheerfully, #2 Give generously
Biblical Principle #3 Give Thankfully.
In 1 Chron. 29:13, David, in praying for the offering that was given and he says
“Now our God, we give you thanks and praise your glorious name. But who am I and who are my people that we should give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.”
And probably the most significant principle in giving is to give thankfully. To finally realize that everything I have has been given to me by God. And it’s an offering of thanksgiving to return just a portion of that to the Lord.
David goes on to say in verses 16-19 to say, “O Lord our God, as for all this abundance that we have given for your work, we know it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. O Lord, keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever and keep their hearts loyal to you.
I pray that our giving will always originate out of a heart that is thankful for the bountiful blessings that God has given in our lives. And you know, the ironic thing, is that when it comes from the heart, the Lord says it’s going to be returned to you in abundance. What did he say at the beginning in Malachi – test me in this and see if it doesn’t come true.
Now the bible does not teach that you give in order to get. That if I give a hundred dollars, God will give me thousand back. That’s treating God like the Spiritual lottery.
As one person said, If I bet the trifecta on the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I’m gonna get ten to one odds. That is not giving that’s greed. And God does not honor our greed.
However when giving comes from a heart of thanksgiving and generosity and cheerfulness, we are promised that it will be returned to us in some way. And it may be financially, it may be spiritually. It may be in a measure of peace. It may be in the outreach that the church has. But you can be guaranteed that it will be returned.
2 Cor. 9:6 says “he who sow’s sparingly will reap sparingly, and he who sows generously will reap generously.” You reap what you sow. And every week you receive a check and that check has in it an opportunity to sow for the future. And God says I will increase what you sow in amazing ways. Test me and see.
It’s kind of like putting in tomato plants. You ever put in tomato plants. Most people put in ten or 15 tomato plants and their just hoping to maybe get enough tomatoes for one meal. And what happens. Pretty soon they’ve got so many tomatoes they don’t know what to do. Putting them in jars and cans, and bags and giving them to the neighbors, the preacher, anyone that will take them.
And giving is like that. When done from the heart it brings an amazing return. And sometimes that’s financial. Sometimes it’s spiritual. Sometimes we see it now. And sometimes we won’t see it till the next life.
But can you imagine, for a moment, and just picture this with me, how incredible it will be to someday get to heaven. And picture this in your mind. Here you are walking around heaven. And somebody comes up to you that you’ve never seen in your life. And they just start thanking you over and over and over.
And your like “What did I do?” And they say, well, I’ve been told that you gave generously to your church. And your church helped send a missionary to my country, and that missionary shared with me the Gospel of Jesus Christ and I was saved. And my family was saved. My children were saved. And it wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t given so generously of your tithes and offering. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Man that’s gonna be awesome. And that’s just part of the return that we get when our tithes and offering are invested in God with thankfulness and generosity and cheerfulness.
I don’t know where you’re at this morning. But like anything in life of significance it has to start with a decision. Maybe you’ve never decided as a family that you’re gonna do what it takes to start tithing. Maybe you can go home today and talk with the family and make that decision that this is one area your not gonna keep back from God any longer.
And maybe this morning there’s another area you’ve been keeping back. Maybe it’s your heart your life, your obedience in the waters of baptism. Maybe it’s something you need prayer with. Whatever it is we’re going to give you an opportunity to respond.
