Commit to Grow
Pastor Glenn Newton
Oct. 10, 2004
(Read Psalm 37:1-9.)
Commit everything you do to the Lord.
Trust him, and he will help you (nlt).
Introduction
Legendary comedian Jack Benny was well known for his portrayal of stinginess—By the way, is there anyone under 45 who knows who I’m talking about? In one of his comedy routines, a robber pointed a gun at Benny and demanded, “Your money or your life!” after a long pause, the thief poked the gun in his ribs urging a response, to which Benny immediately responded, “I’m thinking! I’m thinking!”
Sometimes we’re like the comedian as we struggle to make decisions about priorities in life. Although God does not point a gun at us, He does confront us with the very same question, “Your money or your life.” Listen to the words of Jesus, “No one can serve two masters. 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 both God and Money” (Matt. 6:24).
Jesus knew the spiritual connection between our pocketbooks and the priorities of our lives. He said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:34). Warning His followers to “watch out!” and be on “guard against all kinds of greed,” Jesus left no room for confusion on this topic when He said, “a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (v. 15).
Materialism Is the Enemy of Faith
Yet, we live in a world caught in the constant desire for more. Our lives are constantly bombarded with messages about products that will make life better, keeping us dissatisfied with what we have. Advertisers count on us to always be searching for the “bigger and better.” We’re encouraged to spend our lives chasing after the “great American dream.” We call this pursuit of worldly possessions, “materialism,” and it is the enemy of faith.
Jesus said we could have pocketbooks “that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys” (v. 33). But too often, people have easily and without hesitation traded their lives for silver and gold—and plastic—similar to the story Jesus told about the greedy, rich fool, who tore down his old barns to build bigger ones so he might hoard more for himself. “God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’” (vv. 16-19).
Then Jesus said, “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God” (v. 21). Or as the New Living Translation reads, “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” We, like the “rich fool,” can become so confident in material possessions we neglect others and our need for God.
Materialism, however, isn’t just about collecting the world’s stuff. It’s about thinking like the world. Materialism is an attitude, and John tells us this desire to possess more earthly stuff is certainly not a heavenly one.
1 John 2:15-17
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.
(The Message says it this way)
Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity (tm).
There’s nothing wrong with having a nice car, living in a comfortable home, or dressing in the latest fashion, unless those possessions possess us, unless the pursuit of those things keeps us from seeking a deeper relationship with the Lord. That’s the real danger (Toler, p. 32).
Materialism considers the temporal (the temporary) more important than the eternal. (Toler, p. 32). Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. . . . my kingdom is from another place” (John 18:36). So if we’re copying Jesus (living Christ-like lives), we’ll always make our decisions—including financial ones—based on the eternal, not the temporal.
When considering the scriptural principles of giving, you would not expect non-Christians to give to the Lord’s work, but you would expect Christians to be examples in their giving; surely, most are, at the very least, tithers. Here’s the problem: giving percentages among evangelical Christians have actually been declining for the past 30 years (Toler and Towns, Developing a Giving Church, 1999).
According to a recent survey by The Barna Group, When the behavior of adults with a significant commitment to Jesus Christ was examined, the outcome showed only seven percent of those claiming to be born again tithed in 2003. More than twice as many born-again adults (18 percent) gave no money at all to the Church (The Barna Update, 04-13-04).
Somewhere there is a disconnect between God’s Word and its practice among those who profess to believe in it. Do you believe God’s Word? Then obey what it says!
If you try to go through and pick and choose what you will listen too and what you will skip over you are fooling yourself, and the apostle Paul talks about such people in 1 Cor. 2:14 Listen to what he says...
14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
There are things that you will not be able to understand in God’s Word until you are living in obedience to God, and living in step with His Spirit. When you are living in Rebellion against God and His Word.... Don’t be surprised if you don’t understand what His Word says, because you won’t be able to..... because God’s Word is discerned through the Holy Spirit...not by your own understanding. When we get right with God alot things start making sense.. Amen? That Gallup poll really disturbs me because what it tells me is that we have alot of people in the church who are calling themselves Christians, but there not..... they are basing their Christianity on their own understanding.... not on what the Bible clearly teaches..... guess what? Your not going to be judged based on what you think is right........... You will be judged based on what The Word of God teaches.. so you better get it right....
What we need among believers is a reconnect with the Living God. Second Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” Some call it repentance; some call it spiritual renewal; some call it old-fashioned revival.
At the core of the problem is a lack of obedience because we have not committed everything to the Lord. Our scripture text from the Psalms encourages us to commit our way to the Lord, trusting in Him to do the rest. This is the second step in the cycle of victorious giving: commit to grow. A major part of spiritual growth includes learning to commit everything to God. True commitment is all about surrendering something—without hesitation—for a higher good. That includes our material possessions and our money (Toler, p. 29, 33).
In the Old Testament sacrificial system, no one was to appear before God empty-handed. When they came to worship, everyone was instructed to bring something. No one was to be left out; all were to be included—servants, both men and women, the Levites, the aliens, the orphans, and the widows (Randy Cloud in Toler, p. 33). In the New Testament, Christians continued the tradition of weekly offerings (see 1 Cor. 16:1-3).
Giving indicates the true commitment of the heart and becomes a mark of spiritual maturity. It’s always a reminder that we are stewards (managers) of what we have—not owners— and that our material blessings are given by God. They are always given to us from the storehouse of His love and compassion.
Jesus said if we would “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,” then “all these things” (our material needs) would be provided as well (Matt. 6:33). Do you believe His Word this morning?
The great missionary David Livingstone had the right attitude toward commitment when he wrote, “I will place no value on anything I may possess except in relation to the kingdom of Christ. I will use my possessions to promote the glory of Him to whom I owe all” (Toler, p. 33-34).
Materialism Is the Enemy of the Kingdom of God
Not only does the practice of materialism challenge our faith, it is an enemy of the Kingdom of God. Choosing to hoard God’s blessings causes division in the Church, overlooks the needs of others, promotes selfishness rather than sacrifice, and focuses efforts on preserving the status quo rather than expansion. Failing to recognize the principles of kingdom economy—the spirit of materialism—battles against the advancement of God’s kingdom.
The church at Laodicea was a prime example. Jesus described its inability to commit by calling them lukewarm—neither hot nor cold. They had become a rich church, acquiring enough wealth so that, like the rich young fool, they felt they needed nothing. But they were using the world’s measuring stick. By God’s standards, they were “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” (Rev. 3:17). Their lack of commitment and self-sufficiency had rendered them ineffective for kingdom service.
How then can we stand as Christians against the cancer of materialism in our culture? And how can we reverse its impact on God’s kingdom? Thanks for asking those two important questions... boy your really listening.
First, we must refuse to be distracted. “No one,” Jesus said, “who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom” (Luke 9:62). We must not allow earthly things to cloud our vision of the heavenly. Obsessive pursuit of material things distracts us from our real goal, and divides our attention and allegiance to Jesus Christ.
We must develop the same attitude as Paul when he said, “Whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him” (Phil 3:7-9).
A half-hearted attempt will not cut it. We must be focused on the things of God.
The habit of giving cannot be ignored. As church leader Bill Burch says, “Tithing is a practical and scriptural expression of one’s total consecration to God.”
A second way we can resist materialism is by cultivating the grace of contentment. Paul wrote to Timothy, “Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that” (1 Tim. 6:6-8).
One of the toughest challenges of living like God wants us to in this world is the desire for more. Always more, more, more. Isn’t it interesting that Adam and Eve had everything they could ever want, yet even they wanted more?
Paul warned Timothy of the dangers of discontentment. “People who want to get rich,” he said, “fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Tim. 6:9-10).
That’s why the writer of Hebrews admonished the church to “keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you’” (13:5).
Third, if we are going to avoid the trap of materialism, we must commit to an eternal plan. God always has a plan. (See Jer. 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you.”) Do you remember when Jesus began to explain to His disciples what must happen soon in His life, and Peter argued with the plan? Jesus rebuked him and told him he was looking at things merely from a human point of view rather than from God’s perspective.
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matt. 16:24-26). So it’s vitally important to do it God’s way!
Two pastors were chatting when one boasted to the other, “Every member of my church tithes.” His astonished colleague replied, “You’re telling me all of your members give 10 percent of their income to the church?” “Well, not exactly,” said the other. “Only half of them put their tithe in the offering plate. God collects from the rest.”
The point is that we can never really cheat God. Withholding from Him only hurts us. Our selfishness robs us of spiritual victory and leads to spiritual bankruptcy. It keeps us from enjoying the blessing of meeting the needs of others and hinders the work of the Kingdom.
When the teachings of God’s Word confront us, they challenge us to accept the responsibility that comes with them. Our response becomes a witness to our devotion to the Lord, and our obedience brings glory to God. Paul told the Corinthian Church their generosity would “result in thanksgiving to God” and that the overflow of giving would bring “many expressions of thanks to God” (2 Cor. 9:11-12).
God rewards our Devotion to Him.
Revival will come when people are generous, because giving brings God’s favor. “For God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work . . . and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way” (2 Cor. 9:7-11).
But it will take a commitment to kingdom principles to make a kingdom investment. “Remember this,” Paul said, “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (2 Cor. 9:6). Sowing is the key to growing. When we make a commitment to grow in our giving—to commit our way to the Lord and to trust His benefits to us in return—we will possess spiritual vitality and experience spiritual maturity. It’s as if He hands us a signed check and says fill in the blanks.
What keeps you from making a total commitment to God? Are you holding on to something that is actually holding you? Do you have possessions that in reality possess you? Then I offer you release from the grip of materialism. Take the second step in the cycle of victorious giving, and commit to grow. Give God the freedom to pour out His blessing in your life.
Luke 6:38
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity (tm).
Will you choose to Commit to Grow this morning? If you will choose to Commit to Grow, and let God be your first priority this morning... then I want you to stand with me this morning as we pray a prayer of commitment.
