Righteous Givers Series

“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: