In Jesus’ teaching
he said a couple of important things about giving. One, is found in Luke 6:38, “give, and it will be given to you.
Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put
into your lap. For with the measure you
use it will be measured back to you.” Another teaching of Jesus is found in
Luke 11: 42, “But woe to you
Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue
and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without
neglecting the others.” These are not contradictory in any way but instead
they are complementary.
Jesus wanted us to
know that we are to be givers not takers.
Notice that he does not say, “It will be given to you so you can give.”
Instead the order is: give and then it will be given to you. Some, when they think of giving, believe the
voice they hear, in their heads that says, “You can’t give because you don’t
have enough!” Everyone can give and be blessed by doing it! If you’re waiting to give until you have been
blessed you never will be able to.
Our giving, in
order to be blessed, is connected to our attitude of life. The Pharisees were legalistic tithers and
were not being blessed because the attitude of their heart was wrong. Jesus agreed that they should tithe but they also
should not neglect justice and the love of God.
The attitude of our heart is very important.
The Bible tells us
much about giving. Let’s see what the
Apostle Paul told the church in Corinth in his second letter to them.
2 Corinthians 9:6-15, The
point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever
sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must
give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for
God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace
abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you
may abound in every good work. 9 As it is written, “He has
distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures
forever.”
10 He
who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your
seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You
will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us
will produce thanksgiving to God. 12 For the ministry of this
service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing
in many thanksgivings to God. 13 By their approval of this
service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your
confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for
them and for all others, 14 while they long for you and pray
for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. 15 Thanks
be to God for his inexpressible gift!
Now let’s unpack this passage of scripture. To begin with Paul says…
We
get back what we sow, quality and quantity.
That is God’s plan. Let’s look
in Galatians 6:7-8, Do not be deceived: God is not
mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own
flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit
will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
When
you prepare your garden and you make a nice row, or furrow, then you carefully
place bean seed in the ground you expect to get beans back! Right? You would be amazed if you planted beans and
corn came up, wouldn’t you? You would
also be amazed if you planted a bean seed and at the time of harvest you got back
one bean, wouldn’t you? Well, the same
thing is true in life. We get back what
we sow and we get a lot more than we sow.
Now
I’m talking about sowing money. We don’t
receive money just to spend it on ourselves.
Yet, that’s what most Christians do!
When our financial focus is only on our personal wants and needs we
become self-centered and, over time, will reap corruption. However, when our financial focus is on the
kingdom of God our needs will be met and we will have a surplus to put into the
kingdom. Remember, Jesus said, “But
seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will
be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)
We
may not see immediate results because it happens…
In God’s time. Look at the next
verse. Galatians 6:9, And let us not grow weary of doing
good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
In due season we will reap!
There are preachers out there who will tell you that if you give to
their ministry God will immediately reward you financially many times over what
you give. Always avoid such
ministries. When we give what God tells
us to, where God tells us to, he will take care of us. He will do it in his time and in his own way. God will not let you down. My experience has been when God comes to my
aid he is never late and almost never early!
Be anxious for nothing!
Simply cast your cares upon him because he cares for you! When we give according to God’s plan, in his
own time he will return a blessing to us…
In direct
relation to the gift. Let’s look at the wisdom of Solomon as he
talks about this relationship. Proverbs 11:24-25, One gives freely, yet grows all
the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. 25
Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself
be watered.
Here
he compares two different people with the same potential. One gives freely the other withholds what he
should give. The one who holds onto his
money only suffers want. The one who
gives freely grows only richer!
I’m
reminded of the story of R. G. LeTourneau, a man who went from “rags to riches”
in the early to middle 1900s.
LeTourneau
began his career in obscurity in Stockton, California, where his first job was
transporting earth to level out farmland. His frustrations with moving
dirt drove him to find a better, more efficient way. In 1922 he
constructed the first all-welded scraper that was lighter, stronger and less expensive
than any other machines.
As
a multi-millionaire, LeTourneau gave 90% of his profit to God's work and kept
only 10% for himself. A special friend of Billy Graham, in his early days,
LeTourneau designed a portable dome building intended for Graham crusades. He also
founded a university that is thriving to this day.
LeTourneau
said that the money came in faster than he could give it away. LeTourneau was
convinced that he could not out-give God. "I shovel it out,” he
would say, “and God shovels it back, but God has a bigger shovel."
His
life's verse was Matthew 6:33:
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these
things shall be added unto you."
LeTourneau
was certainly an example of how God rewards his children in direct relation to
their giving. My earthly father, Aree Bray,
greatly admired R. G. LeTourneau and modeled his personal giving after
that of Mr. LeTourneau.
This
is not to say that everyone who gives much will become rich. That’s up to God! I have come to believe that God rewards us
financially to the degree that he can trust us financially. That could explain a lot of things in our
lives.
I
believe we are to give carefully and certainly…
We are to give cheerfully.
In
response to grace. The Lord loves a cheerful giver! Look at, 2 Corinthians 8:1-4, We
want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among
the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of
affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in
a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according
to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging
us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints
The Lord loves a cheerful giver! The churches of Macedonia were certainly
composed of cheerful givers. For
example, consider the fact that they lived in a region of extreme poverty. Poverty is often used as an excuse for not
giving.
That’s one of the wonderful things about the
tithe. Since it is a percentage of income
it is fair. The one who makes more gives
more. The one who makes less gives less.
However, the Macedonians went above and
beyond any expectations Paul had. They
gave according to their means and then they went beyond that. They begged Paul to let them give more. I can imagine him saying to them, “You have
given enough. You have so little why
should you give more?” and I can hear them saying, “Please, Paul, let us get in
on this! We want to be blessed!”
The grace of God had been poured out on the Macedonians
and they wanted to show their appreciation.
We should do the same for we have been greatly blessed by God. We can give of our resources…
Because
we gave ourselves first. Paul saw the connection. Look at, 2 Corinthians 8:5 and
this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then
by the will of God to us.
Paul is careful to point out that they are
not his people first. First of all, they
belong to God. And then, having given
themselves to the Lord, they gave themselves to the church and to Paul.
The Christians in Macedonia were just
that—Christians! They did not, indeed
they could not, give their way into the kingdom of God. No amount of giving can open the doors of
heaven. Besides the fact that the
Macedonians did not have riches until they begin to give.
For me, one of the most precious verses of
scripture is found in 2 Corinthians 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 by his poverty you might
become rich.
Someone called it “the Macedonia
principal”. Jesus Christ can identify
with poor people. He himself was always
poor while on this earth. He once said
that he had nowhere to lay his head.
Jesus was often homeless. When
questioned about paying taxes he had no money to use for his illustration. He borrowed a coin and asked whose portrait
was on it. When he was told that the
image was Caesar’s he replied, “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and
unto God that which is God’s.”
For our sakes he became poor. He did that so we could become rich. Rich in spiritual things and rich in material
things.
We are to give…
With
an expectation of return. God promised a direct relationship between the
tithe and material blessings. The last
prophet of the Old Testament recognized the need of his people. Listen while I read, Malachi 3:10, Bring the full tithe into the
storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test,
says the Lord of hosts, if I will
not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until
there is no more need.
Notice that God
says, “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse,”. Apparently many in that day were giving less
than the ten percent and yet calling it a tithe. I suspect that today many people do the same
thing thinking that “tithe” means “offering”.
Several years ago someone noticed that I put on the memo line of my
check to the church, “tithe and offering” and said, “I thought an offering was
what you give until you can give a tithe.” Meaning that the tithe would be the
maximum. I said, “No, the tithe is the
beginning point anything beyond that is an offering. In fact, since the tithe is the lord’s, giving
less than a tithe is holding on to God’s property.” The person I was speaking
with was surprised, to say the least.
I believe that the
storehouse is the church. The local
church! And I know for sure, if the
people who are part of this church all recognized the blessing they would
receive from tithing, our church would have the necessary resources to do
everything God is calling us to do.
God says, “put me
to the test,… I will open the windows of
heaven for you until there is no more need.” Many people hold to the viewpoint
that the bible here is talking about spiritual blessings. I am sure God includes spiritual blessings in
the matter of need. I am also convinced
that material wealth is prominent in this promise. A prophet of the same time period, Haggai,
spoke of the ruin of the temple while the people lived in houses built with the
finest materials. In Malachi, God spoke
of the need for meat in his house and that refers to material things.
I believe God
expects his people to give a minimum of ten percent of their gross income to
the church. Since I don’t know what
anyone gives I can’t be personally picking out anyone, or picking on anyone. What you give is between you and God!
All of this is
done…
With God’s purpose in mind.
God meets our
needs. Not all of our wants, but all of our needs. Listen while I read, Philippians 4:19-20, And
my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in
Christ Jesus. 20 To our God and Father be glory forever and
ever. Amen.
I meet people who appear to think,
and some even say, that God is not able to meet their needs. Well, what is the measure his ability? His riches in Glory in Christ Jesus! Do you believe God’s riches are sufficient to
meet anyone’s needs? I do. Have you noticed the price of beef lately? Well, the bible says that our God owns the
cattle on a thousand hills. More than
that, he also says that every beast of the forest is his. In fact, our God is the Creator/owner of the
entire universe. He has adequate resources
to meet our needs but…
Never to consume it on ourselves. One reason we do not get what we believe are
our needs is that we have a wrong purpose.
Let’s see what James had to say, James 4:3, You
ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions
Jesus said, “Ask and you shall
receive.” This seems to be a contradiction to that statement. James is simply explaining why we do not receive
what we ask for. We are greedy self-centered
people who do not trust God to provide our needs. Rather than having the attitude of a giver we
have the attitude of a taker.
God’s intention for us is that we
will be enriched…
So we can meet the needs of others. Our earning power is not all about us. Let’s go back to Paul’s letter to Corinth. 2 Corinthians 9:11-15, You
will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us
will produce thanksgiving to God. 12 For the ministry of this
service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing
in many thanksgivings to God. 13 By their approval of this
service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your
confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for
them and for all others, 14 while they long for you and pray
for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. 15 Thanks
be to God for his inexpressible gift.
I believe that is
self-explanatory.
Christians have
received the greatest gift of all—salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ! Ephesians
2:8-9, For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the
gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Apparently some take advantage of the grace of
God and assume there are no good works for the Christian to do. They do this because they forget, or have
never read, verse 10: For we are his
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which god prepared
beforehand, that we should walk in them. Remember, we get back what we sow both in
quality and quantity. You want to be
blessed? Be a blessing! Give cheerfully for the blessing of others.
All scripture
quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001.
Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
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