United In Our Giving Part 1: Why We Give

Let me just let you know, the first Sunday of the year, I preached a sermon on United

in our mission, and so our great God is at work making disciples of all nations for His

name's sake, and we get to join Him in that.

Last week, I preached a sermon on United in our gathering from Hebrews 10 of why we need

to gather together every Sunday after Sunday, and for the next two Sundays, I'm going to

be preaching on United in our generosity, two sermons on giving, and I want to up front

make this shameless plug for this great book, The Treasure Principle.

It's by Randy Alcorn.

We have 10 of these available to you out at the Connect desk.

Kelly is going to be sending out in Tuesday's update a link to how you can get this book

to.

It's 10 bucks, and it's going to be some of the best $10 you spend when it comes to stewarding

the resources that God has entrusted to you.

So today, I get to preach on why we give, what's at the heart of Christian generosity,

and I want to start by reminding you of this guy named Smeagol.

Smeagol was a happy-go-lucky hobbit of the river folk.

Do you remember him?

And everything changed when he discovered the ring of power.

Smeagol was gradually transformed into Gollum.

Can you see Gollum in your mind's eye?

In the depths of darkness, not in the light on a river, in the depths of the darkness in

a cave, squatting on his haunches, his left hand open.

In his left hand is the ring of power.

And you remember what he's doing with his right hand?

Caressing that ring.

You know what he says.

My precious.

It's a really powerful picture of what happens when we worship false gods.

We're transformed into something we don't want to be.

What the ring of power was to Gollum, the love of money is to us.

It's a my precious.

And it can unform us.

According to our Bibles, it's not money, but it's the love of money.

That's the root of all evils.

Let's call it the Gollum effect.

That the love of money dulls your spiritual senses.

It diminishes your outlook.

And here's what I mean by that.

Do you remember the dot and the line?

The line is eternity.

And we are a 70 to 80 year dot on the line of eternity.

And here's what the love of money does.

It makes you myopic.

It's spiritual myopia.

It's where you think that all that there is is a 70 to 80 years.

Eat, drink, and be merry.

The love of money distracts us from the riches of God's grace.

The love of money deadens us to the needs of others.

The love of money denies that Jesus is the greatest treasure of all.

It usurps his place.

The unchecked love of money will result in spiritual drift in even potential apostasy.

We'll see that in just a second.

And what we all know living in this culture is that the love of money, greed, is a temptation common to man.

Being a 21st century American, this is so common.

It's the air that we breathe.

It's in all the commercials we tend to see.

Gordon Gekko in the 1987 movie, Wall Street, said it this way.

Greed is good.

But God doesn't say greed is good.

The God of the Bible says that the love of money is evil and destructive.

So at the outset of the sermon, I need to help you to see that.

Let me just give you some choice passages from the New Testament that speak of the love of money.

In Hebrews 13.5, this is on page 1197 of your pew Bible, we read this.

Keep your life free from the love of money and be content with what you have.

2 Timothy chapter 3, verses 1 and 2, 1182 of your pew Bible.

2 Timothy 3:1

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.

For people will be lovers of themselves and lovers of money.

On and on and on.

In 1 Timothy 6, we read this.

6.6.

But godliness with contentment is great gain.

For we brought nothing into the world and we cannot take anything out of the world.

But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires

that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.

It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith

and pierced themselves with many pangs.

If we go on into Luke.

This is Jesus speaking.

Luke 12.15.

Jesus says,

Take care and be on your guard against all covetousness, love of money.

For one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.

Friends.

When we get into the greatest sermon ever preached, the Sermon on the Mount,

Jesus says this in Matthew 6, 19-21.

He says,

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also on heaven or on earth.

No one can serve two masters, verse 24.

For 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 God and money.

You cannot be a steward of both God and money.

Don't let the love of money golemize you.

Don't let the love of money golemize you.

Don't let the love of God golemize you.

Don't let the love of God, let the love of our possessions say this is mine and it changes us to being open-handed.

This is God's.

It moves us from being afraid of our futures and hoarding all we can to trusting in God's promises for our future.

and where I want to help you see this from

is in Proverbs chapter 3

Proverbs 3:9

verses 9 and 10

let me read it for you

this is ancient wisdom

and it is so applicable today

we read this

honor the Lord with your wealth

and with the first fruits of all your produce

then your barns will be filled with plenty

and your vats will be bursting with wine

so this morning I want to give you three reasons

why we are to be generous

I'm not telling this morning

it's not how to be generous

that's next week

this morning is why be generous

and here are three reasons

the gospel's changed our hearts

it's now about God's glory

second reason

we think about ourselves differently

we have a new mindset

not as owners

God's stewards

and finally

the hope

of our generosity

is not all that we can accumulate

it's in God's promises

so the three reasons

we're going to look at this morning

is that the gospel has so changed us

now we live out our

financial stewardship

for God's glory

as God's stewards

trusting in God's promises

let's dive in

the heart

of generosity

is centered on God's glory

did you see

honor the Lord with your wealth

in Proverbs 3 9

it's on page

I move forward

it's on page 6 27

of your pew bible

honor the Lord

with your wealth

the Christless

Americanized version

of this verse

goes like this

it's not honor God

with your wealth

it's honor yourself

with your wealth

give yourself

the worth

worship yourself

with your money

that word

honor

is the verbal form

of a Hebrew word

kabod

and that word

means to give weight

to something

to take something

seriously

it's the word

we would use to say

to glorify

something

to give glory

to something

it's another way

of talking about

worship

to glorify God

with your wealth

to worship the Lord

with your wealth

in order for us

to honor

and glorify

God

with our wealth

we must

value

God

more

than our wealth

and the question is

why

why honor him

above our wealth

why honor him

with our wealth

well

it's

because of who he is

that word

Lord

in verse 9

honor the Lord

you'll notice

it's all capitalized

all the letters

are capitalized

that's signaling

to you

that underneath

that word

is the Hebrew

name for God

Yahweh

Exodus chapter 3

Exodus 3 · chapter mention

Moses is out

in the wilderness

all of a sudden

there is this

burning bush

and the bush

isn't being consumed

by its fire

it's self

perpetuating

it's self

sustaining

it's

self supportive

it's independent

take off your shoes

you're on holy ground

God then proceeds

to commission

Moses

to go to Pharaoh

and tell him

it's time

for my people

to come out

and Moses says

well

who do I tell

is sending me

and God says

tell them

I am

who I am

is sending you

the great

I am

so you can

translate this

glorify

the great

I am

with your wealth

and the first fruits

of your produce

and this great

I am

is the creator

of all

the sustainer

of all

the savior

of all

and the judge

of all

in fact

in Psalm 24

1

we read

of this

great

I am

the earth

is the

Lord's

and the

fullness

thereof

the earth

is the

great

I am

the earth

belongs to

Yahweh

and everything

in it

don't miss

the scope

it all

belongs

to God

everything

is his

this

extraordinary

claim

is that

everything

everything

belongs

to God

by virtue

of him

being the

creator

of all

it's all

his

there is

nothing

that you

have

that has

not come

from the

hand of

God

in some

way

and so

the first

thing

that we

need to

understand

when we

are talking

about

God's

glory

in our

giving

this is

an issue

of worship

this is

this is

theological

and we

are to

steward our

finances

and our

possessions

in light

of who

he is

we're to

glorify him

and he just

doesn't own

everything

he's

generous

he causes

the rain to

fall on the

righteous and

on the

unrighteous

he feeds

all the

animals of

the world

God is

no golem

God is

no golem

he is

so generous

that everything

everything that

belongs to

him

he gives

and gives

and gives

everything

belongs to

him

including

everything

that you

have

all of

your

finances

all of

your

material

possessions

they're

his

there's

this

one

passage

in

1st

Corinthians

6

it's

having

to do

with

sexual

immorality

and

Paul

is

writing

the

Corinthians

church

and

he

says

flee

sexual

immorality

for

you are

not

your

own

you

were

bought

at a

price

so glorify

God

with

your

body

and we

can

we can

bring

that

to bear

at our

finances

we can

say

you're

not

your

own

you were

bought

at a

price

so glorify

God

with all

that you

got

it's

all

his

this is

incredibly

countercultural

if

Psalm 24

1

is true

the earth

and the

fullness

thereof

belongs

to the

Lord

that means

everything

everything

in your

wallet

is

his

it

means

your

house

and

everything

in it

is

his

there's

nothing

that you

have

that's

not

his

that

doesn't

come

from

him

he's

no

golem

but

what about

the little

golem in

each of

us

right

but what

about the

love of

money

that's

in

us

what

what

what

about

this

thing

in

me

that

would

rather

worship

created

things

than the

creator

of all

things

what

what do

we do

about

this

heart

of ours

that is

prone

to wander

Lord we

know it

prone

to leave

the Lord

we love

for the

love of

money

what are

we going

to do

about

that

how do

we

change

that

God

has done

something

about

that

he's

done

something

extraordinary

about

that

this

is

where

the

gospel

of

Jesus

Christ

makes

an

extraordinary

difference

in our

day to

day

living

the

gospel

is

is

simply

the

fact

that

Jesus

Christ

God

in

the

flesh

the

incarnate

I

am

died

in

our

place

and

was

raised

from

the

dead

and

it

is

God's

power

unto

salvation

and

when

you

believe

that

you're

radically

changed

you've

been

given

a new

affection

a new

heart

God

has

caused

you

now

to be

able

to

live

for

him

through

the

gospel

of

Jesus

Christ

he

is

able

to

deliver

you

from

the

love

of

money

the

gospel

does

that

Christ

death

and

resurrection

empowered

by the

Holy

Spirit

bring it

to bear

in your

life

he

makes

you

new

and

gives

you

a new

relationship

to

money

Jesus

went into

the tomb

dead

and he

came out

of the

tomb

alive

so that

we

would

treasure

Jesus

above

all

else

he

would

be

the

treasure

that

governs

all

of

our

treasures

it's

this

gospel

that

de

golemizes

us

and

makes

us

godly

and

sets

God's

glory

as the

controlling

center

of our

lives

making

us

more

Christ

like

there's

this

story

in

Luke

19

1

through

10

of

this

wee

little

man

named

Zacchaeus

he was

a tax

collector

he

loved

money

and

Jesus

comes to

town

he's

up

in

this

tree

and

Jesus

says

Zacchaeus

I'm

coming

to

your

house

for

dinner

and

Zacchaeus

is

like

yes

come

home

there

were

some

rumblings

why

would

he

go

eat

with

a

tax

collector

and

then

Zacchaeus

starts

talking

about

how

he

he's

trying

to

make

all

of

his

wrongs

right

financially

he'll

give

back

everything

he can

fourfold

to those

people

he's

wronged

and

you

know

what

Jesus

said

to

him

today

salvation

has

come

to

the

house

of

Zacchaeus

when

God's

grace

comes

to

town

it

changes

your

relationship

to

money

it

changes

takers

into

givers

it

changes

closed

fists

into

open

hands

it

changes

monies

for me

to

monies

for

God

and

his

purposes

so

at the

heart

of

Christian

generosity

is

this

gospel

changed

heart

that is

wanting

God's

glory

above

all

else

with

everything

that

he's

given

me

not

just

a

portion

of

it

all

of

it

I

want

to

steward

now

for

his

glory

if

you're

non

Christian

in

the

room

and

you

know

what

it's

like

to

be

golem

Jesus

can

set

you

free

from

that

call

out

to

him

say

forgive

me

Lord

Jesus

for

saying

my

precious

and

worshiping

at

the

throne

of

the

love

of

money

will

you

deliver

me

give

me

a

new

heart

so

that

I

live

for

you

amen

and

if

you

are

a

Christian

who

struggles

with

this

and

almost

all

of

us

in

the

room

do

to

certain

extent

you

know

what

repentance

looks

like

it's

turning

from

putting

your

trust

in

money

and

putting

your

trust

in

Jesus

again

and

again

treasuring

her

put

your

stake

in

the

ground

and

say

Jesus

you

are

my

greatest

treasure

the

heart

of

generosity

is a

heart

that

seeks

God's

glory

above

all

else

and

that

only

happens

through

the

gospel

of

Jesus

Christ

the

second

reason

for

our

generosity

of why

we

give

is

a

new

mindset

we

are

God's

stewards

we

see

this

in

the

second

half

of

3

9

honor

the

Lord

with

your

wealth

and

with

the

first

fruits

of

all

your

produce

the

you

the

your

in

the

original

context

is

one

of

Solomon's

sons

that's

who

Solomon

is

writing

these

proverbs

to

but

how

do

you

make

sense

of

that

your

what

are

you

investing

that

with

are

you

thinking

that

your

is

a

reference

to

private

ownership

that

it's

all

yours

or

is

this

to be

understood

as

a

steward

not

not

private

ownership

in the

sense

of

it's

mine

and

only

mine

but

as

a

steward

God

has

entrusted

these

things

to

me

all

of

them

and

now

I'm

going

to

steward

them

for

his

glory

it's

a

change

of

mindset

it's

a

change

of

how

you

see

your

relationship

to

your

money

and

your

possessions

and

who

they're

for

a

steward

manages

his

master

her

master's

finances

and

possessions

it's

a

stewardship

it's

a

management

role

and

that's

what's

behind

Matthew

25

in the

parable

of

the

talents

do

you

remember

that

a

master

is

going

on

a

journey

he

gives

three

of

his

servants

three

different

amounts

of

money

they're

called

talents

they

are

to

invest

them

he

comes

back

he

holds

them

accountable

and

those

who

make

a

return

on

the

investment

he

says

well

done

come

on

in

enter

the

joy

of

master

and

the

guy

that

hit

it

he's

like

you're

out

in

Luke

16

we read

this

one

who

is

faithful

in a

very

little

is

also

faithful

in

much

and

one

who

is

dishonest

not

been

faithful

in

the

unrighteous

wealth

who

will

entrust

you

the

true

riches

and

if

you

have

not

been

faithful

in

that

which

is

another's

who

will

give

you

that

which

is

your

own

no

servant

can

serve

two

masters

for

either

will

hate

the

one

and

love

the

other

or

he

will

be

devoted

to

one

and

despise

the

other

you

cannot

serve

God

and

money

this

is

stewardship

language

this

is

managing

other

people's

resources

and

as

Christians

who

have

been

radically

changed

by the

gospel

of

Jesus

Christ

our

mindset

shifts

from

this

is

all

mine

to

this

is

all

God's

and

now

I

need

to

steward

it

all

for

him

the

goal

of a

steward

is

to

honor

his

master

with

all

that's

been

entrusted

to

him

or

her

this

kind

of

shift

do you

know

what

it

does

it

delivers

you

from

the

Gollum

effect

it

rescues

you

from

the

love

of

money

this

isn't

mine

this

is

God's

and

so

here's

here's

the

mindset

that

I

think

we

can

adopt

kind

of

four

moves

here

you

ready

here's

the

first

one

it's

all

God's

Psalm

24

one

second

step

it's

not

mine

I'm

just

a

steward

of

this

the

third

move

is

when

I

see

myself

as

a

steward

of

what

God

has

entrusted

to

me

I

don't

hold

tightly

onto

it

as

if

it

is

mine

I

open

my

hand

to

it

because

it's

God's

and

that

leads

me

to

the

fourth

point

it's

a

question

stewards

ask

here's

the

question

of

a

steward

how

can

I

use

these

resources

to

honor

my

master

not

for

me

but

for

him

how

can

I

use

all

that

he

has

entrusted

to

me

for

the

greatness

of

his

name

for

the

glory

of

his

name

to

bring

glory

and

majesty

to

him

how

do

I

use

this

how

do

we

use

my

house

how

do

we

use

my

cars

how

do

we

use

our

account

bank

accounts

for

his

namesake

it's

all

his

it's

not

mine

I

open

my

hand

and

I'm

like

Lord

show

me

how

to

use

this

show

us

how

to

use

this

and

believe

it

or

not

do

you

know

what's

in

that

there

is

incredible

amounts

of

joy

living

for

the

glory

of

God

now

you

may

be

feeling

a

tug

right

now

okay

okay

you're

like

tell

me

what

to

do

how

much

do

I

give

can

we

talk

percentages

can

what

does

this

look

like

we're

going

to

get

into

that

much

more

next

week

but

just

for

the

sake

of

time

just

just

just

to

help

you

let's

talk

about

the

tithe

the

word

tithe

means

literally

10%

and

in

Leviticus

27

through

30

the

Israel

God's

people

are

compelled

to give

10%

of their

produce

10%

of all

that

they've

got

and

then

that

was

to

be

given

for

worship

when

you

see

this

in

the

Old

Testament

it's

ineffective

in

the

Old

Testament

in

the

Old

Covenant

in

the

Old

Testament

is

pre

Jesus

but

in

the

New

Testament

under

the

New

Covenant

having

been

established

by

the

blood

of

Jesus

you

no

longer

read

tithe

language

the

New

Testament

goes

silent

on

tithe

language

and

so

it's

kind

of

a

challenge

to

make

an

argument

one

way

or

the

other

of

whether

or

not

the

New

Testament

is

upholding

the

what

the

New

Testament

emphasizes

and we'll

see this

next

week

are

more

principles

attitudes

kind

of the

way we

do

things

generosity

sacrifice

thoughtfulness

cheerfulness

others

oriented

in our

giving

we're

moved

into

stewardship

language

that

book

I

referenced

the

treasure

principle

by

Randy

Alcorn

he

talks

about

the

tithe

in

a

very

helpful

way

he

talks

about

it

and I

would

agree

with

him