Making Change Sermon Series #3
19 March 2017
I. Introduction
-- turn
in your Bibles to Acts 20:35 -- “In everything I did, I showed you that by this
kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus
Himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
-- this
evening we are continuing in on our sermon series called, “Making Change,” a
play on words about making changes in our financial lives based on what the
Bible has to say about finances and to quit going the direction the rest of the
world is going
-- just
to remind you, in this series we’re focusing on four things to remember when
we’re getting our finances on track: Less is More, Stress is Bad, Giving is
Good, and Tomorrow Matters.
-- in
week 1 we talked about the concept of Less is More -- about living with less --
living below our means so we could enjoy our lives more -- about not getting
caught up in the world’s concept of needing the newest and the fastest and the
biggest and the most but being content with having our needs met and taking
charge of our financial lives rather than letting our stuff control us -- to
stop chasing after the wind, as Solomon put it, by accumulating possessions
that have no eternal value
-- last time,
we looked at the idea that “Stress is Bad” and talked about the problem of debt
in the life of the Christian and in the life of the church -- how debt causes
stress in our lives and in our relationships and how debt hampers our ability
to minister in God’s name because debt makes you a slave to the lender --
rather than being able to serve God freely with your time and your resources,
your first obligation becomes to the lender and not to God, as it should be --
and we talked about coming up with a plan to get out of debt so we could
improve our relationship with God and with others and we would start to
experience the freedom that comes from debt-free living -- just a reminder, if
you want to go back and revisit these messages, the transcripts are all posted
online at our blog site
-- tonight,
we are in Part 3 of the series and are going to be talking about generosity --
about giving -- and the point to remember tonight is “Giving is Good”
-- so,
let’s talk about how giving is good for us and how giving to others and to God
deepens our faith and trust in God and His ability to provide
II. The Art of Generosity
-- let’s
start off by defining our terms -- what do we mean by giving?
-- when
someone in the church talks about giving, immediately most people’s minds jump
straight to money -- you hear it all the time, “All the church does is talk
about money. All the church wants is to
get more of your money”
-- and,
to be fair, giving in the church has taken a hit because of a proliferation of
prosperity preachers on our TVs -- you’ve seen the type -- slicked back hair on
the men -- women with big hair and lots of makeup running because they’re
always crying -- and you always hear the message, “If you give to God, God will
bless you more than you can give” -- which is true -- but then they tell you,
“If you’ll just send $100 as seed money, then God is going to give you back
$1,000” -- I once heard a preacher on TV tell the audience that if they had to
make a choice to either pay the electric bill or sending him an offering, to
send him the offering because God was going to bless them and, before they knew
it, they would own the electric company -- that is not true -- and men and
women who have been corrupting God’s word with this type of message have harmed
God and God’s people for too long
-- just
know that I’m not going to tell you that -- I am going to tell you that God
will bless you if you give, but that blessing may not be in kind -- just
because you give money to God doesn’t necessarily mean He is going to give you
more money in return -- no, sometimes the blessing in return is simply a
deepening of your faith, a sense of doing God’s work, of being His hands and
feet and meeting the needs of others in a tangible way
-- don’t
give because you think you’re getting something back -- give because Jesus said
it is more blessed to give than to receive -- give because you have been freely
given grace and mercy from your God and you are called to offer back the same
to others
-- so,
when it comes to giving, remember -- we’re not just talking about money and
we’re not giving just to get something in return
-- one
of the most precious things you can give is your time -- I read a devotional
this week about a young man who learned that his childhood mentor, an older
gentleman who lived next door, had just passed away -- this man had spent time
with this young man when he was a boy after his father left the family -- this
man was his Sunday school teacher, but he didn’t stop there -- he spent time
with him almost daily -- taking him to ballgames -- doing stuff with him on the
weekend -- showing him how to garden and take care of a home -- all the stuff
this boy’s father should have been doing, but wasn’t there to do
-- as
the young man reflected on his mentor and their relationship, he was reminded
that there was always a locked wooden box on the man’s desk -- and, even though
he had asked time and time again, the man refused to show him what was in the
box -- the only thing he would say was, “It’s my greatest treasure on earth.”
-- it
wasn’t long after the man learned his mentor had passed away that he got a
delivery in the mail -- that same wooden box showed up at his door with a key
taped to the top of it -- he opened the box, and inside was a beautiful, golden
pocket watch -- engraved on the inside cover of the watch were the words, “Time
is the most precious treasure we have to share with those we love” -- and he
realized it was the time the man had shared with him as a boy that he
considered his greatest treasure
-- when
it comes to giving, you may be called by God to give more than money -- you may
be called to give your time, just as the mentor gave his time to this young boy
-- you may be called to give other resources -- your car -- your truck -- other
possessions -- whatever it is that God leads you to give that will meet another
person’s needs and bless both you and them in return
-- remember
the covenantal agreement we have when people join the church -- one thing we
ask them to do is to commit to giving their time, their money, their resources
-- basically, themselves, to the church -- it’s a reminder that God wants more
than our tithes and offerings -- He wants us and He wants us to share ourselves
with others -- as we say here at Koinonia Church, we are called to do life
together
-- like
I said, the reason we give is not to get something in return -- the reason to
give is out of a grateful heart for all that we have been given -- not only
that, but we are commanded in the Bible to give to others in this way -- as you
have been given, go and do likewise
-- so, why
don’t we give more? -- why do some people struggle with giving?
-- a lot
of people struggle with scarcity mindset -- the idea that I just don’t have
enough -- that there’s only a certain amount, and if I give up some of what I
have, then I won’t have enough left for me
-- not
giving because of a scarcity mindset says more about your belief in God and His
ability to provide than anything you say or do in worship services throughout
the week -- it says that you just don’t trust God can provide
-- that’s
the number one reason why people don’t tithe -- they don’t trust God can make
up the difference in their income if they give Him 10% of what they make --
they tell themselves, “I just don’t have enough money to share”
-- I’ve
done that -- I remember one time at a church service in Atlanta held in a very
poor part of the city, they were passing along a collection plate and I knew
how much money I had and I was calculating how much money I needed in order to
buy supper for Kim and I on the way back home -- and I looked over at the guy
next to me, and he’s emptying his pockets out and giving every dime he had --
but I just couldn’t do that -- so, I kept some money back -- and then the
pastor bought our supper on the way home -- I didn’t need that money, after all
-- I learned a lesson that night -- with God, there’s always enough for
whatever you need
-- I’ve
heard the same thing about time -- I’ve had people tell me, “I’d love to help
the church with that, but I just don’t have enough time” -- we forget that God
made time -- that God exists outside of time and space and if He wants us to do
something -- to serve someone -- to give our time for them, God will make it
work
-- most
of you know that I used to work on Ossabaw Island off the coast of Savannah --
and the only way to get to the island was by boat -- well, before I started
working there, the organization I worked for didn’t have its own boat, so it
had to bum rides with the Department of Natural Resources -- the thing was,
these boats went over at a set time, and if you weren’t there when they got
ready to leave, you literally missed the boat
-- I had
a friend who was supposed to be meeting the DNR at a specific time to get on
the boat to go to the island, but on his way there, he saw a woman with a flat
tire on the side of the road -- he felt like he should stop and help, but he
knew if he stopped, he’d be late and miss the boat -- so, he drove by, but God
kept talking to him and told him to go back -- so, he turned around and went
back and changed the lady’s tire -- he pulled up to the dock in Savannah past
the time the boat was supposed to have left and didn’t know what he was going to
do, but as he looked at the dock, the boat was still there -- he told me he was
still standing there and heard a truck coming, and the DNR guy came pulling up,
apologizing for running late -- he said he had an emergency come up and he was
sorry that he wasn’t there on time
-- if
God wants you to do something God will give you the time to do it -- remember
the story from the battle in the Book of Joshua -- God stopped the sun to allow
the Israelites to win -- and He can stretch time and make time for you just
like He did for them
-- Jesus
said it is more blessed to give than to receive because when we make the
decision to give and follow through on that decision, it always impacts
someone’s life -- the Scriptures tell us that God blesses us so that we can
bless others
-- 2
Corinthians 9:11-12 says, “You will be made rich in every way so that you can
be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in
thanksgiving to God -- this service that you perform is not only supplying the
needs of God’s people, but is also overflowing in many expression of thanks to
God”
-- and
in Proverbs 11:24-25 in the Message, we read, “The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the
stingy gets smaller and smaller. 25 The one who blesses others is
abundantly blessed.”
III. Grow in
Generosity
-- so,
you’re starting to get the idea that God wants you to start giving -- or to
give more than you’re currently doing -- how do you get started? -- how do you
start to grow in your generosity?
-- I’ve
three things for you:
first,
trust God with your tithe -- the word tithe means tenth -- it means 10% -- when
you tithe, you are giving the first 10% of what you have earned to God
-- Lev 27:30
says, “A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or
fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord”
-- and,
over in Malachi 3:8-10, God told the Israelites they were robbing Him because
they were not bringing the whole tithe into the storehouse
-- when God
called the nation of Israel out of the world and gave them rules and
regulations to set them apart from everyone else and to make them holy in His
eyes, He set up a system of tithing and giving for them -- the Book of
Leviticus is filled with instructions on tithing and on the different types of
sacrifices and offerings that God demanded of the nation of Israel
-- but
here’s the question: why? -- did God
need their money? -- no, God didn’t need their money or their sheep or they
cattle -- but He wanted their hearts -- He wanted their trust -- He wanted
their faithfulness
-- He
wanted us to make a habit out of giving back to Him from the first fruits of
our wealth -- by requiring us to tithe and make financial offerings, God was
able to capture our focus and keep our hearts and minds and souls on Him and
not worldly possessions -- by requiring us to tithe and make financial
offerings, we would recognize the many blessings that God had provided and
would worship Him rather than the world or the currency of the world
-- as
one writer put it, “Tithing and giving is how God blesses us -- It is seed for
further blessing -- But it is not as important to God as we are led to believe
-- What is important to God is that upon which He has put His image -- It is you
He wants -- He wants you more than your money”
[http://www.cjgidman.com/Philosophy/Jesus_And_Money.html]
-- God
wants our hearts -- and one way He does that is by blessing us with good things
and asking us to show our faith and trust and thankfulness to Him by giving
these back to Him through our tithes and offerings-- God wants us to tithe
-- Here's what many of you are
probably thinking -- you’re probably thinking, “In order to do that, I would
have to totally and completely, 100%, rearrange my life around God." --
yes, exactly -- you are going to have to rearrange your life around God --
that’s the point
-- you’ll have to change some things
to actually put God first with the tithe, kind of like we should be doing in
other areas of our life -- make God first in your life -- give Him the first
part of your income -- give God the first part of your day and seek Him in
prayer and worship before you start your day -- give God the first part of your
week by worshiping Him in church with other believers -- and, yes, that’s going to take rearranging
your life around Him -- and that’s going to take faith and trust -- beginning
to do this moves you out of a comfort zone and into a point of worship with
your wallet and your time and your resources -- what you’re saying when you
start to tithe is, “God, I trust you -- I depend on you -- I am putting my
faith in Your ability to provide”
-- so, if you want to grow in
generosity, the first thing you have to do is trust God with your tithe
-- second thing -- you need to plan
your generosity
-- Isaiah 32:8 says, “But the
noble man makes noble plans, and by noble deeds he stands.”
-- if
you don’t plan, you will never do it -- you need to come up with a way that
you’re going to actually start being more generous -- tithing is good -- that’s
a good first step -- but there’s other ways you can plan being more generous in
your life
-- a few
years ago, we had the drive-through challenge in our churches, where we would
pay for the meal of the car behind us -- we had cards printed out saying, “We
paid for your meal to bless you and show that Jesus loves you -- have a blessed
day” -- this was a plan to be generous -- and a lot of people participated in
that effort and were blessed through it
-- Craig
Groeschel told the story about a couple in his church that made the plan to be
intentional about giving by setting aside $20 each week that they would give
away -- they started a journal to keep track of who they gave the money to, and
if they found out the impact of the giving, they would add that in the journal,
too -- as they planned and looked for opportunities, they were constantly
finding people who needed to be blessed in this way -- from helping people
through natural disasters to paying for a single mother’s groceries -- to all
kinds of needs
-- this
giving journal started with $20 per week, and now they’ve gone up to $200 per
week to give because God has blessed them through this -- but this wouldn’t
have happened if they hadn’t planned ahead to try to intentionally bless others
and to look for opportunities to do so
-- the
third way to grow in generosity is to start being generous now -- don’t wait
for ship to come in or for you to get extra stuff to give -- start by giving
now and watch how God uses what you have to bless others
-- think
about the little boy with the fish and loaves -- he barely had enough food with
him for a sandwich, but he offered it immediately to Jesus when asked, and
Jesus blessed it and fed a multitude through this simple offering of generosity
-- think
about what happened at Naylor UMC when we stepped out in faith and started
giving immediately rather than waiting on more money to come? -- never had a
lot of money in the treasury, but the amount never seemed to go down -- the
more we gave, the more it seemed we had -- it was like the oil in the widow’s
jar when Elisha the prophet stayed with her -- although there was barely enough
for her and her son, she gave from it anyway, and they never ran out -- if she
had waited until she had enough to share, she would have missed the miracle of
the blessing God gave
-- the
lesson here is that you don’t wait until you have excess to start being
generous -- you start being generous now and trust that God will bless your
generosity, whether that is time or money or resources or whatever it is you
give
IV. Closing
-- so what’s the take-home from
this message?
-- God wants us to give -- He
wants us to give and to share with others from the resources He has given --
not only our money, but our time and our possessions and our very lives
-- He wants us to give for pure
motives -- not because we think we’re going to get something out of it -- we
don’t give $100 because we think we’re going to turn around and get $1000 back
-- no, we give because God has given to us -- we give from a grateful and
willing heart as an act of worship to Him
-- we need to remember that all
that we have was given to us from God in the first place -- and that He gave it
to us so that we could share it with others
-- and, finally, we need to
remember that real giving is an act of faith and trust in God -- when we give
Him our tithe -- when we give Him our money and our possessions and everything
else -- we are literally saying to God, “We trust You -- we are depending on
You -- You blessed us at the beginning, and we trust You will make up the
difference in our lives as we step out in faith to bless others”
-- as you leave here tonight, I
want to encourage you to consider the ways you can practice generosity -- plan
to start giving more than you currently are -- for some of you, that may mean
starting to give financially to the church -- starting to give your tithe and
trusting in God to provide
-- for others, that may mean
giving your time or other resources -- for all of us, it should mean
rearranging our lives so that God is the most important Person in our lives --
so that everything we do and everything we give is an act of worship of Him
-- so, go and give and be a
blessing to someone this week
-- let us pray
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