[0:00] Thank you. Well, I suppose the first thing that I should do is take my watch off.
[0:16] ! And as you know, when a pastor takes his watch off, it means nothing at all.!
[0:30] I am very sensitive to the work of the Holy Spirit in my life and in your life.
[0:42] And I am fully persuaded that the text in Ephesians, which explains the characteristics of a Spirit-filled believer, indicates that when people are filled with the Spirit, it shows up in their countenance, in their conversation, and it also shows up in their singing.
[1:04] And I have a wonderful seat up here in the front because the singing that you engage in kind of flows over top of me.
[1:15] And then I have all these wonderful people on the front who minister to me as well and encourage us. They are there principally to encourage us in our corporate ministry in the Word.
[1:27] And so my thanks to all of you for that. I would like you to turn in your Bible this morning as we will spend this week and next week addressing the biblical topic of stewardship to the chapters in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 where the apostle goes to great length to address the subject to believers there in Corinth who in his affection for them, he wanted to be sure that they understood some of the underlying principles of the walk of faith.
[2:02] There's hardly a month. In fact, I think it would probably be exaggeration to say there's not a week that goes by, but there's never a month that goes by that I do not receive either electronically or through the mail some kind of notification to go to a seminar or purchase a program or pick up some kind of materials that will help this congregation with our stewardship.
[2:34] And I want you to understand that every one of them proposes that if I would go ahead and buy the product that they are offering that I can be certain that there are going to be these wonderful outcomes that are going to be expected and they have these testimonials by one person after another that says, well, we use blah, blah, blah and bing, bang and it all happened and it's wonderful and unbelievable.
[2:56] And so I take these things and I do with them what I have done for about 30 some years in ministry and I just throw them in the trash. I do want you to understand that the business of fundraising is big business and it's not a subject that can be neglected.
[3:16] It's near the top of the requirements for a university president. It may not be one of the things that is right there, check this box, can you do it? But I assure you that the board of trustees, when they're evaluating whether or not a man should be considered as a potential individual for a position such as president of the seminary or the university or whatever, they want to be sure, can this guy raise funds?
[3:43] You also find that the same thing is true in public nonprofits. You know, there's always this question, okay, how will this person do it fundraising?
[3:54] And it's one of the underlying truths that is part of every organization's existence. And something that has interested me over the years, and I will tell you that I read the materials that, at least in part, I kind of scan them, but one of the things I'm always looking for, and follow this, I'm always looking to see what is the motivating principle that is at the center of the package.
[4:18] Because here's what I know, that the issues of motive and what motivates people to do whatever it is that you're encouraging them to do is a real giveaway, a real indicator of what the underlying issues are.
[4:34] And some will propose that, hey, listen, if you're generous with your giving, guess what? There's really good news for family members who are in purgatory because you can kind of diminish the longevity of their prospect of staying there.
[4:49] Did you know that? It's not anything I've ever preached about here, I can tell you that, but there are contexts and constructs in which it's understood. Or here's another one, and it's the language of, okay, you're going to go to hell, but you can shorten your stay in hell by being generous.
[5:12] Now, with that kind of preaching, you could imagine that people would be scared spitless, and unless they became inured to the whole process, they'd be pretty generous. There are others who suggest that, listen, I want to tell you something.
[5:24] Your generosity is pretty critical to the sad-eyed puppies and, you know, SPCA. How many of you can't just take it? I mean, around the holidays, the Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, just, they, I can only take them a click.
[5:40] But, I mean, the songs and the sad, I mean, it's horrible. God says don't mistreat animals, but you know what? It's all about how do you raise funds? And then there are others, and I do listen to them occasionally, just for a little micro-second.
[5:55] I mean, Joyce Myers or, you know, what is his name, the current hair-slicked-back guy? Help me, help me, help me. Joe Osteen, there it is. One person was saying to me, I stopped visiting them at home, and they, oh, isn't he wonderful?
[6:11] I said, what? You know, and I decided I wouldn't go off on the situation because the person is in their 90s, and I decided, you know, I'm not going to change the situation. But, you know, every now and then I just kind of stop in just for a little peek.
[6:24] How's it working for Joyce, and how's it working for Joel, you know, and hear their stories. And, you know, the underlying attitude is this, is that your giving is really the key that unlocks God's storehouse.
[6:36] I mean, here it is, kind of a mathematical equation. You give 10, you get 100. You give 20, you get 200. You know how it works? And so, hey, that's a no-brainer.
[6:47] If that was a guarantee in the stock market, all of us would be filthy rich. And so, we find one motivation after another, and I do pay attention to the motives, because they really are a giveaway at the underlying thought process that these various programs offer.
[7:04] So, let me tell you something, and something that you have not heard me ever say before. Last, this last Saturday, that was yesterday, because you know Sunday is the new week, correct?
[7:19] Nod your head, you know that, okay? Last Saturday, that was only yesterday. Around about 8.30 in the morning, our pastors and deacons were meeting, and one of the things that we were prayerfully deliberating on and considering is the fact that your generosity as a congregation exceeded our budget by a full 10%.
[7:38] And so, here is the board praying about being good stewards with the surplus. We don't have an answer yet, but we want all of us to work at this together over time, so we don't make...
[7:53] How many of you, when you come home and say to your wife, if I got a raise, she's already got it spent in less than 30 minutes? I don't want to say anything unkind here, but it's human nature.
[8:03] We all got plans. And so, we want to pray. We want to ask Jesus. We want to talk together as a fellowship. But I can tell you, in all the years of being a pastor and teaching on stewardship, I've not walked to the pulpit and been able to say, guess what, folks?
[8:17] We're in a situation where we're trying to think about how to wisely and in an honorable fashion to God, use the surplus. So, I am not preaching this morning on stewardship because this fellowship is in an impoverished status.
[8:38] Over all the years that I have ministered, whether it is here or in one other place, I have seen every case where the faithful, methodic, dependable preaching of the Word of God produces in people's hearts a quiet obedience to the issue of faithfulness in stewardship.
[9:03] And so, this morning, the reason I preach on the subject is to do my responsible job of encouraging you to understand that the God of this universe has established some principles that bring glory to his name and good to his people.
[9:21] And there is no accident that I am in 2 Corinthians chapter 8. Let me explain what I mean by that. In order to preach the Word of God, I have to be in the Word of God.
[9:39] Does that make sense? I'm not up here to tell you stories about giving. I am up here to open up the Word of God and rely upon the Spirit of God to touch the heart of God's people and lead them to say, He is wise and He is good and He is deserving of my willing sacrifice and my life and my wallet is just a small part of the bigger picture.
[10:03] So, as we take 2 Corinthians chapter 8 and 9 in hand, I want you to understand in a broad way that true Christian giving reflects, for one, our view of God.
[10:18] Secondly, it reflects our view of self. And third, it reflects our view of what really matters. Having said that, I want you to turn now to 2 Corinthians chapter 8 and just pick up there in chapter 8 verse 1 where the apostle, in writing this letter to the church at Corinth, he starts out the chapter, he says, We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia.
[10:45] Paul begins this two-chapter lesson on generous giving by really pointing to the work of God in the hearts of other believers that he is going to use as an example.
[10:58] And as he points to the generous hearts of these impoverished Macedonians, what he is really pointing out is that their attitudes were the way they were because of the grace of God.
[11:10] It wasn't because of their excess that they had that they were being generous or because they had grown up in certain kinds of homes. They had grown up like the rest of us.
[11:21] They started out as bankrupt morally as every other person. And yet the Spirit of God had gotten hold of their hearts and brought them to the place where they saw biblical stewardship as an opportunity and as a blessing rather than a liability.
[11:36] The fact that the poor believers, and I read your way through here, it says here, 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.
[11:51] The fact that these poor, impoverished Macedonians were so generous with their resources was something that could not be explained in human terms.
[12:05] It wasn't something that you could kind of track back to a program or to kind of a strategy. We're going to have everybody come together and we're going to have this, you know, fancy little proposal of tiering people in their giving and all that kind of stuff.
[12:20] I'll never forget years ago in ministry where I was in a home and the person, they had just stopped in to visit our church and they had very good questions about stewardship. And I thought, well, that's a good thing to ask about.
[12:31] I mean, it is. And they were asking, do you have your deacons go around annually and kind of assess what each family should give? I said, you know, it's kind of, I didn't understand the question.
[12:45] It's like, what do you mean? I mean, hey, how many of you know that I don't know what you give? How many of you know that? In fact, if you've ever tried to give anything to me that I think looks like money, what happens?
[12:57] Find a deacon, please, just not me. Okay? And it's a reflection of my little puny little brain. I don't want it to be cluttered with who you are and what you do and how that plays out.
[13:13] Do you follow me? Don't give me money. Don't mess with that. You can give it to somebody else. And so when this person was explaining, they had deacons who would ride around to each one of the houses and they had like a little Paul Revere mailbag that they would open up and pull out the family and kind of the, I don't know how they did it, but they kind of guessed at the family income.
[13:38] You know, you drive this kind of car, cha-ching, you have this kind of home, cha-ching, you have this kind of job, cha-ching, how much are you going to give? Never crossed my mind that that's the way to do it.
[13:49] Why? Because we don't, say this with me, we don't have it in the, by, I'm going to take my sweater off after that.
[14:04] Me getting hot. Okay, here we go. We don't have it in the, Bible. That's not a bad answer, is it? We don't have it in the, Bible.
[14:16] Well, what we do have in the Bible here, is that here are people who are being generous. And their generosity is a little confusing when you stop and think about it in human terms.
[14:33] Their generosity is only attributed to their view of God and how they saw God at work in their lives. I did have a lot of fun this last week hearing that the professors at Harvard who had been so supportive of the healthcare system, the new one that we enjoy, actually were all in a snit over the fact that they themselves were contributors to the increase.
[14:59] And one of the things about a Christian is they're generous with their own money. One of the things about a liberal is they're generous with your money. And the truth of the matter is, is here in this situation that we're looking at, in 2 Corinthians chapter 8, we're looking at people who were generous and there could be no explanation for it other than, well, God must have done something spectacular.
[15:23] And so as we kind of work our way through the passage, we see here the Macedonian believers really gave because of their view of God. Look at what it says there in verse 1 again.
[15:33] And it says that about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia. We see that their activity, which is explained there in verse 2 as an abundance of joy and a wealth of overarching generosity on their part, it really is an explanation of the fact that they were doing this because of what God had done in their lives.
[16:00] So let me ask you, when you give and you give freely and willingly, I'm not talking about manipulation. The question is, does your giving really reflect an appreciation for the grace of God and an expression of your thanksgiving and satisfaction with what he's done?
[16:23] I want you to understand this as well as you kind of work your way through this passage. The believer is caught up by grace and thereby becomes an instrument of grace. You look there at verse 7.
[16:36] It says this, as you excel in everything, talking about the church there at Corinth, you guys are doing good. He says, but I also want you to excel in this act of grace also.
[16:48] The grace that you receive that is operating in your life should not be limited to just nice things that you say in the lobby. It should be something that can be seen across the broad expanse of every part of your life.
[17:08] And so as we stop and think about the matter of the grace of giving, let me take a minute here and I, for one minute here, thank you for being a very generous congregation. The fact that we are 10% over budget is not reflective of all the other things that our congregation does in their generosity.
[17:27] We are a generous people to a fault. God bless. But you know what I would also like to be able to say in the future? That means we have some way to go. Did you see this coming?
[17:38] Okay. One of the things that I would like to be able to say in the future is I would like to be able to stand up here and say, stop! We have so many people that are willing to work in the nursery that we don't have enough room for that.
[17:53] I mean, you... I didn't hear an amen. Just so you know. Okay? Okay? Or, I mean, I don't want to ever see...
[18:05] Hi, Kate. Or June. I don't want to see Kate and June retire until after I'm dead anyway. But, you know, I can just imagine Kate and June coming to me one day and saying, you know, I'm really disappointed there are some younger people who want to teach Sunday school.
[18:19] And, hey, we have opportunities to serve besides your wallet. That's what I'm trying to say. How many of you got that message? Okay? Okay. Okay. So, Pastor Saul, next week, here's what I'm counting on.
[18:33] The preaching of the Word of God is going to bring conviction and people are going to be flocking to you saying, listen, I realize I have been a little negligent in this area. My giving's faithful. I know what I've done. And I get a W-4 that helps me with that.
[18:45] But what am I doing in the nursery? Okay? We need to be generous in every area of our life. Right? This business of just arriving, kind of sitting for a few minutes and thinking God is pleased with the fact you occupied a pew is not in the Bible.
[19:05] And when the grace of God goes to work in your life, you become a participator. How many of you know what FIFO is?
[19:21] First in, first out. That's how it works in our refrigerator, at least when I'm doing it. I eat leftovers. There are some people who are LIFOs.
[19:32] You know what LIFO is? Last in, first out. You know, how does that fit the Bible picture here? No. The believer that is caught by grace becomes an instrument of grace.
[19:47] That makes sense, doesn't it? And so as you look here at what we find in 2 Corinthians, I want you to recognize that Paul at the beginning of this subject of giving stewardship, he says, listen, it's really a reflection of God's grace and understanding how that grace is operated in your life.
[20:10] So coming back to that question, as you kind of listen to teaching on giving, one of the things that you can pay attention to is what is the underlying motive that encourages people in the subject of giving?
[20:23] when God and the grace of Christ are not central, it's just a matter of time before you see silk suits and Rolex watches and jets and mansions in the lives of people who ought to be humble servants to the bride of Christ.
[20:43] And let me tell you another thing. Until a person really becomes, truthfully, a person who's been overwhelmed by the beauty of salvation and the joy of their deliverance from eternal condemnation and from the burden of sin, that person does not really have a thankful heart that finds pleasure and satisfaction in giving joyfully to God.
[21:10] Let's come to the second point. Biblical stewardship really involves all that we have and who we are. I want you to look there, if you will.
[21:20] We're in 2 Corinthians 8, but put your finger on verse 5. And this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.
[21:35] Godly giving flows from relationship with Christ and appreciation of grace. Whenever you find yourself kind of stressed or unhappy or challenged in the area of what you are doing for others, and by the way, I want to add to the fact we are generous people and we're also great at moving.
[21:58] How many of you understand that? I mean, we're into moving. And let me say publicly, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for your generosity in cooking. I said to the deacons yesterday, I said, you know, it's a shame that my wife had to get sick for me to find out how good you all to cook.
[22:14] I mean, it's, we have, some of you are saying, what's that all about? Well, here's the deal. When people in our church get sick, we bring meals. So the poor wife who's sick, she's had surgery, you know, she doesn't have to get up and cook and I don't have to cook either, you know, it's kind of nice.
[22:29] It's like, okay, you're good at that. And here's what, what Paul wants this congregation to understand.
[22:41] He says, listen, all of your kindness really flows out of your relationship with Christ and your appreciation of grace. He said, you gave of yourself first.
[22:54] In order to explain the generosity of the believers there in Macedonia as to why they were giving away what little they had, he wanted the people in Corinth to understand that before they gave their wealth and their property, they'd given their life.
[23:15] And let me help you understand that this is a Bible principle that we find elsewhere. You keep your finger there in 2 Corinthians because we are coming back there, but I want you to go back to Romans just for a moment.
[23:26] Romans chapter 12, verse 1 and 2. Romans chapter 12, verse 1 and 2. If you're sitting here, and here, just a, this is a side by zinger, okay?
[23:42] If you're sitting here, how many of you know that you're going to be doing taxes between now and April 15th unless you file an extension? Just nod your head like you know this is happening, okay? And so along with doing your taxes, you're probably going to be looking for, what is it called?
[23:56] The W-4 that we send out? W-2? What is it? What does the church send out? A statement of giving. Okay. How many of you, don't raise your hands, but one of the things that goes with, you know, church people, you know, you're looking for a statement of giving because you want to add that to your tax computation.
[24:13] Agree? Nod your head. You can nod your head now, this part, okay? And when you do that, you can kind of figure out whether or not you are a skin flint or whether you're generous because you get to look at your, how many of you remember what you gave last January?
[24:31] Well, I am married and accountant, so I don't have to worry about those details. But, the rest of it, it helps to have a record. And, and, and, and when we stop and think about the generosity of our heart, here's the point I want you to see.
[24:45] All it says is what you think about what God's done for you. That's the point that Paul is making here in chapter 12. He says, I appeal to you therefore. Now, what's the therefore?
[24:57] It, it's pointing back to the argument of chapter 1 through 11 that really is explaining this wonderful work of God in saving despicable, brokenhearted, miserable sinners.
[25:10] And, and on the basis of what he has done in saving us, he says, it is a reasonable thing to present my body as a living sacrifice. You did all of this for me.
[25:24] I don't have a problem doing something else for other people. One of the things that, that I have often said is that when, when God gives me the opportunity of ministering to people, particularly in the area of marriage, because of what God did in, in reconciling our home and doing such a blessing in, in my life and in Judith's life, I always say, people say, oh, thank you so much.
[25:51] I say, I get to say thank you to Jesus every time I serve in this capacity. Do you follow that? And, and when you are overwhelmed by the blessing of being rescued by the Lord from the absolute moral bankruptcy of your heart, every time you ever do anything, all it is is saying thank you.
[26:13] And so Paul is explaining here in chapter 12 that this business of being sacrificial with your wallet and sacrificial with your life is, is just really no more than expressing thanksgiving for what God has done.
[26:28] Let me have you look at another passage and we're going to creep back towards 2 Corinthians chapter 8 but go to 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 15.
[26:43] Did Jesus die for your sins and the answer is what? Yes, he did and he died in your place. Here's what it says in verse 15 and he died for all that those who live might not, might no longer live for themselves.
[26:58] What does it mean to live for yourself? What's it mean to live for yourself? I know you don't know about this so I'll explain it a little bit, okay? Living for yourself means that when you have a windfall the first thought you have is what?
[27:13] How can I spend it on me? And Paul says, hey listen, since Jesus died for you one of the things that happens is that you don't live any longer for yourself but you live for him who for their sakes died and rose again.
[27:31] I'm living for Jesus. That's why I live and that's why you live. And Paul wants us to understand that when we are living with that kind of mindset the issue of giving is something that is not a burden and a hardship but it's a joyful expression of our thankfulness.
[27:54] I'll never forget one of the things that someone said to me that stuck. He said, when there is room in the heart there is room in the wallet. You got that? When there is room in the heart there is room in the wallet.
[28:04] I'm going to give you a little illustration of that. I am a coffee drinker. I mean, I can do instant. I can do Maxwell. I can do Folgers.
[28:16] I can do any swill that has caffeine in it. I am not a discriminating coffee drinker. I think my brain says how much caffeine and that's the thing that counts.
[28:30] But my wife, now my wife is a different story. She's a, she is a, I wouldn't use it, she's not here to defend herself, she's sick, but she's a coffee connoisseur. We actually roast our own to accommodate her.
[28:43] And so, you know, she happens to like Tim Hortons. How many of you know what a Tim Hortons coffee costs? In my flesh that grates against me.
[28:59] Do you understand what I'm saying? How many of you, you get my point. I can buy McDonald's for almost half because I get a senior cup. And, you know, but when I drive through the drive through at Tim Hortons and they say $1.80, I think, well, I love my wife.
[29:17] And it's true. I go out of my way to surprise her with a cup of coffee and when they say that'll be $1.80, I say, well, thank you. Do you know why?
[29:29] Because I'm tickled pink with the bride I have. I like her. And so, here's the point. your giving is a reflection of how you relate to the one who is your redeemer and your savior.
[29:46] Later on in the book of 2 Corinthians, and we're not going to get there this morning, but it says God loves a hilarious, a cheerful giver. You know, I know we do it electronically, but every now and then just giggling as the plates go by, it wouldn't bother me at all.
[30:02] I get to do this. That's okay. Well, one more thing. Biblical stewardship really reflects our values. Money's a tool.
[30:16] We use it to serve our purposes, to accomplish our ambitions, satisfy our needs and wants. And as a result of that, really, the way we use money really shows what we think is important.
[30:30] Now, we've all, all of us have heard people say before, I can't afford that. It's a standard statement. And, I know I'm going out on a limb here, but, who in their right mind would imagine that a collection of nail polish that costs over $1,200 is reasonable?
[30:48] I didn't see any takers for that. But, the same person who would think that $1,200 for a nail polish was reasonable would absolutely choke at the idea of anybody ever spending $1,000 on a gun.
[31:09] I didn't see takers for that either, other than, but, here's my point. Money reflects what we think is important. And so, Paul explains the impact of godly giving over in 2 Corinthians chapter 9, verse 13.
[31:29] Let's just take a look at that for a minute. Talking about the giving of the church. The church. For, in verse 12, it says, for the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints.
[31:45] In other words, it's doing something very practical and necessary, but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. I have enjoyed watching Tom and Nancy's ministry in South Africa from the day their family with their four little girls all grown and giving you grandkids now, and that's lots of fun, let me tell you something.
[32:10] But, you know, I remember when they came, please don't send me to Africa, remember that song? You guys did a great job. And I read his blog, incidentally, read his blog, you got that?
[32:20] Read his, it's a good blog. It'll be convicting, I don't want that, but it will, it'll be encouraging, and it'll help you partner, and that's what what we do in missions is we partner.
[32:35] I appreciate what he said about you guys are part of it over there. We are. And we have the privilege of investing in a work in the lives of people that we're not going to see until we get to heaven.
[32:53] And then we will gather together before the throne of God, and we are going to blow the roof off in our praise and adoration of Christ. Isn't that right? Why are you here?
[33:06] Oh, there are some people over there in Columbus, generous, and they sent Tom and Nancy, and it was because of Nancy and Tom that I came to Christ. Whoa, I had a part to play.
[33:19] Here's Paul, verse 12. He says, it doesn't only meet the needs, but it also produces this overflowing of thanksgiving to God. Verse 13, by their approval of this service, they're saying, that's the right thing to do, they will glorify God because of your submission flowing from your confession of the gospel of Christ.
[33:41] So let me help you understand that as you look at this passage, godly giving really shows our agreement with the gospel. Think about that. Godly giving really shows your agreement with the gospel.
[33:56] And so if you're sitting here and I remember in the first church that I pastored, and remember, I don't know what people give. How many of you just say that?
[34:06] Pastor doesn't know what people give. But I'll never forget a deacon coming to me. I'd been there for five years and this deacon came to me and said, boy, I was just convicted by your service on your teaching on stewardship because I have never, ever been faithful in the area of giving.
[34:22] So I may be preaching this morning and who knows, right? But the truth of the matter is is your giving really shows your agreement with the gospel.
[34:33] And by the way, the gospel is more than fire insurance. Would you agree with that? It's a call to living our life for the glory of God. God. And a person who confesses to be a Christian and yet is consumed by covetousness or jealousy or bitterness and is just kind of rolled up in this little ball of greed and self-focus is a person who is not reflecting the power of the gospel to change.
[35:00] I had the wonderful opportunity this last week in ministry in the neighborhood where I now live and it's an opportunity all over the place. I love it. A person as I was ministering to him said, yeah, I'm a believer.
[35:14] I just, of his own initiative he said this, he said, I just don't see any work that is happening to help me change. I said, well, let me tell you a little secret. I don't know if you're saved or not but here's what I do know.
[35:28] When the spirit of God brings salvation, the spirit of God also goes to work to save you. And I can tell you with certainty that he will keep on working to bring about the fruit of righteousness or he's going to keep on working to bring you to the point of repentance, you harden your heart, he'll keep working.
[35:46] So a person who confesses to be a Christian and yet is not caught up with joy and satisfaction in the matter of giving, probably not a bad thing to kind of double check, am I a person who knows Christ but kind of has forgotten the blessing of the gospel or am I a person who's just got the vocabulary and really doesn't have the heart and the work of grace?
[36:04] Finally, I want you to understand this, godly giving makes God look good. Godly giving makes God look good. It says here, they will glorify God.
[36:20] You know what it means to glorify God? It means to say, man, he's somebody special. How did he get in your wallet? Well, you don't know what he's done for me.
[36:31] I'm a lifelong debtor. I was on my way to hell. My life was an absolute mess. Sin had overwhelmed me and I was a slave to my wicked heart and yet the grace of God came into my life and took darkness and turned it into light and took death and turned it into life.
[36:57] He's got my heart. No big deal to have my wallet. And so, as I close this morning, here's something I want you to think about.
[37:09] Practically, where you sit, do you actually find pleasure in giving to the Lord? Is that something that you find satisfaction of?
[37:21] And I'm all in favor of electronic giving. It works. It's what we do. But you know what? In addition to the electronic giving, Judith and I regularly think about what we're doing.
[37:34] Because I don't want our giving to become something that is just habitual and it's like paying property taxes. How many of you, you know, we pay property taxes and you're like, okay, you know. I want our giving to be a positive, satisfying reminder of my relationship with Christ.
[37:59] Is that the way it is for you? Every time I give, I think about, man, Jesus has done so much for me and this is just a little token of my thanks. Do you recognize that your pattern of giving really says a great deal about who you believe God is and what he's worth?
[38:27] So why would a pastor preach on stewardship here? Let me give you an answer. Turn in your Bible as I close to Malachi 2, verse 7.
[38:51] Nod your heads at this. God's infinitely wise and he's infinitely good. Hey, everybody look up just for a second. Just to see who was looking up.
[39:03] Okay. Everybody look up. Let me say it again. God is infinitely wise and infinitely good. Okay. And my job is to point to God.
[39:13] Isn't that right? Malachi 2, verse 7, for the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, should guard knowledge and people should seek instruction from his mouth. What does God think?
[39:28] For he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. my job is to be faithful in speaking the glory and the supremacy and the significance of the Lord of hosts and there's not a word that he gives us that is not for our good and for his preeminence and glory.
[39:55] God's people said, Amen. Let's close some prayer. Amen.