Let us begin with prayer.
Our Father God, this morning as we open Your Word, I am reminded of the passage in John
15 where it says, apart from me you can do nothing.
And I would be sorely mistaken to think that preaching is an exercise merely of the intellect
because, Father, it is something that is profoundly dependent upon the work of the Spirit of God.
And to think that Your people, of their own will and volition, can glean from the words of a frail individual
things that are of eternal value merely by their own thoughts is foolish.
And so, Father, we join the psalmist in praying,
Open Thou mine eyes that I might behold wondrous truths out of Thy law.
And we understand this morning as we take up the subject of our stewardship, our giving,
that for some of us here, this is a joyful practice of many years of application.
For others, it's an ongoing battle and struggle.
And for still others, it is an area of irritation and resistance.
And so, Lord, this morning our prayer is that Your Word would have free course and that it would bear fruit.
And we ask this because of Jesus and with confidence in the power of the Spirit of God.
Amen.
I would ask that you turn in your Bibles this morning to 1 Corinthians chapter 16,
and I will tell you in advance that we will not stay there very long.
Let me read the passage to you.
The apostle writes this in 1 Corinthians 16.
He says,
Now concerning the collection for the saints as I directed the churches in Galatia,
so also you are to do.
On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside
and store it up as he may prosper so that there will be no collecting when I come.
I bring this to your attention because it's a passage that reminds us that the matter of stewardship
was something that had traction and had a place in apostolic teaching,
and it was part of what the early church addressed at one point or another.
In fact, it was a fairly regular part.
If you actually were to take and work your way through the Scriptures,
you would be amazed at how often it appears.
Now having said that, I do want you to know that it does not appear in the New Testament
quite as often as it appears in contemporary televangelical, you know, televangelist speaking.
You've heard me on occasion talk about the perverse part of my heart
that every now and then we'll just kind of skip through
and listen to a number of different individuals.
And it's amazing, it's amazing, it's amazing.
I was listening to Jake's the other day.
Now I'll tell you, he's got fire.
I like it.
Very passionate, very enthusiastic.
And I was listening to T.D. Jake's talk about,
no matter where the sermon starts,
guess where it always ends up?
Somewhere close to seed faith.
And seed faith is one of those,
you can count on it being somewhere in the sermon,
no matter who you're listening to.
And if you are watching on TV,
somewhere along the line when seed faith kind of comes up,
there's an amazing,
I don't know how they do it technologically,
but right along with seed faith,
there comes up, you know,
dial 1-800, blah, blah, blah,
and here's the place to send things.
And it's all choreographed perfectly.
It's great.
I do want you to know
that the Bible does talk about the matter of giving
and is pretty consistent about it.
And so one of the challenges that I face as a pastor
is teaching on the subject
and teaching on it clearly
and then perhaps doing my very best
to not be repetitious.
Having said that,
at the very outset,
I'm going to tell you
that for some of you who are here this morning,
you're going to hear me say things
that you've heard me say before
or perhaps at some point
you were in a ministry
where the matter of giving was taught consistently.
I, for one, grew up in a wonderful Christian home.
I went to a Christian quasi-high school.
I went to a Christian college.
I taught in a Christian school.
And I went to a Christian seminary.
Can you top that?
And I never heard the matter of stewardship taught carefully
until Judith and I showed up
at Westridge Baptist Church with Pastor Randy Patton.
And lo and behold,
when January rolled around,
he did a four-week series on stewardship
and it was the first time Judith and I
had heard a careful, deliberate instruction
from the Scriptures about the matter of stewardship.
It was a life-changing,
in terms of certain economy issues in our lives,
it was a life-changing moment
because I remember Judith and I,
up to that time,
had been pretty inconsistent
in the matter of our giving.
I'm not saying that we were off the charts,
but it was not something that was woven in.
And I remember as those sermons were progressing,
Judith and I looking at each other and saying,
you know what?
I think this is something God wants us to work on
and we were convicted of that matter.
And I remember when Judith and I started giving
consistently, faithfully, week by week,
using what I was receiving as a benchmark
and then giving proportionally off of that.
And I remember at an earlier time in my life,
I'm going to move this stand, musicians,
so that I have room to move, okay?
But I remember at an earlier time in my life,
hearing, I heard a sermon.
Remember, I didn't have consistent teaching
on the matter of giving,
but I heard one sermon that really resonated with me.
It was this, if you give to God,
you can't out-give God,
so if you give Him a little,
He's going to give you what?
He's going to give you more.
And I really liked that idea,
but I really hadn't put it into practice,
I want to tell you up front.
But then when Judith and I started into the matter
of being faithful in our giving,
we actually went for about six months,
being consistent,
and you know what?
We never got a check in the mailbox.
I didn't get a raise.
No one rear-ended my car,
and I got a wonderful settlement.
There was nothing magical that happened,
except I remember we'd made this commitment,
and we began actually tapping into our limited reserves
at that point because we were,
do you know what we learned?
We learned that what we had to do
in order to be faithful in our giving
was adjust our spending style.
Now, that's an epiphany for some people.
It was for us.
There were things that we stopped doing
because instead of making God
kind of the leftovers of our giving,
how many of you understand what I'm talking about?
Hey, does the government get its first take on your check?
I'm just curious.
How many of you notice
that when you open your check,
there's already deductions
that someone's helped you with?
And did you get to vote on those?
Well, you may say that in an elective government,
yes, yes, yes,
but the truth of the matter is,
you know, you see all those deductions,
you think, huh, that one?
That one?
And, you know,
our government stands right out front first
and doesn't even put their hand out politely.
They reach into your wallet.
And I remember beginning to think,
well, I'm going to put God above the government,
and we began being responsible in our giving.
And it was a culture shock for Judith and me
to go through this process
of learning to be faithful in our giving
by, first of all,
being more faithful in our spending.
And so, this morning,
as I come to teach on the subject of giving,
and that's what we're going to do
this week and next week,
I want you to know
that I have no hesitation
for the repetition of the subject
because I think there is benefit
in reviewing very important Bible principles,
and what we're going to find this morning
is that the matter of giving
really rests upon a very foundational Bible truth.
The starting place for Christian giving
is something that I want us to think about
at the outset.
Let me begin by saying that giving
is really not something
that is woven into our nature.
It's not.
And when you stop and think about it,
that a lot of people are of the idea
that the human heart is just inherently good,
and we just have to have
a little more opportunity
to be nice people,
and it'll all work out wonderfully.
That's really not the truth.
And the truth of the matter is
is that we're not born givers.
If you have any question about this,
you can work in our nursery.
In fact, I think Pastor Saul said
that there's an opportunity
with the twos and threes
and three-year-olds,
and go ahead and just do a little quiz,
a little test,
and come back and report to me.
Let me know whether your children
that you're working with in the nursery
are just intuitively gracious and generous,
whether it is Cheerios or toys.
You know, it's amazing.
Every toy in the nursery,
there's only one of a kind, so to speak,
and whatever one the one has,
the other one wants.
Have you noticed that?
I'm just telling you that up front,
the matter of giving
is not something that we're hardwired for.
It's also interesting to recognize
that biblical giving
doesn't really begin with commands.
I think we do a disservice
when we teach believers
that faithfulness in giving
is really predominantly something
that flows out of command.
Thou shalt do this.
Now, I'm in favor of commands,
but the Scriptures always begin
by reminding us
of the incredible generosity of God
in relationship to us,
and all that we have received
ends up being the motive
for the way in which we respond to God.
And so, it's appropriate
as we think about this matter of giving
to recognize the Bible doesn't begin
by saying,
thou shalt, you know.
In relationship to this also,
I think it's important for us
to realize that biblical giving
is never manipulative
or based on a false idea
of return on investment.
I want you to hear that said carefully
because it is a very common theme
in many places.
You give in order to get.
And the idea that goes with
that seed faith type of idea
is that, well, hey, you know,
you give God $10,
and it's kind of a seed faith.
It shows you believe
that He is going to keep His Word,
and guess what He is going to do?
He is going to return a benefit to you,
and you can kind of count on that $10
somehow or another
spiritually growing into being
a whole lot more money.
And I can't tell you
how common that subject is.
Not only that,
but a common way
of churches raising money
is doing all kinds of raffles
and bingo
and, you know,
hey, what about cards?
I mean, hey,
wouldn't it be a good idea
if we just kind of took something
off the top of card games
and things like that?
What do you think?
Is there anything in the Bible
about relying on card games
or chance as a means
of raising funds?
What's the answer from
God's people?
No.
Meganoito.
That's the word in the Greek.
It's never let it be.
Absolutely not.
You may wonder why
when we send our young people
on a missions trip,
we raise money the way we do.
How many of you know
how we raise money
for a missions trip?
We don't have them doing
all kinds of little car washes
and little projects
and I don't want to throw
a lot of cold water on that
but here's what we do.
We tell the people
that are going to lead
the missions trip,
hey, you spend all your time
helping our young people
learn what it is
to serve Christ.
You help them learn
the things they're going to use
in Jamaica
or, and Pastor Saul,
you're equipping a team
to go to Jamaica this summer.
You do your work,
we'll do our work.
Our part's the support.
As you think about this matter
of giving for a return
on the investment,
I want you to stop
and think just for a moment
of a couple illustrations
in the Bible.
I'm just going to reference them
and I'm going to assume
that you can track with me
but one would be the widow.
Remember the widow
that Jesus was kind of observing
and at the temple
people were throwing money in
and along comes this widow
and she dropped in
two little mites.
It's not like lice,
it's two little coins,
little eensy-weensy things.
And Jesus made this statement,
hey, there is a woman
who's given more
than all the rest
of the guys have given.
Now, did she walk out of there
later jingling her pocket
with ten mites
or, you know,
whatever it was?
No, not at all.
And here's another illustration.
Remember Zacchaeus?
When he came down out of the tree,
what was the first thing he did?
Does anybody remember?
Raise your hand and wave at me
if you know what he did.
Just wave at me.
That's all I'm looking for
is just a wave.
Do you know what Zacchaeus did
when he came down from the tree?
He said,
hey, whoever I have cheated,
I'm going to repay fourfold
and half of what I have
I'm given to the poor.
Did he snicker under his breath
and say,
I'm getting it back.
Is that what he did?
No.
Not at all.
You see,
the illustrations we find
in the Bible
of charitable giving
have nothing to do
with that kind of manipulation.
So,
the call
to biblical giving
really begins
with the glory of God.
And the call
to biblical giving
in your life
as a believer
really rests
upon your view of God.
That's where it is.
We are to give
because we are persuaded
of His glory
and we love His glory
and we desire
to see Him glorified.
Let me have you look
at a passage here.
You're there in 1 Corinthians
or maybe you moved on
but,
or your iPad went blank.
Anyway,
one of the things here,
we're going to go to
2 Corinthians chapter 9.
In 1 Corinthians,
Paul says,
hey,
first day of the week,
this is what you're supposed to do.
2 Corinthians,
he takes two full chapters.
Two full chapters.
That's not a drive-by shooting
on the subject of giving.
He really gets into it.
And towards the very end
of chapter 9,
listen to what he says
in verse 13.
By their approval
of this service,
they will glorify God
because your submission,
because of your submission
flowing from your confession
of the gospel of Christ
and the generosity
of your contribution
for them
and for all others.
What's he saying?
As other people
see the generosity
of your heart,
they're going to end up
giving glory to God.
Why would they glorify God?
Because they realize
that what you are doing
is something
that is atypical.
It's unusual.
Hey, everybody understands
giving when you're going
to get something back.
Am I right?
Some of you
at Christmas time,
you get little gifts
from some of your suppliers.
Do you know why
you get those gifts?
It's really not
because your suppliers
just really like you.
It's because they're hoping
that in the next year
you're going to keep on
buying product from them.
And depending on where
you are in the food chain,
they kind of,
their gift is proportionate.
And do you think
they write that off
as a business expense?
What do you think?
Do you know what
that's telling you?
That's just part
of doing business.
Am I right?
Brian, is that right?
Can they write that?
Oh, I got that
as the CPA told me.
You can write it off.
It's all right.
That's not giving
for God's glory.
That's self-serving,
manipulative giving.
And we look here
and I want you to understand
what it's saying is that,
hey, people see
the generosity
of your hearts
and they turn around
and say, wow,
these people think
a lot about God.
Biblical giving,
ultimately,
like all other
Christian behaviors,
are to reflect
and declare
the glory of God.
That's what it's all about.
So let me take it
a little step further.
We understand that
giving is to really
flow out of our view
of God,
but I want you
to understand
that all creation
is designed by God
to actually have
a desire for His glory.
Given that I'm putting
so much emphasis
on the subject
of giving today,
let's take a moment
and study this issue
of glory,
which is an underpinning
for the matter
of giving.
And when we talk
about glory,
we're talking about
something that means
weight or value.
Remember,
our giving really
reflects our view,
our value,
or the weight
that we attach to God.
And so glory
is something
that may be conferred
on someone
or something.
Turn back in your Bible,
if you would,
to Psalm chapter 8
just for a moment,
and we see
in that passage
that man
has been given
glory by God
that was not really
His to begin with.
Psalm chapter 8,
verse 4 and 5.
What is man
that you are mindful
of him
and the son of man
that you care for him?
And it's amazing
to stop and realize
that God thinks
about me personally.
Let me say that again
slowly so you don't miss it.
Everybody look here.
Look here.
It is really amazing
that God thinks
about me personally.
I mean,
how many people
are in this world?
Billions!
I'll bet you
there's some of you here
that get a brain cramp
just writing the number.
That'd be me.
But do you understand
that God thinks
about you personally?
He says,
what is man
that you're mindful
that you think about me?
Verse 5,
yet you have made him
a little lower
than the heavenly beings
and crowned him
with glory and honor.
God has given glory
to us
and glory may be
ascribed
or attributed
to something
or something
but when we
look at
something such as God
or something
that He has created,
we're not making it
glorious.
We're just recognizing
its glory.
Let me give you
an illustration of that.
I have to tell you
that I'm just so over snow.
It's like,
you know,
the last storm
did me in.
How many of you
remember the storm
that put about
six inches
on all of our properties
and driveways
and then crusted it over
with ice?
My snowblower
decided that it would
not cooperate fully.
Okay,
it was over the top.
That's when I said
enough.
And I remember
watching several
different people
post on Facebook,
oh,
the snow is so lovely.
And I thought to myself,
that had to be a wife.
I say that lovingly.
My wife is sitting back here.
That had to be a wife.
Someone's sitting in there
looking out the window
with a cup of coffee
in her hand saying,
you know,
look at that.
Her husband is out there
trying to avoid
a heart attack,
you know.
And she's eating it up.
Okay,
now,
it is true
that snow is beautiful.
So,
when we look
at that beautiful
snowy scene
and we say,
wow,
is that beautiful.
That's just glorious.
We're not,
by our statement,
making it so.
We're only recognizing
what it is.
And,
really,
the reason God
created us
in all of creation
is to show
His glory.
To show His glory.
It's not just heaven
or nature.
It's not just snow
or sunset
that exists
to glorify God.
We're all created
for that purpose.
In fact,
this is one of the
interesting thoughts
I want you to take away.
And I want you to think
about this
in a very,
very personal way.
Stop and think.
There's really only
one of you.
Everybody look up
so you don't miss us.
There's really only
one of you.
Only one.
There will never be
another person
like you.
even twins.
I was,
we had a wedding
yesterday
and weddings
are just wonderful
opportunities.
Someone said to me,
why do you choke up?
There are a lot of reasons
for that,
but I happen to like weddings.
And weddings remind me
of my wedding.
The first time I cried
publicly was at
my wedding.
And I've been doing it
ever since.
Okay?
But weddings are also
profound opportunities
for certain things
that you plan to go
one way
not going that way.
I'll never forget
a set of twins
in our fellowship.
Twins.
Now what's the deal
with twins?
You know,
they come out
just minutes apart.
These twins,
they were girls,
were just absolutely
opposite from each other.
One who got married
first had a wedding
that was carried off
with military precision.
I mean,
the wedding quarter
did not actually stand
with a stopwatch,
but it was pretty close.
I mean,
I remember her back there
and go,
go,
you know.
And the second
of the twins
got married
about eight months later
and her attitude,
they came from the same
mom and dad
and they also came
out of the same womb
and they're like,
whatever,
you know.
Here was the really
weird thing about it
and it kind of taught
me a great lesson.
They both had
equal set of hiccups
and so I decided
that,
you know,
take it easy,
relax,
it'll be all right.
The only thing
that counts
is the I do,
you know.
So here we are,
we're all about
showing God
His glory
and making Him
look good
and each of us
individually
designed by God
for His glory
and it's appropriate
for us to think about,
so how am I
glorifying God?
That's what I want you
to recognize.
It's important.
Let me give you
a couple texts
on the issue
of glorifying God.
Look at Romans chapter 11
verse 36.
For from Him
and through Him
and to Him
are all things,
now here's the statement,
to Him be glory
forever,
amen.
To Him be glory
forever,
amen.
Can I tell you
that that wouldn't be
a bad life verse?
Do you know what I mean
by a life verse?
It's an operating principle.
How is what I am doing
making God look good?
That's the question.
Here's another passage
in Colossians chapter 1
verse 16.
Colossians chapter 1
verse 16.
For by Him
all things were created
in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible,
whatever,
whether thrones
or dominions
or rulers
or authorities,
all things were created
through Him
and for Him.
It's for God.
So it follows then
that if we exist
for His glory,
then all that we do,
including our giving,
let me say that carefully,
so that all that we do,
including our giving,
must flow from our purpose
and desire
to glorify Him.
Does that make sense?
If He is
the God of this universe
and He made us
for His glory,
it is just a
reasonable
connection
between the two
that all that we do,
including our giving,
be a reflection
of the glory of God.
And so we might expect
that every motive
that pervades
the life of a believer
is really about
the glory of Christ,
the glory of God.
And so that's a fair question
for you to ask yourself
this morning.
Does my life
really honestly reflect
that I am interested
in making Jesus
look good?
Right?
Let me have you think
with me across
the broad scope
of several different passages
in relationship to this.
Look at Ephesians 1,
verse 12.
We're looking to illustrate
this principle
of glorifying God
in Ephesians 1.
It says,
so that we who were
the first to hope
in Christ
might be to the praise
of His glory.
Why did Jesus save you
personally,
particularly?
So that He'd look good.
Can't believe you picked Him.
Do you remember
getting picked
in grade school
for athletic activities
in gym class?
How many of you remember that?
Here's the ugly truth.
I did not develop
physiologically
until later in life
and as a result
in the early days
when they would pick people
for dodgeball
or pick people
for whatever it was,
guess what I always knew
was going to happen?
I was the last person picked.
In fact,
you know,
it was like,
do we have to take Him?
Verse 13.
Verse 12,
it says,
so that we who were
the first to hope
in Christ
might be to the praise
of His glory.
Hey,
you know what?
If you pick LeBron James,
who gets the credit?
You for being the good coach
or LeBron for being
on your team?
You don't get credit
for being a good coach.
People think,
duh,
what do you think?
It's going to happen.
God,
in picking you,
got glory
because you're a surprise
to the unbelieving world.
It says,
why in the world
would God save him?
Ephesians chapter 1,
verse 14,
who is the guarantee
of our inheritance
until we acquire
possession of it
to the praise
of His glory.
It's about the praise
of Christ's glory,
our salvation.
Philippians chapter 1,
verse 10 and 11,
so that you may approve
what is excellent
and so be pure
and blameless
for the day of Christ
filled with all
the fruit of righteousness
that comes through
Jesus Christ
to the glory
and praise of God.
What's that saying?
How does God get praised
in the life of a believer?
Hey,
it's when you,
through the power
of the Spirit,
act differently
than the pagan culture
we live in.
Am I right?
When you are in line
at one of the stores
and someone immediately
in front of you
is just fussing
and fuming
about one of the
particular issues
that there was a spill
on aisle nine
and nobody claimed
and cleaned it up.
You ought to see
the bathroom.
And you come right behind
and you act
exactly the same way.
Does Jesus look good?
No.
It's when you
allow the grace of God
to have a difference
in your life
and you then play that out
and people say,
whoa,
what meds are you on?
You know,
that's,
why are you that way?
Oh,
well,
Jesus handpicked me
out of the crowd
to be an exception
to the rule
so that he would look good.
Colossians chapter 3.
Colossians chapter 3
verse 17.
And whatever you do
in word or deed,
do everything
in the name
of the Lord Jesus
giving thanks
to God the Father
through him.
Over in 1 Corinthians
it says,
whether you eat
or drink.
By the way,
how important
is eating and drinking?
You know,
not important at all
right now,
but an hour from now,
guess what you're
going to be saying?
Hey,
he has gone way over.
It's time to stop.
It's time to eat
and drink,
okay?
Eating and drinking
are very important
and,
you know,
what we do
is for his glory.
That's the point
of 1 Corinthians 10 31.
So I want you
to understand
that God calls us
to love him
and his glory
and to live
and give for him alone.
Now,
sadly,
sin has led men
to desire
their own glory.
Isn't that true?
When sin
entered the garden,
Adam and Eve
fell to the temptation
of refusing
to glorify God
and rather they sought
to put themselves
in his place.
That's an interesting
idea,
isn't it?
God,
it's not about you,
it's about me.
Smile,
everybody.
Everybody smile at me.
Everybody smile.
When we say no
to faithful giving,
that's what we're
telling God.
Do you follow me?
God,
we're saying,
it's really not
about you,
it's about me
so that I can
upgrade my pizza
or that I can
have a smarter
phone
or so that,
you know,
there are all kinds
of reasons.
But I want you
to understand
that when we
decide we are
not going to make
God first,
it shows up
all different
kinds of places.
At the root
of every sin
is a desire
to not glorify God.
We find that
over in Romans
chapter 1
verse 21
and it says this
and I'll just
recite the passage
to you,
it says,
they did not
give him glory.
That's what
the unbelieving
world did.
They chose
not to glorify
God.
So,
as we think
about the realm
of giving,
we understand
that we can
bribe people
who have a
small view
of God
to give
with certain
perks.
Do you follow
that?
If what you
are doing
is you don't
have a high
view of God
and you want
to nurture
giving,
you've got
to figure out
how to manipulate
the situation.
You want to
be charitable
and really give
generously?
I'll tell you
what.
a pastor
will show up
at your door
and take you
out to coffee
in the limo
that the church
has.
Some of you
are scratching
your head
saying,
I didn't know
you had a limo.
I don't,
just using an
illustration,
bear with me,
okay?
Or,
you know what?
There are all
kinds of ways
to manipulate it,
right?
And whether
it's public
commendation
or a coffee
mug with,
you know,
faithful giver
on it,
you know,
something like
that,
something really,
you know,
you could set
that on your
desk at work,
right?
Faithful giver?
What is that
about?
Let's come back
to the truth.
Our giving
reflects our view
of His glory.
That's what it's
all about.
How a man
gives
and why a man
gives
says it all
about what he
really thinks
about God.
Let me say
that again
slowly.
How a man
gives
and why a man
gives
says it all
about what
he thinks
about God.
Now,
I didn't say
what he gives.
I didn't say
what he gives.
I think
it was back
in 2004,
2007,
Judith and I
went to
Newport
on the coast.
It's where
people like
J. Pierpont Morgan
and
Getty
and some
of the other
incredibly
wealthy
robber barons.
Now,
I know this is
history lesson
a little bit,
but the robber barons,
do you know how
they made their money?
Well,
one with creative
ideas,
but with incredibly
manipulative,
cruel treatment
of other people.
Now,
they just,
they gathered
wealth by just
giant sucking
sound.
And then
towards the
end of their
years,
they decided
that they
wanted to
kind of
redeem
their
reputations
and do you
know how
they did
that?
Well,
they gave
it away
and now
they didn't
have any
need for it.
Well,
why don't
we build
libraries?
Why don't
we build,
you know,
and so
they would
be involved
in charitable
donations.
What had
they done
to the
countless
people
that they
had
impoverished
in their
effort to
gather wealth?
Nothing.
They didn't
do anything
for them.
And it
was all
about their
control
and their
name.
Let me
come back
again.
It's not
how much
you give,
but it is
why you give
and how
you give.
And so
ultimately,
a generous
heart really
reflects the
heart of
God in
that our
heart ends
up being
generous because
He is
generous.
You know,
one of the
things that I
have said to
you as a
fellowship over
and over
again is
that our
fellowship is
characterized,
and I mean
that,
is characterized
by a level
of generosity
that is
exceptional.
And that
generosity
is not
something that
is fed
by manipulation.
It is
fed by
your
appreciation
for the
grace of
God and
the goodness
in His
treatment of
you and
the readiness
you have to
partner with
what He is
doing around
the world.
Over and
over again,
I've had
people ask
me over the
years,
what do
you do
that encourages
your people
to be so
generous?
Do you know
what the
answer is?
We talk
about God.
We look
at His
Word.
We value
the grace
of Christ
that saved
us from
the miserable
self-centered
lifestyle that
we used to
live, and
the outflow
of that is
that I
don't have
to stand
up here and
make all
kinds of
wild promises
about if
you put
ten dollars
in the
offer,
you're
going to
get back
double.
In fact,
you know
what?
If you
can hold
your breath
for the
next week,
this week
and next
week,
you'll
probably
not hear
me bring
up giving
for another
whole 12
months.
Do you
know why?
We're going
to spend all
the rest of
the time
talking about
Jesus and
what He's
doing in
our life,
and the
blessing we
have of
knowing His
love,
and the
certainty of
eternity,
and the
outflow of
that is
that you as
a people
have hearts
that are
prompted to
be generous
in your
lifestyle.
Let me put it
this way and
close.
Grace changes
us from
being a slave
to our own
dark hearts
to living and
giving for
Him.
Isn't that
true?
Grace changes
us from
being a slave
to our own
dark hearts
to living and
giving for
Him.
You know,
every one of
us in this
room started
out at one
point as a
miserable,
hell-bound
sinner who
had no hope
at all.
And whether
we responded
to the grace
of Christ as
a child growing
up in a home
where we heard
the Bible or
it was years
later when the
Spirit of God
convicted us and
drew us to the
cross, there
came that point
where the burden
of sin was so
heavy on our
life and the
shame and the
guilt and the
terror of the
prospect of the
judgment of God
that we cried
out and said,
I need help.
And you know
what?
Here's the truth.
Christ Jesus
came into the
world to save
sinners.
And this
morning, most
of what we have
talked about is
not giving.
Most of what
we've talked
about is the
generosity of
God that would
willingly sacrifice
His own Son for
your sins on the
cross.
And the way in
which most of
you here give
this morning is
a reflection of
the simple fact
that you stand
amazed at the
gift of God in
your salvation and
the way you give
just says thank
you.
I do recognize
because I went
through that
experience as well
that there are
some of you here
this morning that
the subject of
giving is something
that honestly you've
really never dealt
with.
And I've got to
tell you this.
At the end of
the day, the
scriptures make
it clear that
people who have a
high view of God
are generous in
their giving.
And people who
have a low view
of God are
selfish in their
giving.
You let God sort
that out in your
heart.
Does that make
sense?
That's the
Spirit's work.
But go ahead and
say this as a
prayer, Lord, I'm
willing for you to
do whatever is
necessary to deal
with my heart in
relationship to the
matter of my view
of you.
Let's close in
prayer.
Our Father God, we
are thankful that
your scriptures are
clear that you are
worthy of all our
glory and all our
affection.
And this morning
as we attend to
your word and we
listen to the truth
of what it has for
us, we recognize
that you who
abide in heaven
pay particular
attention to the
heart that we
have and you want
us this morning to
rejoice in you and
to serve you.
We pray for the
ministry of the
Spirit of God in
the hearts of those
that need to be
convicted, whether it
be in the matter of
their salvation or
the matter of their
generosity or there's
an attitude and a
sin that needs to be
confessed and forsaken.
We ask that you
would do that, that you
might be glorified and
we ask this in your
precious name.
Amen.