Well, good morning, everyone.
Great to see you.
If I've not met you before, my name is Steve,
lead pastor here at St Paul's.
And you have caught us in the middle of this series
or towards the end of this series on rhythms of grace.
And we come to the one which is the one
we particularly don't want to talk about in our day and age,
and that has to do with money and giving,
probably because it's one of the biggest idolatries
of our day and age.
It's deeply connected to who we are as people.
So let me pray because this one probably tends to be
the most difficult one for us to hear.
And as I preach, the tendency will be to listen
to the voices in my heart and the voice of society
coming up with all kinds of excuses and reasons
and justifications as to why we don't need
to obey God's word at this point.
So let's pray.
Gracious God, you are magnificent.
You are worthy of all of our honour and praise.
You are the God who has called us,
who has made us and called us as your people
into obedience to you.
Lord, you have gifted us with everything good.
You are a radically generous God.
You are the God who owns all things,
and you have called us to be your stewards.
And yet we are existing in a day and age and a culture
with hearts that love to build our identity
on all sorts of things,
but primarily in this day and age
on the accumulation of things,
of wealth and security.
We love the idea of security.
We love the idea of comfort.
And so, Lord, challenge us that we might lean into you more
and that we might experience your generosity
and joy in you more.
So let us hear your word today.
We pray for whatever is needed for each heart that is gathered,
that you would speak through your word,
by your spirit and bring change.
And we ask it for your glory.
Amen.
It's a well-sighted fact that in the three years
of Jesus' earthly ministry,
he said more about money and possessions and greed and wealth
than he did about faith or sex or family or anything else.
And that in a day and age,
which was when under Roman oppression,
where the family unit and the idea of society
as a collective unit was prominent
in the way that they, in terms of their value system,
and yet he spoke more about money
than he did about anything else.
One-third of his parables are on the topic of money.
Our perspective on money and possessions and wealth
and how we handle them,
therefore, lies at the very heart of Christian discipleship,
which is the concern that we have at the moment
for our vision series.
What we do with our resources will influence eternity.
And God has recorded in the Bible
everything that we need to know about his investment priorities.
What does it mean to be a steward of the resources
that he's given us?
He's recorded everything we need to know
about the high standards he has set for management
and the rewards that he offers his faithful stewards.
The New Testament gives us plenty of examples
of the good that is done by a life of financial generosity.
2 Corinthians 8 and 9,
we see that sacrificial giving is acceptable to God
in verses 11 and 12.
It supplies the needs of others and relieves hardship
in verses 14 and 15.
It stirs up generosity in others in chapter 9, verse 2.
It enhances Christian fellowship and partnership
in chapter 9, verse 14.
And it leads to the praise of God in chapter 9, verses 12 to 15.
But it is what financial generosity does to our own hearts,
our own lives, that is just as important
and why we would include it in our list of rhythms of grace,
Christian disciplines, holy habits,
that it should be a regular thing that we are constantly practicing
to drive the big truths of God down into our heart
and out into the way we view the world.
So Jesus connects our hearts and our wealth
when he encouraged his disciples
to store up for themselves treasures in heaven in Matthew 6.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
And wherever your heart is will drive the course of your life,
what your value, what your priorities are,
how you behave, what you commit to,
what you say yes to day in and day out.
Maybe we also think that the Apostle Paul was using hyperbole
when he wrote, the love of money is the root of all evil.
The spirit of our age actually prefers Mark Twain's version of that verse
where Mark Twain wrote, the lack of money is the root of all evil.
Maybe we think Paul was overreaching when he wrote in 1 Timothy 6.10
that an eagerness for money causes some people to wander from the faith,
piercing themselves with many griefs.
He must be talking about someone else.
He must be clearly talking about the very rich people.
How could money be that tightly connected
to eternal issues like salvation?
And so we come to Luke 18, James just read out to us,
where Jesus has an interaction with a guy
who through the centuries has become known as the rich young ruler.
He's rich, he's young, and he's a powerful figure.
And in this interaction, there are three things to learn
about money and wealth and possessions
and the life of generosity.
And you'll see them on the screen.
That's our journey today.
First of all, the danger of wealth.
We see that in the middle of the passage, Luke 18,
if you've got your Bibles open at that point.
There's also an outline for today on the St. Paul's app
if you want to follow along and take notes
as we're cruising along as well.
So 24, verse 24, Jesus looks right at this rich young man
and says,
how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.
Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.
Basically, what Jesus is doing here
is using a metaphor of impossibility.
The camel was the biggest land animal
that people knew of that time.
The eye of the needle was the smallest hole
that they could imagine.
And so it's the impossibility of the rich
entering into heaven, into God's kingdom.
That's the impossibility.
And when Jesus speaks about rich people here,
he isn't referring to people
on the Forbes annual rich list in the world,
you know, the billionaires.
He's referring to people like you and me.
When it comes to...
It's interesting in our culture,
whenever it comes...
This is one of the issues
because money and wealth and possession
is such a key issue for us,
is that whenever it comes to wealth,
we always naturally look up the line
and look to people who are wealthy in us.
And we compare ourselves to people who are wealthy in us.
And when it comes to issues of morality,
we always look down the line
and we look at people who are less moral than us.
Either way, we feel better than those people
and we're not quite as good as those people.
And so whenever Jesus is referring to issues of morality,
well, he mustn't be referring to me.
He must be referring to those people.
When he talks about the rich,
he's clearly not talking to me.
He must be talking to those people.
And so we let ourselves off the hook
on every instance.
So I'm a pastor
and my wife is a teacher
and I think I've said this before.
We saw a financial advisor once
and he said to us,
you're not giving me much to work with here.
Come back when you've got other jobs
or you've got more money to play with.
Anyway, so we got rid of him
and got another financial advisor.
Anyway, so if I get my income
and I type it in
so you can actually get this website,
Global Rich List,
where it's not just about the Forbes Rich List,
it's where you can put your income
pre-tax or post-tax
into a website
and it will calculate for you
where you sit on the Global Rich List.
As it turns out,
more than 90% of the world's population
are poorer than my wife and I
based on just income.
Nothing else, just income.
90% of the world's population.
That means that if we own assets
in a place like Chatswood
or our surrounds,
then you are way higher than 10%.
In other words,
what I'm getting at here
is that Jesus may well be having
this conversation with you.
That's the point that I'm making.
It's easier for a camel
to go through the eye of a needle
than it is for us to be right
with our Creator God.
Verse 26,
the disciples hearing this go,
well then,
who then can be saved?
You see,
in their culture,
they thought it was the rich ones
who were particularly blessed by God.
And so if the rich can't get in,
well, who can?
And Jesus responds,
what is impossible with men
is possible with God.
Notice Jesus doesn't say,
oh, well, look,
what is impossible for the rich people?
It's possible.
He actually says,
what is impossible for all people
is possible with God.
That is,
the point he's making here is
salvation is a miracle.
It is in fact an impossibility,
rich or poor,
for anyone to be saved
because Romans 3 says,
all have sinned
and fallen short of God's glory.
It's not possible
for any human beings
to be saved
except that God would intervene
and do the impossible.
That God would intervene
and be radically generous
with those who don't deserve it.
Now, the reason Jesus raises that here
with this rich young man
is because the same thing
that makes salvation
for all of us
impossible
is made even worse
with wealth.
The Old Testament book of Proverbs
is a book really,
it's about wisdom,
it's about how to navigate life
in God's world well.
And it says two really important,
it says lots of things about money,
by the way,
but it says really two important things
about the spiritual power of money.
Not just the, you know,
fiscal power of money,
but the spiritual power of money.
And the first thing it says
is that money is distracting.
Money has this spiritual power
to distract us
from what matters most in life.
distracting us
from asking
the really important questions
of
so what am I here for?
What am I really,
what is my purpose in life?
What am I seeking to accomplish in life?
Proverbs 11.4 says,
wealth is worthless
in the day of wrath,
but righteousness delivers from death.
What that means is
wealth is worthless
in the day of wrath,
is that money can't help you
when the troubles in life hit.
And yet it wants to confuse us
to think that it can.
Because we have this assumption,
the more of it we have,
the greater level of security we have.
It gives us that delusion
that we are safe.
But we're never safe.
We are never safe
from grief and bereavement.
We are never safe
from illness.
We are never safe
from disaster.
And ironically,
you're never even safe
from financial ruin.
Money can't stop death.
It can't stop tragedy.
It can't stop heartbreak.
It can't even stop poverty.
And when it comes,
we are totally unprepared.
Totally unprepared.
Money has the power
to distract us
from the important questions of life.
The other thing it says
is that,
that is,
Proverbs says,
it can distort
our self-image.
So,
Proverbs 30,
verses 8 and 9 says,
Give me neither poverty
nor riches,
but give me only
my daily bread.
Otherwise,
I may have too much
and disown you
and say,
who is the Lord?
What Proverbs is saying,
and you may be able
to see this
in your own life,
to see a person
humbled,
growing in humility,
under a growth
of prosperity,
it would have to be
one of the greatest
rarities in the world.
One of the greatest
rarities,
that is,
the growth in wealth
and accompanying growth
downward in humility
are not connected.
Wealth leads to pride.
It leads to pride.
It puts me in a place
where we say,
who is God?
I don't need God.
Look at me
and look at all
that I have.
I am a self-made man.
And of course,
the Proverbs also says,
give me not poverty
so that I might not
shake my fist at God
and say,
what are you doing
in my life, God?
It puts us in a place
of who is God?
Why do I need God?
That's the danger of wealth.
So,
why is it so dangerous?
Let's go back
to the beginning
of this passage.
We're talking about
Luke 18 here
and unpack it,
why it is so dangerous.
Verse 18,
right at the beginning.
A certain ruler
asked him,
good teacher,
what must I do
to inherit eternal life?
Jesus says to him,
why do you call me good?
No one is good
except God alone.
You know the commandments.
You shall not
commit adultery.
You shall not murder.
You shall not steal.
You shall not give
false testimony.
Honor your father and mother.
All these
I have kept
since I was a boy,
he said.
Now,
if you're a Christian
sitting in the room
and you'd know
anything about
the core message
of Christianity,
when you
read that,
you should be shocked.
You should be shocked.
You should be shocked
that Jesus
says to this guy,
the answer
to his question
of what must I do
in return,
Jesus says to him,
go and obey
the Ten Commandments.
As if somehow
that is how
you get right with God.
Why on earth
would Jesus
say that to him?
Because right
before this interaction,
Jesus tells the story,
another parable,
about a Pharisee
and a tax collector
where the obedient
religious man
pursuing the Ten Commandments
went home
not saved,
not right with God
and the sinner
was saved.
The one who lived
a life of disobedience
was saved.
And again
and again
throughout the New Testament,
we see
it is impossible
to save ourselves
by being good,
by being religious,
by being moral.
So why does
Jesus
not say
to this guy
in this moment
when he rocks
up to him,
what must I do
to inherit
eternal life?
Why does Jesus
not grab
his blackboard
and his whiteboard
marker
and draw him
six boxes
and run through
two ways to live
or run through
for him
the four
spiritual principles
of life?
Why does
he not
say to him,
I'm on the way
to Jerusalem,
I'm going to die
on the cross
to pay a ransom,
to take the penalty
that you deserve
for your sin
and if you put
your trust in me
then you will
have eternal life.
Why does
Jesus not
do that?
Because
that's what's
been said
for
20 centuries
since Jesus.
Well,
because in this
moment
to say to this
rich young man
I've come to die
for your sins
would be
entirely
incomprehensible
to him.
You see,
the rich young
ruler at this
point
is in fact
like
most people
in our
society.
The vast
majority
of people
in our
neighbourhood
are
basically
good.
And to
walk in
and say
you need
a saviour
is
entirely
incomprehensible
to people
in our
day and age
as it was
for this
rich young
ruler.
See his
words,
verse 21?
All these
I have
kept
since I
was a
boy.
In other
words,
I don't
need a
rescuer.
I'm a
good person.
I might
not be
perfect,
but I
don't
need a
rescuer.
You know,
when I
look at
the people
down below
me in
the chain
of
morality,
I am
so much
better than
the vast
majority
of people.
all I
need
here from
you,
Jesus,
is just
a little
bit of
a push,
just a
little bit
of assistance,
just a
little bit
of guidance
to ensure
that I
get over
the line
in the
end.
And yet,
he still
comes running
up to
Jesus.
Despite
the life
that he
has lived,
deep down,
he wasn't
entirely
confident.
He knew
he wasn't
entirely
right.
Something's
wrong,
something's
missing.
Why would
he ask
the question
about securing
eternal life
if he thought
that he had
had it secured
through his
morality?
If we
think we
can get
right with
God by
being good,
we'll
always feel
insecure.
Have I
done enough?
Am I
doing enough?
Even those
who project
an image
that they've
got it
all together
on the
outside,
on the
inside,
they know
better because
in the
deep
recesses of
the heart
that no
one else
sees day
by day,
there is
that dark
corner that
we hope no
one will
ever see.
We know
the things
that we've
done and
the things
that we've
thought that
we could
hide,
but we
cannot hide
them from
our own
conscience.
Jesus is
reminding
this young
man that
his first
and fundamental
problem is
that he is
in fact not
good.
That's where
he had to
go.
No mere
mortal is.
What's the
point of
verse 19?
Jesus then
goes on to
show him
exactly where
he is not
good.
In verse
22,
when Jesus
heard this,
he said to
him,
you still
like one
thing,
sell
everything you
have and
give to the
poor and
you'll have
treasure in
heaven and
then come
follow me.
What's
Jesus doing
here?
Again,
what is he
doing?
I mean,
he has never
suggested to
anyone that
the way to
be saved is
to give all
of your
money away
to the
poor and
become poor
yourself.
He's never
suggested that.
So why
now?
Why now?
Because it
is a
brilliant
strategy to
help this
man see
his heart
and where
he needs
a saviour.
You see,
what Jesus
does here
is he
targets his
deepest
sense of
security,
his deepest
identity
marker,
his idol.
This is the
thing that
he's looking
to,
to give
him what
only God
can give
him.
You see,
for this
rich young
ruler,
money is
not just
some tool
for him,
it is,
in fact,
an identity
scorecard.
It is his
security,
it is his
hope.
This is the
thing that
is, in
fact,
squeezing
God out
of his
life.
And when
Jesus presses
in on him,
he sees
for the
first time
in his
life
that he
hasn't,
in fact,
obeyed the
Tenka
Moans
at all,
that he's
not,
in fact,
good at
all.
Jesus
pushes him
to give it
all up for
the poor,
give it
all up,
in other
words,
give it
all up
for God
and follow
me,
follow
Jesus.
And he
couldn't do
it.
He
couldn't do
it.
Verse 23,
it says,
he became
very sad.
The words
say,
he is
deeply
grieved.
He is
deeply
distressed.
What is
he deeply
distressed
about?
He's
deeply
distressed
because for
the first
time in
his life,
he has
understood
good that
he is
in fact
not
good.
You see,
his money
is just
a means
to an
end for
him as
it is
for any
of us
and his
money is
not just
money for
him,
it is
his worth,
it is
his hope,
it is
his security,
it is
in fact
his
greatest
treasure
and he
does not
want God
to get
in the
way
of that
and he
understands
for the
first time
in his
life that
he has
not obeyed
the Ten
Commandments
at all
because he
has not
even got
past the
very first
one.
You
shall have
no other
gods but
me.
It
wasn't
until
Jesus
took him
to
you
shall
not
covet
and
because
coveting
of all
the Ten
Commandments
coveting
is the
one that's
an attitude
of the
heart
not an
action.
It's an
attitude
of the
heart
and the
attitude
of the
heart
has now
been
exposed
in such
a way
that he's
understood
that God
is not
his
greatest
treasure.
Of all
the things
that Jesus
could have
picked on
let me
just land
this for
us for
a little
bit
of all
the
things
that
Jesus
could
have
picked
on
he
sets
up
money
as
the
alternative
God
when he
said you
cannot
serve
both
God
and
money.
We
are
devoted
to
one
or
the
other
but
you
cannot
have
both.
You'll
be
mastered
by
one
or
the
other.
You
will
never
be
mastered
by
both.
So how
do we
escape
the danger
of money?
Jesus
the rest
of the
Bible
tells me
that
wealth
money
materialism
is
incredibly
dangerous.
It's
one of
the
major
distractions
for those
who
follow
Jesus
and I
would
add
it's
one of
the
I
would
say
it's
got
to
be
close
to
one
of
the
most
primary
distractions
in
the
21st
century
in
Western
civilization
distractions
in
terms
of
following
Jesus.
Now
I've
got
three
things
we
can
do
to
guard
against
the
hazard
of
wealth
while
also
maximizing
the
helpfulness
of
wealth
and
money.
The
first
thing
is
to
assume
that
we're
in
denial.
That's
the
helpful
thing.
You
start
there.
Assume
that
you're
in
denial.
You
and
me
we're
all
in
denial
here
because
Jesus
is
entirely
blunt
because
that's
what this
rich
young
ruler
was.
He
was
entirely
in
denial
and
that
is
in
fact
the
very
nature
of
addiction.
And
addiction
will
constantly
say
I'm
not an
addiction.
I'm
not
addicted to
this
thing.
I don't
have a
problem
with
this
thing.
So
assume
that
we're
in
denial
because
the
dominant
philosophy
of
our
time
is
what
is
known
technically
as
philosophical
naturalism.
That's
the
world
view.
That's
the
dominant
world
view
of
our
day
and
age.
Philosophical
naturalism.
It's
what a
secular
age
is
built
on.
And
what it
does,
philosophical
naturalism
asserts
that there
is
nothing
beyond
the
natural
world.
Nothing
beyond
the
natural
world.
And
the
common
term
that we
use
for it
is
materialism.
And
the
goal
of
materialism,
of
philosophical
naturalism
is if
there's
nothing
beyond
this
world,
then
the
goal
of
life
is
to
consume
as
much
of
this
material
world
as
possible.
As
possible.
To
make
life
as
joyful
and
as
happy
for
you
as
possible.
And
so,
if
you're
one of
the
older
generations,
baby
boomers
and
above,
the
whole
goal
for
you
has
been,
you've
inherited
it from
your
parents
and
your
grandparents
who
came
through
World
War I
and
World
War II,
is
to
have
financial
security
in
life.
Until
you get
almost to
the
end
of
your
life,
and
then
you blow
it all
on
tours
and
trips
and
comforts
and
leather
lounges
that
get to
your body
temperature
and
bigotiva,
it's all
comfort and
security.
If you're one of the
younger generations,
you go,
screw that,
I want it now,
and with the
benefit of credit
and everything
else,
I'm going to
live the
high life
now,
but mainly
so you
splurge on
your resources
and accumulate
experiences
in life.
So one
generation is
financial
security,
another
generation
is
experiences,
and it's
all coming
from
philosophical
naturalism.
Now,
the goal
here,
if you like,
assume that
you're in
denial,
on this.
You see,
in this
country alone,
$20
billion
is spent
every year
keeping us
marinating
in the
materialism
worldview.
$20
billion just
in this
world,
in this
country,
which,
by the way,
is vastly
more than
what this
country gives
annually to
charities and
non-profits.
So the
first thing
to assume
is that
you are
under the
influence of
that very
well-spent
$20
billion to
get your
life aligned
with
philosophical
naturalism as
a philosophy.
Assume that
some of the
message is
having some
level of
impact on
you.
Assume that
the amount
of money you
think you
need is
more than
what you
really need.
And assume
also that
the amount
of money
you think
you can
give away
is in
fact less
than what
you really
can give
away.
The Bible
tells us
that money
makes us
blind.
So assume
you're in
denial.
Secondly,
look to the
rich young
ruler.
To counter
the constant
messaging of
our society,
look to the
rich young
ruler as
an example
for us.
And when I
say that,
you need to
hear me
this,
I'm not
referring to
the guy
that's in
front of
Jesus,
talking to
Jesus.
I'm referring
to the
other rich
young ruler
in this
passage.
Jesus is
around 30,
32 when
he was
heading to
Jerusalem
to die
on a
cross.
The Bible
says that
he existed
with God
for all
of eternity.
He's the
one who
made
everything.
He's the
one who
owns
everything.
He is
the one
who rules
and sustains
everything.
And he
left all
of that
aside
and came
from heaven
to identify
with the
spiritual
poverty
of humanity.
And he's
on the way
to Jerusalem
to die
on a
cross
and into
a
physical
and a
spiritual
and an
emotional
poverty
deeper
than any
other human
being has
ever gone
on the face
of the
earth.
He will
be stripped
of everything.
The one
who is rich
beyond all
measure
will be
stripped of
everything.
and he
does it
for us.
2 Corinthians
8 verse
9 puts
it in
economic
terms
for us
the
gospel
of Jesus
Christ.
For you
know the
grace of
our Lord
Jesus
Christ
that though
he was
rich
yet for
your
sakes
he became
poor
so that
you
through
his
poverty
might
become
rich.
he was
drained
of all
riches
so that
we
though
spiritually
bankrupt
beyond
measure
can
receive
his
riches.
You see
in Jesus
we get
adoption
into God's
family
we get
forgiveness
we get
pardon
we get
eternal
life.
It is
the only
wealth
that makes
you truly
secure
not just
in this
life
but beyond
life
we get
the
affirmation
of the
eternal
God
the
praiseworthy
says
you are
my
much
loved
child
in
Jesus.
It's
the only
security
that this
world
cannot
take
away.
The only
identity
and so
the second
thing
is
we need
to look
to the
rich
young
ruler
until
we get
weepingly
excited
over
what he
has
achieved
for us
what he
has
gifted
to
us
look
to the
glorious
news
of God's
grace
and his
riches
to us
in the
Lord
Jesus
until
it
drains
us
of
all
power
of
all
the
power
of
money
and
possessions
let me
just
swing
this
back
to
what
I
wanted
the
earlier
message
if
you
are
not
in
God's
word
and
meditating
on
his
word
and
experiencing
day
in
and
day
out
the
wealth
of
what
you
have
in
Christ
and
pushing
that
down
in
your
heart
if
you
are
not
doing
that
daily
then
you
must
assume
that
you
are
in
denial
because
you
are
marinating
in
20
billion
dollars
worth
of
advertising
and
it
is
winning
the
war
against
your
soul
if
you
are
not
daily
in
his
word
then
the
messaging
of
our
society
and
where
you
get
your
security
identity
is
most
definitely
winning
and
so
look
to
the
glorious
news
of
God's
grace
and
these
riches
to
us
in
the
Lord
Jesus
until
it
drains
all
power
out
of
money
and
possessions
it
just
becomes
money
and
things
it's
no
longer
my
security
or my
identity
and so
the
third
thing
is
to
have
a
plan
to
use
your
wealth
with
purpose
to
use
it
with
eternity
and
as
stewards
of
God's
resources
while you
have
them
so
here's
a couple
of steps
for you
step
number
one
take
the
time
to
investigate
how much
am I
actually
giving
away
at the
moment
based
on my
wealth
how much
am I
giving
away
and how
much
of that
is going
to
Christian
ministry
and
charity
Christian
ministry
to help
people out
of spiritual
poverty
charity
to help
people out
of physical
poverty
step
number
two
if it
is not
at least
10%
and this
is not
a sermon
on tithing
which is
the biblical
mark here
if it's
not at least
10%
the very
least amount
the disciples
are the
giveaway
work out
how you
can start
moving
aggressively
towards
10%
step
number
three
work out
what sacrifices
you are going
to make
in order
to get
there
as I
said
I think
it was
last
week
if
we
don't
need
to make
sacrifices
to give
10%
then we
aren't
actually
giving
enough
radical
generosity
is about
sacrifice
sacrificial
giving
is not
a percentage
it's
when our
living
standards
change
in such
a way
that we
feel
loss
for the
benefit
of
others
if
our
giving
does not
burden
us
if
it
does
not
cut
into
our
lifestyle
in
any
way
then
you
need
to
give
more
American
pastor
John
Piper
argues
this
point
very
strongly
I
didn't
put it
on the
screen
I
just
want
to
read
it
to
you
just
let
us
sit
it
is
a
biblical
truth
beyond
all
dispute
!
there's
a
biblical
worldview
here
you've
received
everything
you have
including
the ability
to make
the money
that you
have
and
has been
loaned
to you
as a
steward
to use
in ways
that
maximize
the
glorification
of God's
mercy
in the
world
Matthew
25
verses
14
to 30
and it
is
irrational
to think
that giving
10%
of that
money
to
church
settles
the issue
of good
stewardship
in a
world
of such
immense
need
and in
a
country
of such
immense
luxury
and under
the commission
of such
a powerful
Lord
the issue
of stewardship
is not
should I
tithe
in other
words
should I
give just
10%
but rather
how much
of God's
trust fund
dare I
use
to surround
myself
with
comforts
step
four
decide
what you
are giving
to and
follow through
with it
make yourself
accountable
that is the
reason we
say that
is that
giving
is a
spiritual
issue
and like
all
spiritual
issues
we are
accountable
for it
step
five
set
aside
electronically
your
regular
gift
to the
church
and then
on top
of that
you add
spontaneous
gifts
like the
projects
that we're
doing at
the moment
and other
needs
as they
arise
I take
my cue
here
from the
apostle Paul's
teaching
that giving
should be
two things
it should
be regular
and it
should be
spontaneous
it should
be disciplined
and it
should be
free
1 Corinthians
16
2
what it
does
here
it
points
to
the
wisdom
of
planned
regular
disciplined
giving
and that's
what these
whole
rhythms of
grace is
about
it's
about
in and
out
in and
out
in and
out
it's
a
rhythm
and
habit
of
life
as our
income
comes in
rhythmically
so we
send it
out
rhythmically
if it
comes in
rhythmically
and I'm
not sending
it out
rhythmically
there's an
indication
there that
I'm probably
more captivated
by
the
values
of the
world
around
us
sporadic
giving
with no
plan
will most
likely mean
that we're
not treating
finance as
an integral
part of
our
discipleship
to give
radically
generous
lives
with our
money
sorry to
live
radically
generous
lives
with our
wealth
and
possession
actually
needs
joy
we need
more than
just
courage
we need
joy
we need
to be
relaxed
and at
peace
and secure
enough
to do
it
and this
joy
in
radical
generosity
only
comes
when we
look to
the rich
young
ruler
it's
the only
source
of it
it
only
comes
when we
look to
the rich
young
ruler
who
lost
absolutely
everything
so that
we could
gain
absolutely
everything
and the
more
we look
to Jesus
and the
riches
we have
in him
the freer
we will
be to
live
pervasive
and generous
lives
rhythmic
financial
giving
is a
spiritual
discipline
that takes
the knowledge
of
Jesus'
generosity
to me
my
created
God's
generosity
to me
in the
gospel
it takes
that knowledge
in the
head
and
it
pushes
it
down
into
my
heart
it
takes
the
knowledge
that
Jesus
is
in fact
my
greatest
treasure
and it
pushes
it
down
into
my
heart
and the
way it
pushes
it down
into
my
heart
is by
being
regular
and sporadic
with
the
other
greatest
treasure
in my
life
by
giving
it
away
in
eye
popping
proportions