Lord, we thank You for the grace of gathering. We thank You for the grace of the fellowship of the saints, the communion of the saints, Lord, which we will be able, by Your grace, to take together this evening. Lord, we thank You for the power there is in gathering to hear Your Word, gathering to worship, gathering to grow. We know that, Lord, Your Spirit is with us and Your truth is set forth when we would come intent on meeting with You and, Jesus, You never turn away those who come to You. And, Father, You’re never far from the one that cries out. So we just thank You for that truth that You’re a God that is present. And, Lord, by Your work on the cross, Lord Jesus,
we can approach You and we can approach the Father and know that we are heard and loved. So, Lord, we just come to You this evening and we just ask, Lord, that very thing, that You would speak to us and You would unite us together as a church more and more in the truth and the love that’s in Christ Jesus.
Father, we pray that You would take our tithe, our offering, Lord, all the things that You’ve given us, that You ask us to give back, that we would do so joyfully, that it would glorify You. And we pray these things in Jesus’ name. Amen. Amen. You can be seated.
Well, good afternoon, evening. It’s good to be with you. I know we’ve got our babies in here today, and so it might be a little noisier, but I think I’m more inclined to scream when I know that there are children in the room. So if I talk at a high volume, I’m excited, but I’m also just talking loud for everybody. But we’re going to be in 1 Corinthians 16, and we probably have one…
maybe two left here, but we’re at the very end of 1 Corinthians. And we’re going to be in just verses 1-4 this afternoon.
1 Corinthians 16, verses 1-4.
Paul says, Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also 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. And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.
George Mueller, that great man of God, he lived in Victoria, Green Era, England, and he’s responsible for… well, he was called the robber of the streets because he took in countless orphans at the time. So it was a huge problem in London, England. And he started these homes, and he was a man that just prayed. I think I’ve talked about him before, but his autobiography is just wonderful. And it’ll just move you to faith. It’ll move you to prayer, just to trust and believe that God provides. And so, anyways, George Mueller once said, God judges what we give by what we keep. God judges what we give by what we keep. And I think there’s a lot of weight to that, knowing that George Mueller was a man that practiced that. He was a giver. He was a giver. And I think that’s a question every Christian has to ask themselves.
And there’s only one good answer to the question, am I a giver? Right? This is one of those things, I think, that perennially comes up, because money is just a part of everyday life, isn’t it? But money’s not so far out or so practical, because nothing is, that we don’t need to consider it in light of what it means to follow Jesus. And in fact, I think money is integral to life as a Christian. It’s just undeniable, because cultures are made of economies, and economies require money, and money is… It’s a good thing. It’s not a bad thing. So how we think about our money, and how we think about giving our money, or holding on to our money, says a lot about what we think about our own faith in Jesus. So that’s my question for you tonight from these just four verses.
Am I a giver? Am I a giver? Am I a giver? The gospel touches the big and the small, the small stuff in life. All throughout this book, we’ve talked about the visions among saints, you know, one-upmanship. We’ve talked about sexual misconduct. We’ve talked about the wisdom and power of the gospel, and it takes a spiritual insight to really grasp it. We’ve talked about order in worship versus chaos. We’ve talked about the appropriate uses of spiritual gifts in the service versus, you know, kind of a chaotic, unbiblical approach to spiritual gifts. And we’ve talked about the doctrine of the resurrection. So those are some seemingly practical things, but then there’s these huge things, you know. And we’re talking about money at the end. And I want to say this. Jesus is Lord of everything in your life, or He’s Lord of nothing in your life. Does Jesus say, you can tell me, sorry Jesus, there’s, you know, some orange cone, around my wallet, and you can’t go there. It doesn’t happen. Jesus is just like the sun in the sky. The sun, it covers the face of the earth. It covers everything. And what the sun hit, it exposes. That’s what Jesus is like for your heart and your life. And I want to say, if Christianity is nothing more than just half theology,
we can go on about these doctrines, we can go on about all these very esoteric bits and pieces of eternity and spirituality, yet it’s highly impractical for everyday life. I would say it’s a theology that’s not very useful or worth spending your time on. Just as Paul demands we have right thinking on the big things, he demands it in the small things.
Jesus, are you Lord of my wallet? Are you Lord of my bank account? These practical things, it’s funny, I think, are often the most difficult to accept. Yeah, I believe the doctrine of the resurrection. That’s great. I’ll believe that. Alright, we’re all going to pop up out of the ground someday and we’re going to be in this perfect state forever. That sounds good. Alright, God wants you to give $1,000 to XYZ or $2,000 to XOZ. Ooh, I don’t know about that. You see, it’s practical obedience that can trip us up as much as anything else.
He says that they’re taking a collection for the saints. And he says, I’m asking you to do what I’ve asked the church in Galatia to do. And the New Testament shows us it’s not even just that church, it’s all the churches that he’s planted in the Gentile world. So, generosity, giving, is not something you get to be choosy about. Well, the church is over in that part of the world or in that part of the world, or that’s maybe more for them, but it’s not for me. No, there are certain marks of a genuine Christian that must be present in your life. No ifs, ands, or buts. So I’ll answer that question then for us from this passage. Why should I give? Why should I give? You know, why should I give and be happy about it? How about that?
He says, on the first day, which is the Lord’s day, each of you should, store up or set something aside as He may prosper.
Or the NET, the New English Translation, renders that as the Lord has blessed you. So this is not someone saying, hey, all you Christians, you must give this amount. No, that’s not what’s happening. According to your financial state, according to what you have, you should give. Which raises another question I want you to think about. Why do you give? Why do you have what you have in the first place?
Well, because I work for it, duh.
I’ve busted my rear end 80 hours this past week. That’s why. Because this is America and you work hard and you get what you work for. It’s a lane of equal opportunity. And so if you don’t have, that’s your fault. And if you have, it’s because you’re a hard worker. Because I went to school for four years and then I got my master’s for two and then I got my doctorate. And that’s why, that’s why, wrong.
There’s one answer for why you have what you have. Because God, that’s the only answer. I want you to see what the Lord says in Deuteronomy chapter 8. I don’t have the verses up there for you tonight. So you have to do this thing called open your Bible if you want to read along with me. But Deuteronomy chapter 8 verse 11, the Lord says, take care, okay, lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments and His rules and His statutes, which I command you today. Lest when you have eaten and are full and have built houses and live in them and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt and out of the house of slavery, who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know that He might humble you and test you to do good in the end. Beware, lest you say in your heart, by my power and the might of my hand have I gotten this wealth. You see, it’s an ancient problem to be stingy. By my power, by my hand did I do all this. You shall remember the Lord your God for it is He who gives you power, to get wealth. Is that not plain? It is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may confirm His covenant that He swore to your fathers as it is this day.
The issue of money, like few things in life, can really reveal the heart of pride in a person.
You know, money has a link for us to status. It has a link to us for safety.
By money, you can have or have not, and we all like to have. So money is your pathway to having. Money is obviously tied to power. Think about how much money has influence in politics. You know, think about just a couple of sayings you all know in our culture. Get rich or die trying. You’ve heard that a million times. Or how about money talks? You’ve heard that plenty of times. So, you know, money talks. So as sinful creatures, there’s this ever-present temptation, which is what God’s talking about in Deuteronomy, to associate money with purpose and power, security and happiness. Money’s not a bad thing. Possessions aren’t bad things. Nor can it be said that to be wealthy is inherently unchristian. Only you and I are wise in the Lord if we see that everything I have is a blessing from the Lord and it is a responsibility to steward. Whether you make $20,000 a year or $200,000 a year. And if that’s the biblical reality, and it is, when God calls me to give away, okay, quote-unquote, my money, I can do so cheerfully because my supply, my security, my wealth does not come from how many zeros are at the end of my paycheck. Right? If my theology is really at work, my supply, my safety, my purpose, my happiness comes from a Father who loves me.
So you see how money, it seems so practical, but it’s really rooted in your theology. Who really takes care of you? What really makes you happy?
And I will admit, speaking in human terms, we’re getting real stupid real fast. Just like with the resurrection. Live for now. Deny yourself now. And, you know, we’re all going to live forever someday. And it’s going to be awesome. Like, that sounds wild. And, okay, there’s this invisible God I can’t see. And He’s actually the one that puts food on my table. And I’m actually supposed to believe that even when life is hard? That’s what you… Yes! It’s that… It’s what we call faith, you know, for all the… for reasonings you can do. And again, for all that, like Wednesday nights, all that you could talk about, you know, in theology, all that you could argue, and that’s all good and you should. At the end of the day, you can’t replace faith.
You can’t replace faith.
To the extent which God has blessed you,
so be a blessing. And here’s the amazing thing about that. Think about this. If it’s God that’s blessed you, that means God knows how much money you have because He’s the one that gave it to you. Which means when God says, give this much of it away, He knew how much you had to start with and He knows how He needs to take care of you past asking of you to give to something else. So that means giving is always a spiritual thing in that the Holy Spirit is the one leading. So when you turn on the TV, and the guy says, if you would just give $300, the Lord has told me that you will be blessed with $3,000 by the end of next year. And you fill that check, you write that check. You know that wasn’t from the Lord? Because that man doesn’t know what’s going on in my bank account. And that man’s not the Holy Spirit. It’s the Lord who gives and it’s the Lord who asks me to give. And we’re not exactly talking about tithes and offerings. We’re talking more about other issues related to church life that the Lord may call you to give on. But perennial issue, how much should I tithe? You know, that question comes up. How much should I give to the local church? Usually the person asking that question is trying to figure out how little they can give. Let’s start there. Where does it say I have to give? Fill in the blank. Now usually they say 10%. Where does it say I have to give 10%? Well, the whole 10% thing comes from
in Genesis, Abraham tithes 10% in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. The tithe of the 10th. That seems to be a pattern, a principle in the Old Testament. Patterns and principles are healthy things to take. But yes, I would agree with that person. I would wholeheartedly say as a New Testament Christian, you are not obligated to give 10% to the local church.
What I would say to you is if you look at the New Testament, and you look at their pattern of giving, you would see something different. You would see them trying to give away as much as possible. They’re not asking the question how little can I get away with giving, but they’re asking the question how much can I give to God? In 2 Corinthians 8, and so Paul in 2 Corinthians is talking about the same collections, the same tithe, the same issue. He says, we want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Matthew, 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. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means. So Paul says that these churches weren’t saying how much do I have to give? They’re saying, oh, how much can I give? In fact, they felt led to give beyond even what was according to their bank accounts. So, friends, we can live open-handed like that because it’s God that provides. And it’s a question of do I deeply desire to be used of God to provide for His kingdom when He asks me to? And when you think about that, it puts a whole new perspective on it. God’s doing this whole thing in your lifetime, in every Christian’s lifetime to advance His kingdom. And He says, He says, hey, Chad, you got the opportunity to do this. Or hey, Chris. Or hey, Anil. Or hey, Richard. Hey, there’s this thing and you can give to it and it’s going to advance my kingdom. Meh. I got to hold on to my money that you gave me. And you always provide monies anyways. It doesn’t make sense when you see that God is letting you be a tool in His hand to advance His kingdom with money. So money is very much so a sacred thing by which you can serve and glorify God.
I want to say secondly, it reveals your obedience to give. It reveals your faith whether you do it outwardly. But it does very much so expose the disposition of your heart. So I would say money and giving is a gospel issue. Here’s why. Because money reveals your heart. And when your heart’s on the table, it gets compared to the heart of God on the table. And the gospel shows me how unlike my heart is like the heart of God so many times. Because what’s the heart of God like according to the gospel of Jesus?
Well, the Father
gave His only begotten precious Son to save a whole bunch of sinners.
So that they could be eternally set free and have the everlasting inheritance in the heavenly places. And it costs Jesus the shame, the humiliation of the cross and death. Mmm. The gospel tells me the heart of the Father is so generous. So when I’m not generous, clearly, I’m not having a heart that’s beating in sync with the heart of the Father.
So God meets all my physical needs. God meets all my spiritual needs too. You mean that He won’t let the righteous beg for bread? But at the same time, spiritually either. You mean in every facet of life, God is a perfect provider. Yet if He asks me to give away something He’s given me, I can’t trust that He’s going to make that up in my life?
Friends, let’s grow in our faith and our disposition and in the outward working of it in obedience to all that God has for us to do for Him with our dollars.
When we live in the reality of the gospel, we become givers because we’ve received from the giver. And when I’ve received from the giver, I’m a cheerful giver and I can give away because I know my God is good to provide for everything that I need. So, two things. A have-to-give mentality. Oh, I have to give to that. There’s no way I can’t make a contribution and not look like a heel to everyone else.
When I have to give, that proceeds from doubt.
But when I have the get-to-give mentality, you can be sure that proceeds from faith. Okay? So if one disconnect between theology and obedience is a doubting of God’s goodness to provide for others, and that is one of it, here’s another disconnect between my theology, okay, and my money. And it’s this. Lavish spending. Not on God, though, but on self. It’s a huge disconnect.
I have nothing to give because I’ve already given it to me.
I’m broke or I’m in debt because I saw fit to be generous to charity. I met all my needs. I was so kind to me.
Friends, when we’re out of money, I’m not talking about hard times, but when we’re out of money, here’s what’s plain and clear. God is not the satisfaction of our souls the way that He should be. When I’ve got to buy a new outfit every other week, and I’ve got to have a new pair of shoes every other week, and I’ve got back-breaking car and house payments, and the UPS man is so familiar with my porch because he’s delivering Amazon packages there like every day, when I’m up to my eyeballs in debt from Christmas presents and vacation, which is a huge problem in America, by the way. People are always paying off past vacations and Christmases. Something’s wrong with the heart.
So forcing oneself to live impoverished is not biblical, but living according to your means so that you’re free financially to be used of God. That is. I’ve always loved the Proverbs. It says,
feed me the food that is needful for me. This is Proverbs 38. Feed me the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, who is the Lord? Or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of God. So Lord, just take care of my needs. Don’t let me be so lost in wealth. But Lord, I’m trusting you’re going to just take care of me so that you’re going to be You stay on the throne of my heart and stuff doesn’t. And so also, in Timothy, godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. So I want to say here, church, if we keep Christ in full view, the answer to why should I give becomes so plain, doesn’t it? Almost silly. Because God’s my provider. He’s my provider. If He’s asking me to give, I know it’s for a good reason and He’s taking care of me and He’s just used me to take care of somebody else and it proceeds from a heart that’s been impacted by the gospel and I know that it’s all going to end well because I trust that God is good. I need a heart that’s reoriented around a God who both satisfies and provides. If I know God provides for me, I don’t have to worry about myself. And if God satisfies me, I don’t have to constantly look for satisfaction. I don’t have to constantly look for satisfaction and all the things I could spend my money on.
So when it comes to your wallet and your bank account, are you like flint or are you like a honeycomb? Okay? Flint, if you want to get even just one spark out of it, you’ve got to bang that thing against the rock as hard as you can. Or take a hammer and smash it and you get one little… But a honeycomb, man, you give it any sort of pressure and it just oozes out honey. Which one do you think God wants you to be more like?
Questions for you in your own heart here. Who is your provider? Don’t give me the church answer. Right? Unless you mean it.
What do you use your dollars for? Are you constantly just adding up your dollars so you can have, oh, I just play money and I’m just constantly saving for one more toy. I’m constantly saving for one more toy. I’m constantly saving for this. Or, I think in fear, I’m just constantly trying to save my money and hold on to this and I can’t be generous because there might be a rainy day and I’m going to need all of my money.
Friends, it’s a faith issue. It’s a gospel issue. Trust the Lord. Grow and believe that He’s going to take care of you. And lastly, I would say, get your finances in order. It’s interesting, I can’t remember who made the point, but Paul tells the Corinthians, you should set aside your money as you prosper the first day of each week. In other words, it wasn’t an impulse offering. Like, alright, this Sunday, we’re taking an offering for the Jerusalem church and you pass it around real quick. People are like, I don’t know.
It’s an intentional thing in which Paul’s saying, when I come to you, I don’t want to have to be like, alright guys, pull your wallets out. I don’t know if they had wallets back then, but put money in it. He’s saying, you go ahead and you go ahead and determine how much the Holy Spirit is telling you to give so that your money doesn’t get eaten up on frivolous things. Because that’s what happens to your money when you don’t budget it, doesn’t it? So even that word budgeting, oh, that sounds so adult, doesn’t it? That’s really, it’s a Jesus word. I want to budget well so that God can have my money and I don’t short God on anything.
Well, what do I do if I’m in debt and I can’t give? And I think about Jessica and I when we were in high school, when we were first married and these people called credit card companies, they’ll give you one and be like, hey, you go get whatever you want to get with this thing. And it’s like, woo, free money!
And I think we went through a period where we didn’t have astronomical debt, but we had some debt and we had to say, alright, we’ve got to get rid of this debt because this doesn’t honor the Lord and we can’t be financially generous when we have bankers and they’ve got chains on us. So make a plan, make a plan to get out of debt. Make a plan to have finances that please the Lord. I didn’t tell her I was going to say this, but I know Kathy is very well versed in all things Dave Ramsey and I guarantee you she would be more than glad to help you figure out what does a healthy budget look like? How do I pay debt off in an effective way? Answer those questions for yourself so that you can be used of the Lord in this way. Lastly on this point, live within your means. Live within your means. Well, I really like eating out. Well, maybe once a month, not once a week. Well, I really like the finer things. Yeah, okay. What do you want to have at the end of the day? Something that’s going to pass away? Or do you want to be able to give your money to the stuff that really counts and matters? Live within your means for the sake of Christ.
So that’s the first question answered. Why should I give? And here’s the second question I want to answer from this passage. To whom do I give? To whom do I give? Okay? Verse 3, Paul says, And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. So when he says in verse 1 it’s a collection for the saints, it means the holy ones or just God’s people. So they’re taking up an offering for Jewish Christians. Now why are they doing that? If you remember in the book of Acts, Agabus the prophet, he says, hey, there’s a coming famine on the land. And for a lot of reasons, you could speculate, there was at this time a lot of poor people, especially in Judea, probably because as Jews became Christians, they were heavily marginalized when they became Messianic Jews, if you will, when they became Christians. And a lot of the influence of Sadducees, Pharisees, right there in Judea would have really forced them out of their work, out of Jerusalem, and they would have been marginalized in society in a way that Gentile Christians maybe could still go about their business. They live on trade routes on the sea so they can still find a way to do business in a way that kind of these Jews couldn’t do so. So New Testament tells us multiple times there’s poorer people in Judea, so they’re taking up money for these poor Jewish Christians. This famine is coming and that’s the whole point. Paul’s aim as a missionary to the Gentiles was to raise funds for them. He does it at Corinth. He does it at Galatia. He does it in Macedonia and Achaia. And it says that they’re pleased to give. And in Galatians 2.10 when the apostles at Jerusalem send Paul out, they say, please remember the poor. And what’s Paul say? He says, that’s the very thing I was eager to do. So these poor Christians. That’s who we’re talking about. Christians in need. I want to make a distinction here because I think the Bible makes a huge one.
Charities. Non-profits. Addressing the issues of poverty, injustice in society. Generally, okay, that’s fine and that’s all well. And I think Western culture very much so seems to, even if it’s, I think in an artificial way, champion the cause of the underprivileged, whoever that is and whoever you think is underprivileged or marginalized. Even to the point, I think you could say we live in a welfare state. You know, so not trying to start a political conversation, but there’s a lot of money given to people that seem to be, to have less. Here’s what I don’t want to say. I don’t want you to think as a Christian, I don’t want you to unwittingly think
that that’s all done in Jesus’ name or that that’s a pursuit that’s the chief business of a Christian because it’s not. One, there’s a lot of reasons why one could give to poor people. Sometimes people feel straight up guilty they have so much. They do it out of guilt, which is a bad motivation. Sometimes we do it because it’s socially acceptable to champion some cause and I do it because everybody else is doing it. We do it because we think it’s possible to achieve some sort of utopia. And sometimes people just straight up give because, and people are honest, it makes me feel good. Well, they were ringing that bell at Christmas and I put the coins in the Salvation Army thing and I just felt good to give. Well, those are motives, but they’re not chief motives, nor is that the chief command for New Testament followers. The chief command is to love and care for, for poor Christians, not just poor people, both locally and globally. And the verse that this is most abused, and I see it used by progressive, liberal Christian organizations or just people that hardly know anything about Jesus, but they want it like their Jesus stamp on it, is Matthew 25, 35-40. Okay, for I was hungry and you gave me food and I was thirsty and you gave me drink and I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked, you clothed me. I was sick, you visited me. I was in prison, you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison or visit you? And the king will answer them, truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these, my brothers, you did it to me. That is so often used as a slogan for, see, anytime you do good to somebody, that’s doing, that’s doing it to Jesus. Now, here’s the facts. Jesus very well may move you to pull over on the side of the road and give that homeless man $10 or something. That’s fine. It’s just completely out of context with this scripture and the one we’re talking about in Corinthians.
Anytime that brothers is used in Matthew’s gospel and the least of these, it always refers to either blood relatives or spiritual brothers and sisters. In other words, Jesus is not saying, anytime you do a good deed, oh, that’s to me. Jesus is saying, here’s the proof that you’re a follower. You’re willing to invest your dollars in your spiritual brothers and sisters. That’s what Jesus is saying. In Romans, Paul says, seek to show hospitality to the saints. Paul says in Galatians, do good, comma, especially, to the household of faith. So overwhelmingly, the scriptures teach us what you and I need to be doing is loving Jesus’ people really well. Are there plenty of scriptures that say take care of societal injustice and be a part of solutions here and there when it presents itself? Yes, it does. But the question that matters for a Christian most of all is this. Do I value Jesus’ people? Which is to say, do I value Jesus’ mission? Okay? Because Jesus’ people are my people. And Jesus’ mission is my mission. And I want to prioritize my dollars for my spiritual family so that the work of God can be done locally and globally wherever God’s calling me to do that. So if Jesus is ahead and we’re His body, Jesus is saying, you’ve got to take care of your own body. You’ve got to take care of the body of Christ. So if God says, hey, there’s a sibling and you’ve got this sibling and they live on the other side of the world and they’re struggling, they’re under persecution, can you give to that sibling on the other side of the globe? Absolutely, Jesus. Let me give to that. Or hey, you’ve got these siblings and they’re down in Mexico and they’re doing this stuff. Absolutely, Jesus. Let me give to my brothers and sisters in the work of the kingdom. Or hey, you’ve got these brothers and sisters in New England and they’re really struggling to church plant. You could give to them. Absolutely, Jesus. Let me do that. So something that we’ve been talking about and I was going to share with you is we’re starting to give to a cause that’s trying to equip and help New England church pastors that are burning out really quick. Because in New England, as you can imagine, it’s very hard to plant churches and they’re struggling. But we found this organization and it’s a cool way to help equip New England church pastors that usually would burn out in a couple years, but offering them a certain amount of equipping and encouragement that they need. They’re able to kind of keep going with fellowship and community. So that’s something that we’ve been able to give to recently and say, hey, there’s a way that we can love the least of these. Our brothers who are struggling to do God’s work in a really difficult place. Think about it like this. How else could Paul expect these Gentile Christians who’ve never met these Jewish Christians whose cultures are totally different to dig deep in their pockets and give money?
Well, because we have the bond of Christ. And my motive is Christ. And what does Jesus say? Giving to my brothers and my sisters is really what? It’s giving to Christ Himself. It’s why the Apostle John finds it outrageous that you could claim to be a Christian and keep your money and keep your possessions from brothers and sisters. 1 John 3.17 If anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need that closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Matthew Henry on this says, If Christ were among us in poverty, how readily would we relieve Him? In prison, how frequently would we visit Him? In prison, how frequently would we visit Him? We are ready to envy the honor they had who ministered to Him of their substance. Wherever poor saints and poor ministers are, their Christ is ready to receive our kindnesses in them and they shall be put to His account.
Said so simply, and I know I’ve quoted this Scripture a million times, how does Jesus say, right before in John’s Gospel, how does Jesus say the world’s going to know us? He’s going to say, if you can put together these really effective non-profits and you solve world hunger and you solve the dirty water issue and you solve all the wars going on in the Middle East and if you can do all these things in the world, then they’ll know. That’s not what He says. He says something I think is very counterintuitive. He says, They will know your mind by the way you love one another. In other words, the local church and the church globally should present itself in such a way that our unity and love and care for one another is attractive to the world. That’s Jesus’ plan.
One of the ways in which He’s drawing in the lost is how we’re loving one another well. I’ve been challenged by this in my life. I think, again, earlier days when Jessica and I were married and you’re struggling, you don’t have a lot, and people older than us at the church we were going to, you know, money would come from them and someone would give generously and it’s like, oh, would I have done that? Would I have given like that? And it becomes kind of a way in which you are discipled by someone else’s generosity.
I say on this point at the same time, praise God for our faithfulness because I do not preach this sermon like, oh, I hope Providence gets this sermon because if there’s one area of growth, it’s generosity and finances. I don’t feel that way at all. I feel very blessed in how you take care of me. I feel very blessed in the way that I think about the last almost four years in October that I’ve been here that, you know, when some need arises, there’s been times like where we’ve given to orphanages in Uganda or we hear about this or that. I didn’t make a list of them. I guess I could have, but there’s so many things in which you all just give and you give. I’m excited about us giving more to New England pastors and empowering them. You know, you love our local church well. I think we love the church in Huntsville well and we love the global church well. And so I’m grateful for that mark of faithfulness here at Providence Fellowship. So here’s what you and I do. OK, here’s what you and I do. Here’s our prayer. We say, God, give us a bunch more money
so we can give a bunch away.
That’s the right prayer. Lord, give me a whole bunch of money so we can give a whole bunch away. And someday Jesus is going to say, thank you. Thank you so much for that pair of pants. And you’re going to say, Jesus, I never gave you a pair of pants. He’s going to say, oh, yes, you did. That time that you threw that 20 in when we were given to Uganda and that little five-year-old boy, he’d been running around naked for two years and you put a pair of pants on him. Oh, man.
Friends, your dollars, they matter eternally. Your dollars matter eternally for the kingdom. Give to the cause of Christ. OK?
So this was a rather long sermon in which having a bunch of babies in the room. And I guess I’m sorry, but it’s fine. We’re almost done.
Here’s the question. Here’s the big question. Am I a giver? Am I a giver?
If you’re a giver, here’s what it does. It displays the gospel and it glorifies the gospel. It glorifies God. It displays the gospel and it glorifies God. When you can answer the why.
Why? Because God has given me everything in Christ Jesus. I don’t own nothing. I’m a child of the living God and He has provided all things in this life and He’s assured me that I will receive all things in the life to come. To whom? To the church. To my brothers and my sisters and all the work that God’s calling us to do and all of our needs locally. And around the globe. When we do that, God is glorified and the gospel is put on display. In 2 Corinthians 9. It’s the next book. Paul’s talking about the exact same collection for the saints. Here’s what he says. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing and many thanksgivings to God. By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your work. Your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others. While they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift. God, thank you for loving me and showing me your heart as a generous father because in seeing your heart, I’m made generous and I can be used by you to go wherever and do whatever. Give all that you have. You’ve called me to give because I’m already satisfied, provided for in Jesus. So Lord, however you want to use me to give myself away in this life, let it be so because it’s only going to end up in more glory for the Father and Jesus being magnified in what He did on the cross.
Are you a giver? Let’s give it away. Amen? And in our giving, we receive. In our giving, we receive.
Freely you have received,
freely you give. The Word tells us.
Let’s pray together. Father, this morning,
we can’t even begin to fathom how much we’ve received in Jesus. We can’t begin to put pen to paper. We can’t begin to describe all the blessings in the heavenly places and all the love and all the care that we experience moment by moment, Lord. Every day, every service, every season of life, Lord, You are present. You are providing. So Lord, we just say thank You. Lord, grow us in love. Grow us in grace that, Lord, we would be givers. That we would be obedient to this Word to happily, cheerfully give when You call us to give.