 In chapter 16, we're going to look at the subject of you're going to give a lot of money tonight or never leave and that's fine Just kidding First Corinthians chapter 16 verses 1 through 4 Christian giving Paul writes now concerning the collection for the saints as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia So you must do also on the first day of the week Let each one of you lay something aside Storing up as he may prosper that there be no collections when I come and when I come whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem But if it is fitting that I go also they will go with me now Paul is about to close his letter and He's moving from what we've been looking at which is doctrinal or from the teaching Pure teaching to what we would call the practical Paul is dealing here in this passage with what is referred to here as a collection for the saints Now this particular collection that he's speaking about are for the poor saints who are in the city of Jerusalem And so when he speaks of the collection that word collection speaks of the gathering together of finances It's not speaking simply though of the offering that's being received for those who have need in Jerusalem But this is a general offering that he's speaking about and much of it will be obviously given to those in great need And we'll see that in just a moment. We need to know that The believers in Jerusalem Who are going to receive this offering a good portion of the offering? Well these believers in Jerusalem had become poor They had become poor because there had been two things combining to produce poverty one was that there had been a famine and Two is that they began to suffer through persecution Now this famine is spoken of in the book of Acts in chapter 11 verses 28 through 30 in Acts 11 28 through 30 It says one of them named Agabus stood up and through the spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world This happened during the reign of Claudius the disciples each according to his ability decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea This they did sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and saw So there is a famine and so there's a financial need and secondly There's great persecution a great persecution had arisen against the believers also in Jerusalem After the martyrdom of Stephen the church in Jerusalem had become a target for hatred It says in chapter 8 of Acts verse 1 on that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem And all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria Now at one time the church at Jerusalem was able to care for its own members That was especially true when you begin to look at the history of the church Because when you look into the book of Acts for example again chapter 2 in verses 44 and 45 It says all the believers were together and had everything in common Selling their possessions and goods they gave to anyone as he had need And so the habit of the early church was to make sure that the members of the body of Christ were cared for Later on in chapter 4 of Acts verses 34 and 35 It says nor was there anyone among them who lacked for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them and Brought the proceeds of the things that were sold and laid them at the apostles feet and they distributed to each as anyone had need And so there was a love a genuine love that existed in the body of Christ after Pentecost when the church had been birthed and people had need If I had something a possession that I could sell as a member of the church Seeing that one of my brothers or sisters was in need Then I would be one who would sell something in order to give and so there was this love That the body of Christ had for one another that was very practical. It's kind of like what James says he says if any of you See a brother who has destitute lacking and you say to them go be warmed and filled He said what kind of faith is that when you see a real practical need and you don't even do anything to meet it He said that kind of faith is dead because it lacks works so in the early church there was a sense of generosity of If there was a need that somebody in the body of Christ would meet that need and so that was very common They knew that love wasn't just something they sang about or talked about They knew that love was something that you did. It was something that you practiced. It was a way of life Now in the Old Testament, there are so many scriptures that relate to that for example Proverbs 3 27 Where it says do not withhold good from those to whom it is due when it is in the power of your hands to do so There is in the New Testament Titus chapter 3 verse 14 Which says let our people also learn to maintain good works to meet urgent needs That they may not be unfruitful and so the Bible from old to the new speaks about being practical in our love and ministering that which we have and if somebody has material need and I have it in the power of my hand to meet that material need Obviously, it's a need. That's a genuine need. It's not just a felt need. It's a real need I mean I heard about a kid who this true story by the way. I heard about a kid who wanted a Ferrari that was his felt need and He wanted it and he wanted it so bad. He actually advertised. I want a Ferrari and it has to be red and Somebody read his ad and said man that kid's got a lot of nerve. I'll give him a Ferrari and He calls him up gets in contact with him and he says You you have the nerve to ask I'll give you my Ferrari And the kid says what color is it the guy says it's silver And the kids I want a red Ferrari. I don't want the silver one true story. And so me. I'll take any Ferrari I'm not choosy But when there's a real need not just a felt need when there's a real need The body of Christ is always rallied to that. I Can tell you this I can tell you that when I was not saved when I was beginning to encounter Christians my friends who had become Christians One of the things that had the biggest impact on me was their generosity. I Can tell you that because my background I was not generous and So when someone was generous towards me or somebody else in front of me I looked at him and I thought what an unusual person Because they were generous see because I wasn't I was very very very cheap and so I Mean to this day my friend Bill whom I meet with once a month and I've known since we were in kindergarten My friend Bill on occasion will still tease me Because I took him and bought him a hamburger when we were 13 years old and the hamburger cost like 22 cents And he still reminds me and the hamburger was called an a burger I don't know why it was called an a burger, but it was it was an a burger and he's still when we go out for lunch They'll say are you going to get me an a burger today? You know, he still remembers that because I was very cheap I mean I didn't work. I used to go in the back of gas stations when my Tires needed to be replaced and I would climb in the bin where they discarded used Tires and I would look for my tire size Then I would find one that still had a little tread and I would go to a friend of mine's Gas station he worked for his father and he would mount that on my for me. So I never bought tires I just didn't do things like that. I mean if you could find something that's still usable use it So when when I was with my friends and they were generous they actually were buying meals for us and making them and serving us I Have to tell you now you I don't think anybody in here is as cheap as I was But I will tell you this that impacted me They really did I thought man. These are the kind of people to hang around with you get free stuff all the time. This is good. I Didn't know that it was love That they were showing but I discovered that later on Christians have always been generous You've always been generous There are studies done. I have a book in my office somewhere that speaks concerning the generosity of the American Americans are known for being very generous people and indeed as a nation we are But when you begin to look at the most generous within that nation the most generous They'll say the way they say it is the most generous are the religious Individuals who are known for the generosity because not only do they pay their taxes But they give charitable gifts on top of that Where a lot of people believe that they don't have to help the poor or the infirm or anything like that because they're Already paying their taxes and that's out of my tax dollar. There's support to them through the welfare, etc Christians not only pay our taxes, but we also Charitably give to those in need and that is something that's been well founded and demonstrated because it's religious faith that provokes us to Give like that so the mark of the believer has always been generosity from the very beginning and We just simply need to be encouraged and taught to continue to be of that nature Now after the persecution had arisen the believers there in Jerusalem had begun to suffer some became very poor So in response Paul is appealing to the body of Christ to meet the need of their Christian family And once again, we're called to be generous to all but like he says in Galatians chapter 6 verse 10 He says therefore as we have opportunity, let us do good to all especially to those who are of the household of faith and So there's a collection that's been received here in 1st Corinthians 16 This collection basically has two purposes One is it's going to relieve the physical needs of the poor believers in Jerusalem again as mentioned James writes concerning the generosity of a believer and Speaks and I mentioned this but let me read it James 2 15 and 16 He said if a brother or sister is naked in destitute of daily food And one of you says to them depart in peace and be warmed and filled But you don't give them the things which are needed for the body. What does it profit? And so one it was to relieve the physical needs of the poor believers But secondly it was revealing the spiritual unity of the body of Christ again As I had mentioned a moment ago in Galatians 6 10 you are to take care of those who are of the household of faith And so Paul is writing concerning the collection for the saints And he says in verse 1 as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia. So you must do also So Paul had ordered and I want you to see that it wasn't a suggestion that he made and I want you to see his Apostolic authority here. He wasn't making a suggestion it would be great if you know he gave an order to the churches that were there in the region of Galatia and He had said you need to contribute to the needs of these believers And so he's issuing what we would today call a reasonable command and he had the authority to do that And so he is saying to them. I have given orders to the churches of Galatia But I'm also saying this to you too This is a reasonable command coming from apostolic authority that you should be concerned about your brethren who are suffering And now he tells him this is what you're to do verse 2. He says on the first day of the week Let each one of you lay something aside Storing up as he may prosper that there be no collections when I come So Paul lays down principles for giving offerings to the Lord One of the keys to giving an offering to the Lord or giving your gifts one of the keys is that financial gifts are given to God first and Then they are distributed as needs arise and when the Lord commands us to be generous and When you see commands in scripture that speak concerning financial generosity and giving we need to remember that that Giving is not God's way of raising money Giving is God's way of raising his children. He's teaching us to be generous If I have any parents in this room Think with me for just a moment How generous was your three-year-old? Mine were not very generous Mine had more of a propensity of wanting Rather than giving at the ages of two and three and 30. I mean they had They have a Tendency to want to get rather than give isn't that true? It's pretty true in most cases. Maybe not always but in general I They had this desire to get I can still remember my son David when he was two years old He had those pajamas those kinds of pajamas that had the little feet You know and and he we had gone to some friend's house and our friend had a little boy his age Dave was two or three years old at the time and and I brought David home And I carried him and placed him in his bed But as I was doing that I noticed that one of his pajama feet was longer than the other It was just kind of longer and I thought my my goodness. What is this? And so I grabbed his little foot and I felt something In in this little in you know the little I don't know what they're called Just a little feet of the of the drama so I took down the pajamas and I Turned it and I shook it and a matchbox car came out a little matchbox car I knew David liked matchbox toys and things like that, but I thought oh my goodness. Oh my goodness David stole From his friend his little friends name was Adam and he stole Adam's matchbox car and I got all scared I said, oh, oh, no, I'm raising a bank robber. This guy's gonna steal for sure He's a thief. He's a thief. Oh my god. What am I going to do? So the next day I called up Adams Adams mama Debbie and Her husband was my first assistant and so we're very close and I call her I said Debbie. I am so sorry I am so sorry My David stole one of Adam's matchbox cars last night. We have it here at the house She says oh, don't worry about it. Adam's got so many of David's over here. It doesn't really matter They've been they've been stealing from each other for I guess some time, right? Children are not known for being generous. They really aren't you have to teach them to be generous normally and And if you teach them well if you teach them at the beginning they remain generous the rest of the life as a habit Because you've you've you've helped them to learn to do that and so early in my children's life When they were very little I began to teach them to give to the Lord I began when they were Before they were five years old and what we would do is we would get these baby jars and You know after the kids had eaten we'd wash them out and the baby food jars We kept them and each one of them had a little baby food jar of their own as they grew older each one of them We finally had the four baby food jars and I would give my kids a an allowance And how I did it with them is I would give them a dollar They didn't know the value of a dollar yet And so I would give them a dollar But it was never in paper money because they never really would be able to understand the significance of that dollar bill Right, and so I gave them dimes. I gave them ten dimes And I would put a stack of dimes on a week every week ten dimes in front of this little jar And I was teaching them basic principles of giving and so what I would do is I would put the ten Dimes there and I would say These ten dimes are your allowance. You can do basically what you want with this. This is your money But we always give to Jesus something first and so I'd say actually had two jars and I'd take One of the dimes to give them a principle and I would drop the dime in a jar Then I'd take the nine dimes and I would drop the nine and the other jar and I said these nine dimes are yours This one dime is Jesus Inevitably they would say you didn't give them enough Inevitably because I have nine and he only has one and so I said do you want to give them more and they would always Say yes, I'd like to give them more. So I was teaching them generosity at an early age that you can never out give God I was trying to teach them that now eventually they got to the point of knowing what nine dimes will buy And he said you know Jesus is doing cool with just one dime, you know, but but at the beginning They would give three or four dimes they always did because it was a visual And I was teaching him this and this is something even we adults can learn I can live just as well on nine dimes as I can on one or rather ten I can live just as well on nine as I can on ten Because if the whole key is understanding budgeting It's understanding giving it's understanding value what real value is I wanted to teach my children generosity and I taught them that with a visual and so that's something that is just Part of the church always has been so giving is not God's way of raising money God owns everything anyway. It's his way of raising his children Now when am I to give to the Lord? Well, I want you to notice When he says in verse 2 on the first day of the week He's speaking concerning the fact that the church would gather together as a regular practice on the first day of the week The reason it did so is the obvious reason that Jesus was raised from the dead on Sunday And so they would gather very early in the history of the church from the beginning really They would gather on the first day and so because it was a day of celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ They would gather and they would have this particular Opportunity to give their offerings now It's not simply that you only give obviously on a Sunday You give whenever the Lord leads you to but it speaks concerning the fact that you give an appropriate way Regularly Sunday obviously is a as an obvious time to do that But giving is to be a part of regular worship because it is systematic When he says on the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside storing us Storing up as he may prosper that there'd be no collections when I come It's simply pointing out that giving is part of our regular worship to God and therefore is systematic It's part of our worship It's a lot of people don't realize that but you're giving when you take out whatever it is and you You know you put it in that bucket or you put it in that a copy box or Whatever manner of giving you have today is a lot of electronic giving and all because you know my kids don't carry They don't carry cash my kids don't they carry a debit card and they use that and I think that's pretty normal for a lot of people today and You usually know the age of somebody by the fact that they carry a checkbook or whatever because we still use checks Well, I actually don't use checks my wife uses them She uses a lot of them, but my my And so but there are there is a way to give and it's to be systematically It's a be regularly white because it is a regular act of worship. I Believe very strongly that giving to God is one of the most tangible expressions of faith that a believer actually practices Giving is an act of faith and it's done regularly not just when we have extra money or when we feel generous It is one of the most practical physical real acts of worship that we have and It's the one thing that we can look and see Jesus actually commend us about very clearly in Mark chapter 12 Verses 41 through 44 Jesus is commenting on something that he observes It says in Mark 1241 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put And he watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury many rich people threw in large amounts, but a poor widow came in and Put in two very small copper coins with only a fraction of a penny Calling his disciples to him. Jesus said I tell you the truth this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others They all gave out of their wealth, but she out of her poverty put in everything all she had to live on now a Lot of times people will use that and they will say see You know, it's not the amount. It's the heart We're missing the point that Jesus is making here There was an absolute amount of faith that was being commended here Not the small amount that she gave But the immense amount of trust that she was showing because she gave all that you had even her living She gave it all to the Lord in trust and so we have to be careful not to to misunderstand that because Sometimes people say well and it doesn't really matter and I'll just drop in and it's between you and the Lord Of course and and who's to say that it's not but we're missing the point We're missing the point in that Jesus is commending her generosity and faith in that He's not even making mention really of the amount of money per se. He's just Contrasting it between those who are very rich who had a lot that they could give and never even feel it Versus this woman who gave her livelihood and he's commending the faith that is behind that So you actually see some very basic spiritual lessons in that passage one There's a rebuke to the greedy who live well, but give little to the Lord in Matthew 6 19 and 20 Jesus said it like this He said do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal But lay up for yourself treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal So he's saying there are those who could give more who didn't they were living well But in proportion to what they had they gave very little to the Lord So it's really a rebuke, but secondly it's a lesson to the last well-off who failed to trust the Lord And therefore give him nothing at all I Have heard people say and I have I have dealt with this myself in my own life so I can share it I Have heard people say I can't afford to give to the Lord. I learned a long time ago. I can't afford not to Because the Bible very clearly speaks about our God being the provider of all things Philippians 419 my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus So one of those scriptures that we don't want to see whether or not that's true We just don't do that. So what we do is if we have extra money We might give him something if we don't have extra money We won't May I be honest with you as I share this because I don't want to come off critical to you I'll came because you want to hear a study and therefore I don't want to sound like I'm bashing anybody because I'm not It's just an observation. I've made and I was sharing with somebody about this just the other day in conversation So I'll just repeat it out loud to you They were sharing with me how that this person doesn't give to the Lord They don't go to this church so I can use this openly and say this they don't go to this fellowship They go to Rawls, but no, I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding Definitely just kidding But as we were speaking He said well They cannot give to the Lord because they can't afford it. I said really Yeah They can't afford it. No May I ask you a question? Yeah Do they do they go and buy coffee anywhere during the week? Oh, yeah all the time So they go to we'll say, you know, whatever coffee shop you want to name You know By the way, I know a place where you can get 10 cent coffee still but anyway, that's just something that's an aside Take one of those dimes from the baby jar and go get yourself some coffee man It's in LA but anyway But you go on buy a cup of coffee to three dollars whatever you whatever you spend on it Whatever you spend. Let's just give it the number five Just for a number five dollars Do they buy more than one cup a week? Yeah, do I have anybody in here who drinks coffee? I'm curious I don't know. Yeah, I drink coffee. I'm just wondering. It's the Christian drug. I just wondering if you're If you're addicted to So we drink coffee a lot of us do or teas or whatever we buy these things, right So I asked do they drink coffee? Yes, did they drink more than one cup a week? Oh, yeah So if you buy three cups of coffee, we'll say three cups will say Monday Wednesday Friday three cups of coffee Am I downing doing that? No, of course. I'm not I'm just making an observation You buy one on Monday one on Wednesday and one on Friday. That's 15 bucks, right? Do you leave a tip? Probably not but say you do So let's add another dollar to all of that or whatever changing and what you're looking at is anywhere from 15 to 18 dollars a week On a cup of coffee three times a week All you need to do is begin to ask yourself. Do I give to the Lord as much as I give to the local coffee place? And that's what I was saying to him They can afford to buy coffee But they can't afford to give to Jesus Can you imagine? That in the average church if the people in the church began to give Just the amount of money that they spent on coffee a week Could you imagine all the evangelism that could take place all the staff that could be added when you have a church of 5,000 6,000 people and 13% support the entire church Could you imagine what would happen if those who never gave anything began to give just what they spent on coffee a week? Could you imagine how much? Good you could do in the kingdom of God. You see it's a matter of learning to budget and to prioritize When Jesus says seek ye first the kingdom of God. He wasn't kidding Because that's what establishes your entire life priority But there are those who say but I can't afford to give to the Lord Who and I'm not knocking them and I want to be careful not to be misunderstood. I'm not knocking them God is doing fine without me happy, you know to prop him up financially God's doing fine It's not like he's begging and I certainly am not I'm just trying to make some points here as we're talking about giving Bottom line is you can go into a closet and you can find clothing That was expensive when bought it's only been worn once or twice Because it's hidden behind so many other things that are cluttering that closet It's just the way Americans are with our finances and when somebody speaks concerning generosity They say that's why I don't go to church. You're always asking for money. What that really is is it's called conviction It's it's the Lord speaking to the heart saying but if you're seeking first the kingdom of God and You say you worship me Then how are you demonstrating that? How do you go about demonstrating that one of the most tangible ways is through your giving and Trusting God to supply all your need There's a quote that I'd like to give to you if both the rich and the poor seriously consider this One will learn compassion and the other will learn generosity and both will be blessed by the Lord now As he is saying here let each let each one of you lay something aside That means all believers are givers that each Christian gives an offering to the Lord The whole work of God is supported by the whole body of Christ One person ought not to be giving while the other person doesn't all should Consider in their heart what they can and they should give as the Lord leads and That way all are working together It says in Ephesians 4 verse 16 from him the whole body joined and held together by every supporting ligament Grows and builds itself up in love as each part does its work So the whole body of Christ is actually contributing to the work of God when you give your offerings to the Lord now Somebody says well, where am I supposed to give my offerings, you know If I'm watching the TV evangelist and and he says that they're in need right now and and all should I send to them I have those questions every once in a while. I Remember one evangelist who was saying to those who were he was Excuse me speaking to he said to them if you send Any donation to this church to this to this ministry? He says I will send you a blessed wallet That will never be empty. I'll never forget that. I will send you a blessed wallet that will always have money in it So I'm thinking to myself. Why don't you just get one of your own wallets? I mean that makes sense to me That way you won't be asking me for anything Because it'll never be empty. But so what we have seen so many charlatans haven't we we've seen people selling things You know send some money to this to this ministry and I will send you a watermelon seed and You plant the watermelon seed and it grows a watermelon and even as the watermelon has many seeds Even so God is going to give to you money because you have planted your seed of faith in my ministry I've heard so many come-ons in that way that it makes Christians jaded We begin to wonder Can I even trust them if I send money to them? What are they doing with that? Yet we bring that into the body of Christ We bring that to the local church that we fellowship in and we carry that mentality and we project it on the church that we attend When I would say this if a person doesn't trust me as their pastor or the pastor of their church They probably shouldn't be there. They probably should go to a church or they trust the pastor But if they don't trust the ministers of the church to actually distribute what God gives in a proper way They ought to go to a church that they do trust those people in I don't have a problem with that If somebody doesn't trust me, you know what it takes a long time to earn trust But at the same time I have seen a habit of some who just will say well I've seen this in the past and I don't trust no the bottom line is is you're really not willing to give Because you're really not willing to worship and if you don't really trust then you have to deal with your issues of trust But you can't blame every minister because of somebody you saw on TV Who is sending prayer mats that you place your wallet in the center of and then take the largest bill out and put it there And then give it to this ministry. You can't be blaming every ministry like that because they're not all charlatans back in 1990 When I was five years old We were re and I went to a dealership to purchase a van for our children our growing family and the car salesman had me test drive this van and As we were driving he was seated shotgun passenger side next to me and he says to me What do you do for a living? And I said, oh, here we go. I Said to him and what he's wanting to find out is if I have a job and I can afford to buy a car I understand that so I say I'm a pastor And he gets quiet because they usually do they don't know what to do with this, right? Lot of times I'll say oh, I grew up in the church. Oh, I went to Sunday school all my life Or you know, they'll do that they're trying to relate to me which I find it a lot of fun This time though, he was more straight up. He said, oh, you're a pastor. I said yes Pastors are thieves. I said, oh Really? Yeah, I'm gonna take from the poor box so I can buy this van. No, I he says pastors are thieves. I Said really? He goes, yeah, I mean he was certain and I said, let me let me you might have I tell you something He says no, go ahead. I said, you know the last two cars I bought were sold to me by lying car salesman I said they lied to me they ripped me off two of them in a row lying car salesman and I go, but you're not a lying car salesman. Are you? You're an honest car salesman, aren't you? And you're gonna give me a good deal, aren't you? And he goes that's right, sir. I'm an honest car salesman And I remember shaking his hand and saying and I'm an honest pastor and I said to him Do you know that there are over five hundred thousand? Pastors in the United States. Did you know that? He says no, I didn't know that I said and I can tell you that The overwhelming majority of them are God-fearing people who love the Lord and are honest There are some who are not That's true, but the overwhelming majority are honest and I said so I'm an honest pastor It's nice to meet you, but there are people out there who actually are afraid because they don't trust the people are holding the finances So you have to ask yourself whether or not you trust those who are gonna care for it We'll see that in just a second, but where do you regularly give? Well, he said storing up the term storing up is actually speaking of a treasury It would be referring normally to the temple and what he's speaking about is your gifts will go to your your fellowship In Acts chapter 4 verses 34 and 35 once again Neither was there any among them that lacked as many as were possessors of Lanzar houses sold them and brought the prices of the Things and laid them down at the Apostles feet in Malachi chapter 3 verse 10 God says bring the whole tithe into the storehouse That there may be food in my house He goes on to say test me in this says the Lord Almighty and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and Pour out so much blessing That you will not have room enough for it Trust me By the way, that's the one place you in scripture you find God actually inviting you to test him That's the one place in scripture That you find God actually inviting you test me See whether or not I will supply See whether or not I'm good to my word Bring your gifts and watch what I'll do So what we do is we budget for the work of the Lord that requires responsibility That requires prioritizing Now if I were to ask the question Who is the greatest TV evangelist? There are those who would respond the greatest TV evangelist They would respond with the name of a Christian leader for many years until his basic retirement The most famous we know of is who Billy Graham So we say who is the greatest TV evangelist and the church answers Billy Graham You might find it interesting That's not true The greatest TV evangelists are corporations CBS NBC ABC are the greatest TV evangelists in the world Why? because They are constantly 24 hours a day Evangelizing you into their way of thinking they do it 24 7 365 they do it constantly the greatest evangelists in our nation and the world are the corporate executives Who purchase advertising and produce shows in the fifties? The family in TV made up of a dad a mom children Father knows best leave it to beaver things like that You start moving over time eventually you get into different families you end up with with Roseanne and Her family right You look at Archie Bunker and his family Then you get into our into our time and you have the new normal or the modern family and When you look at how things have changed from you know Lucy I love Lucy Where they had a child little Ricky? But they they slept in two separate beds And you wonder how that happened they don't even they're never even together because they didn't even show things like that because it was improper and So what are we seeing we have seen advertising? Where do people get the ideas? That the family structure the way it's being presented today is the new normal where did they get that idea from? 24-7 you are being told that by programmers By executives so the greatest evangelists are not the Christian evangelists. It's the world and the world is constantly Evangelizing they have the physical resources to do that and we the church help to supply it By buying the products that they advertise So we need to be good stewards We need to use our finances wisely to further the kingdom of God And contrary to what the world believes money is not our God Financial faithfulness is basic to the Christian life because we have an eternal perspective In 1st Timothy chapter 6 verses 6 through 8 it says godliness with contentment is great gain We brought nothing into the world. We can take nothing out of it But if we have food and clothing We will be content with that That's what we're called to contentedness contentment and all of us in this room are old enough to know that You can't buy the things that are most important When it comes to emotional or spiritual you can't you can't buy things like peace you can't buy things like joy You can't buy things like love You can't buy contentment You can't buy those things those are things that you cannot shop for and buy Those are things that come in different ways, right? and so We the church need to understand that we need to understand What our priorities really ought to be and so God has called me to have a generous spirit You see when when we learn to give to the Lord it actually goes against our old nature Because our old sinful nature is more inclined towards getting than giving It's been said by giving I become more like the God who gave and still gives sometimes It incurs sacrifice The Macedonian churches were impoverished and yet they gave Paul is going to respond to that or say something about that in 2nd Corinthians 8 3 when he says I testify that they gave as much as they were able and even beyond their ability So we are stewards of all that God gives us no matter how much or how little we do have and giving of support is part of our stewardship responsibility and 1st Corinthians 4 2 it says it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful Now he says again in verse 2 You say storing up he says storing up as he may prosper and so The word prosper literally means to be led along a good road Somebody has asked and therefore I'll give this answer Is there a percentage that they should give? Interestingly enough in the New Testament there is a no percentage that's given there The Old Testament has the tithe Jesus made reference to the practice of the tide the tithe being 10% normally But when you begin to look at tithes in the Old Testament you start seeing that the tithe was actually over 30% Because there are various tithes that they gave Then or then there was a tide that they would they would give every three years And so you're looking at 33% and so starting at 10% was a good place But in the New Testament There's no percentage giving is assumed to be part of the life of a believer and is always a response of a grateful heart And it says in 2nd Corinthians chapter 9 verses 6 and 7 Remember this and you already heard this whoever so sparingly will also reap sparingly whoever so generously will also reap generously Each man should give what he's decided in his heart to give not reluctantly or under compulsion for God loves a cheerful giver Reluctantly or under compulsion When the bucket comes if somebody's feeling all sweaty about giving they shouldn't they really shouldn't Just because we're focusing the camera on each one of you individually We call it tithal vision and you can you can see your face and you're going That'll increase the offering. I guarantee you. I Was in a meeting at one time. There were only four or five of us that were seated in a circle and There was a missionary who was giving his Needs and he was giving us an update on his mission and and I had five dollars in my wallet That's what I had. I still remember very well Because the pastor who hosted this missionary said I believe that we need to give an offering to help this man in his In his mission and he says we're not going to close our eyes Let's just keep our eyes open and and give to this man I only had five dollars in my wallet and I was sitting there and I think and that's my lunch man I'm telling you and I'm saying I don't even know this guy. I just met him. He's asking me to give my lunch money Does somebody I've never met in my life and I was and it's only five bucks But but it was my five bucks and I I wasn't happy with it and I still remember that compulsion and Opening up my wallet and dropping my five dollars in and I'm telling you this because I have no reward God's got not giving me a reward for that. That was grumpy giving that that that was not that was not of the Lord And and I felt the compulsion. I know what Paul's talking about when he says not out of compulsion Not out of compulsion You give because God gave to you not because somebody makes you feel guilty for not You give because it's an act of worship. Look at God has done for me. How can I do anything but? Give to him How can I and that's how it works? You see it's really always out of love Now he says that there be no collections when I come He just wants to make sure that this gift is is prepared in advance verse 3 When I come whomever you approve by your letters, I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem But if it is fitting that I go also they will go with me So whomever you approve by your letters when I come whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift this letter that he's referring to is what we would today call a letter of recommendation Paul was avoiding involving himself in the collecting of money and taking it to Jerusalem So he instructed them to select trusted men which kept him blameless You're not asking but I'll volunteer this to you. I don't know who gives in this church I never have and I don't want to I don't know who gives in this church When our church first began we did not receive an offering for the first 20 plus years. We never received an offering the very first Sunday morning. We had I Gave the Bible study July 26 1981 and I said If you guys want to come back next week, I'll be here. We're in a house in Ontario. I'll be here You want to come back? I'll be here. I didn't know if anybody'd come back and So my father said David, can I ask you a question? My dad was at the Bible study and I said Yes, what would he want to ask dad? He said we know that you love us and you love teaching the word But you've got a family You didn't receive an offering how can we help you and I said to my dad You never went to my baseball games. No, I I said I said to my dad daddy We are not incorporated any gifts that come in are not tax deductible Contributions, we're just having a Bible study on a Sunday. I Said I I don't want to receive an offering. He says but what if we want to give I Said if you want to give if anybody here wants to give I Said you see that pot hanging by that macro made there in the corner by the fireplace Put something in there But what if we want to help you my dad was one of these persistent guys What if we want to help you if you want to help me? Care for my family Starving they're so hungry. They need shoes. No, I've I've got a packet of watermelon seeds, but I Said if you want to help our family dad and anybody wants to just mark your gift for the family and Anything that comes in for our family. I'll use for our family Anything else that comes in we'll use to incorporate this church so that your gifts are regarded by the state As being tax deductible so we didn't receive offerings We didn't receive offerings for the first 20 plus years and God took care of us every step of the way So people who can come in even tonight perhaps it's their first time here. You think that's the way these churches are They're always asking for money. That's because you don't know the history of this church We never have we never did when we moved into this property here from Ontario I was not told this But we were short and we didn't receive offerings. We were short a hundred and eighty thousand dollars We needed to come up with a hundred and eighty thousand dollars In something like three three weeks. I Didn't know that for some reason that wasn't brought to my attention. You think it would have been but it wasn't I Never came up with any concerns. I never came up and said oh by the way I didn't even know that all I know is God gave us this property without receiving offerings We received a hundred and eighty thousand dollars extra in three weeks that we never even asked for My God shall supply all your need is what the Bible says. I've learned to trust him I've known that and I've learned over time. You can never out give God You just can't if God gave his son. What is he gonna withhold from us? Seeing that he gave his son What has greater value and so it's it's the Lord teaching us how to to to be just trusting in him Paul did not want to be blamed. He wanted a blameless thing again. I don't know who gives in this church I've had people walk up to me to tell me they give I've had someone who wanted me to do something for him came up to me and said to me I'm the largest giver in this church and I'd like and And all of that and how would I know I just smile at him. I'll say really well, that's nice You know because you don't give to me You don't even give to the church per se you bring it to you give to God your gifts go to him and From him you receive your reward, but if people came up to me and said I give say thank you I can't do that. You didn't give that to me I thought you gave that to Jesus and if you're expecting a man to say thank you for your generosity You've made a big mistake Because only God can give that kind of gratitude to you and he's only gonna say to you what I'm longing to hear Well done my good and faithful servant. That's what you're gonna receive Does that mean God won't take care of you now? No, God takes care of you now But we don't give to get we give because we love that's how it works So finally he says if it is fitting that I go also they will go with me if my presence is demanded I will accompany them as An apostle he's still a servant and he wants to make sure that things are done properly and that they are comforted and We know that in this by the way this Disportion here. We know that there was a response of faith because Enrollments 15 25 through 27 Paul writes I'm on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the saints there Macedonia and Ikea, which was the Greek churches were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem they were pleased to do it and Indeed they owe it to them for if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews spirit spiritual blessings They owe it to the Jews to share with them in their material blessings. So he says they responded See I I grew to understand something and I'll close with this last little thought It doesn't matter how many times people hear teachings whether it's on stewardship or whether it's on discipleship or whatever Doesn't matter how many times they hear They're gonna have to make up their mind to do what they hear first time I ever came to a passage because you and in this church know that I I Just teach through and if it if it speaks of a subject we'll look at that subject The first time I ever spoke on the subject of giving I thought well great You know we'll teach the church to give and and I think the offerings were less that week Because people respond in faith as God provokes their hearts. I learned that a long time ago I also learned that people who have a heart to give will give no matter what they'll find a way to do that Our church was new We're meeting at Central School in Ontario it was storming and I knew Because it was storming so So much that church was not going to be what it normally is I knew that bills wise We needed to receive X amount of dollars or else. We're not going to make our rent I knew that and when I came in and I stood there on a Sunday morning And I looked out at the congregation that at that time numbered maybe around 200. I Had about 70 people in church And I remember looking out there saying oh boy We're not going to make our bills this this week. It's just not going to happen and So I gave the Bible study and Later on I had one of my assistants approach me and they said our offering was three times what it normally is today You mean we got $12. Yes No, it was three times what we normally received and That's when the Lord said don't you dare worry about this I'll take care of you I'll take care of you One of the Lord's words that he gave to me when our church was very small and very young Was this I didn't raise this church up to let it fall. I Will take care of it. You trust me and so I know that when you teach passages some listen some don't Some respond in faith some don't Those who respond in faith are blessed those who don't God will teach you. I trust the Lord He'll take care of it. It's his church. He owns it, but me. I just want to be faithful It's required in a steward that he be found faithful. I want to be faithful And I can tell you this after all these years of walking with the Lord. I can tell you this I Have never outgiven God I can't He is always more generous Than I am always So I trust him we all ought to don't you think we all