 All right, so we're wrapping up our lesson on tithing and I thought that we would take the principles that we've learned over the last Three weeks, so we've looked through the scripture and then build on them this morning with respect to Christian giving now and how Christian giving sort of puts a capstone over this issue So we'll talk about that today and then any questions or any issues that you want to discuss or any questions You have please feel free to email me or call me and we can talk about those But give me some principles now as we've done each of the weeks I want to again the more that we repeat these things the more that we go over them the more that they'll be rooted and grounded in your memory and in your mind First of all give me the the texts that teach tithing before the mosaic law Give me some texts that teach tithing that we see before the mosaic law anyone Anyone yes, Miss Anya Okay, well that's under the mosaic law, so Leviticus 27 definitely teaches us that yes Yes, Genesis 14 and Genesis 28 so Genesis 14 with Abraham very good Genesis 28 with Jacob We see an offering if you will or tithes starting with Cain and Abel in the garden we drew some principles from that text And so we see tithing taught before the mosaic law we see tithing taught under the mosaic law Right we looked at several at several of those texts a couple of weeks ago And then last week we looked at several texts in the New Testament remind me of some of those texts were the New Testament. Yes Yep Matthew 23 we saw Jesus Not abrogating the tithe but really upholding the tithe before his disciples and the multitudes that have gathered in his Rebuke of the Pharisees and we went through that. What's another pivotal text in the New Testament with respect to tithing? Yes, Hebrews chapter 7 very good, so Hebrews chapter 7 and Hebrews chapter 7 is sort of an exegesis on Genesis 14 and Abraham tithing to Melchizedek So you keep these texts sort of in your mind and then what each of those texts teaches But give me now some principles we talked about crossing the principalizing bridge and Deriving from those texts the principles that would apply to us in our day in our context Give me some of those principles that apply Yes, so it's an act of worship on the part of Abraham In that tithing to Melchizedek and then the text we looked at in Hebrews 7. There's also Like a better way of saying an ecclesiastical hierarchy or a spiritual authority that you're tithing to so yeah We see that in that account with Abraham and tithing to Melchizedek Yeah, that brings up another really good point It's that the Lord said it under the mosaic law didn't he that The reason that he gave the tithe was to teach the people how to fear the Lord so with fear there's a Legitimate fear there. We don't want to disobey the Lord and draw God's displeasure God's disciplining and so it's a legitimate fear But it also carries reverence carries respect carries a worshipful attitude. So yeah tithing is a part of worship It teaches us to fear the Lord What else can you think of principles that we drew from those texts? Don't be bashful. Yes It's an act of faith very good Just and we saw that a lot in Jacob didn't mean Genesis chapter 28 The Lord's gonna do these things for me. He's gonna bring me into my land back into my father's house Here's all the Lord is gonna do for me and because the Lord has promised to do these for me I'm going to tithe It's an act of faith in the Lord's promises that Jacob tithed and we saw from that too Didn't we from Genesis 14 with Abraham Genesis 28 with Jacob? under the mosaic covenant and then even in the New Testament how it's associated with God's promises that God Abraham had made a vow With God and so tithe the ball that he had that it spoils of war Jacob the Lord Repeated the Abrahamic covenant to Jacob and as a result in response to God's covenant with him Jacob gave the tithe and so the same thing under the mosaic covenant in light of the children of Israel being in Covenant with God they tithe the Lord instituted the tithe as a response to that We have the same thing in the New Covenant with the church in response to our covenant with the Lord as an act of faith And the Lord having done all these things for us having given us everything that we have in response to that covenant We tithe to the Lord right so it was always associated with the Covenant. What are some other yes? Faith in God. Yeah, there's an act of faith Tithing was always the tenth right pretty simple straightforward principle But we see that before the law under the law after the law that tithing represented the tenth associated with the Covenant Tithing was from the first or best and we talked about that a tithing was made to that That ecclesiastical authority or that spiritual authority and so that's where we get the idea that tithes come into the church in our day and age That's the church It was never abrogated by the New Testament So it's never taken away And we saw in three different texts where it's talked about Two specific texts where it appears to be taught clearly And so never abrogated by the New Testament and clearly taught by the New Testament so the conclusion that we came to And we'll get something out with respect to this so that you can refer to it when you need to Tithing continues for the Christian today tithing is commanded by the Lord for the Christian today now we Took principles from the scripture to come to that conclusion Similar to as we looked at remember the laws around divorce Divorce and marriage right that we looked at that text in Matthew 19 with respect to that similar to the fact With um or not similar to foot washing or to head coverings We looked at the difference between the principles taught about tithing and the real principles behind foot washing or head coverings So we all those connections. So if tithing continues in for the Christian today Then here's an implication that we can draw from the New Testament teaching on giving and here's where I want to go to today tithing then is the base Or the foundation or the minimum then On which we build the New Testament builds Christian giving or the base or the foundation on which The New Testament teaches Christian giving. Okay, here's what I mean by that important reports related to giving We've learned the tithe and the tithe specifically commanded by God But in the New Testament we have teaching on Christian giving That teaching on giving in the same way that the tithe is is taught across different times and different contexts We see giving throughout the Old Testament before the law. Where do we see giving before the law? Abraham See giving with adam Abel came and able right Noah we see several examples before the law. We see giving Under the law above and beyond the tithe. Don't we? Giving for what you remember different things that the Israelites gave for Gave for the poor They gave it as an act of worship. What do they give toward it wasn't they weren't giving the tithe There was giving above and beyond the tithe to the Old Testament under the law. Yes, Brenda Yeah, building of the temple. They gave the rebuilding of the temple. They gave to the rebuilding of the wall under Nehemiah So several things that the Israelites gave for above and beyond the tithe and then we see Christian giving Taught in the the New Testament also after the law And so teaching in the New Testament Leads us beyond the tithe into Christian giving Tithe then becomes a minimum and I want to look at several texts with respect to that The first is 1st Corinthians chapter 16. There are several texts in the New Testament that talk about giving And here's an important principle to remember that Although these texts are talking about giving They're not talking about giving In place of the tithe These texts assume the tithe And are now teaching giving for a specific purpose and we see these specific purposes listed for us in each of the texts that we'll look at The tithe is Assumed if you will the tide has been commanded. It's a part of regular practice Um, and then Christian giving is taught beyond that. So in 1st Corinthians chapter 16 Look at verse one And somebody read for us versus one through four nice and loud versus, hey brother Versus one through four nice and loud. Who's got that? Yes. Thank you, buddy Okay, thank you, brother. So in verses one through here now someone might say That because this text Deals with giving and says nothing about tithing then tithing must be done away with in the In the church age or done away with in the New Testament. Um, it's not the case We're not to assume That because something isn't mentioned in the text that it's done away with Um That would lead us into a lot of error. All right tithing here is we've already established You've got to keep these things in your mind We've already established that tithing taught before the law under the law after the law Because of all those good and proper principles that we looked at it's an act of worship It's an act of faith the reasons that let the lord put it in place all those things Apply and so the tithe here even in the church at Corinth Is still applicable the tithe is still going on Here is a text where there is um a necessity for the people to give Above and beyond the tithe somebody remind me uh in malachi chapter three We look briefly at that text in malachi The lord rebuked the children of israel And was about to judge the children of israel because they didn't bring the whole tithe into the storehouse But what else were they not bringing into the storehouse? tithes and offerings right Same principle here tithe becomes a minimum Offerings or giving is above and beyond the tithe So because this text just because this text doesn't Speak of the tithe the tithe here is assumed we're talking about something entirely different now in first chrithian 16 verse 1 through 4 With respect to christian giving Give me some principles that we can draw from this text want to do this the same way that we Have done the other text so far if you're going to do Make observations on this text you're going to do a bible study on your own on christian giving And you're going to look at several texts with related to christian giving You want to make observations on the text and draw principles out of the text that relate to christian giving So give me some of those principles that you see In verses 1 through 4 here Okay, so first day of the week. What when does that tell you that they worshiped? Yeah on sunday So this is again the church at cornyth is worshiping on sunday and they're to take tithes On the first day of the week when they come together for worship. So what does that tell you? That giving here the giving that they're going to take what does that tell you that the giving is? Yeah, it's corporately and it's an act of Horrible way to ask that question. Sorry. It's an act of worship. It's associated with their worship, right? So they're doing it corporately. It's associated with their worship their worship is on the first day of the week And so again, we see same principle. Don't we it's an act of worship First basic principle. I guess you could draw is it is above the tithe And if you haven't been able to be here for all three weeks Call me or email me. I'll get you those notes for the last three weeks The tithing issue is pretty clear in scripture unless you come to These various texts with an agenda Then the it's clear the bible teaches tithing teaches before under and after the law It's been pretty clearly established So if you need help with that or you missed a couple of those lessons Let me know because when we get to christian giving now christian giving is built upon Above the tithe. Okay, so it's an act of worship. It was to be collected on the first day collected at worship It's done corporately as an act of worship What other principles do you see there? Yes Okay, so it's four Saints and here's specifically a group of saints right that are in need. So for Saints in need I guess we could put What are the principles? Can you see there? Don't be bashful Pardon me Very good. So as god Has prospered explain what that means Yeah, yeah, so now god Prosperes in different ways doesn't he? um Has the lord prospered bill gates? Yes, um, does bill gates use what the lord has given him for god's glory? Not necessarily So yeah, god prospers us in different ways and so Um god may prosper you with great wealth or he may prosper you with great property Um But as the lord has prospered Where to give some of you are able to give more than others are you of you are able to give When it comes to giving you have the minimum of a 10 percent Obligation so to speak but above that it really is according to what the lord has given you There's some that you're just struggling to make ends meet every week You've cut your expenses down to the bare minimum and you're doing everything you can just to provide for your family and to give And don't have a lot left over There are others who have a lot left over and are able to give more So we're to give as god has prospered and that's for you to determine That's between you and god. You've got to determine you're being faithful in that. What is what's another principle? You can go ashley and then rebecca Yes Yeah personal responsibility very good Does everybody get that Personal responsibility so let each one of you each person has a responsibility to do this so when a need arises we are to think Am I able to give to this need if you're able to give then give we each one have a personal responsibility to give So we're not to think A need arises. Well, I know my brother is going to give so I'm okay not to give Or I'll maybe I'll get them on the next one because I know we'll have enough money from No, we have that kind of mindset. We don't collect what we need to collect So let each one you have a personal responsibility To give and then you give in your personal responsibility to give you give as god has prospered you right So yeah personal responsibility to give Very good. Yeah, very good. So it's regular in order to do that It needs to be planned, right? Which means that it's thoughtful Um, we're to give spontaneously when a need arises and there'll be needs that arise where you can just give spontaneously But what's being alluded to here and versus one through four is a planned thought out Determined amount it means that you think yourself. Okay, you know, here's my budget Here's how much I know that I have left over. Here's what I think I can cut or not cut and here's what I'm going to give it's a determined Action of your mind and your will in giving right? It's not that you're going to and listen it's not you're going to come and um, you know that at the end of the month, let's say for example Um, with the income that I have I have a hundred dollars of discretionary income every month That I can just do with whatever I want to do and so a need rises up you say I'm going to give it I'm going to commit myself to two hundred and fifty dollars Okay, no, you can't it's as god has prosper prospered Um, and it's going to be thought out. It's going to be thoughtful. It's going to be planned It's going to be considering what you're able to give the lord doesn't want you to be Irresponsible with your money He wants you to give as the lord has prospered We'll see other principles here that talk about giving out of your poverty even giving sacrificially But if you don't have it or then you don't give it, right? So it's going to be regular planned thoughtful. Very good. What are some other principles you see? Yeah, robinson Yeah, very good. So they've got a need and someone From the church here paul specifically and someone they designate is going to take that collection and then go and deliver it Right, so there's a an appointed person. I guess you could say to collect and all this points to um Intentional the deliberate way in which they did it somebody else had a hand up. Yes, Ben Okay. Yeah, universal for the church is very good and um, so you must do Uh commanded right somebody else Pardon me Amen. Yeah, it's a priority Very good There to prioritize this something else. Yes, Clyde and then Jeff No, I mean I under this particular situation it would have been But um, there may be situations where you can give time give resources All kinds of ways to give right when somebody needs Um food for example, we've got a food pantry. So it could be giving food So you have a very good point It could be I mean in essence with christian giving you're meeting a need And you're meeting that in whatever way that you can Well, you need food. I don't have money. So I can't no I can give you food I invite you over to dinner, you know There's all kinds of ways that we can give so you have a very good point Jeff to hit them Yeah, they're to lay it aside very good. So to be good stewards Okay, we get the idea Okay, so now these principles you can note right off the bat too A lot of these principles apply to giving in the same way that they applied to tithing Some of the same principles that we drew from those texts relating to tithing We draw the same principles from these texts related to giving Okay, so Again principles there. Let's look at the next text second chrithian's chapter eight another couple of things when it says each of you um Each of you In first chrithian 16 points that no one being excluded So that each person, you know each of you so personal responsibility. No one excluded um As god has prospered proportionate giving and proportionate to the The way the lord has blessed us were to give But in um second chrithian's chapter eight, we have another example here And again through this whole chapter And so what I think we do we'll do here is um, let me read this first section And then we'll just do the same thing as we look through for principles Find principles in the passes that relate to giving that we can draw from the text So it says in verse one for a second chrithian's chapter eight verse one Um more over brethren We make known to you the grace of god bestowed on the churches of mastodonia That in great trial of affliction The abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality For I bear witness that according to their ability. Yes and beyond their ability. They were freely willing Imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints And not only as we had hoped but they first gave themselves to the lord and then to us by the will of god And so we urged titus that as he had begun so he would also complete this grace in you as well But as you abound in everything in faith and speech and knowledge and all diligence and in your love for us See that you abound in this grace also. So that is a power pack first, you know seven verses there So let's take that one seven verse chunk and do the same thing now think through as you're looking verse by verse Sort of clause by clause through this text Give me some observations that you can make about christian giving from second chrithian's chapter eight verses one through seven Yes, ma'am Yeah, I'm motivated by god's grace. Okay, so that's very good And it's interesting there that um paul A called giving a grace Let me explain what that means He says abound in this grace also, right? See that you abound in this grace also. What does he mean by that? What does he mean by calling giving a grace? Good then Yeah, very very good. And so What grace might be dispensed from god through faithfulness in giving I heard some initial but I can I could make it out ben and then rebecca Yes, so certainly to the people that you're giving to like there's that's the grace of god to them Right the lord uses the instrumentality of his people to edify the saints and to build them up But what about like to me personally if I am faithful in giving What grace from the lord comes to me as a result of being faithful in giving? I'm going to give you know above and beyond the tithe of christian Okay Amen, so how many of you you don't have to raise your hand to this but how many of you have been The beneficiary of a gift like somebody Provide something for you or give something to you and the lord has used that to bless you right and then think about how That caused a new worship to the lord, right? Thank you lord, you know just have a lord as good to me. Yeah, jesse He should yeah Yeah, yeah, it's a big snowball effect in the church with uh, yeah Loving and giving but yeah, you've been blessed. Um, the lord provides for you. I I've taught your brothers before that Have attested, you know the faithfulness of people in the church to give and how much we love one another a brother will say You know, I didn't know where I was gonna get enough to You know Having the next meal or I was short on my rent or I was short on the electric bill and a check shows up in the mail Many times our brothers and sisters talk about uh, how you Yeah, just put an envelope just an envelope shows up in the offering plate with someone's name on it And um, it's just a gift somebody just knows they're in need Um knows they're having difficulty and so gives to provide for them and it's just a gracious gift And right the bible says don't let your right hand know what your left hand's doing in that sense You're not to trump it or to you know boast in your giving Um, they just do it anonymously and it's just a loving gift to a brother or sister in need and that blesses that brother or sister But now in the lord's grace and mercy to us when you give when we're when you're faithful to give How does that bless you and that part to what christian just said, you know Bolsters our trust in the lord bolsters our faith dorian We're to be faithful in that um and not You don't want to look at this like the prosperity teachers do You know, if you don't have the money listen put it on your credit card because god's going to bless It's not the way that we're to go about this but to dorian's point It's like we're to give abundantly even out of our poverty. We're to give sacrificially Maybe you'll agree with me in this. I've never I've never given to help someone And at the end of the month think to myself, oh man, I shouldn't have done that because you know now I don't have enough for this or don't have enough. It's just not happen. The lord's always been gracious to provide Um, the lord takes care of us in that so yeah a good point brother. Somebody else had their hand up. I miss yeah Good morning, brother. Good to see you man Mm-hmm not gonna become Yeah Yeah Yeah, yeah, and they were joyful in the middle of that. Yeah Yeah, you know it goes back to that issue of the grace that the lord chose to us in faithfulness in this, you know, um That's the thing it's like any other means of grace. I I've thought about often how you know my own life uh evangelism that That person needs the lord they need to be saved They're gonna go to hell if they don't repent and believe in the gospel And how desperate they are needed to hear desperate in need. They are to hear of christ They need the gospel and yet what a blessing it is That the lord gives to me When I evangelize, you know in faithfulness it it grows my faith it grows me in his word It makes me depend on him and trust in him For results of that There's so many blessings that come to the christian for faithfulness in these means of grace and giving is no exception When you give and when you give sacrificially we give joyfully You're gonna be blessed by that The lord just as the way the lord teaches the people to fear the lord in the giving of the tithe We learn to fear and trust the lord and depend on the lord in giving He graces us with that our faith is bolstered when just time and time again the lord provides everything that we need And just takes care of us in that There's great joy here when we just obey the lord and we give to those in need Um, so yeah such grace to us as much as it is edifying to the the saints So what about some of those other principles then? Um I've already mentioned like uh ron just mentioned uh, they gave uh from their poverty. So giving was sacrificial What are some other um, they were joyful in giving What else do you see there? Yeah, an example. So, um, how would we word that? They were um, they in themselves were being an example of Pardon me Yes, they're being commanded. They were that was uh There you go. Yeah It was modeled Yeah Very true Yeah, it's we um, it's part of the christian life that we learn in the soil of suffering and um, yeah, I don't you remember that when it's the lessons that are Best remembered are those that were most difficult to learn There's those hard lessons taught are the ones you don't easily forget What's that? Bought lesson better than a told one. Yeah, okay. That's a wise grandmother. Jen Yeah, amen. It's a model. Yeah, it's a model not just modeled within church, but modeled with the lost world too It's just such a good example Very good What else do you see there somebody else? Yes Yeah, very good Yeah, amen. You know all those things that we're the peter says we're to abound in or to add to our faith Now he's saying abound in this grace also. So what does it mean to abound in giving? Seems pretty straightforward, right? What does it mean to abound in giving? Yeah, do a lot of it, right? So we're going to only do abound in giving we're to do a lot of it tj and include it in there. Yeah, very good Oh gave the lord and then to us gave him gave themselves to the lord and then to us by the will of god Yeah, it's um Yeah, it's interesting that phrase Be taken that way, which is certainly true Like the tithe would be giving to the lord and then the giving of the offering above and beyond the tithe it's almost that um like Paul says that he Obviously was giving them the word of god But they poured themselves out also it's like almost, you know, we pour ourselves out to god And but we were to pour ourselves out to one another also So it's like they because they gave themselves to the lord they poured themselves out for the lord And then by the will of god gave themselves to us It's almost that idea of you know, we become genuine christians pouring ourselves out to the lord But in pouring ourselves out to the lord We're to become as paul says in philippians a drink offering To their service a drink offering to the lord in service to them So that's sort of what that means there but Yeah, yeah so Somebody give us an uh A definition of that that how how is this a fellowship of the ministering of the saints. What does that mean? Oh now It just meant Don't be bashful. I also bashful Yeah, there's something about that, right? It's like um with a lot of other things there's there's We obviously get a lot out of our personal devotions of the lord, right? We read our bible We pray get great great benefit to that uh from that But there's something different about coming together and doing it, right and we gather together on sunday morning for worship as special as that devotional time is worship together Can't forsake that it's just a glorious time of brothers and sisters coming together and worshiping Or there's something about isn't there evangelizing by yourself, which i've done many times Versus evangelizing with someone like with a brother or going out with the church like when you gather at the parks or downtown Uh are showing up on a saturday morning. You've got everybody going together, right? There's just something Uh beneficial something special about doing that together on the same way with giving he's saying here with a fellowship fellowship of the ministry of the saints Is that we're ministering to those in need? But um there's a fellowship among the brothers and sisters doing that together corporately There's something about the body of christ coming together to to do that And if the body of christ is gathered to do that and you're not when you miss out on that fellowship There's a fellowship of ministering together We've seen that in our own church, haven't we many times with many different things The joy of being a part of a church like this Could you be a fervent You know born again following disciple of christ at a church where there is no fellowship and Is no corporate identity and all that kind of stuff. Could you still be a fervent, you know bloodbought just 10 level 10 christian at a church like that Yeah, but is it It's something lost when you're doing that alone Isn't it so much better to come to a church like this where your man your brothers are out evangelizing too and your brothers Are learning from the word of god and your brothers are out evangelizing and your brothers are here to worship And your brothers are singing and pray you know praising the lord and just something about the corporate aspect of that, isn't it? Well, he's equating the same thing to giving That there's something about our corporate identity as a church when we do that when we commit to that together There's just blessing from the lord in that we're to be in fellowship with one another In ministering to the saints and if you're here and you're not thinking of it that way then you're missing out on that fellowship You know we're our church we want our church to be seen by the lord as fervently evangelistic As biblically astute as hating our sin and loving the word of god We want the lord to be pleased in our fellowship with one another how we love one another We want the lord to be pleased in how we give as a church too, right? We don't want to be known as a stingy ungiving church Corporately we want to be seen in that fellowship together that we're a giving church Someone has a need that need gets met and then people on the outside look at how they love one another Um, so yeah, that's that fellowship of ministering to the saints So all those principles, right? Yeah people Yeah, giving from the heart right instead of that heartless ritualistic empty You know giving for the applause of men, you know kind of the Pharisees were doing This is you know truly from the heart then Oh very good Yeah, and then that um A testimony of their faith Like somebody explained why would that be a testimony of their faith they looked at it that way? I think that's an important point Yeah Yeah, it's almost like an opportunity to exercise faith, right? Is it all the situation is so difficult Um, really really hard. We're in poverty, you know, we have nothing but the lord provides everything we need and so by faith in god is just um I don't know. I can almost imagine them in thanks for in the end state here being excited About the opportunity joyful said freely willing joyful being excited about the opportunity to give Because like the men's point because they were in a trial of affliction and we know the lord is going to take care of us and so just Yeah, being joyful. It wasn't grudging. I mean most of us when we're having difficulty. It's like I gotta give but Just this is not the right time. Just couldn't have come at a worse time. You know that kind of attitude But that wasn't describing them at all. It was like in the midst of their affliction um, they were ready Free willing joyful, um jumping at the opportunity biting at the bit to give As an act of faith in the lord trust in the lord. Um, that's yeah, there's a good example, right? Somebody else had something I missed a hand And a lot of this too, they were several of the churches were coming together And so you had um, you know, this church was to provide their part But churches at galatia were to provide their part It was they were all coming together to do their to give their share so to speak and so Together they would give what was necessary Each individually might not have given enough, you know, and that's so Corporately between the churches they were all to come together to do their part so that they had enough for the saints in jerusalem but um Separately there would have been lack, right? So it's almost like, you know making up for if every church does their part And we've got enough to send jack Yeah, amen So in our giving we're to exemplify or imitate christ. Yes So somebody help us with that. He says in verse eight. I speak not by my commandment But I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others Yes Distinguishes it from the tithe right tithe is something that would be commanded Whereas that which is above the tithe our gifts or offerings would be something that's between us and god our Sort of discretion any It's interesting. Yeah, what is that in line with what annie's saying? What is that phrase? Um, he's testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others What would that what does that mean there? Think about it maybe in terms of what annie just said He's testing the sincerity of their love by the diligence of others going to take a stab at what that is saying If I were spending a little bit of time here, but these are good principles you know we have um Just another issue with uh corporate fellowship in this sense because we have great examples in the church Um, you know, I I I could know or I could gain I could inform my own conscience or inform my own understanding But how by how I watch, you know jack serve the lord Or I could inform my conscience or for my inform my understanding of what it means to you know Fought of the lord by how robinson follows the lord, you know, I could look at examples in the church um And my chief example being christ So we have race of the lord in our church of faithful brothers and sisters like titus too, right older women teaching young women older men teaching younger men just faithful older christians who um provide us with examples to follow and it's almost here paul saying um Testing the sincerity of our love by the diligence of others and then he goes immediately into the supreme supreme example of jesus christ So we look at christ example And we test the sincerity of our own love We look at what christ gave And we test the sincerity of our giving we can also do that with others in the church We have examples in the church of godly men godly women who provide us with examples of how to give and um how to live the christian life And here sort of testing their faith by the diligence of others is using their example specifically the example of christ in relation to how we give and It becomes uh An examination of our own and so we're to do the same thing ourselves Looking at all that christ has given Do i need to hesitate to give No, look at all that christ is given Uh, should i give abundantly or should i give begrudgingly, you know abundantly So we have an example in christ and we also have the example of other faithful brothers and sisters in the church Okay, all right so far so good Okay, let's continue then and yeah in verses eight through fifteen. We see christ example there. Thank you brother Look at verse 16 Thanks be to god verse 16 Who puts the same earnest care for you into the heart of titus for he not only accepted the exhortation But being more diligent he went to you of his own accord and we have sent with him the brother Whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches and not only that But who was also chosen by the churches to travel Travel with us with this gift which is administered to us to the glory of the lord himself and to show your ready mind Avoiding this that anyone should blame us in this lavish gift, which is administered by us Providing honorable things not only inside of the lord, but also in the side of men As we have sent with them our brother whom we've often proved diligent many things But now much more diligent because of the great confidence which we have in you If anyone inquires about titus, he is my partner fellow worker concerning you Or if our brethren are inquired about they are messengers of the churches of the glory of christ Therefore show to them and before the church is the proof of your love and of our boasting on your behalf Again, you know evidence of faith there in verse 24 a proof of your love saying the same kind of thing Um in verse eight, but let's look now the next text is second for any chapter nine So just the following chapter here And again a principles that come from this look at verse one in chapter nine Uh considering the ministering to the saints It is superfluous for me to write to you for I know your willingness about which I boast of you to the Macedonians that Achaea was ready a year ago and your zeal has stirred up the majority Yet I've sent brethren lest our boasting view should be in vain in this respect that as I said you may be ready Lest if some Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared we not to mention you Should be ashamed of this confident boasting. So what is he saying there? What should they be ashamed of? Yeah jack Now prideful giving specifically here, um He's given them a command to be ready and so This should be ashamed right if they're not ready Like if they've not given if they've not prepared themselves, they haven't been thoughtful in that respect. So again, it goes back to this idea Um that we should be prepared that we should be thoughtful Um that we should be doing this on a regular basis It's shameful isn't it if a need comes up and um We have to we give you time we say, okay, we've got a benevolence need. We need to make a collection um We actually need to do that. So we need to do that again at groups this week So there's an opportunity for you to uh exemplify what this verse is teaching. We have a couple of benevolence needs All right, so we're going to take a collection for benevolence needs at groups on tuesday and wednesday Make sure that we've got enough. We started that last tuesday but um in knowing that If we came not knowing that in advance if we came on tuesday or wednesday and no one's prepared to give Is that shameful or not shameful shame shameful Well, we need to be prepared to give knowing that there's a need knowing that we have benevolence needs that need to be met We need to be ready and prepared to give and so what he's saying is that if they're unprepared It's a shameful thing to them be thoughtful, you know be willing be ready Be prepared to give when they come And it tends to show if they're unwilling or not prepared that it's a begrudging obligation Rather than a willing a free willing gift. He says that at the end. He says uh verse five Therefore, I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go ahead of time and prepare your generous gift beforehand Which you had previously promised that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation see that So again, this giving is a matter of generosity Not a matter of begrudging obligation and you show that by your joy and your willingness in Giving your preparedness to give your thoughtfulness in your giving You show that it's a matter of generosity and not a begrudging obligation So he says this in verse six, but I say this he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly And he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully So let each one give as he purposes in his heart Not grudgingly or of necessity for god loves a cheerful giver. So what is verse seven? Give me some observations from verses six and seven that would apply to christian giving You know on a side note, um, this is the way, you know, it's good to read your bible You need to be reading your bible every day just taking in a reading of god's word So you can let the word of christ well and you richly But this is also the way that you study your bible You're going to sit down and do a study of a passage of scripture You just want to sit down and begin to write out observations on that text And so we think about versus let's say you're going to do a bible study now on verses six and seven Give me some observations that you would make from verses six to seven about this text I mean I had a hand over here first and then Dan, who was it that I missed over here? They kind of okay, Dan you're up. Sorry brother Yeah Yeah, so explain that principle then if we were to think about a man in terms of giving Yeah Yeah amen Yes, so we're not specifically give with an attitude of what's in it for me And I'm just going to give because of what's in it for me send us your thousand dollar seed You'll reap a five thousand dollar blessing right kind of a kind of a thing We're not to think of it that way, but isn't it true that lord blesses when we're faithful? That's also a sign of a right heart and the lord is concerned with your heart if you So sparingly What does that say about? What does that say about your state of mind or your state of heart if you so sparingly? Not so not trusting god You're so sparingly what else that's another indicator. What is sewing sparingly indicate about your heart condition? Yeah, maybe you're a cheater. Yeah, maybe yeah, something obvious is that you may be a cheater, you know, you're cheating What else was that? Covetousness. Yeah, it may mean that you're covetous. You're not willing to let go with my money, you know Oh have another master. Yeah, you may be serving your the paycheck serving money instead of serving the lord very good So all those things are you know when you so sparingly sewing sparingly It's probably the fruit of a heart condition. It's not not good. And so when you So bountifully when you so willingly with a cheerful heart it. Yeah, it's just the opposite right like dan's point It's showing a heart that's trusting the lord that's obviously being obedient to the lord fearing the lord because we're doing what the bible says Giving us an instruction here through the example to sew bountifully Um, yeah, you recognize that all you have is the lord's you're to be a good manager of that What else does the sewing bountifully represent? What might that communicate about the condition of your heart? Yeah, steaming others more highly than yourselves. Yeah selfless very good tj And yeah, very good something else. Yes Gratefulness to god. Yeah, it isn't giving a product of gratefulness too. Man. Look at all the lord has done for me I want to give you know Yeah, praise the lord so that yeah, that's a very good point some another observation from verses six and seven there Yeah, very intentional. Yeah, you know, I had heard um a story Uh happened that long ago about a couple. There's a true story A couple who uh, this ministry was getting started in california false teacher and the false teacher was um, you know calling people asking people to get who was in his church before and I was planning this big church in california um sell everything that you have and move to california and um, you know, basically live in a tent and worship with me You know their false teacher and so this family did that They sold everything they had they you know, basically bought some camping gear took off for california in their van to go live on the false teacher's compound, you know, and They obviously gave everything to him. He completely squandered all of that and the family Went into bankruptcy the man Could no longer provide for his wife or his kids or his household Because he had given everything to this false teacher and he thought the guy wasn't a false teacher obviously but what you know if you if being unwise About giving that way or just you know, not being thoughtful not being prepared not being well planned out What principle or what command did that man violate by giving everything to the church? So to speak what other principle did he neglect what other command that he that he violate? Yes, so yeah, you don't take care of your own household. You're worse than an infidel worse than an unbeliever And so yeah, if you if you're not to least point if you're not being Faithful and not being wise and not being thoughtful and not being prepared in your giving then you could put yourself in a situation Where now as a result of your negligence And your you know imprudent Behavior, you're not taking care of your own household We're not to we're not to give to the point that way the lord doesn't expect that Lord doesn't expect that you give to the point where you can't take care of your family You take care of your fit now Does that mean that you say to yourself well my family needs? direct to you me and You know 10 channels is not sufficient. We need a thousand channels All right, so i'm just going to be unable to give anything because i've got to be able to pay for right, I mean this is The christian is between that person and god are supposed to think Biblically and think wisely about these things and then give appropriately so very good. What other principles real quick from yeah Oh, yeah, go ahead brother Very good, so explain that to us. What is he saying there? Yeah, amen So now that that requires that requires that every person does their share and so that's what the scripture said earlier um And if we all do our share then that that person that has more to give It's going to make up for my lack if I have less to give or vice versa But we've got to all do our share. Um, what does that remind you of? Pardon me Yes, definitely serving the widows. We got to be faithful to that Sergio That's not what i'm getting at yet tj And i'm i'm i'm doing a bad job of asking questions today That's a whole different track brother, but i appreciate the input Yeah, yeah, but that is true, so thank you brother for I was thinking about the gifts in the church. I'm just not with it today Yeah, you know the lord the lord gifts each one Um to specifically employ their gifts in the church and so where I may have one gift another person has another gift Those gifts are the lord puts together to be for the benefit of the body to be compatible And but every person has to do their share in employing their gifts Sort of the same thing with with giving in the church the lord gives to people in various ways But and according to how god has prospered you year to give and so that when we all do our share No one lacks it's interesting in the old testament with israel oftentimes when they give the bible records that they gave more Than was necessary. They actually had to stop the giving because the people gave so much and they had more than what they needed Yes Everybody had need. Yeah, so yeah, the lord just works that way. All right We're out of time, but thank you guys so much and uh, hopefully that's been helpful And we'll get a little position paper out here soon that'll explain all that and if you have questions again Let me know so let's pray and get back to worship. So father in heaven. Thank you for this time together Lord, thank you for your word again and how clear it is on instructing us and help us lord not to be Negligent in this grace of giving But to fellowship with one another in ministering to the saints through faithfulness and giving Knowing lord to that's a means of grace that used to edify and build us up and build us up in the faith And conform us into the image of christ who is our great example So help us in these things and help us not to be negligent and when there's A need let us not be ashamed at how we respond But let us be faithful to you and take joy in that Our boasting is in the lord lord all that you've given us And we're just grateful to you for all that we have all that you've provided for us And so we want to give back to you as an act of worship as an act of faith in trusting you Or to just joyfully Knowing lord that christ our great example that gave all for us. So thank you lord in jesus name