I want to be very clear about my stance when it comes to Christians being wealthy. I believe Christians should make as much money as possible...for the purpose of putting it to use for growing the kingdom of God. Money is a tool, to be used in ministry, just like any other gift that God has blessed you with. If God has given you the gift of music, you should be using it in church to glorify God. If God has given you the gift of hospitality, you should be using it to love and care for people here in the body of Christ. Money is no different. It is given to be used for God’s glory, not your personal financial independence. 1 Timothy 6:17-19 “17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” Now before you think those verses don’t apply to you because you are not rich, understand this. The bible is written for everyone on planet earth, so your perspective as an American does not change how we should understand this passage. The bible doesn’t not have a modern North American context, so we cannot interpret it that way.
This is what I mean. You may look at that gated neighborhood and say, “Those folks are rich.” But since the Bible has a global context, here’s the global perspective. If you make a household income of $50K a year...welcome to the 1% club. You are in the top 1% worldwide. Your income is almost 16 times the average around the globe. Take a look at these pics I got from pastor Erick in Kenya after we sent their support money last month. This was his message: “Christ greetings our USA family church hope you are doing well in other sides of the world. Just to let you know that we received the funds you wired safely and I bought food and served more than 50 families who were in dire situation.” Your giving to FUEL literally saved the lives of some of your brothers and sisters in Kenya. So when the Bible talks about the rich...it’s talking about you. It’s not just talking about the CEO of your company, or the millionaire you may know. You don’t get to single them out and lay the responsibility on them. All of us are responsible for what God has entrusted us with, when it comes to His resources. In Luke, Jesus tells a parable about a guy who was a dishonest manager of his masters resources. Luke 16:1-7 “He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. 2 And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ 3 And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do,
since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ 5 So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.” He was wasting his masters money. When he got caught, he knew he would get fired, so he came up with a plan. He went to people who owed his master and had them change the amount they owed on their contracts to lesser amounts. This way, when he got fired, those people would take care of him because he cheated his master for their benefit. He was only helping them in order to help himself. What did we say last week about our motive for giving? It should not be just to get more for us. Here is the point of the story. Luke 16:10-13 “10 “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” Giving is a matter of the heart.
Matthew 6:19-21 “19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Let me put that in practical terms. Wherever you have most of your money invested, that is the area that has your heart. Does God want your money or your heart? He wants your heart, but He knows that where you put your money points directly to where your heart is. These verses are in the Bible so that you can see as clearly as He does where your heart is. 2 Corinthians 9:7 “7 You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” This is the verse that most people point to when arguing against tithing. Paul clearly says you should give whatever you decide in your heart. The problem is that Paul is not speaking in the context of tithing to their own church. In this verse, Paul was talking to the Christians in Corinth about giving a financial gift to the church in Jerusalem. 2 Corinthians 9:1-2 “1 I really don’t need to write to you about this ministry of giving for the believers in Jerusalem. 2 For I know how eager you are to help, and I have been boasting to the churches in Macedonia that you in Greece were ready to send an offering a year ago. In fact, it was your enthusiasm that stirred up many of the Macedonian believers to begin giving... Paul wants them to understand how important it is for them to honor their commitment toward this offering for the believers in
Jerusalem. They should be led by their heart and their heart should be full of generosity toward their fellow believers. How can we know how much we should give? The simple answer is that we begin with a tithe. The word tithe just means 10%. We see the tithing principle in the old testament beginning in Genesis. The most famous passage is in Malachi. But we’ll stay focused on what the New Testament says about tithing. How about we go straight to the part where Jesus talks about it. Matthew 23:23 “23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.” Jesus was not upset at the Pharisees because they were tithing everything down to the smallest detail. He was upset because they had completely neglected even more important things. He said, they should be tithing, but also should be doing the weightier things. He is saying, you should be tithing, but even more importantly, you should be exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit. So the tithe is the starting point. Obedience is the motivation for the TITHE. Let’s look at other ways the Bible describes giving. Alms are money or goods given to those in need as an act of charity. It’s not giving to God, it’s giving to a person in need. The word alms is used many times in the King James Version of the Bible. It comes from the Old English word ælmesse and ultimately from a Greek word meaning “pity, mercy.” In its original sense, when you give alms, you are giving mercy.
Matthew 6:1 “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. You should not be telling tell others about your Alms giving so they will admire you. Because if you do, you have received your reward from the person you told. Always keep it secret, for the dignity of those who receive it. The reason I said that alms is not giving to God, is because you’re not giving it to God...you are loaning it to Him. Proverbs 19:17 He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord,And He will pay back what he has given. When you give Alms, you get paid back, because you loaned to God. It’s for the sake of compassion on your brothers and sisters. Compassion is the motivation for Alms. The last area is what Paul was talking about when he said the Corinthian church should give what they determine in their heart. It’s an offering. He equates it to a seed. 2 Corinthians 9:6 “Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.” In Genesis 1:11 God establishes the law of a seed.
Genesis 1:11 “11 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so.” God commanded the earth to bring forth grass, herbs and fruit trees that will produce fruit...that has seed in itself. God began by creating the earth with seeds already in it. God just commanded them to start growing. As we read on in Genesis we come to verse 28, where God blesses man and says to be “fruitful”. But what does it mean to be fruitful? Being fruitful means to have the ability to multiply what's already inside. The principle is based on the fact that every fruit has seed inside if it. The ability to multiply many times is already built into the fruit. A single fruit can have many seeds and each of those seeds can produce many fruits. A watermelon has a lot of seeds inside of it, and each of those seeds have the potential to produce lots of watermelons. The potential is unlimited. But thats the thing about seeds, they only provide the potential for harvest. In order for a seed to produce anything, it must be planted. I’ve found that if we pray for a harvest, God provides seeds. And our harvest is dependent on our seed planting. If we ask Him for an oak tree, He provides an acorn. It’s up to us to understand that there is the potential for an entire forest of oak trees, inside that single acorn. The harvest is in the seed...and the seed is in the harvest.
This principle is the same in the natural as it is in the spiritual. A farmer won’t have a large harvest if he only plants a few seeds. If you plant one seed, you’ll get one seed’s worth of harvest, but if you plant 50 seeds, you’l have 50 times the amount of harvest. You have to understand it from a Kingdom perspective. Paul is being very clear here, by saying that if you don’t give much you shouldn’t expect much in return, but if you give generously, you can expect a generous return. 2 Corinthians 9:8 “8 And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.” Your generosity causes God’s generosity to be unlocked in your life. To the point that you will not only have everything you need, but also have plenty to share with others. The promise is that if we are generous with what God provides us, we can expect even more to be given to us...in order for us to be even more generous to others. And that’s the key to remember. We are not given resources for our benefit only, but for the benefit of others. What if I can’t afford to give? Paul gave us encouragement if we think we can’t afford to give tithes or offerings. He tells us about the Christians in Macedonia who gave, even though they were extremely poor. 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 “We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their
means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. Look at verse 5. They gave first to the Lord (tithe) and then to Paul (offering) and were prepared and even pleading to give to the church in Jerusalem (alms). How were they able to do that while in extreme poverty? Because God doesn’t expect us to come up with a seed offering on our own. God provides our seed and our harvest 2 Corinthians 9:10 “10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.” It’s pretty amazing that God provides our seed and our harvest! He says that our “harvest” is one of righteousness and that He will increase our resources (seed) so that we will become even more generous!
Comments