Today I am going to be preaching on one of the most unpopular subjects in the church. Today we’re going to be studying about money. If the sermon was about how we could get God to give us more money, folks would be lined up at the door. But if the message is about what we should be giving back to God, we want to avoid it like the plague. Why do so many Christians resent the pastor preaching on money? Perhaps there are many reasons, but I’ll mention just two:
1) We all know of stories where churches and pastors misused God’s money for selfish gain.
Recently there was an article in the Roanoke Times about a pastor who did just this. Whenever a pastor or a church misuses God’s money for their personal gain, it is not only sinful, it is disgraceful.
2) Our feelings toward our finances is often a reflection of what’s in our heart.
Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21) It might surprise some of you to know that Jesus had a lot to say about money. Actually Jesus preached more on the subject of money than any other topic, and He preached more about money than any other person. If I preached verse by verse through the words of Jesus, approximately one in every five messages would be on the subject of money. If I preached through the entire Bible, verse by verse, I would preach on money four times as much as I would preach on love, faith, or prayer. The Bible has a lot to say about us and our attitude towards our money.
Our key verse today is found in the book of 2 Corinthians.
2 Corinthians 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
God loves a cheerful giver. What is a cheerful giver? Before we define a cheerful giver, let’s take a moment and consider some folks who weren’t cheerful givers. Let’s consider some church members who hated to give. We find them back in the Old Testament book of Malachi.
I. The Wrong Attitude Towards Giving
A. God’s Condemnation of Israel
First let’s consider the historical setting of the book of Malachi. As many of you know, it was the last book written as a part of the Old Testament. It’s what we call a ‘post-exile’ book, indicating that it was written after the nation of Israel had gone through years of brokenness and captivity. You would think that Israel should have learned their lesson after spending years in captivity, yet we’re all sometimes pretty hard-headed.
The book of Malachi is not a book of commendation. It’s a book of condemnation. In preparation for this message I did a brief study through the entire book of Malachi and here is what I discovered. God condemned them in at least in at least seven areas. God condemned them for treating worship as something common and ordinary. (see Malachi 1:12) God condemned them for complaining about having to serve Him. (see Malachi 1:13) God condemned them for not teaching and preaching the truth. (see Malachi 2:8) God condemned them for dishonoring their marriage vows. (see Malachi 2:10-16) God condemned them for saying that it is useless to live for God. (see Malachi 3:14)
There are two other areas where God condemned them. He condemned them for trying to offer to Him their leftovers (see Malachi 1:6-8) and for robbing Him of His tithes and offerings. (see Malachi 3:8)
Malachi 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. 9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
What was God’s curse upon Israel? We learn from Deuteronomy 28:38 that God’s curse would be – “You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest little…” God’s curse would be His withholding His blessings.
Look with me at chapter 1. I read it from the New Living Translation for clarity –
Malachi 1:8 When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn’t that wrong? And isn’t it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 9 “Go ahead, beg God to be merciful to you! But when you bring that kind of offering, why should he show you any favor at all?” asks the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. NLT
The Bible says in the book of 1 Samuel – “I will honor those who honor Me, but those who despise Me will be disgraced.” (1 Samuel 2:30 HCB) Many of you know that the book of Malachi is the last book in the Old Testament. What you may not know is that it was written approximately four to five hundred years before the birth of Christ, which meant that the nation of Israel sat in spiritual silence for nearly ½ a millennium because of their sinful attitude towards God and worship.
B. God’s Challenge to Israel
God is a God of justice, but He is also a God of mercy and grace. We read also in the book of Malachi these words that the Lord said to the nation of Israel –
Malachi 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. 11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. 12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.
Although God rebuked Israel and warned them of what would happen if they did not repent, He also offered them mercy. Consider these three important details of God’s challenge:
1. God instructed them to bring ‘all the tithes’ into the storehouse
The part that really caught my attention was the little word ‘all.’
a. ‘All’ implies that God had a particular amount in mind that He expected them to bring
I am sure that God knew how much He had blessed them; therefore, He knew what should have been their response. Many question whether or not a Christian should ‘tithe’ in the New Testament era. Many see tithing as a legalistic part of the Law. There are two things that we need to understand about the concept of tithing:
i. The word ‘tithe’ means 10%
ii. Abraham gave a tithe
Scripture says that Abraham gave a tithe of all he had, hundreds of years before the Law was given. (see Genesis 14:20; Hebrews 7:2)
b. It implies that God believed that what they were to give already belonged to Him
Consider what the Lord said in Malachi 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
God considered the withholding of their tithes and offerings as robbery. I have thought about this very carefully. Suppose I took five dollars from my pocket and bought myself a double cheeseburger and fries. If the five dollars belonged to me, could you say that I was robbing you by spending it? No. The only legitimate way you could accuse me of robbing you was if the five dollars belonged to you. There was only one legitimate way God could condemn the nation of Israel of robbing Him. God believed that the tithe and offerings belonged to Him, even before they gave it.
2. God challenged them to put Him to the test
Malachi 3:10 … prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts…
The word ‘prove’ means to put to a test in order to determine validity. ‘Test Me’ the Lord challenged them. Put Me to the test and see if I am not a good God. Brethren, Tammy and I tithe every week and I can testify to you that God is a good God! You can trust the Lord!
3. God promised to bless them if they would be faithful in their tithes and offerings
Malachi 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. 11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. 12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.
God promised to open up the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing upon them. God promised to protect their crops from spoil. And God promised to make them stand out over all the other nations around them.
Now I know what some of you are thinking right now. You’re thinking, “But pastor, that’s in the Old Testament. That’s part of the Law. We’re living in the New Testament. We’re living under grace.” You’re absolutely right and therefore we need a New Testament example of giving under grace.
II. The Right Attitude Towards Giving
There is no greater example of New Testament giving than what Paul said about the churches of Macedonia as recorded in the book of 2 Corinthians.
2 Corinthians 8:1 Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; 2 How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. 3 For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; 4 Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. 5 And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.
First of all, let me give you a little bit of the background of this passage. Obviously Paul is writing to the Corinthians. Why then does he refer to the Christians in Macedonia?
The Corinthians had promised to take up a large and generous offering to help the saints who were suffering in Jerusalem. Corinth was a thriving sea port on the Mediterranean; therefore they were probably somewhat prosperous. The Corinthians had boasted about how much they would give, yet up until this point, no offering had been collected. Therefore, Paul, as both a theologian and diplomat, sought a way to motivate them to dig deep into their pockets. To do so, he called their attention to a bunch of poor Christians living in a region known as Macedonia. From their example, we can learn three very important principles about New Testament giving:
A. Giving That is Sacrificial
2 Corinthians 8:2 How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. 3 For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves…
When I refer to sacrificial giving, I am not saying that we should give in such a way that puts our family in poverty. I’m not talking about poverty; I am talking about priorities. Biblical giving requires us to establish some priorities. Jesus said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33) God’s kingdom has to take priority over man’s kingdom. Sometimes the reason we say we can’t give or invest in the kingdom of God is because we have already determined to invest in the kingdom of this world.
B. Giving That is Sincere
2 Corinthians 8:3 For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; 4 Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. 5 And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.
The part of this passage that I want to call your attention to is verse 5 – “They … first gave their own selves to the Lord…” Giving is not about fulfilling some legalistic obligation. No one should keep tabs on us as to whether or not we are giving. It should be a decision of the heart. Consider what else Paul said about New Testament giving.
2 Corinthians 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
One of the reasons Paul was addressing this issue at this time with the Corinthians was because he wanted them to be prepared in advance before they came to take up the collection. God wanted their gift to be a willing gift and not extortion. One of the reasons I do not preach more on giving is because I understand that what God wants is the cheerful giver. The kind of giving that blesses God is when a person gives:
1. Recognizing that what they have is a gift from God
There is a wonderful story in the Old Testament about a time when David and the nation of Israel was giving to the building fund. David wanted to build a temple for God, yet the Lord told him that privilege would be for his son, Solomon.
Knowing that David himself could not build the temple, he decided to do the next best thing. He established a building fund. First David himself gave to the fund; then he encouraged his leaders to do so as well. Finally he put it before the people. The Bible says that the fund grew so fast that the people rejoiced over the willingness of so many people to give.
Then David prayed this prayer –
1 Chronicles 29:10 David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, “Praise be to you, Lord, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. 11 Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. 12 Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.
13 Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name. 14 “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.” (NIV)
“Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.” If God’s people could grasp that truth, there would never have to be another message preached on giving.
2. Desiring to express their gratitude for His grace
The reason the Macedonians gave so sacrificially was because they recognized that it was God who provided all they had; therefore, they were grateful. Consider how Paul ends this section on New Testament giving.
2 Corinthians 9:15 Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.
We call it giving, but actually it gratitude. Our giving is an expression of our gratitude to God for being so gracious to us.
C. Blessings That Are Sufficient
2 Corinthians 8:1 Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia…
The Macedonians’ giving was an outward expression of the grace of God working in their lives.
2 Corinthians 8:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
God’s grace will always be sufficient for whatever the need.
1. God’s grace will always be sufficient to enable us to provide for our families
Philippians 4:19 …my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Paul wrote these words to the Philippian believers in response to their giving. Because they were faithful to put God first, God would always provide all they needed.
2. God’s grace will always be sufficient to enable us to do His will
Someone has said that the Lord will always pour out His blessings upon us, as long as we remain a channel and not a reservoir. Someone else has expressed it as – God will run a lot of resources through our hands, as long as our hands don’t get sticky.
CONCLUSION
I will never know what anyone gives in this church, other than myself and Tammy. It’s none of my business and I want to keep it that way.
If you worship God through your giving, God bless you. May He pour out even more of His blessings upon you so that you might continue to do His will. If you do not give, I want to challenge you to consider very carefully what we have studied. I give you the same challenge that the Lord gave the nation of Israel in the book of Malachi.
“Test Me …” says the LORD of Hosts. “See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure.” I look forward to hearing your testimony in the future about how the Lord has been blessing you.
"Seeds of Faith" 