Dear Fellow Travelers,
Since I shared the subject of my message for today with you, I thought it appropriate that I also share with you the notes I used for today’s message. It is my prayer that you are seriously evaluating the possibility of increasing what you give to your local church. It really is more blessed to give than it is to receive.
Here are the notes:
TITLE: Giving Financially
TEXT: . . . and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35b NASB).
As you can see, Jesus did not, specifically, mention money in this text; however, neither did He exclude it. He is, obviously, referring to anything and everything we might give—time, talents, and, certainly, money.
Notice, too, that Jesus did not say, “Do not receive”; instead, He said that it is more blessed to give than it is to receive. In other words, He is encouraging us to be unselfish and generous with our money, time, and talents, to place more emphasis on giving them away and less on receiving them.
Remember: There can be no giving, unless someone is willing to receive; however, those who do receive must be willing to give—generously—not to receive (receiving) a blessing, but to be a blessing (giving).
And remember this: Everything you have given, thus far in your life, was something you had received from God.
Today, I want our focus to be on giving financially, a rare message for me—very rare indeed.
Interestingly, to my knowledge there is not one example in the Scriptures of Jesus giving financially to anyone. Now, that is NOT to say that He did not do so, just that there is not one example in the Scriptures of His doing so. I believe there is good reason: He did not want any record kept of what He gave financially because His primary purpose in coming was to give His life, not money. He wanted the “fuss” to be made over the giving of His life, not over the money He might have given to someone. He believed what He preached: It is more blessed to give than to receive.
With that, I want to share some observations I have made over the past 30+ years that I have been a pastor:
1. Many, (not all, but many) people give out of their wealth (surplus), not out of their poverty; consequently, they never really know the blessing of giving. [And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the multitude were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. And calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on (Mark 12:41-44 NASB).
Now, if you are on the finance committee of the church, you cannot distinguish between the monies that are given from wealth and those that are given from poverty, so you happily receive it all. However, this is not about the church’s finance committee, nor is it about the financial success of the church; instead, it is about the individual member of the Body of Christ and his learning the blessing of true giving.
Obviously, there is a danger here and it is this: Many have used this to teach the heresy that God somehow becomes obligated to us, when we give to Him, and He, therefore, must give back to us more than we gave (or some such tom-foolery). God is never obligated to anyone—period!
2. Most church members do not tithe, i.e., they do not give a minimum of 10% of their gross income to the church they attend, and, sadly, many of those who do, do so because they believe that God will bless them because they do and He will curse them if they do not.
Hopefully, you realize that God loves you and blesses you, irrespective of how much you give to the church, or anywhere else for that matter; however, there is wisdom in God’s notion of the tithe. If every person who is on the roll of any given church actually gave 10% of their gross income to the church, there would no longer be any need for Medicaid or food stamps, nor would there be any financial shortfalls in the church.
For example: Let’s pretend that there are 30 family units who attend GCF, and let’s pretend that the average gross family income is $35,000. That would mean that the annual income just from the members would be $105,000. If everyone did that, I am certain that we would have a better understanding of what Jesus meant by “it is more blessed to give than to receive.”
3. There have been many times in my ministry when I have had people come to me, who were in dire straits financially—sometimes of their own making and sometimes completely out of their control—and wanted to know if they should “pay their tithes” first and then pay the creditors, or would it be better to do the opposite. Sadly, I have known many in my position, who have counseled the people to “pay their tithes” first, and then pay their creditors. They were told that, if they followed that plan, God could bless them and prosper them; if not, they would never get out of debt.
To that, I have one question: What kind of witness will you have with your creditors, if you should choose that route? Paul said this about that: Owe no man anything, but to love one another (Romans 13:8). I do want to add this, however: When you are in that place, be sure not to waste money on things you do not need.
It is the “pay God first” mentality, as if we are, somehow, in debt to God, who is also in financial straits, and, therefore, desperately needs us to “pay up.” Listen: We are not in debt to God. We were, but Jesus paid that debt in full.
And rest assured that GOD DOES NOT NEED MONEY; HOWEVER, THE HUNGRY, THE NAKED, ORPHANS, AND THE IMPRISONED DO NEED WHAT MONEY CAN PROVIDE FOR THEM, be it food, clothing, shelter, and, especially, the preaching of the gospel.
4. That reminds me of this observation: Very few ever really understand that everything they have belongs to God—everything—that we are mere stewards of what He has entrusted to us. How have I made that observation? I have because I have NEVER seen anyone give as the widow did in the above story of the Widow’s Mite, and have nothing left on which to live.
5. There have been quite a few people who seem to see giving to the church in much the same way they see paying for a concert ticket. They do not give, unless they attend. Well, need I remind you that the church is not a concert; instead, it is the Body of Christ, of which you are a vital part? And by the way, the bills continue even when you are not here. One of the real blessings of my life, as a pastor, is seeing those who give faithfully and consistently, regardless of their attendance record. You give partly because you believe in the ministry of the church and you want to see it thrive. You are not just purchasing a ticket to attend a service.
6. It has also been my observation that many seem to see how little they can give, rather than how much they can give. All I can say to that is this: Jesus seemed to want to see how much He could give, not how little He could give, and I am sure that conviction carried over into what He gave financially.
7. I have also noticed over the years that some will give, provided, however, that they can control how the money is spent. That is not giving. That is purchasing.
Take for example the man who handed me a $20,000 check and told me what the church had to do with it. I refused it, telling him that we weren’t for sale. If he wanted to give, no strings attached, to let me know.That is not giving; that is purchasing.
On the other side of the coin, take the man who called me and simply said, “It is time to build the building.” Build whatever the church wants, and give me the bills, and keep it as confidential as you can.” That is true giving.
8. One last observation: I have known far too many, who have received much from the church, but have given very little back to it. To be honest, there have been many times over the years, when I have been very disappointed by this very thing. On the other hand, over the same years, I have known many who received much from the church, and afterward spent their lives giving back to it.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son . . .
What are you giving because He so freely gave to you?
"This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (John 6:29 NASB).
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