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I like to begin a new year by speaking in a church on the subject of stewardship at

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least one time.

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That's not an accident.

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That's because I believe stewardship to be such a biblical priority for us as believers.

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As I was preparing myself for that this last December, God impressed on my heart.

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In fact, through a verse that we'll look at this morning, there was another matter we

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needed to talk about first as a church, and that's been what we have talked about the

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last several weeks.

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This matter of being broken before God, this matter of the Christian life being a walk

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of faith, which involves both abandonment and abiding in Christ.

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After we have heard that and responded to that message, God seemed to be saying to me,

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we can hear and respond more quickly to a message on stewardship.

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We come today, though, to that message on stewardship.

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I want to talk today about guidelines for giving.

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Would you take your Bible and turn with me to 2 Corinthians 8, verses 1 through 5.

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Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the

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churches of Macedonia, that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their

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deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality.

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For I testify that according to their ability and beyond their ability, they gave of their

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own accord, begging us with much entreaty for the favor of participation in the support

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of the saints.

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And this not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us

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by the will of God.

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Consequently, we urged Titus that as he had previously made a beginning, so he would also

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complete in you this gracious work as well.

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Knowing how to give and then obeying God's word on giving is absolutely essential to

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one's maturity and walk with God.

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You and I must know and we must then obey and follow the principles of God with regard

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to giving if we are going to grow as Christians.

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I believe firmly that one evidence of a maturing, growing Christian is his record of giving.

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We often think in a church of the importance of something like faith.

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Can we please God without faith?

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Of course not.

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Hebrews 11 says that without faith it's impossible to please him.

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We think also of the importance in the church of the importance of witnessing or preaching

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the word of God.

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Can a church grow and be fruitful in the service of the Lord without preaching, without witnessing,

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without speaking and proclaiming the word of God?

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No, of course not.

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It's essential.

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What about knowing doctrine?

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Can a church grow without knowing doctrine?

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Of course not.

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How about sincerity?

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Can a church really accomplish the will of God without being sincere in its ministry?

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No.

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What about love?

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All you say, that's the greatest of all.

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Indeed it is.

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You see, those things are absolutely essential for a healthy church and a healthy Christian.

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There must be sincerity and love and faith and witnessing and the knowledge of doctrine

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if we're going to be healthy, growing Christians.

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We'll take a look at verse 7.

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Just as you abound in everything, in faith, utterance, knowledge, all earnestness and in

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love, see that you abound in this gracious work also.

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You know what Paul is saying here?

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He is saying that our learning how to give God's way is just as important as faith and

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love and witnessing and knowing doctrine and being sincere.

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We don't usually put that in the same category, do we?

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And yet God does put them in the same category very clearly in verse 7.

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Learning how to abound in our giving, how to follow God's guidelines in giving, is

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just as important as these other spiritual matters that I've mentioned.

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God's Word gives us guidelines for giving in these two chapters where we'll primarily

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focus this morning.

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There are twelve of them.

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You say you're going to get through all twelve by quitting time?

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Oh yes, we just move quitting time, see.

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No we go seventy minutes and usually that's it.

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The first guideline for giving.

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Giving is a grace.

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In verse 1 he speaks about the grace of God which has been active in the churches in Macedonia

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talking about their giving.

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In verse 6 he calls it this gracious work.

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In verse 7 he uses the same phrase, this gracious work.

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In verse 19 he speaks about this gracious work.

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And then he concludes chapter 9 in verse 14 by speaking about the surpassing grace of

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God in you, again talking about their giving.

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And so please understand as we begin that giving is a grace.

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That is, we do not give in response to a legalistic command, but we give out of thankful hearts

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in response to God's grace in our lives.

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We do not give out of a sense of obligation, but rather because of the outflow of the working

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of God's Spirit in our lives.

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When I say that giving is a grace, I mean that giving is to be generous, as generous

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as God's giving of his grace to us.

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We are to be sacrificial just as God's grace sacrificed for us.

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We see that sacrifice in verse 9 where he speaks about the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ

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that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, that you through his poverty

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might become rich.

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Do you see the sacrificing grace of God?

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And now he says to you and me that our giving is likewise a grace and it should involve

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sacrifice.

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That's guideline number one.

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Giving is not a legal duty, but rather giving is an outflow of a thankful heart, grateful

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to God for the grace that he has bestowed upon us in his Son.

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Guideline number two.

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Giving is to be exercised whatever one's circumstances.

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Verse two says regarding the Macedonians that in a great ordeal of affliction, their abundance

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of joy and their deep poverty overflowed.

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Now the financial condition of the Macedonians was one that was desperate.

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This word deep literally means down to the depths.

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It means that they were on rock bottom, poverty.

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You don't get any lower than the Macedonians were in their circumstances.

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The word poverty here literally means abject poverty.

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The idea was that they were actually in danger of starvation.

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We talk about poverty in the United States and relatively speaking there is poverty in

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the United States and some of it is severe.

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But very little poverty in the United States is to the point of starvation as it is in

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multiplied other countries around the world where people literally every day are starving

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to death.

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Now it is in that condition like in the third world today that the Macedonians were in.

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They were at the point of having no food to eat and yet the apostle says despite that

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their great joy mingled with this deep poverty and overflowed in the wealth of their liberality.

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They gave a generous and liberal gift to the ministry of the apostle Paul.

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So whether one has much or little, whether one is salaried or unemployed, whether one

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is on social security or if one is a child on an allowance, if one has anything to give

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he has something to give.

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I think of the woman in Mark chapter 12 who gave the might.

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That's all she had.

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It wasn't very much but what it was that she possessed she gave.

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She didn't give 10 percent, she gave 100 percent and she was blessed for her giving.

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Oh somebody says if I were wealthy then I would certainly give generously.

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Have you ever felt that way?

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I think all of us have had that at least cross our minds if not become a philosophy of our

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hearts.

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If I were only wealthy then I could give generously.

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You see our circumstances will never be what they should be in order for us to be generous.

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We need to learn to be generous with whatever we have to give.

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You see being rich does not make one spiritual.

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If one cannot trust God when he is poor it's going to be even tougher when he is rich to

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trust God.

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Being wealthy has nothing to do with being generous.

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Being generous means giving out of that which we have.

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Really being rich only compounds the problem and you come right down to it.

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It makes it even harder to give and to be generous.

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I remember hearing a story about a preacher who went out to visit a farmer.

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Preacher wanted to talk to him about his giving so he said, well farmer if you had two farms

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would you give them to God?

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Give one of them to God?

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Farmer said, preacher you know I would.

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And he said, well farmer if you had two thousand dollars would you give one of those thousands

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to God?

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The farmer said with tears in his eyes, preacher you know I would.

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And he said, well farmer if you had two cows would you give one of them to God?

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The farmer said, now preacher you know I've got two cows.

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Isn't that just the way most of us are?

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Giving is to be exercised whatever our circumstances.

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And then a third guideline is that giving is a form of fellowship.

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In verse four he describes the Macedonians as begging with much entreaty for the favor

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of fellowship, is the real word there, in the support of the saints in Jerusalem.

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In other words, giving is a way in which we fellowship with one another.

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Fellowship is simply sharing, it's a very practical kind of sharing.

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We would rather talk about other kinds of fellowship.

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And yet giving is a form of fellowship.

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They were giving to the ministry of the saints, to the needs of the saints in Jerusalem.

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The Jerusalem saints themselves practiced this in Acts chapter four.

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Those who had lands went out and sold them and they brought the money in so that it could

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be given to those who had nothing.

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That's a way of fellowshiping with other believers.

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Frankly some of us would rather be in a prayer meeting than to have this kind of fellowship.

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Or we'd rather go to a Bible study than to fellowship in giving.

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And yet this is a form of fellowship.

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We fellowship in giving as a church by sharing in the expenses of the ministry both here

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and around the world through missions.

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That is part of the fellowship of grace church, giving.

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Giving is a form of fellowship.

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Fourth, giving should follow personal consecration.

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Verse five, Paul says that they gave in this way not as they had expected but they had

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first given themselves to the Lord and to us he says by the will of God.

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In other words, the Macedonians before they sent their generous gift out of their poverty

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first gave themselves to the Lord.

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Right here is the verse that God used to prompt my heart to preach as I did in the month of

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January.

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Because people, we can hear all about how we should give and what God's guidelines for

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giving are, but unless our hearts really belong to the Lord we're not going to obey those

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guidelines.

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Not until we are broken, not until we come to the place of walking by faith and abandoning

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and abiding are we going to be willing to obey God's guidelines.

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You see, giving has to be preceded by a personal consecration in which we say, Lord, I am yours.

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And by the way, everything I have is yours too.

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When we get that view, that perspective, we can begin to obey the guidelines that God

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gives us.

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Giving should follow personal consecration.

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I think some people try to buy off God with their bucks.

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They say, God, I'll give you these dollars, just leave me alone.

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That's unsatisfactory.

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God doesn't want the bucks, God wants you.

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He wants your heart, He wants your affection, He wants your devotion.

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And when He's got that, then you can give.

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Give meaningfully.

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Number five, giving is a proof of love, verses seven and eight.

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Verse seven, He speaks about the gracious work of giving, then He says in verse eight,

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I am not speaking this as a command, but as proving through the earnestness of others

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the sincerity of your love also.

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Love is cheap, but action costs something.

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It is not enough to say that we love God or say that we love God's people or even to

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say that we love the lost.

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It's fine to say it, but we have to put action to that.

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And part of that action is giving.

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Giving to the Lord, giving to the Lord's work in the local church, giving to the Lord's

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work in evangelism around the world.

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Giving is a proof of love.

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John says that if we see a brother or sister who has a need, we ought to give to that brother

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or sister.

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Not just say that we love them.

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Not say, God bless you, I really love you, pray for you.

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No, we ought to give to them to help them.

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Giving is a proof of love.

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Again, I point to verse nine as an illustration.

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John 3.16 doesn't say, for God so loved the world.

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It says, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever

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believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

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The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is the proof, is the evidence of God's love and God's

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grace.

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The evidence of God's love in our lives is our giving, says the Apostle Paul.

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Do not say that you love God if you do not give to your brother who is in need.

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Do not say that you love God and have a selfish heart.

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6.

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Giving is intended to reflect equality.

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We see this in verses 10-15 of chapter 8 of 2 Corinthians.

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I'm not going to read that whole text for time's sake, and yet you will notice that

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several times there the word equality is mentioned.

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Let me just pick out verse 12.

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He says, for if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a man has,

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not according to what he does not have.

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For this is not for the ease of others and for your affliction, but by way of equality.

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What is he saying here?

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He is saying basically what we said a year ago when we had that stewardship campaign.

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Remember the little phrase that was used?

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Not equal gifts, but equal what?

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Sacrifice.

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We are not to give what we don't have, but we are to give out of that which we do have.

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So that those who have much give much, and those who have only little give little.

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But there is an equality in the sense that they each sacrifice equally.

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The idea here is proportionate giving, an idea which is reinforced back in 1 Corinthians

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chapter 16 as the apostle closes his first letter to this same people.

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He says in verse 2 of that chapter, on the first day of every week, let each one of you

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put aside and save as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come.

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In other words, he says according to as we prosper, as God prospers us, we are responsible

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to give.

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And he says I say this to every one of you.

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This is not just for those who are on a definite salary or those who have a high income, but

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he says every one of you, even children on allowance.

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He says every one of you should lay aside in store according as God prospers.

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Each has a share.

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The support of God's work is not for just a few.

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It's not just for the leaders, but the support of God's work is for everyone.

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And the principle, the guideline involved is that giving should be equal.

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So that those who have much give much and those who have little give out of their little.

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Number seven, giving is to be voluntary.

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Here we skip down to chapter 9 verse 7 where he says let each one do just as he has purposed

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in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion.

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Now what had happened was that a year before Paul wrote this letter that we're looking

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at, the Corinthians had indicated to him that they wanted to give a gift to the poor saints

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in Jerusalem.

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In other words, they had made a faith promise.

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Some people want to know if that's biblical.

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Well here's an example of it.

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The Corinthians by faith had made a promise.

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We say well we're going to take this offering for the poor saints in Jerusalem.

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Now Paul is coming along a few months later and he says to them, look, you haven't gotten

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that offering together yet that by faith you promised to God.

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And he uses the word promise in our text.

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He says you haven't gotten that together yet.

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You need to do it.

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You need to avoid covetousness.

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The end of verse 5 he uses that very term.

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He says you promised, now don't be selfish.

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Don't say you're going to do something and then not come through with it.

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But he goes on to say, but let each one of you do just as he purposes in his heart.

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In other words, it's to be voluntary giving.

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There is not to be a set amount.

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They were voluntarily to give, but how much you say, 10%?

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A tithe?

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No.

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As a matter of fact tithing is not God's principle of giving in the New Testament.

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It actually wasn't even God's principle of giving in the Old Testament.

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Even under the Old Testament the Jews gave about 23% per year on average, but that included

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their national taxes at the temple.

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In the Old Testament when Zacchaeus was saved he didn't give 10%.

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He gave how much?

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Was anybody here last Sunday night?

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50%, right.

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He gave 50%.

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So there's not a set amount that is given, giving is voluntary, it's personal.

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No one can tell another what or how much to give.

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In fact I wonder if setting a rule or a percentage doesn't rob people of the joy and the liberty

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of their giving.

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We're not to give out of compulsion, out of constraint, we're not to give with a grudge,

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he says, that's improper motivation.

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We're to give freely, we're to give voluntarily what we give.

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If we don't give with that kind of a spirit then our giving isn't really doing any good

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spiritually for us anyway.

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God is not pleased when we give and then regret that we've given.

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So he says whatever you give, whatever you purpose in your heart to give, do that freely,

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let it be a voluntary thing.

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Guideline number eight is found in verse seven also.

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God loves a cheerful giver.

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So giving is to be joyful, is to be joyful.

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The Macedonians gave that way, we read back in chapter eight verse two that out of that

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ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed together

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to give the gift.

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So they enjoyed giving, it was fun for them.

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And as most of you know the word here really is hilarious.

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God loves and hilarious giver.

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I've said before, I'll say it again, that the most fun part of our whole worship service

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ought to be the offering time.

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You see that pleases God, giving is to be joyful.

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A covetous spirit is one that is an unhappy one.

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Greed and selfishness and smallness of heart only produce misery.

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Did you ever think about the root of misery?

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Miser means to be small.

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So being a miser produces misery.

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Some of the happiest people in the world are the people who give generously.

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I did not say the wealthy.

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It doesn't make any difference on one's status of income or possessions.

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But those who give generously are the joyful.

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I think of a class of ladies in a church where I pastored in Kentucky who for the most part

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are in their 60s and 70s and 80s.

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I'll leave a little room for some that may be below that.

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But most of them are in that age group.

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I don't know of a wealthy one in the whole group of them, in a hundred, 120 of them.

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Almost every one of them lives month by month on social security.

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And yet those ladies every year in the spring take a special offering for the Christian

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school related to that church.

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Last year out of their meager incomes they pulled together some $7,000 above their regular

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giving for the support of that work at the Christian school.

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And I'm telling you, you never saw a happier bunch of women than in that Fidelis class.

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They really enjoy giving.

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Do you enjoy giving?

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God loves a joyful giver.

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And the more generously that we give, the more joy that we have.

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Didn't Jesus say it is more blessed to what?

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To give than to receive.

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Your children think it's fun now to get Christmas presents, right?

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You think it's fun to get birthday presents.

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Well everybody enjoys getting a present.

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Let me tell you what you're going to enjoy more than getting a Christmas present or a

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birthday present.

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You're going to enjoy growing up becoming a mother or daddy and watching your children

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open presents.

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It's a lot more fun to give them to you than it is for you to get them.

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Giving is to be joyful, and it is joyful, for those who are generous and are not misers.

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And then nine, giving increases one's harvest.

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In verse six the apostle says, this I say, he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly,

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and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully.

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Then verse 10, now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and

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multiply your seed for sowing, and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

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And you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing

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thanksgiving to God.

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You know what he's saying here?

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That as we give it increases our harvest.

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Our harvest spiritually for one thing.

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He says that the more that we give the more we are laying up in heaven, the more we are

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investing with God.

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Yeah, somebody says, but the return on that is not material, it's spiritual.

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Is there something so wrong with that?

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There is a teaching these days in some circles that if you give generously God's going to

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make you a rich person.

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God never promises that.

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But God does say that as we give generously our harvest will increase.

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Down here we are sowing.

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Our harvest is coming in heaven, folks.

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So that as you and I lay up treasure in heaven, as Jesus told us to, we are being wise.

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We are investing in spiritual things and heavenly things so that when we get to heaven we will

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have sent it on ahead.

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And there we get our dividends.

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He also suggests here that as we are faithful in giving, God gives us more to give.

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As we sow the seed, as he calls it, God gives us additional seed to sow.

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The farmer must invest his seed.

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He can't selfishly hoard it and expect to get a harvest.

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Likewise, we have to sow in giving if we expect to have a harvest in heaven.

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Number ten, giving supplies the need of the moment.

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The ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is

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also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God.

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He says, I want you Corinthians to know that all of this giving that is taking place is

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glorifying God, in addition to that, he says, it's meeting fully supplying the needs of

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the saints.

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Regular giving is God's normal method of providing for the needs of the ministry.

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There are some people who wait to have a feeling before they give.

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They concern me.

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You and I should not give in response to emotional appeals.

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We have a lot of that these days on radio and especially television, where we are shown

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people in poverty and children who are hungry and have flies all around their eyes and their

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mouths.

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That evokes pity and mercy from us.

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We have a feeling about that.

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We want to do something that's normal.

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Be very careful in responding to that kind of pressure.

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Never sit down and write, never call 800 numbers and say, I'm going to give this amount of

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money in response to that kind of an appeal.

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Always wait a day or two and then let God direct you in your giving.

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Do not give emotionally, but give regularly.

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That's what the apostle is talking about here.

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He says through this giving, God supplies the needs of the saints, the needs of the

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ministry.

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I'm a firm believer that giving should be planned, and I believe that God's planned

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pattern is that giving should be primarily through the local church and be overseen by

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the appointed leadership within a local church.

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I think we see that clearly back in chapter 16 of 1 Corinthians, where again he mentions

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concerning the collection for the saints.

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He says, I direct you just like I did the churches of Galatia.

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Notice he's giving this instruction to the churches.

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He says, on the first day of every week, let each one of you put aside and save as he may

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prosper that no collections be made when I come.

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Two or three things I'd have you notice here, point out to you.

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Number one, he says, on the first day of the week, this is to be done.

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Why do you say the first day of the week?

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Probably because that's when they met together as an assembly.

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Some people say that, well, Paul is suggesting here that they keep a little savings account

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at home and then divvy out of that.

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If that was the case, why did they have to do it on the first day of the week?

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They did it on the first day of the week because that's when they met as a church.

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That's when they worshiped together.

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That's when they assembled together.

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And so it suggests the implication here is that it was at the assembly where they were

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to set the money aside.

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Furthermore, he says that we are to lay it aside in store, as the King James says.

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The word store there is the word thesaurus.

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Now, you English people understand thesaurus.

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That is a book of synonyms.

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It's a treasury of words.

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And the word thesaurus in the Greek means treasury, a money box, a chest.

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The background of that word goes to the Greek and pagan temples of that day where they had

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these chests, these money boxes.

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People would go and they would give the money to their gods in these boxes.

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Eventually, though, these deposit places were the place where people stored all of their

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money.

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They figured that no one would dare break into the temple and steal because that's

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the place of the gods, so they fell safe, leaving all of their money there.

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And in fact, in some of the temples, they even had safe deposit boxes, just like our

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banks do today.

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That's the background of this word that is translated in some versions, store here, lay

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up in store.

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And again, it is a strong suggestion of bringing our money and keeping it together, not each

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one keeping it in its own place.

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Furthermore, the apostle says, I want you to do this so that there will be no collections

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when I come.

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Now, if everybody was keeping their own little bank account when Paul would come, what's

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the first thing they'd have to do?

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Have a collection.

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So, he's saying, do the collecting before I get there.

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Bring it together, store it in one place so that when I come, it will be all together

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in one place.

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So you see, through our regular systematic giving, through the lo- you say, is there

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a place for giving apart from giving through the local church?

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Yes, I think there is.

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I don't think there's anything wrong with our hearts being sensitive to give in other

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places for other needs, as God may direct us.

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But I believe that our regular, planned, systematic giving ought to be in and through the ministry

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of the local church.

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That is God's program.

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Chapter 11, giving glorifies God.

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We already suggested at the end of verse 12 that is so.

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He goes on in verse 13 to say, because of the proof given by this ministry, they will

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glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the liberality

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of your contribution to them and to all.

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So what is he saying?

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He's saying, as you give, the result of this is not only going to be that the needs of

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the ministry are met, that the saints will be cared for, but the result will be that

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God will be greatly glorified.

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And the more you give, the more glory that will go to God.

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Why do you give?

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00:35:02,200 --> 00:35:03,600
I know why most of you give.

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You give to honor God, to glorify God.

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And that's the right motive.

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We ought not to be like that Pharisee in the temple who gave to be seen of men.

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Rather, we ought to give quietly and in secret into the glory of God.

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Unfortunately, there are people who have other motives for giving.

469
00:35:25,120 --> 00:35:29,200
There are some people who like to use their money as a weapon, and that doesn't glorify

470
00:35:29,200 --> 00:35:31,040
God.

471
00:35:31,040 --> 00:35:38,520
I have known of wealthy people who wanted their way in the church, and when they didn't

472
00:35:38,520 --> 00:35:41,480
get their way, the congregation went another way.

473
00:35:41,480 --> 00:35:48,800
They withheld their giving, or they began to designate it all to a certain place.

474
00:35:48,800 --> 00:35:52,280
That is not giving that glorifies God.

475
00:35:52,280 --> 00:35:56,920
Or sometimes there's someone who doesn't like a decision, or there's a misunderstanding

476
00:35:56,920 --> 00:35:58,520
with the preacher.

477
00:35:58,520 --> 00:36:00,320
And so he says, I'm not going to give anything.

478
00:36:00,320 --> 00:36:01,800
I'll show him.

479
00:36:01,800 --> 00:36:03,600
I'll show that church.

480
00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:09,680
Do you see how that is a dishonor to God?

481
00:36:09,680 --> 00:36:11,440
Giving is to glorify God.

482
00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:13,560
That's to be the motive of our giving.

483
00:36:13,560 --> 00:36:15,760
God, I give not for men.

484
00:36:15,760 --> 00:36:17,720
I don't even give for the church.

485
00:36:17,720 --> 00:36:22,040
I give to you.

486
00:36:22,040 --> 00:36:28,600
There are some people who ask, well, I go to a church that is a part of a certain organization

487
00:36:28,600 --> 00:36:33,280
like the National Council of Churches, and I don't agree with what they're doing.

488
00:36:33,280 --> 00:36:36,400
Should I give my money in that church?

489
00:36:36,400 --> 00:36:39,160
My answer to that is no.

490
00:36:39,160 --> 00:36:44,520
I would not give my money in a church if I did not agree with that church and with its

491
00:36:44,520 --> 00:36:45,520
associations.

492
00:36:45,520 --> 00:36:46,520
I wouldn't give my money there.

493
00:36:46,520 --> 00:36:49,720
I wouldn't even be a member there, for one thing.

494
00:36:49,720 --> 00:36:52,080
When we give our money, we need to trust the leadership.

495
00:36:52,080 --> 00:36:57,400
If we don't trust the leadership, then we ought not to even be in the church, actually.

496
00:36:57,400 --> 00:37:01,120
When we give our money, it's because we want to glorify God and we trust the leadership

497
00:37:01,120 --> 00:37:07,120
and we trust the church to do the right and the wise thing to the honor of God.

498
00:37:07,120 --> 00:37:10,320
Giving that way glorifies God.

499
00:37:10,320 --> 00:37:12,160
It unifies the church.

500
00:37:12,160 --> 00:37:16,000
It accomplishes the work of God.

501
00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:22,480
Then number 12, we see that giving is a matter of obedience.

502
00:37:22,480 --> 00:37:30,880
In verse 13, he says, they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the

503
00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:33,480
gospel of Christ.

504
00:37:33,480 --> 00:37:41,440
My giving proves the subordination of my life to my Master.

505
00:37:41,440 --> 00:37:46,640
My giving shows that I really mean it when I call Him Lord.

506
00:37:46,640 --> 00:37:54,320
It evidences the fact that I realize that I am a steward, that all I have is from God,

507
00:37:54,320 --> 00:37:58,920
that He has entrusted to me what resources I do have.

508
00:37:58,920 --> 00:38:05,000
Out of those resources now, as a steward, I need to obediently and faithfully give.

509
00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:10,120
It's required in a steward that he be found faithful.

510
00:38:10,120 --> 00:38:14,680
By the way, I think that's another reason why the Apostle said that they should do this

511
00:38:14,680 --> 00:38:16,240
the first day of every week.

512
00:38:16,240 --> 00:38:22,640
It was so that there would be a weekly or at least a regular reminder to them of their

513
00:38:22,640 --> 00:38:29,560
obedience and their submission to the Lordship of Christ as they gave what they had to give.

514
00:38:29,560 --> 00:38:31,520
It was a reminder, God owns all of this.

515
00:38:31,520 --> 00:38:37,640
I am giving this as a matter of my service to Him.

516
00:38:37,640 --> 00:38:42,600
Those are 12 guidelines for giving as found in the Word of God.

517
00:38:42,600 --> 00:38:44,760
These are not my ideas.

518
00:38:44,760 --> 00:38:47,000
These are not my standards.

519
00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:51,200
These are God's guidelines.

520
00:38:51,200 --> 00:38:56,760
You know, one of the basic sins to man is greed.

521
00:38:56,760 --> 00:39:01,640
That's why one of the Ten Commandments found in Exodus 20 verse 17 says, Thou shalt not

522
00:39:01,640 --> 00:39:05,080
covet.

523
00:39:05,080 --> 00:39:13,320
In our society today, there is the approval and promotion of covetousness and greed.

524
00:39:13,320 --> 00:39:15,920
And I tell you, it's tough.

525
00:39:15,920 --> 00:39:21,040
It is tough to pull away from that as believers.

526
00:39:21,040 --> 00:39:27,280
And yet, covetousness and greed robs us of joy and liberty in our giving.

527
00:39:27,280 --> 00:39:33,000
It robs us of receiving God's abundance of blessing in return.

528
00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:38,080
It robs us of our eternal dividends in heaven.

529
00:39:38,080 --> 00:39:41,360
Covetousness is a terrible sin.

530
00:39:41,360 --> 00:39:44,960
Covetousness is idolatry.

531
00:39:44,960 --> 00:39:49,320
Greed is not only one of the basic sins of man, but it's also one of the most subtle

532
00:39:49,320 --> 00:39:52,120
of sins.

533
00:39:52,120 --> 00:40:01,200
So easily do we all rationalize its presence in our lives.

534
00:40:01,200 --> 00:40:08,920
John MacArthur tells of a priest who heard years and years of confessions from his parishioners,

535
00:40:08,920 --> 00:40:18,640
but he admitted that not once had he ever heard anyone confess the sin of covetousness.

536
00:40:18,640 --> 00:40:23,520
It behooves all of us to examine our hearts to see if that sin be there, to see if we

537
00:40:23,520 --> 00:40:25,760
are giving according to God's guidelines.

538
00:40:25,760 --> 00:40:29,800
Now frankly, for some to be able to give as freely as they like, they have to get out

539
00:40:29,800 --> 00:40:30,800
of debt.

540
00:40:30,800 --> 00:40:36,200
One of the greatest problems in our society today is that very one, indebtedness.

541
00:40:36,200 --> 00:40:40,720
We are told all the time that we need this card or we need this account in order to get

542
00:40:40,720 --> 00:40:46,320
ourselves further into debt and pay more interest.

543
00:40:46,320 --> 00:40:48,480
What some of us need to do is to get out of debt.

544
00:40:48,480 --> 00:40:53,440
And if we're serious about that, it means that we give up our charge cards, we stop

545
00:40:53,440 --> 00:41:00,160
borrowing and we get ourselves on a budget that is limited and which will provide for

546
00:41:00,160 --> 00:41:05,480
our essential needs, but above and beyond that, we give to God and we get ourselves

547
00:41:05,480 --> 00:41:08,720
out of debt.

548
00:41:08,720 --> 00:41:12,640
There are some materials you can get if that is a need for you, for your family to get

549
00:41:12,640 --> 00:41:13,640
out of debt.

550
00:41:13,640 --> 00:41:18,640
It is important that we learn how to handle money.

551
00:41:18,640 --> 00:41:21,520
You know why that is?

552
00:41:21,520 --> 00:41:26,480
One of the basic principles that Jesus gives to us in the Gospels, I think it's in Luke

553
00:41:26,480 --> 00:41:27,560
Chapter 16.

554
00:41:27,560 --> 00:41:34,940
He says, if we do not know, you listen to this, if we do not know how to handle money,

555
00:41:34,940 --> 00:41:39,200
he says, who is going to entrust to you the true riches?

556
00:41:39,200 --> 00:41:43,040
In other words, spiritual responsibility.

557
00:41:43,040 --> 00:41:46,600
There are some people who are very eager to have spiritual responsibility.

558
00:41:46,600 --> 00:41:52,240
They want to be leaders and yet they haven't yet learned how to handle money.

559
00:41:52,240 --> 00:41:55,720
And Jesus said that has to come first.

560
00:41:55,720 --> 00:42:01,080
And so as you aspire to serve God in a great way or to be a leader in God's work, may

561
00:42:01,080 --> 00:42:08,080
I exhort you first to look after your stewardship, to learn how to handle money, and then the

562
00:42:08,080 --> 00:42:17,900
Lord says that he will entrust to you the true spiritual riches.

563
00:42:17,900 --> 00:42:25,520
How can we be stingy or less than generous when we consider how great God's gift is

564
00:42:25,520 --> 00:42:27,040
to us?

565
00:42:27,040 --> 00:42:32,520
The apostle closes by saying, thanks be to God for his indescribable gift.

566
00:42:32,520 --> 00:42:38,720
Out of our gratitude to God for that gift, may we follow the guidelines for giving as

567
00:42:38,720 --> 00:42:42,080
he has given them to us in his word.

568
00:42:42,080 --> 00:42:45,080
Let's pray together.

569
00:42:45,080 --> 00:42:48,320
Our heads are bowed, our eyes are closed.

570
00:42:48,320 --> 00:42:55,120
The message today has been a very particular, pointed one.

571
00:42:55,120 --> 00:42:57,640
It may be that you're here and you're not a Christian at all.

572
00:42:57,640 --> 00:43:04,280
Let me underscore in your heart that it is not your money that will gain you entrance

573
00:43:04,280 --> 00:43:05,280
into heaven.

574
00:43:05,280 --> 00:43:07,720
It's not how much you give.

575
00:43:07,720 --> 00:43:09,520
Has nothing to do with that.

576
00:43:09,520 --> 00:43:17,320
Indeed, you must see yourself as an impoverished sinner with nothing to bring to God.

577
00:43:17,320 --> 00:43:24,120
You must see yourself as needy of his salvation if you will be saved.

578
00:43:24,120 --> 00:43:29,800
If you've never trusted the one who died for you and rose again, the one who in grace

579
00:43:29,800 --> 00:43:36,160
impoverished himself that you might be rich, will you trust him today?

580
00:43:36,160 --> 00:43:41,280
And those of us who've done that, do we need to confess anything today?

581
00:43:41,280 --> 00:43:48,480
Do we need to talk to God about what his word says in this matter of giving?

582
00:43:48,480 --> 00:43:49,960
Some of us may.

583
00:43:49,960 --> 00:43:56,640
And Father, may our talking with you and the decisions that we make in light of that and

584
00:43:56,640 --> 00:44:04,040
our actions from here on regarding our stewardship reflect the teaching of your word.

585
00:44:04,040 --> 00:44:08,200
I pray that we will not just be hearers of it, but doers of it.

586
00:44:08,200 --> 00:44:15,040
Even if that means sacrifice, even if that means changing the way that we live, the way

587
00:44:15,040 --> 00:44:19,720
that we think, even if it means confessing the sin of covetousness, whatever it takes

588
00:44:19,720 --> 00:44:24,400
for us to get us into the place of obedience and therefore blessing, I pray that you will

589
00:44:24,400 --> 00:44:27,200
work in our lives to that end.

590
00:44:27,200 --> 00:44:32,080
Thank you so much for what Jesus has done for us, what he has given for us.

591
00:44:32,080 --> 00:44:38,240
May we now be gracious in our giving to reflect your grace.

592
00:44:38,240 --> 00:44:53,880
We pray in Jesus' name, amen.