One of the reasons we can be grateful is that
Christmas is just about a month away. Isn't that
exciting? Especially to boys and girls. One of
my favorite events around Christmas is the televising
of Dickens' Christmas Carol. That story of Ebenezer
Scrooge, the miser who through a series of nighttime
visitations learns the value of generosity. And
one of my favorite scenes is that one after the
night time of visitations. When he goes to the
window and throws it open and there's a young
boy outside and he asks the young boy to go down
around the corner to the market and bring home
the biggest goose they have there. And the little
boy recognizes who it is that is talking with
him and his eyes get big and he even offers a
tip. to the little boy and he runs off with excitement
because the generosity of this man who had been
a miser. His whole life changes when he understands
the importance of being generous. For the first
time, perhaps, he experiences joy. It is possible
to give, though, without being generous, isn't
it? It's possible to give and instead of being
happy about it, be absolutely miserable. Ask
the little boy who is asked to share his candy
bar with his sister. He gives, but he's miserable.
Or ask the taxpayer who sends off his check on
April the 15th. He gives, but it's not with a
great deal of delight. Or perhaps ask the company
employee who must reduce his benefits in order
for the company to survive. as has happened in
our area in recent days. He gives back, but there's
not a great deal of happiness in it. Joy, you
see, depends upon one's attitude about what is
given away. The attitude that the Bible talks
about in connection with our giving is the attitude
of generosity. When we learn to be generous,
we will learn to be happy. Our text today in
Proverbs chapter 11 deals with the way that we
give. You know the Bible has a great deal to
say about money and our attitude toward it and
about our attitude about giving. In Proverbs
11 verse 24 we read, One man gives freely, yet
gains even more. Another withholds unduly, but
comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper.
He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed."
One's attitude toward giving and his practice
of giving measures his spiritual growth and it
also determines his future blessings by the grace
of God. We show what we are by what we do with
what we have. In the text that is before us today
from the book of Proverbs, we see two principles.
They're contrasting principles. The first one
is that the generous giver will enjoy prosperity.
The second principle is that the greedy keeper
will endure poverty. Let's think about those
principles this morning. The first thing we have
to do though is to define prosperity in that
first principle. The generous giver will enjoy
prosperity. Prosperity does not necessarily mean
material things. Sometimes it means things that
are better. For example, spiritual riches or
rewards of character. or the pleasure of God.
God's smile is much more prosperity than mere
finances. In the latter part of the 17th century,
there was a German preacher by the name of August
Frank who founded an orphanage to help homeless
children. He desperately needed funds to carry
on his own ministry. But one day, A destitute
Christian widow came to his door begging for
some money. Because of his own financial straits,
he did not feel that he could give her anything.
Disheartened, she began to weep. Pastor Frank
was moved by her tears and asked her to wait
at the door while he went to his room to pray.
After seeking the guidance of God, He returned
to the door with the gold coin, the one gold
coin that he had, and he gave it to her, trusting
the Lord then to meet his own needs. It was two
mornings later that the widow returned with a
letter of thanks. She explained to him in the
letter that because of his generosity she had
asked the Lord to shower the orphanage with gifts.
It was that same day that Pastor Frank received
in the mail, 12 times, over 12 times as much
as he had given to that widow lady. The generous
giver will enjoy prosperity. It doesn't always
mean material prosperity. But it doesn't rule
out material prosperity either. Now in saying
that I am not proclaiming this morning a prosperity
gospel. There are people today who are teaching
a false gospel that God always wants his people
to be healthy and wealthy. Actually, the New
Testament comes much closer to teaching a gospel
of adversity than prosperity. But the fact is
that God does choose at times to reward generous
givers even with material prosperity. Now I recognize
that these verses are from the Old Testament
that we look at this morning, that they are promises
focused upon Israel. I recognize that obedience
in Israel resulted in material blessings. That
was the promise of God. I also realize that these
promises were part of a specific historical covenant
with Israel. I further recognize that the New
Testament emphasis is different than the Old
Testament. The New Testament emphasizes the future,
not the here and now. The New Testament emphasizes
the heavenly, not the earthly. The New Testament
emphasizes the spiritual and not the material.
I know all of that. But I'm also aware of the
fact that this principle, this general principle,
is still true. That the generous giver will enjoy
prosperity. We see that even in the New Testament.
For example, turn with me to the Gospel of Luke
and the words of Jesus in the sixth chapter.
where the larger context actually is that of
finances. And Jesus says to us, give, this is
verse 38 of Luke 6, give and it will be given
to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken
together and running over, will be poured into
your lap. For with the measure you use, It will
be measured to you Jesus says if you get a quarter
of a cup and You use that to measure out your
giving Then that which is returned to you will
be with a quarter of a cup But if you get a five
gallon bucket and you use that to measure out
to others That which is returned to you will
be returned in five gallon buckets Jesus says
give And it will be given to you. I recognize
that that means more than finances, but who are
we to rule it out? Especially when that's in
the broader context of this chapter. When you
and I give and give generously, God promises
to meet our needs. And His smile will be upon
our lives. Is that not prosperity? Turn with
me to 2 Corinthians chapter 9. Where we'll begin
with the first verse and the paragraph is a bit
longer, but I urge you to follow with me In your
copy of the Bible as we read these words 2nd
Corinthians chapter 9 Paul says there's no need
for me to write to you about this service to
the Saints He's talking about an offering that
the people in Corinth had promised to give many
months before this toward the needs of the suffering
believers in Jerusalem. Paul says there's no
need for me to write to you about this for I
know your eagerness to help and I've been boasting
about it to the Macedonians telling them that
since last year you and Achaia were ready to
give and your enthusiasm has stirred most of
them to action. Paul is saying I have bragged
about you and your willingness to give generously
to these people that I'm ministering to now.
And because they saw your example, many of them
decided to follow it. It goes on to say, but
I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting
about you in this manner should not prove hollow,
but that you may be ready as I said you would
be. For if any Macedonians come with me and find
you unprepared, We, not to say anything about
you, would be ashamed of having been so confident.
So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers
to visit you in advance and finish the arrangements
for the generous gift you had promised. Then
it will be ready as a generous gift and not as
one grudgingly given. Remember this, whoever
sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and
whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
Each man should give what he has decided in his
heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion,
for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able
to make all grace abound to you, so that in all
things, at all times, having all that you need,
you will abound in every good work. As it is
written, he has scattered abroad his gifts to
the poor, his righteousness endures forever.
Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread
for food will also supply and increase your store
of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your
righteousness. You will be made rich in every
way so that you can be generous on every occasion.
And through us, your generosity will result in
thanksgiving to God. Don't miss what he says
in his paragraph. He is saying that when you
and I give generously to God, when we give with
a cheerful and joyful heart, God commits himself
to meet our needs and will increase our ability
to give for two reasons. For the glory of God
and so that there will be an increase in what
he calls the harvest of our righteousness. These
are wonderful promises, not from the Old Testament,
from the New Testament, about God's faithfulness
to those who give generously. The generous giver
will enjoy prosperity. Proverbs 22 verse 9 says,
A generous man will himself be blessed, for he
shares his food. with the poor. This builds on
another principle found in Proverbs, the third
chapter, and I would like you to turn back there
with me. For in Proverbs 3, verse 9, we have
this principle regarding our money. He says,
honor the Lord with your wealth. How do we do
that? With the first fruits of all your crops.
Then your barns will be filled overflowing and
your vats will brim over with new wine. Yes,
I know this is Israel. But is there not a principle
that supersedes time and dispensations? I think
there is. He says that we are to honor the Lord
by bringing to Him the first fruits of our increase.
Here it's in agricultural terms. What is the
first fruits? What does that mean? Well, that's
Old Testament language for the tithe. The giving
of the 10 % off the top of our increase to God.
That's how we honor the Lord with our finances.
Randy Alcorn in his very fine book entitled Money,
Possessions, and Eternity writes, tithing is
intended to train us to put God first in our
lives. Because the giving of the 10 % represents
the other 90%, Tithing symbolizes the giving
of our whole lives to God. Tithing gives us perspective.
It reminds us that all we are and all we have
is from another, a higher one. It is a tribute
we pay to God. Tithing is not some token or tip
for good service mindlessly thrown down on the
table after a meal, but a meaningful, symbolic
expression of our dependence upon the Lord. and
our gratitude to Him for all that He is and all
that He's given us. He goes on to say, as we
have seen the people of Israel's per capita payment
of tithes amounted to 23 % of their income, yet
Christianity Today reports that the per capita
giving of church members in America is approximately
2 .5 % of their income. This is a revealing statistic,
he writes. in that it demonstrates, apparently,
that the law was ten times more effective than
grace. Or to put it another way, when it comes
to giving, people were ten times more responsive
to the law of Moses than they appear to be to
the grace of Christ. Obviously, something is
terribly wrong. When we as New Testament believers,
especially those living in a far more affluent
society than ancient Israel, give at a level
that is only a small fraction, of that of the
Old Testament believers. We must take a careful
look at our concept of grace giving. To most
people the term grace giving simply means give
what you feel like. The problem is most Christians
apparently just don't feel like giving. The principle
of God's word is that we bring the first fruits
to God. And God promises that He will bless us.
And our giving is beyond that. The gifts in the
Old Testament language were what were brought
to God beyond the tithe. God promises to bless
the generous giver. He compares the generous
giver to a farmer. He says the farmer who sows
sparingly will sow reap. And the farmer who sows
abundantly and richly will reap in the same manner.
The hand that gives is the hand that gathers.
You and I really are not giving to God until
we enjoy it. The generous giver will enjoy prosperity
by God's goodness and grace. The second principle
that he gives us in our text in Proverbs 11 is
more sobering than the first. For it says that
the greedy keeper will endure poverty. Now again,
this is a general principle. All of us know exceptions
because we are aware of wealthy misers. And once
again, we must define the terms here more broadly
than just material things. Poverty here embraces
not only poverty of riches, But the poverty of
soul, the shriveling of soul that comes from
miserliness, it embraces the nagging of fear
that many have that they're going to lose what
they're keeping and hoarding. Poverty refers
to a miserable life. Have you ever noticed that
the first five letters of the word miserable
spell miser? There's a reason for that. An article
in a San Francisco newspaper reported that a
young man once found five dollars on the street.
And having found it, he resolved that from that
time onward he would never lift his eyes from
the street while he was walking. The paper went
on to say that over the years he accumulated,
among other things, 29 ,516 buttons. 54 ,172
pins, 12 cents, a bent back, and a miserly disposition.
But he also lost something, the paper said. The
glory of the sunlight, the radiance of the stars,
the smiles of his friends, and the freshness
of the blue skies. When we walk through life
looking down for what we can get out of it, We
are the losers. The greedy keeper will endure
poverty. That's why Jesus warned in Luke 12 verse
15, watch out! Be on guard against all kinds
of greed. A man's life does not consist in the
abundance of his possessions. Greed is the opposite
of generosity. Generosity is giving unselfishly,
greed is keeping for oneself. Greed knows no
point when it says, I am satisfied. It's illustrated
in the story of a man who was godly, who had
very few possessions, but who enjoyed the friendship
of a man who was a millionaire. His friend, the
millionaire, was consumed with gathering wealth.
and had little time to attend to the needs of
others or even to the needs of his own soul.
On one occasion, the joyful Christian said to
him, you know Bob, I'm richer than you are. I
have as much money as I want and you don't. There's
something to be said there. Greed knows no limitations.
Greed is a natural expression. of our human nature
apart from God. Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter
6. I want you to notice a list of things. And
I want you to notice what accompanies greed in
this text. 1 Corinthians 6 verse 9. Do you not
know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom
of God? Do not be deceived. Neither the sexually
immoral Nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male
prostitutes, nor homosexual offenders, nor thieves,
nor the greedy, nor drunkards or slanderers or
swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. Some
of us are very keen at pointing to certain parts
of that list and saying, look what is not in
the kingdom of God. I say to you, look what else
is not in the kingdom of God. Turn with me to
Colossians chapter 3, verse 5. Writing to believers,
the apostle says, put to death therefore whatever
belongs to your earthly nature, sexual immorality,
impurity, lust. Of course, we know those things
don't belong as a part of a Christian's experience.
Evil desires and greed, he says, which is idolatry.
Do you notice those last three words? Greed is
the New Testament equivalent to idolatry. We
can point our fingers at others who have idols
in their churches or in their temples, but we
must examine our own heart for the idol that
is most common of all, the idol of greed. The
greedy keeper will endure poverty. Greed is not
only a natural part of the human sinful nature
and brings God's judgment, it is a cause too
of relational problems. Proverbs 28 verse 25
says, a greedy man stirs up dissension. James
builds on that in James chapter 4 and he says,
what is the source of the strife, the dissension,
and the wars among you? He goes on to say, is
it not greed? and envy and jealousy. Greed guarantees
eventual loss. Proverbs 28 verse 22 says, a stingy
man is eager to get rich and is unaware that
poverty awaits him. There's nothing that feeds
greed more in our society than gambling. Gambling
is an evidence of greed in a person's life. Wanting
something for nothing. Wanting to gain at the
loss of others. A man who gives himself to that
is a stingy man. Eager to get rich and is unaware
that poverty awaits him. You mark it down. The
greedy keeper will endure poverty. how we feel
about giving and how we practice it measures
what we are spiritually. And it also determines
our blessings. When we give generously, it brings
us joy. Why is that? Let me suggest two reasons
why generous giving brings joy. In the first
place, it pleases God. And whenever we do what
pleases God, the Holy Spirit fills our life with
His fruit, and the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, and so on. Generous giving pleases God,
therefore it will naturally produce joy in our
lives. Secondly, it produces joy because of what
it benefits to us. You say, wait a minute, that
sounds selfish. It may sound that way, but the
Bible talks about it. One of the reasons you
and I can enjoy being generous is because in
the end, it comes back to us. Do you believe
that? I want you to turn with me to 1 Timothy
chapter 6. Have you ever had an experience where
a verse just seemed to appear in the text? It's
been there all along, but suddenly you've seen
it. You say, where has that been? I had that
experience this week in looking at 1 Timothy
chapter 6. It begins in verse 17 by saying, command
those who are rich in this present world not
to be arrogant. Now immediately most of us say,
well that doesn't include me, I'm not rich. Notice
he doesn't say rich in this church. He says,
in this present world, if you compare yourself,
my friend, to the world today, you are fabulously
wealthy. Fabulously wealthy. The poorest among
us. Someone who is actually on welfare among
us is fabulously wealthy compared to the rest
of the world. Most of the rest of the world.
Command those who are rich in this present world
not to be arrogant or to put their hope in wealth,
which is so uncertain. but to put their hope
in God who richly provides us with everything
for our enjoyment. Command them to do good and
to be rich in good deeds and to be generous and
willing to share." Now verse 19 is what just
appeared in my text, in my eyes. In this way,
they will lay up treasure for themselves as a
firm foundation for the coming age so that they
may take hold of the life that is truly life.
One of the reasons that generous giving produces
joy is because of what it brings back to us.
Not merely in this life, but in what he calls
here the coming age. Some of us get all excited
about getting ready for retirement. And we ought
to prepare for retirement. We ought to lay up
for that period in our lives when we no longer
are employed full -time. That's being a good
steward. We get excited about laying up for retirement.
Some of us who are in the baby boomer, age one,
if there's going to be anything left when we
get there to retire, but we ought to prepare
nonetheless. This verse goes beyond that he says
if you don't prepare for what comes after retirement
You're in trouble What's that the coming age?
The coming age the kingdom of the Lord Jesus
Christ How do we lay a foundation for what is
coming in the kingdom? He tells us be rich in
good deeds be generous and willing to share The
generous giver enjoys happiness and prosperity,
not just in this age, but in the coming kingdom
of Jesus Christ. There's no better time to honestly
examine our attitude and our practice about giving
than today. There's no better time to bring into
alignment with God's Word and God's principles
than today. The story is told in a legend about
some farmers who decided when they harvested
the potatoes that instead of planting the big
ones and eating the small ones, they would reverse
that. The big ones look much better. And so they
decided to eat the big ones and to keep the small
potatoes for the coming season. And they did
that. And the next year they did the same thing.
And the year after that they did the same thing.
And several years down the road they began to
realize that their potatoes each year were getting
smaller and smaller and smaller until finally
they came in the size of marbles. Why was that?
Because they kept for themselves the biggest
and the best. Decided to plant the smallest.
And the result of that was their own poverty.
We can enjoy We can enjoy being generous in our
giving Because God never shortchanges a person
who gives like he gives Let's pray Where does
this message today strike your heart? What is
the Holy Spirit saying regarding your attitude
about giving? your practice of giving. Our study
of Proverbs is very practical. It addresses the
real issues of life. One of the real issues of
life is our giving. The generous giver enjoys
prosperity. The greedy keeper certainly faces
poverty of soul, at least. What do you need to
tell the Lord? What commitment do you need to
make today to be obedient to His Word in your
life? God, help us to be not just hearers of
the Word, but doers, so that we can enter into
the blessing that He wants to bring to our lives.
Father, I give thanks to you in Jesus' name.
For the joy that comes by your promise to generous
givers, there are many in this auditorium who
understand exactly what that joy means. But there
are others who have not yet entered into that
joy. Oh, that by your spirit you would move their
hearts to be responsive and positive and obedient.
Oh, that they might experience the joy you want
them to know. Father, all of us struggle with
greed. Deliver us from being misers and keeping
for ourselves. Teach us what it means to lay
up for the coming kingdom. In Jesus' name, amen.