Biblical Giving: Sermon from 7/24/11

Biblical Giving

1. Who/What Should We Give To?
1. Widows, Orphans, and other Hardship Cases
1. Widows and Orphans are to be looked after by family first and then the church
1. God provided for the widows and orphans to be provided for through the giving of the nation of Israel
2. Psalm 68:5, “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.”
3. Psalm 72:4, “May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor!”
4. I Timothy 5:3-8, “Honor widows who are truly widows. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God. She who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day, but she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives. Command these things as well, so that they may be without reproach. But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. 
5. I Timothy 5:16, “If any believing woman has relatives who are widows, let her care for them. Let the church not be burdened, so that it may care for those who are truly widows.”
6. James 1:27, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”
7. Bottom line: Giving by us as individuals and by the church should be for the benefit of the widows and orphans
2. Other hardships
1. Single moms and dads(b/c of divorce, unwed mothers, military wives, etc)
2. Elderly
3. Mentally/Physically challenged
2. Poor
1. God also always cared for and provided for the poor
1. Deut 15:11, “For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’” 
2. Psalm 35:10, “All my bones shall say, “O Lord, who is like you, delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him, the poor and needy from him who robs him?” 
3. Proverbs 14:31, “Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.”
2. As soon as the church was formed, they began to care for the poor
1. Acts 2:45, “And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.” 
2. Acts 4:34-35, “There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.”
3. Romans 15:26, “For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem.”
4. It ought to be a top priority for the church to fight against poverty and the oppression of the poor
3. It is NOT someone else’s responsibility
1. Because we are being shaped into His image, we should look more and more like Him.  If He defends the cause of the poor, so should we
4. Don’t forget the principles
1. Family, church, friends, neighbors
1. Don’t give $20 to a commercial that made you cry when there’s a single mom in your church family who couldn’t buy milk this week
3. Those Who Work ON The Church
1. In the OT, any of the offerings not burned on the altar fed the levites who had no land inheritance.  In fact, all references to tithe in the first 5 books of the Bible refer to supplying the need of the levites.
2. In the NT
1. Jesus refers to the “worker being worthy of his wages”
1. Luke 10:7, “And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house.”
2. Paul encourages the church to supply for those who devote themselves to working on the church
1. Gal 6:6, “One who is taught the word must share all good things with the one who teaches.”
2. I Cor 9:9-11, “For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Does he not speak entirely for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you?”
3. I Tim 5:17, “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.
3. However, those who receive a wage from the church family have a responsibility to be example stewards
1. In Spending, Saving, and Giving
2. How Much Should I Give?
1. A Tithe?
1. The tithe referred to a tenth part given of grain and other produce to help feed the levites and the widows, orphans, sojourners, and poor
2. Overall giving according to the law actually came out to as much as 25% of their gross
3. Tithe is only mentioned twice by Jesus and both time the legalism of the pharisees is being called out
4. There is NO NT precedent for the phrase tithe, in fact the tithe was small compared to all the other giving in the OT
2. So How Much...
1. Should I give if I don’t have much...
1. Give out of what you have
1. Luke 21:1-3, “Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them.”
2. Give out of JOY in Christ
1. II Corinthians 8:1-5, “We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.”
2. Should I give if I am rich in this present world...
1. Store up treasure in heaven!
1. Luke 12:33-34, “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
2. Give as much as is possible to increase your joy!
1. I Tim 6:17-19, “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.”
3. No Matter How Much You Have, Giving Should Be...
1. Joyful
2. Generous
3. Regular
4. Sacrificial
3. We Give Because Jesus Gave
1. God came to GIVE!
1. Luke 4:18-19, ““The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 
2. Matthew 20:28, “even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” 
2. The Gospel is about GIVING!
1. II Cor 8:9, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.”
3. My commitment as A leader at Round Lake to live out these principles
1. We will make all financial decisions with much prayer
2. My values will always be the poor, the widows, orphans, other hardships, those who work hard on the church, and the global spreading of the gospel.
3. Anything that stands in the way of these principles I will preach against!
1. Debt: we will begin formulating a definite plan to eliminate our debt as quickly as possible.
2. My II Chronicles 31 commitment
1. II Chron 31:20-21, “Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart, and prospered.”

Who's Writing Our Sermons?

"For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." I Corinthians 1:21-25

"Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words." I Corinthians 2:12-13

Paul was very clear on this matter. He did not author this message of Christ and Christ crucified. Not Paul, nor any Jew, nor any Gentile had authored this message which Paul preached. It's too crazy to the world! How ridiculous does it seem to us that God, the master and creator of the universe would be willing to die for a creation that had rejected Him? How many husbands would naturally be inclined to welcome back a wife who had cheated on him multiple times and had never shown much affection for him? Better yet, what if your friend kept taking back a wife who had cheated on him multiple times? What kind of words would you use to describe that friend? Most of the words would have derived from one, "foolish."

Paul's message was so crazy, that it had to have come from God. Paul takes no credit for the message he preached. How can preachers learn from this? By asking the question, "who writes my sermons?" I am finding that far too often there is a tendency for preachers today to fill their sermons with the wisdom of this world. We begin with a need we see in the world and then search for that scripture which helps us to alleviate the pain of that need. We then get caught up in "writing" sermons, chocked full of ideas, stories, and advice.

But preaching is not a religious advice talk. It is not just another form of communication. It is the means by which God has ordained for the truth of the Gospel to be spread. It is by hearing that sinners are saved, it is by the power of the Word that the dead are brought to life. Life is inherent in the words of Christ and if that life is to be had, then it is the words of Christ that must be spoken in our sermons. We need to be sold out on the fact that God is the author of our sermons. He does the writing, we do the preaching. That's how it worked for Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Paul, Peter, Luther, Spurgeon, and all other faithful ministers of the Word. Where God spoke, they spoke.

So who writes our sermons? Do we spend more time digging for truth in the text or more time thinking of a creative way to explain the text? Is our energy in understanding and applying God's word to our own lives or in figuring out how to captivate people's attention? Are the sermons we preach full of scripture and the power of the cross or are they full of quotations and the power of the laugh? Who is writing your sermons?

Rejoicing Over What God Has Prepared

sermon manuscript from 7/19/09

From Darkness to Light:

There is nothing more devastating than an overwhelming sense of hopelessness. It is a sad human condition to feel lost and tossed to and fro. To have the flood of pointlessness and purposelessness destroy your desire to function morning after morning after morning. It comes like a slow tide, like a dark cloud pressing in on us from every side.

We feel it as individuals. We wake up one day and realize that we don't love our spouse, we don't enjoy our children, and we really hate the dog. We begin to dread the monotony of a job where we serve to do nothing more than earn money, so we can pay the bills, so we can keep the things that somebody else will claim when we die. Hopelessness invades us on every side like a heavy darkness, so heavy that we feel squashed under its pressure.

We feel it as a nation. The honey moon is over and we now realize that we have our problems just like every other nation that has ever existed. Darkness crowds in around us as we lose our jobs, our income, our houses. Our national security is not impenetrable, we see that we can be attacked. Other nations are catching up and even surpassing us in technology. People are finally beginning to realize that America will not be around forever. Hopelessness begins to set in as the darkness swirls over our heads.

But we feel it as the church as well. Pastors are sleeping with their secretaries and we're not surprised. Churches are backing down on the exclusivity of Jesus as the only way to eternal life. Churches are realizing that we have relied on budgets and people for far too long. People are leaving our churches to try and find what they're looking for somewhere else. The church looks more like Wal-Mart or Golden Corral than the people of God. We find ourselves wondering where we can go to “hear the word of the Lord?” The church seems to practice a form of godliness without the power. It feels mundane, hopeless, almost as if there is a great darkness settling in on us that would keep us from rejoicing in who God is and what He has done.

Let me tell you something from God's word that will revolutionize the way you experience the darkness. If darkness and hopelessness has settled in, it is because God is preparing to shine His light and eradicate that darkness. When we're encroached by darkness we fail to see what God is preparing. And what God is always preparing is a sudden burst of light that pierces the darkness.

Some call it restoration

Some call it reform

Some call it revival

But whatever we call it when God reveals Himself in the midst of darkness, despair, and downright hopelessness, we need to Rejoice in what God is preparing. And then when He suddenly shows up, we need to rejoice over what He has prepared. Just consider some examples of God's mighty work in the midst of darkness.

When Abraham and Sarah were 100 and 90 years old and did not have the child yet that God had promised them, Sarah conceived and gave birth to the promised baby boy.

When the nation of Israel had been in captivity for 430 years in Egypt, slaves buried deep under the bondage of darkness, God suddenly swooped down and brought them out of bondage.

When Israel was massively outnumbered in the promised land, God went before them and wiped out their enemies.

When Israel was pinned down by the Philistines and a giant named Goliath, God stirred up a young man named David to march out there and slay the giant with one sling of a stone.

When Elijah prayed for rain, it rained.

When Hezekiah prayed for healing, he received it.

When Daniel was in the lion's den, God rescued him.

When the whole world was lost in sin, Jesus came down to this earth to die on a cross for us.

When there had never been a darker day than the day Jesus died, then three days later, at the crack of dawn, He was alive.

In the darkest hours, God is preparing to reveal to us His marvelous light. So are you in hopelessness this morning? Church, are we burdened under the weight of this dark hour? Then let us examine just one of the infinite examples of how God brings about revival during the times when it seems the darkest. Turn with me to II Chronicles 29.

The Darkness of the Reign of Ahaz:

Read II Chronicles 29:1-11. What incredible darkness and hopelessness Hezekiah sees oppressing God's people! And if you were to go back only a chapter, you would quickly discover that this darkness of despair had been brought about by his own father, Ahaz. See what Ahaz had done. Read 28:1-4; 22-27. For 16 years he sacrificed children, worshiped idols, sold pieces of God's Temple. He shut the doors of the temple in Jerusalem, symbolic of the fact that God's presence was shut off from the nation. For 16 years, the nation of Judah existed under the darkness of the sin of Ahaz. It was into this darkness that Hezekiah assumed the throne at the age of 25. What a burden to have placed on your shoulders.

But God raises up this young king to bring about revival among God's people. With the priests and levites gathered together, Hezekiah describes the hopeless state of the nation. He speaks of the sins of their fathers, the death and destruction of their families, the uncleanness of the temple. It is literally dark, as he says that the lamps have been put it out, but it is also spiritually dark as the people have turned their backs on God. But all during this darkness of the reign of Ahaz, God has been working to prepare something great among His people.

This is how God works. He is like a great baker, constantly stirring and adding and agitating. He is always at work to bring about the desired result. Like the baker who spends hours preparing the ingredients and tweaking the recipe, God can spend months, years, and even generations preparing His work. And when baking the baker takes the prepared eggs and flour and chocolate and vanilla and places it into the oven to sit. God takes the work He is preparing, the perceived darkness in our lives and He lets us sit under the pressure of our own sin and folly. But when just enough time has passed, not too much and not too little, the baker takes out the perfectly prepared cake for the customers to enjoy. And when God, in His providence and wisdom, deems the time right, He will bring about something so great, that the people will rejoice in what He has done. But the cake doesn't come without preparation and revival doesn't happen without darkness.

Now, don't be mistaken here. Just because God is at work in our darkest hours, we are not relieved of all responsibility. Like Hezekiah, we need to recognize the hopeless state of our lives, nation, and churches for what is really happening. When darkness and hopelessness set in, it is not just some arbitrary pain that we are going through. Sin is crouching behind that darkness. Ahaz was overcome by unfaithfulness and sin, so the nation was engulfed in unfaithfulness and sin. Hezekiah knew that the people needed to repent. And this is what he called them to.

Repentance of Hezekiah:

Look at 29:15-19. It was time to clean house! The temple in Jerusalem stood as an example of what was going on in the whole nation. God's presence was shadowed by the uncleanness of their hearts. So for 16 days, one day for each year of darkness, the priests and levites set out to remove all the filth from before God's presence. This is the work of repentance!

When darkness and sin entangle us, our tendency is to place blame. If our marriage is failing, we want to find a scapegoat. If we enter into an adulterous relationship, we blame it on our circumstances. If our church is in disarray, we blame it on others. Sin likes to remain hidden behind our own maneuverings. Sin finds a way to keep us shooting at one another, while we avoid the real issue. Hezekiah would have nothing to do with this. It was time to get into the temple and get things back to the way they were meant to be.

And repentance is thorough. It took them 8 days just to get to the porch! They left nothing unturned and made sure to restore every utensil, the altar, and the table of showbread. There is no doubt that many of us want to see spiritual awakening in our lives. But how thorough are we willing to be in repentance? This is the breaking point of the revival that God is bringing about. He is pushing us towards holiness. God's presence was removed from the people because sin had overtaken their lives. Darkness and despair set in where ever we have allowed it to creep.

If we read on in verses 20-24 we would see that not only did they cleanse the temple, but they offered sin offerings for the people. The stirring that God was doing in Hezekiah's heart had repentance at its root. This is how God works. He stirs us to repentance, to obedience to His word. If you want to see a great revival in your life or in this nation or in the church, then stop passing the buck. Take a stand against sin in your life. You can be assured that God is always calling us to that.

There is this bad habit of not taking responsibility for our own sin. We say things like, "I am a good husband, I wash the cars, do the dishes, give back rubs." But what about when she makes you really angry? What are you like in your darkest moments? It is then that your heart is truly revealed. What do you do at night when you are at your weakest? This will reveal to you your darkest secrets. Oh, when the church friends are over, hide the alcohol. But after they leave and I am all alone, it is time to drink away my sorrows. True repentance happens when God reveals those sins that few if anyone knows about. What is it for you? Where is God shining His light of truth on your dark heart?

Don't shut the doors of your heart in shame and guilt, like Ahaz shut the doors of the temple. Repent! Turn towards God. Start cleaning out the temple. We must work our way through the unclean thoughts, the dirty deeds, the overwhelming baggage. As each one of us begins our journey to the presence of God, we will see the glorious sight of God raising up a people ready to worship Him.

Temple Worship Is Restored:

Over the last months we have spent a lot of time talking about worship. We have defined worship as a lifestyle of loving God because of who He is and what He has done. But what happens when people are gathered together who have that lifestyle? How do they respond to the glory of God? Well we see very clearly in II Chronicles 29. Read verses 25-31.

Do you ever feel like you're forcing it when we gather together? Like its just a lot of work to put on the smile, sing songs, and act like every thing's ok? Maybe because we come expecting to see something that's not already happening in our lives. But look at the response of the people. They are moved to sing and to offer up sacrifices to God. They are bowing before God and worshiping Him as King. How powerful it would be to be there! But why must we relegate revival to stories in the Bible? Why must we pretend as if this is a nice fairy tale that happens elsewhere?

We do it because we do not have a big enough faith. If our faith was large enough, we would have no problem believing that God could really move us and shake us. Remember what these people had just experienced 16 years of. Children being sacrificed, the temple being closed, invasions from other countries, pure destruction on every side. They had no reason to trust in God. But because Hezekiah had big enough faith that repentance and obedience would be enough, you see a city set on fire for God.

Do you believe it? Then do it! Come worshiping, leave worshiping. When we sing, sing loud. Not because it's what we do, but because we're singing to the King. Don't hesitate to raise your hands in worship or bow before the King. Oh but we don't do that here! Well these people sure didn't hesitate to fall on their faces before God. What would you do if so moved by the Holy Spirit? What sacrifice are you going to bring today? Offer something up to Him, not because you have to but because He's so worthy. These people brought so many sacrifices, that the priests couldn't keep up. Oh to be in a church where the people were serving and giving so much that the leadership couldn't keep them all organized. What a wonderful problem to have! Get moved by God's Spirit.

Frank and Zarine Estelle, members from our church, felt led by God to go to the Apache people of the White River tribe. They didn't wait to make that decision, they were going no matter what. They didn't wait for my approval or the church's approval, they were going. Why? Out of obedience and worship.

Rob and Brooke have been with our church for a long time. They have been involved in youth ministry, children's ministry, and led the creative arts ministry. But not until recently did God move them towards something. They feel like they are being led by God to get involved with the poverty stricken families of the Appalachian mountains. They didn't wait for my approval or Dan's or the churches. God moved them and they are going. Brooke will be enrolling in Bible college in NC this fall and preparing to use her artistic ability and teaching skills. Rob has been blessed by God with the gift of craftsmanship. Together they are following after God in faith and trusting His leading.

How will God move you to serve, to give, to sacrifice? Is it taking in a child who needs a home? Is it becoming a mother who shares God's word with her children daily? Is it selling your possessions to be able to give more? Is it giving to those who do not have? Is it abandoning your comfort to get involved in another families life so that they can see the love of Jesus? How will you surrender yourself to God and worship Him? Get on with it! When we are worshiping, God will show up! Our singing will not be forced, our posture will change, our giving will not be fruitless. Does the hour seem dark in your life, our nation, and the church? Become a full throttle worshiper of God. Then you will see what God has prepared.

29:36

Read verse 36. Let me be very clear about two things from this verse. 1st of all, revival does not have to take time. Do not fall into this lie. If we all surrendered ourselves before God this morning, and I mean truly surrendered, He could bring about revival in an instant. The people here rejoiced because for 16 years there had been darkness over the land, but in an instant God had turned their hearts back to Him.

And that leads me to the second part. Revival is prepared by God and we should rejoice while He is preparing it. God is also the recipient of our worship in being revived, therefore we should rejoice over what He has prepared when we are in a season of great renewal. But notice that it begins and ends with God. Revival does not come because we start some new program. It will not come because we hire a worship minister. It will not come because we buy a new bus. Revival only comes because God prepares it in our hearts. It comes through repentance and obedience. And we will know it when we see it and we will rejoice.

Here's what blows me away about this whole scene with Hezekiah and all the people. They just got back to exactly what God had commanded Moses and the people to do! If Israel had never strayed from what God had prepared for them, they wouldn't need revival! It is in this way that the life of the redeemed mirrors this situation.

Are you in darkness this morning? Is our nation feeling despair? Does our church feel hopeless? Then we need the same thing we needed 2000 years ago, 100 years ago, yesterday, and what we'll need tomorrow. We need the death of Jesus Christ to take our darkness, despair, and hopelessness away. Fixing your marriage will not bring revival. Being a more ethical business person will not bring revival. Better programs will not bring revival. A stimulus package will not bring revival. A worship minister or preacher will not bring revival. Only the blood of Jesus Christ will pump life into your cold dead heart. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can save this nation. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can give His church something to hope in.

It was Jesus' death and resurrection that saved you. And it will be that same death and resurrection that will save you tomorrow and for all eternity. So why do we pursue other means to bring about revival to our church? Let me pull this thing into perspective for you. When it is all said and done and this life is over, there will only be two camps. The camp of Ahaz and the camp of Hezekiah. There will be dark, dead, hopelessness and there will be bright, living, worship. The first camp will be full of people who lived this life trying to breathe life into their marriage, their home, their bank account, their experience. The second camp will be full of men and women who fully put their trust in the blood of Jesus. They will be those who rejoiced in what God has prepared. So where will you be on that day? I pray that you will be able to rejoice over what God has prepared.