“LIVING A GENEROUS LIFE
I haven’t preached a whole message on giving in a long time.
I have never wanted to be seen as A MONEY PREACHER.
However, it is important for me to share with you what the Bible says about tithing and giving to the Lord.
- I am going to share on the subject of giving and LIVING a GENEROUS LIFE.
Today, I want to share about the subject of being generous.
Some people are regular givers, and practice tithing; those who are generous usually will lean in during a message like this. Everyone lean in………
Some books that have influenced me over the years.
Randy Alcorn – The Treasure Principle.
Larry Burkett – Giving and Tithing
Dave Ramsey – Financial Peace University
Rob Ketterling – The Generous Life
I would encourage you to read some of these books that teach about finances.
Over the years, I have not felt very comfortable talking about finances in the church.
I am cautious with God’s money. In fact, I watch God’s money very fiduciarily and responsibly. It is something I sense a significant commitment to. I AM NOT IN COMMISSION SALES. IF THE GIVING GOES UP, IT DOESN’T AFFECT MY PAY.
Bible Stats About Money
-2,350 verses in the Bible speak about money.
-500 verses in the Bible speak about prayer
-500 verses in the Bible speak about faith.
-42% of the parables he talked about money.
-Jesus talked about heaven and Hell in 3% of His teachings.
The church belongs to God. I don’t own it, the members don’t own it. We just steward the church. God owns the church. It is a Non-Profit for the glory of God.
-I understand that there are many cultural, emotional, social, economic, family, and theological viewpoints. So, we are trying to get the church together on this subject. We are going to look at the word of God, and together see what it says.
THE BIBLE HAS A LOT TO SAY ABOUT MONEY AND GIVING
-Tithing is not a financial plan to allow you to spend everything you want.
-When your outgo exceeds your income, your upkeep is your downfall.
-People say Money talks: It doesn’t talk, it quietly walks away.
Learning to deal with budgeting and spending is a big part of living victoriously in the area of Finance. There is a mentality of spending today. Have it your way. You deserve it.
DAVE RAMSEY SAYINGS:
“We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like”:
“Act your wage”:
“Financial security over material possessions”:
“Hard work pays off”:
“You can’t get out of debt while keeping the same lifestyle that got you there”:
“A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went”:
II Cor. 9:7
Nobody is forced to give. We believe in the principle of Tithing. We are a tithing church. We are a praying church. We are an Israel church.
WE BELIEVE IN THE PRINCIPLE OF TITHING TO FUEL GOD’S CHURCH, AND TO ADD STRENGTH TO
THE MINISTRIES, MISSION, AND VISION OF ROL.
A TITHE – Tenth has become a church word.
Most people who go to restaurants try to give the waiter 10% or more.
ILLUS.: When I go to a restaurant, I always do more than a tithe. 15%-20% most of the time. I don’t want people to say…..”That is a stingy preacher.”
ILLUS.: WE AS A CHURCH TITHE 10% TO MISSIONS.
TITHE = “A Tenth.” The first tenth. Mal. 3:10
ILLUS.: COVID
-I remember it. “Can someone stand outside and stand 6 feet away? I will whirl my tithe to you as I drive by.
-At one point, so many people will be driving by and wanting to drop their tithe off, I just stayed in the fellowship hall, and people would honk, and people would throw the tithe.
There you go preacher..… (Hand over mouth)
-Since 2020, Giving has increased, but the % of individual giving has gone down.
-Those making less than $50K a year give the greatest %.
-The most generous states are from the South. (Buckle of the Bible Belt)
-80% of the charitable gifts in the United States come from Individuals.
-Americans are 7x more generous than Europeans.
-Socialism inhibits giving and generosity.
-I am all about the church being strong and helping and not relying on the government.
WE ARE BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING.
-Canadians: Give ½ as much as Americans.
-The average family in America gives $2,514.00/year.
-27% of churches give nothing to missions.
-5% of people give regularly. They usually give 2.5% of their income.
-25% depending on the church practices tithing.
-People ask me that question all the time. (Especially the Board)
-I am not sure that we could figure that number out. No one has analyzed that yet.
-I know we are stronger than the average, but we are nowhere near 50% or even 60%.
- Those who start to tithe continue to give until they reach 20%.
- Once you start, you see how blessed you are.
- If everyone in America’s churches tithed, it would generate 1 TRILLION DOLLARS. 12 zeroes. Every Missionary would be fully funded.
- You could eliminate hunger in the US. Build Discipleship Centers in every major city in America and build 50,000 churches at the cost of $10 MILLION each.
-We would be begging for more missionaries, because the surplus of funds would be so strong.
-A generous life is touched by God and tithes.
-Some churches don’t talk about it. They are afraid of it. Some say that they are a NT giver. Great. Jesus always….takes it higher than the law.
-Jesus said, “Law said: Don’t murder. I am going to say, don’t get angry.”
“The law said: don’t commit adultery. I am going to say…don’t LUST.
-10% where are we going from there..
-It is assumed that the NT was silent on tithing.
Matt. 23:23 (OUGHT – A Necessity) Luke 3:11, if you have 2 tunics, give one away.
LUKE 19:8-9
Jesus didn’t say, naw, that’s ok. Way less…like 2.5%.
Jesus knew that many needed to love mercy and generosity, and MONEY HAD Zachaeus the WRONG WAY.
You can have things as long as things don’t have you.
Your treasure must be surrounded by God, family, and faith.
Mark 10:21 (RADICAL PERCENTAGE)
Luke 14:33
- THE ROI return on investment is equated with a FREE HEART.
I wonder what Jesus would say to a financially fluent America that averages 2.5% giving nationally?
In the writings of Jesus, it is understood that God wants us to view what we have as His.
-The Apostle Paul wrote so much of the NT. References to this keep going, do more, way beyond the tithe commitment attitude.
I Cor. 16:2, “Our giving should be regular and consistent.”
II Cor. 9:7- “Governed not by law, but by a joyful heart.”
II Cor . 9:8, “Blessings flow from a heart that is joyful.”
PRE-LAW –TITHING PREDATED THE LAW IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
LAW –Tithe
TITHE = “A Tenth.” The first tenth.
1/10 belongs to him. The tithe is set apart for the Lord.
“The Tithe is Holy to the Lord.” “It belongs to the Lord.”
It is set apart. It is different. It belongs to the Lord.
I have removed it from my house, and I set it with the Lord. I have put it in another place.
Mal. 3:10, “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me (TEST ME) now in this, and pour out for you such a blessing. That there will not be enough room to receive it.11 “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” Says the Lord of hosts; 12 “And all nations will call you blessed, For you will be a delightful land,” Says the Lord of hosts.
The 1st 1/10, God blesses us for His Glory.
NT UNDERSTANDING OF GIVING IS GRACE. GRACE IS ABOUT MORE.
“TO DO LESS UNDER GRACE IS A DISGRACE TO GRACE.” You keep 90%, and it usually spills over.
David Ramsey said, “If you can’t live on 90%, then you probably can’t live on 100%.
-It doesn’t require a miracle for you to get through the month.
-It might require you to TRIM your budget, and stop trying to keep up with the Joneses, and just because they eat at an expensive restaurant doesn’t mean that you have to.
We want to honor God with the TITHE, but then we want God to help us to become KINGDOM BUILDERS BEYOND THE TITHE.
PASTOR ADRIAN ROGERS: “Give to God what is right, not what is left.”
POINT: If we forget to give God the 1st, when we get to the end of the month, there isn’t anything left.
ILLUS.You know God, I don’t have much, you can have the half-eaten eggplant, that is all I have left. Lord, I will give to you
POINT: “A heart touched by God will honor God and tithe to fuel His church.”
Tithing predates the Law by several 100 years. Gen. 14:20
Law: Give God 10%. And…Tithe 10% once a year for the temple and the festivals, and then once a year give 10% to the poor. One week you give 90%, and keep 10%.
BARNA- Those who tithe usually keep going and tithe above and beyond to help fuel the KINGDOM.
When we start to tithe….it becomes easier, and it is fun.
ILLUS.: Sir John Templeton – Templeton Investments. He was a Christian. Templeton Growth fund is worth about $12 B. “I have observed 100,000 families in my years as a financial investor, and I have always seen greater prosperity and a greater joy with those who practiced tithing.”
**Once you start giving and doing this. You find joy and happiness in giving. I find that if you can’t tithe on $500.00. You will struggle to tithe on $5,000.00.
In Gen. 14 – Abraham fights against 4 kings to retrieve his nephew Lot. He wins as the underdog. He wins the battle. He honors God by tithing on everything to a king named Melchizedek. Many believe that Melchizedek is a THEOPHANY. A pre-incarnate Christ.
He is pointing to Jesus.
Abraham says, “I was the underdog. I shouldn’t have won the battle. God, you helped me win the battle. You did it. I am honoring the Lord, and I am celebrating you by giving my tithes to you. There was a king who also said basically, “What about me, didn’t I help. Please give me some of the spoil. Abraham said, No, you didn’t help. I won’t take a thread or even a shoestring of what belongs to the Lord. “ GOD, THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME THE VICTORY…….
ILLUS.: How do you givethe tithe? Throw it up in the air. Whatever lands here is the Lord’s. Throw it down the steps, the money that floats to the bottom is the Lord’s.
Here’s one: “Well, I would rather give to Youth, Kids, Music or Belize.” That doesn’t work either.
If we give it to the Lord, then we give to the Lord, w/o a string attached.
God said, “I will build my church.” The church is to build disciples, have a mission heart, and to worship God
In the local church, we are doing the Mission of God. LOCALLY, Schools, Benevolence, Shepherd’s hands, Drummonds, and many other targeted outreaches.
The offering FUELS the Mission and Vision. VBS went from 45 kids to 120 this year.
- Cost goes from $ 2,000 …. $5 – $6K. Tithes and offerings go to these things.
WHEN WE RECEIVE AN OFFERING:
It is a solemn responsibility. I take it very seriously.
I love finding ways to steward God’s kingdom with less money and greater results.
(DO MORE WITH LESS)
-I believe in turning lights off when they are not being used.
-If no one is in the building, you turn the AC higher.
-You change old incandescent light bulbs to LED energy-efficient bulbs.
-That’s part of being responsible. That is just smart.
-I think of God’s church in years, not months.
-What is the best decision for several years?
-How will this affect the church in the next decade?
ILLUS.: TAKE AN OFFERING, VS. RECEIVE.
Giving to the Lord is a TRANSFORMATIONAL ACT OF WORSHIP.
It is not a TRANSACTIONAL equation. Not business, technical, or mathematical.
I am in love with God. You want to bless the one you love. You want to worship Him.
Gen. 4 Heb. 11-Cain, Able
Heb. 11:3 By faith Abel offered a better offering to God; he was attested to be righteous. It is interesting. “BETTER” a number, a %, bulk of it, weight of it.
Able … the weight of it. Cain gave what he wanted to give….The one who was worried about money killed the one who wasn’t worried about money…
WORSHIP-Ascribing worth to something. This is the Lord. He has saved you.
When we want everything on my table rather than putting some things on God’s table.
I WORSHIP YOU. I ASCRIBE WORTH TO YOU BY THE WAY I LIVE. Money in my hand. I want to give this to you.
Why 10%? Couldn’t it be smaller?
POINT: Why 10%? 10 in the Bible is the number of testings.
10 plagues in Egypt. 10 Commandments, 10 kings, 10 lepers
God says, “Prove me….test me in this…says the Lord.
10-Tithe -God, I want to honor you with this.
A heart blessed by God passes the test. I want to do this. I desire to do this. I am excited to do this.
I ENVISION A HEART AT ROL…… That is not letting me do the least…but let me do more. God, I want to pass the test….
So, God, I will start with my tithe and go from there. I want to do more.
The tithe pays for the building, the Missions, the staff, and it still does that, but because not everyone Tithes, we ask people to help us do more, to fund the Mission’s, and many outreaches that we do like STL, BGMC, Men’s Ministries, Shepherd’s hands, Belize, just to name a few.
If everyone would honor God by tithing, and then pray about doing something more, which I call KINGDOM BUILDERS …then there would be an ample supply.
KINGDOM BUILDERS IS EVERYTHING ELSE BESIDES TITHING.
CONVOY OF HOPE OUTREACHES
Shepherd’s Hands is a Kingdom Builder.
Belize is a Kingdom Builder
STL is a Kingdom Builder. (In the last 12 years, our church has given over $225,000.00 to STL. STL funds Missionaries on the Foreign Field.
BGMC is a Kingdom Builder.
Drummonds Elementary
Back to School
Manna for Mothers
I could go on and on. I am praying that those who say, “I have never heard that before!”
ILLUS.: 1/10 is the Lord’s. Beyond the tithe…that is what I call KINGDOM BUILDERS.
ILLUS.: Years ago, a lot of medical bills. We promise God that if we had a youth pastor in the same situation, we would bless them with an offering. $1,000.00 -Take a loan out. This was something above my tithe.
KINGDOM BUILDERS WILL BECOME OUR VEHICLE OF GIVING ABOVE OUR TITHE.