Identity and Dominion: “Giving”

Intro:

Review from last week:

Giving/supporting/contributing: Definition

what: financially, time, resources, skills, support

First-fruits to finances

“What” to give to “Why” to give

some of you in our congregation today may be more familiar and can talk more on this topic.

Stewardship of the resources God has entrusted us with

A move from “I have to” to “I get to”

Slide of: Worship Grow Serve- who we are as a church, image bearers that are called to become more like Jesus and proclaim His name, not our own

Slide of the Tree: Describes how we truly change biblically.

Outline:

OT: “Tithes and Giving” (Moses and David)

NT: “Not Reluctantly or Under Compulsion” (Jesus and Paul)

Central: “Cheerfully and Regularly” (Church Covenant)

Summary of the Chapter: We can give freely becasue God freely gave

Illustration: The person in the drive through that pays for your order, when someone sends you money for your birthday,

Prayer:

Old Testament: “Tithes and Giving” (Moses and David)

Moses (vs.)

Genesis 1-2 God gives his creation everything they could ever want or need.

Genesis 4:3–5 “In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.”

Genesis 14:18–20 Before the Law “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.”

Genesis 28:20–22 Before the Law “Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”

Leviticus 27:30–32 ““Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord. If a man wishes to redeem some of his tithe, he shall add a fifth to it. And every tithe of herds and flocks, every tenth animal of all that pass under the herdsman’s staff, shall be holy to the Lord.”

Numbers 18:21–28 ““To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service that they do, their service in the tent of meeting, so that the people of Israel do not come near the tent of meeting, lest they bear sin and die. But the Levites shall do the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the people of Israel they shall have no inheritance. For the tithe of the people of Israel, which they present as a contribution to the Lord, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance. Therefore I have said of them that they shall have no inheritance among the people of Israel.” And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Moreover, you shall speak and say to the Levites, ‘When you take from the people of Israel the tithe that I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present a contribution from it to the Lord, a tithe of the tithe. And your contribution shall…”

Deuteronomy 14:22–28 ““You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year. And before the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. And if the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, when the Lord your God blesses you, because the place is too far from you, which the Lord your God chooses, to set his name there, then you shall turn it into money and bind up the money in your hand and go to the place that the Lord your God chooses and spend the money for whatever you desire—oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before the Lord your God and rejoice, you and your household. And you shall not neglect the Levite who is within your towns, for he has no portion or inheritance with you. “At the end of …”

Deuteronomy 16:17 Males appearing 3x/year at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths“Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you.”

Sacrifices and burnt offerings, drink offering, grain offerings Were given for the atonement of sin. “Without the shedding of blood, there is not remission of sin”. Sacrifices are different than Tithes. Sacrifices were given to cover sin, tithes and gifts were to be given willingly and freely out of devotion to God.

The children of Israel are about to come into the land that God promised them, to live in houses they did not build, eat of crops they did not plant, and inherit flocks they did not raise…

David (1 Chron 29:1-22)

Willingly with a whole heart: “What was Given” (vs. 1-11)

All things come from you: “Why it was Given” (vs. 10-16)

Freely, joyously, and great gladness: “Response of Giving” (vs. 17-22)

A Warning from Malachi (Mal. 3:7-10)

Malachi 3:7–10 “From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.”

Application/Implications:

Renew the Mind (the Scriptures):

What caught your attention in this section?

Which verses or words would you like to study a little more this week?

Engage the Heart (humility vs. pride):

What do you and I give to freely, willingly, with a joyous and glad heart?

Has someone else’s generous gift to you ever compelled you to give generously to someone else in return? In this section, David explains why he gives willingly, did you catch it? Not because it is required, not because he is trying to manipulate, not to be seen by others…He does it because he knows that all things come from God and he is just giving it back…How does that thought process challenge you?

According to verses 17-19 what is at the heart of the issue? It is the issue of the heart!

Enlist the Body (faith steps):

What passage of Scripture do you think about in the Old Testament when you think of Giving?

Would you say that your giving is rooted in the understanding that everything comes from God in the first place?

Transitional phrase: So what about the NT, let’s continue our walk through God’s story of redemption…

New Testament: “Not Reluctantly or Under Compulsion” (Jesus and Paul)

Jesus (Matt. 6:1-4, 19-24; Luke 21:1-4)

Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them- giving to the needy

Luke 21:1–4 “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. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.””

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth…For where you treasure is, there you heart will be also…No one can serve two masters

stewardship

Act of the Apostles

Acts 2:42-47 “and they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need…they received their food with glad and generous hearts”

Acts 4:32-5:11 Barnabas’ selling his field and giving the proceeds to the Apostles, Ananians and Sapphira.

Giving to God’s people

Paul (2 Cor. 9:6-15) (vs.)

1 Corinthians 16:1–4 “Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.”

2 Corinthians 8-9 b

2 Corinthians 8:10–11 “And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have.”

2 Corinthians 9:6–8 “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.”

Paul exhorts them to follow through on what they said they were going to do.

Application/Implications:

Renew the Mind (the Scriptures):

What caught your attention in this section?

Which verses or words would you like to study a little more this week?

Engage the Heart (humility vs. pride):

Jesus draws a direct link between where our heart is and what we value

Transitional phrase: as time has continued, some things have changed, there is no longer a temple with priests, we are not living in Jerusalem, and yet, our identity of being an image bearer of God has not changed. Everything still belongs to God and He graciously gives us everything we have. So, what does this look like for us?

Central: “Cheerfully and Regularly” (Church Covenant)

PICS of the Church Covenant

Giving portion of the church covenant

Support of the Ministry (Resources, )

The Expense of the Church (The Pastors, Staff, building)

Resources to continue the ministry here

Pastors, Staff, building

Relief of the Poor

The Spread of the Gospel through all nations

Benevolence, missions, special projects,

Like the update we heard today

Application/Implications:

Renew the Mind (the Scriptures):

What caught your attention in this section?

Which verses or words would you like to study a little more this week?

Engage the Heart (humility vs. pride):

In light of all that God had given to you, what has He laid on your heart to give?

Transitional phrase:

Summary of the Chapter:

Discussion Starters:

What/where do I invest the most time, through, resources?

In what way(s) does the generousity of God challenge your generousity?

According to these passages today, what is at the heart of giving?

Song: Wonderful Merciful Saviour, as we looked at giving this morning, lets take one more look at the saviour!

Next Week’s Sermon: Gal 3:15-20 s

Benediction/Looking ahead: INVITE PEOPLE TO THE CAFE