Sacrificial Giving 2 Samuel 24:18-25

Introduction

Good morning, please get out your bibles if you brought one and I hope you did; and turn to the book of 2nd Samuel Chapter 24. If you don’t have your bible there should be one under the seat in front of you, and if you don’t have one at all there are some free for the taking on the resource table in the back, feel free to grab one on your way out.

This morning we will be talking about giving sacrificially, by going over an example of King David refusing to give without sacrifice.

Before we read this passage, let’s go over some background to what is happening in 2 Samuel 24.

At the beginning of this chapter of 2 Samuel, it says that the Lord incited David to perform a census of the fighting men in Israel and Judah. The NASB tranlation (which is the one under the seats if you’re reading that one) says that “it incited David. It referring to the anger of the Lord. So from the NASB; the anger of the Lord incited David to take a census of the fighting men of Israel and Judah.

In the parallel account of this story in 1 Chronicles 21 it says that Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel. So, when you take both accounts of this story into consideration we learn that God allowed Satan to tempt David to perform this census. James 1:13 “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.” It’s important to note that God does not tempt anyone, He didn’t tempt David to commit this sin.

But 2 Samuel 24:1 “Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, number Israel and Judah.”” So, God and satan were involved in this, but not at the same level.

Ephesians 1:11 “In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,” God works all things according to His will, meaning that everything that happens, happens either by God’s action or God’s permission; nothing is outside of God’s control.

Likewise in this situation God allowed Satan to tempt David to commit this sin of performing the unlawful census. Why did God allow satan to do this? I don’t know, but I do know that Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Just like with Joseph’s brother’s sin of selling him as a slave, what man meant for evil, God meant for good (Gen 50:20).

So, when David fell for the temptation and decided to perform this census; 1 Chronicles 21:7 “But God was displeased with this thing, and he struck Israel.”. David immediately knew that what he had done was wrong, and in the very next verse David says 1 Chronicles 21:8 “And David said to God, “I have sinned greatly in that I have done this thing. But now, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.””

God then tells David through the prophet Gad, (not to be confused with Gad the son of Jacob and father of the tribe of Gad, This is a prophet named Gad) God tells Gad to tell David that he is to pick one of 3 things; 3 ways to punish Israel for David taking this unlawful census. The 1st option: 3 Years of Famine. The 2nd Option: 3 Months of devastation by your foes, while the sword of your enemies overtakes you. Or the 3rd option: 3 days of the sword of the Lord, pestilence on the Land with the angel of the Lord destroying throughout the territory of Israel.

David chooses option 3, 1 Chronicles 21:13 “Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is very great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”” David chooses to suffer God’s wrath through the angel of destruction; because he knows God is merciful, but his enemies are not.

So, God agrees and sent this angel of destruction to bring pestilence to Israel, and 70,000 men died. And God sent the angel to Jerusalem to destroy the city; but just as the angel was about to destroy the city, God relented. So, the angel of destruction was standing outside Jerusalem with his sword drawn and stretched out over the city; ready to destroy it. This was right by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. David fell upon his face before God, and said to God : 1 Chronicles 21:17 “And David said to God, “Was it not I who gave command to number the people? It is I who have sinned and done great evil. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand, O Lord my God, be against me and against my father’s house. But do not let the plague be on your people.””

So God told David through the prophet Gad; to go and raise an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, where the angel had stopped. And this will bring us to the passage we will study this morning in 2 Samuel 24. But before that, this story raises an obvious question: Why was God so angry about this census being taken?

God gave Moses specific instructions on taking a census in Exodus 30:11-16

Exodus 30:11–16 ESV

The Lord said to Moses, “When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give a ransom for his life to the Lord when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them. Each one who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as an offering to the Lord. Everyone who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the Lord’s offering. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when you give the Lord’s offering to make atonement for your lives. You shall take the atonement money from the people of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may bring the people of Israel to remembrance before the Lord, so as to make atonement for your lives.”

A census of the people was to be at God’s command, and when it was done; each person was to give an offering to “atone for their life” and so that “there be no blague among them when you number them” as the passage said. So, since David performed this census at his own command rather than God’s, and didn’t follow God’s instructions for taking a census; this was a sinful act and God’s wrath was kindled against Israel.

In the 1 Chronicles account, this census takes place right after a big victory over the Philistines. And a census was taken to assess the number of men available for the military service. And 1 Chronicles 21:6 says of Joab who was performing this census at David’s command: “But he did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, for the king’s command was abhorrent to Joab.” So, Joab didn’t include those from the tribes of Levi and Benjamin; because the Levites were not soldiers and were not to be counted in a military census according to Numbers 1:48–49 “For the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Only the tribe of Levi you shall not list, and you shall not take a census of them among the people of Israel.”

And the tribe of Benjamin was already numbered in 1 Chronicles 7, so Joab left them out as well. The significance in Joab refusing to count Levi and Benjamin is that it points to Joab believing that David was commanding this census to be done in pride. Perhaps David wanted this census done, so that he could take pride in having a large military force. Which of course would make this census sinful, not only because it wasn’t at God’s command or done in the way God commanded it be done, but that it reflected a reliance on human strength in the form of military force, rather than a humble reliance on God.

So, let’s go ahead and read our passage for this morning. Remember David has done the census, God sent the angel of destruction, the angel killed 70,000 men and had a sword over Jerusalem ready to destroy it, and the angel is right next to the threshing floor of Araunah in view of David, David pleads with God to punish him rather than the whole of Israel for his sin, and this is where we will pick up in the passage. Verses 18-25

Read Verses 18-25

Opening Prayer

In our passage this morning there are 4 lessons we can learn from King David and Araunah about our attitude toward giving to God.

Obedience Is The Foundation Of Giving (vv. 18-19)

The first lesson is that Obedience is the Foundation of Giving. READ VERSES 18-19 AGAIN.

So the prophet Gad told David that he was to go up and raise an altar to God on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, and David obeyed. It’s important to note that David was not following the commands of Gad, but the command of God. Gad was a prophet, and so it was his job to speak forth God’s Word that was given to him directly by God. So, Gad’s command to David was not his own command; but he was simply acting as the messenger between God and David.

David’s obedience to God’s command in these verses show that God glorifying giving, has the foundation of obedience. Not all giving is pleasing to God, the first murder in history was over jealousy that God was pleased with Abel’s offering but not pleased with Cain’s offering. We’ll talk more about this later on. But the point is that not all giving is God glorifying. We need to be sure that our giving is pleasing to God, and the best place to start is to make sure the foundation of your giving is out of obedience to God and His Word.

David of course wasn’t always obedient to God; the reason he’s in this situation we’re reading about is because of his DISobedience to God in taking an unauthorized census of the people of Israel. But as we’ll find out at the end of this passage, God was pleased with David’s giving; and it started with the foundation of David’s giving being OBEDIENCE to God’s Word that was spoken to him through the prophet Gad.

In the same way, our giving needs to have the foundation of a desire for Obedience to God’s Word. If you are giving, with the motivation of receiving a blessing for it, then you aren’t giving from a foundation of obedience. If you are giving with the motivation of looking like a good Christian to your neighbour, then you aren’t giving from a foundation of obedience. Your motivation MUST BE a desire to obey God’s Word.

God’s Word is clear, we are commanded to give. 2 Cor 9:7 says “Each one MUST give as he has decided in his heart”, We MUST give; but then the verse goes on to say “Not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a CHEERFUL giver”. So, we MUST be giving; we are commanded to give. And our motivation for giving must be a desire to obey God’s Word. But at the same time, our attitude towards the giving is also important. We don’t want to give reluctantly; and we don’t want to do it out of compulsion. In other words God’s not playing tug of war with your wallet, and then you regretfully finally let go out of “obedience” saying “fine God you can have it!”.

God doesn’t need your money, and if he wanted to take it; there would be no tug of war; there would be no struggle on His part. Psalm 24:1 “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and all who live in it”. God owns everything already, including money. God wants you to cheerfully obey His Word by giving cheerfully. You might say “If I do something out of obedience, then I’m doing it out of compulsion, and 2 Cor 9:7 just told me NOT to give out of compulsion”. Compulsion is defined as the action of forcing or being forced to do something against one’s wishes.

So, what 2 Cor 9:7 is teaching is that your giving should not be because you think God is “forcing you” to give against your will. The point is that giving shouldn’t be against your will, you should DESIRE to give because you WANT to obey God. Jesus said in Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” This means that everything we do should be for God’s glory; including how we spend and give our money. Remember that Psalm 24:1 tells us that everything on the earth belongs to the Lord, everything you have is on loan to you from God. And when you spend the resources that God has given you, your foremost concern should be the question “Does this glorify God?”.

Give In Humility (vv. 20-21 )

This bring us to the second lesson we can learn from King David and Araunah which is that we should GIVE IN HUMILITY. READ VERSES 20-21 AGAIN.

Both King David and Araunah give us an example of humility in these verses. Araunah sees David approaching him, and he went out and put his face to the ground to pay homage to King David. There are numerous examples in scripture of people prostrating themselves, meaning putting their face on the ground in submission and reverence. Typically the prostration is in prayer or in the presence of God.

Genesis 17:3 Abram falls on his face before God. Numbers 16:22 Moses and Aaron fall on their faces in prayer for the people of Israel. At the transfiguration, where Jesus took Peter, James and John up the mountain and was transfigured before them and spoke with Moses and Elijah; when the Father spoke down from heaven and said “This is my beloved Son, with whom i am well pleased; listen to Him”. The disciples all understandably fell on their faces in fear and reverence.

Even Jesus Himself fell on His face in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane in Matthew 26:39 “And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.””

But not all examples of prostration in scripture are in prayer to or worship of God. And this is one of those examples; Araunah is NOT falling on his face in WORSHIP of David or prayer TO David, but in reverence and respect to his king. What Araunah did in falling on his face before David was showing the king great respect.

And David likewise showed respect to Araunah by ASKING him to buy his threshing floor. King David certainly had the power to take his property by force. Way back in 1 Samuel 8, Israel was demanding a King and the prophet Samuel warned them what kings will do while reigning over them. And in verse 14 of 1 Samuel 8 Samuel warns “He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants”.

So Samuel warned that if Israel had a King that the king would have the power to take the property of the people at his will. So if David wanted to he had the power and authority to take the threshing floor from Araunah and Araunah couldn’t do anything about it. But instead of flaunting his power and using his authority, David chose to humble himself before Araunah and ask to purchase the threshing floor from him for the full price.

Remember that David wanted this threshing floor, to build an altar to offer sacrifices to God. If David would’ve taken this property by force, rather than by humbling asking to pay the full price for the property; God’s wrath likely wouldn’t have been appeased by the offerings given from property that cost David nothing.

And our giving needs to come from a place of humility as well. In fact everything we do as Christians needs to come from a place of humility.

Even coming to Christ to be saved has to be from a place of humility; if you prayed and told God that he’d better save you because you’re just so awesome and he’d be much better off with you on His side, that is not going to go very well for you. You have to come from humility. Jesus said in Matthew 5:3 ““Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Poor in spirit gives the idea of one admitting he is absolutely spiritually bankrupt, and has absolutely no hope outside of Christ.

Humility is not only necessary to enter the Kingdom of God but it’s also necessary to be great in the Kingdom. Let’s turn to Matthew 20:20-28. READ THIS.

So, James and John’s mother is asking Jesus to give her sons a special place in His Kingdom at his left and right hand. Then James and John respond to Jesus asking if they were able to drink the cup he was about to drink, by saying “we are able”. This is a very prideful thing for their mother to ask on behalf of them and a very prideful response to Jesus’ question, and it caused the rest of the disciples to be angry with James and John.

The cup Jesus is referring to is God’s cup of wrath that He was to drink on behalf of all who will be saved. This cup of God’s wrath contained the wrath against every single sin, that everyone who would be saved committed; From the time of Adam to you and I. That’s an incredibly large cup, and Christ was to drink this cup down to the dregs. And James and John immediately answering yes they could drink this cup too, was incredibly prideful of them.

And listen how Jesus responded to their pride; Matthew 20:25–27 “But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,” Jesus says something similar at the end of the parable of the workers in the vineyard in Matthew 20:16 “So the last will be first, and the first last.”” The point in both of these passages being humility in the Kingdom of God is what makes one great.

We are to imitate Christ, He is our model. And like Jesus said at the end of his discourse with the disciples and the mother of James and John 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.”” And Philippians 2:8 “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” If Jesus Christ, the eternal God and creator of the entire universe finds no problem in humbling himself to be a servant, we should have no problem humbling ourselves even more.

So, if we need humility to enter the Kingdom, and we need humility to be great in the Kingdom, it only makes sense that when we give to the Lord it needs to be from a place of humility as well.

Matthew 6:1–3 ““Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,”

If you give pridefully, to be seen by others and to look like a “good Christian”; then Jesus says you’ve already received your reward. You can receive a reward from God by giving in humility, and the reward is that God will be pleased with your gift. Or you can receive your reward from other people, like the hypocrites Jesus was referring to did, by giving in order to be seen by others; and your reward you receive from them is their praise and approval for what you did. You can choose to please God through your giving, or receive praise from man for your giving, the difference is doing it out of pride vs. doing it out of humility.

Everyone Should Be Giving (vv. 22-23)

This will lead us to the 3rd lesson we can learn from King David and Araunah, which is that EVERYONE SHOULD BE GIVING. READ VV. 22-23 AGAIN.

So, Araunah was willing to just give this threshing floor to David to offer to God, and not only the property itself but even the oxen he needed for the burnt offering he was to make. Araunah was a farmer, probably a poor man, we don’t know for sure; but certainly he was much poorer than King David. He knew King David, in verse 20 Araunah saw David coming and already knew he was the King. So, Araunah knew that David could afford to purchase the land and the oxen at their fair price, or even far beyond their fair price.

Araunah had something that David needed; David was commanded to build the altar in that spot. And Araunah could have gave David a much higher price than the land was worth, and David probably would have paid it!But Araunah didn’t take advantage of the situation, he didn’t even give David a fair price. But offered to give the land and the oxen to him for free. Now certainly the plagues were affecting Araunah too, and certainly he wanted them to stop. But he had no reason to offer the land for free; because David approached him willing and able to pay the fair price.

And not to mention that this threshing floor, along with the oxen and even the yokes for his oxen; represent Araunah’s entire livelihood. Without his oxen and yokes, he cannot plow his fields. And without his threshing floor he cannot separate his grain from the chaff after the harvest. Araunah was literally willing to give his entire livelihood to David right on the spot. And furthermore in verse 23 Araunah tells David “May the Lord YOUR God accept you”. Indicating that Araunah likely wasn’t a believer in the God of David, which makes Araunah’s offer even more surprising.

If Araunah were a follower of the God of Israel, it would make more sense that he would offer his entire livelihood to David to give to the Lord. So why did Araunah offer this to David for free? Back in verse 16 it says 2 Samuel 24:16 “And when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was working destruction among the people, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”

So why did Araunah offer this stuff to David for free? Maybe out of fear of the angel that was near his threshing floor; maybe he actually was a follower of God and wanted to offer it to Him; We don’t know for sure. But regardless we can take a lesson from Araunah that giving to God is for all classes of people; from the Kings to the poor farmers and everyone in between.

There is a story in Mark 12 with a similar lesson; Let’s turn to Mark 12:41-44. READ THIS.

This story is called the Widow’s offering or sometimes called the widow’s mite. So Jesus is sitting in the temple treasury with His disciples watching people put money in the offering boxes. So Jesus and the disciples watched as the rich were putting large sums of money into the offering; but then along came a widow with two small coins. The ESV translation calls them “two small copper coins, which make a penny”, the KJV calls the coins “mites” (hence the name of the story the Widow’s mite). So these coins were the smallest denomination of coin.

There are a few things that we can learn from this; one is that God sees what we overlook. The large sums of money being deposited certainly were noticed by the people, but Jesus didn’t think those gifts were worthy of a comment. But when He sees the widow give her last two coins to God, Jesus recognized that her giving was all she had, it was sacrificial. The big gifts were much larger, and the temple could do much more with those gifts than with the two coins. But remember the purpose of giving is not because God desperately needs your money, it’s about obedience; it’s about growing in trusting in God.

That widow putting her last coins in the deposit box, represented her putting all of her trust in God to provide for her the rest of the week or month or however long. But the rich weren’t giving sacrificially, they were giving out of their abundance. So they were not growing in their trusting of God to provide for them. Which is what Jesus was pointing out.

Secondly we can learn that God’s evaluation of things is different than ours. The widow’s two coins added up to a penny according to us; but according to Jesus she had given more than anyone else that day; because her giving was SACRIFICIAL, where the rich men’s gifts were out of their abundance.

Thirdly we can learn that God wants us to give in faith. This woman certainly needed those two coins; since they were all she had left. But she gave it, in faith that God would provide for her. Those two coins didn’t add much financially to the temple, but that’s not the point of giving. Remember that God does not need our money. He created all things, if He truly needed some coins, He could create coins for Himself. We give to God, not because He is poor and needs the money; but because it pleases Him when we trust in Him to provide.

But we also need to remember 1 Timothy 5:8 “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.” So, God wants you to give sacrificially and generously; while also providing for your household, and trusting God to provide at the same time. These are things you need to reconcile personally through prayer. James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” Ask God for the wisdom on HOW sacrificial your giving should be.

Giving Should Cost You (vv. 24-25)

This will lead us to the 4th and final lesson we can learn from this passage, which is that GIVING SHOULD COST YOU. READ VV. 24-25 AGAIN.

So, even though Araunah offered the threshing floor and then oxen, and even the wood to make the burnt offering, all for free; David refused. David refused to make an offering to God that didn’t cost him anything. And this is a great example for us to follow. Just like the rich men in the story from Mark 12 earlier, giving out of their abundance. Their giving was great in number, but it didn’t impress Jesus. Because it didn’t COST them anything, they were giving from an abundance, not sacrificially.

Not all giving is pleasing to God, we know this from the Widow’s Mite story; and also the story of Cain and Abel. The first murder in history, was over jealousy that God was pleased with Abel’s offering but not Cain’s. Hebrews 11:4 tells us a little more about WHY God was pleased with Abel’s offering but not Cain’s. “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.”

Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please him”. So, God was pleased with Abel’s offering because Abel offered his offering in faith. Genesis 4:4 “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,” Abel gave God his firstborn of his flock, the best portions. And gave it in faith, trusting God to provide.

Genesis 4:3 “In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground,” So notice the difference in the descriptions of the two offerings; Abel’s offering was the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions, but Cain’s offering was “an” offering of the fruit of the ground. This seems to suggest that possibly Cain’s offering was not his firstfruits and that it was an offering given from abundance. Meaning that Cain didn’t give God the first of the fruit of the ground and put His trust in God to provide for him.

But he provided for himself first, then gave God out of what was leftover. This isn’t explicitly stated in the text, but it’s just my inference. What we do know is that God was pleased with Abel’s offering because it was done in faith, and wasn’t pleased with Cain’s offering; so we can assume that at the very least Cain’s offering was not made in faith.

And when we give we want to give from our firstfruits, like Abel did. This is giving in faith. If you give to God only after paying all your bills, etc. and only giving from the excess, then you’re not putting your trust in God to provide.

This topic of giving always raises the question “Are Christians required to tithe”?

A Tithe was a law given to the Israelites where they were to give the first ten percent of the crops they grew, and livestock they raised to the tabernacle/temple (depending on the time period), to provide for the needs of the Levitical priests. There were several tithes throughout the year, one for the Levitical priests, one for the temple and it’s feasts, and one for the poor in the land, totaling to around 23 1/3% of their annual increase.

When Christ died, He fulfilled the Old Testament law. And the New Testament doesn’t give any commands for Christians to submit to this same tithe system that the Israelites were under. But like we’ve been talking about, we are commanded to give.

2 Cor 9:6-7 “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.”

Like we talked about earlier, the specific amount that you are to give is between you and God. You must pray and ask God for the wisdom in this, and decide in your heart what you will give. And giving should never be a chore, it’s an act of worship and we should treat it as such, by being cheerful givers. Christ gave ALL for us on the cross, so we should be happy to give SOMETHING back to Him.

As we talked about, there is no New Testament law that says Christians have to tithe; but we are to give in accordance with our income. 1 Corinthians 16:2 “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.” The point is that your giving should be sacrificial, and if your income increases and the giving is no longer sacrificial, you should increase your giving in accord to keep it sacrificial.

The Macedonians are an example to us of sacrificial giving; this is 2 Corinthians 8:1–7

2 Corinthians 8:1–7 ESV

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. Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.

Also, just because there is no law that says Christians MUST tithe, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t. This is just my opinion, but I believe 10% is a good place to start for the average person. Maybe 10% wouldn’t be sacrificial for you, in that case go more than 10 %. Just make your giving sacrificial, make it hurt.

Because A sacrifice that costs you nothing is worth nothing, so make sure your sacrifice worth something!

Call Worship Team up

Conclusion

Earlier I quoted Genesis 50:20 “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” Satan and David meant this sin for evil, but God allowed it to happen for something good to come about because of it. God works all things for good. The good that came from this sin, is that the land that David purchased from Araunah would later become the ground of the temple that David’s son Solomon would build. This doesn’t excuse David’s sin, but God used his sin to do something good.

And this story also gives us a great example of the importance of keeping our giving sacrificial. I don’t want you to think that I am up here begging for your money. I’m not paid by this church, and there is nothing I will gain by your giving. I’m not preaching this message because the church’s bank account is low, we are talking about giving this morning because God’s Word talks about giving. There are more than 2,000 verses in the bible about money and possessions, so we can’t avoid the subject if we are going to study the entirety of God’s Word.

Another part of the stewardship of the money God has given you, is to be wise in WHERE you are giving your money to. There are countless “churches” and “Christian organizations” that would love for you to give to them, while they are following the world rather than Christ. This isn’t about building up Mercy Gate. If this church ever stops following Christ then stop giving here. Give where God’s work is being done.

The question “Why should I be giving?” can be answered most simply “Because Christ GAVE ALL on the cross for you”.

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” All have sinned, and what we’ve earned by sinning is death. Not just a physical death but a never ending death in hell. BUT the free GIFT of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Your sin WILL be paid for, either by you in Hell, or by Christ on the cross.

Jesus paid those wages when He died on the cross, that’s why He said “it is finished” right before he died. In the Greek it says “tetelestai” meaning paid in full. And the Bible says if you’ll repent of your sin, meaning to change your mind about your sin, to choose to seek after righteousness rather than sin; and believe that Christ died and rose again and put all of your hope and trust in His sacrifice and believe that He told the truth when he said “tetelestai” Paid in Full, the payment that Christ paid in full will be applied to your account, and you will be saved.

Closing Prayer