Give

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Title:  Give

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OT: Genesis 4:1-7, Isaiah 1:10-17, Psalm 24:1, Proverbs 3:5-10, Malachi 3:7-12

NT: Mark 12:41-44, Hebrews 13:16, Matthew 19:16-22, John 6:1-15

NOW: 1 Corinthians 16:1-3 / 2 Corinthians 8-9

Redemptive Closure (point to Jesus):  Philippians 4:11-13

Benediction:  2 Corinthians 8:1-5

WELCOME

Good morning!!! My name is Ryan Hanson, and I have the honor of serving here at The Light KC as the lead pastor. I’m so glad you’re here with us.

‌Welcome to those joining us online. We hope you're doing well and hope to see you in person in the coming weeks.

And a special welcome to those joining us for the first time. We’re so glad you chose to be here.

ME/INTRO - Tension

I know you have all been waiting for this week. I can see it on your faces.

Given everything going on in the world, the one topic everyone wants to talk about is...GIVING.

Usually when we talk about GIVING, we talk about the broader topic of stewardship, which includes giving of our time, talents, and treasure.

But, since we talked about giving of our time and talents last week when we talked about SERVING, today we’re going to focus in on giving of our treasure.

And...I recognize how difficult this topic is for a lot of us.

Let’s be honest, things are tough right now. Prices are going up, wages are not going up fast enough to compensate.

It’s harder and harder to make ends meet.

And we’re in the Christmas season when every advertisement on TV is constantly telling us our lives are incomplete without whatever miracle product they’re selling.

Compound that with the constant stream of requests for things from our kids, having enough money for just the necessities is a challenge...having enough to give away sometimes doesn’t feel like an option.

I ran across these graphs the other day, which put the reality of many people’s financial struggle into perspective for me.

[Picture: Inflation - housing prices]

[Picture: Inflation - rent prices]

[Picture: Inflation - public college prices]

[Picture: Inflation - private college prices]

[Picture: Inflation - gasoline prices]

[Picture: Inflation - food]

[Picture: Wages over time]

Putting all this together, according to a study done by the American Compass Group measuring the COST OF THRIVING INDEX, it costs more to have the “middle-class essentials” than most of us make in a year. Most of us would have to work 60-80 weeks per year. Which means more than one person would have to work within a household or have more than 1 job, to afford the MIDDLE CLASS AMERICAN DREAM.

[Picture: Cost of Thriving Index]

This discrepancy between the increasing cost of living and stagnant wages, means that...

...as a country we’re in a lot of debt

[Picture: Average Debt by Generation]

People are hurting.

I get the e-mails from CarePortal with all the local needs. Since the beginning of October we’ve gotten 166 needs e-mailed over.

Some are for <$250 - grocery help, gas help, a bed for their kids, or a car seat.

But the vast majority are for $750 and above - rent help, overdue utility bills, etc.

It is crazy to think in “Johnson County”, the richest county in Kansas, that the needs are so great.

WE - Tension

Maybe you and your family are feeling this?

Maybe you know people who are struggling to afford the basic necessities?

So before we even get started today with our discussion on GIVING, I want to begin with a few caveats:

If you haven’t put your faith in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, this sermon is not intended for you. I believe what we’re going to discuss is the best way to live as it is how God created us to live, but if you were here last week, order matters in discipleship. If you don’t have a relationship with God first, the way we handle our stuff is much less important. Our relationship with God comes first.

I don’t know what any of you give to the church. I don’t look. That is between you and God. I’ve been at churches in the past that would send thank you cards to you when you give your first tithe, another card when you setup re-occuring giving, and a Christmas card signed by the pastor and board if you meet some threshold of giving. You won’t get that here, because I have no idea who gives, and how much you give, if you give. I care for and want to serve each of you equally, not matter what financial involvement you have in the church.

God doesn’t want 10% of your income. God wants you heart. To be a Christian, Jesus demands everything, 100% of your life. We’ll talk about this more later, but the 10% tithe is an act of faith, symbolically showing God that you trust Him to take care of and provide for you.

The reality is that, even though talking about money is uncomfortable, money plays a huge part in our discipleship journey.

It was something Jesus spoke about all the time. Throughout the gospels 1/3 of Jesus’ parables were about money, giving, and generosity (11-16 of 38-40)

And...if money was important enough to Jesus to spend 1/3 of His time on, it should be important to us as well.

So...today that’s what we’re going to do.

To set the foundation of our discussion today (as we have done every week this series), we’re defining discipleship as:

Discipleship is the process of slowly giving over pieces of your life to God, allowing the Holy Spirit to shape and mold you into a person with a Christ-Like character.

We’re in the 5th week of our series on discipleship.

Attend - learn facts about who Jesus was and what Jesus did (discipleship starts in the HEAD)

Believe - put faith in Jesus as your LORD and savior based on what you know (discipleship moves to the HEART)

Grow - start living out your faith, applying what you learned

Serve - allow God to work through you to serve those hurting around you (discipleship is lived out through your HANDS)

Give - support others doing Kingdom work by giving back to God what He gave you to steward

Invite - offer the life change you’ve experienced to others by inviting them into the community

My prayer for this series, is that each and every one of us hears from the Holy Spirit at least once and chooses to take that next best step toward Christ.

This week, we’re going to talk about STEP 5: GIVING

We’re going to be all over scripture as today I am going to do my best to give you a comprehensive look at what the Bible say about WHY and HOW God call us to give financially.

If you missed the previous messages, please feel free go to our website, TheLightKC.org, to catch up.

We’ll have the scripture on the screen, but if you have a Bible with you, or Bible app on your phone, I’d encourage you to turn to the passage and follow along. There is nothing that replaces having God’s word in your hand.

AND... if you don’t have a Bible, we have Bibles under the seats. If you don’t have a bible and would like one, please come see me after the service and I’ll get you one you can keep.

Let's dive in.

GOD - Text

Old Testament

So let’s start in the Old Testament at the very beginning with the first offering given to God.

Page 3

Genesis 4:1–7 NIV

1 Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.” 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. 6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

Growing up I always wondered why God rejected Cain’s offering.

But look at what Cain brought. The text says “In the course of time Cain brough some of the fruit from the soil”.

Cain waited.

Maybe he waited until the harvest was complete

Maybe he waited until after he took an inventory of what he had and what he thought he needed

Maybe he waited until all his needs were met, and brought some of the leftovers to God

Do you do this?

Do you WAIT to make sure you have enough, for all your needs and wants to be met, before offering anything back to God?

Do you give of your leftovers?

But the Bible says Abel was different.

His offering was accepted.

The text says that Abel brough the “firstborn of his flock”

Keep in mind this was before ultrasounds.

Abel had no idea how many offspring his herds would produce.

Yet, not knowing if he had enough, Abel brough the first back to God.

Thanking God for the provision He was about to provide, not knowing if there would be any more.

Cain acted out of fear

Abel acted in faith

When it comes to GIVING, it is clear, God wants our first and best.

Because only by bringing our first and best can we show God how much faith we have in Him.

So...

How much faith do you have that God will provide for your needs?

Do you act out of faith in God’s promised provision, or fear that you won’t have enough?

But...

Why does God even care if we GIVE anything back to Him?

He created everything; He doesn’t need anything?

And doesn’t everything already belong to him in the first place?

It says in Deuteronomy 10:14:

Page 149

Deuteronomy 10:14 NIV

14 To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it.

To answer that question of WHY, I think we need to go to the book of Isaiah. This is God speaking through the prophet Isaiah.

Page 552

Isaiah 1:13–17 NIV

13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations— I cannot bear your worthless assemblies. 14 Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood! 16 Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. 17 Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.

God cares much less that we bring an offering back to Him, than who we are as people.

God wants us to be the people He created us to be?

Good people

Loving people

Faithful people

It’s not about WHAT we give through a tithe or offering, it’s about the condition of our HEART behind our gift.

Like Abel, if we give, in FAITH, an offering to God, TRUSTING that He will continue to provide even when we don’t have a guarantee, we are showing through our actions who we are and what we believe.

If, like Cain, out of FEAR, we use what we need first, giving only our LEFTOVERS to God, we are also showing, through our actions what we believe.

God, like any father, wants us to TRUST HIM, wants us to KNOW that He LOVES US, that He wants the BEST FOR US, and that He will PROVIDE FOR US.

Giving is how we show God what we believe about Him and how we show God the character of our hearts.

So...if that is the WHY, HOW are we supposed to GIVE in a way that God accepts?

The bible spells it out in Deuteronomy 14:22-29.

Page 152

Deuteronomy 14:22–29 NIV

22 Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. 23 Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always. 24 But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lord your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away), 25 then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the Lord your God will choose. 26 Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice. 27 And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own. 28 At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, 29 so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.

Jewish Tithing System

To obey this command, the Jewish people formalized this passage into a system of tithing.

This is the system the Jewish people lived by during Jesus’ time in the 1st century.

It is debated as to exactly how this was implemented.

Some historians say that the Jewish people actually paid 3 tithes (or 10% offerings) totalling 23% of their income.

Other historians say that the Jewish people only paid a total of 10%.

No matter how it was exactly done, the Jewish people had a system to ensure they honored God with their finances.

Since almost everyone in history survived off of agriculture, the tithe’s were based on what your fields produced.

It all revolved around a 7 year cycle.

Years 1, 2, 4, and 5 - the first 10% of the harvest was set aside and used as the food the Jewish people ate during the 7 mandatory festivals in the Jewish calendar. This tithe was to be eaten in the presence of God, worshipping and celebrating all that God had done for them.

Years 3 and 6 - the first 10% of the harvest was set aside in the local town’s storehouses to be used by the Levites and poor to ensure that those who did not have means to produce for themselves were not forgotten by the community.

Year 7 - sabbath year - the ground was left untilled - no harvest was gathered - no tithe was given. The land was allowed to rest.

In an effort to be faithful to God, the act of giving thanks was turned into a system, a set of strict rules to follow.

And by Jesus time the Pharisees had taken these verses, and others, and made the process off tithing extremely legalistic.

New Testament

When we meet Jesus in the New Testament, one things that He does through His teaching on money is to remove the legalism from GIVING and put the emphasis back where it originally was meant to be

Page 787

Matthew 6:21 NIV

21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Giving reflects the condition of our hearts

The single biggest indicator of your walk with Jesus is not how high you raise your hand during a worship song, but what you do with the money in your wallet

Jesus starts his teaching by pointing out the actions of a poor widow to His disciples.

Page 825

Mark 12:41–44 NIV

41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. 43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

As Jesus does with many of the legalistic laws of the Old Testament, He removes the legalism, but at the same times raises the bar.

For Jesus, giving is not just about fulfilling the requirements of the tithe (giving the first 10% back to God), Jesus is raising the bar, setting the new standard that:

We are called to give sacrificially

Which makes sense. For some people 10% is not a sacrifice. Some people can give 10% and never notice.

If GIVING is a way that we show God our Faith in Him and Trust in His provision, that can’t happen if GIVING doesn’t cost us something.

Jesus puts this plainly in an interaction He has with a rich man.

Page 800

Matthew 19:16–22 NIV

16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” 17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 “Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “ ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’” 20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

No matter how much money we have, we are called to put God before stuff.

To put our Faith in God before our finances.

If God asks us to give extravagantly like Jesus did of this rich man, our only response should be “yes”

I recognize that thinking like that is hard.

It is too easy to be just like Cain and get scared that we won’t have enough.

But that is where FAITH comes in.

God can do amazing things with very little.

The Bible gives us a picture of the kind of sacrificial giving we are called to live up to.

I find the story of the feeding of the 5,000 so inspiring.

Page 865

John 6:1–15 NIV

1 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Festival was near. 5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” 8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. 12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. 14 After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

Many scholars believe there was more like 20,000 people there that day as back then only the adult males were counted. For whatever reason women and children were not.

Through the faith of one boy, giving everything He had, God multiplied those 2 fish and 5 small loaves of bread to feed 20,000 people and still had 12 baskets left over.

If I ever find myself fearful that God will not provide, I think about the faith of this boy, and the amazing provision that God provided through that sacrificial gift.

What could God do with your sacrificial gift? Through your act of faith?

YOU - Takeaway

Giving Today - What it means for us

But so far, we’ve only talked about examples from 1,000s of years ago.

You can easily look at me, think “that’s nice”, BUT I have bills. I don’t have a farm. Costs are going up.

And it would be very fair to think that.

So...given everything the Bible has to say about GIVING

How does God call us to give in today’s context?

Let’s turn to 1st and 2nd Corinthians where God gives us 7 components of sacrificial giving

Page 934

1 Corinthians 16:2 NIV

2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.

Give Regularly (first of every week) - giving needs to be a priority in our lives

Give Deliberately (set aside a sum of money) - we need to choose ahead of time what we’re going to give

Give Proportionately (in keeping with your income) - Sacrificial Percentage - 10% is a good place to start, but pray about it

Page 939

2 Corinthians 8:13 NIV

13 Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality.

Give to meet needs (that there might be equity) - the church is God’s chosen vehicle for spreading the gospel and ministering to the sick - but there are many great non-prophet organizations that meet many critical needs - if God is calling you to give to those organizations, obey - we are called to give to meet the needs of God’s children

2 Corinthians 9:6 NIV

6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

Give Generously (sow generously / reap generously) - we don’t give to get in return, but the more we give, the greater impact we can make - will God bless our faithful giving - YES - but it may not be through monetary gain

2 Corinthians 9:7 NIV

7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Give Willingly (not reluctantly or under compulsion) - If GIVING shows God the state of our heart and reflects the level of faith we have in His provision - it needs to be our choice - we can’t be forced into faith

2 Corinthians 9:11 NIV

11 You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

Give thankfully (resulting in thanksgiving to God) - Pray - thank God for using you to serve His people - it is always a blessing when God chooses to use us to do His Kingdom Work on earth

I want to recognize, that as a church, so many of you have lived these out so consistently.

I was humbled by so many of you, who, throughout our remodel asked if you could pay for certain project that you were passionate about, because you could see the impact it would have on visitors seeking to learn more about God.

Because of your generosity we were able to

Fix the sidewalks

Re-Paint the lines in the parking lot

Add exterior signs to the building

Remove the wood paneling and repaint the entire church

We still have some work to do

Re-face the counter in the cafe (re-using some of the wood from the old cafe Oak walls)

Update the Welcome desk (re-using some of the wood from the old cafe Oak walls)

Re-face the children’s desk (re-using some of the wood from the old cafe Oak walls)

Add internal signage (when the paint fully cures)

But we have a budget and some projects that get a lot of conversation are at this point still on hold

Re-painting the exterior cross

Doing something with the carpets on the main level

Pressure washing the north wall

As the pastor and along with the board, we work very hard to steward the resources of this church as God directs.

We are excited for the re-model and how much more welcoming the building is to guests

But as we do our best to faithfully manage the resources God provides, we maintain focus on the fact that stuff is not the priority

WE / JESUS - Redemptive Close - Call to Action

Paul says it best in Philippians 4:11-13

Page 953

Philippians 4:11–13 NIV

11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

We are called to GIVE, not just to pay bills, not just so we can have the prettiest building...

...some of that is necessary...

...but we are called to GIVE because through Faith we believe (just like the boy with his bread and fish) God will multiply our gifts and use them to build His Kingdom.

GIVING is the secret to being content in all circumstances

Through GIVING...

The car you drive becomes less important than the ride you give to someone who needs it

The tables you eat at become less important than the people who you’re eating with

The vacations you go on become less important than the people you’re making memories with

We are called, by God, to GIVE back some of the resources that He has blessed us with as an act of discipleship and an act of faith showing God we trust in His promise to provide for us, allowing the Holy Spirit to further shape our hearts and character, aligning our hearts closer to that of Christ’s.

PRAYER 

Will you join me in prayer...

SONG 

White Bucket

As we enter into our final song, I want to open the steps up front as an altar to anyone who needs God this week. The steps are open for you to pray to the God who is with you, who loves you, you wants to give you His peace.

‌

You may feel a hand on your shoulder as I or one of the elders join you in prayer.

BENEDICTION 

Page 939

2 Corinthians 8:1–5 NIV

1 And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. 5 And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.

This week...

Let’s leave a legalistic view of GIVING behind us.

Let’s GIVE because we know that everything belongs to God anyway and as responsible stewards of the resources we have it is our obligation to return our first and best back to the God who gave us the ability to earn it

Let’s GIVE not because we’re guilted into giving, but out of thanksgiving for what God has already given to us, we can’t help but pay it forward

Let’s GIVE SACRIFICIALLY, showing through our actions where we find our security, not a bank account balance, but a God that promises to provide for our every need

Let’s GIVE like the boy who shared his lunch with Jesus, believing that God can work miracles through our obedient generosity

Quick reminder...

Digging Deeper Bible Study - Wednesday at 6 PM - Programming for all ages

Christmas Party - December 14th at 5 PM

Christmas Worship Night - December 21 at 6 PM

Christmas Eve Service - December 24 at 4 PM

If you’re new, please stop by our info desk, or see me. We’d love to say “hi” and get you know you a bit better.

I hope you have a great week.

Go in peace.

You are dismissed.

DISCIPLESHIP QUESTIONS (download into APP)

What does the Bible teach about the condition of our hearts when we give to God?

How does the story of Cain and Abel reflect on our own giving habits?

In what ways can we demonstrate our faith in God through our giving?

Why is it significant that Jesus highlighted the widow's offering in the context of sacrificial giving?

What steps can we take to reassess our priorities regarding money and possessions in our lives?

How can we practically incorporate giving into our financial planning?

What are some creative ways we can give back to our community, especially during the holiday season?

How can understanding the biblical perspective of giving change the way we view our financial struggles?

In what ways can giving generously impact our personal relationships and community involvement?