Giving is about the heart

Matthew 6:19–21 ESV

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Introduction

New Series

Were going to start a new series this week called, “Living a life of Blessing.”

And through this series were going to spend the month of February talking about stewardship and how stewardship leads to blessing in our lives.

Heard this before Before..

If you have been around here for long enough, you’ve heard some of this series before..

We try to teach it about every three years..

and thats because every three years the church changes significantly

As we grow we have a lot of new faces. Many of you were not here three years ago.

and for the rest of us, We don’t remember much of what we heard yesterday, much last three years ago.

So every three years we go through stewardship because some of us have never heard this, and the rest of us need to be reminded.

Grumbling

And i know that there are a lot of people who get uncomfortable when pastors talk about giving..

People don’t like to talk about giving because in our society we don’t particularly like to talk about money..

Its a private issue.

But I want to remind you that giving is about more than money..

as well see in a minute..

and money is a central part of our lives..

and thus its important to talk about how we handle it..

JESUS

Talking about Money is so important and so central to life that Jesus actually talked about it more than he did heaven and hell..

about 15% of his recorded teaching was about money, stewardship and possessions.

and around 15 of his 39 parables revolve around money..

The bible and giving

Further more..

the bible is all about giving..

and much of the giving it talks about isn’t about money..

The core message of scripture is the gospel right?

John 3:16 (ESV) “For God so loved the world, that he what…. gave his only Son, that whoever what believes in him (Thats you giving your faith) should not perish but have eternal life..

The bible repeatedly talks about giving sacrifices..

giving praise..

Giving forgiveness..

Giving judgement..

Gods giving salvation..

God giving favor..

God giving blessing…

AND YES.. giving tithes.. offerings.. and being generous..

FROM COVER TO COVER, GIVING IS A MAIN CONCEPT IN SCRIPTURE..

Its a fundamental command..

why?

Because giving is about the heart..

and how you give..

what you give..

reflects and inner attitude of the heart..

SO YES..

Were going to talk about giving..

Because were going to talk about out heart heart..

More than money

First, as we start today..

I want us to understand that giving is about more than money..

More than money

I wanna look at a familiar passage ..

one that it used many time to talk about giving..

and lets look at the context of what its saying..

Jesus is giving the sermon on the mount..

he’s instructing his follows how to live..

and look what he says..

I want to see if you can tell me what this passage is talking about..

Matthew 7:1–2 ESV

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.

What was the context of this verse?

What concept was Jesus talking about?

Judgement.. correct..

now lets look at its corresponding account in Luke..

Luke 6:37–38 ESV

“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

Now when you normally hear that message preached..

you normally hear that about money..

but what was Jesus talking about?

Judgment..

condemnation..

forgiveness..

Hes says if you give these things..

It will be given back to you..

these are heart issues..

now does it apply to money as well?

Of course!

Because whatever you give..

It will be given back..

thats a biblical true..

its the biblical law of reaping and sowing..

BUT..

want you to see how closely these things are tied to the heart..

Treasure

why does it matter that giving is a heart issue?

Well.. remember what Jesus said in our opening verse?

Matthew 6:19–21 ESV

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

where you treasure is..

you heart will be..

Dealing with the heart

So how can we make sure our heart is in the right place..

I want to look really quick about 4 personalities of the heart that we have to deal with if were going to be the kind of givers christ called us to be..

and to do that lets look at an old testament command God gave the people.

Deuteronomy 15:7–8 ESV

“If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, (Notice where there land came from.. God) you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be.

So god tells the poeple..

listen..

When you come into the land I give you..

If you see another brother who becomes poor..

Dont shy away from him..

dont close your hand to him..

BUT BE GEREOUS AND LEND TO HIM WHAT HE NEEDS..

WHAT EVER IT IS..

So god establishes in this verse the command to be generous..

Specifically in this concept to those in need.

And then .HE ABOUT TO WARN THEM ABOUT THEIR HEART…. LOOK..

Deuteronomy 15:9–11 ESV

take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the Lord against you, and you be guilty of sin. You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. 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.’

IF WERE GOING TO BE THE GENEROUS GIVERS GOD CALLS US TO BE..

WE FIRST HAVE TO DEAL WITH A COUPLE ATTITUDES IN OUR HEART..

The Selfish Heart

The first attitude we have to deal with is a selfish heart..

Deuteronomy 15:9 ESV

Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the Lord against you, and you be guilty of sin.

Other translations render that word unworthy as “Wicked.”

Notice.. Here God clearly labels selfish attitudes of our heart as wicked..

And he says, “Take Care”, or in other words.. don’t allow you heart to think that way..

ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH IN OUR HEART IS SELFISHNESS..

IN OTHER WORDS ITS ALL ABOUT ME..

I NEED TO GET ALL I CAN GET

MORE MORE MORE

A SELFISH HEART IS NOT ABOUT ANYONE ELSE BUT YOU..

Selfishness tries to manipulate and make deals with god..

“WE WERE BORN SELFISH”

The first thing we learn to do as a baby is.. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH…

This can be roughly translated at “FEED ME, CHANGE ME, HOLD ME”

AND WHEN KIDS GET A LITTLE OLDER YOU HEAR THE FAMOUS WORDS..

MINE!

Selfishness is ingrained in us from the beginning.

Sharing in the Drive Through

AND IT DOESN’T GET BETTER AS WE GET OLDER..

WHEN YOU GO THROUGH THE DRIVE THROUGH WITH YOU SPOUSE YOU FIND THAT OUT QUICK..

THE WORST ARGUMENT KIRSTA AND I EVER GOT INTO WAS OVER HER TAKING MY DRINK AFTER ASKING HER IF SHE WANTED ONE.. AND SHE SAID.. NO..

WE ARE SELFISH BY NATURE..

AND IF WERE NOT CAREFUL TO LET GOD EXPELL THE SELFISHNESS FROM OUR HEARTS.. IT WILL ROB US OF THE JOYS OF GIVING!

GOD WANTS TO TAKE THE SELFISHNESS OF OUR HEARTS AND CHANGE IT TO SELFLESSNESS

HE SAYS, “I want to deal with this wicked selfish heart and make you a giver. I want to make you life me!”

IF WERE GOING TO IMITATE GOD.. WE CAN NOT BE SELFISH..

Instead we have to be selfless..

AND THAT’S NOT JUST IN MONEY. .BUT IN OUR LIFE IN GENERAL!

At the risk of sounding like a tv preacher..

I wonder if theirs someone who would give me $100 right now..

lets keep looking..

The Grieving heart

Deuteronomy 15:10 ESV

You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake.

After addressing a selfish heart, the second thing we have to deal with is a grieving heart.

Notice the fruit of being a giver in this passage is a blessed life.

But he instructs us not to grieve our hearts after we have been obedient in giving.

Buyers Remorse

Now we have all been here..

IN EVERYDAY LIFE we see this happen..

If we let it, our heart will be like that with giving..

We give.. and then we grieve that money and think.. WHAT COULD I HAVE DONE WITH THAT MONEY!

God says.. don’t do that..

dont grieve..

trust me instead..

Im gonna bless it..

“Its Not Yours!”

Ask Phil

Do you grieve the loss of this money phil?

no

Why do you think it was so easy phil to give me this money..

because I gave it to him before church and told him.. when I ask you I need you to give me that $100 back..

It wasn’t his..

How do we deal with a selfish heart

how do we deal with a grieving heart when it comes to giving..

we remember that it doesn’t belong to us..

Psalm 24:1 ESV

The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,

It all belongs to god..

Given

and hes given it to us to be good stewards of it..

Hes given us the ability to work..

the skill to make money..

the mind for what we do..

the blessing of provision..

and then he commands us to be obedient and generous with it..

WE ARE JUST STEWARDS NOT OWNERS!

If God gave, and God asks you to give.. he will give more!

THERE IS NO GRIEVING NESSASARY..

THERE IS NOT GIVERS REMORSE!!

We can BE A CHEERFUL GIVER AND STAY CHEERFUL AFTERWARDS!

MAKE IT A JOYFUL EXPEREINCE INSTEAD OF A DREADED ONE!

AND GOD WILL REWARD YOU CHEERFUL HEART AND BLESS YOU EVEN MORE!

So we have to deal with and get rid of selfishness and givers remorse..

and then look..

He tells us two things to replace with with instea..

A Liberal Heart..

The first thing is a liberal heart..

Some of you just cringed because you heard that term and thought we were gonna talk politics..

BUT WERE NOT TALKING ABOUT LIBERALITY AS IN A BELIEF SYSTEM..

WE ARE TALKING ABOUT LIBERALLY AS IN A GIVING SYSTEM!

Deuteronomy 15:14 ESV

You shall furnish him liberally (Everyone day liberally) out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress. As the Lord your God has blessed you, you shall give to him.

Now remember who this scripture is talking about..

Its talking about the servant, that had been bought..

and now you have set him free in the seventh year..

Its saying in the seventh year your going to give him freedom..

But then your going to bless him even more and give him of your own flocks and goods..

A HEART THAT FOLLOWS GOD THE GIVER.. IS NOT ONE JUST LOOKING TO GET BY..

RATHER IT’S A HEART THAT EMBRACES A LIFESTYLE OF GENEROUSITY AND ABUNDANT GIVING..

THIS IS THE LIFE OF BLESSING AND BLESSING OTHERS BECAUSE THAT’S HOW GOD HAS TREATED US..

Now we get into offerings, and blessing that single mom, and just blessing your friends because you love them..

This is above and beyond the tithe!

BEYOND THE MINIMUM..

In a couple weeks were gonna talk about multiplication.. and this is where the blessing really happens.. in the giving and giving..

God does bless the tithe..

BUT TO HIM WHO GIVES IT WILL BE GIVEN PRESSED DOWN SHAKEN TOGETHER AND RUNNING OVER..

THIS IS WHERE YOU REALLY IMBRACE THE HEART OF GOD IN GIVING..

WHERE YOUR WILLING TO ASK GOD EACH DAY..

“WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO GIVE?”

AND INSTEAD OF BARTERING WITH GOD..

AGAIN GETTING TO THIS POINT IS ABOUT A CONDITION OF THE HEART..

WE GIVE BECAUSE WE LOVE AND WANT TO LOVE AS GOD DOES..

BUT HE BLESSES THAT HEART WITH ABUNDANCE IN RETURN..

“Not natural”

This goes well beyond our carnal nature..

Its not natural for us to live this way in and of ourselves..

BUT THIS PERFECTLY IMBODIES GODS NATURE.. A GIVER..

We become this way by allowing God to renew our mind.. (Romans 12:2)

Renew our thinking..

Renew our processes..

Renew our paradigms..

AND BEING OBIEDIENT TO HIS WORD!

The most fun you will ever have in your life is being this kind of giver..

BECAUSE WHEN YOUR THIS KIND OF GIVER..

YOU SEE FIRST HAND THE JOY THAT GIVING CAN BRING TO BOTH YOU AND OTHERS..

Giving more than any other activity a believer does works selfishness out of our lives.. and makes us more like Gods image..

The best way to push selfishness out of your life is to become a selfless giver.

The Grateful heart..

Deuteronomy 15:15 ESV

You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today.

Why did he tell them to remember Egypt?

Because he wanted them to have a heart of gratitude for what he had done for them.

If you will battle your selfish heart..

And put aside a heart of greif..

And become a generous giver..

God will give you a heart of gratitude..

Why?

Because instead of running a race to get all you can get..

You start to be thankful for what you have and what you can do for others with what you have.

We can come at every blessing (Job, bonus, gift, life) with one of two options..

a. Greed – How can I keep as much of this a possible..

b. Gratitude- How can I show God my thanks through being a blessing like he blessed me

-

We have to make sure though that we stay in this place of gratitude..

“Don’t be entitled”

When you give to someone once they feel blessed..

When you give multiple times they may begin to feel entitled..

AND WE TREAT GOD LIKE THAT..

WE HAVE TO BE THANKFUL FOR EVERYTHING WE HAVE AND CONTINUE TO LIVE OUT THAT GRATFULNESS

WE CANT GET ENTITLED.. EVERYTHING GOD GIVES IS A GIFT..

EVEN SALVATION..

We don’t deserve anything..

BUT HE STILL GIVES..

“Keep the line”

We have to be aware of the attitude of our heart.. and ensure we stay greatful..

If not guarded.. we can creep back into any of these conditions with what we have..

And instead of having possession our posessions can have us..

But we have to check ourhearts to make sure we don’t have

a selfish heart. .

A grieved heart..

And that we do hav

A liberal heart

And a heart of gratitude.

THE ISSUE IS NOT ABOUT THE AMOUNT WE GIVE..

THE ISSUE IS ABOUT THE MOTIVATION BEHIND OUR GIVING..

Altar

There is a story in luke 21

They were taking up the collection at temple..

And the rich were walking y and putting in their money..

And a little lady walked up.. and she dropped two mites into the offering..

And Jesus talking said,

I tell you this woman put in more than all, because she put in her very lively hood.

Why did jesus say that?

Because this woman put in because she love the lord and wanted to honor him..

Even down to the last 2 mites she honored God..

Its an attitude of the heart..

Its not about the amount its about the motive..

Will God bless you if you give? ABSOLUTLEY..

But we give not out of obligation..

We give not out of selfish motivation..

WE GIVE OUT OF ADORATION OF GOD AND WANTING TO BE LIKE HIM.