All In: God Honoring Generosity
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There is a danger to preaching about giving.
There is a danger to preaching about giving.
There is a temptation on the part of the preacher to pile on heavy loads of guilt and shame, seeking to move the hears to give out of obligation.
So if I can make you feel guilty enough and convince you that God is really mad at you because you are not giving or not giving enough.
And then I give you the standards and measures to ensure your gifts are to the level they need to be,
Then you will respond by giving as you are supposed to.
The reason this is a danger is the says that each person must give “as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion”
To guilt-driven preaching is not Gospel-focused or grace-based.
There is a temptation on the part of the congregation to hear, even in the most grace-motivated message, a guilt-driven, greed-motivated sermon seeking to get in the pockets of the listeners.
Pastors are just concerned with my money and their salaries.
He is just making us feel bad so we will give more.
Guilt vs Conviction
Guilt vs Conviction
Guilt is self-focused and self-directed.
Guilt is self-focused and self-directed.
When you respond out of guilt your goal is to take the heat off yourself.
To hide
To deflect
To defend
Conviction is cross-focused and Spirit-directed.
Conviction is cross-focused and Spirit-directed.
When you respond out of conviction you are seeking the better way and seeing the ineffectiveness of your sinful.way.
8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:
jn 16
Conviction is the realization that our lives do not match up to the ways of Christ.
It is realizing the emptiness of our pursuits and the better way of Christ.
My prayer today is that God’s Spirit will bring conviction where conviction that leads to repentance.
My prayer is that God would prevent us from falling into the temptation to hide or deflect, or defend out of guilt, and give us ears to hear His Word as the Good News it is.
Ananias and Sapphira
Ananias and Sapphira
Insert Acts 5-1-11
Taking Generosity Seriously
1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” 5 When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. 6 The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. 7 After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” 9 But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” 10 Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.
1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” 5 When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. 6 The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. 7 After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” 9 But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” 10 Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.
Acts 5-11
This negative account follows a positive account of Barnabas, who had a parcel of land and after selling it, gave the proceeds to the Church.
Prior to the Barnabas account Luke paints a beautiful picture of the church at the time.
32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.
act 4:32
They “had everything in common”, meaning there was unity among them and commitment to one another in many areas of life, from their time to their treasures.
“There was not a needy person among them” meaning they took care of each other’s needs, selling possessions and giving to the Apostles in order that they could help those in needs.
There was a beautiful, God-honoring, selfless commitment to unity and community that was illustrated in the story of Barnabas.
Observations from Ananias and Sapphira
Observations from Ananias and Sapphira
It is a story about two people that wanted to be known for their faith in Jesus and their love for others, but struggled to find there security and their identity outside of their financial means.
When they had the opportunity to commit to giving the proceeds of their land they we're perhaps some of the most excited to join. But then when they got home and started to crunch the numbers they realized just how much that was.
When they had the opportunity to commit to giving the proceeds of their land they we're perhaps some of the most excited to join.
There is no indication that giving the proceeds of the land was required or expected. Peter says:
4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.”
It was yours until it sold and even after. Yet you lied, not only to us, but to God when you committed the money to the church.
So when they got home and started to crunch the numbers they realized just how much that was.
Perhaps the conversation went like this:
Perhaps the conversation went like this: "Man Sapphira, I didn't realize how much we were talking about here. We could really use that extra cash. What if our health goes or the economy tanks? What are we going to retire on if we give all this to the church? What about our kids? Maybe we should go to the apostles and talk to them about it, tell them we had second thoughts. No then they would think we weren't very spiritual, they will call us greedy. They don't really know how much that land is worth, why don't we just give them a portion of it. No one has to know how much it was really worth. We will still give, and we won't have to forfeit so much. Besides we have worked hard for that land, don't we deserve to enjoy the fruits of our labour."
"Man Sapphira, I didn't realize how much we were talking about here. We could really use that extra cash. What if our health goes or the economy tanks? What are we going to retire on if we give all this to the church? What about our kids? Maybe we should go to the apostles and talk to them about it, tell them we had second thoughts. No then they would think we weren't very spiritual, they will call us greedy. They don't really know how much that land is worth, why don't we just give them a portion of it. No one has to know how much it was really worth. We will still give, and we won't have to forfeit so much. Besides we have worked hard for that land, don't we deserve to enjoy the fruits of our labour."
This isn’t a story about money and tithing. It is a story about unity, commitment, and mission
This isn’t a story about money and tithing. It is a story about unity, commitment, and mission
4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.”
It is a story about commitment, unity, and mission
Acts 5
They could have done
Ananias and Sapphira were members of the church in Jerusalem:
A group unified by their shared faith in Jesus. They devoted themselves to knowing Jesus, following Jesus, and growing in grace.
A group committed to one another. To loving one another, serving one another, helping one another, teaching one another, encouraging and rebuking one another. They were committed to making sure there were no physical, emotional, or spiritual hindrances to the church following Jesus.
A group on mission to see others transformed by Jesus and brought into His family. Thousands had joined and many more lives would be transformed as this people grew and impacted so many.
This is why the punishment is so severe for them.
This is where the severity of the punishment is grounded. "Satan has filled your heart" "You have lied to God"
"Satan has filled your heart"; "You have lied to God"
By allowing Satan to tempt him and Ananias giving in to Satan's lure to find his security in money rather than in the Gospel, he allowed Satan to infiltrate the Christian Community, seemingly for the first time.
By allowing Satan to tempt him and Ananias giving in to Satan's lure to find his security in money rather than in the Gospel, he allowed Satan to infiltrate the Christian Community, seemingly for the first time.
This community had just been described as:
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Ananias and Sapphira threatened the unity and purity of the Christian community in Jerusalem.
Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.
Aninias and Sapphira threatened the unity and purity of the Christian community in Jerusalem.
Obviously the same punishment is not active today. If it were our church membership worldwide would shrink weekly as we hold back financially from the Lord.
But I would argue that there is a judgement even today on how our greed and our drive for financial security affects the Church.
Obviously the same punishment is not active today. If it were our church membership worldwide would shrink weekly as we hold back financially from the Lord.
It affects our ability to love and serve one another well:
Because love will, inevitably, COST US. Either time, treasure, or emotional energy.
Lacking generosity in one area is often a sign that we lack generosity in many areas.
We see the church as an institution we can choose to support or not, rather than seeing that we are “One heart and soul” with those who are Christians in this place.
It shows in our “I earned it” attitudes.
It affects our ability to make the impact God has designed us to make.
If we all embraced the mission of making Jesus name known among the Nations, starting here in Ohio county, and we INVESTED in that mission, how much impact would we have?
We work hard and we have bills to pay. Generosity requires that we see
But we don’t see the tangible (hold it in your hands) effects of that investment.
Our sinful greed leaves many people in this world without a Gospel witness and thus without Christ.
In affects the depth of our relationship with Jesus.
If our security and/or identity is found in money, finances then we are not resting in and looking to Jesus to be that security and identity in our lives.
We are also missing out on the great treasure Jesus is when our focus is on the treasure we are seeking to accumulate on this earth.
Stats Tell a Story
I don’t want to share these stats with you to pile guilt but to tell a story.
Average Weekly Giving
2016 $4,964.98 2017 5497.86 2018 5809.99
2016 $4,964.98
2017 $5497.86
2018 $5809.99
Per-Capita Giving
2016 $21.50 2017 24.1 2018 24.96
2016 $21.50
2017 $24.10
2018 $24.96
Average Weekly Givers
2016 42 2017 45 2018 41
2016 42
2017 45
2018 41
Statistical Observations:
Our weekly giving has increased yearly by 6-10%.
Individuals and Families are giving more weekly than they were 2 years ago.
Our giving is consistently higher
The number of givers has not grown much over the past three years.
This number isn’t entirely accurate as it doesn’t count cash givers, but we can deduce that the gifts given are larger than they were as the number of those giving is not higher.
We have an average of 196 adults a week attend services at EHBC and even if 50 gave cash every week we would only have 50% of the adults at EHBC giving regularly.
The issue we have is not paying bills or making budget.
He is igniting a passion in the hearts of some in our church
The issue we have is that we have many people who are saying “We are committed to EHBC, we want to be a part of this family.” But they are not investing in this Faith Family and the mission we are on.
Jesus talked much about money. Sixteen of the thirty-eight parables were concerned with how to handle money and possessions. In the Gospels, an amazing one out of ten verses (288 in all) deal directly with the subject of money. The Bible offers 500 verses on prayer, less than 500 verses on faith, but more than 2,000 verses on money and possessions.
He is bringing new people to our church family that are committed to the mission God has for us and are investing their time, talents, and treasure in this mission.
But I believe God wants
The reason Jesus was so concerned with money is He knew that our generosity was an indicator of our spiritual maturity.
If we truly understood and embraced the Gospel, it would motivate us to be generous.
God Honoring Generosity is:
God Honoring Generosity is:
1) Gospel Motivated – 2 cor. 8:7
1) Gospel Motivated – 2 cor. 8:7
7 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.
a. there is a transformation of our souls when the grace and mercy of God is freely lavished upon us in Jesus Christ.
b. As we experience the generosity of God, we become FREE to be generous ourselves.
c. this stands against giving under compulsion
7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
2 Corinthians 9:7
2) Sacrificial – 2 cor. 8:3-4
2) Sacrificial – 2 cor. 8:3-4
3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints—
a. The example of the poor Macedonians
a. The example of the poor Macedonians
b. They gave beyond what they could afford
c. 9:10-11— “You will be enriched in order to give and this will breed thankfulness in God”
d. This counters our tendency to be reluctant as Paul also points out in
3) Cheerful – 2 cor. 9:7
3) Cheerful – 2 cor. 9:7
7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
a. Gospel giving is cheerful and voluntary because it trusts that every deposit into the kingdom will earn eternal interest.
b. We do not give in order to receive, but we give because we have received.
c. Cheerfulness comes from a perspective that we are blessed to invest in something that is so much bigger than us.
4) Intentionally Consistent– 2 cor. 9:7
4) Intentionally Consistent– 2 cor. 9:7
a. “Decide in your heart”
b. “set it aside weekly”
c. Though spontaneous giving is great, our hearts need regular, planned, thought-out, and prayed-out giving.
Are you in?
Are you in?
Are you in to living out Gospel-motivated generosity in our faith family?
Are you in to investing in the mission of God over the mission of you?
Commit today to investing in this faith family.