Sunday, January 6th, 2018 - AM - "To Give, or Not to Give..." (Lk. 16:1-13)

Pre-Introduction:

At this time, we invite any children who desire to join my dear wife for a children’s service to follow her where you can hear a wonderful bible lesson and sing some uplifting songs about Jesus.

For those joining us online, you’re listening to the Services of the Broomfield Baptist Church. This is the Pastor bringing the Sunday Morning message entitled "To Give or Not to Give.” We invite you to follow along with us in your Bible in the Gospel of Luke, chapter Sixteen, and verses One through Thirteen.

Introduction:

Luke 16:1–13 KJV 1900

And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. So he called every one of his lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Quote - “As small a thing as a penny will shut out from our vision as large a thing as the sun, and so does as small a thing as money shut out God.” [Rest, p. 64] [Dennis J. Hester, Vance Havner Sermon Sparklers, Outlines and Quotes, Vance Havner Bundle (WORDsearch, 2006).]

Your control of financial matters is a direct indication of your control in spiritual matters.

Purpose: Our goal, as free servants of God in Christ, should be complete freedom from financial pressures, and to provide a testimony of God’s power and love in His provision for us.

I. The Spiritual Power of Scriptural Finances (Matt. 6:24).

Matthew 6:24 KJV 1900

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

A. Missing the Blessings…

Note: If a person has a closed mind towards seeing the spiritual effects of Biblical financial principles, will they receive the great blessings that come to those who are open toward what the Bible says about their finances?

Illustration: All to Him I Owe

Ye are bought with a price (1 Cor. 6:20).

1. We are not our own, we have been redeemed. But while we sing "Jesus Paid It All" let us remember the next line, "All to Him I owe." Certain divine requirements grow out of our being bought with a price. Such love demands my soul, my life, my all. We are to glorify God in body and spirit—our selves—because we belong to Him (1 Cor. 6:19, 20).

2. We are to glorify Him in our service: "Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men" (1 Cor. 7:23).

3. And Peter tells us that since we have been redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, we are to pass the time of our sojourning here in fear (1 Peter 1:17-21).

Self, service, sojourning—all to Him I owe, because He paid it all. While we sing about the price that He paid, we had better check on what God expects for us, not to repay Him, but as the expression of our heart's love to Him who redeemed us. [Day, pp. 214-15] [Dennis J. Hester, Vance Havner Sermon Sparklers, Outlines and Quotes, Vance Havner Bundle (WORDsearch, 2006).]

B. Promise of Blessings…

Note: Abiding by Biblical principles of finance brings a promise of blessings:

Malachi 3:10 KJV 1900

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be meat in mine house, And prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, If I will not open you the windows of heaven, And pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

Proverbs 3:9 KJV 1900

Honour the Lord with thy substance, And with the firstfruits of all thine increase:

Proverbs 11:24 KJV 1900

There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; And there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.

Proverbs 11:25 KJV 1900

The liberal soul shall be made fat: And he that watereth shall be watered also himself.

Matthew 6:33 KJV 1900

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Transition: There is great spiritual power in having our finances where they ought to be according to the Bible. Now notice secondly…

II. The Serious Problems of Unscriptural Management (2 Tim. 2:4).

Note: When we control our own finances, instead of making God our financial manager, some problems that we tend to face as a result are…

A. The Problem of Debt.

o A Destroyer of Testimonies (both yours and God’s).

2 Kings 4:1–7 KJV 1900

Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen. And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil. Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full. So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out. And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.

Note: Elijah had to help this poor woman, so that God’s name was run through the mud by His own prophet. That’s pretty sad.

o A Producer of Bondage (to men instead of to God).

Proverbs 22:7 KJV 1900

The rich ruleth over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender.

2 Timothy 2:4 KJV 1900

No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

o A Limiter of Response (to God’s will and leading).

Matthew 6:24 KJV 1900

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Illustration: Commitment - When prospects show up for church membership these days, nothing is said about telling the world goodbye. It is said that they will grow out of all that, as we instruct them, but most of them do not; so we have a flock of worldlings, who are not about to give up their idols [Decision, p. 14] [Dennis J. Hester, Vance Havner Sermon Sparklers, Outlines and Quotes, Vance Havner Bundle (WORDsearch, 2006).]

o A Presumer of the Future.

James 4:13–15 KJV 1900

Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

Matthew 6:34 KJV 1900

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

B. The Problem of Dullness.

Note: Financial pressure dulls spiritual perception and hampers effectiveness in God’s service.

Hebrews 5:11 KJV 1900

Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.

C. The Problem of Doors.

Note: A door is left open for temptations to be unethical.

Proverbs 28:22 KJV 1900

He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, And considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.

Transition: There is tremendous blessing in having our finances where the Bible says they should be, and it also keeps us from some serious problems that come when we try to manage our finances and leave God out. Let me give you thirdly…

III. A Sure-fire Prescription for Spiritual Failure with Finances.

Note: “How to Fail in Business Without Really Trying” or “Get Poor Quick:”

A. The Debt Strategy:

o Credit Card Mania

o Borrow heavily for depreciating items to that you can commit God’s money to paying interest on items that are already worn out.

o Abandon spiritual discernment and spend carelessly for frivolous things so that when you really must have something, you have to get into debt to get it.

B. Solomon’s Six Slippery Steps to the Slums:

o Be Stingy

Proverbs 11:24 KJV 1900

There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; And there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.

Illustration: Monkey with hand in Cookie Jar

o Get Rich Quick

Proverbs 28:22 KJV 1900

He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, And considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.

o Be Stubborn

Proverbs 13:18 KJV 1900

Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: But he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured.

o Cultivate Laziness

Proverbs 20:13 KJV 1900

Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; Open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.

o Feed the flesh

Proverbs 23:21 KJV 1900

For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: And drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

o Be crafty

Proverbs 28:19 KJV 1900

He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: But he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.

IV. Scriptural Proof Why God Desires Control of Your Finances (Prov. 23:4).

A. Everything Belongs to God.

Acts 14:15 KJV 1900

And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:

Acts 17:24 KJV 1900

God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;

Quote: “We can never be blessed until we learn that we can bring nothing to Christ but our need.” [Day, p. 58] [Dennis J. Hester, Vance Havner Sermon Sparklers, Outlines and Quotes, Vance Havner Bundle (WORDsearch, 2006).]

B. God Is Best at It.

Note: He is a better financial manager and knows our needs far better than we do.

Illustrations: Feeding of the 5,000; Unfailing Oil; Un-empty Barrel; Water into Wine, etc.

C. God Wants Us to Behold His Power.

Note: God wants to demonstrate His love and power.

Matthew 6:26 KJV 1900

Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

Matthew 6:30 KJV 1900

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Matthew 6:33 KJV 1900

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Ephesians 3:20 KJV 1900

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

Illustration: Elijah was a man who had to trust God to bring him his food from the fowls, but was also able to call down fire from heaven!

The Lesson of Carmel: God's Power

The God that answereth by fire, let him be God (1 Kings 18:24).

The great day on Carmel had all the elements of a mighty moving of God.

1. The promise of showers of blessing (v. 1).

2. The human efforts of Ahab and Obadiah to meet the need of the hour (vv. 2-16).

3. God's man who was in a sense the troubler of Israel as the disturber of a false peace (vv. 17-20).

4. The call to take a stand for God or Baal (v. 21).

5. The test of fire. Not "the God that answereth by finances or fame or feelings" but "by fire" (v. 24).

6. The repairing of broken altars (v. 30). "Then the fire of the Lord fell" (v. 38). "There is a sound of abundance of rain" (v. 41).

Elijah prayed down both fire and water. We need both today. And we can have both. When the fire of His Spirit falls from above, the floods of His blessing are sure to follow. [Day, p. 76] [Dennis J. Hester, Vance Havner Sermon Sparklers, Outlines and Quotes, Vance Havner Bundle (WORDsearch, 2006).]

D. God Wants a Bold Witness.

Note: God wants to protect both our testimony and His too.

Illustration: Abraham and the King of Sodom or the the King of Salem (Gen. 14)

E. Godly Giving Brings His People Together.

God wants to unite Believers.

2 Corinthians 8:1–9 KJV 1900

Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God. Insomuch that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also. Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also. I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love. For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

2 Corinthians 8:14 KJV 1900

But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality:

F. Godly Giving Brings God’s Blessings.

Note: God wants to use finances to guide us.

o Protection from harmful things.

Illustration: Malachi’s Message - “Bags with Holes”; the Devourer

o Strengthen our Faith.

Illustration: The Widow’s Mite

o Change our Direction.

Illustrations: The Disciples and the Rich Young Ruler; Demas; Joseph of Arimathea; The Woman who Anointed Jesus

Conclusion:

The real question is, who is in control when it comes to your finances? Do you see yourself as the owner, the one to whom it all belongs, or do you see God as the owner, and you as merely the manager of what He owns?

Do you believe the Bible? Do you have an open mind toward managing and stewarding the things God has allowed you to have in a way that would honor the teachings of Scripture? Do you believe that God will honor His promise to bless those who do it the Bible way?

Are you in the middle of some problems because you have not been doing this stewarding thing the Bible way? Is debt ruining your usefulness? Are you becoming dull to how God would lead? Are you facing doors of temptation that you never struggled with before?

Then why not make today the day that you bring that care to the altar, and let God take over your finances? Instead of continuing on the slippery slope to the slums, let God manage what He already owns anyway, and trust His wisdom that He knows what is better for you, let Him demonstrate His power through you, let Him protect and keep you instead of you trying to do it all yourself, let Him unite you with being connected with something that is so much bigger than anything you could ever do, by uniting with God’s people doing things God’s way, and let God guide you, protect you, strengthen you, and change your direction.

Your control of financial matters is a direct indication of your control in spiritual matters.

[This lesson was adapted from Dr. Truman Dollar’s book, How to Carry Out God’s Stewardship Plan.]