Changing How We View Giving

Introduction:

In this study of Giving i have tried to look at giving from a different perspective than what has always been taught in church…

we know we are supposed to give to god, and in a mature church with mature christians we know we are to give 10% of our income in tithes to god as has been patterned in the bible…

but if you have been taught about tithing in church for any length of time we know usually we are not taught from any other perspective other than because its what we do…

but what i wanted to stress and hopefully have stressed is that giving is somehting we can do that will grow us and glorify God at the same time

and when we give we are showing faith as well as obedience…

we started with Looking at giving form God’s perspective, we then went to the question of How much should we Give, and last week we looked at the “heart” of the matter of Giving…

i hopefully used real world examples in giving of Gifts to show the need to not just give but to give the right way with the right heart…

But here is the main point of the night up front for us: WHEN GOD CLEANSES OUR HEARTS THEN OUR WITNES, OUR WORSHIP, AND OFFERINGS BECOME ACCEPTABLE AND PLEASING TO HIM…

now i have some thoughts to start us out this week…

we all have some habits that are literally engrained in our lives and they seem impossible to change them right?

for me i have things i do that at this point i don’t know why i am doing it but I’m so habitual in doing it that it is now just part of my life...

i wake up, i shower, i shave, i brush my teeth in that order… this week i have tried t change it and i=even though it is just a different order ti seems weird…

nothing wrong with doing it that way or any other way but it is my habit and that habit engrained that order in my life

now that seems petty but have you ever tried to change a simple habit that has become part of life?

its most definitely hard to do…

its the old saying that Old habits die hard...

If you haven’t been practicing financial giving as a lifestyle, it’s tough to start.

And Just as difficult is the idea of changing long-held beliefs and attitudes about giving.

We tend to live according to what we know and see or what we have already been taught by a trusted teacher or mentor…

That’s why the truths in this fourth and final lesson are crucial if we’re going to give acceptable gifts to God.

We can’t do this on our own. Our sin keeps us from pleasing God. Our habits are difficult to break.

But that’s where grace comes in!

In Christ, we are changed from the inside out and then made able and equipped to love Jesus and delight God for eternity.

look at this (2 slides)

Matthew 23:23–26 KJV 1900

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

The scribes and Pharisees were giving, but look at the verses and ask:

what did Jesus say they were neglecting?

The scribes and Pharisees were tithing according to the law.

However, their character and motivation weren’t right.

they were being self serving, selfish, and honestly prideful in their giving

In their self-serving greed, these religious leaders had missed the heart of the law by showing outward signs of obedience without having obedient hearts.

Jesus did not excuse them from giving if they corrected their lives; He clearly said to do both (23b)!

but let me be clear our giving mean nothing if we are not giving the right way…

and let me again be clear when we are not giving rightly we are not glorifying God in our giving…

we don’t give simply to clean us from sin because sin is a heart matter and giving is a separate heart matter, they are linked, but you cannot give to fix your heart ,but you have to fix your heart in order to give right...

now ask this question:

What are some motives people have for giving to the Lord?

i have thought and prayed about this question but i have come up with 3 reasons that all the other reasons can be clumped into:

Because its what we do…

some give simple because its what they have always done, they don’t know why, but its what they do

they are not guilted into it they just do it… kind of like autopilot

Because they are guilted into it…

someone sometime has made them feel bad enough to give up some money for the lord…

these people have been bashed over and over again about give this much each month or your just a bad person who isn’t serving the Lord rightly…

Because they What to Glorify God…

and this one doesn’t need explanation some people just want to glorify God in their lives and hearts…

Now Jesus gave the the religious pharisees hope in they would cleans the indies and the outside would match it…

now apply that where it applies

If we will cleans the inside (heart) the outside (our lives) will match!

These religious people needed to get right on the inside before any of their outward actions would be pleasing to God.

Their hearts and minds needed to be made right.

christians our hearts and minds need to be made right in all things but especially in the area of Giving…

Left on our own, this kind of cleansing is impossible, but God makes all things possible in Jesus Christ.

1 John 1:9 KJV 1900

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

whats this mean? it means if we want to get our hearts right in any area of our lives if we confess the sin we will be made right....

when it comes to giving if we confess our legalism, our guilt, our ignorance and let god know we want to honor God in our giving he will forgive the sin, and then cleans up from the unrighteousness

now read this:

Psalm 51:1–19 KJV 1900

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: According unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: And my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, And done this evil in thy sight: That thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, And be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; And in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: And in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; That the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, And blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; And take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; And uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; And sinners shall be converted unto thee. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: And my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. O Lord, open thou my lips; And my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: Thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: Build thou the walls of Jerusalem. Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: Then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

but focus on:

Psalm 51:13 KJV 1900

Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; And sinners shall be converted unto thee.

Psalm 51:14 KJV 1900

Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: And my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

Psalm 51:19 KJV 1900

Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: Then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

right here contextually we know that:

David had sinned against the Lord.

In Psalm 51 he prayed for God to cleanse his heart and life. (vv 1-4, 10)

and then Notice what was then renewed because his heart had been cleansed—his witness (v13), his worship(v14), and his offering(v19).

After David repented and was cleansed, he could be an example and lead others to God. He could sing of God’s righteousness. And David’s sacrifices were acceptable and pleasing to God.

Christian we cannot even start down the road that our giving is just “Christian Duty”

Our Giving Is A Direct Reflexion Of Our Relationship With God

if we are giving rightly then we have a right relationship with God

if we are not giving right then we are not in a right relationship with god

its all very simple, its not about amount, its not about having to do it,

it is all about loving and wanting to honor God in all aspects of our life including Giving

Davids story here once again proves that if we are not in a right relationship with God he is willing to restore us back into a right relationship if we will get right with him…

It is never too late to start giving acceptable gifts to God.

That’s the miracle and beauty of grace!

we wont go back to it tonight but 1 John 1:9 says when we confess our sins to Jesus, He is faithful and just—There is no timetable on that promise.

If you have lived a lifetime of faithless giving, Jesus stands ready to cleanse you so that you might be an example to others, sing of God’s righteousness, and offer sacrifices that are pleasing and acceptable to Him.

Revelation 4:2–4 KJV 1900

And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

and then look at

Revelation 4:9–11 KJV 1900

And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

John saw in heaven a host of elders surrounding the throne of God.

They were dressed in white and wearing crowns of gold.

The elders were falling down at the feet of the Lord and laying their crowns before His throne.

As they did, they sang His praises.

John didn’t describe this as a one-time event.

Words like “day and night”, “whenever” and “forever and ever” let us know acceptable gifts will be brought to God throughout eternity.

God loves us, and He loves for us to worship Him.

christians listen to me as i close:

It is never too late to start giving in a way that pleases God...

but we have to forget what we have been taught about giving and start looking at what the Bible says about giving

we give because God is worthy… we give because we want to Honor God… we give because we want to be a witness in giving…

any other reason is a less than acceptable reason…

conclusion:

Jeff Anderson says this in his book :

“Once you see your gifts from God’s perspective, your giving will never be the same.”

looking at giving in this light will your giving be the same?

I’m not asking if it will be more or less or anything like that… i am asking if it will be the same

if so why?