Roles & Responcibilities Part:2
Notes
Transcript
Genesis 1:26-27
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Mark 10:45 and Philippians 2:5-8
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
IF… THEN…
IF… THEN…
IF… You and I are created in the very image of God
THEN… we should see and demonstrate His characteristics in our lives!
Servant heart / Humility
Giving Heart
Today we are looking at our Role and Responsibility in the area of Serving and Giving
BARNA RESEARCH
Trends on donors and giving in the United States
They have noticed that the trend is on a downward trend over the last 25 years
Out of all groups surveyed… EVANGELICALS are most likely to give!
There was a direct tie to those who gave monetarily were also those who were more apt to volunteer and serve
Of evangelical believers annually:
More than half of donors (55%) say they donated an amount of $500 or less. Specifically, roughly one in five (22%) noted the total value of their donations as $100 or less, while 33% gave between $100 and $500, 20% donated a total value of $500 up to $1,000, 12% contributed between $1,000 and $2,500, 8% offered $2,500 up to $5,000, and 5% estimated their donated total as more than $5,000.
The research shows that 5% of adults qualify as having tithed—giving 10% or more of their annual income
The survey also showed:
evangelical Christians seem to be the most content financially
evangelical Christians exhibit some of the most contentment with their personal financial status. And evangelicals are not necessarily richer or poorer than are other Americans; they just generally have a more developed sense of financial self-worth. Year after year, this group remains one of the most generous segments and, for evangelicals, it does not seem connected to how much they make.
As we look at our service and giving let’s clarify some things...
God Calls us ALL to Serve
God Calls us ALL to Serve
Romans 12:1-2 is clear on the level of service...
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
A sacrifice… is offered up to the LORD in an act of worship!
A Living sacrifice can get up and walk away
A Living sacrifice has the option to think how it will serve the LORD
A Living sacrifice is a spiritual act of service
INVEST with your LIFE what will outlast your life!!!!
God Does Not NEED Your Money
God Does Not NEED Your Money
If you think you should give because God needs your money… Your God is too small!!!
Consider Psalm 50:8-13 where God declares to Israel He is NOT dependent on them...
“I do not reprove you for your sacrifices, And your burnt offerings are continually before Me. “I shall take no young bull out of your house Nor male goats out of your folds. “For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills. “I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine. “If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains. “Shall I eat the flesh of bulls Or drink the blood of male goats?
“He instituted the sacrifices not because He needed the animals but because the people desperately needed Him. He is not like the gods of the pagans who supposedly thrived on food sacrifices. The Lord does not depend on man’s worship for survival. (Bible Knowledge Commentary)”
He is not manipulated by your giving either…
It is for our benefit!
You Are NOT Giving YOUR Money
You Are NOT Giving YOUR Money
This should make all of you sigh with relief!!!!
God ask you to give HIS money
David understood this amazingly… not only in the Psalms but look at his prayer in 1 Chronicles 29:12-14
“Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. “Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name. “But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You.
Problem is that we have held onto the money for so long… we think that it is ours!
You and I are simply stewards.... NOT owners. Peter speaks to this even concerning our service… 1 Peter 4:10-11
As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Stewardship: the conducting, supervising, or managing of something especially: the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care 〈stewardship of our natural resources〉Merriam-Webster, I. (2003). Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary. (Eleventh ed.). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Tithes, Offerings, and Gleanings… ???
Tithes, Offerings, and Gleanings… ???
Tithing is a giving back of your first fruits (One Tenth) right off the top!
It was used to provide for the Levites and minister to the needy.
The tithe was to go to the temple
Proverbs along with many passages speak to this concept Proverbs 3:9-10 says this
Honor the Lord from your wealth And from the first of all your produce; So your barns will be filled with plenty And your vats will overflow with new wine.
This is NOT health and wealth teaching here… simply you obey God in the area of your finances and He will remind you He is the One who cares for you in the first place!!!
God wanted the people to learn this principle… what I give you, give back to me a tenth so as not to forget who’s it is and who has provided.
Tithing is not about legalism… God loves a Joyful giver!!! (Hilarious)
No matter what we are blessed with… this principle is applicable, and we need to be content with what God gives us to steward… Philippians 4:11-13
Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
Offerings are our giving out of abundance, over and beyond the Tithe… Consider God’s instruction in Deuteronomy 12:10-11
“When you cross the Jordan and live in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies around you so that you live in security, then it shall come about that the place in which the Lord your God will choose for His name to dwell, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution of your hand, and all your choice votive offerings which you will vow to the Lord.
NOTICE how God is the ONE giving here!!!
Gleanings are the surplus God gives us to be used for His people that have need, and meeting that need from our abundance.
Giving and Serving Are Heart Issues
Giving and Serving Are Heart Issues
As we are made in HIS image… He desires us to have a heart as He has…Paul challenged the church well in this area to the Corinthians…
When the church (people of God) have a giving heart three things result
The giver is enriched
The needs are met
The source (GOD) is praised
Look at 2 Corinthians 9:6-12
Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; as it is written, “He scattered abroad, he gave to the poor, His righteousness endures forever.” Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God.
Remembering His Service and Giving
Remembering His Service and Giving
His BODY… a living sacrifice
His BLOOD the greatest gift of all