Giving ain't so bad, part 3

Part 1 - What is giving: God owns everything

since everything belongs to him, we are just managers

what we call giving is really just allocating God’s funds

Part 2 - Spirit of giving: New Testament attitude

New Testament attitude that gives out of thanksgiving and love

tithing is not the ceiling but the floor

we are not cursed if we don’t tithe because Jesus took the curse for us

though the Christian may receive a Fatherly reprimand for not giving what he ask us too (even beyond the tithe)

and today . . .part 3 of Giving ain’t so bad . . . .

Part 3 - Giving and the heart: show me the money

The heart

The heart: - your innermost being, where emotions, affections, and desires begin, what drives the will, it is where motives reside

In society, we typically speak of the heart in good terms . . . and nothing wrong with that

We will say, “They have the heart of a champion”

They have a heart of gold

Their heart was in the right place

they have a lot of heart

but the Bible agrees with the country song, that says

“Yeah, blame it on your lying, cheating Cold, dead beatin', two timin', double dealin' Mean, mistreatin', lovin' heart”

The Bible says it this way,

Mark 7:21–22 NASB95

21 “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22 deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.

and the prophet Jeremiah was inspired to write this . . .

Jeremiah 17:9–10 NASB95

9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? 10 “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.

Wow, the heart is deceitful than all else and desperately sick

KJV - deceitful above all things and desperately wicked

NIV - deceitful above all things and beyond cure

This is the true nature of the human heart, you’ve seen it:

the heart will cause someone to smile in your face and stab you in the back

the heart will cause a company to seek profits over people’s safety

the heart causes people to use good things in bad ways . . . technology advanced, and now we have a whole new category of crimes - cyber crimes

the heart that will cause people to participate in human trafficking

but one aspect makes the heart so deceitful and tough to deal with, is that YOUR heart lie to you

your heart will deceive you

your heart will mislead you

there are a number of older people in a bad way because their heart said, “you still got it”

you can still get on that roof to make that repair . . . hospital

you can still play that sport . . . emergency room

you can pull those young thangs . . . money gone

the heart will have you judging other people “I would never do that” . . . and some time later you, you find yourself doing the same things or maybe even worse

Your heart will deceive you . . . .I’ve seen it played out in ministry many times . . . I witness years of people coming down the aisle, with tears running down their face, shake my father’s hand, throw in an amazing testimony, talk about how they were turning around, and say I’m going to be a member of WMBC . . . never to see them again

I don’t think they meant to lie

at that moment, they really thought they meant it . . . they didn’t mean it, but the heart lied to them and said, “we mean it”

many of us understand, we will say, “That’s it, I am starting a new healthy lifestyle” . . . at the moment, we really mean it . . . but time proves that we really didn’t

people go to psychiatrists and counselors and spend hours trying to find out what’s really in their heart, what is really hidden behind all the layers, and is causing them to act a certain way

because that lying, cheating heart is deceitful, tricky . . . who can understand it?

Well the scriptures days that God knows: He searches the heart and tests the mind . . . but what about us?

we need some help in searching our heart . . . and definitely in the area of giving

because you can’t put the heart on the witness stand, and ask “What is the situation with you and giving” . . . . or . . . .

what is important to you

what do you really care about

what do you love

because the heart is deceitful!

yet, There is hope! In speaking about the importance of living this temporary life with eternity in mind, Jesus gives us this truth nugget about knowing what’s in the heart

Matthew 6:21 NASB95

21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

in other words: if you want to know what really matters to you, what is important to you, what your prioritize . . . then search for the money, and you’ll find your heart

show me the money and I’ll show you your heart

let’s make it real simple: Look at your expenditures, and you will see what your heart really cares about . . . you will see on paper, what is truly near and dear to your heart

if you looked at my expenditures over the past 10 years:

shelter

transportation

take out food

entertainment: AT&T bundle - phone, internet, TV, move subscription channels

music studio equipment

children’s education

For others it might be somewhat the same but maybe include

vacation

some hobby

clothes

security of having savings

sporting events

my kids activities

So where does giving fit in?

giving to the church?

giving to organizations that help others?

directly giving to people in need?

Same thing, just look at your expenditures!

Where you put your treasure will reveal what’s in your heart

let me give you an example of the pastoral training I received from my father

He taught me that many church members will not verbally tell you they are happy or unhappy with your leadership . . . but just watch their giving go up or down

that’s scary because I might be doing a great job and you don’t know it (or vice-versa)

giving should not be pastor based . . . but that’s they way it is with a lot of people

Also, rough estimation, 75% of people who left WMBC since the pandemic, didn’t give to WMBC $5 one month, $3 two months later, (people who worked every week)

so when they left, it was no surprise, their treasure revealed that their hearts were never really here . . . though they might have said and meant, I love my church . . . the heart is deceitful, but the money isn’t

the 25% who did give, but left WMBC . . .

their money left first, either their giving became sporadic, or the amount would decrease over time

their treasure revealed that their hearts used to be here, but are now leaning someone else

only one person left and their money left at same time, but you see they took their treasure with them (and that’s understandable)

but we are not here to dwell on them . . . .

What does the location of your treasure say about you?

And there is nothing wrong with spending money on yourself. That’s one of the main reasons that God blessed you with resources, but it is good to do a heart check when evaluating your giving.

As I present the challenges that God has given me, I am asking that you not respond by how you feel, or how you think you feel, but just look at the facts

the facts are written on your receipts, bank statements, bills, many of you can go to your phone and look at your account

money is not the only indicator, but it is one of the strongest ones

Let me share some common lies your heart will tell you when it comes to giving to the church, or even giving to hurricane victims like we did a few days ago

I don’t know what they are going to do with that money . . . don’t listen to the heart, look at the receipts

you didn’t know what that child, that sibling, cousin, that homeboy, that homegirl was really going to do with that money when they asked for it . . . but you gave it to them anyway?

why? because that’s how much your hearts cares for them, I care so much that I will take a chance on my cousin (who may have let you donw before)

I want to give, but I don’t have enough money to give to the church . . . look at your receipts

clothes, hair, nails, trips, shoes, olive garden, saltgrass, children’s parties, upgraded phone, hobbies, new car, new TV

the truth more often is not that I don’t have enough, but that a lot of other things are more important

Where is the your giving to the church ranked? Between what and what?

more important than this, but not more important than that

it’s good to know exactly where your heart is

I want to give, but I keep forgetting to give . . . look at your receipts

this was one of my heart excuses - and I asked my father about it: He told me that if it was important to me, I wouldn’t forget it

look at the receipts and you will see that you didn’t forget to spend money on that other stuff

if you forgot, you found a way to go back and make up for it

the truth more often than not is that it is not important enough to remember

My love for God has really increased over the years . . . look at your receipts

money is not the only indicator, but it is a strong one

when I first met Sherry I spent movie and dinner money on her

but as my love grew, and as we dated . . . I spent gas money (car broke down was no problem . . . happy to drive across town and take her to work it)

as things continued . . . . bill money (she helped me out too)

we got married . . . all the money went into the pot

you could watch my bank account and see that I was getting more and more serious

so since you have grown so much spiritually, I am sure a giving increase came along with that? not talking dollar amount, but percentage? (true indicator)

you used to not give tithes, so you must have increased from 10% to 12 percent? Right? Because your love increased? relationship grew and got more serious?

oh, you stayed at 10, how long you’ve been at 10%

one necessary truth to face is that for the most part people do what they want to do!

Every Friday night during football season, Sherry and I struggled . . . combination of life and having our boys in high school football and marching band

money for tickets, money for gas, money for food for boys before game, our dinner on the run, money for food after game - $100 per week ($400 to $500) per month

not counting Saturday band competitions, dad I need a new reed for my sax

not counting “we need $25 from every parent”

somehow, someway we did it, every game - barely, barely, barely

going from high school games to college games (at one time two colleges at the same time) - the cost more than quadrupled, even just going to home games

but if we could barely afford high school, how could we ever afford college life?

we wanted to - found a way, made some sacrifices, used some credit cards, and God worked out some things for us . . . but the key was our mind was made up. Even to have faith for God to step in . . . .(we are going to go, and trust God to provide when we get back! . . . more on that next week)

being there for our boys, celebrating our boys, was so important to us . . . that we found a way, because for the most part, people do what they want to do

The main reason that people give is because they want to give

the main reason that people don’t give is because they don’t want to give

those are not high priorities

Face that reality, a reality that your heart often tries to hide from you . . . and base your future giving on a full and honest understanding of where you are

even if your giving doesn’t change, at least know the true situation

and that’s what God is putting before us, like the dreaded question males often get females

“what are we?” “what are we doing here”

Speaking of a full, honest, and open understanding

What is your standing with God?

Have you ever admitted that you were a sinner who needed saving?

you heart will lie to you, and say we’re ok, we’re fine, we’re good enough

But the Bible tells the truth, and the truth is that we have all sinned, we have all fallen short, none of us our righteous without the grace of God.

have you ever told your heart, “I’m going to stop listening to you, I will listen to the spirit of the Lord!”

have you ever told your heart, “You need Jesus”

have you ever told your heart, “I’m giving you to Jesus right now”

have you ever told God,

I believe you sent your son

I believe he died for my sins

I believe he rose again

so take my heart, and make it new

take my heart and make it yours

give me a clean heart, O God . . . that I may serve thee

put your word in my heart, that I might not sin against thee

giving your money is not important, if you have not given your heart to Jesus

The time is now, now before judgment day where the Bible says that God wil bring the hidden things to light, and disclose the motives of men’s hearts.

Give your heart to Jesus

and if you are already saved, I am just asking that you do an audit, and see what your treasure says about your relationship with God and his church