Giving Basics

January 9th 2022

Series: Basics of the Faith

Sermon Title: Giving Basics

Topic: A message on what giving is in the Bible, not based on culture.

Key Passages: Various

Sermon Blurb: A lot of people seem to think churches only want you for your money. In this message, we dive into what the Bible actually says about the money we have and how God says we should use it.

Sermon:

Family Moment

PAUSE

If you are new, or newer, to Family Church you probably do not know what we do EVERY January around here….so let me explain.

Every January we spend the month talking about things HEALTHY followers of Jesus do.

Because it is our goal for everyone at Family Church to be a healthy follower of Jesus.

So maybe, just maybe, you will walk away from church every week this month with some additional ideas of things you can put into practice in 2022 to become a healthier follower of Jesus.

PAUSE

This month we will be talking about Basics of the Faith.

Let me give you the trajectory for the month.

Last week we talked about Bible Basics. What is the Bible? How did God give us the Bible. How do we study the Bible? And so forth.

This week we are going to talk about everyone’s FAVORITE thing!!! Anyone want to guess?

Yes!!! MONEY MONEY MONEY!!!

Today is about giving Basics. What is giving? What is Tithing? How did God teach us to give? And so forth.

PAUSE

And let me say this right here….because I know some of you are already like ugh……really….today I am going to be guilt tripped into giving.

I PROMISE you that is NOT my intention today.

I would hope that as you come to Family Church you will see we never guilt you into giving.

What we do is simply teach you how God designed you to engage God and others with the money God entrusted you with.

So please…..don’t write me and this message off….

I promise you if you keep engaged you will walk away encouraged.

PAUSE

Next week we are going to talk about Prayer Basics. What is prayer? How did God teach us to pray? How do we pray? And so forth.

In Week 4 we are going to talk about Serving Basics. What is biblical serving? How did God teach us to serve? And so forth.

Then we will wrap this month up talking about Fasting Basics. What is Biblical fasting. How did God teach us to fast? And so forth.

PAUSE

I really hope you will make it a point to be here every week and start the year off right!

I really do believe it is important you are here as much as you physically can be….because it is important for you, your faith and your kids and their faith.

Let’s not let another year go by without growing closer to Jesus.

Let’s not let another year go by without becoming a more committed disciple of Jesus.

PAUSE

Today, I want us to grab our Bibles and open your Bibles up to Luke 12…and after last week I really hope you brought your Bibles to church!

PAUSE

As you are getting to Luke 12 let me break the ice with a joke and story to bring us all back in today…..

Here is a funny one I heard about balance in life….

Does anyone know what the thinnest book in the world?

A Dutch gift catalogue…

Let me tell you a short story that gets to the root of what we will talk about today…

A man dies and goes to heaven. St. Peter meets him at the Pearly Gates and says, "Here's how it works. You need 100 points to make it into heaven.

You tell me all the good things you've done, and I give you a certain number of points for each item, depending on how good it was. When you reach 100 points, you get in."

"Okay," the man says, "I was married to the same woman for 50 years and loved her with all my heart."

"That's wonderful," says St. Peter, "that's worth two points!" "Only two points?" the man says.

"Well, I attended church all my life and supported its ministry with my tithes and service."

"Terrific!" says St. Peter. "That's certainly worth a point." "One point!?!!

I started a soup kitchen in my city and also worked in a shelter for homeless veterans."

"Fantastic, that's good for two more points," St. Peter says. "Two points!?!!"

Exasperated, the man cries, "At this rate, the only way I'll get into heaven is by the grace of God."

'Bingo! 100 points! Come on in!' says St. Peter

And that is what I want everyone to know….Giving does NOT get you into heaven….

Giving to this church will NOT get you into heaven….

Getting into heaven comes by the grace of God only.

And before we get any deeper into the message today. If you are new here. I am SO GLAD you are here! Understand this; I preach on giving like once or twice a year. We are not preaching on money because our church is in need of money. God abundantly provides for all our needs.

We are preaching on money because in our modern culture money drives almost everything we do or do not do.

Listen to how Jesus put it….

Luke 12:34, For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Where your money is.

Where you put your money.

How you invest your money.

How you spend your money.

How you give your money.

That is a clear indicator of where your heart is.

PAUSE

Let me invite someone up here on stage to preach this message with me…..

Will you all welcome Ryan this morning!!!

For those of you who do not know Ryan…he is the finance guy around the church.

He oversees our finances….he works with the company that manages our books to make sure we do things right and so forth…..

And I told Ryan last year…..You know Ryan….I really believe God has a call on your life to maybe do more than run all the great businesses you do….

That I think God has a call on your life in the area of ministry….

And Ryan said….about the same thing I said when I was told that by a Pastor before I was one….

Ummmmm….ya….I’ll pray about that!

But I said great…..you pray and I will have you preach with me a few times and we will see what God does…..

And here he is today!!!!

So make sure you are all kind to him and give him GREAT feedback after service….

PAUSE

So, Ryan….you want to share with them some findings in this arena of life..

Thanks Pastor Adam and add something….

Today, I am excited to be here as a regular lay person….like all of you in the room…

I am NOT a pastor.

I have NOT been to seminary.

And so today as I share I am going to share from that place….

A regular guy or gal like you try to do as Pastor Adam said…..

Help you understand how God designed us to operate with our finances.

Again, bear in mind that today we are looking at things from God’s perspective NOT your or my perspective.

We are looking at things from a global view not an American view.

PAUSE

Now if you are not aware you can pull data on income for every part of our country. Anyone can pull it up on Zeeland, Holland, Grand Rapids and so on….

So in prepping for this sermon, I pulled the data and guess what I found out? That the majority of us in this room are RICH by global standards!

If you look at the world….if you make over $30,000 a YEAR you are in the TOP 1% of income earners in the WORLD!!!

So let me just show you what you can find:

(mom make all below one slide)

Wealth from a Global perspective is a household earning over $30,000 year.

Median Income from City Data:

Zeeland: $51,179

Holland: $56,593

Hudsonville: $63,728

Grand Rapids: $50,103

I am in this boat with you all….I live in Hudsonville…And so I realize when I look at the businesses God has blessed me to own, for him, it puts me into a place where I am wealthy from a Global perspective…

What this means is that the majority of people listening to this message are wealthy from a global or God sized view.

PAUSE

So, I want all of us to ask this question today…and I am willing to bet for many of us, this it will sound like an odd to ask yourself, but here it is…."Why has God made me rich?"

Why did God make us rich?

So, with our time today Pastor Adam and I want everyone to understand what should flow out of our richness….

1. From Biblical richness flows generosity and thanksgiving.

(Mom keep the verse together)

2nd Corinthians 9:11 Paul told the Corinthians this. He said,

"You will be made"

Selfish in every way so that I can be like scrooge…. No. I will be made Rich so I can buy anything I want… No. Let me try again… I will be rich so I can hoard it away in case the world ends? No.

What does it say….maybe if you read it with me I will get it right…. Say it with me. You will be made....

"rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion. And through us, it will result in thanksgiving to God."

Wow!!!

God says he made some people, like us, RICH…. So that we can be generous on EVERY occasion…..

And our generosity will actually lead people to thanking God!!!!

WOW!!!!!!

Pause and think about what God just said….

Imagine if you took just a little bit of your wealth and you were generous with it.

Imagine if you looked at your wealth not as your nest egg or safety net….but as your TOOL to LEAD people in thanking God!

Can you think of one time in your life that happened?

RYAN GET EXCITED WITH THIS STORY!!!!

I mean if Jesus sat down with you today at lunch and Jesus said, “Tell me a few stories about how you have been so generous with what I have given you, that caused people to give thanks to God.”

He looks at you with that excited look in his eyes…a big smile…he is excited to hear how you have lived this out….

PAUSE

What would you say? Could you even think of one time? Two?

Listen to what Paul told Timothy about rich people. Which again if your household makes over 30K, which is the majority of you here today, then you are rich.

(Mom keep the verse together)

1st Timothy 6:18.

"Command those who are rich."

And who is that?

Let's just make sure we understand.

Who is he talking to? People like…who? Us?

"Command those who are rich" to do what??

"To do good and to be" what?

"To be rich in good deeds."

Then he goes on to say "And to be" what?

"And willing to share."

He didn't say: Suggest to those rich people….

Encourage them….

Build them up and hope they will be generous…

He said, "Command them to be generous and willing to share."

He says our Biblical Giving Attitude should be:

Biblical Giving Attitude: I have more so I can’t wait to give more.

God has blessed us. We are rich. I am rich!

You may not feel rich; but in what we have we are to honor God with it.

Pastor Adam…you want to take the next part….

Thanks Ryan….love the perspective you bring!

The second thing…write this down..…

2. From Biblical richness flows cheer.

From Godly riches FLOWS JOY!!!!!!

For some of you this point alone could change your life.

Some of you here today live a life devoid of happiness.

A life devoid of cheer!

A life where you do not have Joy.

And the Bible tells us that by living the way God called us to with our finances, we can receive the joy we lack!!!!

Who would have ever thought that giving could restore the joy you have lost, right?

(mom keep verse together)

I love what Paul said in 2nd Corinthians 9:7. He said,

"That each of you should give what you have…"

Let's say this aloud. "You should give what you have decided in your heart to give not reluctantly or under compulsion, because"

what kind of a giver does God love?

"God loves a cheerful giver."

Let’s walk through this verse…

"You should give what you have decided in your heart to give."

Now, I love this phrase because of what it implies!

It implies to that you've thought about what you're going to give.

Maybe even prayed about it.

If you're married, you've talked about it with your spouse. Together you asked God for direction. You made a decision together for what you're going to give.

Let me give you an example that you might connect with to make this sink in…

When you think about a gift you are going to give to someone you love, what do you do????

Come on work with me today…. You get excited about it. You spend time thinking about what would bring them joy! You spend time finding the perfect gift!

And when you give it, you're not giving reluctantly You’re not feeling reluctant about giving to someone you love You're excited to give.

We just had Christmas right? I get so excited for my kids to see what Jenny and I got for them!

I'm giddy about it; I can't wait.

Why? Because I decided in my heart to give to somebody that I love. I'm a cheerful giver.

Valentine’s day is coming up….and dating ladies you cannot wait to see what he is going to get you!!!

And dating gents you cannot wait to give her those flowers or maybe finally the ring she has been waiting for…hint hint…….

You are so excited…you’re giddy!!

PAUSE

So why is it that when it comes time to give at church we are all so quiet?

Why is it that we do not cheer, we don’t clap? Why aren’t we excited to give to God?

Have you ever thought about what would honor God more?

Being all somber as you give…..

Or being JOYFUL while giving?

PAUSE

Could it be that we do not understand what God’s design is? The Bible just said, God LOVES a cheerful giver! I have said this before and I will keep saying it because it IS our church culture….we get excited to give at church…..

I mean that is why we celebrated in November that we raised how much Ryan……ADD AMOUNT

That is why we celebrate with Ryan quarterly how God is providing for our church through all of us!

We are a church that wants to model this for you all!!!

PAUSE

Here is how giving works for most people:

You come to church and there was a big tornado that hurt a lot of people, or an earthquake and we're receiving a special offering. And so, you're thinking, "Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah" and you spontaneously give to that. That's a good thing.

Or someone loses their job, and can't pay their rent and so you chip in. You didn't plan on it, but you do it; that's a really good thing.

A friend is going on a mission trip and so you say, "I'll give 50 bucks." You weren't planning on it, but you give that way; and that is good.

But if that's the only way you give, you're going to be incredibly limited in making a difference.

Think about the wise men when they went to see the baby Jesus, they put a TON of thought into it. Long before they journeyed, what did they do?

They said, "We want to give him our best. So we're going to take some gold, frankincense and some myrrh."

They didn't get on their camels, travel across the country and get to Bethlehem and say, "Oh, we forgot a baby gift. We better stop at Walmart and get a pillow pet."

NO, they didn't do that. They put some thought into it long beforehand!

PAUSE

So let me tell you how the Grill family does this. Because like Ryan I am also getting personal today.

For my family….it starts with what the Bible calls the tithe.

For those of you that are not Christians, this is going to sound crazy to you; but understand this does not apply to you. This is for followers of Jesus.

In fact, you may be inclined to thank God that you're not a Christian right now.

(mom keep verse together)

In the Old Testament, Malachi 3:10 says, "Bring the whole" what?

"tithe."

This comes from the Hebrew word "Maaser," which means a tenth.

"Bring the whole tithe…bring a tenth into the" what? "Into the storehouse,"

Most scholars believe this means the New Testament Church.

We return 10 percent of what God blesses us with to the church, to the storehouse, "that there may be food in my house".

For our family, our giving strategy starts with tithing 10% of what God blesses us with right back to God.

We give 10% back to God because He gave it all to me in the first place!

Now, you may say, "Why in the world would you do that?" For me, that is an easy answer, because the bible says to do it.

To which some Christians might say, "Well that's an Old Testament principle, not a New Testament principle."

That isn’t really true, let me show you…. Jesus clearly affirms the tithe in the New Testament.

Mathew 23:23, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

Jesus just said they should tithe…but it doesn’t stop there! He also said they need to live out the virtues of a follower of God as well!

See this goes back to what I say all the time….words and actions need to come into alignment!!! BALANCE!!!!!

I believe that as we all get deeper into our Bibles, we will see in the New Testament that the tithe is just the starting point of giving.

Therefore, my family gives God the first 10% and we do it with JOY!

(mom keep verse together)

In fact, Deuteronomy 14:23, from the Today's Living Bible, it translates the verse this way: "The purpose of tithing is" what? Say it aloud.

"Is to teach you to always put God first in your lives."

When I tithe it teaches me to place God first.

Ryan….you want to share our last point…

The 3rd thing that should flow out of our riches…..

3. From Biblical riches flows infectious giving.

Pastor Adam talked about this story in November….

But King David was a man God took through an interesting journey to become King of Israel. If you don’t know King David study him sometime; because he failed a LOT like we do, and God STILL did amazing things through him!

At one point King David was coming to the end of his life and he wanted to see his son Solomon, build a temple for God.

Do you know what he did?

David as King; gave the resources his kingdom could offer. Then he went way beyond! David gave out of his personal wealth.

1 Chronicles 29: 3-5

Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple: three thousand talents of gold and seven thousand talents of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings, for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord today?”

Most scholars say it's the largest known gift in recorded human history. It would have been recorded today in the value of billions and billions of dollars he gave.

That is extravagant!

At the end of his life he basically said, “GOD you gave all this to me…and now I give it all back to you!!!”

Contrast that to what we do with our wealth?

And you want to know what happens when we live a life like that?

Verse 6

Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s work gave

Gave how church?

willingly. They gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze and a hundred thousand talents of iron. Anyone who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the Lord in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite. The people

The people what church?

rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given

Given how church?

freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.

Check out how his son Solomon continued in his father’s infectious giving to God.

Solomon was to be anointed to be king after David and part of that is giving a bull as a sacrifice. You know what he said?

He said, “No way. I am Rich. I am Blessed. And RICH BLESSED PEOPLE GIVE BIG!" He said,

1 Chronicles 29: 21-22

21 The next day they made sacrifices to the Lord and presented burnt offerings to him: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams and a thousand male lambs, together with their drink offerings, and other sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22 They ate and drank with great joy in the presence of the Lord that day.

WOW!

Talk about not holding back!

And did you read the end of that?

He freely GAVE all that and with GREAT JOY!!!!!

Now some of you are probably thinking; well, that is great but I am not Rich! I don’t make over 30K a year. So, this does not apply to me and never will at my salary.

And here's the deal.

You don't have to give big amounts to give extravagantly.

Because, it's not about the amount; it's about the heart.

I 100% mean this….I HOPE NOT ONE PERSON FEELS GUILTED INTO GIVING ONE PENNY TODAY! I promise you as the finance guy at this church….This sermon is NOT being preached because we need money.

This is being preached because Jesus said where your money is there your heart is also.

And as Pastor Adam says a LOT….. we want all of your hearts to be SOLD OUT for Jesus!!!!

And let me close with one more story to show you it is NOT about the amount you give…it is about the heart….. A story about a widow who could only give Jesus a little bit; but Jesus was so impressed with her heart.

Luke 21: 1-4 (mom keep verse together)

Verse 1 says, "As Jesus looked up, he saw" whom?

“the rich putting their gifts in the temple treasury.”

2022 translation. He saw us, you and me giving at church.

And the Bible says He wasn't impressed with their gifts because evidently, it wasn’t meeting the bar God set.

Verse 2 goes on: “He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “Truly, I tell you," he said, "This poor widow has put in"

How much, what does it say?

"more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

She was so in love with God that she gave extravagantly. And God looked at these two small coppers and said, “What a beautiful offering!” She honored me so much by what she offered! She did not give much by the world’s standards but by mine, by God’s, she gave extravagantly!

PAUSE

Pastor Adam you want to give us our life application….

Let me give you your life application today…..

Life Application:

Make a giving plan for 2022. If you have a family, include your spouse and kids! Decide what you will give back to God in 2022 and start living into that plan.

I want you all to close your eyes…..I want you to imagine the day that because of your generosity people around the world are thanking God because of your generosity.

Let’s Pray…..