Spotlight on Percentage Giving

This morning we continue our sermon series “Mirrors to Windows” Like a mirror’s reflection, God wants us to reflect Jesus – and not just within the four walls of this church- but in the places outside these windows- in the ordinary everyday places of our lives.

To do that we must allow Jesus to saturate every aspect of our lives, moreover, as we learned, we must develop intimacy with God through spiritual discipline.

There are several spiritual disciplines such as experiencing the Bible, prayer, percentage giving, private and cooperate worship, and acts of service,. Over the past two weeks we have covered the disciplines of experiencing the Bible and prayer. This morning we will put a spotlight on the spiritual discipline of percentage giving.

SERMON POINTS

1. To best reflect Jesus in our own frontline we must develop intimacy with God by practicing the spiritual discipline of percentage giving.

Simon Sinek, in his book, “Start with Why,” shares the following,

“Armed with every ingredient for success, Samuel Pierpont Langley set out in the early 1900s to be the first man to pilot an airplane. Highly regarded, he was a senior officer at the Smithsonian Institution, a mathematics professor who had also worked at Harvard. His friends included Andrew Carnegie and Alexander Graham Bell. Langley was given a $50,000 grant from the War Department to fund his project, a tremendous amount of money for that time. He pulled together the best minds of the day, a veritable dream team of talent and know-how. Langley and his team used not only the finest materials, but they were followed by the press everywhere they went. People all over the country were riveted to the story, waiting to read that he had achieved his goal. With the team he had gathered and all of the resources they had, his success was guaranteed. Or was it? A few hundred miles away, Wilbur and Orville Wright were working on their own flying machine. Their passion to fly was so intense that it inspired the enthusiasm and commitment of a dedicated group in their hometown of Dayton, Ohio. There wasn't any funding for their venture. No government grants. No high-level connections. Not a single person on the team had an advanced degree or even a college education, and that included Wilbur and Orville Wright. But the team banded together in a humble bicycle shop and made their vision real. On December 17, 1903, a small group witnessed a man take flight for the first time in history.”

Sinek goes on to explain that only the Wright brothers were successful at inspiring those around them and to ultimately succeed because they started with the question “why”? The Wright brothers understood the power of "Why". They knew that people wouldn't truly buy into a product, a service, a movement, or an idea, until they understood the why behind it. In other words, (for the notes)

A person's why is the purpose or the cause or the belief that inspires that person to action. Behind each choice that you and I make, there is a why or a reason.

I agree with Sinek and believe that the “start with the why,” concept is especially applicable to the topic of how we manage our finances.

As Dr. David Jeremiah explains,

“What we believe about money and what we believe about possessions and why we do with our money and possessions what we do, determines how this all plays out through our lives.”

So we are going to “start with the why” as we discuss this sometimes difficult topic of financial giving.

Why is percentage giving important? Why should I do it?

Percentage giving, also traditionally called tithing, is giving a percentage of your income before taxes back to God. Money is discussed frequently in the Bible. In fact, Jesus taught often about money but the crazy thing is, Jesus did not teach about money because He valued it for Himself. The gospels do not record Him ever asking others for it. This is because Jesus didn’t want to get rich. He had no need for money because Father God provided for every single one of His Son’s needs. So why then, did Jesus talk about money? The answer to that question is the answer to our earlier question:

Why is percentage giving important and why should I do it?

And is our second point this morning:

2. Jesus taught about money because He wants us to have the right priorities.

But don’t take my word for it, listen to what Jesus said in Luke 18 when a certain ruler asked Him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said Luke 18:19-25

Luke 18:19–25 NIV

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’” “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

(long sigh)

Jesus, do you know just how hard it is to do what you are asking here? Perhaps, like so many of us today, the young ruler thought: I work hard and when the money comes in it is difficult for me to let it go. It’s mine, I earned it, and I have the right to spend it how I want.

Maybe the ruler didn’t earn his riches, maybe he inherited it and felt an obligation to his family to be its steward. Regardless, when tested, this man chose to give money a higher priority than inheriting eternal life. He gave his money a greater priority than following Jesus.

Jesus taught about money because He knew that the human heart is easily mesmerized by it. If you want to know what you value, what you really value in your life- then take a look at your bank statement and it will tell you.

Matthew 6:24

Matthew 6:24 NIV

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

(NIV) He makes this bold declaration,

“’No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.’”

What do you value more? Your money or God? When you commit to percentage giving your values and priorities are reconfirmed on a regular basis. It is a way for you to weekly demonstrate God’s preeminence in your life.

That brings us to our third point this morning:

3. Jesus taught about money because He wants us to make investments that last.

Jesus wants us to make sound investments that really hold their value.

Pastor Alan Perkins uses the following illustration to demonstrate this concept:

Take a look at the two men in this photo:

You probably recognize them: Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs. The two men who founded Apple Computer. Right? Well, no, actually that’s not completely accurate. Here is a photo of the original partnership agreement, dated April 1, 1976.

As you can see, it has three signatures, not two. The first is Stephen G. Wozniak. The second is Steven P. Jobs. And the third is Ronald G. Wayne. Here’s a picture of him

Who is that, you may ask.

Ronald Wayne was the third co-founder of Apple, with a ten percent ownership stake. Remember that figure: ten percent. He wasn’t an engineer, but he had a significant role in the early days of the company: he designed the first Apple logo, he wrote the user manual for the Apple 1 computer, and in general he provided administrative oversight of the new venture. He was the unofficial adult in the room: he was in his forties at the time.

So why haven’t most of us ever heard of Ronald Wayne? Is he a wealthy recluse, staying out of the public eye while he sails around the world on his 300-foot luxury yacht? Perhaps he’s a philanthropist, distributing his millions to deserving charities. No. No, neither of those things is true. In fact, today Ronald Wayne is far from wealthy. Because just twelve days after these partnership documents were signed, he and the others signed a second document.

Second Doc

And in this document, he gave up his ten percent stake, in exchange for eight hundred dollars. Eight hundred dollars.

Let me ask you, would you be willing to pay $800 for ten percent of Apple Computer today? So what happened? Well, Wayne had second thoughts. As a partner, he would have been liable for any debts incurred by the new company, and that was a risk. He had assets that creditors could come after if the company went broke. He also felt a bit out of his league with Jobs and Wozniak, these two whiz-kid geniuses. And so he bailed. Took the $800 check and parted ways with them. And the rest is history.

Now, just for fun, let’s calculate what Wayne’s ten percent stake in Apple would be worth if he had held on to it all these years. Apple today is worth about $800 Billion dollars. And so that ten percent stake in 1976 would today be worth about $80 Billion dollars. That’s right. The ownership stake that Ronald Wayne relinquished in 1976 for eight hundred would today be worth over eighty billion dollars. In other words, about a hundred million times what he sold it for. Just let that sink in for a moment. Now, for the record, Mr. Wayne says today that he doesn’t regret his decision, and that it was based on the best information he had at the time. So, he’s made his peace with it. But you have to suspect that more than once, over the years, he’s said to himself: “If only . . . “.

However, Ronald Wayne isn’t the only person who sold their Apple stock too soon. Apple went public on December 12, 1980. And for 23 years, the stock didn’t do much. A lot of people sold their stock during that time. But beginning in 2013, the stock really took off. What that all boils down to is this: an investment of one thousand dollars in 1980 would today be worth about $400 thousand dollars. An investment of $2,500 back then would be worth close to a million today. Why is there never a time machine around when you need one?

I don’t share that story to gloat about buying Apple stock in 1980. I didn’t, I was too young. But if my father had, he might be sailing around in his private yacht somewhere. No, I share that story to urge you not to do what Ronald Wayne did when he sold his stake in Apple for $800 instead of waiting to cash in at $80 billion dollars. I’m urging you not to do what all those Apple investors did who sold early and missed out on returns of literally hundreds of times what they had paid. I’m urging you to follow Jesus’ ultimate buy-and-hold strategy found in Matthew 6 starting in verse 19,

Matthew 6:19-21

Matthew 6:19–21 NIV

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

“’Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

All the riches of this world are like Wayne’s $800 compared to the eternal, never ending, riches of Heaven.

Put God first. Make following Jesus a priority and like the founders of Apple, you will reap untold riches in heaven.

That brings us to our next point this morning:

4. Jesus taught about money because He wants to grow your faith- He wants you to trust God.

Now I don’t know about you but I have struggled with this, especially in my twenties and early thirties. Perhaps it was the way I was raised but, I feel that it is my responsibility to provide for my family. If we struggle financially, I feel as though it is my fault. So often our finances were tight and I had to strain to earn enough to meet our needs. Percentage giving felt as though I was being asked to take away from what my family needed. What if the remainder of what was left after giving to the church wasn’t enough? What if an unexpected bill came in, or there was an emergency bigger than our emergency fund. What about savings, and… and… and.

Pastor Andy Stanley understands. He explains,

“I have discovered through the years that percentage giving is often the faith tipping point for men in particular. In other words, this is the thing that men, and I’m sure women, you may wrestle with it as well, but just in my experience, this is the thing that when it comes to following Jesus… us men, oftentimes we have to wrestle this to the ground. And once we wrestle it to the ground, we discover this really isn’t a money thing. This is a faith thing- and that is the private spiritual discipline of percentage giving. That is deciding upfront that I’m not just gonna give when I see a need. I’m going to choose a percentage of my income, and I’m going to pre-decide to invest it in what God is doing in our community and what God is doing in the world. As we wrestle with this one, here’s what we discover. It’s not even about money… It’s about our confidence in God. It’s about our faith in Him.”

Listen to what Jesus said about this in

Matthew 6:25-34

Matthew 6:25–34 NIV

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Friends, do you believe Him? Do you trust Him as Jesus trusted Him. Do you trust that Father God knows your needs and will supply what you need when you need it? Sure, He may not always give us what we want- a bigger house, nicer car, better job, fancier clothes, more luxurious vacations, etc, etc, – but He can and will care for your NEEDS. So, do- you- trust- Him? (pause between each of those words)

You see, percentage giving is a two way test.

Dr. David Jeremiah explanes,

“When we tithe, we embrace God's promise. Tithing is a two-way test. It's a way for God to test our willingness to trust him and it's a way we test his faithfulness to us. Let me tell you something, it's the only place in the Bible that I'm aware of and I've looked diligently. It's the only place in the Bible where we, as followers of God, are told to test God.”

Dr. Jeremiah refers to Malachi 3:10 (NIV) where God states,

Malachi 3:10

Malachi 3:10 NIV

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.

Friends, I confess I tested God on this. When I finally surrendered and committed to percentage giving somehow the remaining 90% went further than the 100% ever did. It is as if once I give to God my first 10% he blesses what is left in ways I don’t understand. Committing to percentage giving has strengthened my faith and I can not think of a single person I know who has done so and regretted it. Instead, they come out as stronger men and women of faith.

That brings us to our final point this morning,

5. Jesus taught about money because He knows that those who give are rewarded with greater joy.

Take a look at 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 (NIV),

2 Corinthians 9:6-7

2 Corinthians 9:6–7 NIV

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

The Greek word for cheerful is hilaro, where we get our English word hilarious. Although many pastors teach this verse is saying we are to give hilariously (and who really does that?), the word hilaroin its original context to its original audience meant “joyful, cheerful, non-reluctant, already inclined, won over.”

As author Cindi McMenamin explains,

“In other words, give preparedly and with an anticipation of what God will do to multiply it for His purposes. That kind of giving produces joy, and an excitement of wanting to give more… Do you realize the more you give, the more God will give you…so that you can continue to give? That’s right. We don’t give because then we’ll get. We give out of gratitude for what God has given to us, and so that God will give us more so we can give more. That’s the essence of giving in the New Testament.

Jesus said, ‘Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back’ (Luke 6:38, NLT).”

Then later in 2 Corinthians 9:8 Paul explains,

2 Corinthians 9:8

2 Corinthians 9:8 NIV

And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

That is God’s promise to those who give abundantly- He promises to provide, He promises to bless abundantly, and He promises joy.

In conclusion let me share one more quote from Dr. David Jeremiah,

“Tithing (percentage giving) is a discipline, something you've gotta teach yourself to do. Nobody is born wanting to tithe. Some people may have the gift of giving. It's a lot easier for them. For most, it's a very challenging thing. So it means you do it when you feel like it, you do it when you don't feel like it. Some people have found a way to just do it, make it a matter of just automatic, routine, "I give the first 10% to God". It's a discipline. But more than that, it's a decision. You have to decide to do it. You have to determine in your own heart: This is what God is teaching me. I wanna find out what it's like to be blessed. I wanna do this because God's promised to bless me if I do. I'm gonna be faithful to God and I'm gonna make that decision. How do you make a decision? You just decide.”

As for me and my family, we have decided to bank on God’s promises instead of on the ever changing, inflating, never dependable dollar. How about you?

Let us pray.