Openhanded with Money

Intro

In America we have..... of wealth

42% believe a Christian should give to the church......

Here is the problem we face......

We see that we give TO...... GIVE to the church.... GIVE to the non-profit.... GIVE to Keep the AC on..... etc.

instead of

Giving From..... a heart of worship to God!

You have been saved by Grace through Faith.... It is a gift of God.....

You are no longer your old self, but a new creation in Christ

In response to God’s actions in your life. Saving you! ... You no longer worship yourself or another idol/god.....you respond to him in Worship!..... Giving is one way to show that worship to him!

Join me in Luke this morning to see what happens when Jesus interacts with two wealthy people......I want to look at a Case Study in the Gospel of Luke of two people that come into contact with Jesus..... and here is the formula....

Salvation leads to worshipping God… A fruit of that will be with your $

1. The Rich and Jesus

The Rich Young Ruler

a. Wealthy

b. Religious - He obeyed the law..... What must I do?

c. Unwilling to be generous - He did not experience Salvation in Jesus

Jesus addresses his sadness about riches with the truth that for the rich it is difficult.... impossible

d. A WARNING TO THE RICH

Luke 18:18–30 ESV

18 And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’ ” 21 And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27 But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” 28 And Peter said, “See, we have left our homes and followed you.” 29 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”

Zaccheus

a. Wealthy

b. irreligious

c. Changed by Jesus and more than generous

d. Jesus’ purpose is to bring salvation to the LOST.... sinners in need of salvation.

Luke 19:1–10 ESV

1 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

5%

Well, what about the remaining 95%? What are they up to?

30% of the U.S. makes no charitable contributions

50% of the U.S. give more than 0% but less than 2% of their income to charity;

15% give more than 2% but less than 10% of their income to charity

“There is no such thing as a Christian scrooge,” he says. “We may know some scrooges who claim to be Christians, but I don’t think you can claim to really know Christ and be a stingy person.” The gospel opens our soul — and with it, our hands.

Openhanded Worship

Why should we worship through giving of our $ in the life of the local church?

It is an Act of Worship between you and God!

FROM GOD TO YOU FROM YOU TO GOD!

Jesus was our example of generously giving everything! 2 Cor 8:9

2 Corinthians 8:9 ESV

9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

John 3:16 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 5:8 ESV

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV

21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 9:15 ESV

15 Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!

When your heart is forever changed by the Gift of Jesus Christ.... the forgiveness of your sins.... the eternal life.... His righteousness instead of the judgment due your sins.... the wrath of God..... It is inexpressible!..... Overwhelming generosity shown to you when you DID NOT DESERVE IT..... There is no one good except God alone! With man this is impossible but with God all things are possible!...... Who can be saved? Only those who repent and believe in Jesus Christ alone!

Salvation opens your heart and soul to bring glory, honor and praise to Jesus..... and that means worshipping him with your money as well!

Has Salvation come to you in Jesus..... Has that led you to worship God with being generous with Money?

Do you find yourself more like the Rich Young Ruler or Zaccheus?

Have you ever participated in worship through Giving at LCBC?

Stats above show that there will be some in our midst that would say no..... My time is my tithe.... My talents and serving is my tithe..... But we see over and over again that Money is a part of us worshipping God in the life of the church because Jesus saved us!

Do you give sacrificially, generously, joyfully, and regularly in worship at LCBC!

Worship beyond the Tithe

You must give a tithe!.... taught in churches growing up..... tithes and offerings..... The OT definetly teaches this truth, but I want to say this morning..... You do not have to Tithe as a Christian.....

A tenth of Israel’s seed, fruit, and flocks were given to the Lord (Lev. 27:30–32; Deut. 14:22–24; cf. 2 Chron. 31:5–6; Neh. 13:5, 12).

The people gave a tenth to the Levites to support them (Num. 18:21–24; cf. Neh. 10:38; 12:44), and the Levites, in turn, were to give a tenth to the chief priest (Num. 18:25–28).

Those who didn’t tithe were threatened with a curse, while those who did tithe were promised blessing (Mal. 3:8–10).

In fact, the number was probably somewhere around 20-23 percent per year. So if you are going to advocate for the terminology of a tithe.... I suggest you hold up to the 20% or more of what you recieve :)

Romans 7:6 ESV

6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.

2. Giving sacrificially, generously, and joyfully is a part of the christian life

2 Corinthians 8:1–5 ESV

1 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.

Giving 10% of your income may be a great place to start.... but if you are making 1,000,000 dollars..... what is 10% of that compared to the person making $10.hour...... the sacrificial worship of God is not felt the same.....

When was the last time you filled up with Gas?..... did you feel it hit your pocketbook? Your Budget? When was the last time you felt that when you gave online, wrote the check for your worship in giving @ LCBC?...... Man that is going to hurt?.....

There should be moments in your life that you look at your budget and think.... why can’t I afford that, and the reason being you give $ in worship to God! The tithe was put in place not because God needed money.... nor a system needed financing..... It was a constant reminder of the heart for the Israelites that the worship of God comes first!

God is calling us to be sacrificial, generous, and joyful in our worship to him with HIS money!

3. God loves a cheerful giver

2 Corinthians 9:6–7 ESV

6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Heart Check.... what does your heart say about your giving? Is it Cheerful, full of Joy in Christ?

This morning.... It is between you and God..... I am not playing the Holy Spirit for you.... Pastor said..... no it is between you and God.... you have decided in your heart.... it is not reluctant.... it is you and God… and God loves a cheerful giver!

Invitation -

Come and respond this morning!

Let us be a church that is openhanded with our $

Let us worship God in this way!

Let us take note of Jesus strong warning to the RICH!

Let us thank God for his inexpressible gift in Christ Jesus our Lord!

Move as the Spirit leads..... Join our church, be baptized, come to Jesus this morning as your Lord and Savior!