Can we first turn to 1 Corinthians 16? We will read the first four verses there.
Paul writes, starting in verse 1. This was a collection for the saints in Jerusalem. They were going through some pretty tough times, and Paul was encouraging these dear ones to remember them.
“Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also.
On the first day of every week let each one of you put aside and save, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come.
And when I arrive, whomever you may approve, I shall send them with letters to carry your gift to Jerusalem.
And if it is fitting for me to go also, they will go with me.”
—1 Corinthians 16:1-4
Now, if we can go to 2 Corinthians 8. We will read the first five verses.
“Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia,
that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality.
For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord,
begging us with much entreaty for the favor of participation in the support of the saints,
and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and to us by the will of God.”
—2 Corinthians 8:1-5
Now, 2 Corinthians 9. First we will look at verses 7 and 8.
“Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly, or under compulsion; for God loveth a cheerful giver.
And God is able to make all grace abound unto you; that ye, having always all sufficiency in everything, may abound unto every good work.”
—2 Corinthians 9:7-8
Going down to verses 12 and 13:
“For the ministration of this service not only filleth up the measure of the wants of the saints, but aboundeth also through many thanksgivings unto God;
seeing that through the proving of you by this ministration they glorify God for the obedience of your confession unto the gospel of Christ, and for the liberality of your contribution unto them and unto all.”
—2 Corinthians 9:12-13
You might want to hold your finger in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9—somehow bookmark that—because those will be our base chapters that we will be coming back to.
We want to read one last verse. It is over in 1 Peter 4:10.
“According as each hath received a gift, ministering it among yourselves, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”
—1 Peter 4:10
Let us pray.
Lord, how we have been so captured this morning by Your great faithfulness. Lord, whenever we come to Your table, we see that great demonstration. Lord, each one of us sits here today not because of our faithfulness, but because of Your faithfulness.
We are thankful, Lord, for the way You have kept. We are thankful for the way You have provided. We are thankful for the hope that we have in You. We know one day there will be that white horse, and the One sitting upon it is called Faithful. We are looking for You. You are faithful all the way through.
Lord, it gives us hope for our time this morning—not in ourselves, but in You—that in Your faithfulness You would speak to us on this matter related to spiritual responsibility and giving. We confess that we see much abuse of it within Christianity today.
But Lord, we look unto You to speak through Your great Spirit, to come into our hearts, and to move in a wonderful way, that we could put aside even our thoughts and allow Your thoughts, in the mind of Christ, to richly dwell amongst us this morning, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Over the last—I guess it has been a couple of years—we have been considering this matter of spiritual responsibility. It came because the Lord, in His great mercy and love, called us back in a spirit of repentance to return to our first love.
In returning to that place of first love, it is responding to Him and being spiritually responsible with all that He has given unto us and with what He is calling us to. We have touched on matters of spiritual responsibility in our individual lives. We have looked at spiritual responsibility in our prayer times, around the Lord’s table, in our groups, and in caring for one another.
This morning, what we want to look at is this matter of spiritual responsibility in giving. There are many ways that we serve and give, but today we want to focus specifically on the matter of finances.
I know this is not everybody’s favorite topic, because it starts getting a little personal. But we pray that, by the grace of God, I will not be intimidated to say anything, and I pray that, by the grace of God, y’all will not be intimidated to hear. In the Spirit of the Lord, may we hear what He is speaking to us in this hour.
I think it is good for us to remember again: What is spiritual responsibility? We use this term a lot. What are we saying when we speak of spiritual responsibility?
In simplicity, it is having that living relationship with the Lord. When we have a living relationship with Him, we hear Him. But it does not stop there. We have a relationship with Him, we hear Him, and we obey Him. That is being responsible. That is being spiritually responsible.
In whatever area we are in, in our whole life, He calls us to have that relationship with Him. I believe, as we look at this call upon us to be spiritually responsible, we can all easily say and confess, “Lord, I cannot be responsible.”
But I thank the Lord that, by His grace and by His mercy, we have the Responsible One living within us. As we deny ourselves and allow His life to come forth and meet us, that will be the spirit of responsibility being loosed within our midst and in our lives together.
Just as the disciples, in the matter of prayer, said, “Lord, teach us to pray,” as we come to this matter of spiritual responsibility in giving, we can simply pray, “Lord, teach us how to be more spiritually responsible with what You entrust us with, with the finances that we have, and with Your call for us to be givers. Lord, teach us how to be more spiritually responsible.”
As we consider this matter, I think one of the first things that is important for us to look at is that this whole matter of giving is a spiritual ministry. We can sometimes segregate and fragment things and think, “Well, this is so earthly. It is just money. It is really not anything very spiritual.”
But from the Lord’s perspective, this is a spiritual ministry. We read those verses in 2 Corinthians 9:12-13.
“For this ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God.
Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all.”
—2 Corinthians 9:12-13
Would the Lord settle it within our hearts that this aspect of giving is a spiritual ministry? When we talk about spiritual ministry, we are simply talking about the release of His life. It is releasing the Lord’s life.
Whenever we are called to respond and obey Him, as we do that in a spirit of obedience, it releases life. That is spiritual ministry. It is His life.
It is interesting: Paul, on one occasion—actually, several times—received a gift from the church in Philippi. If you look over in Philippians 4, it is interesting to see Paul’s perspective of this love gift.
In Philippians 4:17-18, we are given a glimpse of how this is a spiritual ministry. As those in Philippi had sent Paul a gift, he says:
“Not that I seek for the gift; but I seek for the fruit that increaseth to your account.
But I have all things, and abound: I am filled, having received from Epaphroditus the things that came from you, an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God.”
—Philippians 4:17-18
He is commending those in Philippi that, as they had given, the Lord was bringing about an increase within their own lives. Look at how he describes their gift: “a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God.”
This was Paul’s perspective. He saw it as worship. This is describing worship. This is the manifest grace of God in a very tangible way. Could the Lord work in our hearts to open us up to see the real spiritual ministry that occurs in this whole matter of giving related to our finances?
Another matter that we need to get settled at the beginning is that giving is grace. It is all by His grace. We are not under the law of the Old Testament.
But as you look through 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, the original Greek word charis, which means grace, is used in those two chapters ten times. It is not always translated “grace.” For example, when we read verse 4 of chapter 8, it was translated “favor.”
But the original Greek word for grace is used ten times. I think that speaks volumes to us of what the Lord’s heart is and the very nature of the matter of giving, that we could enter into it.
Brother Kong recently shared on the matter of the new covenant. He shared how so much of our lives are lived under the old covenant. I think, in particular, that this matter of giving is often lived under the old covenant.
So often, we use the term tithe: “How much should I tithe? How much should I give? How little should I give?” We are looking at it from an outward perspective in a very tangible way. But the Lord sees this whole matter of giving as a spiritual ministry coming from the grace of God.
There is such a wrong concept within Christianity today. We see so much abuse out there. Sometimes, because of the abuse, we react the other way, and we can end up neglecting it. Would the Lord awaken our hearts to see all that He has for us in this matter of giving?
When we are talking about spiritual giving as a spirit of grace, who is this grace for? Who has the grace been given to?
As we read in 1 Peter 4:10, each and every one of us has received the manifold grace of God. Each and every one of us has received this multifaceted, various, great variety of grace. This is just one aspect of the grace of God when it comes to the matter of giving.
It says that we are all stewards of grace. We have all been made stewards. The Lord has entrusted this unto us—each and every one of us, whether we are old or young. Each and every one of us who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ has been made a steward of this grace. He has called us unto that. Would we be those who respond to that grace?
Now, what is a steward? Today we do not really use this word too much. But if we look at a steward in Scripture, we know first of all from 1 Corinthians 4 that a steward is called to be faithful.
What is the responsibility of the steward? There are several characteristics of a steward:
We read in 2 Corinthians 9 that this ministry brought forth glory to God. It brought forth worship and adoration to the Lord. When one saw that, they glorified God; they were not glorifying in the steward himself.
How do we, as His stewards, get to know the Master’s heart? How do we know what His desire is? Well, this comes back to everybody’s favorite word: consecration. We all love it.
It is not like everybody who shares eventually weaves consecration in there, because that is what it is. So much of our life is dependent on living a consecrated life unto Him.
We remember Romans 12:1-2. Therefore, by the mercies of God—those mercies that are new every morning in His great faithfulness—we present ourselves to Him as a living sacrifice, that we can be transformed into His image and that our minds would be renewed.
We would not be seeing things from our perspective, but we would begin to see things from His perspective. This is what we need so desperately when we touch this matter of finances and giving.
That is why it is so precious in 2 Corinthians 8:5. That was the spirit of those in Macedonia:
“And this, not as we had hoped, but first they gave their own selves to the Lord, and to us through the will of God.”
—2 Corinthians 8:5
That is the spirit of consecration. They first gave themselves to the Lord. They were touched by Him, and they responded to Him.
As we know, when you give yourself to the Lord in a spirit of consecration, it is not a tithe. It is not ten percent. It is one hundred percent. All is His. Everything that we have is His. All that we have received—everything that we have—is His.
There is such a natural strength within us, in the old self, that part of it is ours and part of it is the Lord’s. That permeates our whole Christian life, far beyond giving. But as we are touching on that today, this is where we want the Lord to shatter that concept, that we could see it from His perspective: it is all His.
Giving is a freewill response to the mercies of God. When we see the Lord, when we see what He has done, there is a freewill response to make our offerings unto Him.
Praise the Lord, we are not under law, but we are under grace. Nowhere in the New Testament does it tell us how much to give.
In the Old Testament, under the law, you were told very clearly. You had the tithe; you had to start there. Then you had all those other offerings. If you added them up, various people come up with various percentages, but it can be roughly twenty-some percent.
The tithe was just the starting point. You had all the other offerings that you read about. But one of the most interesting things in the Old Testament is that, when we look to the building and construction of the house of God, how were the tabernacle and temple built? Were they built with tithes and offerings? They were built with freewill offerings.
The hearts of those who had a desire for the house of God to be built offered themselves freely. Let us look at Exodus 35.
In Exodus 35, we can see the spirit and heart of those dear ones who freely gave for the construction of the tabernacle.
“And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses.
And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and brought Jehovah’s offering, for the work of the tent of meeting, and for all the service thereof, and for the holy garments.”
—Exodus 35:20-21
Then, down in verse 29:
“The children of Israel brought a freewill-offering unto Jehovah; every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all the work, which Jehovah had commanded to be made by Moses.”
—Exodus 35:29
As their hearts were moved, they saw God’s desire to have a dwelling place—to have this tabernacle. Above all of the tithes and everything else, their hearts were moved, and they responded with a freewill offering.
How did they respond? Did they respond in a meager way? They responded so abundantly that, in the next chapter, the Lord had to say, “Enough.” It says they were restrained from giving.
Can you imagine being among brothers and sisters who were giving themselves to the Lord so much that the Lord said there needed to be a little restraint? That is hard to even imagine.
But they were so touched by what the Lord was doing in His heart and purpose that everything which had been precious to them in the past, everything that had meant something to them, was seen differently. Their perspective was changed, and they gave it to the Lord so freely. Oh, praise God for that movement of the heart.
It is the same spirit that we see when the temple was being built. We can look over in 1 Chronicles 29. This is where David summarizes all that had been going on and the offerings that were made.
First David, out of his abundance and his heart, shared freely. Then the leaders and many others shared freely. In 1 Chronicles 29:9, it says:
“Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with a perfect heart they offered willingly to Jehovah: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy.”
—1 Chronicles 29:9
It was an issue of the heart. The Lord touched them, and they freely gave and freely responded as the Lord had touched them.
Then David gives this marvelous prayer. It would be wonderful to look through the whole prayer. There is even a chorus in there: “Riches and honor come from Thee. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised.”
But if we come down to verse 14, we really see David’s heart. We are seeing the heart of a steward in these verses:
“But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.
For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as all our fathers were: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is no abiding.
O Jehovah our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee a house for thy holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own.”
—1 Chronicles 29:14-16
David starts by saying, “Who am I?” This is King David. I do not think there is any false humility. He has been touched so much that he is brought to his knees and genuinely says, “Who am I, Lord?”
Even though they were the ones who had made the offering, they recognized that it all came from Him, and they were simply giving it back to Him. It was by His grace and by His hand that enabled them to do it. It was beyond themselves.
When you stop and think about it, David said, “Lord, You have provided all this.” But if you read through Chronicles, who had gone out into battle? Who had won the spoil? Who had taken the plunder? Who had gotten all that gold and silver? David had won it rightfully in battle and brought it back.
Did he take credit for it? He said, “No, Lord, You have provided all this. You gave it. It was Yours, and we are just returning it to You.” Oh, that is the spirit of a steward.
David was not coming in and saying, “Lord, look at all the great victories I have won for You. Look at all the gold and silver that I have, and now I am coming and offering it unto You.” He was not taking credit at all. He was humble before the presence of the Lord, before the great mercy and grace of God. The Lord touched his heart and moved it.
Brothers and sisters, what is our motivation for giving? In a simple way, we could just look at this Lord’s table each Sunday morning. That summarizes our motivation for giving.
Really, we should not ask, “What is our motivation for giving?” It is, “Who is our motivation for giving?” We see the very life of the Giver in 2 Corinthians 8:9:
“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might become rich.”
—2 Corinthians 8:9
As we see Him, as we see all that He is and all that He has done, we can respond. We simply respond to Him by the grace of God. He was willing to become poor so that we might become rich. That is the spirit of giving.
To give, brothers and sisters, is grace, because the very character and nature of our Father, of our Lord Jesus Christ, is a character and nature of giving. The Father gave His beloved Son. All throughout Scripture, we see our Lord giving and giving and giving.
We have the very life of the Giver living within us now, desiring to be released in a fuller and greater way. Would we be able to see in a fresh way and respond to the grace of God for all that we have received?
He has provided us so richly and abundantly. This morning, we were trying to find all the various ways to testify of His faithfulness, and we cannot do it. We run out of words.
In the same way, when we start trying to describe the abundance of the riches that are in Christ, we cannot. But praise God for that little bit that we see and touch. We can return with an offering of sacrifice and praise and our offerings unto Him.
It is responding to His grace, because that is His very life. When we talk about being conformed to His image and having that renewed mind, it is having His character and nature—the life of the Giver—lived out in a very practical way within our lives. This is the grace of giving.
We wanted to touch on a few practical questions as the Lord is touching us. We can ask: When do we give? When should I give?
Before I get into that, I want to make a little side note. Sometimes we are hesitant to share needs, but there is a right way of sharing needs. Paul made it known to the churches throughout Macedonia and Galatia that the saints in Jerusalem were in need.
Paul did not beg. He did not coerce. He did not condemn. He simply made the need known. As that need was known, the Spirit of Christ within brothers and sisters responded to that need by the grace of God.
I know that sharing needs and all that is greatly abused today. But there is a way of sharing needs in the Lord so that we can be aware of situations. Let us not shy away if we hear of situations. We can share with one another, and the life of the Lord can be manifested. There can be a caring for saints in other places, or wherever.
There is a proper way of sharing needs. Would the Lord teach us how to do that, that we can be caring? I think, as we all know, the times are going to become a little more difficult. Maybe the needy are growing. But there is a way in the Lord for Him to provide, and we want to enter into that.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 16:2:
“Upon the first day of the week let each one of you lay by him in store, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come.”
—1 Corinthians 16:2
Paul is encouraging them to give on a regular basis so that, when he comes, they would not have to have one big offering. They could simply have it in a normal way.
It says, again, “each one of you.” That is all of us. Each one of us, just as each one of us is a steward and each one of us has received the grace—whether young or old, whatever our situation, whatever our circumstance.
It speaks of the first day of the week. To me, all that is speaking of is that, in a regular and systematic way, we enter into this grace of giving. Not so much sporadically, but in a regular way we share and return to the Lord with the offering of how He has touched us.
Then he says, “as you may prosper.” What does it mean to prosper? Some of us say, “Well, I am not prospering very well.” Amen. A lot of us are not prospering.
But the spirit of what the Lord is saying here is not just our paycheck. I do not even want to get into a debate over whether it is gross or net. If you have to ask that question, let us go back to this: this is a heart issue. The Lord is after our hearts.
It is whenever you are prospering—whenever there is an increase. Whenever anything comes to us, do not get hung up on what the IRS says is income or gain. Forget it. Social Security may not be taxable, but it is prospering you every month when you receive it, even though you put in a portion of it.
We get an inheritance. We have a yard sale. We receive gifts. We sell a car or sell a house. We sell various things where there is a little bit of an increase. There is a prospering.
What is our response? When we prosper, is the heart of the Lord, “Wow, I have got this so that now I can give more”? Or is it, “Wow, I have got this so I can buy this”?
I was so touched one time, a few years back. This had been made very real to a brother, and he came and said, “Mac, my child received a scholarship for so much to go to the university. We are so thankful to the Lord. We are returning with an offering of thanksgiving to Him.”
He saw the scholarship as prospering and knew that he had to return and give something of that to the Lord. That is the heart of us. That is the grace of giving. That is the spirit there.
Would the Lord show us how to enter in, that our hearts would be changed in such a way that we are seeking ways to give? When we receive an increase, when we get some extra amount, when we get what we need, there is a desire to give to Him.
This was true of those in Macedonia. They had been through such trials and afflictions. These were not the rich; these were the ones who were really poor. They had been through some tough times.
If you look back in 2 Corinthians 8:2, it says:
“How that in much proof of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.”
—2 Corinthians 8:2
What a spirit of grace in giving. You would not normally put “great ordeal of affliction” and “abundance of joy” in the same sentence. Those are different. But in the midst of that, why was it? Because they saw the Lord.
They had the grace of God touching their hearts. They saw Him in the midst of whatever they were going through. That is why Paul was able to write later in 2 Corinthians 9:7 that, as they had purposed in their hearts, they would be cheerful givers.
They were not being restrained. Out of the midst of everything they were going through, they were not under compulsion, but there was the cheerfulness of giving unto the Lord.
The verse that really touched my heart in relation to these dear ones in Macedonia—the area which includes the churches in Philippi, Berea, and Thessalonica—is 2 Corinthians 8:4:
“Beseeching us with much entreaty in regard of this grace and of the fellowship in the ministering to the saints.”
—2 Corinthians 8:4
They were begging to give. Paul was not begging them; they were begging him: “Paul, please let us help in this.” How often I get convicted when I read that verse. I do not beg too often to give.
But these ones had been touched in such a way that they said, “We hear of this need. We want to participate in that.” They had been touched so marvelously and wonderfully. Would the Lord touch us in such a way?
This is why Paul put this verse in chapter 9, verse 8, because it helps us to see that we cannot do it in ourselves, but by His grace:
“And God is able to make all grace abound unto you; that ye, having always all sufficiency in everything, may abound unto every good work.”
—2 Corinthians 9:8
The grace of God provides an abundance for us, brothers and sisters. It might not be a material abundance, but there was an abundance of the life of Christ in these dear saints. That is what the Lord was looking at.
That brings us to the next question: How much should we give? We have said that we are not under the Old Testament law. Grace giving is based on grace from the heart, as the grace of God touches our hearts.
What is the Lord’s perspective on giving? Brothers and sisters, the Lord’s perspective is faithfulness. The Lord is not interested in the amount, per se. The Lord is interested in faithfulness. The question is: Are we faithful?
Sometimes we get focused on the amount and say, “Well, I have got so little. This is not going to help. It is not going to have any impact at all.” But what is the Lord looking at?
We are familiar with the story of the widow’s mite and the Lord’s perspective on giving. Look in Mark 12:41-44.
The Lord was sitting there at the temple, and all these rich ones were going by and putting in their money where everybody could see. It says:
“And He sat down over against the treasury, and beheld how the multitude cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.
And there came a poor widow, and she cast in two mites, which make a farthing.
And He called unto Him His disciples, and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, This poor widow cast in more than all they that are casting into the treasury:
for they all did cast in of their superfluity; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.”
—Mark 12:41-44
That is the economy of God. In this world, we look at things outwardly, and we measure things in such a way: “Oh, look at the great riches there.” In the economy of God, He is looking at the heart. The heart is where we do these transactions.
This widow responded to the grace of God and came and gave herself unto Him. Many think this widow had actually been abused by the priests.
There was a habit in those times where, after the husband died, the priests would go to the widows and say, “Oh, if you really love the Lord, you will give your house and all your riches to the temple. Then that will show God how much you love God.”
Many widows would respond from a pure heart and give everything they had. The priests would literally plunder the houses of the widows. It was a tragic abuse of power.
Many think this widow was one who had probably been taken advantage of, plundered, and abused by these priests. Yet she still had a heart for the Lord. She did not allow the actions of religious leaders to impact her relationship with the Lord. She knew the Lord.
Too often, we can allow people to impact our relationship with the Lord. She did not. She knew within her heart that she wanted to give this, and she is recorded in eternity.
Brothers and sisters, what a perspective. How we need to have our perspective changed. It is not the amount. The Lord does not need our money. This assembly does not need our money. The Lord is looking for our hearts.
Think about the story in Acts of Ananias and Sapphira. Dear Barnabas had just sold some property and gave money to the disciples to help feed those in Jerusalem.
Ananias and Sapphira saw all the attention that Barnabas received. So they said, “Oh, we will sell our property too.” And they did.
But the problem was their heart, because they kept something back for themselves. Actually, if Ananias and Sapphira had sold the property, kept part for themselves, and simply given what was left to Peter, saying, “This is the portion of the sale that we give,” that would have been fine.
But the problem was that they deceived. They said, “This is all. We are giving everything,” but they did not, because they wanted to receive the praise of man. Their hearts were wrong.
I love it in the Old Testament when Abraham offered up his son Isaac. What is the Lord’s commendation of Abraham? The Lord commends Abraham by saying that he had not withheld his son.
He did not say, “Because you gave and offered.” He said, “Because you have not withheld.” So often, brothers and sisters, the issue is not what we give, but what have we withheld?
Our Father withheld not His own Son. Abraham withheld not his son. Oh, how we need our perspective changed.
We see many of them—the Rockefellers, the Gates, and everybody—they can give a lot of money, great quantities. But what have they withheld for themselves too? What are we withholding?
Are we giving in order to ease our conscience, or have our hearts been touched in such a way that, by the grace of God, we give?
As we are back in 2 Corinthians 8, looking at these dear ones in Macedonia, we see in verse 3:
“For I testify that according to their power, yea and beyond their power, they gave of their own accord.”
—2 Corinthians 8:3
The ability here is referring to their heart attitude, not their material amount. Down in verse 12 it says that you give according to what a man has, not according to what he does not have. You do not borrow. If you do not have something, you do not borrow money to give. We are talking about giving what you have.
What those in Macedonia had, even though it was little, they gave. They responded to the grace of God.
How often we have experienced this in different ways. Something comes into our life, we respond to the grace of God, and we get through it. We look back and say, “Wow, there was no way that I could do that.” That is true. There was not a way that you could do it.
But what we did at that point was allow the Lord’s life to work in us in such a way that we were able to go through by His grace. We responded, and He did it.
This is what occurred with those in Macedonia. In their own ability, you looked upon them and saw poor ones in poverty. But their heart attitude overflowed with liberality.
Would we have that willing heart? Sometimes we hear someone say, “We cannot afford to give.” Brothers and sisters, we cannot afford not to give.
The issue in whether we can afford to give is that, by the grace of God, we cannot afford not to give. Otherwise, we are denying the grace of God. Would the Lord be working within our hearts?
We spoke earlier of stewards and how the steward is consecrated. The fruit of consecration is knowing the Master’s heart and His desire. The Macedonians show us this truth related to sacrificial giving.
They denied themselves. As the fruit of consecration, as their minds were renewed, their whole perspective was changed. They were brought into the perspective of what Paul quoted from our Lord in Acts 20:35:
“It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
—Acts 20:35
How we love to receive. But it is more blessed to give than to receive.
What happened to these dear ones, and what happens when the spirit of consecration and the grace of God captures us, is that things which used to be important to us are no longer important. The Lord touches something, and we deny ourselves. What was important is not important anymore.
Our lifestyle changes. Our priorities change, brothers and sisters. We used to spend money on clothes, hobbies, and recreation. “I want this. I want that.”
But then, as the grace of God touches us, as the Giver touches our hearts and lives, how we see, “No more. It is all for Him.”
No longer desiring to live for ourselves, but constrained by the love of Christ—constrained by the One who has poured out His life for us—we no longer want to live for ourselves. It is not what I want or what I desire, but what is His desire?
How can I further give to the Lord? This carries far beyond finances; it is our whole life. How can I be serving and giving myself to the Lord in a fuller and greater way?
Not partially—not settling for twenty, thirty, or fifty percent. He gave Himself one hundred percent, that we would be utterly given and cast upon the Lord by His grace.
Would we be those who allow the Lord to deal with our selfish, self-centered attitudes? It is very natural within ourselves. We are selfish.
You ask any newborn child: “Mine.” I think their first words are not really mother and father. Their first words are “mine.” “This is mine.” You cannot even get it out of their hand; they have gripped it there.
It is so natural within us. We get a little more refined and polish ourselves up a little bit, but we are still greedy, selfish people. The Lord has to deal with us in very specific ways.
We are so blessed in this country. Would the Lord open our eyes to really be able to see all the great needs? We know Scripture says that we will have the poor with us always. But these ones in Macedonia had been touched by the needs of their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem, and they were willing to deny themselves to help them.
We in this country are so blessed. The minimal that we have is a feast in many places. Would the Lord open our eyes that we could be givers, and givers in a greater and fuller way?
We have said that in the New Testament we are not under the law. But I will share a little testimony. As I have talked with ones over the years, there are many wonderful testimonies of ones who say, “Mac, I use the tithe as a guide, not as a law, but as a guide to help me.”
For some, it really is a starting point that helps them enter into this spirit of giving. Please hear that correctly. I am not saying you start there, that it is the law, and that you go on from there. No. Some were touched this way, and they can testify of the blessing of it. That is all I am going to say.
This is one of those delicate things you are trying to walk along here. But it is interesting: we say it, but we can never outgive our Lord.
Brothers and sisters, there is a prosperity gospel—not the one out there in fake Christianity—but the more we give to the Lord, the more He gives to us. We prosper. It is pressed down, shaken together, and running over.
But what are we prospering in? The more we give to Him—not only finances, but our whole life—the more we give to Him, we enter into the prosperity. What is the prosperity? It is more of Christ.
The prosperity is Christ, that we enter in and enjoy more of His life. The more His life touches us, we give back more, and we get more of Christ. That is the prosperity gospel: the prosperity of the life of Christ being lived out in His people.
The Lord wants us to be prosperous in Christ, enjoying the goodness and fullness of all that we have in Him. It is tragic how people have taken that and so abused and misused it that we have a tendency to say, “Oh, I am not going to be prosperous.”
Yes, the Lord wants us to be prosperous in Christ and in the joy of all the abundant riches and blessing that we have in Him. But there is a way. It is called the way of the cross, of denying ourselves.
As we deny ourselves, then all of a sudden that prosperous life comes out—more of the riches. The same principle applies within the matter of finances and giving. Would we experience more of His life and more of Christ?
As we said, the Lord does not need our money. This assembly does not need our money. But the Lord needs our hearts to build His house and to perfect us. The Lord needs our hearts.
That is what we are after: that we could really be built together. These dear ones in Macedonia first gave themselves to the Lord, but then they gave themselves to one another. As they gave themselves to one another, they brought a great prosperity—the increase of the life of Christ.
Another question is: Where do you give? If you look throughout the New Testament, really the only place mentioned in giving was the local assembly.
I am not going to say that you give exclusively to the local assembly, but I think our primary place of giving should be our local assembly. The local assembly is really our spiritual home.
As we participate here, we are committed to one another. We share with one another. We serve one another. We are so blessed; we receive much. The children are taken care of; they are in classes now. We have opportunities to come together, and there is much that goes on.
The Lord desires that we would be those who recognize that part of spiritual responsibility is caring for the financial obligations here. We are encouraged to be responsible during prayer times, at the Lord’s table, and in caring for one another. We are also spiritually responsible to care for the financial obligations here. It is just part of the way it works.
Even naturally, brothers, if someone lends us a truck, gives us a chainsaw, or lends us anything, we usually return it in better condition than we got it. If someone lets us use a truck, we take the truck back full of gas.
I just lent a brother a broken generator. He returned it fixed. That is spiritual responsibility. I am prospering too.
In the same way, as we gather here, there is a statement of finances on the board out in the hall. There are lights, lunch, and all these things. You can see how much it costs to be here, and I am being very practical now. We receive much, and so we want to be those who are faithful, responsible, helping and caring here.
Years ago, I used to help take care of the offering box. One of the things I used to love was opening it up some Sundays and seeing pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters from the children. You can tell how long ago that was.
This is one of the greatest ways that parents can train children: helping them be spiritually responsible in the matter of giving within the house of God.
I remember one little girl in the fellowship. Once a month or so, she would come up, and I would need to unlock the box because she had saved her nickels and wrapped them up. The wrapping of nickels would not fit through the slot, so she had to put it in there.
Praise God for that. That is what I am talking about. The Lord is not interested in the amount. It is not the amount that the Lord is interested in; He is interested in our hearts.
He knows our condition. He sees our circumstances. He rejoiced at the widow’s mite. He rejoices at the quarters and nickels that come from little children.
For those who are going through a difficult time, the enemy will say, “Oh, your one dollar, your five dollars—the Lord does not need that. That is not going to do any good.” The issue is not the amount; it is our heart.
Would the Lord be touching us in a way that each and every one of us can be spiritually responsible before Him, allowing the Lord to receive the glory and honor in it?
We sit in this building today. It is all paid for, and there were not many rich ones. You talk about the poor ones in Macedonia—it was the grace of God that provided this.
Other assemblies provided too, just as we at times help other assemblies. Other assemblies and other people helped us when we got this. Praise God, there is a way that we help one another, and it brings glory to Him.
That is what we desire: that He would be glorified in this area of finances, in this matter of money. We want Him to receive the glory. We want Him to receive the honor. Are we being spiritually responsible?
We see these ones in Macedonia sending a gift and helping those in Jerusalem. We see many times how different assemblies help one another, and it is good.
This is one reason I feel it is good to give through the local assembly, because it is a tool through which the situation can be handled better. One of the principles in giving is that you give in secret.
In Matthew 6, we are not giving to be seen by men. One wonderful way that we give is through the local assembly. Nobody ever knows where the gift came from.
Nobody knows that brother so-and-so gave the gift which went over to help so-and-so in need. Nobody knows. Well, the Lord knows. But I think it is so important because, in that way, even the recipient of the gift does not know who it is from.
Sometimes when you give something to someone directly, it can create an awkward situation with the person. They are very thankful, but I think there is a higher way of giving in secret so that the person does not even know.
When we go to Brazil, oftentimes people give us funds to help different brethren down there. We never give directly to an individual. We give through the local assembly, because the brothers in the local assemblies know the situation far better.
They know who is in real need and who may be putting up a need or a front while you are there. They know situations better. The brothers in responsibility in the assemblies are aware of particular needs that maybe everybody is not aware of.
Praise God, in the matter of finances and needs, this is one very practical way that love covers. We do not have to broadcast everybody’s personal needs, but through a secret way, people can care and meet the needs of the brothers and sisters.
This is one of the most practical ways that the body of Christ operates: through meeting the practical needs of saints through financial gifts. We are thankful for the provision. We are very thankful for that.
As you look through Scripture, I am amazed at the Lord’s heart and His attitude for those in need. The Lord is always caring for those in need, even under the law.
I love the book of Ruth. Remember when Naomi and Ruth returned? How did Ruth provide for them? By gleaning from the fields.
Where does the whole thought of gleaning from the fields come from? The Lord knew. Even in the law, the Lord was concerned for the poor and needy.
He told the farmers, “When you harvest this field, leave some there for the poor and needy.” Most farmers, when they go out to harvest a field, are going to get as much as they can. They are not going to leave anything there; they are going to get it all.
But the Lord was concerned for the poor. He said to leave that portion there for gleaning, so that Ruth could go and glean and provide. The Lord’s whole heart, character, and nature is concerned for the poor.
Remember when Paul was in Jerusalem talking with the elders? They said, “Paul, this is what we desire: that you would be caring for the poor.” Paul said, “Oh, that is my desire also.” There was oneness of heart there. “I have already taken care of that one.”
Praise God. Would that really be capturing us in a fuller and greater way, that we could really allow the Lord to be working within us?
May the Lord be touching us in a fresh way. As we conclude, I encourage you to read the transcript that Brother Kong gave. I think it is out of 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, on the grace of giving and the blessing of giving. It is a little transcript called The Spiritual Life, or Spiritual Life.
That is a little more detailed and extensive. But as we consider this, go back and read 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 again, and allow the Lord to speak to our hearts.
I do not know how many times I can say it. You will probably get tired of it, but the Lord is not interested in the amount. He is interested in the heart. In everything within this Christian life, the Lord is interested in our heart.
It is the same way with service. Pretty soon, we are going to set these chairs up. Is the Lord interested in the chairs getting set up, or is He interested in our heart attitude as we set the chairs up? Oh, He is after our hearts.
If He can get our hearts, He has got everything, and He can be working within us to His glory.
May we allow the Lord to teach us in a very fresh way how we can be more spiritually responsible in this matter of giving. May we see in a fresh way that we are stewards. It is not our own. This is not ours. We are stewards of this abundant, manifold grace of God.
Everything we have is His. It is not our own. May we be found as faithful stewards. May we be found very faithful, to hear those words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
May the Lord forgive us of our carelessness with this, maybe our negligence with this, even our legality with this. In a fresh way, may the Lord be moving in all of our hearts to teach us what He has for us.
We have been so blessed. We have received much of His manifold grace. May each one of us respond to His grace in faith and enter in more fully to this whole matter of spiritual ministry and giving.
There is much that we can learn, and the thing that we learn most is that we learn of Him. That is the blessing that we receive in giving.
Let us pray.
Lord, we do just love to confess that You are the Giver, and everything that You give is so good and perfect. We are so thankful that You gave Your only begotten Son.
Lord, we see the contrast in our life. But as we consider this before You, we simply want to give You the freedom to be working within our hearts in a way that would bring glory unto You.
May we be faithful with what You have entrusted unto us, and may we not go our own ways, but truly be learning of You day by day. In Jesus’ name, amen.