Giving – Further Matters

[00:00:00] Now shall we read together a few verses in Matthew, chapter six. The gospel according to Matthew, and chapter six from verse one. [00:00:26] Take heed that ye do not your alms or righteousness before men to be seen of them, else ye have no reward with your father who is in heaven. When therefore thou doest arms, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have received their reward. [00:00:55] But when thou doest arms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth, that thine alms may be in secret, and thy father who seeth in secret, shall recompense thee. [00:01:14] And then in Luke, chapter six. [00:01:21] Luke, chapter six. [00:01:29] But I say. Verse 27. But I say unto you that hear, love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, bless them that curse you. Pray for them that despitefully use you. To him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other. And from him that taketh away thy cloak, withhold not thy coat, also give to every one that asketh thee. And of him that taketh away thy goods, ask them not again. [00:02:03] And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. [00:02:10] And if ye love them that love you, what thank have ye for even sinners love those that love them. And if ye do good to them that do good to you, what thank have ye, for even sinners do the same. [00:02:24] And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye even sinners lend to sinners to receive again as much. [00:02:33] But love your enemies, and do them good, and lend never despairing, and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be sons of the most high. For he is kind toward the unthankful and evil. Be ye merciful, even as your father is merciful, and judge not, and ye shall not be judged, and condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned. Release, and ye shall be released. [00:03:12] Give, and it shall be given unto you good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over shall they give into your bosom. [00:03:27] For with what measure ye meet, it shall be measured to you again. [00:03:40] Well, now, this evening we come to the last of these studies on the ministry of Gibi. [00:03:50] We've covered quite a lot of ground. [00:03:53] We have spoken about the basic teaching of the Bible on this matter. We have spoken about the principle of giving. [00:04:05] We have spoken of the right attitude to money. [00:04:10] We have spoken about giving in the Old Testament and giving in the new testament. And last week we dwelt upon the support of the Lord's servants. Of course, we're all the servants of the Lord. Have to make that clear. But it's very difficult to know just how to put it. You will remember that in this matter we underlined the fact that the word of God commands us to support those who are full time workers with no means other means of income. That's the command of the word of God. And then we passed on to the fact that the New Testament teaches us that there are two levels upon which such servants of the Lord can live. The first is that they have the right. The New Testament declares it in quite simple, clear language that such servants of the Lord have the right to take decent wages. Now, do get that clear. Some people seem to think it's quite wrong for any christian workers to have wages. [00:05:28] But the word of God teaches quite the opposite. It teaches that they have an absolute basic right, a divinely given right to decent wages. [00:05:40] But the other level is that they do not. Such servants do not exercise their right, refusing to take wages and therefore not to be a burden to the church. Now, one of the things I hope last week we got cleared up is that the word of God actually doesn't emphasize living by faith. Strangely enough, for servants of the Lord, the emphasis is slightly different. It's not that they ought not to have wages, should live by faith, but rather that they shouldn't be a burden by taking wages. That's a higher level. That's the emphasis there shouldn't be a burden to the work of God. The apostle Paul, of course, is our great example, and his coworkers in this matter. He says quite clearly that this is his glory. He says I have no glory in preaching the gospel because the Lord has called me to preach the gospel, and woe is me if I don't do it. [00:06:54] It's not that I have, for my own will, have decided to preach the gospel. I have been called to preach the gospel, and therefore this is a stewardship given to me. [00:07:04] I'm accountable to God if I don't do it. So he said, I have no reward or glorying in this. This is the job God has given me to do. I've got to do it. Don't get a reward for it. It's the job God has given me to do. Woe is me if I don't do it. See, some people have got the idea that if you only preach the gospel, then, oh, it's a wonderful reward for people who preach the gospel. [00:07:27] But there's no greater reward for preaching the gospel than those of you who are bank clerks or teachers or nurses or something else. [00:07:36] God has ordained that we should be in certain things. He's called us to certain things, and we get no reward with that. We're accountable to God. [00:07:47] Woe is us if we just please ourselves and do what we think. [00:07:52] But the apostle Paul says, if I don't make any charge for the gospel, then I have a reward so I can take wages. That's my right. But if I refuse to exercise that right and make all give all my services freely, then I have a reward. And he glories in this almost inordinate. You'll find it again. Again, he said, no one's going to take this glorying away from me. He says, in one place, no one. It's my boast. He says that with my own hands, I supported myself and those that were with me. [00:08:30] So again, another little fallacy about living by faith has exploded, and that is that you should never support yourself. That that's a retrograde state. [00:08:40] There have been, of course. There have been, of course, some very unfortunate cases of people living by faith who have got involved in business and brought a lot of dishonour to the Lord. I know of such cases, but nevertheless, there's nothing wrong in supporting yourself if God has given you ways. Paul was a. Was a tent maker. No mean profession, actually. They were beautifully embroidered, those tents, and marvelously worked and were quite expensive. [00:09:09] And he sat down in between times when he could and made a tent or two, which he sold, I've no doubt, for as high a price as he could get, and that provided for himself and for the others. Now, the whole point with the apostle Paul is that his line is this, I will not ask for money. [00:09:32] I do not feel any church is obliged to support me, not even the company I came from. [00:09:40] I am. [00:09:42] I don't want to be a burden to any. So if I don't get anything, I'll work. [00:09:48] Now, the other side of the coin is this, that there are those who feel bound to the apostle Paul and to those other workers who believe that God has entrusted something to him and who don't want him to waste his time making tents. [00:10:05] Where are the apostle Paul's tents? We haven't even got one in a museum to go and look at. [00:10:12] But all the work that God gave the apostle Paul at last to today, the words God gave him, the time he gave to God to sit down and dictate letters. Why, they're part of the word just supposing someone had said, we won't support him. Supposing he'd had to work for a bit longer and the ephesian letter had never been written. Just think and think of some dear little widow somewhere who worked hard and gave some cash, sent it. Hannah was party to the ephesian letter being written because she enabled the apostle of Paul to give himself to the work God had called him. Now, that's what I mean by being involved in the work of God. It's a matter of fellowship, not compulsion. [00:11:05] Now, one day, when the apostle Paul stands before the Lord, the Lord will say to him, now, Paul, you've got a reward. [00:11:13] But he'll also call over that little widow and say, my dear, you've got a reward as well. [00:11:22] The great apostle couldn't have done this without your cash. [00:11:28] You parted with money that you could have well done with in order to give him time. [00:11:35] And look what I was able to do. Colossian letter, philippian letter, ephesian letter. [00:11:42] I have a feeling that the galatian letter would probably have got written anyway because Paul was in a white hot fury. [00:11:51] So I think he would have sat up all night writing that one anyway. There are a few others that he probably would have written about, but there are others that wouldn't have been written, and the ephesian letter was one of them. It's so deep, it's so full. [00:12:05] He had to have time. [00:12:06] Couldn't just be done while only in between making tench. [00:12:12] Well, I mention this because, you see, it's all part of this matter. The Lord's servants. Well, we've talked about that and, of course, we've talked about the characteristics that we. That should be discernible in such servants of the Lord we feel we ought to support. One, of course, is absolute devotion to the Lord and his. The second is a readiness for sacrifice or hardship, including a readiness for hard work, no laziness, no indolence, no indulgence in that way. [00:12:51] Thirdly, freedom from, oh, I think, thirdly, spiritual qualifications and calling. We ought to see those discernible. Now, when a person's first moving, they're on a period of probation. We can't expect to see everything at once. So don't let's all be looking for the qualifications of an apostle Paul right at the start, give people a chance for the Lord to sort things out. But we do need to be able to discern qualifications. Why should we support someone who we feel has no, absolutely no qualification or calling money down the drain? And I know, talking rather crudely but it is money down the drain, isn't it? Someone's partied with money to support them. Supposed to be going to the mission field or somewhere else, and they never end up there. [00:13:41] So we do expect to see some kind of qualification, a spiritual qualification, and call it 90. [00:13:50] And of course we need to see a freedom for money. [00:13:54] This means not only covetousness, obviously, if anyone's too bound to money, and I can speak about this matter, if anyone's too bound to money, what's going to happen? [00:14:09] They're going to be all the time grousing. [00:14:12] Oh, if I was in the job that I was trained for, I'd be making so much money all the time, it's a continual moan. We don't want anything like that in the work of God, do we? [00:14:28] They're all the time longing for the leeks and garlic and onions of Egypt, or moaning all the time about the sacrifice they've made to serve the Lord. The Lord doesn't want that kind of thing. Freedom from money. Also this means freedom from sponging, too. The other kind, you know, I'm a servant of the Lord. I've got no money. So you plunk yourself down on somebody and expect them to buy the ice cream for you, you know, that kind of thing. [00:14:53] No, that's not right either. So those were the things we spoke of last week. Now we come to some final questions or further questions related to this ministry of giving. And the first question, now, all these questions this evening are very practical and mundane. But all these practical, mundane things go to the root of something. As I've said many times here, a straw tells which way the wind is blowing. [00:15:26] So the first question should the unsaved be called upon to give or be given the opportunity to contribute towards the Lord's work? [00:15:38] For those who are unbelievers or unsaved be called upon to give or be given the opportunity to contribute towards the Lord's work. You've only got to go in many, many places and you'll see great hoardings calling upon people around the church who never darkened the door of the place to contribute towards the restoration of the belfry or the wood boring beetle in the pews or the death watch beetle in the rafters or something else. You see this everywhere you go, targets on one side that show how much has been given, so on and so forth. Or you have these sort of stewardship schemes and you have little things put through your letterbox to ask whether you're interested in supporting a church and so on. Or sometimes you get other envelopes asking you to help towards supporting. Now, this raises this whole matter of whether it's right for unsaved people, unbelieving people, to be called upon to give, or in fact, given the opportunity. Now, it seems quite obvious from the scriptures that the unbeliever should never be called upon to help financially God's work. God is perfectly well able to look after his own work. Now. I mean that. I mean, he's perfectly well able to do it. He doesn't even want money from grudgingly given by believers, let alone from those who don't know the Lord. [00:17:19] Certainly we can say that if christians were living at the level God intended them to live, christian work would never need to rely upon unsaved people's assistance. [00:17:35] The asking of financial aid from unsaved folk is one of the greatest obstacles that christians have ever put in the way of unsaved people coming to a knowledge of the Lord. How often I hear people say to me, oh, they're just a begging concern. [00:17:53] You hear it again and again in offices, out in the streets, people say again, they immediately anything to do with Christianity, money, anything to do with Christianity, a plate shoved under your nose or an appeal or some sort of pressure being put on you to give. [00:18:13] How tragic that is. [00:18:16] Think days ago when I was a boy, how I remember mother and others talking about the so called christians around us and all these appeals and so on that went on. I was brought up in that atmosphere of how the world thinks about this kind of thing. Well, I mention it, it's one of the biggest obstacles. [00:18:43] I remember even in one of the big evangelistic campaigns recently, how sad I was when I was asked by some people, because they thought, when they heard that the collection was a few thousand pounds, they thought it was all going to the evangelist. [00:18:57] Two or three said, not just one evening, but oh, many a time, he must be a very rich man. [00:19:06] That's the way people's minds think. [00:19:10] Now, it's clear in the Old Testament that the law does not want the gifts of an unregenerate heart. [00:19:21] Let's just look at one or two scriptures. Proverbs, chapter 15 and verse eight. Proverbs, chapter 15 and verse eight. The sacrifice of of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is his delight. Chapter 21 and verse 27. [00:19:49] The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination, but how much more when he bringeth it with a wicked mind? [00:19:59] Proverbs 28 and verse nine. [00:20:06] He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law. Even his prayer is an abomination. What a terrible word. [00:20:17] He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination, let alone his giving. [00:20:27] Isaiah, chapter 110 16. Now we know that of course, this is in connection with the people of God. But nevertheless, if this is the Lord's attitude to his own people, what about the unsaved? Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom. Give ear unto the Lord of our God. Ye people of Gemara, what unto me is the multitude of your sacrifices, saith the Lord. I have had enough of the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts. I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats, when ye come to appear before me. Who hath required this at your hand? To trample my courts? Bring no more vain oblations. Incense is an abomination unto me. New moon and Sabbath, the calling of a sense. I cannot away with iniquity and the solemn meeting, your new moons and your appointed feasts. My soul hateth they are a trouble unto me. I am weary of bearing them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you. Yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do well. Seek justice, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the lamb. But if ye refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured with the sword, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. That's quite clear enough, I think. And then Jeremiah, chapter 620. [00:22:31] To what purpose cometh there to me? Frankincense from Sheba, and the sweet cain from a far country. Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices pleasing unto me. Now the New Testament is quite as clear as the old in this meta. [00:22:54] It is furthermore an unwise policy to allow the world to financially back christian work. [00:23:05] For instance, we take a basic bit of teaching in this matter from two corinthians and chapter six. Two Corinthians, chapter six, verse 14. [00:23:18] Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship hath righteousness and iniquity, or what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with belial? Or what portion hath a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement hath a temple of God with idols? For we are a temple of the living God. Even as God said, I will dwell in them and walk in them. And I will be their God. And they shall be my people. Wherefore come ye out from among them. And be ye separate, saith the Lord. And touch no unclean thing. And I will receive you. I will be to you a father, and ye shall be to me sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. [00:24:06] You know, there's no doubt that if we allow the world to financially back us. We become compromised. If not physically, in a sense, certainly, spiritually, a cloud comes. [00:24:23] I don't know any work of God. Which has raised money from unsaved sources as a loan. Where a spiritual cloud has not come in for a while. Till that's been cleared. It's a compromise spiritually. [00:24:38] Because it is something in the unseen. [00:24:41] Which we contravene and contradict. [00:24:45] There's a lot more that we could say in, in this connection. But just remember that he that holds the purse calls the tune. [00:24:56] Then again, on the individual level. It's a fact that many unbelievers will give generously. In order to soothe an uneasy conscience. [00:25:08] There are folks that want to give. Because they feel somehow uneasy in their conscience. About their way with God. And they feel that if they give something that helps a little. [00:25:20] Now, what this means is that they are avoiding or evading. The real issue of their salvation. [00:25:30] By making a gift. [00:25:33] Now, we are not going to be party to that. [00:25:36] We want to see everyone saved of God. [00:25:40] And then it's a different matter. [00:25:42] Now, one word of warning and caution. Here we are, of course, speaking of soliciting gifts. Soliciting gifts from unbelievers. [00:25:54] If an unbeliever gives something from the heart. Unsolicited and quite spontaneous. Such a gift or ought to be accepted. The queen of Sheba came with gifts, and they were accepted. [00:26:12] Haram of tyre sent gifts, and they were accepted. There was no obligation. They were not, in one sense, solicited. Now, let's remember that. Because then you can get this harsh, horrible attitude of some groups. Where, you know, even if someone from their heart gave a gift. They would almost throw it back in a person's face. That's not right either. The Lord wouldn't do that. [00:26:40] We're talking about soliciting gifts. [00:26:44] Appealing to people who don't know the Lord. And are not saved by his grace to help financially in the work of God. Now, will you note for points in this matter? [00:27:01] Should the unsaved be called upon to give or be given the opportunity to give one all the reference to the ministry of giving in the New Testament, all the references are addressed to believers without exception. [00:27:20] Two, giving is a ministry, and furthermore, it's a small spiritual ministry. It is obvious that the unbeliever cannot participate in such a ministry. For instance, take romans eight. It says giving with liberality. [00:27:40] And then a little farther down, it speaks about hospitality. And don't forget to communicate. That is, don't forget to share your money. [00:27:50] Now go back to romans twelve, one and two. I beseech you, therefore, brethren, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your spiritually intelligent worship. [00:28:10] Thirdly, nowhere in the New Testament have we an example of the unbeliever being called upon to help the Lord's work, or even given the opportunity. Now, when they said this years ago, one bright spark came up afterwards and said, ah, what about the Centurion who built a synagogue? [00:28:34] But the centurion who built a synagogue was a convert. [00:28:41] Don't forget that he was a God fearer, and that is one of the converts. He was a jewish convert, in other words. [00:28:50] Fourthly, Mark especially acts chapter two and verse 44, and acts chapter four, verse 32, acts chapter two, verse 44. And all that believed were together and had all things come common, acts 432, and the multitude of them that believed so there, that great sharing of everything, pooling of everything, giving up of everything, surrendering of everything. It was prefaced by all that believed. It was the believers who did this. They didnt call upon unsaved people to do it. It was just the believers. [00:29:38] Well, of course, this raises some questions, because it is quite common in many places to have collections at evangelistic services and indeed at evangelistic campaigns. It's quite the thing. And indeed, if you know something of the inside of the work, it's often the evangelistic meeting more than anywhere else that you would not do without a collection, because the collection is always bigger. [00:30:09] So this raises a big question. All I can do is raise it and answer it as I have done. Should we, should the unsaved be called upon to give, or given the opportunity to give? I think we can say quite categorically from the word of God, both Old and New Testament. No, if they give in an unsolicited way, spontaneously from the heart of, accepted by God. But they should not be called upon to give appeal, to give pressure put on them to give, asked to assist in the running and the work. It's terrible, such a thing, when you think what a dishonour it is to the Lord's name. [00:30:49] Now, the next question we go on to is, should we have collections? [00:31:00] Should we have collections? [00:31:02] Now, it's difficult to be dogmatic on this matter. [00:31:08] It is not clear exactly how the offering was taken in the New Testament assemblers. Let us be quite clear. Some people think it's very unscriptural to have a collection. I don't know where they get the idea from. There's nothing necessarily unscriptural about a collection. [00:31:29] We just don't know how the offering was taken. [00:31:36] In the churches of the New Testament. However, the Lord's teaching in Matthew, chapter six, and the first four verses, which we have read a little earlier, does seem to preclude any kind of public collection. If your left hand is not to know what your right hand is doing, if you are not to blow a trumpet before you are summoned to in the synagogues before they give, it seems somehow that the public collection isn't quite the method of taking the offering. Don't you think so? Quite honestly, in some of the assemblies I've been in, I've almost felt that a trumpet was blown, not necessarily by the people giving, but by whoever it was in the pulpit who made such a to do about a giving that finally, when you give, you can hardly say that your left hand doesn't know what your right hand does. Most of us are so bothered about our neighbors as to whether they see what we put in the plate. I remember as a lad when I was first saved, if ever I happened to be without cash, not because I hadn't got it, but simply because I was rather forgetful and never carried it much in my pocket. I always called upon my sister to give me sixpence, and the reason was that I had no love for God, in the sense that I felt that I ought to give this sixpence to him. But I was terrified of the people around me. Should they see me. Let the plate pass by. [00:33:17] Now, when most people are honest about this matter, really honest about men, come right out. It's true of most of us that when we have a collection, we give because we are afraid of what others think. This is even more terrible. In some unmentionable countries in Europe, I will not mention them for fear of riot in this place where they had long poles from that door to here, long enough to be barge poles with. On the end, a bag. And then men come in. They all walk in with neglect with these things right high in the air, and then they swing them down, and then they literally go from person to person. Now, if you have the courage not to give, you have to say like this. And it goes on to the next. Now, I took this matter up with certain people in these places as to why they had such long poles. And they said, well, it came from the good old days, because firstly, they were used for. And second, they were using. Used for whacking anyone who'd gone to sleep. [00:34:32] They used to go along and give them a good prod with these long things, the other end of it, you see. So that was the idea behind this, a bit of tradition. [00:34:41] Well, whether we have a hard collection plate where we can hear things clatter into the plate, or whether we have a velvet bag that helps those who do not give notes to give without feeling bad, I don't know. [00:34:59] But we must say that the Lord's teaching on this matter in the first four verses of Matthew six does seem to rule out that kind of collection. [00:35:14] However, it seems to me to be much, much preferable to have collections with a bold and blatant appeal to the Lord's people to give and to give generously than faith. With hints, I think it's much better. I much prefer to have the Salvation army really rattle a tin under your nose and ask you to give. At least we know where we are. I much prefer dear Lindsey Glegg telling us a funny story and then calling upon us to really give and give generously. Give sacrificially. I think that's much more honest. And then send the collection paper rather than say that we're a faith mission or we're a faith work, and it's all done, you know, by sort of hints and so on. That, I think, is the other would be much preferable. Now, note again a few matters in connection with this. Should we have collections, I might just say in this that I know of one group also unmentionable in one place, where they sometimes have what they call silent collections. Now, this means that no one can give any coins. [00:36:38] Now, you laugh about it, but I know places. I'm not going to name the movement that indulges in this kind of thing. And furthermore, there is the same type of thing in this country where they have what they call a blue collection, and a blue collection was the father. [00:36:54] No, I mean it. Yes. Oh, yes. Some of you don't know how fortunate you are not to be disturbed in this way, in this place, however, you ought to know what you've been let off. [00:37:08] Anyway, a few things that we underline now, as I have already said, the Lord's teaching on giving, in Matthew six, the first four verses, seems to rule out any kind of public lecture if there is to be secrecy. [00:37:25] If we are, as it were, to remain anonymous in our giving, we of course can do it. And most christians who are in assemblies, whether at collections, who are in any way spiritual, develop some kind of acrobatics whereby they manage to get into the plate whatever they're giving without anyone really seeing what they're doing. [00:37:50] But, well, it's true. But now listen. But if we are to have secrecy, and if our giving is to be anonymous, then it does not seem to be the best method. That's the point, not the best method. It's not that it's wrong. It's the best method to do it. That's the first thing. Secondly, why does the apostle Paul say in his letter to the church at Corinth, first corinthians, chapter 16, verse two, know collections when I arrive. [00:38:30] This seems to run quite against the way some people would have done it. I would have thought they would have written and said, now then, everyone put aside something first day of each week, and when I come, we'll have a great thank offering and have a marvelous time, or will send the plate round and everyone give what they have sort of put aside. But no, the apostle Paul says, no, we don't want any of that. Now, let's just read those verses. One corinthians 16, two. 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. [00:39:11] Now, why did, does the apostle Paul seem to find collections distasteful? [00:39:20] Well, that's just a point. The third point I'd like to make. If it's wrong to ask or give the opportunity to unbelievers to aid financially God's work, then collections ought to be ruled out of evangelistic meetings and probably best ruled out of all. Now, of course, any of you who know anything about the open brethren or the exclusive brethren, or any who've been influenced by that great movement of the spirit of God, will know that they have a collection at the Lord's table, but they will not have anything in the gospel meeting, as they call it. That explains why they do that. You see, they believe that it's not wrong to have a collection, but they feel it should be ruled out. Well, the question is, of course, whether there are unsafe people in habit of coming to other meetings as well. That's really the point, isn't it? [00:40:27] So I think it's would be better to rule it out, certainly rule it out of evangelistic meetings, probably best ruled out of all. Fourthly, collections are so often the result of a lack of faith in God to provide for his own work. I think I've mentioned this to you before. When we first gave up this idea altogether, right at the beginning, one dear minister said to me, look, here you are living with your head in the clouds. [00:40:55] You must. You'll have to come down. He thought I was a mystic and that we were all really a bunch of mystics. But he said, you'll have to come down and get your feet solidly on the earth. [00:41:07] The point he made was, the Lord's people have got to be reminded. It's not that they're unwilling to give, but they've got to be reminded. And the collection played is the way the Lord's people just had their not unwilling minds, memories nudged. [00:41:31] Now, that seems to me tragic, quite honestly. If the Lord's people are so careless in their attitude of giving, does the Lord really want it now, I know some people say, now, that really is mystical. [00:41:47] Of course, everyone needs hard cash, it's necessary, but quite honestly, I think God would prefer to do without it. [00:41:57] I don't think the Lord's people ought to be reminded to give. [00:42:00] Giving is not just some little thing that suddenly we do. Giving is worship. [00:42:07] It's an expression of worship. It's much more than the even worship. Worship's tremendous enough. It's a prince of which we have to dearly learn that so much depends on the way we give. Not only money, but in every other way. Time, health, what we've got of the Lord. See, we've all got to learn this lesson. People say, I feel so bound because they don't give. Release and it shall be released unto you. That's what it says. People say, oh, I feel so cramped, so poverty stricken. It's because they're not giving. Give and it shall be given to you. Pressed down, shaken together and running over into your bosom. [00:42:47] You see, it's a principle now. It seems to me it's rather sad. It doesn't say much for a high spiritual standard in a church. If the saints have got to be reminded to give, buy a collection plate going round. I think it's better for them to hold on to their money. If really that's the case. [00:43:11] Fifthly, collections so often foster carnality in the believer he gives because he is afraid of what others may think if he does not. [00:43:27] Now, this isn't true, of course, in everyone. Of course not. You can have a collection and everyone's giving us unto God. But I am saying that so often this is the case. [00:43:40] Even now, with some little experience behind me, I find it very hard not to put something in a collection. [00:43:50] There are times when I feel I shouldn't, and I find it terribly hard to let that collection plate pass by. I know others have got this problem, but I must say that I find it quite hard to let a collection play pass by only because I think. I keep on thinking now they will think I don't agree with them, or they think that I'm being superior and it's not true at all. You see, you get these. I think it's carnal in myself. I mean, sixthly, to have an offertory box placed discreetly somewhere in the meeting place seems to me to be a much. To be much more in line with the New Testament teaching on this subject than the system of collections. Let me say again, there is absolutely nothing wrong about a good, honest, blatant collection. [00:44:54] But it's a question of whether it's the best way in the light of all that the word of God teaches. [00:45:01] And I think it's far better to have an offer to a place discreetly, somewhere where if people really mean business with God, and it's a settled principle, when they go there, God sees it and it means something to the Lord because it's worship. [00:45:21] So that's our second question. Now, our third question. [00:45:28] Should there be appeals for money? And we're not talking about unsavory. Now we're talking about appeals for money. Should there be appeals for money? [00:45:41] Here again, we must say that we cannot be dogmatic. Now, you might be surprised on that point. You might think that we ought to. You would expect us to be very dogmatic and say it's quite wrong to make an appeal. But we can't be dogmatic. [00:45:56] It seems from Paul's letters that he had no compunction whatsoever about stating a need when it was not his own personal need or the personal needs of the workers with him or his own work. [00:46:18] Now, in all the letters of the apostle and of the other apostles, you will not find at any time that they make mention of the need of themselves or their own work or their co workers. But now this is the point I hope will surprise some, and stop us from getting sort of narrow with blinkers on. The apostle Paul is quite. He's quite an appealer in a number of his letters. He takes quite a lot of space to appeal to them to give. And, of course, I read to you and I thought, I won't do it again because it might seem irreverent. I read to you some weeks ago from Philip's version of two corinthians, chapter eight and nine, that marvelous chapter on the two chapters of the Apostle Paul, beseeching the believers to give and saying, now I've told them all that you're terribly generous. I'm sending so and so along to make sure that what I've said, it is true, because he said, you know, it would be terribly embarrassing if I got there and found that you hadn't got any money available. [00:47:35] Now, it wasn't for himself, it was for the poor in Jerusalem. [00:47:44] Now, this is quite interesting, because it means that the apostle evidently did not feel it was wrong to make an appeal when it was nothing to do with his own work or his personal needs or the needs of his co workers. [00:47:56] What did we then say to that? [00:48:00] As I have said, we have no example of him or any other, anyone else appealing for themselves or for the work they were doing. [00:48:08] It would seem from all that we have so far studied in this matter of giving, that appeals, schemes for raising money, high pressure, emotional preaching to open purses are not really scriptural. [00:48:30] What we can say is this, that to make an appeal, if there is a basis for making an appeal, then it is for the work, for a work in which the person of appealing is not himself directly involved. [00:48:49] For instance, I could stand up and beg you all, always put the pressure on you all to give, and to give generously and sacrificially to the om ship, I could put the pressure on you to give and to give generously to leper work in Nepal. [00:49:11] You see, now, some eyebrows might shoot up at the very thought of such an appeal, but it wouldn't be wrong. [00:49:21] And if you reacted against it, you would be wrong, because there's no such thing as not making an appeal. But if I were to say, I need money, because the Lord has said to me that I am to go to so and so and so and so, and then from there to so and so, and from there to so and so, now, all of you, I want you to open your purses and glorify God and meet this great need that I have now, that would be wrong. [00:49:57] I would hope that it was not your eyebrows that went up, but I would hope that your lips and jaws would be firmly fixed in a somewhat unsympathetic sort of outlook. [00:50:18] It would be wrong. And we know it's wrong. [00:50:22] We know it by the spirit when something's wrong. [00:50:30] So what can we say about appeals? We can only say that, generally speaking, we don't have the best way to do something. [00:50:37] Far, far better to trust the Lord and to prove the promises of God which are in Christ are yea and amen, the exceeding great and precious promises that Peter speaks of, through which we become partakers of the divine nature. Much better to do that to prove the Lord. As the apostle Paul says, my God shall supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Far, far better to prove the Lord like that. However, it's not necessarily wrong to make an appeal. [00:51:15] Now, our last question. [00:51:19] Is it legitimate to raise money for the Lord's work through concerts, bazaars, jumble sales, fetes, etc, etcetera? [00:51:36] Now, again, I think we should be in for a surprise at this point. Most evangelicals are horrified at the thought of raising money for the Lord's work through jumble sales, bazaars, fetes, concerts, etcetera. [00:51:54] I think that they are right in one sense. We're right in this feeling, because it seems quite evident that such means of raising money are quite foreign to the New Testament. We don't hear of the company in Antioch having a jumble sale, or the church at Corinth having a faith, or a concert at Thessalonica or something else in order to raise money for God's work. Of course, the very thought is ludicrous. It makes us laugh because it's so foreign to the New Testament, we couldn't imagine it. And rightly, if the Lord's people were giving as they ought to give, is there any need for jumble sales, bazaars and places? An awful lot of work goes into them. You know, I was told in one place I was visiting that they more or less prepare for their jumble sale before Christmas in the middle of the summer. [00:52:55] There's an awful lot of work and energy to go into it. Surely, if the Lord's people were giving as they ought to give, there was no need for such money raising antics. [00:53:05] Nevertheless, let me say this in defense of jumble sales and concerts and bazaars, etcetera, it seems at least more honourable to raise money through the work of our own hands. [00:53:21] I really mean that I know of some places where dear old saints, for instance, I think of Hardangeles, who I know work furiously to produce things that cost a lot of money and sell it, and the proceeds go entirely to the work of God. Now, I say that's much more honourable to work with your own hands than to indulge in sub stories, to get people to open their purses and give, I hear, much more honorable. I'd rather have a concert and use any talent, mediocre or otherwise, to raise some money for the Lord's work than to indulge in some kind of sort of getting of money through spiritually underhanded ways. [00:54:20] I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with the jams. I only point is this or these sales of work, there's nothing necessarily wrong with it. [00:54:30] But is it necessary? Would it be necessary if God's people were giving as they ought to give? [00:54:39] Well, now we come to an end conclusion of these studies on giving. [00:54:47] What can we say as we look back over these studies? I'm just going to take a few scriptures in closing, which I think sum up basically the whole matter. First of all, Matthew, chapter ten and verse 38. [00:55:19] That's not right. [00:55:22] Matthew, chapter ten and verse ten. [00:55:29] Sorry. Verse eight. Sorry. [00:55:31] Freely ye receive. Freely give. [00:55:37] Freely ye received. [00:55:39] Freely give. [00:55:45] We have received freely of God. [00:55:50] Any child of God who has been saved by the grace of God has received freely from the Lord. O, your salvation, how freely it was given to you. Did the Lord ask anything of you? Did he ask any money in return? Did he ask anyone anything in return? No, he gave it freely to you. And what else did he give you with your salvation? He gave you everything with your salvation. Having given you Christ, he freely gave you all things to enjoy and so much more. If you've had any deeper experience of the Lord, if you've gone on with him and known something of the gracious ministrations of the Holy Spirit, making Christ more real and more powerful, your life breaking through your cramped conditions. Well, well, you've received freely, therefore we ought and must give freely of that which we have received. [00:56:51] If I take the salvation of God and give nothing, I'm not just talking about money, but nothing, I contravene and contradict the very principle of my salvation. Having received freely, I must give. [00:57:13] If I don't, then I come into spiritual stagnation and paralysis. [00:57:25] Many, many believers have problems in their lives that they spiritualize. When I say spiritualize, I mean they say, now, if I had such and such, it would be different. If the Lord were to touch me in this, it would be different. If the Lord were to meet in this way, it would be different. The Lord does need to meet you, but he will not meet you till you get clear on this principle. [00:57:48] Because, you see, it's basic. [00:57:52] The Lord will never meet you so that you can just hug everything to yourself and be like the dead sea taking all and giving out. [00:57:59] The dead sea takes all the life giving waters of Jordan coming from the upper reaches of hermon and kills it all that volume of life giving water, fertile life producing it, turns into an absolutely dead waste. [00:58:25] No fish can live in it. Nothing can live in it. How is it possible to take so much that is life giving, powerfully life giving upon which a whole land and surrounding areas depend, and turn it into something sterile and barren because it has no outlet. [00:58:48] There's no outlet at all. It's a wonderful spiritual lesson. It takes all gibbs now. [00:58:56] Oh, there are many christians like that all the time. They're receding like a great Jordan, the life of Christ, taking, taking. They come virtually to the meetings to get a bit more of it, but they give nothing, give nothing, give nothing. So they turn that life giving stream into sterility. [00:59:21] Now, if you look at Luke chapter six, verse 37 and 38, last part of 37 38, release and ye shall be. Release. Give and it shall be given unto you good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall they give unto your bosom. You see, the whole point is this, that here you've got a principle. It's just this, that whatever you give, you get back. [00:59:53] Now, in acts chapter 20 and verse 35, the apostle said, remember the words of our Lord Jesus, that he said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. [01:00:06] We have to remember that the far greater blessing is in giving than receiving. Now just think for a while. Think of the blessing you got through receiving Christ. [01:00:18] Think of the blessing. [01:00:20] Why the very joy in your heart came through receiving Christ. [01:00:25] Your very peace with God came through receiving Christ. [01:00:30] The very life you got more abundant came through receiving Christ. [01:00:37] It was a blessing, wasn't it? But it's more blessed to give than to receive. You start giving him and you'll get a much greater blessing. [01:00:46] You'll have peace that passes understanding. Then you'll have joy unspeakable and full of glory. Then, because it's a greater blessing. It's more blessed to give than to receive. [01:01:00] We've had a tremendous blessing in receiving Christ, but, oh, to give what we've received. [01:01:07] You see, whatever you give, you get at least back spiritually, if not material, at least. [01:01:22] If anyone says this is not true. [01:01:25] I think you're a liar. [01:01:28] Because God's word is categoric on this point. It says, give and ye shall receive. There's no sort of uncertainty. You shall receive pressed down, shaken together and running over into your bosom. For with what measure ye give shall be meted unto you. [01:01:55] Now, there could be nothing clearer than that. [01:01:58] So we know this, that whatever we give, we get back, spiritually, if not materially. [01:02:07] It's a law with God, a divine and unchanging law. Oh, if only it would dawn on us. It's the simplest thing of all just to start living on that principle. Not just to do with money, but everything. It changes our lives. [01:02:25] You know what it is to be self conscious? Everyone does. [01:02:29] But the more self conscious we are, the more bound to ourselves. [01:02:34] The less peace, the less joy, the less life, the more inhibited, the more bound. [01:02:40] Because it's just this principle, the measure we give, the measure we get, it's so simple. [01:02:50] You can be a self centred christian, hugging yourself and you will be miserable all the time. All the time seeking, never finding. It speaks of earning wages to put into a bag with holes in it. It's always running away, running away. Where's it gone? Where's it gone? Where's it gone? I went to that conference. I've got such a person. Where's it gone? I went to such a. Such a. Got such a place. Where's it gone? I had such a blessing the other day. Where's it gone? [01:03:18] To put in a bag with holes in it. [01:03:21] It's not being given unto others. Why would be better not to put it in there? Bag. Share it. The wages, I mean. [01:03:30] Share it spiritually. I'm not talking about your actual wages, I'm talking about spiritually. Share what you've got. You won't lose it. Then it'll come back to you. [01:03:40] You give that here and you give that there and you contribute this here and you contribute that there and it'll all be there. Only you'll have more. You're investing it. [01:03:49] You get back more. [01:03:52] Well, I think of the little widow. She was the richest woman in Israel that day. She went along with her two little farthings or two mites, she put them into the. Into the treasury. It was the end of everything. All her living went into the treasury. She was, in fact, the richest woman in Israel. If we could have her here and say, now you give your testimony this evening, I have no doubt. As she say, you don't know the peace I've got in my heart. Oh, when I went away from that treasury, I had such peace I thought I'd break. I thought I'd burst open with the joy that was mine. That's true. Because any of you know anything about a little bit about giving you know what it does to you. It does something to you. [01:04:33] She was rich. Now God is no man's debtor. That woman was rich. [01:04:39] She was truly rich. [01:04:42] She was one of the richest saints alive at that point. [01:04:47] She'd given all God's no man's debtor. She got something bad. [01:04:53] One day we shall know the end of the story. We don't know anything more about it as she comes on the scene and goes off and we know no more about her. One day we shall know the end of the story. It'd be so wonderful, I think of Mary who took that alabaster cruise of Spikernard. I mean, it was her whole capital. It was her capital. That's how they used to invest everything in something precious like that. And it was stored away normally in the sleeping room. [01:05:20] She took the whole lot and broke it on the Lord. [01:05:23] Oh, how rich she is. [01:05:26] Think of it. The Lord said, wherever the gospel is preached what this woman has done will be preached as a memorial. [01:05:33] Oh, she's so rude, don't you think? One day when you meet her she'll say to you, I'm so glad I did it. Think of that. Everyone knows about me. I mean, if anyone said, who are you? [01:05:46] She would say, I'm the sister who wrote the alabaster. Oh, that Mary. Yes, yes. Oh, I've read about you. [01:05:59] Everyone knows about Mary. [01:06:02] Oh, how rich she is. [01:06:05] She may never have got back her alabaster cruise of Spikenard. I don't suppose she worried too much about that. She got back something far, far more. A name that will endure as long as the lamb's. [01:06:18] Oh, I think that's wonderful. That's true riches. What's a little bit of Spikenard to her now? [01:06:25] She would say, oh, dear, that smelly stuff doesn't mean a thing up here. [01:06:31] I'm glad I parted with it. It did something so wonderful. Well, I just mention all those things then. Lastly, Luke 16 and verse eleven. I leave with you this verse, which is perhaps the most strange in the word. If, therefore, ye've not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon who will commit to your trust the true riches. Unrighteous mammon. Being faithful in the unrighteous mammon, what an extraordinary statement. We have got to learn to be faithful in the unrighteous mammon. That seems to be a contradiction in terms, doesn't it? In the unrighteous man? [01:07:24] I say that that is something very difficult and very complex. It's fraught with problem. But the Holy Spirit is well able. [01:07:34] It's no problem greater than the Holy Spirit's ability. The Holy Spirit is able to take us and to instruct us teach us how to be faithful in the unrighteous mammon. [01:07:49] And our faithfulness there will govern the committal to us of true riches by the Lord. [01:08:01] That seems to me the point at which we can leave this study. [01:08:06] Giving money, hard cash is not so mundane uncertainty spiritual material as some might think. [01:08:19] Faithfulness in the unrighteous mammon will one day govern the measure in which true witches spiritual and eternal are committed to us by the Lord. [01:08:34] If that will sink into us then something will happen. And who are we, may I say, to speak about giving in the light of God's giving? [01:08:46] All around us evidence of the riotous giving of God the generous liberality of God's giving and above all, in his son. That's why the apostle Paul having made this appeal about this gift he wants to take to the poor soul saints at Jerusalem finally ends up. I say thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. It all comes back to that why any giving we exercise or fulfil is worthless compared with God's giving. [01:09:25] May he see in us his own nature expressed his own character expressed. Shall we pray? [01:09:40] Dear Lord, we pray that thou wouldst help us all to be a people who know how to give under thy leading. [01:09:51] Know how to give under thy government, Lord. Oh father, we pray. Take thy word and make it real to every one of us. [01:10:00] We pray above all that we shall all know the joy of true giving. [01:10:08] That we might know. Lord, inexperience from our hearts in practical ways that we ourselves have learned that it is more blessed to give than to receive. O Father, hear, then ask blot out anything untoward in what has been said or not of thyself and retain by thy spirit in our hearts and minds all that is of thyself. We ask it in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. [01:10:44] Amen.