Giving – New Testament #1

[00:00:00] Matthew, chapter six, from verse one. [00:00:11] Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men to be seen of them, else ye have no reward with your father who is in heaven. [00:00:26] When therefore thou doest alms, 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. [00:00:47] But when thou doest alms, 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. [00:01:06] And then in mark, chapter twelve, and verse 41. [00:01:21] And the Lord Jesus sat down over against the treasury and beheld how the multitude cast money into the treasury. And many that were rich cast in much. [00:01:38] And there came a poor widow, and she cast in two mites, which make of farthing. [00:01:49] 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 their superfluity. [00:02:11] But she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living. [00:02:25] Well now this evening we come to the third of these studies on the ministry of Giving. [00:02:33] We have already dealt with the Bibles best basic teaching concerning giving, with the principle of giving, and with the right attitude to money. [00:02:51] And we have also dealt with what the Old Testament teaches as to giving. We saw last week that it was threefold, had three aspects. Basically, there was the tithe, which was simply a 10th of our of their whole income given to God. [00:03:17] This was duty. [00:03:19] Then there was the free will, offering that which was given above and beyond what was commanded out of the free will offering. Both the tabernacle and the temple were built not out of the tides. [00:03:38] And then thirdly, there was the care of the poor and needy in the midst. [00:03:48] Now this evening we come to the teaching on giving in the New Testament. I touched on it last week very lightly, just mentioned a few points which I want to deal with this evening much more fully. What is the teaching on giving in the New Testament? [00:04:10] Firstly, that the Christian and all he possesses belongs completely in its entirety to Christ. [00:04:28] We turn to one Corinthians, chapter six, verses 19 and 20. Know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, which is in you, which ye have from God, and ye are not your own, for ye were bought with a price. [00:04:52] Glorify God, therefore in your body, not just that your body is not your own, but the body stands for the entire person, and therefore everything that he possesses. You turn to two Corinthians and chapter five. [00:05:16] Two Corinthians, chapter five, verse 14. [00:05:20] For the love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge that one died for all, therefore all died and he died for all. That they that lived should no longer live unto themselves, but unto him who for their sakes died and rose again. [00:05:44] Then will you turn to one Peter, one Peter, chapter four from verse eight. [00:06:01] Above all things being fervent in your love among yourselves. For love covereth a multitude of sins using hospitality one to another without murmuring, according as each hath received a gift, ministering it among yourselves as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. [00:06:29] If any man speaketh, speaking as it were oracles of God, if any man ministereth, ministering is of the strength which God supplieth, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, whose is the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. I want you to note very especially verse ten according as each hath received a gift, ministering it among yourselves as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Of course, this is referring to spiritual gifts, whatever they may be. But one of those gifts is giving, as we learn from Romans chapter twelve, verse eight, and verse 13, we learn from that that one of the things, one of the functions, as it were, in the body is this. And the principle is simply that if we have received something, we are not the owner of that something which we have received. But we are stewards, good stewards of the manifold grace of God. In other words, the Christian is not the owner, but he is the steward. And there is a great difference between being an owner and a steward. [00:07:52] And furthermore, one day the child of God must give an account to Christ of his stewardship. Thats why the Lord told that extraordinary parable that we dwelt on a little last week in Luke 16 about the mammon of unrighteousness. And he told a story which quite honestly is an extraordinary story. And then he drew out of it an even more extraordinary lesson. [00:08:27] And the whole thing was to do with stewardship. Remember, the point of the story was that this steward had to, was called before his master to give an account of his stewardship, because the master was going to put him out of it. [00:08:42] In romans chapter 14 and verse, verse twelve, we are told that each one of us must give account of himself to God. [00:08:59] So the basic teaching of the whole Bible on the matter of giving is much more strongly and positively emphasized in the New Testament. You remember that the basic teaching of the Bible is simply that everything belongs to God, even those things that unsaved people have. It basically belongs to God. [00:09:28] And God's claim is the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein. And in another place he makes the claim. Where? Tell me. He says the cattle on a thousand hills are mine. In another place in Aggi, he says, the gold is mine and the silver is mine. It all belongs to the Lord. So what the New Testament does is it more positively emphasizes this aspect that the Christian and all that he possesses belongs in its entirety to the Lord. And he is not the owner, he is the steward. [00:10:17] We're not doing God a favor in giving. [00:10:21] Some people seem to think that if they give God something he ought to be terribly pleased because they're basically, they believe they're doing him a favor, getting him out of a sort of difficult spot. [00:10:39] But when we give we are but distributing what is his and what has in fact been entrusted to our stewardship. [00:10:55] It therefore follows that everything the Christian possesses ought to be completely at the disposal of the Lord Jesus Christ. [00:11:08] And we see this principle vividly illustrated at the very beginning of the church. [00:11:19] If you turn to acts, chapter two, very well known verses, verses 44 and 45. [00:11:31] And all that believed were together and had all things common and they sold their possessions and goods and parted them to all according as any man had need. So in this vivid illustration at the very beginning of church history we see this principle that everything these believers had they didn't call their own, they sold. Evidently there was no compulsion about this as we shall see a bit later. There was absolutely no compulsion. If you wanted to hang on to your property you could. But those who felt that they should sell it and give the money to the church, they did. And they had everything common. Not only that they turn their property into money, but if they had property they put it at the disposal of the church. If they had possessions they didn't call them their own. In acts, chapter four, from verse 32. [00:12:34] Acts, chapter four, verse 32 35 we and the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and soul and not one of them said that aught of the things which he possessed was his own. Now there were 5000 by that time. [00:12:51] But they had all things common. [00:12:55] And with great power gave the apostles their witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all for neither was there any among them that lacked for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them and brought the prices of the things that were sold and laid them at the apostles feet. And distribution was made unto each according as anyone had need. [00:13:22] So we see straight away, this principle is graphically portrayed at the very beginning of the church. Two little phrases I want you to notice from these two passages. One is, they parted them to all, that is, their possessions parted them to all according as any man had need. And the second phrase, not one of them said that aught of what he possessed was his own. Now it is there that we've got. We come to the heart of this matter. [00:14:01] This is the real principle of the thing. [00:14:07] Not one of them said that aught of what he possessed was his own. He may in some cases held on to it, but he didn't call it his own. [00:14:21] It's not a question then of giving a 10th and duty done, he can then use the rest as he wishes. The child of God is but the steward of those material things which God has blessed him or her with and must one day account for them. [00:14:47] So that car youve got, you must one day account for it before the Lord. [00:14:52] That home youve got, you must one day account for it before the Lord. [00:14:59] Those possessions you've got, you've got one into account. [00:15:05] You're accountable to the Lord for all these things, the way you handled them, your attitude to them, what you've done with them, and so on and so forth. You are not the owner. Even if you think you're the owner, you are not your own. If you're a child of God, you are bought with a price. [00:15:29] You are meant to glorify God not only in your whole body, spirit, soul and body, but in everything that that body possesses. [00:15:42] That's solemn. [00:15:47] I then, as a child of God, hold all that I possess as a trust from God in its entirety at his disposal to be used when and how and where as he directs. [00:16:09] Don't forget this. You can talk about the church till you're blue in the face. [00:16:15] You can talk about fellowship till the theory can more or less smoke out of your ears. [00:16:24] But the fact of the matter is, it's the practice that counts. [00:16:30] We can have all the theory of the church. We can have all the talk of fellowship. But the fact of the matter is this. It goes down to the Lordship of Christ first and foremost as to whether any one of us says that aught of what he or she possesses is his or her own. [00:16:59] Now, we can't dwell at great length on this thing. There are lots of problems that come up. But there's one problem I want to deal with straight away, old enough in tooth now to have seen some tragedies in this matter. And I know full well that some theologians question whether the church was right to have sold all their lands and possessions in the beginning because forever after the church at Jerusalem was terribly poverty stricken and had to be helped by the rest of the church. And there are those who question it, but I don't think the Lord looks at it like that. [00:17:40] The Lord in church history has called upon certain groups and companies to sacrifice in a way that was unique and like Mary, others thought it was a waste. But not he, I think of the moravian church so called. It wasn't the moravian church at all. It was the church of God at that time. [00:18:02] Oh, the sacrifice that those people made. [00:18:06] They deliberately chose the worst parts of the world to go to and those that had any money or possessions, they poured it all into that work. They died like flies. [00:18:18] And some said it was stupid. [00:18:21] But we owe the great evangelical awakening in the British Isles to the Moravians. [00:18:27] And that first encounter that Wesley had with them in that ship, taking him as an unsaved clergyman to be a missionary to the Red Indians. And when he came back, that little meeting in fetter Lane where as he listened to one of the Moravians reading the preface of Luther's Romans, his heart was strangely warm. [00:18:54] The warning I want to give is the recognition that all we have is the Lord's and at his disposal does not mean that we are to put up with people taking wrongful advantage of us, misusing the things entrusted to to us and abusing our stewardship. [00:19:20] Get that quite clear. [00:19:25] I am often asked, well, if I were to put everything at the disposal of the church, surely I should be taken advantage of? Certainly not. You are a steward. [00:19:37] It's not only that you must be ready to surrender your things and put them at the disposal of the church, but much more. You are accountable for the things God has given you. If you see some saint abusing something which God has entrusted to you, you must have it out. [00:19:56] This is an important point. [00:19:59] Some people in a naive and sentimental way say, well, I've got a car, I'll let anyone have it. So some wild young tear about who happens to be saved, wants the car for what he says is the work of God, takes the car and crashes it. [00:20:21] Think that's the end of that bit of stewardship, isn't it? [00:20:29] No more use of that car. [00:20:33] I don't call that good stewardship because anyone comes to you and says, I want your card, I understand it's at the disposal of the church. I'll take it. Doesn't mean to say that. You must just say, yes Willy Nilly. [00:20:47] It's the Lord who directs you as the steward of that possession. Now, it's different. If you've sold the car and given the money, then it's out of your hands altogether. And sometimes it's better that way. You have no more responsibility. [00:21:03] But, oh, get clear on this. Of course, we can go the other way and make this the excuse for not putting our possessions and things in their entirety at the disposal of the Lord. But I've heard such extraordinary things in my time. People come and bang on the door and say, God has sent me to stay with you. I remember two missionaries I knew in India who had a whole stream of people in their first four or five years in India who used to come from the north, bang on the door and say, God has sent me to stay. Well, they were so green in those days, they opened the door and said, come in. Some people stayed with them six months free and they felt they should put up with it. And then the brother said to me one day, of course, I'm now over that difficulty. [00:21:53] Oh. I said, how? He said, quite simply, they bang on the door and they say, the Lord has sent me to stay with you, brother. And I say, how very interesting. He hasn't told me the end. [00:22:10] I remember when Bah Singh was here from India, a young man who shall remain nameless, who was not the lords, but sometimes that he was for monetary game, asked if he could see him. He was the biggest swindler and scrounger in Richmond with a long history with the police. [00:22:30] Before I could get my hands on him to stop it happening, he was in. And I was left outside the door wondering, shall I burst in and say, brother boxing? This man's a swindler. But brother boxing. One of brother Bauxing co workers calmed me down as we sat on the stairs and said, dear brother, he's with the best man in the world. [00:22:54] Just watch. And I did. [00:22:57] The young man was not in the room two minutes before he went out, far more quickly than he went in. [00:23:04] And I found out that when he had asked for money, Bachsingen said, well, I have the money. Got any money? But I ask God, why don't you? [00:23:16] And there was at that time that this dear man said to me, I remember another occasion when a man came into the bungalow that he was in the place he was in. In Madras, and said, brother, the Lord has shown me that you will give me rs400. And brother Bak Singh said with his normal, gracious smile, dear brother, how very interesting. Would you go and sit on the veranda? And when the Lord tells me, I'll bring it out to you. The man knew, of course, that it was rubbish. He didn't go and wait on the veranda. He knew his game had been called. He walked out very disgruntled. [00:23:53] The fact is this, we're not to be stupid now. I've seen people give away money liberally because they believe they ought to. And when it comes to saints and works of God in real need, they haven't had the money to give. [00:24:12] We are stewards. [00:24:17] We are accountable for what we give and for our possessions. It doesn't just mean that we must surrender them only, but that we are stewards. We have to give account. That steward had been called up in Luke 16 to give an account of his stewardship. [00:24:38] Now, it's so often the case that we believe that once we've got this point, that all that we possess belongs to the Lord and is not our own, we are not owners but stewards. We then think, oh, that's the end of it. We have no more responsibility. But you have much more responsibility. If it was your own, you could do with it exactly as you wish. But as a steward, you must do your master's bidding and have your master's interests at heart. [00:25:09] So remember this matter. The first thing I say about the teaching of the New Testament on giving is that the Christian, all he possesses belongs completely to Christ. He is not the owner. He is the steward. [00:25:25] Then secondly, the question must not be vague and haphazard in his giving, but regular and consistent. If we turn to one corinthians, chapter 16, verse 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. And then two corinthians and chapter nine, verse six and seven. But this I say, he that soweth sparingly shall weep also sparingly, and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Let each man do according as he hath purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity. For God loveth a cheerful giver. [00:26:25] The Christians not to have a haphazard attitude to this ministry of giving, being more or less at the mercy of his emotions or feelings or moods, of his sudden impulses, nor is he to be vague and ethereal because he's not under law, therefore he doesn't have to tithe? [00:26:56] Or because he believes that God provides everything for his own? He's promised it in his word. Therefore, he does not need to bother either his head or his purse about any of them. [00:27:14] Certainly the child of God must not be indifferent. The Christian is to be both regular and consistent in giving as unto God. Now you will notice in the second of these verse passages, two corinthians nine, verse seven, it is a purpose of heart. That's how it says it in the revised version, the authorized version. A purpose of heart, beautifully phrased. [00:27:51] In the revised standard Version, it says, as he has made up his mind, the new English Bible puts it more simply as he has decided. [00:28:06] In other words, this is not some sudden impulse, and it's not just some sort of haphazard, vague kind of giving. [00:28:16] This is a purpose of heart. [00:28:19] This is a decision taken in the inner councils of a person's secret being. [00:28:26] This is something which has been weighed the cost way, a deliberate, cold blooded decision from the heart before God. The believer is to deliberately decide on a regular, basic setting aside of something of his income that the Lord will give him to lead. That the Lord will lead him to give. At times beyond and above this basic sum, there can be no doubt whatsoever that is where the real sacrifice comes. [00:29:15] Nevertheless, the Lord looks for regular and consistent Gibbie. [00:29:25] Such giving, seemingly routine, humdrum and unemotional, is seen by the Lord as spiritually intelligent worship. [00:29:41] Now, the Lord loves someone who gets moved. [00:29:45] There's no doubt about that. Any of you read your Bible, you'll find that God loves people who can be moved. He doesn't like those who lack stone, but he doesn't think too much of those who only give when suddenly moved. [00:30:04] God loves the unemotional, consistent, regular giving that is spiritually intelligent worship. It's something that's been decided in the heart and in the spirit before God, and therefore is, as I call it, spiritually intelligent worship. Let's look at a few scriptures we've looked at. One corinthians 16, two upon the first day of the week. Surely it's interesting that the apostle Paul told them on the first day of the week to set it aside. This was the day after the Sabbath, the first day of a new week. But it was the day that the Christians met together for the breaking of bread. Generally, as far as we know, it was their time of worship. And it is interesting that the apostle Paul seems somehow or other to link this setting aside of something on the first day of the week with their worship at the beginning of a new week, then look at Hebrews chapter 13. [00:31:12] Hebrews chapter 13, verse 16. [00:31:21] But to do good and to communicate. Now, the word communicate is a most unfortunate word in the authorized and revised version. [00:31:31] Do you know, in the Greek it's just Koinonia. It means to fellowship, but to do good and to fellowship, forget not. [00:31:42] What it means here in this context is to part with your cash. [00:31:48] To do good and to part with your cash. [00:31:52] Share your money, forget not. For with such sacrifices God is well pleased. And then Galatians chapter six. [00:32:07] Did you notice that it's with such sacrifices? And the word he uses for the sacrifices is the word used of the burnt offering and the other offerings of the Old Testament. It's something that God looks upon as worship. Galatians, chapter six, verse six. Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good thing. [00:32:32] It's the same thought again, not sudden impulse, but regular, consistent giving. And it's a command of the word of God. Romans, chapter twelve. [00:32:47] Romans, chapter twelve, verse one and two says, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies, the living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. And this is one of the hardest phrases to translate in the New Testament. [00:33:12] I think the best way is, the way I've put it, spiritually intelligent worship. [00:33:21] It's not just the sudden, emotional, impulsive moving, but that which is decided in the spirit of a man, with having weighed up the reasons, reason is in it. [00:33:41] Verse two. And be not fashioned according to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Now look at verse eight. Out of all this comes the body of Christ and its functions. Verse eight. He that exhorteth to his exhorting, he that giveth, let him do it with liberality. This is spiritually intelligent worship. [00:34:07] Verse 13. Communicating to the necessities of the saints, sharing your money for the necessities of the saints, give them to hospitality. [00:34:20] Now, some people don't like these kind of studies, and as I say, we've not had a study on the ministry of giving since 1952. [00:34:34] I have been asked a number of times to speak on giving, but I felt unable to. [00:34:40] But I must say that it always surprises me how people don't like it when you come down to bold terms, to the question of parting with money. [00:34:55] It's much, much easier to talk about the spiritual things, the nice things. The question is not to be haphazard. [00:35:03] It is an evidence and a hallmark of spirituality. Not to be impossible, repulsive, not to be at the mercy of your moods and feelings. [00:35:15] And never more so than in this matter of giving. [00:35:20] The third point I want to make about the teaching in the New Testament about giving is the amount a Christian gives is a matter between him and God alone. [00:35:34] Let me say it again. The matter that the amount a Christian gives is a matter between him and God alone. Nowhere in the New Testament are we told to give a specific percentage or sum, nor are we told even to tithe our income in the New Testament. Indeed, the most amazing thing about the New Testament is that it is apart from commanding us to give. It is extremely vague when it comes to the how and the amount. [00:36:11] What we can say is this. In two corinthians, chapter nine and verse seven, we are told that it is not to be from necessity. Now, this means there should be no sense of compulsion. That's the new English Bible. [00:36:33] You are not giving from a sense of compulsion. The preacher has said you ought to give, and that it's more blessed to give than to receive. And therefore grudgingly wrung out from your unwilling heart, you have parted with some money. [00:36:55] It's of necessity. [00:36:59] You feel that as a Christian, you are duty bound to give some money. [00:37:08] Isn't it extraordinary, if tithing is to be part and parcel of New Testament life, that here we are told it is to be not of necessity, no sense of compulsion. [00:37:24] In the Old Testament, it was absolutely a duty. [00:37:30] Then again, look at acts, chapter five. [00:37:35] Acts, chapter five. That story which ought to put the fear of God into everyone here this evening. But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira, his wife, sold a possession and kept back part of the price. His wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles feet. But Peter said, ananias, why hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the price of this land while it remained? Did it not remain your own? [00:38:11] And after it was sold, was it not still in your power? [00:38:19] How is it that thou has conceived this thing in thy heart? Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God? Now, surely if tithing were the duty of the Christian under the new covenant, as the child of God under the old, surely the apostle would have said, when you'd given the 10th, when you'd given the tithe, the rest was yours. [00:38:46] But he didn't. [00:38:49] Now, you will also notice that there was no compulsion in this matter. If Ananias and Sapphira had wanted to hold on to their land and possessions, they were perfectly entitled to do so, and they wouldn't have been. There would have been no sort of feeling against them in the church officially of any kind, nor if they had sold their possessions and held that part of the money quite openly. But the point was, they said that they'd given it all here. They said, it's all at the Lord's disposal. And it wasn't true. [00:39:26] One Bible scholar on all divine, once said, if God had judged his people on this same basis as he judged Ananias as the father, there would be an awful lot of deaths in the church. [00:39:44] That's perfectly true. [00:39:47] Perfectly true. [00:39:49] Right at the beginning of church history, Ananias and Sepphara stand as a terrible illustration of a principle. [00:40:02] The only reference to tithing in the New Testament which could affect us is in Matthew, chapter 23, and verse 23, which is quite clear. It says, woe unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites, for ye tithe, mint and anise, and come in, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy, and faith. But these ye ought to have done, and not to have left undone the other. [00:40:31] Now, that is quite interesting. [00:40:34] We have Luke's record of this same matter in Luke, chapter eleven and verse 42. [00:40:43] And he says, but what woe unto you, pharisees, for ye tithe, mint, and rue, and every herb and passover, justice and the love of God. But these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. [00:40:57] In other words, the Lord was saying, you should have given yourself to the weightier matters of the law, and still have tithes, even down to these small things. Now, these herbs that the Lord spoke, spoke of here were so small that it was almost impossible really to see them. They were tiny little seeds. [00:41:19] And yet these pharisees said that you must count them very carefully. They had special instruments, very fine instruments, like tweezers, for marking these things. Put ten on one side, the rest on here. [00:41:34] The Lord said, you should not have left that under, but you should have attended to the other, much more weighty imagination. [00:41:43] Surely, however, these two references are referring to those still under the old covenant. Well, we'll come to that in one moment. [00:41:52] What we are told is that giving is a matter between God and each believer, and has some relation to what he receives. [00:42:04] In one Corinthians, chapter 16 and verse two. [00:42:10] We upon the first day of the week, let each one of you lay by him in store as he may prosper. [00:42:21] JB Phillips puts it, according to his financial prosperity. Let him put aside something or the new English Bible in proportion to his gains. [00:42:33] In proportion to his gains. [00:42:39] In two Corinthians, chapter eight. [00:42:43] It is even clearer, verse eleven and twelve. [00:42:50] But now complete the doing also, that as there was the readiness to will, so there may be the completion also out of your ability. [00:43:00] For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according as a man hath not, according as he hath not. [00:43:13] That's the principle. [00:43:17] It's a matter between God and each believer alone. The amount that that believer gives it is in proportion to his income. [00:43:34] There's more than a hint of that. [00:43:38] We've got it, of course, in chapter nine of two Corinthians, verse seven, that each one gives, do according as he hath purposed in his heart. [00:43:54] Nevertheless, we have to say that if in the Old Testament, under law, the child of God gave a 10th, dare we give less? [00:44:08] We who have so many more privileges than advantages over the child of God under the old cover, can we give less than the ten? [00:44:21] It's on a question of duty. [00:44:24] It's a question of our heart's condition. [00:44:27] Is it true to say, as it has often been said, that we have not started to give truly till we give over the 10th? [00:44:38] And should we understand Matthew 23 23 in this light? [00:44:47] Certainly God has greatly honored and prospered those who have tithed from the heart. [00:44:59] I don't think God is very interested in christians who just tithe in a mechanical way. But when it's been a history with the Lord, when it's come out of the heart, oh, the way the Lord has honored people. I think of Latourno, who, being a poor man from a working class background, started a business and gave a 10th to God and built up a huge business empire out of which he supported all kinds of works of God. He started off with the 10th and never ever gave less than the 10th. Ended up by giving very, very, very much more than that. Big trusts and so much else. [00:45:40] I think I mentioned this in our first study, Colgate. [00:45:45] He started off with another penny in his pocket, his first shilling or two. He tithed and built up the Colgate empire. [00:46:02] God honored him. Robert Laidlaw has just gone to the Lord. What a great man he was. When he was a young man, he saw this question of tithing. God spoke to him. He started his own business. He gave a 10th. By the time he was 21, he was giving much more than that. By the time he was 25, he was giving 50% of his income. And when he died, and the age, I don't know what. Quite a ripe old age. He was over 70 when he died. Just three weeks ago, he was giving away 90% of the income and living on the tithe. [00:46:49] There are so many others I can think of myself. [00:46:53] I can think of dear Eric Wittenbo and Georg Wittenbaum, who are now in the presence of the Lord, both of them who started that business. When they came to the Lord, they saw this question, and through thick and thin, even when the business was in dire straits, they always gave the tent. Oh, how God honored them. They saw after a while, they were makers of automatic machines, cigarette machines, now books and other things, all these things that you put a coin in, handle and out it covers. But in the days when they began the business, they weren't really believers. It was mostly cigarettes. Then they became christians, and the more they thought about, the more uncomfortable they became. And finally they took the decision out with sickle. [00:47:51] This was devastating to the business. They had a strike on their hand. [00:47:59] Even the authorities, the local government authorities, were concerned as to what was going to happen. This foolhardy move of these two men, three men, but God honored them. [00:48:14] Oh, there are so many we could talk about. [00:48:19] John Lang is another, Elizabeth Franklin, staying in one of his home, purchased and completely cared for out of his income for missionaries and servants of the Lord. [00:48:37] You see, God honours those who honour him. He has promised it. He said, those that honour me, I will honor. [00:48:48] What we can say anyway, is this, and we can say it definitely, that whether we should tithe or not, each believer should purpose in his heart, as led by God, to give regularly and consistently in proportion to his income, above and beyond that sum that the believer puts aside. There will be times when God calls on us to give sacrificially, sometimes at very great cost. We need not fear. Such giving is always to increase and blessing. For the Lord himself himself said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. [00:49:35] Fourthly, in this matter of teaching in the New Testament about giving, it is the attitude of the heart which concerns God far more than the amount which is given. [00:49:51] Now, you dont find this so much in the Old Testament, you do find it in the new. It is the attitude of the heart which concerns God far more than the amount we give. Two Corinthians, chapter nine, verse seven. We're coming back again and again to this verse. Let each man do according as he hath purposed in his heart, not grudgingly, nor of necessity, for God loveth a cheerful giver. [00:50:20] God loveth a cheerful giver. God looks upon giving as an expression of worship. [00:50:32] He looks upon it as the truest indication of the condition of that heart. [00:50:44] He does not look upon giving us some duty or responsibility, even when faithfully discharged. [00:50:53] It is the heart which concerns him. [00:50:58] God loveth a cheerful giver, not of necessity, nor grudgingly. [00:51:09] Dutiful routine giving, impersonal and cold, does not interest the Lord at all, nor reluctant, grudging, giving, wrung out of a basically unwilling heart. I was most interested. It's probably the jewish blood in the apostle Paul that literally, in the Greek, it is of sorrow. [00:51:34] The parting with this cash just causes sorrow, not of necessity, nor grudging, not of sorrow, not from sorrow. O, but, you know, it's so practical. Oh, how many christians do you know? You can see the cloud coming down on their brow as you talk about giving because it's of sorrow. [00:52:00] The thing is a sorrow, really think that we ought to give like that? [00:52:11] Well, it's the joyful, thankful, worshipping heart which gives from love to him. [00:52:25] That's the thing God looks for. [00:52:31] So God is infinitely more concerned with the heart and the motives than the actual amount. [00:52:37] He does not really want the money. [00:52:40] If he has not got the heart and the life of that person. You can keep your money. He hasn't got your heart. Keep it because he is not interested, doesn't want it. I can say that absolutely, categorically. [00:52:56] God doesn't need money, and he doesn't want your money. [00:53:01] And if it's not an expression of your heart and your devotion to the Lord, better to keep it. [00:53:11] This is exactly what the Lord was trying to say in mark 1241 to 44, the story of the poor widow. [00:53:23] You will remember that the Lord had come to the temple for the last time that day, and so crabby were the ecclesiastical authorities that they went for the master because the children were singing his praises. They said, shut them up. [00:53:39] It's disgraceful to hear these children bawling at the top of their voices. Hosanna in the highest. Shut them up. And the Lord said, how can I shut them up? If I were to shut them up, the stones would cry out. [00:53:56] That was a confrontation with the temple authorities, you know, it ended with the master going out, never again to enter into the temple. He said, your house. Not God's house, nor my father's house, but your house is left unto you desolate. [00:54:23] But before he'd gone, there is this story of this little widow. [00:54:32] She redeemed Israel in the eyes of God. [00:54:38] Oh, if you only knew the tithing that had gone on in the temple that day. [00:54:44] If you only knew the so called free will offerings that had been made into the treasury that day. The treasury was full with shekels. [00:54:57] But God didn't want it. [00:55:02] As if he needed that money. [00:55:05] One little woman came and she threw in her farthing. [00:55:09] What can you do with a farthing? [00:55:12] You can buy five sparrows. [00:55:15] You can't launch an apostle Paul with a farthing unless you've got faith. [00:55:24] You can't launch some great move of God with a farthing. A farthing? What can you do with a farthing? Buy a few sparrows, that's all. [00:55:38] Hardly a meal. [00:55:41] They used to eat the sparrows in those days. [00:55:45] Hardly a meal. [00:55:50] But God said, she has cast in more than all those casting into the trip into the treasury. Now think of that. There were probably thousands upon thousands upon thousands of pounds in that great central treasury of the people of God. But that farthing meant more to God than millions and millions in gold bullion. [00:56:16] It was the heart attitude that meant so much to God. She redeemed Israel. In his eyes, she was a the representative of a faithful remnant in Israel. [00:56:34] Oh, do you remember the story the Lord told about the rich Pharisee and the publican? The publican didn't even have any money, as far as we can tell. But the Pharisee stood there, smote his breast and said, I'm glad I am not like other men. I fast so many times a week I tithe. All my income I give to the poor. I'm glad I'm not like this poor fellow over here. [00:57:06] Wretched man, unclean as he is. [00:57:12] And the unclean ragged bundle, without as much as lift, lifting its head up, cried out from the depths of its misery, o God, be merciful to me, the sinner. [00:57:29] And God said, that man's justified. [00:57:33] I've got his heart. [00:57:36] The other Pharisee can go on tithing his income. Thinks he's doing me a favour. [00:57:42] He'll find out in the end. [00:57:45] I haven't got his heart or his life. [00:57:48] I'd rather he kept his tithes and eat good, solid food instead of fasting three times a week. [00:58:01] There's another story, too. Of course there are many of them, but still we can't just dwell on stories. There's this question of the heart attitude is so important. [00:58:13] But in Matthew chapter six, verses one to four, the verses we read together. You will see what the Lord said about this matter of giving. He said, when you do your alms, see that your right hand doesnt know what your left hand is doing. [00:58:36] See that your two hands don't know what each other are doing. [00:58:43] What a graphic way of putting it. Don't blow the trumpet in front of you when you. Oh, how people blow the trumpet. Sometimes I go into places where all around I see polished plaques of blood that commemorate various gifts that have been made to the restoration of fabric, the organ restoration, the pulpit restoration, and much else that needed restoring. [00:59:13] It's the blowing of the trumpet. [00:59:18] In the old days, this matter of almsgiving had got to such a pitch in Israel that rich Pharisees used to hire a person either to go before them and blow great blast on the trumpet while they sort of gave their cat, or if they hadn't, weren't wealthy enough to have a servant, a kind of forerunner like that. They had this great horn themselves, which they blew. And then when everyone looked round, they gave it. Makes us smile, of course, but you know, we're all the same. [00:59:53] Oh, I could tell you stories would be here all night, stories that would have you in stitches, and stories that are tragic, really, about this question of money and the way people give, the way they want to be recognized, the way they want to have it, as it were trumpeted forth, that they have given this or that or the other. [01:00:16] The Lord says, don't do that. That's not the heart you're giving because you want people to see you. And he said, with only the shots that the Lord could, he said, they've got their reward. [01:00:36] You mean you can give a thousand pounds and you've got your reward already? Yes, you've received your reward. You wanted everyone to know, and they know. So everyone said, isn't it wonderful? [01:00:47] So and so's given some. Oh, you've had your war. [01:00:53] Whereas if no one knows, one day your father's going to say, you've forgotten about that money you gave. I haven't. [01:01:04] No one else knew. Now the time for your reward. [01:01:10] Do it all in secret. [01:01:13] Oh, there's so much more we could say. Two Corinthians, chapter eight, verse twelve. Fear not, we're coming to an end. [01:01:24] Two Corinthians, chapter eight, verse twelve. Back to this chapter. There's so much to do. How this if the readiness is there, it's acceptable according as a man hath not according as he. If the readiness is there, that's what God looks for. [01:01:42] He sees a heart and says, oh, they'd give the world to me if they had it. That's all right. You've given the world to me. Isn't that beautiful? It was as if the Lord stood over that poor widow that day and said, this woman would have given the world. She would have given the universe to me. She would have given diamond mines if she had them. [01:02:03] She hadn't gotten. She only had a farthing. But as far as I'm concerned, she's given in the world. [01:02:11] The readiness was there. [01:02:13] It was the heart. [01:02:15] Oh, God is infinitely more concerned with the heart than the amount that we give. God is the giver in the whole universe. He knows more than anyone else about the joy and blessedness of giving. For God so loved the world that he gave. [01:02:34] Oh, God's giving is infinite. Go out and look at the trees that are about to blossom. That's giving. Look at the ground bursting into life. It's giving. Look at the animals, look at the bird. It's all God's giving. God isn't utilitarian. Some people think you should never, ever give any anything unless it's absolutely utilitarian. God isn't like that at all. God does kind of things that are almost exuberant, luscious. [01:03:06] He didn't have to put all the petals in some flowers. He didn't have to put a riot of color in some of them. He didn't have to make some birds with feathers that go out here and feathers that go up there. They could have been much more utility. But God is such a joyous giver, such an exuberant giver, such a jubilant giver. God is a hilarious giver. He just loves to give and give. It's his nature to give. The whole world is the expression of his infinite giving. But above all, in his son. [01:03:41] He could have given his son to be a legalist, to brought the truth to us and frightened us almost into hell with it. But no, not his son. [01:03:50] Publicans and sinners, prostitutes, thieves, criminals of all kinds, delinquents, they all sought him out. Oh, God knows more than anyone else about giving. He is the giver, and the thing he looks for is his own character and nature in us. [01:04:11] Every time we go to the treasury, it's not the amount we give, it's whether he can see himself in us. Oh, what a joy that was this morning. [01:04:22] So and so went there, and I saw myself purely reflected, went there and gave something joyfully, just as if it was a burden off their back. [01:04:40] That's what God's looking for. I do believe that God could manufacture money if he wanted to. I've often wondered where some of it's come from in this place, and the stories I really have. Sometimes I do believe God could manufacture it if he needed to. And I could tell you one or two stories, not just from here, but from elsewhere, that have no explanation. [01:05:01] God's not in need of money. [01:05:04] God, who made all things. [01:05:08] Why, in some miracle, he could cause a diamond or two to pop up out of the earth while you dear ones have been weeding. [01:05:15] If he wanted to, of course he could. And it's not silly either. [01:05:21] God isn't in need of your money. [01:05:25] God is in need of your heart. [01:05:28] And if he could get your heart, he's got everything. And what he wants to see is not only your heart, he wants to see himself in your heart. So that when you're giving, your giving is a reflection of his giving. It's the same kind of giving, the same type of giving. It's not grudging, it's not of duty. He didn't come into this world. He didn't give his son from necessity or grudgingly. He didn't come into this world. The Lord Jesus of necessity grudges. [01:05:57] He came cheerfully. God gave cheerfully. [01:06:03] God is the giver. That's what he's looking for. Now it stands to reason that if the heart is right, the giving will be right. Never forget that if the heart is right, the giving will be right. If God has our heart, he will have our purse. [01:06:24] Our giving then becomes the surest and most concrete indication of our heart's attitude and devotion to the Lord. [01:06:34] We've talked about that. Poor widow. She's an example of that. I think of another woman who had her little nest egg, as they used to in those days, all represented in a pound of Spikenard in a beautiful alabaster vow. [01:06:50] It was kept for her burial. [01:06:54] They used to do it in those days. It was their investment. It was their capital. It represented their capital. [01:07:01] And some wild thought suddenly came into her heart. I'll go up and I'll get that and I'll break it on his feet. [01:07:12] Why? [01:07:14] Some sudden impulse? No. [01:07:19] She, of all the disciples, saw that he was going to die, and she somehow wanted to express it in an action. [01:07:34] So she took her precious capital and she wasted the whole lot on him. [01:07:43] And Judas and the other disciples muttered and groaned and murmured. [01:07:50] Ludicrous, ludicrous. [01:07:53] That made the. She's made the place smell like some woman's perfumery, the place stayed, and all that money just poured down the drain. We could have been feeding the poor. [01:08:14] How? Well, the writer of the gospel says, judas Kemp, the treasury, and he was a thief. [01:08:28] Now, you see, it was the heart God had got in that woman. When he got the heart, he got the capital. [01:08:42] When he got the heart, he got the nest egg. That's why the apostle Paul says to them at Philippi, he says once and again, you sent to me. And he said, now get it quite clear. I know the secret of how to do without. So even if you hadn't sent me any cash and I hadn't got any food at all, I've still got the secret. [01:09:05] So you didn't have to send it to me, because God's given me the secret of both how to be abased and how to abound. But he said, it's the fruit which increaseth that thrills me. I see something in you as a company. [01:09:24] I see that you're growing. Your heart is right. [01:09:30] The acid test of the heart's attitude and motives is whether one can give in secret, known and seen only by God. [01:09:43] Any other givings already, as I've said, had its reward. When our heart's attitude is right and our giving is an expression of our worship, then all kinds of things happen. You'll find them all if you go home and read the last part of two corinthians, chapter nine, we are blessed and enriched. [01:10:08] Then we prove the Lord practically and experimentally. My God is able to make all grace abound towards you, that he, having always all sufficiency in all things, may abound unto every good work, practical and experimental. Proving of the Lord as a result of our giving, as well as blessing and enrichment, it draws us all together. [01:10:32] Why, the apostle Paul says, they long after you because of this gift. That's what it's going to do. They're going to long after you earnestly. It draws us all together. Haven't we known that when in times past, as we've sought God, some gift has come unlooked for, unsought for from some other company? Or why it's drawn us all together. We worship God, and that's the last thing. It causes worship. In others, it produces more worship. Well, then, what can we say then? In all, we must be practical in our recognition of what needs our support financially as well as spiritually. [01:11:20] We all need to recognize the simple law that we should contribute towards the cost of God's work. We must not be numbered amongst those who receive all and give. Now, in general terms, this means we support the work of God generally. [01:11:44] We support the local church. [01:11:48] We support those who are needy amongst us. [01:11:54] We support those who are given fully to the Lord's work with no normal income. Now this does not mean that we can make an excuse. And here I must say something very serious. [01:12:08] We cannot make giving an excuse for not caring for our families. [01:12:15] In one Timothy five eight, it says specifically that everyone ought to care for their own, that they be not a burden to the church. [01:12:27] Now remember this. [01:12:29] I've known some people who've made it all I give to the Lord. I can't. Rubbish. [01:12:35] Nonsense. [01:12:39] Why? It says in two corinthians chapter eight that we should not give so that it puts us into need in a wrong way. [01:12:52] That is, others our family. Oh, do let's remember that. [01:12:58] It says, we are worse than an unbeliever if we do not care for our own family. That's what the word of God says. We are worse than an unbeliever. [01:13:06] We never make an excuse of giving for not caring for our own. May God help us in these very practical matters of giving. [01:13:21] Really supremely, the New Testament as the Old is contained in one saying of the Lord Jesus. Its teaching it is more blessed to keep than to receive. [01:13:35] Shall we pray now? Lord, we ask thee that thou wilt write this lesson upon our hearts. [01:13:46] Lord, sometimes we can just think of this kind of study as a veiled appeal for money. But, o Lord, our prayer tonight is that thou wilt make us all people in whom thou dost see something of thine own character and heart and nature. [01:14:07] Lord, may we be people who know thee and are like thee. We pray that thou wilt deal with us as we need to be dealt with. Lord, through thy word. Teach us, we pray. Lord, the blessedness of giving. [01:14:24] O father, thou hast said with what measure we mete out, it shall be measured to us, pressed down, shaken together and running over. [01:14:41] O Lord, we pray that we may learn the lesson spiritually. See it. And maybe those who, having freely received, freely give, we ask it in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.