Managing Money for God's Good, our Own Good, and the Good of Others:
"The Proper Way for Me To Give" Sermon number 5 of 5 (Final)
Please turn to 2 Corinthians 8 through 9:6-8. We will be using other texts this morning, but our primary text I am starting with is 2 Corinthians 8-9:6-8. As you are turning there, I want us to remember that I have been teaching a series that deals with money issues. I started out teaching on the very important subject of budgeting. The second sermon I preached had to do with plunging into debt. Then, in the following two sermons, I preached principles on how not to give. I shared various ways that God does not want us to contribute to the needs of others. This morning I am finishing this sermon series. In this particular sermon I want to addresses the proper way to give which is the biblical way to give. Please prepare your hearts to learn, along with me, in this sermon titled,
Managing Money for God's Good, our Own Good, and the Good of Others:
"The Proper Way for Me To Give" Sermon number 5 of 5 (Final)
[prayer]
This morning I want to cover 5 simple and practical things we need to know for giving properly.
/1/
As we glean from God's word, the first thing that we Christians need to know concerning how to give properly is that God wants us to give according to His New Covenant in the Spirit. The primary Scripture that I think really sums up so much, in terms of New Covenant giving, comes from Paul the apostle's instruction in 2 Corinthians. It starts back in chapter 8, but right now we will read from 2 Corinthians 9:6, we read,
"he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must do [in giving] just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed;" 2 Corinthians 9:6-8
The principle we are gleaning is found deep inside the part about giving just as is "purposed" in your heart. New Covenant giving is different than Old Covenant giving in so many ways, but this is the big consistent difference. Under the Old Covenant, giving was a legal requirement. It was a Law issue according to the statutes. You broke the law when you decided not to give one of the required tax tithes or contributions. In New Covenant giving, it is a heart issue that flows from the Spirit according to the New Covenant Law of love. Old Covenant giving was instituted to meet needs. New Covenant giving has been instituted for the meeting of needs too, but it is based upon the ministry of life. New Covenant giving is much more beautiful in that it consistently flows according to a whole different motivational vein. New Covenant giving is according to the motivation of the Holy Spirit that dwells within your heart. New Covenant giving is according to the premiere motivation that emits from all Christians. It is Christ's imparted attribute of godly, pure, real, love. New Covenant giving is the kind of giving that is based upon compassion, and grace, in meeting needs because they need to be met by you, me, and all God's people as personal ministry. It is based upon personal, volitional, self sacrifice. All of it is according to New Covenant revelation in God's preserved word. These are the brand marks of Christianity. They are fruits of the Holy Spirit. What this means is that Christians are not merely expected to give one percent, ten percent, twelve percent, or twenty three percent of our income as a matter of command. We give whatever it takes to fulfill needs, as members of the body of Christ, ministering to the other members of the body. Love does not want to be constrained by Old Covenant Law; so love will motivate us to give as much as a 100 percent if that's what it takes; or to give less than a required Mosaic Law tithe percent amount if that is what is needed, or if that is what is budgeted to give. For example, I know of a ministry need that was brought to a Christian brother's attention not too long ago. He was compelled from his heart, according to rational thinking, to give 100 percent of his income. He gave it all to meet a need. He does not always do this, but in this case he did. I happen to know that he may do it again. Another couple told me recently that they can not give a large amount of money in a consistent manner to help support a ministry; but they give what they can. The point is that New Covenant giving depends on how God convicts you, by His Spirit, and leads your heart according to His word. So, it is our love motivation of the New Covenant law of love that under girds this ministry of the Spirit. This first point is that New Covenant giving is uniquely Christian giving which is what God's children do in the Spirit.
/2/
This leads to a second principle concerning how to give properly. It is also out of 2 Corinthians 9. We are to give "bountifully," and abundantly for every good deed. Paul is really straight forward with this in Romans 12:8, where he says plainly,
"he who gives, with liberality;" Romans 12:8
Paul means to let if flow. Giving with liberality doesn't have a number put on it like a percentage or anything like that. But it does have quantity associated with it. Someone may ask:
"What does it mean to give with liberality? What exactly is abundantly?"
It means to give a whole lot. How much is a whole Lot? Well, you decide, based upon love, needs, the Spirit, and self sacrifice. I think of an Old Covenant event that happened in Jesus' midst. It really illumines this principle in a stark way. There is a principle there that has to do with giving abundantly above and beyond what was required under the Old Covenant Law of Moses. It had to do with an incident where people were giving freewill gifts (not tithes) to the temple treasury. We read,
"41 And He [Jesus] sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums [which were "gifts," according to Luke 21:1]. 42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. 43 Calling His students to Him, He said to them, 'Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.'" Mark 12:41-44, Luke 21:1
@1 The poor widow gave ____________________, though she did not give as much, Mark 12:41-44
Now, let's think about this. Right there in the midst of the stone temple, the bustle of people, movement, and noise, was this poor widow. Jesus was watching her. The detail that is somewhat invisible to us in our culture, is that she was a person who really had it bad in that time and social world. Widows, who did not have family to properly take care of them, struggled with great difficulty to get barely enough money to survive. Consequently, they had to take on jobs that did not pay very much; or they had to beg for money, or worse. We know that this widow had it bad. Jesus reveals that the widow was impoverished to the point that this two copper mite gift was all she owned. So there was this poor widow. She was being contrasted with the rich who were there too; and Jesus was pointing out the inner workings of what was going on by showing that to give gifts out of one's surplus, whether it be "large sums" of money, is not nearly as bountiful as one penny's worth from a widow who was so devoted to God that she gave above and beyond what most people would call reasonable. This Old Covenant widow is an amazing example of what it means to give bountifully because God's Old Covenant Law did not require her do do this. In fact, the Old Law had a special provision for her to be provided for by the tithes of other Israelites. According to Deuteronomy 14:28-29, the Israelites were to be taking care of her financial needs. We are not under the Old covenant law. The point here, is that this widow went beyond what was required by her under the Mosaic Law Covenant in respect to her heart-gift in accordance with the voluntary contribution that found its roots in the unforced giving of Exodus 25:1-3. It may not be the dictionary definition of "bountifully," but this was Jesus' definition of bountifully in His point. If we were to analyze this from a business mindset we could say that giving thousands of dollars as a gift would not only be a "large sum," but it should be considered much more bountiful than copper coins that amount to one cent. Most people, in our time, who see a penny lying on the ground, won't even take the time to go over to bend down and pick it up. In comparison to the offerings of the rich, then, it is easy for the disciples, or for any of us, to think,
"What in the world is so bountiful about a few copper coins as a gift?"
But when Jesus defines it the way God sees it, He explains that it is the amount of devotion and self sacrifice that defines the amount in terms of bounty. Remember what Jesus said about "more,"
"Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury;" Mark 12:43
In other words, in the math of the Messiah, the widow not only put in a huge gift amount in respect to her own financial status, but the poor widow put in "more" than everyone else's extra accumulation in surplus. Jesus says,
"for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on." Mark 12:44
This really magnifies the principle we are looking for here in our own equation. There is no New Testament rule that states that we must give everything we own. Yet, it is where the quality of the gift, in terms of serving our Lord, is of such a quality of selfless sacrifice that it overrides any supposed quantity distinctions of what natural minds would typically declare as bountiful. So, for you, giving a few pennies to the Lord's work may also be an abundant amount. The point is that just as the widow knows what abundance means, so do you. And just as Jesus knows what the widow gave; and just as Jesus knows it is abundant, Jesus also knows what you give; and Jesus knows whether what you give is abundant too. I want us to notice that this is the same type of giving that Paul teaches in 2 Corinthians 8. It is the chapter directly before our primary passage this morning. It is the chapter that gives us our contextual flow. Let me quickly go over the context so that we can put our minds right there into the middle of the stream of thought; Paul is talking about sharing financially. As Paul makes his case, he uses the giving practices of the Macedonian Christians as an illustration to urge the Corinthian Christians to get on the right track in their own giving. With this in mind, Paul describes how the Christians of Macedonia gave. He says,
"1 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia,
Paul is talking about the money that all the various churches in Macedonia gave for the ministry. The Spirit is showing us something here that we must not let slip by: Notice that giving is equated with the "grace of God." When you, or I, give, we are actually being used as a grace tool in God's hand to express His grace to someone else who is in need. In this perspective, your giving is not to be considered your grace that you share to others. Your giving is God's grace through you. But Paul is not finished with his point. He says next,
"2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part."
In other words, they were sharing the grace of God in money, even in severe affliction in being persecuted for Christ; and also, not just in merely average financial poverty, but Paul calls it "extreme poverty." It is in this extreme poverty, that Paul says of the Macedonians,
"3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own determination,"
Yes it is the grace of God; but for the grace of God to come forth, it comes from their own determination that is controlled by the Spirit. This is another example of the doctrine of concurrence. It is where God is completely in control of all that He has determined to come to pass, and part of that means that He designed it all so that we have control in our own determination (while under His control and determination) to operate in this world. The main thing I am wanting us to see in 2 Corinthians 8:3 is the principle, once again, stated very succinctly. Notice that first of all, the poor Macedonians gave. Certainly it makes sense that they gave according to their means; but notice the huge clarifier that goes along with being in extreme poverty. What is it? Paul says that they gave "beyond their means." In other words, they gave from a New Covenant heart what selfish hearts would say does not make a whole lot of sense. Paul does not say that they neglected their own personal responsibilities, but Paul says they gave beyond their means. It is what the natural mind would say that they could not afford to do and still live the so-called, "safe, and comfortable, lifestyle" in doing it. But that is not all. Listen to what Paul says next in verse 4. He says something that is both absolutely amazing, and personally convicting. He says that they were,
"4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the set apart ones [the saints]--"
Does this fact concerning these "extremely impoverished" Christians convict you as much as it convicts me? These extremely poor people, who were in need themselves, were begging the apostles to be able to help out with relief in meeting the needs of other Christians. Let me ask you a question:
When was the last time you ever begged anyone for the favor to be able to give away your money to them?
I must humbly confess to you that I have never done this. I think we should also ask ourselves another question:
Am I extremely poor?
Extremely poor is Paul's description of the giving Macedonians, and yet they were doing this. What I'm getting at, is that this teaching needs to disrupt the typical way a lot of us look at money, giving, and sacrifice. This kind of giving does not come from compulsion where we are required to do it, and so, because it is merely a matter of duty, we do what is expected, and so now we can check off a box. This kind of giving comes from a change in us that is deep, and miraculous. Just like the Corinthians to whom Paul is explaining this to, the Spirit wants all of us to learn from the example of the Macedonians. This is the definition of cheerful giving. This is beautiful. The impoverished Macedonians even blew away Paul, and the other apostles with him. Paul did not expect this to happen. This is why Paul says in verse 5,
"5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us."
This is the key isn't it? This is the key to all New Covenant ministry--They gave themselves first to the Lord. Many of us in our current Christian culture have faith in Christ in salvation, but we have not given our whole lives to Christ in certain areas of practical living. It is where Lordship is more than lip service--especially in respect to money. The impoverished Macedonians were beautiful examples of people after God's own heart. They gave themselves to Him, and while they were doing so, the outpouring of their love and devotion was manifested in abundant giving to the other members of the body of Christ. Now in verse 6, Paul continues with what he means by bringing the Macedonian's example into the picture,
"6 Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. [The act of grace is giving] 7 But as you excel in everything--in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you--see that you excel in this act of grace also." 2 Corinthians 8:1-8
@2 It is God's will to _______________________ in the act of grace of giving. 2 Corinthians 8:5-8
Remember this is the chapter that comes right before our primary passage this morning, 2 Corinthians 9:6-8, and so Paul is essentially saying,
"Look, the Macedonians are recognizing and practicing a grace that is from God Himself. They gave themselves first to the Lord, and then by the determination of God, they, in their very poverty, have given of themselves to others by their own determination. In like manner, as you excel in the other fruits of the Spirit, see that you excel in this act of grace also."
Now, let me tell you what this does not mean. Giving bountifully does not mean that you ignore your other responsibilities, such as debts you owe money on, or your family's needs as the steward that God has entrusted your family with; and so you just take your money that God has allowed you to govern to meet the needs of your immediate responsibilities, and then give it all away. Instead, biblically, you and I need to give bountifully to fulfill the needs of our sphere of responsibility that God has given us in the first place, and as we do this, we are serving the Lord as proper stewards of the money He has entrusted us with. This also means that God does not want us to write hot checks in giving. You give what you have--not what you do not have. Paul did not mean that the Macedonians did not have the money to give when he pointed out that they were giving beyond their means. Paul is simply drawing upon the extent of sacrifice of what they already possess--not something that they don't possess. Further, Paul is not saying that the Macedonians did not seek to be good stewards and take care of their own responsibilities in the process. He is saying that they made a huge personal sacrifice to be part of God's grace, and they begged to do it. The point is that the main principle in this second way to give properly is that we are to give bountifully and abundantly for every good deed.
/3/
This leads to recognize a third way to give properly, and that is to give "cheerfully." Really, this is the attitude of giving that reflects
a) your true faith,
b) your true love,
c) whether you truly realize that God owns all you have,
and
d) whether you truly realize that God expects you to give some of it away.
In other words, the only way you are going to be a cheerful giver is if you have faith that you are indeed giving your money as an act of worshipful service to the Lord. It is a faith issue. The only way you are going to be a cheerful giver is by manifesting love for God that comes from the Spirit, and, by extension, you manifest tangible love for others in your actions that come from the same Spirit. The only way you are going to be a cheerful giver is if you truly know that it is a fact that God owns everything you claim as your own, and that God really does expect you to give to meet needs by the Spirit according to His word. So, when Paul urges to give according to how you purpose from your heart, we recognize that God wants us to give from a heart of faith; He wants us to give from a heart of love; He wants us to give from a heart of appreciation that anything we have is by His sovereign grace. Think about that poor widow again. When she gave all she had, she gave from her heart. She gave cheerfully as her heart moved her in faith and love. Actually, the whole scene that was going on there is reminiscent of ancient times back in the Exodus--back when God wanted money collected for the building of the original tabernacle, of which the temple was patterned. When we look back in Exodus 25, we notice the heart connection,
"1 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 'Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me; from every man whose heart moves him you shall raise My contribution. 3 This is the contribution which you are to raise from them: gold, silver and bronze," Exodus 25:1-3
Notice that God says that He wanted His people to raise money, but there is that important clarifier. It is not like a compulsory law thing that comes from the statutes of the covenant. God says to raise it
"from every man whose heart moves him"
When God told Moses to raise this charitable contribution, it wasn't something that the sons of Israel had to do even if they did not want to do it. Fear of retribution is not what moved them. Duress did not move them. Some clever and emotional appeal for money is not what moved them. God was looking for what was purely a cheerful heart motivation from within the people concerning the work of their Lord. 1500 years later, the devout Israelite widow actually fulfills the kind of heart attitude that God loves. She was moved by a heart that was more than cheerful to give everything as a gift to the temple treasury. This is what God is looking for from us who are the true temple of God's Spirit. Instead of giving to build the old stone temple of God in cheerful love, we are God's temples giving out from within. When your heart moves you to give according to faith and devotion, then you will give from a cheerful heart. Additionally, I want to add that when you give from a heart that recognizes that it is all God's money in the first place, and it is still all His money when you give some of it to other people, then you are truly going to be cheerful. When Paul warned the Corinthians not to become arrogant toward one another, he said,
"What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? 8 You are already filled, you have already become rich," 1 Corinthians 4:7-8
@3 Everything we have, we _____________________________ it from God. 1 Corinthians 4:7-8
Selfishness comes in, and the heart starts hardening, when we somehow think that everything that God has entrusted us with is something we gave to ourselves rather than the blessing of God's gifts. This is why it is important for us to realize that there is nothing that we have that we did not receive. So we need to check ourselves. There are only two persons who truly know your heart in these matters--you and God. Since God has already told us what to do, then it is really up to us to check ourselves and make a heart adjustment if need be. Looking at our primary text of 2 Corinthians 9:7 again, notice that Paul says that God has a particular affection for the cheerful giver. The word is love, which here, is agapa in the Greek. God loves (gnomic present) a cheerful giver. This is an interesting statement. God already loves all who are saved. But here, Paul says that God loves a cheerful giver. What this means is that there is an approval, and favor, of God concerning a "cheerful" Christian giver that is strongly opposite from the disapproval and disfavor of a Christian giver that is not cheerful in giving. The bottom line on this third way to give properly is simple. You and I should give in the way that God loves, which is cheerfully.
/4/
This leads us now to consider a fourth way to give. It is to be giving according to needs. It comes as no surprise that there is a huge love connection to giving. This is what we have seen so far. This makes sense. After all, God so loved the world that He gave. In fact, God gave His highest and His best to meet a high need:
"God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, ..." John 3:16
Then while on earth, His Son said,
"12 This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you." John 15:12-14
@4 The great commandment of Christ's Law of the New Covenant is that we ________________________ one another as He has loved us. John 15:12-14
In the greatest of all great loves, Christ Jesus gave His life as His bountiful gift to "bring" in certain people. He said,
"I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord." John 10:15-18
Christ is our consummate example of what it means to give according to love, and need. The need is that God wanted to save particular people, and so certain people were to be, are going to be, and are now, saved. It is the doctrine of Certain Redemption where a certain actual number of people were atoned for (Atone means to cover. Atonement means covering) on the cross. Not everyone everywhere was atoned for with the blood of Christ as Universalists, Pelagians, and Arminians, believe. But a limited number were actually, not theoretically, made blood covering for on the cross by the Great High Priest Who was also the Spotless Lamb, as a matter of fulfilling the need to save the elect. But, it was God who had to fulfill this most important of all needs, because only God can do it. There is no price of giving that any of us can possibly pay to save ourselves, but the price had to necessarily be paid. This is the great need.
"You are not your own, for you were bought with a price." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
The great love-price (the offering) that was paid to purchase us out of sin and death, which fulfills the great need, is Christ's very life on the cross. This is where we find the huge principle for this fourth way of giving, which is to give to fulfill needs. In 1 John 3 we read the principle,
"16 We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth." 1 John 3:16-18
Notice that when it comes to the needs and deeds subject of giving, John goes with the greatest love teaching of Jesus, as well as the greatest action example of Jesus. This is our strength as Christians. Unfortunately, self absorption, self exaltation, and self separation, is what keeps so many of God's children from experiencing our strength. When we become self focused, we tend to think that our needs are the only needs that really matter--don't we? When that happens, then we are turning our backs on the kind of manifestation of love that God wants us to demonstrate. God wants us to manifest love from more than saying it with our mouth. Anyone can say that they love you. Even someone who hates you can say that they love you. Instead of the claimed love of word and tongue, we want the true manifestations of love that come out in deed and truth. John says that we ought to lay down our lives, because it would be expected if physical life was required. John is getting at the real heart issue. Every one of us will have ample opportunity to lay down our lives in accordance to deeds and truth. All of us who have the world's goods, and see our brothers and sisters in need, should open our redeemed hearts to them. Let me ask you a question:
Don't you have the world's goods too?
Did the Macedonians, who lived in extreme poverty, have the world's goods?
Out of the little that they had, they still gave. It is convicting when God is the one who sets the standard, isn't it? The Spirit leads us to understand that through such deeds, they laid down their lives in giving the "world's goods" to meet needs. I think we all realize that we aren't going to "see" our brother or sister in need, and we aren't going to recognize their needs, unless we purposely open our eyes and heart to see what's going on. This means that we must consistently think about other Christians in a focused, discerning, way. We must start caring for missionaries. We must start caring for the people who sit next to us in our church fellowship times, which means we are going to have to start being body of Christ oriented instead of self oriented. We are going to have to become body of Christ connected, instead of self separating--disconnected. We are going to have to become more than just me, myself, and I. We are going to have to become functional parts of the body of Christ, His church. We are going to have to listen to others, aren't we? Someone at some time, will voice their needs, and when they do, we must be tuned into it. We are going to have to observe the lives of the other members around us. Sometimes people may not say anything about their needs. If we are in tune to our brothers and sisters, then we will be able to see needs in their lives that they may not be voicing. We also need to be listening to what other members of the body are saying about those who have needs. We should hone our spiritual discernment to look for unspoken cues that someone has needs that can not be, and are not being, met on their own. Maybe they have worn out clothes. They may have a broken down car that they haven't fixed in weeks. Look for ministry cues. Listen to your pastor. The point is that needs are usually there somewhere in someone's life that we can help out with. If we will look, and listen, we will discover what they are. This reminds me of a joke I heard once, where a man in a small church stood up one Sunday to make an announcement. He said,
"I have some good news and I have some bad news. The good news is that we have enough money to provide for a bigger place to meet. We have enough for a raise in income for our pastor. We have enough to get some new Bibles. We also have enough to further our missionary outreach. The good news is that we have enough money for all those things. The bad news is that it is still in our pockets."
The point is that there are needs to be met, and God wants us to be part of meeting them, and we are not going to know what they are unless we operate in love and care in choosing to recognize what they are.
/5/
This leads to a fifth way to give properly. It is to give to support the ministry of God's word. Biblically, God has ordained the support of certain ministers through New Covenant giving. Giving to the ministry is important, in this respect, because when it comes to needs, a full time pastor, or missionary, for example, lives completely on the support of the body of Christ. Full time pastors are not professionals running a business, so that kind of reason is not the reason why they need support. Full time pastors need support because
a) they are full time,
and
b) God says that supporting them is the way it is supposed to be.
Using myself as an example, I would work a second job as a bi-vocational pastor, if I could do so and still function well as a Pastor/teacher, while being a good father, and a good husband. Many of you know that I started out in this ministry, while working in a secular vocation. At first, I had another full time job. Then, later I was able to go part-time. Finally, I was able to be supported full-time through the giving of all of you--the body. But, let me tell you, our family really paid the price in my sacrifice in those first years. I would get home and study, and work on sermons, and do marriage counseling, conduct funerals, conduct wedding ceremonies, visit people in the hospital, and witness, and so forth. The thing that wore me out was that I had to do all of that as soon as I got home from that other job. It was like I was waking up in the morning all over again, but it was already mid-afternoon. Consequently, I would stay up to midnight every night working, and then wake up at 5:30 every morning to go to work again. I rarely saw my family. I needed to be supported full time, and finally my need was supplied by God through His grace through our very own Macedonians here in Bridgeway. Unfortunately, not all churches are of the same mind. The sad mindset that we find among so many churches today is reflected in another story. It was after church fellowship one Sunday morning that a family was driving home, and the mother commented,
"You know, I really didn't like the shoes the pastor wore this morning. They're the same old worn out shoes he's been wearing for years." After a few moments the father chimed in saying, "Yeah, I know what you mean. You know what else irritates me?--I really didn't like the sermon this morning. To me it was dry, and though he was right, I really didn't care for the subject at all." Not wanting to be left out of the conversation, their 10 year old daughter candidly added "You've got to admit though, it was a pretty good show for only one dollar."
I wonder how many Christians approach the God ordained, God mandated, and God appointed ministries of their pastors today, where they treat the ministry; the "work," and the sacred calling and responsibility of a pastor as if it is all worth about as much as tipping a waiter after eating a lunch-special in a cheap restaurant. How many Christians approach the ministry with the kind of idea that when God says He will supply all of our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus, that this means that the pastor wakes up every morning and gathers manna off the ground? But God sees things a little differently. Paul expresses this point well when he says,
"7 Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? ..."
Let's think about that illustration that the Spirit is giving. How many people do you know who are joining the military and saying, "Hey, I'm going to pay all my own way to go fight!" It just isn't happening that way. Paul goes on,
"Who plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does not use the milk of the flock? ... does not the Law also say these things? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, 'You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing.'"
In other words, the Spirit inspired the apostles to use a reaping analogy from the Law, and Paul is saying that an ox should eat from the same wheat that he's working to thresh as he's pulling a threshing board over the top of the stalks to separate the wheat from the stalks. But is God interested in the ox? Paul goes on and wants to make sure Christians don't miss the important point, so he says,
"God is not concerned about oxen, is He? 10 Or is He speaking altogether for our sake? Yes, for our sake it was written, because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops. ... 13 Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share from the altar? 14 So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the good news to get their living from the good news." 1 Corinthians 9:7-14
Since the Lord directs those who proclaim the good words of the good news to get their living from the good news, He expects his people to be the ones to give so that His preachers can "get" their living. In other words, God expects the support of the body of Christ to be good news too. The body should be more concerned about their pastor than they are about oxen. The body is the field from which the pastor gathers God's manna. What I've been sharing with you here is the principle concerning the right way to give in respect to supporting the ministry, which means to support the minister in the ministry. It is made even clearer for our personal application in the local church in Paul's direction to Timothy. Paul uses the same illustrative quote from the Old Testament about not muzzling the ox. Paul says,
"17 The elders [which are pastors] who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. [That's the clarifier, and then Paul uses his favorite quote to reinforce this point. It's the same one he used in 1 Corinthians. He says,] 18 For the Scripture says, 'You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing,' and 'The laborer is worthy of his wages.'" 1 Timothy 5:17-18
I want us to notice that Paul adds an extra quote here about the laborer being worthy of his wages. Paul does not use it in 1 Corinthians 9. The amazing thing about this, is that this is the perfect statement for this point this morning. God says the worker is worthy of his pay. We as the body of Christ must be mindful that God has ordained that those who proclaim the gospel are to get their living from the gospel, which means, from the rest of us as the context states in 2 Corinthians 8-9, and 1 Timothy 5:17-18. We must also be mindful that Paul gives a benchmark for whom this especially applies to in doubled honor. He says that the elders who rule well are worthy of doubled honor, "especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching." Preaching and teaching is work. It is the primary job of Pastors; and there are some who work harder at it than others. God says that we need to be aware of this fact, and we need to act on the responsibility that he has given us, his church, to honor it.
With that said, we are now finished with our series that deals with managing money for your own good and the good of others. I hope that this series has blessed you. I urge you to use these principles to glorify God. I urge you to give, but I urge you to give properly, which is biblically from the heart.
@1 The poor widow gave ____________________, though she did not give as much, Mark 12:41-44
@2 It is God's will to _______________________ in the act of grace of giving. 2 Corinthians 8:5-8
@3 Everything we have, we _____________________________ it from God. 1 Corinthians 4:7-8
@4 The great commandment of Christ's Law of the New Covenant is that we ________________________ one another as He has love us. John 15:12-14
