Exhortation On Giving Final.docx

Let us stand for our BIBLE DECLARATION and follow after me with all our heart and say: This is my BIBLE. I am what it says I am. I have what it says I have. I can do what it says I can do. Today, I will be taught the Word of God. I boldly confess my mind is alert, my heart is receptive. I will never, never, never be the same again, in Jesus name. Please remain standing as we open our BIBLES to MARK 10:17-23. If you found the verses please say AMEN. If you’re already there, let us read the verses alternately, with me starting on verse !7… 17

As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to Him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good – except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.” 20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” 21Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. LET US READ THE LAST VERSE TOGETHER:

23

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” Let us pray. Lord, as we come before You on this very moment, touch our ears that we may truly be able to listen to the Words that You want to tell us. Let us see that the true exhorter is You and not the person we see before us, that after listening, our hearts will be convicted to the truth – that You are such a wonderful God and that there is no one above You in our lives! There is no other God but You alone and that we will be able to do all things –even the most difficult things- through Christ who gives us strength. And that all these can be done because we love You so much! In Jesus name, we pray, AMEN! You may now all take your seats. The man in the verses we have just read is a rich young ruler (RYR) and he is saying here that he had kept all the commandments from his youth. However, this was not the truth as Romans 3:23 tells us “FOR ALL HAVE SINNED AND HAVE FALLEN SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD”. Why then did Jesus tell him to sell all that he had and follow Him? Jesus was telling the RYR that he had broken the very first commandment, “THOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME (Exo. 20:3) and also the tenth commandment “THOU SHALL NOT COVET.” (Exo.20:17). This man’s money had become his god, as can be seen by the fact that he chose his possessions rather than follow Jesus. But does Jesus really demand that we sell our possessions before we can be His disciples? Certainly not. Jesus did not ask Zaccheus or any other rich people in the Bible to sell their possessions because we know that one

of the Lord’s blessings that He gave to godly people such as ABRAHAM, JOSEPH, ISAIAH, DAVID, JACOB AND SOLOMON- was riches! Jesus told this man to sell all his goods and give to the poor because Jesus knew the RYR trusted his riches more than the Lord. Jesus’ tough answer of “SELL EVERYTHING AND GIVE TO THE POOR” was not intended to hurt the RYR, just as what I am saying right now is not intended to hurt us. What Jesus said was said from a heart of love and intended for the good of the RYR. This man’s money had become his god and it had to be dethroned before Jesus could become his Lord. How then can we tell God that He is the Lord of our lives? Just like how Jesus loved the RYR in the scriptures we have just read, we can be obedient and return back to Him just a small portion of the riches He has entrusted us with through our tithes and offerings. We then ask ourselves, what are we going to get if we tithe? Some would say we would get more than what we give. In fact, if you give 10%, the Lord will repay you more than 10%. We all know the principle of sowing and reaping - If you sow sparingly, you reap sparingly, and if you sow generously, you will reap generously. So it says in 2nd Corinthians 9:6. And it’s even better in the book of Malachi. There the Bible says in Chapter 3:10 “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” How can we argue with that?

And so our entire thoughts for tithing has always been that God will give back more than what we give to Him. In this sort of environment, GIVING becomes a means to an end, and our motives become centered on ourselves instead of the Lord. Why do we give? Because the Lord promises to bless us as we have read in Malachi 3:10? Although this is also true –that God will truly bless us - more and more this thinking has resulted in us Christians looking for what God can offer us in terms of money, material possessions, personal happiness, advancement, and recognition. However, the BIBLE is also very clear about the idea of giving to the Lord. It’s comes from a heart that worships God, not a heart that’s looking for something in return. Why? BECAUSE GIVING IS AN ACT OF WORSHIP AND THANKSGIVING, NOT JUST A BUSINESS PROPOSITION. WE can give because God has blessed us, giving out of thanks, recognizing that it came from the Lord in the first place…. NOT asking or requiring a return. When we give as a way of telling God thank you, recognizing how He has blessed us, then it’s worship. Furthermore, giving not only worships God, but it trusts God as well… not only to take care of the future but in looking forward to an eternal reward that is not temporary, or subject to taxes, or of being taken or robbed from us. The Bible says in I Timothy 6:17-19: Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their

hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. What’s the Bible saying here? It’s encouraging us to start investing in our eternal future, not just our earthly retirement. This is really more than just giving, this is about you and God, right now. Consider what Paul wrote to the Corinthian Church on giving: “This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.” -II Corinthians 9:12-13 It doesn’t do the body of Christ any good when Christians give money for the loudly stated purpose of seeing even more in return. Even if God kept what we gave to Him, and gave us nothing in return, don’t we already owe Him our very lives? However, when people see real generosity that doesn’t expect to be repaid, when they see giving that

recognizes God, then the world sees not only our confession of the gospel, but our obedience to God first. So when it comes to our finances, and our giving, this is where our real priorities and real faithfulness comes to light as we bring our finances under obedience to God. That’s the bottom line… Will you trust our God with it? Lastly, as we come to the Lord today and tell Him once again that we love Him, that we want to follow Him – As we worship and lift our voices in praise and identify ourselves publicly as believers in Christ, we who have been baptized and made the commitment to live for Christ - Are we really trusting God with our finances and seeking His guidance and instructions? Or are we managing our own accounts? If someone wanted to investigate whether or not we are truly followers of Jesus, and they had no other evidence but our financial records, would they conclude that we live for Christ, or live for ourselves? But no matter what our financial records in the past tell God on our tithing, the Bible is very clear. We have already been set free of our past by Jesus’ death on the cross and that our past will never define us and our future! Thus, no matter what mistakes in GIVING that we have done in the past, today as we come to God on this first Sunday of the year, we can begin to start the year with a fresh start when it comes to our giving to God. Let us now be ready with how we trust God in our finances and get ready to give. Let us stand and pray.