2 CORINTHIANS 9:6-8 etc.
WALLET WORSHIP
Turn please to Ephesians 2.
"What! Giving again?" I asked in dismay,
"and must I keep giving and giving alway?"
"Oh no," cried the angel, Piercing me through,
"Just give til the Father stops giving to you!"
Perhaps you are familiar with this hymn:
Take my life and let it be consecrated Lord, to Thee;
Take my hands and let them move, at the impulse of thy love,
At the impulse of thy love.
Frances Havergal wrote this famous hymn in 1874, but it was not published until 1878. Looking at the newly printed hymn, her own words convicted her,
"Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold."
"She was suddenly convicted of her failure to do just that. She had an amazing collection of exquisite jewelry, most of which came by gift or inheritance. Immediately, she packed the jewels and sent them to her church missionary society. Then, just to be sure, she included a check to cover the monetary value of the jewels she had chosen to keep! 'I don't think I need to tell you I have never packed a box with such pleasure!' she exclaimed."
There is an epitaph in St. Paul's Cathedral, London, which reads,
"Sacred to the memory of Charles George Gordon, who at all times and everywhere gave his strength to the weak, his substance to the poor, his sympathy to the suffering, and his heart to God."
There is another epitaph in Warwickshire , England near an ivy-grown church that reads much differently,
"Here lies a miser who lived for himself
And cared nothing but gathering pelf,
Now where he is or how he fares,
Nobody knows, and nobody cares."
Someone has said, "There are three kinds of givers - the flint, the sponge and the honeycomb. To get anything out of a flint you must hammer it. And then you get only chips and sparks. To get water out of a sponge you must squeeze it and the more you use pressure the more you will get. But the honeycomb just overflows with its own sweetness."
We are in a worship service this morning.
We have worshiped through singing choruses and hymns.
We have worshiped by praying.
We have worshiped by reading Scripture.
We have worshiped by listening to special music.
We are worshiping by listening to and applying the message from God's Word to our hearts.
There was another act of worship in our service this morning.
This act of worship is probably the most unpopular.
This act of worship is one that many people do not want to hear the preacher talk about.
This act of worship is done with your wallet. It is the receiving of the offering. You worship God with what you give to him.
That's why I have entitled this message "Wallet Worship".
This morning I would like us to consider 3 things about wallet worship.
THE REASONS FOR WALLET WORSHIP
THE WRONG KINDS OF WALLET WORSHIP
THE RIGHT KINDS OF WALLET WORSHIP
THE REASONS FOR WALLET WORSHIP
Why should I part with my hard-earned money?
Why should I put more than a token gift in the offering plate?
There are, of course, many reasons. Here are 3:
1. GRATITUDE
When you give, who are you giving to?
To the church?
To the missionary?
To the pastor?
To the building fund?
The answer is "No!" When you are truly worshipping with your wallet, you are worshipping God, and giving to Him.
The church, the Pastor, the missionary, the building fund, may all benefit. But you should be doing your giving to God!
And the giving you do should be out of gratitude for what God has done for you. Let's look at Ephesians 2:1-10
WHAT WE WERE - Vss. 1-3 - Dead in Trespasses and sins.
WHAT WE ARE - Vss. 4-6 - Loved
Alive in Christ, saved by grace.
Seated in the Heavenlies with Christ.
WHAT WE WILL BE - Vs. 7 - Receiving the riches of his grace for all eternity.
Vss. 8-9 - Those of who should be grateful are those who are saved by grace through faith! If you haven't been, you need to be this morning.
Vs. 10 - God saved us for a purpose. He planned for us to walk in good works. If you are going to walk in good works, it will often require money!
Each time the offering plate is passed, try saying to the Lord, "Here is my gift to you, Lord. This is how grateful I am.
Gratitude is one reason for giving.
2. OWNERSHIP
Psalm 24:1-2 - The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.
Because of creation God owns everything.
Because of creation God owns your possessions. He made them!
Because of creation God owns you.
And if you are a Christian, that ownership extends even further.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 - What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
Because of what God has done for you, He has ownership rights. If He owns you, He should be allowed to use those things that He has entrusted into your care.
And what's easier to give away? Something that belongs to you, or something that belongs to someone else, especially if that someone else wants you to give it away!
I should give out of gratitude.
I should give because of God's ownership.
3. DEDICATION
Romans 12:1-2 - I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Dedication is very close to ownership. First I recognize that God owns what I have. Then I willingly surrender it to Him!
If my body is a living sacrifice, that means that all I have and all that I am are His. If what I have is simply that which I have willingly given to Him I am responsible to properly use it!
Three reasons for worshipping with your wallet, wallet worship, are:
Gratitude
Ownership
Dedication
THE REASONS FOR WALLET WORSHIP
THE WRONG KINDS OF WALLET WORSHIP
You are going to do one of two things with your wallet.
You will either worship with your wallet, or you will worship your wallet. When you worship your wallet, your money comes first.
When you worship with your wallet, the Lord comes first.
1 Timothy 6:10 - For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Please note that it is NOT money that is the root of all evil.
It is the LOVE OF money that is the root of all evil!
You might not think of yourself as loving money, but do you love the things that money can buy, and want them more than you want to give to the Lord's work?
Let me share with you now three of the wrong kinds of wallet worship.
1. BEING SELFISH
Another good word for selfish is stingy.
When you are selfish, you can't see why the church, or the missionary should have too much of your money. Instead you prefer to have:
A big mortgage
A tremendous food diet
A modern car
Money to travel
Money for college
Money for retirement
Money for entertainment
It isn't wrong to have a mortgage.
It isn't wrong to have a car.
It isn't wrong to eat.
It isn't wrong to plan for college or retirement or even to enjoy some entertainment.
What is wrong is when these things become the priority and focus of our lives. They become what are important!
PLEASE TURN TO Luke 12:16-21 - And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
Would the man in this story have thought of himself as selfish?
Of course not! He just wanted to be comfortable.
My friend, be careful, that you don't imitate this man and fail to be rich towards God.
Another form of the wrong kind of wallet worship is
2. BEING SCARED
The best time to learn to tithe and give to missions is when you are young. That's when habits are developed.
If you didn't start the habit when you were young, now the thought of tithing and giving above the tithe to missions is downright scary!
I understand your dilemma. May I reassure by reminding you of God's promise to take care of you?
Matthew 6:26, 28-30 - Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
And may I also remind you what Jesus taught about provision?
Matthew 6:33 - But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Take care of God's business, and He'll take care of yours!
Wrong kinds of giving include being selfish, being scared, and
3. BEING SNEAKY
Just because people talk about giving, it doesn't mean they are good givers. The person, who talks about everyone giving their fair share, doesn't always give their fair share!
Some people will lead you to believe that they are giving much when they are not.
They are lying just like a couple in the Bible who lied about the amount they were giving to the Lord. They claimed that they had given all the proceeds of a sale to the Lord, when in reality they did not. God judged Ananias and Saphira.
THE REASONS FOR GIVING
THE WRONG KINDS OF GIVING
BEING SELFISH
BEING SCARED
BEING SNEAKY
THE RIGHT KINDS OF GIVING
As we have said, the right kind of wallet worship is worshiping with the wallet. Let's look at some right principles of giving found in the Scriptures.
1. THE ABRAHAM PRINCIPLE
Genesis 14:18-20 - And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
The law had not yet been written. There was no law on the books.
But Abraham gave gratefully. God had just given him a victory.
Abraham gave willingly.
Abraham gave systematically.
Abraham gave generously.
Abraham gave to the Lord's work.
And please note that the tenth part, the tithe was given, even before the law of Moses ever talked about tithing.
If Abraham considered the tithe as fitting before God, shouldn't we make that our minimum?
2. THE MALACHI PRINCIPLE
Malachi 3:8 - Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
The principle in this verse is don't rob God!
How was God robbed?
When tithes and offerings were not paid, God was robbed!
I think of the tithe as that which is brought to the church for its ministry.
I think of the offering as that which is above the tithe. This is where faith-promise comes in.
Some will split up their tithe, some to the church, some to missions, some to TV ministries, etc.
But think for a moment, if the church does not have the funds it needs, its ministry is being hindered!
3. THE WIDOW PRINCIPLE
Mark 12:41-44 - And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.
The Lord was impressed by the widow not the rich men who gave great amounts.
It wasn't the amount, it was the percentage. A hundred percent!
She gave out of her need. Others gave out of their abundance.
We are not suggesting that your whole pay check go in the offering.
We are suggesting that God is concerned about the percentage we keep for ourselves in relation to what we to give.
4. THE PAUL PRINCIPLE
2 Corinthians 9:6-8 - But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
Vs. 6 - You'll reap what you sow.
Vs. 7 - Purpose in your heart
Not out of grief (grudgingly)
Not out of necessity (because you have to)
God loves a cheerful (hilarious) giver.
Vs. 8 - When this is done there will be no lack.
THE REASONS FOR WALLET WORSHIP
Gratitude
Ownership
Dedication
THE WRONG KIND OF WALLET WORSHIP
Selfish
Scared
Sneaky
THE RIGHT KIND OF WALLET WORSHIP
Abraham - Tithe
Malachi - Don't rob God
Widow - Percentage
Paul - A cheerful giver