I was sitting at home one evening when I got a telephone call from a well-known and respected member of the church in which I was serving. When I answered the phone he immediately let me know that he was in trouble. I jokingly told him that I wasn’t at all surprised and then asked him, "What did you do now?" And in a sober tone he said, "Jon, I need some money so that I can get out of jail."
"Jail?", I asked. And he said, "Yes, I’m in jail and I need someone to bail me out." My first question to him was, "Does your wife know about this?" And my second question to him was, "What did you do? And wouldn’t it be better if I didn’t pay your bail so you could sit there and learn your lesson?" Not getting anywhere with me, my friend relented and explained that he was raising money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and that he would stay locked up until he reached his goal. Seizing the opportunity, I refused to send any money. And I told him, "The world is a safer place with people like you behind bars."
Could you imagine being sentenced to prison for an indefinite period of time? On one side of your cell is a hard wooden chair, a table, and a telephone. On the other side of your cell is an uncomfortable steel spring bed. The bed is complete with a two-inch thick mattress, an itchy wool blanket, and a worn out pillow. You cannot leave your jail cell until you raise XX amount of money. Your very freedom is dependent upon the generosity of others.
Many people, for a variety of reasons, are dependent on our generosity.
Would you ever want your freedom to be dependent upon the generosity of others? Would you ever be willing to place yourself at the mercy of someone else’s generosity, even for a day or two? Many of us would say, "No way. Not me!"
But do you realize that there are people all around us who for a variety of reasons find themselves at the mercy of our generosity? There are people for whom their very freedom, their very livelihood, their quality of life, and their eternal salvation, depends upon your generosity and my generosity. If we are generous, they live life to the fullest. But if we are stingy, they struggle and they die. Our generosity is not about merely feeling good about ourselves. For billions, it’s a matter of life and death. For billions, it’s a matter of knowing Christ or not knowing Christ. For billions, it’s a matter of eternal life or eternal condemnation.
As Christians, God has given us the responsibility of stewardship.
As Christians, God has placed upon us this responsibility called stewardship. We are stewards, we are managers, and we are the agents of distribution of resources. We are God’s instruments of righteousness, the very hands and feet of Jesus Christ, and Christ’s body here on earth!
Don’t let anyone lie to you. Before money is about anything else, it is about people. To those whom much is given, much is expected. Wealth isn’t for us. Money isn’t for us. Our possessions aren’t for us. God owns everything. But he has entrusted it into our care with the specific purpose in mind that we would be conduits of his blessing.
In 2 Corinthians 9:10-11 (NIV) the Bible says, "Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion…" There is a lot in these verses to pay attention to!
First, God is the source of all wealth. He alone provides seed to the sower. Second, we are the sowers. Sowers have one purpose; to spread and distribute. Sowers are not to sow a single seed at a time, but by the handfuls! High and low. Far and wide.
Third, God increases our store of seed for one purpose; to enlarge the harvest of our righteousness. He increases our store so that we can be generous on every occasion. We are all familiar with Jesus' words in Luke 10:2 (NIV), where he tells his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." We should all pray for God to send workers into the harvest field.
The size of our generosity correlates to the size of the harvest reaped for God.
But 2 Corinthians 9:10 draws a direct correlation between the size of our generosity and the size of the harvest our righteousness produces. In my experience, God continually answers our prayers to raise up workers for his harvest field. But what is the number one thing that keeps workers from going out into the harvest field to work? It's lack of money.
It takes money for workers to enter the harvest field. It takes money to send Jeff and Laura Wilhoit and Jeff and Karen Bettison to Africa to translate the Bible, to purchase computers and software, to pay airfare, to physically print Bibles, and to set up schools to teach literacy so people that can read the Bible.
Every week I get one or two phone calls from people wanting to enter the mission field. But the answer is always the same. We are already sending at the level of our church's generosity. There is never a shortage of workers to send into the harvest field, but there is almost always a shortage of generosity. In addition to praying for God raise up workers, we must also pray for God to raise up good and generous stewards!
The consequences of generosity.
It’s interesting to note the consequences of generosity in 2 Corinthians 9:12-15. 2 Corinthians 9:12-15 (NIV) says, "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. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!"
What an incredible thought! Our giving has the power to evoke praise from the lips of men and women. Our giving is the visible, tangible act that can make God’s love real and concrete at once. Our giving removes any shred of doubt that we practice what we preach, that we believe what we say, that God’s grace has transformed us from the inside-out, and that Christ loves the whole world.
How powerful is our generosity?
I sometimes wonder if we are aware of how powerful our generosity can be? I praise God that he has given us the means to fill a semi-trailer with food. In the past, we have gone to area stores to solicit goods. If we wanted to, God has given us the means to fill a dozen semi-trailers full of food. By just relying on the blessings that God has already given to those of us in this room,we could easily supply far beyond what’s needed at the Inner City Mission, Kumler food pantry, or Beer Lahai Roi.
The early Church caught the vision of the power of generosity.
Acts 2:44-47 (NIV) describes how,"All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
Acts 4:32-35 (NIV) further describes how, "All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need. Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement),sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet."
When Christians demonstrate generosity, non-believers grasp God's generosity.
There is a direct correction between Christians demonstrating generosity and non-believers finally, at last, grasping the generosity of God expressed in Jesus Christ. When we're generous, the world gets it. When we hold back, the world misses God’s grace. That’s why the God dealt so harshly in Acts 6 with Ananias and Sapphira. The generosity of God could not be compromised against the selfishness of a husband and wife. The entire Church was being called to proclaim the generosity of God to the nations.
What if each one of us caught a vision for how our generosity impacts the harvest field? In Luke 16:9 (NIV) Jesus says, "I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings." Our natural inclination is to use wealth on home improvements, cars, big screen televisions, computers, extended vacations, eating out, clothing, and "stuff."
But here, Jesus is giving us a bigger vision. Use your wealth to gain friends for eternity. Use your wealth to invest in God’s kingdom. To spread the good news of Christ. To bring people from their sin to salvation. Use your wealth in such a way that when you arrive in heaven, you are welcomed by people who have been impacted for Christ by your generosity. I’m convinced that when we get to heaven, we are going to be welcomed by people from all over Sangamon county who have been touched by the ministry and needs that our generous gifts have supplied.
When we get to heaven, we're going to be welcomed by people from Africa, who through the mission work we support there read God’s word and trusted Christ. We're going to be welcomed by the tens of thousands of people touched through the Lake Springfield Christian Assembly, Lincoln Christian College, and Lewis Memorial Christian Village.
2 Corinthians 9:10-11 (NIV) says, "Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion…" In your outline, I want you to consider two groups of people needing our generosity.
People who are important to you need your generosity.
The first group of people are people important to you. There are a number of people who should be important to you. These people include your spouse, your children, your grandchildren, your parents, your grandparents, and your immediate family.
In 1 Timothy 5 an issue arises in the Church as to who should be taken care of by the local church. A number of widows were coming to the church for assistance. Paul’s advice in 1 Timothy 5:3-4 (NIV) is, "Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God."
In 1 Timothy 5:7-8 (NIV) Paul takes things a step further. "Give the people these instructions, too, so that no one may be open to blame. If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." Notice that Paul states his concern in 1 Timothy 5:7 (NIV), "that no one may be open to blame."
Your first priority as a Christian is taking care of your family's needs.
Your first and greatest priority as a Christian is taking care of your family. When I was in college I preached at a country church. One Sunday when I arrived, they told me I could take the week off! A traveling evangelist was in town and had set up a tent on one of the church member’s property to hold revival meetings. This evangelist lived on the road with his family, traveling from town to town.
I won’t question his sense of calling to ministry. He clearly loved the Lord. But everyone felt sorry for his family. They questioned his judgment. His family didn’t seem to share his sense of calling. They were the ones making the greatest sacrifice. They were the ones paying the price for his irresponsibility. Was God being honored?
Are you responsibly taking care of the people who should be the most important to you? Nowhere in the New Testament does it say that anyone who is fails to tithe has denied the faith. But it does say that if anyone fails to provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family,has denied the faith!
Your first calling is always to your family. In 1 Timothy 3:4 (NIV) Paul says an that an elder, "...must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?)" If it truly comes down to choosing between tithing and taking care of your family, and truly is the operative word, take care of your family. Take care of those people who are closest to you. Your generosity toward your family is a powerful testimony of God’s grace.
People who are important to God also need our generosity.
But there is a second group of people needing our generosity; people who are important to God. Here are a few groups of people with whom God says that we should be generous.
Widows and orphans
James 1:27 (NIV) says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
The poor and those in need
Luke 12:33-34 (NIV), "Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys."
In Matthew 25 Jesus separates the sheep from the goats or the righteous from the unrighteous. Matthew 25:41-46 (NIV) says, "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
The family of God
1 John 3:16-18 (NIV) says, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."
Galatians 6:9-10 (NIV) says, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."
Church leaders
1 Timothy 5:17-18 (NIV) tells us that "The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, 'Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,' and 'The worker deserves his wages.' "
Your employees
James 5:4 (NIV) implores us, "Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty."
Our enemies
Romans 12:17-21 (NIV) says, "Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord. On the contrary: 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
The weak
Acts 20:34-35 (NIV) says, "You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' "
How is God calling you to enlarge the harvest of your righteousness?
In 2 Corinthians 9:10-11 (NIV) the Bible says,"Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion…"