Myths That Make Us Miserable VI, Truth About Giving

Welcome to Lifelines Tapes, a ministry of North Way Christian Community in Wexford, PA, where Dr. Jay Passavant is Senior Pastor. All of our teachings are available on cassette tape from the Lifelines Resource Center by calling the church office at 412-935-6800. The following message is the sixth in a series of messages entitled, Exploding the Myths That Make Us Miserable. Today's message by Dr. Basavant is from the Sunday service of December 4th, 1994, and is entitled, The Truth About Giving. And now, here's Jay. I ask you to see which of those four characters you identified with. I won't ask you to raise your hand though. If you do drop your check, I won't call you forward, I promise you that. Take out your teaching notes there, if you'd like to refer to them for a few moments as we look together at this passage. Now, if you've been reading, and I trust you do take some time to read through the Sermon on the Mount in your devotional time during the week, don't let it go unnoticed that there are three specific passages in this brief section of the Bible that deal with giving. In fact, the largest topical section in the entire Sermon on the Mount, which we'll come to down the road a little bit, is on stuff and worry. I mean, what could be a more 90s topic than that? Jesus seems to know what it is that we wrestle with as people, the same thing that 2,000 years ago the culture of his day wrestled with. But his interest in this shouldn't surprise us. The Bible itself is very clear about the priority of understanding giving as an action of the people of God. In fact, I did a little research here, and notice this. In the Bible, faith is mentioned 246 times, 246. Hope, 185 times, and these are the great values of the Christian faith. Love, well, I mean, love, I mean, that's what God is about. That's got to be there for 714 times. Did you know that giving and all of its derivatives are mentioned 2,152 times? So, apparently, God knew that this was going to be an issue that he had to come back to over and over and over again. And the reason I believe this is so is because nothing reveals the heart of a person more than their giving. And that's, by the way, why there's always just a little bit more uncomfortableness when this topic comes up on a given Sunday. That's why things are always a little quieter and people are a little more just to the distance. Because, really, when you get down to it, what we're talking about this morning goes right into our hearts. And we don't necessarily want that to be exposed. We kind of like to keep that part secret. And that's why, through the years, I mean, great people, leaders in the body of Christ, have made it very clear that this is an issue. Richard Halverson, who I met years ago and is now the chaplain of the U.S. Senate, said this, Jesus Christ said more about money than about any other single thing, because when it comes to a man's real nature, money is of first importance. Money is an exact index to a man's true character. All through Scripture, there's an intimate correlation between the development of a man's character and how he handles his money. Now, over the years, I've done different teachings on this subject. And if you've been here any length of time, I'm sure you're aware of some of the principles that are out there. I'm not going to talk about a lot of those today. I'm going to focus in on what I think is the core of what the Holy Spirit wants to talk about in just a few moments. In fact, last August 28th, I talked about the gift of giving in our series on spiritual gifts. And I talked in that particular message about tithing as a particular focus. But this morning, the Lord really impressed me that I wish to just share with you, sort of in conclusion to this morning, some of the benefits to you when it comes to giving according to the Lord's pattern. Notice in this passage that Jesus says your Father wants to reward you. Do you see that in Matthew 6 verse 4? Do you see that there? Matthew 6 verse 4. If you learn to give according to God's pattern, your Father in heaven wants to reward your giving. And I believe, as you know, we get near the Christmas season. We all understand that a little bit. How many of you look forward to Christmas for the opportunity that it is to connect with loved ones and show your love and express it in some tangible way? I mean, that's not what the gift-giving thing is all about. How many of you are going to have an experience there in a few weeks where you're going to sit around a tree or in a family room or whatever, and you're going to give a package to someone, and you're going to watch their countenance change, and a smile come on their face, and their eyes light up as they open the gift? I mean, are you going to feel good about it? You know, last year, Carol, who usually doesn't give me any hints at all, gave me a hint about something she wanted for Christmas. And I sensitively, of course, picked up on the subtle hint. She didn't know that I had, and in fact, she thought that I had completely forgotten about it or possibly that I didn't have any time. And I kind of let everything pass, you know, and we were sort of cleaning up. And, oh, this one last thing, I pulled out this particular thing that she wanted. And I'll tell you, I mean, it was a real moment for me. I mean, I don't know if she was playing it up or not, but it was really, I mean, it was great. I felt blessed. I wonder about this year. But anyhow, I just want to highlight some benefits, because I think you understand that Jesus was the one who said it's more blessed to give than to receive. What was he saying? Let me give you five benefits. I'll just highlight them quickly. All right. Number one, giving breaks the grip of materialism in our lives. Now, you may not see this as a particular benefit. In other words, for you, you know, what is materialism? I mean, how serious a thing is this in our lives today? Folks, I don't know. I mean, it's different for everyone, as Grant and Dennis have so aptly said. I mean, not everyone has the same struggle with stuff and with things. But I sense materialism is a major battleground in our culture, don't you? I sense that people out there today are fighting within themselves to keep a balance. Let me find this definition, just so you know what we're talking about here. What is materialism? Let me see if I can dig it out here in my notes. Got all these pages overlapping. The common expression that describes this value system based on the pursuit of the almighty dollar is based on the recognition and the exaltation of possessions as an ultimate end. This is, in essence, a religious act. Here's the definition. This is what Webster says. It's a doctrine that the only or the highest values or objectives lie in material well-being and in the furtherance of material progress. But this next one from Webster is the most telling. Go ahead. Please read. It's a preoccupation with or stress upon material rather than intellectual or spiritual things. I mean, that's really what materialism is. And if we're honest, folks, as you look around and as you listen to people in these days, isn't it true that people tend to be far more concerned about what they have, the stuff that they own, the pursuit of those things, to the exclusion many times of other important values in their lives? Have you gotten your Christmas catalogs in this year? How many of you have more Christmas catalogs than you know what to do with? I'm getting Christmas catalogs that tell me about stuff I didn't know existed. You get these things from like the Wildlife Confederation, you know, and you can get stuff that you now you have this great need for something that you didn't even know existed before. What is this stuff about materialism? And why is it that it's subtle and yet I think it's very powerful, isn't it? I mean, materialism is the safari clothes that are never going to see the jungle. Materialism is the watch that's guaranteed to 600 meters. It's never going to get damp. Materialism is the four-wheel drive vehicle with all the toys and the suspension. I think it's never going to leave the road. Materialism is the computer program that will balance the checkbook that you lost that's underneath the computer somewhere that you can't turn on. I mean, it's all those things that just you feel like you need to have in order to enjoy life more fully. It's the architectural magazine that you never read that has the furniture in it that you don't like. And it does stalk us to some degree, doesn't it? You see, materialism is the very thing that we loathe when it comes to that which drives people to lie to their employers or employers to abuse their employees. Materialism is the very thing that causes that person to sneak in front of you and take your spot because they want to get there before you do to get their thing. Materialism is the very thing, that same spirit of mammon that drives people, sometimes couples, to take their children from God has given to them as a gift and by their own choice to deposit them for 10 or 12 hours in a daycare center while they can go and make a double income to pursue some dream that materialism holds up. I mean, if there's a word that describes our culture today about material things, it's one four-letter word. It's the word more. I just need more. And folks, when is enough enough? I mean, when do we have enough? And that's a word that I don't hear spoken about very often. Jesus makes it very clear, by the way, listen, as believers, this battle will continue on. It isn't something we just deal with once in our Christian life, but it keeps coming back again and again and again. In fact, in 1 Timothy 6, I just want to jot this reference down. This is that famous little passage that's always misquoted where Paul says, for the love of money is the root of all evil. It's not money, but the love of money is the root of all evil. Some people eager for money, Paul says, have wandered or wandered, that is, wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. In other words, they were believers walking with God, and the love of money has drawn them away from their first love, and it has caused them, Paul writes, many deeds. So understand, maybe you won this battle once in your life, but maybe you need to look at it again. Is materialism coming through and choking life? Folks, the antidote to the spirit of mammon or materialism is giving. Every time you give, and I don't know if you see it this way as I do, but every time you give, it's an act of spiritual warfare. It's your way of saying to the principalities and powers of the earth, I am not going to be bound by that power. I am not going to yield to the constant drive to be led by the value system that I see all around me. And in fact, I want you to know, when you give, you are making a statement with your life that the world does not understand. You're saying my life's not going to be measured by my net worth, and my self-worth is not directly correspondent to how much I have, but rather I get my worth and my value from God. It'll be a great spiritual victory in your life when you make a commitment to learn to give God's way, and I have a little overhead with this. God's way means three things. Number one, it means, as Grant said aptly, it means tithing. That's the beginning point, and we talk a lot about this because it's a principle for your benefit. Number two, the Bible talks about offerings. That's anything you give beyond the tithe, and this passage today has to do with alms. Alms are what you give directly to the needy or to the poor. Once you learn God's pattern and begin to move in it, it's a day that marks your Christian life forever, and Satan hates it so much that he will always make you think that somebody wants your money. Listen, how many of you know God doesn't need your money? I mean, there's no cash flow shortage on heaven's part. God wants you to experience the freedom that comes as you learn to be a giver, and you want to know something else? People just flat don't understand it. I don't know if you know this, but we are right now in the midst of an appeal with the Allegheny County Tax Board. I think the church needs to know this, even to pray about it, if nothing else. Right now, the Allegheny County Board of Assessors has decided to tax you, the church of North Lake Christian Community, for this piece of property on into the future, not just the past, so that the parking space that you use here this morning will be taxable, and we will be paying taxes to the county, to the school board, and so on. And just recently, I was there with some of our other pastoral team, and our business administrator, and some of our legal counsel, and I had to argue before this board of assessors that what we were doing as a church had value to the community, and that in fact, we were giving something that was worth a tax exemption as a church body to the community around us. And we got into language about charitable giving versus religious giving, and I mean, it was a pretty face, head-to-head kind of thing, because in their minds, if you're charitably giving, well, then that's tax exempt, but if it's a religious act, no, you're going to pay taxes. You may not know this. You think everything's tax free? No way. And the Lord, I believe, gave me just, I mean, Scott was there, something I hadn't thought of prior to this, but I stopped in the middle of this thing, and I said, may I ask you gentlemen a question? I said this, when Jesus Christ fed the 5,000 hungry people, was that a charitable act, or was that a religious one? And they looked at me, and there was this 10-second hush, and one guy sheepishly said, well, you're the preacher. And my point, of course, and I think it was for more of us, as Christians, as people in Jesus Christ, we can't separate our giving. What we give is an act of worship. It is religious, but it also is designed to meet the needs of people. Folks, this building isn't here for us to get cushy. It's to meet the needs of people. And so you can pray about it. They didn't give us any dispensation. We don't know yet, but pray that God speaks to their hearts. Okay, number one, then, giving breaks the grip of materialism. Number two, giving strengthens your faith. Really, the question is, can you count on God to keep His promises? There are more promises in the Word about God responding to your giving than anything else, bar none. Why is this? Well, the key, you see, is that God wants you to learn His nature, as Grant was saying, to learn His character, to be like Him. And God is saying, hey, I'm a generous God. I've given you more than you could ever imagine. I want you to learn to be like Me. So God says, when you give, I'll teach you about who I am, and I'll provide for your needs. And if you learn to trust Me in these things, you'll begin to see Me work in your behalf. That's why these promises abound. Just jot them down. I noted some of them there in your teaching outline. Philippians 419, and my God will supply all of your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He'll make your paths straight. In other words, you may not understand how He's going to supply, but He'll do it. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be poured into your lap, and so on. I could go on and on, quoting these many promises that God gives. Giving is like signing on with God for an adventure. And how many of you know sometimes when you sign on for an adventure, you don't really know what you're getting into? Several years ago, David can attest to this. We as a family went out west to visit some friends and do some sightseeing, and we went on a whitewater rafting trip. And it was kind of an overcast day when we showed up to get in a whitewater rafting place, and you sign up, and you get your wet suit. And you know, I was a little bit anxious. Up there in the Rocky Mountains, the waters kind of go pretty, I mean, they're pretty severe places. And I'm not, you know, the greatest in that kind of things. And the guys were about four or five years ago. They were all quite a bit younger. And so we got all this gear on. And I remember the moment that they showed us our raft, and I checked it out, and it wasn't all filled with confidence there. And then they introduced us to our guide. I don't remember his name, but he was a young man in his early 20s. And I looked at my family, three, you know, young kids, and Carol and me, and this really teensy little raft. And we got in the raft and started going. And I said, well, you know, and he started to talk a little bit. I said, well, tell us about yourself. I said, did you grow up here in the Rockies and learn how to do this? He said, no, I'm from Iowa. The only whitewater in Iowa is out of the faucet, as far as I could tell, right? I mean, my heart was like, I'm thinking, you know, what a history here. But as we headed into those rapids, he told us exactly what to do, where to sit, when I was supposed, you know, to get up from underneath and row. And we had to put the full weight of our trust in that guide. I guaranteed that the raft would have been upside down. Folks, as I think the picture has been painted today, there's a lot of us who are still just kind of putting our toe in the water. I mean, if I heard these men say anything, they're saying, get in the raft, trust the guide, go for the adventure, stop the rationalizations, and you'll have a thrill. You'll mature. You'll see God provide for you. Number three, giving is an investment in eternity. Now, you've all heard it said from me and others, you can't take it with you. I mean, we all know it's a cliche of sorts. You know, you've all heard it. You never see a hearse with a U-Haul, that kind of thing. Interestingly, as of late, though, you have seen people being buried in their Corvettes and Cadillacs. Have you noticed that? I think, I want to tell them plastic melts, but nevermind. Okay. Just a little bit of a judgment there, I guess. But you can make an investment in eternity. Paul writes about this in 1 Timothy 6, and he says in verse 18, 19, I think I quoted it there in your teaching outline. He talks about, you know, let your giving be an investment into these eternal habitations. Jesus said, store up treasures in heaven. Listen, Jesus said, store up treasures in heaven. If it didn't mean anything, he wouldn't have said it. Now, some people have said, well, Jay, you know, I don't really care how much I have in heaven as long as I get there. Just give me a shack off in the corner somewhere. I don't know. And I understand the thinking, look, I'll just be glad to make it. But wait a minute. Come on, wait a minute. How many of us would honestly say, if Jesus meant we could do something to somehow change our eternal standing with God in terms of the blessing, the reward in our lives, doesn't it make sense to do it? Let's take him seriously at this. I don't know what it means. I thought about this for the message today. I don't know if it means, you know, that we'll have more crowns to put at Jesus' feet or our robes will be different. I know that heaven isn't a place where we'll all kind of be like eyeballing one another. You know what I think? The Lord brought this in my heart this week as I prayed about this. You know one thing I think it may mean in terms of a reward? I believe that the reward has to do with how close we'll be. Because I believe in heaven, the deepest yearning of our hearts will be to be close to God. And so it makes sense for me and for all of us to look at our lives and say, what are we sending ahead? What are we putting up there that will welcome us, Jesus said, into those eternal habitations? But more than whatever material things it may be, folks, I can't wait to have someone come up to me in heavenly places as the song that was sung the other night said, thank you for giving to the Lord. I am a life that was saved because when you gave, something was set in motion that resulted in me hearing the gospel and finding Jesus Christ. And I'm here today. And you never knew it. You see, the glory is we'll never know it. We'll never know what our mission giving is right now doing to cause people to come into the kingdom. But it's going to be there. And someone's going to come up to you and tap you on the shoulder and say, because you gave. Number four, giving blesses me in return. You know, we don't give in order to get. I've never taught that. I've never believed in North ways that we should dangle some sort of carrot out here. But friends, let's understand, God promises that he will take care of us in return when we give. Generous people, the Bible says, will be blessed. Is this financially? I would say, yes, the Lord will supply. And it isn't always, you know, cash comes flowing back into you. I haven't seen that happen all the time, but I have seen interesting things. I've seen vehicles that should have died still on the road. We have a dryer in our home that's 22 years old, never stops working. I mean, I see God does. He does things that, that he saves us. How many of you know that if some things just went a little different in your life, you, you could be tens of thousands of dollars in the hole, but God has protected you, kept you on the track, healthy, whatever. And you see those things, those unseen things, God is supplying and taking care of you. Deuteronomy 1510, please leave. We have an overhead that reminds us. It's not just the things that we know God sends, but it's many of the other things that come. Read this out loud with me. Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart. Then because of this, the Lord, your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to, all your work and in everything you put your hand to. Now, the problem is quite honestly, as I talk to people, they say, well, you know, I give, but I don't, I don't ever see anything in return. And what they really mean is I gave on Sunday, but Monday, my bills are still there, right? I rarely see, you know, out one hand and into the next, but I want to challenge, do we see that in any arena of our investing? I called a friend this week, a member of our church, who's a certified financial planner. I said, what do you tell people who invest in stocks? Do you tell them give on Monday and by Friday they'll see their return? No. In fact, he says you got to commit to it over the long term. You can't go running out every time something changes. In fact, he said you got to stand and face the fire and come through it. And I just want to say this, God's system of giving is no different. Just hang in there and believe, trust, and God will bless you in return. And you want to know what I really feel about this when it comes to many of us who are struggling in Syria. I used to get a little bit upset with people who would claim to be, you know, real committed Christians, but if the truth were they never tithe. I used to kind of get angry about it, but I don't anymore. I'm not upset about it. Actually, I've moved to where I feel kind of sorry for those people. In essence, they're saying to me they don't have a God that they can really trust. They don't really believe that this book has promises that work in daily life. They don't think that God will meet their needs. They don't have a God that they believe is looking out for them. And in essence, I think there are people who are afraid. And I have a real difficult time with people like that who tell me that they have a real deep trust in God for eternal life when they can't trust God for the money to meet their bills if they give according to God's pattern. I feel sorry for them. You see, if you have a God that you believe paid your biggest debt, your debt on Calvary, your debt for your sin, then if he can handle that one, then what monies you may owe responsibly out there, God can take care of. He can supply, just a matter of trust. And these people, they're just afraid. I mean, the bottom line is they're afraid. And I feel sad for that. It's interesting. Folks will write and say to me, well, you know, we're going to stop tithing now because we just, we're getting behind in our bill. And I say, you are cutting off from God the very thing that could be, if your faith was applied, the lifeline to get you above your bill. And you know, it's interesting to me, people outside of this ministry see this as a place to invest. And we have received in the last week, several large gifts from outside the church, outside the body. And I have to say in my heart, I'm saddened by the fact that some of us just sort of push away that nudge from the Lord when others outside the church are responding, because they're going to have a testimony to tell somewhere else that we could have to tell here. I think Tracy Anderson should be one of hundreds of you who could come up here and say, I just trusted the Lord. I did what I was called to do and he's taking care of me. And you know, the Lord just nudged me and I, please don't misunderstand this. I am not in any way, shape or form trying to manipulate. But one thing the Lord checked me on for the last, I don't know how many months and maybe years, we kind of set up here from the front. You know, we're proud of what the Lord in a godly way has allowed us to do here. And we've done it without any big gifts. And I said that a lot of different ways. But you know what? God just put in my heart to say that someone needs to be encouraged to give a big gift. And you've just been waiting, as if, you know, we don't really want that or need that. Just listen to the Lord and trust him. Finally, number five, giving makes us happy. You folks know this as well as I do. Happy people are givers, or say it another way, givers are happy people. You all know that the happiness you feel, as I said at Christmas time, when you see your gift making a difference. I wish you could be around when we see, you know, those of us who are involved directly in ministry, to see the change that happens in people when because of your giving something is passed on to them, when they receive a provision. And may I say this Wednesday night, a lot of you have been coming on Wednesday. This Wednesday night we're going to push all these instruments off of here and we're going to have our first water baptism up here, right in our own platform. It's all just about ready to go. I want to urge you, come this Wednesday and hear how God's changing lives, how your investments are changing people's lives, and you will be blessed. You'll be happy as a result of sharing in that. And I have a yearning, let me close, I have a yearning here, I just want to share my heart in the closing. Somehow every time I give a message like this, or we have a morning on this subject, I always feel like, you know, walk off the platform and say, Lord, we just haven't quite crested the top of the hill yet, to where our giving around here is not something that we do as a sincere obligation and responsibility, but that our giving has become for us as a church a time of anticipation, that we're excited about what it means to have the privilege to be involved in a community of believers, where giving is not seen as a duty or obligation, but an opportunity to bless and trust God and others. And I have a heart's cry that says to me, as we go into this new year, may it not be said that we had to shut ministries down because some of us were afraid to give. Folks, I have a long list of opportunities coming up in 95, and I just took the liberty to note some of them for you. These are things that may not happen if a lot of us don't get on board. I was called by Michael Geer from the Pennsylvania Family Institute. He said, Bob DeMoss is going to do his last seminar on a generation at risk. It's all about parenting, what's happening with our youth that are drifting away from values and from God. And he wanted to do it here at Northwest, dissipating at least a thousand, maybe 1,500 people. I literally had to say, Michael, I don't know if we can do it. I don't know if we can bring those parents and single parents and young people into this building. I just don't know if we can do it. And I could go on down the list. I want to do some other things. I want to have strike force in. Right now, we don't have the funds to have strike force to do a youth outreach. WLRD wants to do some concerts. We have to be able to supply this. We have this beautiful space, but we have to be able to say, yes, the doors are open, come. Toymakers Dream. Up here, this name that's not familiar, Preparing for Revival. Mahesh Shabda, who is an Indian-born prophet of God with a tremendous healing ministry. A man who has seen literally people raised from the dead. Some of you facing chronic and serious illnesses. This man has seen God being righteous. I have to say, I hope we can have you, but I don't know that we can. And my heart is saying today, church, let's not withhold. Let's go forward in ministry. Let's be a church. Let's be a place that we can say God's at work among us. He's going to meet our need. And let's not make a big splash because the Bible says when we give in secret, our heavenly Father, who sees in secret, will reward us. And that's the only reward I really need. Let's stand, shall we, and pray together. Father God, I thank you for the distinct essence of your presence that's here right now. Lord, I sense that you are among us and I sense that you are bringing enlightenment, revelation into people's hearts. Father, in the name of your son Jesus, we bind the spirit of fear, that which has held people in this area, and we break its bondage. We loose people to step into the wrath and to trust you according to your word. And Lord, you'll reward, you'll supply. And that this will be a place, Lord, where there's a certain liberty and happiness about giving, unlike that which we've ever known in our first 13 years of life. Heads bowed, please. How many people today would say, God, I am willing to trust you. Give me the grace now to take a step of faith and action in my life. I'm ready to move ahead. Just put your hand up right now and say, Lord.