Part 3: FULL! Part 1 Father Knows Best How We Can Prosper

Transcription

1 Part 3: FULL! Texts: Philippians 4:12-13 (NKJV) - I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be FULL and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. [13] I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Focusing on Paul s statement, I HAVE LEARNED...TO BE FULL. ) Matthew 7:9-11 (NLT) - You parents if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? [10] Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! [11] So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him. Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) - For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Part 1 Father Knows Best How We Can Prosper A. Years ago, a popular TV program was named Father Knows Best. 1. The program featured Jim Anderson, the father, who had extraordinary wisdom, his wife Margaret, who had common sense, and their three children, Betty, Bud, and Kathy. 2. Of course, the theme was that the father and mother wanted what was best for their children. In spite of their many challenges, the father was committed to doing the best for the family.

2 3. The moral of the program was that if the family simply followed the father s advice, they could successfully and victoriously face life s challenges. 4. Most of us would agree that families in our nation have pretty much fallen apart since then. The common values promoted in those early TV programs are no longer considered important. 5. Hollywood now films programs that reflect a LACK of values and the unrestrained, self-centered, carnal appetites of the producers. 6. For years, we ve heard rumors of what happens behind the scenes in Hollywood. Not content to confine their ungodly behavior to the casting couch, their lack of values is now promoted on the screen. 7. Since our changing economy now requires both mom and dad to work, the TV has become the babysitter and after school program for most kids. 8. Hollywood s depth of depravity now allows us to peer into the cesspool being churned out in the very programs our kids are watching. Programs like Father Knows Best no longer exist on most TV channels. But thankfully, we have a wise and loving Father who still cares for us. B. More than just a Heavenly Father, He is a good God and a loving and wise Father. 1. Much more than TV s Jim Anderson could possibly accomplish, our Heavenly Father knows what is best in every area of our lives. Whether it s raising children, marriages, finances, health or even politics, the Father s plans and principles for governing our lives are infinitely better than ours could ever be. I think we would all agree with that. 2. Life is full of choices. There is seldom only one path to travel. We can either follow God s plans and principles, or our own plans, a friend s plan, or Uncle Harry s plan. 3. The problem is, any substitute for God s plan is going to be vastly inferior. Our Father really does know best!

3 4. How can we learn to be full? By testing our decisions to see if they are according to the Father s plans or our own. 5. His plans always align with this definition of the word Bible : B--asic I--nstructions B--efore L--eaving E--arth C. Since our Heavenly Father has plans for every area of our life, I want to begin this series by discussing His plans for our finances. 1. Before I begin, it s important to understand that all believers do not have a good relationship with our Heavenly Father because of their earthly father. If you can t trust him, it could be hard to trust our Father in heaven. 2. Because we live in such a broken world, many of us grew up distrusting others. To succeed in life, the only one we were taught to depend upon was ourselves especially in the area of finances. 3. Joke: Giving A new pastor came to lead a church that had been unsuccessful for many years. One look at the financial records and he realized the members had a problem with giving. On Sunday morning, his first announcement was that better times were coming. For years, he said, This church has done nothing but sit. But the time has come for us to get up and crawl. The congregation began to get a little excited. Maybe something was about to break for their little church. Here and there a few members began to stir in their pews and chant, Make her crawl, pastor. Make her crawl! Encouraged by their response, the pastor continued, And when this

4 church has learned to crawl, we re gonna get up and walk! By now the whole congregation was getting excited as they replied, Make her walk, pastor. Make her walk! Really inspired, the pastor shouted, And when this church has learned to walk, we re gonna run for Jesus! At this point, the members who had all but given up on their church ever doing anything for God jumped to their feet and shouted, Make her run, pastor. Make her run! Overcome with the church s response, he pulled out the tithing baskets and cried triumphantly, And for this church to run, it s gonna take money! At this point, the excitement quickly dimmed. The church became deathly silent as they sat down in their pews and an old deacon in the back was heard to say, Let her crawl, pastor. Let her crawl. 4. Our Father wants us to be financially blessed. Being poor is not a qualification for spirituality. Last week, Pastor G. F. Watkins introduced his new book entitled Test Me The Malachi Mystery. From more than 2,000 scriptures about finances, prosperity, and generosity, the Father wants to talk to us about money. 5. Our Heavenly Father wants us to study His Word so we will know how to: a. Think the Father s thoughts. b. Act upon the Father s promises. c. Use the Father s wisdom. d. Know how to live. e. Know how to give which is the key to abundance. D. To have an accurate understanding of who God is, we must acknowledge that our Heavenly Father is good all the time! 1. If you had a broken relationship with your dad, your path to healing could begin by realizing that our Heavenly Father is a good Father.

5 2. As recorded in Jeremiah 29:11, His plans are to bless us and cause us to prosper. 3. His plans are based upon three concepts: a. You must follow a specific road map that is tailor-made for you. The word plan comes from a French word that means: map. b. His specific purpose for your life deals with why you were created and your destiny. c. To be successful and fulfilled, He has principles that must be followed. 4. When you follow the Father s plans, your life will be blessed --which means: empowered to prosper. Whenever you see the word bless in the Bible, think of empower to prosper --which is what our Heavenly Father wants to do for you! 5. In Deuteronomy, chapter 28, the word bless means that God will empower us to prosper! a. Deuteronomy 28:1-9 (NKJV) - Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. [2] And all these blessings (empowered to prosper) shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God: [3] "Blessed (empowered to prosper) shall you be in the city, and blessed (empowered to prosper) shall you be in the country. [4] "Blessed (empowered to prosper) shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. [5] "Blessed (empowered to prosper) shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. [6] "Blessed (empowered to prosper) shall you be when you come in, and blessed (empowered to prosper) shall you be when you go out. [7] "The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they

6 shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. [8] "The LORD will command the blessing (empowered to prosper) on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless (empowered to prosper) you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you. [9] The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. And we could go on and on. 6. According to this definition of being empowered to prosper, God further declared: a. Deuteronomy 8:18 (NKJV) - And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. 7. This covenant with their ancestors was to Abraham: a. Genesis 12:1-3 (NKJV) - Now the Lord had said to Abram: Get out of your country, From your family And from your father s house, To a land that I will show you. [2] I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. [3] I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 8. Both in the Book of Romans and the Book of Galatians, Paul explains that the children of Abraham are those who have faith in God: a. Galatians 3:7 (NLT) - The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God. b. So, as Moses declared in Deuteronomy 8:18, God gives us the power to obtain wealth so that He might fulfill His covenant with our fathers. Since we are the spiritual sons of Abraham through

7 faith, our Heavenly Father s plan is to bless us, or to empower us to prosper! E. How does God empower us to prosper and obtain wealth? 1. The Book of Malachi says that giving our tithe and offerings empowers us to prosper. Notice how he begins this book: a. Malachi 1:1 (NKJV) - The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. b. A burden is a heavy object that causes suffering and wears you down. c. The burden that caused Malachi to feel sad and heavy was not his own, but the burden of the Word of the Lord. d. Why was God sad? Because our Heavenly Father delights in blessing His people and causing them to prosper. 2. Notice our text in Matthew: a. Matthew 7:9-11 (NLT) - You parents if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? [10] Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! [11] So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him? 3. When we are not doing well, it saddens the heart of God just as it would any loving parent. a. As a parent, I would rather do without than watch my children or grandchildren struggle through some difficult situation or be in need. b. Would our Heavenly Father, who is good all the time, be less concerned about His children than you and me, who are so carnal? F. Since most people do not understand how a local church operates, let me explain.

8 1. To illustrate the mission of the church, draw eight concentric circles, similar to a bull s eye. Beginning with the outer circle down to the middle circle, label each one as follows: a. World b. Nation c. City d. Community e. Crowd f. Church g. Core h. Ministry (not just the members of a church staff, but those who identify themselves as a minister) 2. Evangelism is the process of introducing and converting people to Christ, first in our community, then in our city, our nation, and the world. a. In the first stage, we introduce people to Jesus and urge them to give their hearts to Him. b. Matthew 28:19-20 (NKJV) - Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen. c. We continually seek to move people from the outside into the church or Kingdom of God. 3. In verse 20, the second part of Jesus instruction to His disciples, we must teach disciples to observe His principles and instructions. 4. Discipleship is the process of helping believers mature spiritually to become authentic followers of Jesus. 5. So, what is an authentic believer? Obviously, they are becoming like Christ.

9 a. John 1:14 (NKJV) - And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. b. If Jesus was the Living Word made flesh, to become an authentic believer, we must embody His teachings and the principles of God s Word in our lives. c. So, we continually seek to move people from where they are to the next inner circle of the diagram. 6. To be Christ-like in the handling of our finances means that we live according to the scriptures regarding finances. 7. Our lives should publicly demonstrate the Father s teachings on finances ( Father Knows Best ). Any other plan would be vastly inferior and far less effective. 8. Since Christ is the living embodiment of the Word, one thing the Word teaches about finances is that God s children have been empowered to prosper and should be experiencing prosperity. So how are we to prosper? a. Malachi 3:10 (NKJV) - Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this, Says the Lord of hosts, If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. 9. Prosperity is mentioned 88 times in the Bible and begins with the word "if" 66 times. G. So, how are we doing here at Christian Tabernacle? 1. The annual median household income in Harris County, TX is $56, Here are the C.T. statistics for 2017: a. 22% tithe b. 9% give 67% of the funds c % give 92.96% of the funds

10 d. 73% give only 4% of the funds 3. Most people believe that their church is overflowing with money. However, statistics reveal that since the latest recession, 37% of church members do not give ANYTHING to God. 4. Since only 22% of our members tithe, if everyone tithed, our budget would increase 78%, which is more than four times our present budget! 5. We would never need another capital stewardship or building fund program if everyone faithfully obeyed the Father s instructions on giving. 6. Even better, each family would be blessed beyond comprehension for obeying God s Word concerning prosperity and finances. 7. Rather than trusting God, what do most people do? It actually becomes a faith issue for them: they hope to win the lottery, a lawsuit, or a large inheritance. 8. According to statistics, you are more likely to be struck twice by lightning than winning the lottery. Yet people trust more in the lottery than God s Word and then wonder why we don t see more miracles today! H. Here are ten of the most common reasons why people do not tithe: 1. Some people honestly do not know that they should tithe. a. To them, an offering becomes their tithe. If they can manage to keep an extra $20 after paying all their bills, that becomes their tithe. But it s actually only an offering. The tithe must come first, before an offering. b. Scripture teaches us to give God what is right not what is left. 2. Our American culture teaches us to be takers and receivers more than givers. a. If you don t believe that s true, why does everyone want to come to America the utopia of the rest of the world? They re hoping to get a slice of the pie for themselves and their families!

11 b. And you can t blame them. They come, hoping to receive, because they see how many people are blessed in our country. c. If you have more than one child, you know exactly what I m talking about. Try giving two of them three scoops of ice cream and the other only one scoop and see what happens! When the child with one scoop sees that the other children have three scoops, they want what the others have! 3. Some people genuinely distrust the church. The abuses of a few unscrupulous ministers have prompted the idea that you can t trust the church. a. Just so you will know, our church has a Board of Directors who oversees the budget and all of our finances. b. We also have a finance committee that determines salaries. The salary package for our staff is a little below the national average because our efforts and resources have been directed toward our building program. I m hoping to bless our staff more. 4. For some, the math is a problem. They cannot understand how you could possibly be more prosperous on 90% of your income than 100%. But they are forgetting the supernatural factor! Giving to God always equals more never less! 5. Entitlement is another reason. God owes me something; the church owes me something; and even the world owes me. The thought of giving has never occurred to them. Of course, most of us have lived long enough to realize that this attitude about life doesn t work. 6. For some, the ownership issue has never been resolved. If they have worked hard to accumulate what they have, it should all belong to them. 7. The negative teaching about tithing is simply wrong. Look at YouTube and you ll see what I mean. It s filled with reasons why you shouldn t tithe: a. Tithing was only under the Law and isn t taught in the New Testament. Neither Jesus nor Paul mentioned tithing.

12 b. While their statements are false, people continue to listen and believe them. c. The truth is that Jesus, Paul, and the writer of Hebrews taught on tithing. It existed before the Law, during the Law, and was still taught as a New Testament discipline after the Law. 8. People think they can t afford to tithe. (Neither did I before I began to tithe, and neither did you!) But the truth is, you can t afford not to tithe. 9. Some believe that when they begin to earn more or have more, they will tithe. But if you can t tithe on a small income, you ll never tithe on a large one. Giving to God should be your highest financial priority. 10. The enemy actively seeks to prevent God s people from being blessed. Since he doesn t want you to be empowered to prosper, a spirit of deception tries to convince you not to tithe. The other nine reasons are actually the lies of the enemy. I. Whether you give or you do not give, a supernatural element is at work. 1. When you give, God has promised to open the windows of heaven and bless you with more finances, more peace, more wisdom, better life strategies, better kids, a better marriage, better health, and better relationships. a. Everything is better because of the supernatural component. b. When you are a divinely protected tither, the enemy is not allowed to do many things he would like to do. 2. As mentioned, a supernatural element is also at work. If you don t give, you have forfeited the divine protection you could have claimed. a. The enemy actively tries to destroy your peace, your health, finances, marriage, kids, business, and everything you own. So, if you fail to tithe, you have no protection from his attacks. b. The supernatural activity in your life is performed by the enemy and his minions who are intent on harming you.

13 3. Some claim that God is very unfair. Really? It s like this: if God offers you an antidote for a terrible plague but you refuse to take it, who is to blame? a. If a devastating tornado is approaching and God urges you to come into His shelter but you refuse, will you blame Him for the damage to your home and family? b. The same is true for those who blame God for being unsaved. Really? If He gave His Son for mankind and you fail to accept Him, whose fault is it? c. God offers us a shelter from the enemy s strategies that are meant to harm us. But we must take advantage of His shelter. 4. Ananias and Sapphira publicly declared their commitment to do God s will. But they were unwilling to be truthful and honest about their sacrificial giving. They wanted to appear righteous, but without a full commitment. a. People seem to think that God struck this couple dead for lying. But is that what really happened? If so, there would be a lot of folks dropping dead in churches all over the world. b. I believe that Ananias and Sapphira stepped outside the protective covering the other members of the church were experiencing in their giving.