A Series on Radical Giving. The Blessed Life. Student Manual

Transcription

1 The Blessed Life Student Manual 1

2 Part 1: It s All About the Heart Matthew 7:1-2 *All scriptures are from the ESV translation unless otherwise noted* Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Luke 6:37-38 Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; I want you to notice, these are the exact same sentences. Luke just writes it in a different way. Now look at the next verse VS 38, give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you. Here s what Jesus said, whenever you give, you re going to get more back! Good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over. This terminology was quite common to the Jews. Since commerce in this region was dependent upon crops and trade, the understanding of field labor was a commonly shared trait among Jewish people. In every field, there were two groups or two types of people who were gleaning in the fields. There were workers gleaning in the middle of the field and there were poor people who were gleaning in the corners of the field. In Leviticus 23:22 God said, And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God. So we understand God s principle, God said to leave the corners of the field to the poor. Another critical perspective to have is to know how these workers filled their baskets. If you were a worker working in the middle of the field, you 2

3 probably didn t have a full basket because the fuller the basket the heavier it weighs. So to be effective you would just put a little bit in your basket, then took it over and dumped it in the cart. But if you were a poor person your approach would be vastly different. You knew that your basket was all that you were going to get. So you would go to your corner of the field and you would put good measure in your basket. Then you would probably press it down and give it a little shake. You would fill that basket up until inevitably some would run over and fall out. This is what Jesus is referring to here. Deuteronomy 15:7-8 If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. The principle here is called an open hand philosophy. God wants us to live with an open hand. When you live with an open hand philosophy, you allow God to give and take away; and you don t become bitter or angry in the process. The whole purpose of this is for us to get to the place where we are as generous as God is. Remember, everything we have is from Him in the first place! We serve a generous God! So how do we become generous givers? 1) Deal with a Selfish Heart Deuteronomy 15:9 Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, The seventh year, the year of release is near, and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the LORD against you, (watch what a close hand will give you) and you be guilty of sin. The 7 th Year Principle: 3

4 God had implemented an economic system in Israel in which every 7 years, all debts were cancelled. It didn t matter if the debt was accumulated in the 6th year, on that 7th year all debts were nullified. So God says don t let this unworthy thought, or this wicked thought, in your heart. Here s a possible scenario. Someone could walk up to you and say, Our crops didn t do well this year and we re short. Could I borrow some money from you? Just when you are about to say, sure! Suddenly the thought jumps in your mind; Oh, wait a minute, this is the 7th year and we only have 6 more months left. If he can t pay this back in 6 months, then the debt is canceled. I m never going to get that money back. Here s where God says that s a wicked thought. Now here s an important principle to understand, that thought WILL come to your mind; but don t let that thought into your heart. God said don t think that way! I want you to give just to give. I want you to be like me; I give and don t ever expect anything back. I never ask you to pay me back for what I do for you. I just want to give and I want to give generously. 2) Deal with a Grieving Heart Now this may surprise you, but can you believe that God has to use the word grief over money? You mean we actually grieve over money? Sure we do! Deuteronomy 15:10 NASB You shall generously give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing (giving with the right heart) the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all your undertakings. Here s what God is saying, if you could get your heart to change, I ll bless everything you do. I ll bless your finances, I ll bless your kids, I ll bless your marriage, I ll bless your health, I ll bless everything if I can just get you to learn the value of giving generously! You ll always fight two battles when you give, you ll fight selfishness BEFORE you give and you ll fight grief AFTER you give. 4

5 3) Develop a Generous Heart Let s look at verse 14 now of Deuteronomy 15, You shall furnish him liberally God wants you to be liberal with your giving. That word liberally literally means generously. out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress. As the LORD your God has blessed you (notice it all comes from God), you shall give to him. Now let s go back up to Luke 6:30 and start from there Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. This is what we call the golden rule. If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, (here s the key verse) expecting nothing in return Sounds like giving with the right heart. and your reward will be great, -- watch this -- and you will be sons of the Most High In other words, you re going to be like God when you do this. for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. Or generous. Let me say it another way: He is kind to the unthankful and evil. You say, yes, God is kind to the unthankful and evil. Let me just remind you -- that s you -- that s me. You say, Well I m not an unthankful person. You were. We were all unthankful and evil. Here s what scripture teaches, but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. He didn t wait until we were thankful or good. But while we were ungrateful and while we were evil, Christ dies for us! Here s what God s saying, I m generous! You re my kids. When are you going to grow up and stop fighting over who s toys are who s! Why do I have to keep telling you to share? When are you going to stop being concerned about your own toys and start sharing your toys with the other kids? When are you going to become generous? 4) Develop a Grateful Heart 5

6 Deuteronomy 15:15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today. Notice the word command? He is actually ordering them to be generous. And he s ordering them to be generous on the basis that they remember, you didn t own anything. I m the one that bought you back when you were a slave. Now that I ve blessed you, I m asking you to be a blessing to other people. Robert Morris, the author of the book The Blessed Life, testified of giving away cars, giving away their home and on more than one occasion giving away their entire savings. They were at a church teaching this series when the Pastors wife asked Robert Morris wife Debbie a question she d heard many times. Below is that conversation. Pastors Wife: How do you feel when Robert comes to you and says I feel like giving our home away? Debbie Morris: I feel great! Pastor s Wife: Well, why? Debbie Morris: Well, you have to remember, we were married before he was saved. I know what he used to be like. And when God changed his heart, every time he would come and say, Can we give this? I knew that it was a miracle. It was what I had prayed for all those years was a changed husband. The next question came from the pastor Pastor: Why do you think he is so generous? Why do you think he gives so much? Debbie Morris started crying Debbie Morris: Because he s never gotten over being saved. He s never forgotten where he came from. And he knows better than anyone that everything we have comes from God. And he is the most grateful person I know, and therefore he is the most generous person I know. If you never allow yourself to ever forget where God has brought you from, you will remain grateful. 6

7 Part 2: What Test? *All scriptures are from the ESV translation unless otherwise noted* Have you ever gone to school and heard your teacher say this horrifying statement? OK class, clear your desks and get ready for our test. Inevitably, if you re like me, you look bewildered and ask, WHAT TEST?! Did you know every time you got paid God was giving you a test? The test is this: Whom are you going to thank for your income? This is how you know whom you re thanking: where does the first check go? According to the Bible, where do your first fruits from every paycheck go? Malachi 3:6-12 For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them Now, I want you to remember this because we re going to come back to the word statutes. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, How shall we return? This is God s answer; Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, How have we robbed you? In what ways have we stolen from you, God? In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, The storehouse refers to the local church. that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. I will rebuke the devourer[b] for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your 7

8 vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts. Now, here s what He says. you have turned aside from my statutes. Let me tell you what the word statute means. It means a principle of ordinary behavior. He doesn t want us to be cursed. He says you are voluntarily placing yourself under the curse. We live in a cursed world, and what God wants to do is redeem our finances out from under the curse, but it takes our cooperation. Our cooperation is to give Him the first 10%. The word tithe literally means a tenth. Malachi is this book about returning to God, as I said. Each chapter deals with a unique set of principles. Chapter 1 is about returning to God in your faith. Chapter 2 is about returning to God in your family. Chapter 3 is about returning to God in your finances. Chapter 4 is God returning to us. Now if anyone has ever had a discussion with anyone about tithing, the first thing they always go to is Malachi is the Old Testament and there are no New Testament examples of tithing. 1) Tithing is a Test The reason He chose a percentage is because it s the same for everyone; it s still a penny on every dime. It doesn t matter if you make $30,000 or $300,000. It s the same. It s fair for every person. It s equal. The number 10 in the Bible represents more than the percentage of a tithe; the number ten is the number of testing. When you look at ten throughout the Bible, you ll see that it s always referring to a time of testing. We re going to take a test. I m going to ask you a question, and I want you to give me the answer. The question will come on the screen and then I want you to say the answer 8

9 Tithing is a test! So many times we come up with all of these arguments. But, here s what s amazing about this passage. It s also the only place in the Bible that says we can test God. God says, put me to the test and see if I m not faithful! It is a money back guarantee. Test me and see if I will not be faithful. 2) Tithing is Biblical Genesis 14:18-20 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) And he blessed him and said, Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand! And Abram gave him a tenth of everything He gave Melchizedek, a tithe of all. Now, think about this, this is about 500 years before the law! So this is an ordinary principle that predates the law. Genesis 28:22 This is Jacob. and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house. Again, the implication that the tithe goes to God s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you. This is about 400 years before the law. Leviticus 27:30 Every tithe of the land EVERY tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord's; it is holy to the Lord. God. The word holy means set apart. Ten percent is set apart for the house of Deuteronomy 26:1 When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance and have taken possession of it and live in it, you shall take some of the first The word first here represents a tithe. You ll see that later in this passage. some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from your land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a 9

10 basket, and you shall go to the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name to dwell there. Again, referring to the church. Deuteronomy 26:13-15 then you shall say before the Lord your God, I have removed the sacred portion out of my house, and moreover, I have given it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all your commandment that you have commanded me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, nor have I forgotten them. I have not eaten of the tithe while I was mourning In other words, I didn t use it during a difficult time. or removed any of it while I was unclean. In other words, I m not using it for something sinful. or offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God. I have done according to all that you have commanded me. Now here is the prayer you pray after you give the tithe: Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people... It is all through scripture, and it s an ordinary principle that God s people give. Matthew 23:23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe - ten percent - mint and dill and cumin, - these are spices that you put on your food. You even tithe on the spices you put on your food - and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness Watch! These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. Jesus did not say, You don t have to do that anymore. He said, You ought to do that, just don t leave the other undone. Don t leave justice, mercy and faith undone. 3) Tithing is a Blessing 2 Chronicles 31:4 And he commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to give the portion due Watch this! to the priests and the Levites, that they might give themselves to the Law of the Lord. 10

11 Now, Hezekiah is reading the Bible. He s reading through the scriptures and he sees tithing. Just to add a little clarity, they re in an economic recession. Anyone relate? The whole nation. And he reads this, You re under a curse the whole nation! And he says, We re under a curse because we re not tithing! So, he puts out a command for everyone to bring 10%, the tithe, into the house of God the storehouse. That s what he does. He says that the priests might devote themselves to the Law of the Lord. Remember, Malachi said, bring the tithe into my storehouse that there may be food in my house. Hezekiah gets concerned about the people. Let me show you this. Look at verse 5. As soon as the command was spread abroad, the people of Israel gave in abundance the firstfruits Now that refers to tithing, again, the first 10%. of grain, wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field. And they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything There it is the 10%, the first 10% of everything. And the people of Israel and Judah who lived in the cities of Judah also brought in the tithe of cattle and sheep, and the tithe of the dedicated things that had been dedicated to the Lord their God, and laid them in heaps. In the third month they began to pile up the heaps, and finished them in the seventh month... By the way, these correlate with harvest time. When Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord and his people Israel... Now, watch this. He got concerned when he saw this. And Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites about the heaps. Azariah the chief priest, who was of the house of Zadok, answered him, Since they began to bring the contributions into the house of the Lord, we have eaten and had enough and have plenty left, for the Lord has blessed his people, so that we have this large amount left. It actually takes them four months to do this. These four, the third and the seventh month are harvest times. So, Hezekiah goes to the temple and there are heaps -- there are heaps of stuff that people have given! There is a way that seems right to men but the end is death. But there is a way that is right. It s an ordinary principle in God s kingdom. If you do it according 11

12 to the word, He will open the windows of Heaven over you and He will rebuke Satan for you. 12

13 Part 3: The Principle of First Tonight we begin part 3, this part is entitled The Principle of First. In this series, this is probably the most important principle you ll learn. Because if you don t get this down, then the rest of it won t really matter. Now to get a little clarity on the backstory here, Israel was in an economic recession, they were in a famine and the Bible says that there was no rain for 3 ½ years. Theologians believe that this event were about to read about transpired somewhere between 6 months to a year into this famine. 1 Kings 17:8-10 Then the word of the Lord came to him, (This is talking about Elijah) saying, Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you. So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink." Now I want you to remember, no rain. It s in the middle of a famine and the first thing the man of God asked for was water. 1 Kings 17:11-12 And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand. And she said, As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die. She tells Elijah, we only have one meal left. I was saving this last meal, because I know that after we eat it, it s all over. 1 Kings 17:13-14 And Elijah said to her, Do not fear; go and do as you have said. Now watch this But first Say that with me BUT FIRST make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, The jar of flour shall not be spent, and 13

14 the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth. They re down to their last meal when Elijah says, "Prepare something for me first." This does not make any sense at all! After all, what sense does it make to give the first portion of my last meal to this man of God? Shouldn t I try and protect what s left? Most people never see a miracle, because they never put God in the position to give them a miracle! God did not need this widow to provide for Elijah. He wanted to provide for her. God wants to provide supernaturally for you but you're going to have to honor him first. But this was SO much bigger than that though! Not only did God send Elijah to this widow so that He could provide for her, but he gave her the opportunity to position herself for a miracle! 1 Kings 17:17-24 After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. And she said to Elijah, What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son! And he said to her, Give me your son. And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed. And he cried to the Lord, O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son? Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord, O Lord my God, let this child's life come into him again. And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, See, your son lives. And the woman said to Elijah, Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth. Let me just ask you a question. Did God know that her boy was sick? Of course God knew that! God knew that she only had one meal left and that even if they did get more food her son was still going to die. So he sends a man of God to her and gives her a test. 14

15 Remember, tithing is a test. Because she trusted God with her natural resources, God trusted her with His supernatural resources! Tithing brings 2 things: 1) Provision 2) Protection Malachi 3:10-11 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing [that s the provision] until there is no more need. I will rebuke the devourer for you [that s the protection]. Genesis 4:1-7 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord. And again, she bore his brother Abel Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground In other words, Abel was a rancher, Cain was a farmer In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? In other words, "if you bring the offering the way I said to, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, now watch what happens if you don't bring the offering the way God says, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it. In other words, you open the door to a lot of sin when you don't do it God's way. Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. why did God reject Cain s offering and accept Abel s? Abel brought firstborn; Cain didn't bring first fruits. Why would Cain not bring the first fruits? I think there are two points we need to consider 1) The heart of Cain 15

16 1 John 3:12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. Jude 11 Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's rebellion. We know in scripture, Balaam tried to curse Israel because of greed, and Korah turned against Moses because of rebellion. Jude says these walk in the ways of Cain. This is what was in Cain s heart, greed and rebellion. Evil deeds. The #1 reason people don t tithe GREED and REBELLION. Period. That's really what stops us from giving to God first because we want more, we don't want to give up, and We're just going to do it our way, God. That's what Cain did. Proverbs 3:9-10 Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine. Exodus 23:19 The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. That settles any question about where you give it, where you bring it. 2) The Heart of Abel Hebrews 11:4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. Abel was a man of faith. That's what the Bible says, "by faith he offered." It takes faith to give God the first 10%. It doesn't take faith to pay your bills and 16

17 then give to God. What God is saying is, "If you'll recognize me first, I'll give a miracle." Joshua 6:19 But all silver and gold, and every vessel of bronze and iron, are holy to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord. Genesis 22:10-14 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham! And he said, Here I am. He said, Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, (now watch these words carefully), for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, The Lord will provide Jehovah Jireh. Now notice, when he was willing to give his first to God, God provided and - - watch this -- protected. God's provision didn't come until he gave his first. Then not only did God's provision come, but God's protection came. Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Everything in the Old Testament represents something in the New Testament. Do you know what the firstborn and the firstfruits represent in the New Testament? Jesus! 1 Corinthians 15:20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. He gave His best for us, we should give our best for Him! 17

18 Part 4: Breaking the Spirit of Mammon Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one (that literally means to be loyal to) you ll be loyal to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Now in Luke we find another verse that speaks of Mammon Luke 16:9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. This is such a critical principle in the word of God. But in order to understand the principle we need to understand 3 questions. 1) What is Mammon? 18

19 Mammon is an Aramaic word that means riches. Most people think that mammon refers to money, that s not what Jesus was talking about here. Money in and of itself is not bad. Money is neutral. What s fascinating though, is that Mammon comes from a Chaldean or Assyrian word for riches. Now it is believed that the Assyrians adopted an idol from Babylon that was called the god of riches, or mammon. While there is no clear answer in scripture, Jesus made it clear that mammon demands service in the same manner that He does. Jesus said plainly, you will either bow down and serve Him, or you will bow down and serve mammon. What s interesting about Babylon is that the word Babylon in Hebrew is actually the word Babel. Look it up in any concordance, Babylon literally means Babel, or confusion. To be technically correct; Babylon or Babel on, literally means sown in confusion or rooted in confusion. Babel was a place where men created their own system of reaching heaven, and where they said they didn t need God to do it. It represents a prideful, arrogant spirit of humanity that says, We don't need God, we can do it on our own. And this is where the spirit of mammon came from. Mammon is a spirit. Mammon tries to take the place of God. Mammon is in direct contrast to the spirit of God. Let me tell you some things about mammon. Mammon is looking for servants. And mammon promises us everything that God only can give us! 19

20 Mammon promises us security. o If you had more money you'd be secure. Mammon promises us identity. o People could listen to you, you d have prestige and significance! Mammon promises us freedom. o If you had money you could go where you want, when you want, and do what you want. Mammon promises us happiness. o If you had more money you'd be happy. You'd have a good marriage if you had more money. People would respect you if you had more money. People would listen to you. Here s the catch, only God can give you security. Only God can give you identity. Only God can give you significance. Only God can give you purpose. Only God can give you love, peace, and joy! Rooted in the core of Mammon is the spirit of antichrist. The spirit of antichrist does not rule through the threat of nuclear war. According to the Bible the spirit of antichrist rules through the threat of not being able to buy and sell. Mammon! 2) Is Money Evil? Jesus said in Luke 16, "unrighteous mammon." Again, if we think money, then we say that as unrighteous money. Money is unrighteous. You know, the Bible says money is the root of all evil! 20

21 Our money isn t the problem, but our attitude toward it is. 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. The desire for money will deceive and ultimately destroy you. Paul outlines a three step process: (1) The desire for money; (2) The deception of money; (3) The destruction caused by money. The desire draws you in; the deception gets you comfortable and oblivious to the danger; the destruction polishes you off. Luke 16:9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. It seems, on the surface, to be saying, use your money to make friends. Use your money to do little things for people and that way, if you ever have a problem, then they will help you. 21

22 That seems to be what he is saying. It is not what he is saying at all. The key in this verse is the word fail. This word in the Greek means to die; to expire physically. Here's what he's saying: take unrighteous mammon, this money that has been dedicated to the spirit of the world, take it and redeem it. Now watch this, and when you die -- here's the key and when you die, they -- not it they -- the people that you used your money to win to Christ -- they will welcome you into an everlasting home. In other words, they're going to be standing at the gate of heaven when you go in saying thank you. 3) What should I do with my money? According to the Bible, what should I do with my money? The answer? Be a good steward. Honor God with the first and steward the rest. Let me be very honest with you for a moment, if your attitude is, I just don t have enough. Then you never will... I you can t be a good steward over the little that you have, then God will never bless you with more. Now let s look at Vs 10, He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. In Matthew 25, Jesus tells the parable of the talents. In this parable he actually takes the one from the guy who only has one, but he was a bad steward. Then he gives that one to the guy who has ten, the guy who has most. He actually takes from the poor and gives it to the rich. 22

23 To us that doesn t sound right, but the kingdom principle is the same. He takes from the poor steward and gives to the good steward. Look at verse 12, it says, And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? Now, I understand that God owns it all, I understand that. But God specifically says, "The tithe belongs to me." This is specific. In many, many places throughout the Bible, and I've shown you some of these verses in this series, "The tithe is mine, it belongs to me." He even says, "If you take it, you're stealing from me." You understand you only have two choices with the tithe. You only have two choices, either bring it to the house of God or steal it; those are your only two choices. If you keep it, you're stealing it. So here's what God is saying: he said, "If you've not been faithful with what is another man's who will give you what is your own?" Is it possible that he's talking about the tithe? If you won't be faithful with the 10%, why would I even give you the 90% with a blessing on it to do anything with it; because that belongs to me? If you've not been faithful to what belongs to someone else, who is going to give you what is your own? Then look at this scripture. Here's the last scripture I want to show you. Verse 11, If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 23

24 What are true riches? True riches are people because people last forever. I want you to understand that. Nothing on this earth is going to last forever. If you can't even handle your money, why would I give you people to steward? Why would God give something so priceless to someone that would not steward it? Why would the heavenly Father, who has all power to bless you; why would he ever give you significance or influence or even wealth if he can't trust you as a steward? 24

25 Part 5: Am I Generous? *All scriptures are from the ESV unless otherwise noted* John 12:1-8 Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. For clarity, Chapter 11 ends with the miraculous resurrection of Lazarus. Most scholars believe that it has now been 2 months since Lazarus resurrection as we begin John 12. Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii (which is equivalent to about a year s wage) and given to the poor? He said this, (watch very carefully) not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag (or the offering bag, which is what this is referring to) he used to help himself to what was put into it. Jesus said, Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial (which is only a few days away). For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me. Now when you read this text there are 2 obvious questions, 25

26 1) Why did Mary give such an extravagant gift? 2) Why did it bother Judas so much? In this lesson tonight I want to show you that there are two hearts displayed in this passage. First, let s look at some principles of that generosity 1) The enemy of generosity is not a person, even though it s displayed through Judas. The enemy of generosity is selfishness. Every one of us has to deal with selfishness in our lives. We have it from the time we re children. Here s what God s hope is: that one day, we outgrow that. But many of us don t, and when it comes to our money, many of us still say, Mine! Do we know what extravagance is? Let me tell you what extravagance is to most of us here. Extravagance is anyone who has more than we do. Don t point your finger at other people s extravagance to cover up your own selfishness. That is exactly the heart of Judas, and we see it in scripture. Notice something else. He had the moneybag, and he used to take what was put in it. This was an offering bag. Jesus didn t have a job, and His disciples abandoned their careers to follow Him. So they were dependent on offerings to survive. They received most of their money from the generosity of others. The reality is people gave offerings. We know that because the bible tells us that. And scripture says Judas would take money out of the offering bag. 26

27 Isn t it amazing that the Bible says Judas was a thief, and Malachi says that if you don t tithe AND give offerings, you are robbing God. Let s look at Exodus 30:13. The context of this passage is in reference to the atonement money. The priest was to make atonement for their sins through sacrifice. The money given, DID NOT make atonement. It provided for the MAN and the TABERNACLE so that the atonement could be made. Exodus 30:13 KJV This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the LORD. Matthew Henry says this about this verse, The money raised was to be used in the service of the tabernacle. Those who have the benefit of the tabernacle, must not grudge the necessary charges of God's public worship. Money cannot make atonement for the soul, but it may be used for the honor of Him who has made the atonement, and for the maintenance of the gospel by which the atonement is applied. Here s how this worked. The priesthood didn t work jobs, they worked daily in the tabernacle. In Nehemiah 13:10, when Nehemiah came back to Jerusalem, he found chaos. The walls had been destroyed, the temple was in shambles and the people were no longer bringing their tithes to the temple. I also found out that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them, so that the Levites and the singers, who did the work, had fled each to his field. 27

28 The ministry, who was dependent upon The Shekel of the Tabernacle had to flee their calling to go work in the fields because they needed money to survive. That was the law. But remember tithing was instituted with Abraham and Melchizedek BEFORE the law. In Exodus 30:13, the Israelites were commanded that every one of them, who was numbered in the census (meaning they were a Jews), was to give the shekel AND the half shekel, and the half shekel was an offering to the Lord. Could it be that in Malachi, and in Exodus the Bible validates the point that we rob God when we only pay tithes and NOT also our offerings? I believe the next step in becoming a generous giver is recognizing the value of giving tithes AND offerings! Now let s go back to John 12. By the way, did you ever think about this? Who gave Judas the moneybag? Do you think Jesus knew he was a thief when He gave him the moneybag? Sure He did. One year before this in John 6:70, Jesus said, Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil. He knew Judas would betray Him. He knew! Why would He give him the moneybag, then? Because God actually gives you opportunities to grow in your areas of weakness. He didn t give him the moneybag to fail. He gave him the moneybag to overcome his selfishness! Some people may say, Well, he was tempted with that. He shouldn t have given that to him. The temptation was too great. Nonsense! You can never outgrow your weaknesses until you are forced to face them head on. 28

29 James 1:13-15 Let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Temptation begins with desire, then desire when conceived in selfishness, because that s what carnality is, gives birth to sin; and when sin is fully grown it brings forth death! 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful (watch this), and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. Every time Judas was tempted; First of all, it was never beyond what he was able. Second of all, God actually made a way of escape so that he could bear that. But he did was a thief anyway because of selfishness. That s the enemy of generosity. 2) The extravagance of generosity. This is 300 denarii. The word denarii is the plural of the word denarius. Denarius is a day s wage. 300 denarii, when you take off Sabbaths and days off and holidays and things, that s about a year s wage. 29

30 Did you know that there s something that does impress God that you can give God? 2 Corinthians 8:5 says, they gave themselves first to the Lord The Bible says God actually rejoices when we give our hearts to God. That doesn t mean that we accept Him in our hearts; it means we give our lives to Him. Every aspect of our lives! Now, there are three levels, by the way, of giving in the Bible: tithes, offerings and extravagant offerings. There are lots of extravagant offerings in the Bible. David gave 21 billion to the temple. That s not bad. Even for a king, that s not bad. Here s another example of an extravagant offering: the widow gave two mites. And Jesus said she gave more than all. Solomon offered a thousand sacrifices. There are all sorts of extravagant offerings in the Bible. So, tithes, offerings and extravagant offerings. This is unfortunate, but did you realize that most Christians, according to the statistics, never get to the first level? Do you know the latest statistic on how many people actually give ten percent of their income? 5-7%. According to statistics spanning all Christianity, 93-95% of Christians never even get to the first level of giving. 3) The reward of generosity. 30

31 If you look over in Mark 14. And if you started in verse 3, you would see the story, but we re going to start at verse 9. Verse 9 says, And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her. She got rewarded for her generosity! Now, let me clarify just one thing. Earlier I asked, why did it bother Judas so much? Well, it bothered Judas because he was a thief, because he was not a giver, and because he took money out of the offering bag. That s why. Extravagance always bothers people who struggle with giving My second question was Why did Mary give such an extravagant gift? Well, thre are a few reasons but I think I know the main reason, because two months before, her brother had been raised from the dead. Now, if one of your family members was raised from the dead, and you saw how fragile life really was; do you think that might change your view of worldly possessions? Now, I m talking to you about the reward of generosity! Jesus said, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her. Those words from Jesus are being fulfilled tonight! She didn t come to Jesus that day thinking about that. Do you know why she did it? The Bible says Jesus said, She did this to prepare my body for burial. This was the only anointing that His body got for the few days He was in the tomb. This is it! 31

32 The Bible says Nicademus came with 100 pounds of spices and they came the day after the Sabbath. They come to anoint his body, but Jesus had already checked out. He wasn t there. Nicademus waited until it was convenient, Mary came and gave when it was inconvenient! I don t think it is a coincidence that Jesus let Mary anoint His feet, but didn t allow Nicademus to anoint His body with 100 pounds of spices Mary gave, not expecting to receive, and God rewarded her! God is a rewarder. Hebrews 6 says God is a rewarder. It s the only time that word s in the Bible. It s actually a culmination of two Greek words. Here s what it means. The first one is a very common Greek word. It means, to pay what is due. The second Greek word is very rare. It s only used a few times, and it means, to give over and above what is due; extravagantly. So, God is a rewarder. He ll not only give you what s normal for tithing, He ll give you over and above. Here s what I m trying to tell you. If you ll give with the right heart, God is going to reward you, and I m sorry nobody can do anything about it because it s His nature. He is a rewarder! There is a reward for generosity! 32

33 Part 6: The Principles of Multiplication Luke 9:12-17 *All scriptures are taken from the ESV unless otherwise noted* Now the day began to wear away, and the twelve came and said to him, Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place. But he said to them, You give them something to eat. They said, We have no more than five loaves and two fish unless we are to go and buy food for all these people. For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each. They did so, and everyone was seated. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces. From this story, there are two principles of multiplication. 1) It has to be blessed to multiply 2) It has to be given away before it can multiply You need to understand something. God cannot it would be against His nature God cannot bless something that s not in order. Hebrews 11:3 in the KJV says, Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. Before God ever created anything, he first created order and structure. Get your finances in order so I can bless them. 1) Get out of debt. 2) Don t Manipulate 3) Give 33