I want to express my appreciation to Dwight for his wonderful words, and I affirm his statements about materialism and also about racism. Probably for many of us, it was more difficult to hear the words about racism. And that says a lot because it’s pretty difficult for us to hear the words about materialism, isn’t it? I remember a number of years ago when I was researching for my novel Dominion, meeting with African American brothers and sisters to try to get inside of their heads and their culture and their history and reading 60 books about black history and the slavery era and Jim Crow era and the Civil Rights era and all of the different aspects.

Again and again, the Lord struck me and convicted me and brought to my understanding things that I as a white pastor from the suburbs at first could not quite connect with. I praise God for the Bethlehem Pastors’ Conference bringing us together like this, and I praise God for our brother and for the words that he brought to us. I’ll also hope to use something in the future that he said that got a tremendous response. When you really need help from an audience, you say, “I’m a Black pastor.” So I plan on pulling that one out. I can say, “I’m a black Baptist pastor.” Actually, I can’t use that because I’m not a Baptist.

Receiving Before Giving

Now, we need to teach people to give to God, but first we need to teach them to receive from God so that their giving is not something they work up inside out of benevolence or philanthropy. God is not looking for philanthropists. He’s looking for homeless, hungry, destitute recipients of grace — the poor in spirit who now overflow in extending that grace to others. God gives to us first. We give to God. His is the lightning, ours is the thunder. There is a proper order, remember, to lightning and thunder. In order to serve God, we must first be served by God. In order to be givers, we must first be receivers. We love because God first loved us. We give because God first gave to us.

Now, lack of giving is a serious problem, but it is a symptom of a deeper problem that I was touching on last night, and that is a lack of the experience of grace in our lives. The shameful lack of giving among Christians today, among our churches, should not just take us to new fundraising methods but should take us to our knees to ask God to pour out his grace in our churches — true grace that we really experience — and that he would begin with us as pastors and Christian leaders. Can you say amen to that?

John Wesley said this, “He who governed the world before I was born shall take care of it likewise when I am dead. My part is to improve the present moment.” He also said, “I cannot help leaving my books behind me whenever God calls me hints, but in every other respect, my own hands will be my executors.” Is that a great statement? And as we saw in the DVD, that’s what he did.

And by the way, the Stanley Tam story, the John Wesley story, the RG LeTourneau story that we’ll hear tonight, are all part of a DVD from Generous Giving that has many other segments as well, many other stories that you can use in your churches. And it is on sale in the bookstore. I highly recommend it to you. These stories, I think, have a certain power and one that we can really connect with and remember that we are tied to other people in history, the body of Christ throughout the ages and in recent times, even businessmen, people, not only John Wesley, but lay people have been moved by the spirit of God to understand what giving is about.

Paid to Be Spiritual

Now, most Christians, or most pastors rather, begin as disciples. But there is a problem. The problem is this. We are paid to be spiritual. Do you know what I’m talking about? We are professional lovers of God. And we know it won’t look good if we don’t look spiritual so we learn how to appear to be spiritual and to pretend to be loving God even when we’re not. Have you ever done that? I’ve done that. We can fake it because we know the right things to say.

Now, I’m no longer a pastor, but I do make a living doing Christian things. There are dangers in being professionally spiritual, aren’t there? The Pharisees come to mind, and who is most likely to be the Pharisees of our day? The Pharisees were Bible-believing people who didn’t like the liberals, the Sadducees and people like that, and who clung to the truth of the scriptures. Interestingly, Jesus was most critical of the people whose doctrine was closest to his own. They believed in the resurrection, so did he and he rose. And you would think that there would be a great affinity there because of the doctrine. And indeed in many areas of the doctrine, yes, was pure, but the lives were not pure. They were not true followers of God. They were professionally religious.

In this area of giving, a pastor can say to himself, “I could make a lot more money in the business world.” Sometimes that’s not true, but sometimes it is. I could make more money in the business world. Really by taking this lesser salary and serving this church, that’s really giving to God. Pastors can think, “I’m giving by taking this lesser salary. And think of all those extra hours I’m giving to God, anyway. I don’t work a 40-hour work week. I don’t work a 50. I’m maybe a 60-hour week or more than I’m putting in. And so all those extra hours, time is money. Really I’m giving a lot already, right?” And before you know it, many pastors are not givers, because God does not call us to give in only one area such as our time. He never calls upon us to give our time instead of our money or our money instead of our time. He calls upon us to give of both to him and to his kingdom.

I’ve had seminary students explain to me, and some of you are seminary students now, “Right now since I’m in pastoral training, I’m doing my giving toward our tuition because that’s an investment in the church.” Well, that kind of rationalization, I think, does not cut it with God. Friends of ours were financial secretaries of our church. I was talking and somebody mentioned this to me this morning. And he was saying, “I just want to confirm for you all the statistics I’m giving, you were saying.” I have experience in my own church, and it is shocking. We had good friends who were financial secretaries at our church and it was really one of the most difficult experiences they’ve ever had in their life because they saw the gap between the words and the actions of people who would stand up and call upon people to have faith in God at church business meetings and who never gave to the church.

Here is a question that hits closer to home. What if all of our people were the financial secretaries, and what if they all knew what we as pastors and Christian leaders gave and did not give to the church? What is your financial secretary at your church thinking? Now, that’s a dangerous question because the whole point of very few people knowing what we’re giving is that we would not be going around trying to impress people. My point is not to impress the financial secretary. My point is, is your level of giving a source of stumbling to the financial secretary of your church? And if it is, the solution is not to try to impress that person. The solution is to say, “Is there something wrong here? Am I, the shepherd, failing to do what I am calling upon the sheep to do? Is the reason that the sheep are failing in this area of giving because I am failing in this area of giving and that people are not going to follow places that leaders do not go?” Sobering and difficult questions.

Our Peoples’ Greatest Need

The last thing I want to do is to lay guilt on my brothers in the ministry. If I succeed in laying any guilt on you, just completely dismiss it. If the Holy Spirit of God convicts your heart or my heart — and I’ve been convicted through the things that Dwight said and through the things that I said last night, and I’m sure I’ll be convicted throughout this conference — that is the conviction we should not ignore.

A.W. Tozer said, “Listen to no man who has not listened to God.” How many of you are Tozer fans? How many of you read a lot of A.W. Tozer? I highly commend his books to you. Robert Murray M’Cheyne said, “My people’s greatest need is my personal holiness.” Think of that as a pastor. “My people’s greatest need is my personal holiness.” You can most help your people by drawing deeply of God yourself. And then when his grace makes you a generous giver, which it will if you are truly experiencing his grace, it will show them the way. It will offer them an alternative to mammon. It will offer them the risen Jesus Christ. May he be magnified and exalted in all of our lives, and in particular as we’re discussing it here in relationship to our giving.

The Folly of Treasure on Earth

Now, I briefly mentioned last night Matthew 6:19, which says:

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal . . .

Now, why does Jesus tell us not to store up for ourselves treasures on earth? It’s a very interesting argument. He does not argue you should not do it because it’s wrong. He does not say do not store up for yourself treasures on earth because that is a morally wrong thing to do. His argument comes from something else. He says it’s because treasures laid up on earth will not last. So this is not an anti-treasure mentality. It’s a mentality of “don’t put your treasures where they’re not going to last” because moths and rust and dust destroy and fires burn and earthquakes devastate and all of those kinds of things. Thieves break in and steal. So his argument for not laying up treasures on earth is not because it’s wrong, it’s because it’s stupid.

Now, is that a biblical argument? Absolutely. Read the book of Proverbs. The arguments that are given for not committing adultery, look at them again and again: “You’re like an ox that’s led to the slaughter,” or, “He who touches another man’s wife shall not go unpunished.” Isn’t it interesting that Proverbs more often than not does not appeal to doing the right thing because it’s the right thing, but because it’s the smart thing? Now, should we do things because they’re right? Of course we should. My point is also to recognize that God argues from another point of view, which is it is not in your own self-interest to do the stupid thing.

So it’s not simply a choice between pursuing the life of materialism, which is so much fun and brings so much good to us and will really make us better off, and instead being this sacrificial Christian who just painfully goes through life not having all the fun that the materialists have, but turning over here and instead laying up for himself treasures in heaven, thinking, “Oh, what a drudgerous thing to do.” No, because the right thing is also the smart thing, and the wrong thing is also the stupid thing.

A Wise Investment

Notice again the argument. He says, “Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal.” What’s his argument for giving generously to the kingdom of God, storing up treasures in heaven, helping the poor and the needy, doing all the things Christ is called upon us to do? Well, it’s because treasures laid up in heaven are not going to fade and dissipate. They’re going to last forever.

So why lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven? Because it’s right. Well, sure it’s right, but his argument is because it’s smart. It’s smart. We can be smart or stupid. It’s wisdom and foolishness ,as it’s called in Proverbs, or “blessing and curse” in Deuteronomy. Choose this or choose that. And here is the really shocking thing to many people. If our people could grasp this and if we could grasp this, it would revolutionize our lives. Giving is not simply right. Giving is not simply helpful to other people and therefore fulfilling the command to love our neighbor. Giving is not simply glorifying to God and therefore fulfilling the command to love God. Giving is also always in our best interest, ultimately.

How many of you believe that? Is that true? It is true. It is absolutely true. If we could just get a hold of that, everything argues. You know what? We ought to give even if giving made us miserable. In light of the world’s needs, don’t you think we should give even if it made us miserable? Sure. But not only does it not make us miserable, it makes us joyful and it actually removes misery from us. So the giver is doing what is in his best interest. And if one dared to say it, one might even call this hedonism. It is ultimately pleasure-seeking. To follow the Lord is to find pleasure in him, to find pleasure in his word, to find pleasure in giving.

So God is not against us storing up treasures for ourselves. He commands us to store up treasures for ourselves. He just says, “Stop storing them in the stupid place and start storing them in the smart place.” I think the Living Bible says that. But I think that’s really true. He’s not saying renounce your treasures; he’s saying relocate your treasures to where our greatest treasure God himself dwells, in heaven. These treasures will bring us delight because they are from the hand of God and they are not at odds with God. It’s not a matter of choosing between whether Christ is your treasure or you can lay up treasures (plural) in heaven that will be ours in the form of reward that God in his grace chooses to give us. They’re part of the same package. We seek him as our treasure and he is the source of all treasures, and all treasures that come from him are derivative of himself.

The Treasure Principle

We should appreciate and long for his treasures, the rewards, hearing him say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant,” having a position of service in his kingdom where he says we will rule with him - all the things Paul says about the crown and how the athletes go for the thing that’s temporary, but we go for a thing that’s eternal. A lot of people just struggle with that and they say, “How can he be talking like that?” It sounds like something that is in his best interest that he’s taking. Well, it is in his best interest because whenever we bring glory to God, we also do what’s best for everyone else and what’s best for ourselves. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. I mentioned it last night but I’ll come back to it in a minute.

But in essence, what I call “The Treasure Principle” in my small book in that regard means that you can’t take it with you but you can send it on ahead. By the way, let me make a statement. If you’re discouraged in the area of people’s disinterest in giving, consider this. I just got an email recently from my friends at Multnomah Publishers who said that the sales of The Treasure Principle were well over 400,000. And at this point, probably by this summer at the rate that it’s selling each month, will be somewhere in the neighborhood of half a million copies.

Now, that’s a book on giving. I’m not talking about the fact that I wrote it. I don’t care who wrote it. It’s a book on giving and it’s selling half a million copies and what by then will be two and a half years. I can guarantee you when Christian publishers across America sat down and said, “What can we get? Well, let’s get some things that are going to sell a half million copies,” a book on giving was not at the top of the list. Nobody was thinking, “Oh yeah, man. That’s what people are out there crying for,” but they are crying for it. They want to know. People get excited and passionate about giving when they learn how to give. I get emails from people, unbelievable stories of people whose entire lives are transformed because now they’ve learned how to give, and guess what? Their heart really does follow their money, which is really God’s money.

When you invest in something, your heart goes there, and if you want a heart for missions, you give to missions. If you want a heart for the inner city and racial reconciliation issues, you give to those issues, not only of your money but certainly including your money. If you want a heart for the unborn and ministry to women exploited by abortion, you give to the pregnancy resource centers and to The GAP Project and to all the different pro-life causes that are out there. Then you’ll have more of a heart because your heart follows your treasure.

Why Giving?

Now, I know what some of you are thinking right now. You’re thinking, “Well, how come he’s emphasizing giving so much? There’s much more to stewardship than giving.” Well, I agree, and that’s why my book, Money, Possessions, and Eternity, deals with all kinds of other subjects in addition to giving. But when you have three sessions and you want to boil it down to the basics, you center where Scripture centers, and the most exciting, compelling passages in scripture. Though Scripture has a lot to say about all kinds of things in the financial realm, it has something to say about savings, it has something to say about spending, it has something to say about earning, but it gives the great majority of its attention to the subject of giving, which is really the backbone of stewardship. It’s not all there is. It’s not sufficient. But it is necessary. And it is at the core and it is closest linked to the heart of God.

Tonight we’ll see in 1 Chronicles 29 how David is before the people. We’ll see their joy in giving. He says, “Who am I and who are these people that we should be able to give as generously as this?” And it’s worship. Giving is worship that exalts our Lord. So I don’t apologize for making this the backbone. I make it the backbone because I believe Scripture makes giving the backbone of stewardship. Solomon said, “The sleep of the labor is sweet, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep” (Ecclesiastes 5:12). The more you have, the more you have to worry about. Why? Because your heart’s with your treasure. You put your treasures in Heaven and they’re in God’s hands. And when they’re in God’s hands, they’re completely safe.

Temptations to Be Rich

Now, I’m delighted that Dwight took us to 1 Timothy 6, and I’m just going to highlight a couple of things from there. It says:

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction (1 Timothy 6:9).

There it is again. Notice what it’s saying. It could have just said, “People who want to get rich do the wrong thing, and it’s evil so you shouldn’t do it.” Well, true. But notice he doesn’t just say that. He says, “They fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires.” Do they fail to glorify God? Of course they do, but he says, “That plunge men into ruin and destruction.” Do you want a formula for how to ruin your life? Worship money. Be a materialist. You will ruin your life.

Herbert Schlossberg in his great book Idols for Destruction says, “Like all idolatries, materialism finds its outlet in destructive pathologies that wreck human lives.” That’s what materialism does. Did you know that the more income someone makes in America, the higher the chances that they will commit adultery? The higher your income, the more money you make, statistically the more likely you will commit adultery. What does that tell you about our idols and how they team up to defeat us? And if instead we could exalt the risen Christ, we would find the satisfaction that our souls long for. Paul continues:

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs (1 Timothy 6:10).

Do you want to pierce yourself with many griefs? Is that your life goal? We’re talking about purpose-driven life. Is that the purpose you want to have in life, to bring grief upon yourself, to pierce yourself of many griefs? We can ask our people and we can ask ourselves, “How many of you have that as your life goal? Do you want to pierce yourself with griefs?” I’m guessing not too many people would say that’s what they want, yet that’s where our choices are taking us, into a life that is pierced by many griefs, ruin, destruction.

The God Who Richly Supplies

So what is Paul’s solution to this problem of grief and self-destruction?

As for the rich in this present age . . . (1 Timothy 6:17).

Let’s remind ourselves and remind our people that’s pretty much all of us. You compare throughout human history and throughout the world today, even living at the poverty level in the United States of America is higher. I’m not glorifying living at the poverty level at all. I don’t live at that level and I don’t glorify living at that level. But even that compared to most of the world throughout human history, you would have to say we have a lot of luxuries and conveniences that King Solomon would’ve never dreamed of. Some of it is just because of technological developments. He says:

As for the rich in this present age (the great majority of us), charge them not to be haughty . . . (1 Timothy 6:17).

Why would you be arrogant? Because you think that it’s because you are so smart and so skilled. No. It’s God who gives and takes away. Wasn’t that great in that hymn and the words of Job? He continues:

Nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches . . . (1 Timothy 6:17).

If you put your hope in wealth, you’re not putting your hope in God. So wealth becomes your God. And the difference between the God of wealth and the God of God who is God, the only God, is that wealth is uncertain. But put your hope in God who is certain. I am so glad this verse is in Scripture. Paul says:

Nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17).

Thank you for that oasis in the middle of what feels like some pretty cut and dry commands about the stewarding of money because this is not asceticism. Yes, there is justification for simplifying our lives, but as John says in Desiring God and a few of his other books, to live strategic lives, the wartime lifestyle, we’re not just simplifying in order to simplify. Somebody can go out in the woods and live a very simple life, but it does no good for anyone else. That’s not what we’re talking about. It’s not just escaping materialism, meaning you don’t have anything and meaning you need to make less money. Hey, if you can serve God doing it, make more money. Why? So you can give it and invest it in people who need it. What does Paul say? “Let him who steals steal no longer” (Ephesians 4:18). Why? So that he can help, so that he can give to those who are in need. It’s not just so that he can get by and make it on his own and be an independent person, but so he can help others who are needy but God richly provides.

That’s why without guilt, I enjoy having a tennis racket and a bicycle and enjoying things. I do go on vacation with my family, and yes, I try to choose reasonably priced places to go. You don’t have to feel guilty. We are at a nice hotel and it’s okay to enjoy the accommodations of a nice hotel and to thank God for it. If you can’t thank God for it, you probably shouldn’t be here because we probably shouldn’t be places where we can’t really thank God for it. Occasionally, I’ve been in that situation where I thought, “I don’t know.” Apply that to everything including the movies we watch. If you can’t thank God that you’re there watching this movie, then maybe you shouldn’t be there watching this movie. Maybe you certainly shouldn’t.

Storing Up Treasure for the Future

Paul continues:

They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share . . . (1 Timothy 6:18).

Here’s what he commands the rich people. And it’s interesting because he could have commanded them, “Stop being rich.” Rather, he says, “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” Why? Because there’s a reason God provided you with that wealth, and we’re going to see exactly what it is. But you probably figured it out. He says:

Thus storing up treasure for themselves (I’m sure Paul is thinking about Jesus’s word) as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life (1 Timothy 6:19).

As Dwight pointed out to us as he unpacked some of this passage, God’s directives here really connect with where we live. He knows who we are, he knows how we live, he knows how he wants us to live, and we’ve got to take it to him in prayer. God is not spelled out all the specifics. Have you ever just craved that God would say, “Here’s exactly how much money you should live on and I want you to do this, do this, do this, and don’t do the following 10 things.” Wouldn’t that clarity just be wonderful? Why do you suppose God hasn’t done that? Maybe so we’d come to him in prayer on our knees and beseech him for direction and lean on him and put our ears to the word of God and seek the righteous counsel and radical living examples (few though there may be among us) to say, “What can I do, Lord, in this area because I want to please you?”

That’s the life that is truly not life, not the pseudo-life. People accused Jesus of being a glutton and a drunkard because, though he lived a simple life, he was not an ascetic in that sense. He was not finding spirituality through the denial of any material pleasures. As a matter of fact, what was his first miracle? Turning water into wine to save a party. We probably would’ve thought of something more strategic.

The Gift Increasing to Your Credit

Jesus said:

Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys (Luke 12:33).

I would take my pastors directly to this passage from Paul next time you preach on giving. Even if that’s not your primary text, even if you’re preaching on 2 Corinthians 8–9 or 1 Timothy 6, take them to this passage to say, “Here’s why I’m preaching on the subject of giving.” Because we’re always concerned about, what does it look like our motives are in this thing? Paul says:

Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit (Philippians 4:17).

Now, that is very graphic, powerful language because these are financial terms. These are bookkeeping terms. God opens an account for each of us in heaven when we come to faith in Christ. Every gift that we make, all the giving of our time and our money and our compassion, our concern for people, is a deposit in that account. Do not get me wrong, we’re talking about rewards. Of course, we’re not talking about earning our salvation, which we cannot. All our righteousness is as filthy rags. We’re talking about:

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 4:8–9).

But don’t stop there. He continues:

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10).

“Good works” are not dirty words to God. I had somebody tell me one time, “This works thing really scares me because it’s Roman Catholic.” Wow, is that what you believe? To think that you could earn your way to heaven by works? Of course, that is just completely wrong. But that passage tells us that God has called us to good works. Again, regarding a purpose-driven life, one of your fundamental purposes is to do good works. Good works are not something liberals do while conservatives just talk. Good works are something that comes from the word of God. Now if you deny that word, you’ve cut the knees off of good works. It’s necessary but not sufficient to believe in the authority of the Scriptures. Paul says:

Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit (Philippians 4:17).

So you say, “People, I, as your pastor, am speaking to you about giving because I want your account in heaven to be credited. I want you to hear those words, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant.’ I would be failing you as your pastor if I did not bring to you the whole counsel of God, which includes a great deal on the subject of money and possessions, a great deal on the subject of giving.”

Touched with Immortality

I know one pastor who brings up giving once a year, and he apologizes every time he does it and he assures his people that it will be another year before he does it. Well, how about this? “Folks, I’m preaching from the word today and it is about adultery, but I want to reassure all of you who are living in adultery that I’m not going to bring it up for another year. So I know it’s going to make you uncomfortable today, but that’s okay, you’ll have a year in between.” Is there some legitimacy to the parallel, given the fact that people indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God are given an average of 2.5 percent to God’s kingdom and living in the most affluent society in human history? There’s something fundamentally wrong, and it is in our people’s best interests to preach to give.

So don’t worry about whether it is in your best interests. You might even have to swallow your pride because well, I don’t want people to think that it’s about me and just about our church. Well, it isn’t just about you and your church. And that’s not even the primary thing. It’s about people and their relationship to God and what they need to be experiencing in terms of grace in their lives. Tozer said:

Any temporal possession can be turned into everlasting wealth. Whatever is given to Christ is immediately touched with immortality.

So think about it. This is not a trick question. Which would you rather have, treasures on earth that don’t satisfy and won’t last, or treasures in heaven that do satisfy and will last? A or B? Duh. Anybody not just with a heart and a spirit, but anybody with a brain would choose that because that’s what’s going to last. That’s what matters.

Good Measure, Overflowing

Now, Jesus said:

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 (Luke 6:38).

Wow, does that sound like prosperity theology? Because some people say, “Well, this is only an Old Testament idea.” Malachi 3 is about God filling the store houses with grain and all that, that’s just an Old Testament idea. Well, you know what? Jesus promised something here. And we have to be careful with the application of this promise because he also promised things about persecution, which we do not take out as memory verses and put on our refrigerators and dashboards. But nonetheless, he is saying something here. And prosperity theology like all heresies — and it is a heresy — contains a germ of truth about God’s abundant provision for those who give. But so often we misunderstand it. Spurgeon said this:

The most generous Christians of my acquaintance have always been the most happy and almost invariably the most prosperous. I have seen the liberal giver rise to wealth of which he never dreamed. And I have as often seen the mean, ungenerous churl descend to poverty by the very parsimony by which he thought to rise. Men trust good stewards with larger and larger sums, and so it frequently is with the Lord. He gives by cartloads to those who give by bushels. Where wealth is not bestowed, the Lord makes the little much by the contentment which the sanctified heart feels.

These are the kind of statements that we need.

Supplying Needs and Being Supplied

Well, what does Scripture itself say?

Your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack” (2 Corinthians 8:14–15).

Now, what does that mean? Well, it means it’s God’s will that we not have too much or too little. Remember Solomon? He said, “Give me neither poverty nor wealth.” He distributes unequally so that those with too much can give to help those with too little. The operative words you’ll notice are “too much” and “too little.” When we give, we solve two problems, not one. We solve the problem of others having too little and we solve the problem of our having too much.

I wish we had time to develop the full context here, but we don’t. In 2 Corinthians 9, Paul says:

He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness (2 Corinthians 9:10).

Now, here is a powerful statement, and in the context, he’s talking about finances. He is saying, “You will be made rich in every way (and primarily talking about God’s provision even of financial wealth) so that . . .” Now, how do we fill in the blank? How we fill in that blank, what we put there reveals much about our heart, our character, and our future. If you’re a prosperity preacher, you might say you’ll be made rich in every way “so that you can drive only the best cars and live in only the nice houses.” They’ll look at you and say, “He’s a Christian. God must really love his children because look at the wealth and abundance he gives them.” That’d be a lot to fit in those little lines there, but nonetheless that’s what you’d said.

But what does Scripture say? What does Paul say? Well, here it is: “You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion.” So have you or any of your people ever wondered why has God provided so much material abundance to us in this culture? Why has he provided so much? Well, if you and your people have ever wondered that, you need never wonder again because this passage directly tells us. Look at it again. Paul says:

You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God (2 Corinthians 9:11).

God prospers me not to raise my standard of living but to raise my standard of giving. And there’s a lot of people who wait to give. Someone before the session was telling me about people he knows that are waiting to give until they have more. It’s the thought, “If I win the lottery, I’ll give a lot,” or something like that. But people are waiting until they get more. Well, you know what? You have to prove yourself faithful in little. I think one of the reasons why God doesn’t provide a lot of people with more is because they’re not giving. And another is that once they do get, they keep. If we do what God has called us to do, then that will make a huge difference.

The New Heaven and Earth

The greatest deterrent to giving is the illusion that this world is my home. And I put an asterisk there. I’ve got a little footnote there. I mean “this world under the curse,” because having done writing this big book on Heaven and thinking about the new heavens and the new earth, we’re going to live on the new earth. We’re going to live on a resurrected earth. So in the same way that this body will be mine in the resurrection but not exactly this because it’s going to be, thank God different, for one thing my pancreas will work and produce insulin and other things as well. We will live on earth. God’s made man to live on earth and to rule the earth to the glory of God.

Where Genesis starts is exactly where Revelation ends. Man is ruling the earth with Christ, under Christ, is co-heirs of the earth, a redeemed and resurrected earth as earth fell on the coattails of man (Romans 8), so it will rise on the coattails of man in the resurrection. And that’s a wonderful promise. So when people are thinking, “Well, if I don’t snatch onto this luxury cruise right now and I don’t get to go travel this place in the world and explore this and do everything I want to do now. You only get one life and make the most of it. You got to grab onto all these things now because the next thing you know, you’ll be past your peak.” Folks, we’re not anywhere near our peak. The resurrection, that’ll be our peak, and a peak and they’ll never be a downward spiral from it. And we’ll be able to explore the new earth, the new universe, and enjoy many things to the glory of God that we didn’t have the opportunity to enjoy in this lifetime. I think if we have that perspective, it will radically change our attitude toward giving.

Savings and the Civil War

Suppose for a moment that you were alive at the very end of the Civil War, and some days you may feel like you were alive at the end of Civil War. You’re living in the south but your home is really in the north. While you’re in the south, you have accumulated a large amount of Confederate currency. Now, there’s nothing wrong with Confederate currency because when you’re living in the south, you need Confederate currency. But suppose for a moment that you know the north is going to win the war and that the end could come at any time. Now, what will you do with your excess Confederate money?

Well, you’d cash it in for real US currency, the only money that’s going to have value once the war is over. You keep only enough of the Confederate currency to meet your current needs until the war’s over and you can go home. And then you’ll have a currency that’s going to last. Well, there’s an analogy here, isn’t there? Don’t lay it for yourself treasures on earth. They’re not going to last. They’re good while you’re here and there’s nothing wrong with it. Nothing wrong with money, nothing wrong with possessions. They’re gifts of God. But take the excess and invest it in God’s kingdom. Store it up in what’s going to last for eternity, and then you’ll be able to spend that currency, so to speak. Enjoy those treasures forever. And you’ll be able to see people in the kingdom like that.

It’s like the Ray Boltz song, “Thank you for giving to the Lord. I’m so glad you gave.” And you’ll connect with people. People will say, “Thank you for bringing us the gospel. Thank you for feeding my family.” And we’ll thank them for their courage and their conviction and their faith and the way they followed the Lord and thereby enriched our lives. Do you believe that to be true?

The Cause of the Poor

The cause of the poor and needy is one we must not neglect in our churches. We neglect it at our peril. Jeremiah 22:16 says:

He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Is not this to know me? declares the Lord.

What an incredible statement. And if you think that was incredible, look at that next one:

Is not this to know me? declares the Lord (Jeremiah 22:16).

What does it mean to know God? Well, it means to give to the poor and the needy to defend their cause. It takes more than reading a great book on the attributes of God by J.I. Packer, A.W. Tozer, Stephen Charnock, A.W. Pink, or anyone else. Those are great. I’m all for that. But to know God means to have the heart of God to give to the poor. Proverbs 19:17 says:

Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed.

So in your church, consider a budget formula that guarantees that the poor and missions and pro-life work and prison ministry and urban ministries and all those kinds of things do not slip through the cracks.

Suggestions on Giving

I just want to offer in the time that we have remaining some suggestions that I hope will be of some help to you. And you might pick and choose from those, but let me first say this. Hudson Taylor said, “God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.” I think if that’s true, and I do think it is, then if a work is constantly in want of money, always begging for donations — whether that’s a church or a parachurch ministry — either it’s not God’s work or it’s not being done in God’s way, or God has something great to teach us through this situation. So my little suggestion I’m offering you right now is that when we have financial shortfalls in our churches, we need to ask ourselves what God is trying to say to us.

Now, we start thinking the wrong way because we get these mailings. You get these mailings, don’t you, with the red underlines and the highlighted yellows and all of that which fundraising studies have shown increases the amount that people give, and so that’s why it’s done. To look at those and the way they’re worded, you would believe that the reason that every ministry ever has a financial shortfall is because Satan is trying to destroy God’s work and force us to cut back vital ministries without which the kingdom of God will collapse.

But there’s another answer in Scripture. Speaking of all kinds of trials, Peter says this in 1 Peter 1:7–8:

[All these trials have come] so that the tested genuineness of your faith — more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire — may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Well, gee. It’s not just Satan that has this plan for our lives. It’s God, and God can use the financial shortfalls. He did one time in our ministry. I won’t go into it, but boy, after all this abundance and giving out to all these organizations, a few years ago we faced something that was very brief. And God took us out of it within just a few month period, but it caused us to reevaluate things. We changed some things and we’ve kept those. We cut back in some areas and we’ve kept them cut back into this day. We praise God for what he taught us through that to free up more money to do what we’re really about to give and to invest in God’s kingdom.

Giving to the Wrong Places

This is touchy, but find out where besides the church your people are giving so that you can offer them guidance. It’s not just so you can say, “Well, there’s no room for outside giving.” I think there is over and above giving. But if the biggest tragedy in this giving arena is lack of giving, the second-biggest one is giving to the wrong places. There are ministries that should have collapsed under their own materialistic, immoral weight decades ago that still thrive, apparently having “the blessing of God” when all they’re experiencing is the lack of discernment of Christians in supporting them financially. They should be falling on their own weight, but they’re not. You need to educate your people in that area. Draw your people’s attention to needs they may not want to hear about — diseased and hungry children, street children, child prostitutes, and aborted children.

I was speaking at Bethlehem Baptist on Saturday night, and here were the displays of aborted children. We need to not look the other way because God doesn’t look the other way. If we’re to see with the eyes of God, we need to see these things even though they may sicken us. They should sicken us and that should move us to compassionate action to the glory of God.

I mentioned last night, Doug Nichols is with Action International. They help millions of street children across the world, the burden and the vision they have and the way they help these children that have been abandoned to the streets. If you’re looking for a project that your church can do and get involved in support, talk to Doug Nichols. Teach people that if God is speaking to you about giving, don’t ever postpone it. Don’t ever put it off. If you don’t give now, your heart’s going to stay where your money stays. If you do give, your heart will follow it into God’s kingdom. Why has the sovereign God provided all of this abundance for us here and now? Is it to possibly meet eventual world needs 20 or 30 years from now or is it to help meet them now?

I’d encourage you pastors, embrace your calling as your people’s stewardship mentor. Don’t look to financial planners and investment counselors to be the experts on handling money. Of course there are dimensions of it that you’re not into and don’t need to be. But in terms of basic stewardship and giving, you are to be the expert, the guide, and the shepherd in these areas. And you can’t teach people that they don’t have to have a new car if you have to have a new car. You can’t teach them they don’t have to have a new house if you have to have a new house — or to wear expensive clothing and jewelry if you are wearing expensive clothing and jewelry. You are making a statement by the way you live. Give yourself credibility to lead people in the words of Jesus and the model that we see in the New Testament. It’s not about guilt, not about asceticism. Praise God that he’s given these things for us to enjoy, but let’s live strategically for his kingdom.

Educating People About Giving

I would encourage all of you as pastors to really think through what you can do to educate not only the older but the young people in your church about giving. Polls consistently indicate that the younger a person is in the church, the less they give. Now, of course they may give less in total amount. That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about the percentage of income that’s given. The younger they are, the less they give. Our young people are not learning to give by and large. In fact, they’re learning not to give. Eighty percent of the money given to American churches now comes from those aged 55 and above.

Now, my concern is not just that these churches are going to be losing their funding as time goes on. That’s a concern. But it’s that some people are not learning to worship through giving. And the next generation needs to exceed us in giving. And I don’t mean take it up to three percent. There are many youths today that have more discretionary income than most people, most adults in the world by far. I would encourage youth pastors to really address this and encourage them to do their giving primarily through the local church and come up with projects and do whatever you can do. But teach and train them in giving. It should be ingrained early. And help families to help their children in this way.

Giving in Secret?

I told you that I’d come back to the subject of should giving always be secret, and I just quickly want to comment on it. I had that illustration up there because that reminds me, I wanted to remind us that we should think of ourselves as God’s delivery boys and girls. We’re like the FedEx guy. We’re like the UPS guy. The FedEx guy comes to your door and he’s there to pick up a package. You hand him the package and he takes it, and he’s supposed to take it where it’s going to ultimately. He’s going to get it where it needs to go.

Now, what would you do? What would you think? What would you say if you found out that the FedEx guy that’s been coming and picking up all that stuff has been taking it home, keeping it, unwrapping it, and using it himself? How would you confront him? You’d have to say, “What are you doing? That wasn’t for you.” And then he looks at you and says, “Well, if you didn’t intend me to keep it, you shouldn’t have given it to me.” You look at him and you say, “You’re the FedEx guy. It’s your job to get it into the hands of the people it’s intended for.”

We are God’s FedEx guys. Just because God puts something into our hands does not mean we’re supposed to keep it. We’re supposed to get it where it’s supposed to go. That’s what we’re supposed to do with it. Should we tell people our giving stories? Well in Matthew 6, there’s a caution here because he says, “Don’t do your works to be seen by men. Don’t announce your giving with trumpets to be honored by men.” A lot of people on that basis say, “Well, let’s not tell those stories in our churches.” I’m arguing to tell those stories. Have them told carefully. Because earlier in the same sermon, Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men.” What? “That they may see your good deeds.” Sounds like a contradiction, but it’s not. It’s so that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father who is in heaven.

Paul said, “I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me” (Romans 15:18), which requires that he speaks of what he has done. It’s just that he gives credit where credit is due. That’s what we must do. Give credit to God and to his grace. But by all means, tell our stories. We can say, “By the grace of God, I am what I am. It was not I but the grace of God that was with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10). Paul says:

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure (Philippians 2:12–13).

And further:

Whoever speaks, [he should do it] as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies — in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen (1 Peter 4:11).

But we have to tell our stories to provide models of giving in our churches. Maybe I’ll come back to that tonight.

Tithing as a Bridge

Let me finish up by saying this. Consider using tithing as a bridge to giving. Now, if there was ever a hot button, it’s this one. It’s tithing. If you’ve written or spoken in this area like I have, you have gotten a lot of emails. I get criticized from tithers because I say tithing is just the floor of giving. It’s not the ceiling. It is not our ultimate goal, it’s just a starting place. I get criticized by non-tithers because I say God expects more of the church than Israel, not less. So at least let’s start where they started. And the fact that I don’t utterly condemn tithing is a source of great irritation.

In fact, I am going to take the time to read this letter because it’s just so classic. And those of you who have preached in the area of giving know the kind of letters you get. So maybe we can enjoy this one together. It’s a real letter:

Dearest teacher of the gospel (you feel like you’re getting set up), I read what you said about tithing and here are my comments. Adding to the gospel of Christ comes from the devil and you know it. All the blessings I receive from our mighty God are free, received by faith, not by paying 10 percent to Satan, may God rebuke him. Stop perverting the gospel of Christ. If you want to imitate Abraham who tithes, I will be glad to circumcise you myself.

We carefully weigh speaking invitations in our ministry. I didn’t give a lot of thought to this one. He continues:

Just come on down. I will also expect you to imitate him in offering sacrifices, the altar, the ram, and the blood. And do not forget your firstborn, you hypocrite. I do love you.

Don’t you always love those? That is so good because then you think, “I’m so glad you love me because if you didn’t love me, I’d hate to think what you’d be saying.” He said:

I do love you and I pray that the demon would depart from your wicked teachings. Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

And it’s signed, “John Piper.” No, not really. Although there is a P.S. that says, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.” No, no, no, just kidding. But seriously people, if you touch this baby, you’re going to get it from all sides. I would say teach tithing not as legalism, not as a ceiling, not some great peak at which we arrive. Tithing is not the pinnacle of giving; it’s just a starting place. Tithing is arguably really not giving. It’s just starting by not robbing. It’s a good thing to not rob.

What if somebody stood up in your church and said, “Well, last year, I robbed 12 convenience stores, and by the grace of God, this year I’m only going to rob four, so praise God”? Well, that’s what some people do. They say, “I’m really learning to give, man. I’m moving it up. I’m above that 2.5 percent. I’m at four percent headed toward five.” Well, you know what? We probably should be doing a little more than not robbing. Tithing is at best ceasing to rob God. Tithing is just the training wheels of giving.

Beyond the Tithe

Once you grasp 2 Corinthians 8–9, Acts 2, Acts 4, 1 Timothy 6, and on and on, tithing becomes a moot point it’s so far back. We’re so far above it. Most of us can be with what God has provided us so far beyond it. It was the training wheels we remember fondly that helped us get up on the bicycle. But folks, do we need those training wheels? It appears maybe we do. If people are giving one-fourth of what the people of Israel gave in one of their three tithes and we call that grace-giving, what an insult to the word grace. That is not grace-giving. So by all means, teach grace-giving. But you don’t have to teach grace-giving instead of tithing. You certainly should never teach tithing instead of grace-giving. It’s just that that can get us on the road. Tithing can get us on the road to giving, and it is a road that we need to get on.

If we don’t teach and lead and mentor our people in this area, they are going to keep missing the blessings of the gospel. They’re going to keep missing the blessings that come when Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). Giving less than a tithe, you have to be kidding. We live in the wealthiest society in history. We know the grace of Jesus, at least we should know it, and we have the indwelling spirit. But we can’t give as much as God required of the poorest Israelite who didn’t know Christ and wasn’t indwelt and empowered by the Spirit? Does grace lower the bar of giving set by the law or does it raise it? What did Jesus say?

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:27–28).

So what did he do? Take the Old Testament law and say, “Well, grace means now we’re going to lower the bar, folks.” No, He raised the bar. But here’s the key. He empowers us by his grace to jump over that higher bar. God calls us to radical stewardship, he calls us to radical giving, and he gives us the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit and the fellowship of the body of Christ which should serve as accountability and encouragement stimulating one another to love in good deeds that God may be glorified and the world can be rich with the gospel and the poor can be fed to the glory of Christ.