Giving

Jesus gave the church a very clear command—evangelize the world. But each church cannot do this alone. The only way we can reach the world before the “night cometh when no man can work” is to support the work of pioneering missionaries.

In Proverbs 3:5, 6 we read, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways, acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Just a few verses later, we read, “Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase. So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine” (Proverbs 3:9, 10).

I love that I can have the joy of the Spirit; conversely, I can also grieve the Holy Spirit. My salvation has not just been an academic pursuit of the facts about God and theology. It has been a passion-filled, love-filled, and grace-filled walk with Him.

We know that a biblical perspective on our finances is based in the awareness that God is the ultimate owner of everything and has entrusted resources to us to steward, or manage, for Him. Our job, then, is to be faithful stewards.

It’s easy to talk about faithfulness and to assume we are faithful just because we have the desire to be. But what does faithful stewardship look like in terms of our day-to-day lives?

Over the years, I have observed five habits consistently present in those who wisely handle finances. 

In the morning church service, that church—comprised of Filipino Christians from the greater Manila area—gave three offerings. I am not exaggerating.

A few years ago, Amanda and I were privileged to meet some American missionaries to the Philippines, and they became very good friends of ours. They told us about an animated evangelist they saw try to communicate to a Filipino audience—through a less-than-animated translator.

You’ve read the testimony of the Macedonian Christians who gave sacrificially to the Apostle Paul. Paul used it to encourage the Corinthian churches to be faithful in giving, and two millennia later, it motivates us today. Why? The significance lies in their motive. In God’s economy, the motive is as important as the gift. In other words, why we give is as important as that we give.

Attitudes regarding money are learned, and children learn theirs primarily from their parents. You’ve seen it: Families that charge themselves into deep debt often see new debt perpetuated in the next generation. Likewise, families that are inconsistent in giving often see similar inconsistencies in the next generation.

The Apostle Paul told the church at Corinth about another church on which God had bestowed a special grace. That church was in Macedonia and that grace involved their giving (2 Corinthians 8:1–15).

God is a miracle-working God! “Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee” (Jeremiah 32:17). Amazingly to me, however, is the fact that He allows us to have a part in the work He is doing. God could do things all by Himself as He did when He created the universe, but He desires to involve us in His miraculous works.

Many Christian financial consultants wisely counsel people to budget and save for predictable large purchases rather than be caught unprepared and go into debt.

Giving is not a minor topic in Scripture. In fact, the word give in its various forms is used 2,162 times throughout the Bible—that is more than believe (271 times), prayer (268 times), and love (714 times) all combined! Of the twenty-nine parables Jesus told, sixteen deal with money or possessions.

I recently preached from 1 Chronicles 28 and 29 on having a renewed vision for the work of God. Amazingly, after forty years of leading God’s people, David’s heart for God was still passionate, and his vision for God’s work was still fresh. As I studied for this message, I was impressed by how David personally participated in providing materials for the construction of the tabernacle.

Each year, as a part of our stewardship campaign, we have men from our church give stewardship testimonies. We generally have a testimony every Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night for a month, and two or three additional testimonies at our stewardship banquet.

It has always amazed me, that God, who owns everything, allows you and me to be involved in meeting the needs of His church. Let me encourage you to evaluate your own stewardship and ask God to grow your faith.

The people of Capernaum were clamouring for Jesus to stay with them. Jesus was just beginning His public ministry, and He amazed the people. He taught with authority. He cast out an unclean spirit. He healed Peter’s mother-in-law.

For years the Israelites had observed fasts for special days in their history that God had not commanded them to observe. Though commendable, they were to be willing to adjust their disciplines to make sure they were doing what God had commanded with the right heart attitude.

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14).

Handling the financial pressures of a church are without a doubt the toughest task we face as pastors in our churches, especially when the expenses of our ministry have increased, and the income has leveled off or even decreased.