Our Sermons

Bible Passage: 1 Corinthians 16:2
Pastor: Pastor Schlicht
Sermon Date:  February 17th, 2019

Last week we started up the second half of our series on Joyful Generosity. We found out that Joyful Generosity responds to God’s love and prioritizes God’s kingdom. Do you remember how much King David gave to the temple project? 5 billion dollars! Incredible! But some of us here don’t have 5 billion dollars. In fact, some of us may be struggling to make ends meet. Some of us have some money and want to prioritize God’s kingdom but have a hard time letting go. Some of us know that we have plenty to give but are unsure of how much to give God. So does God have any practical words for us, faithful people with a wide array of salaries and situations, who wish to give in response to his love? The answer is yes! One verse tells us everything we need to know. When the Christian church was just starting out, the Apostle Paul began collecting a big offering for the church in Jerusalem. He wanted the Corinthian church to participate and so he shared some of the most practical giving advice in the entire Bible. He said: “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income.”

If you can believe it, we’re going to spend the whole sermon talking about this one verse! The first words that jump out at me are, “Each one of you.” Who was to participate in the offering? “Each one.” Giving to God isn’t just for the rich or well-off. It’s for “each one of you.” Every single person has been blessed by God with something. So, every single person has something to give, including me, including you, including  “each one” of us here today.

Here’s how: “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money.” On the first day of the week, before anything else, the Christians were to set aside a sum of money for God. Sometimes you hear the excuse, “If I give all my money to God, I won’t have anything left!” But God doesn’t ask you to give everything to him. In fact, it all belongs to him in the first place. What he asks you to offer to him is the first place in your heart and your life. And that includes how you plan financially. God asks you to set money aside for him first. God knows that we need money for lots of things. That’s why he gives it to us. God wants us to take care of our families, he wants us to pay our bills, he wants us to save and buy things. But before all of that he asks us to put him first.

In the Bible there is a concept called “firstfruits.” Firstfruits giving was one of God’s commands to the Israelites. When they started harvesting their crops, they were to give the first tenth of their crops to God. They didn’t give all their crops to God, but whatever came up first belonged to the Lord. When new animals were born, they didn’t sacrifice them all to God, but they always gave God the firstborn. Even when a firstborn child was born, they obviously didn’t offer their child, but they commanded to bring a special offering for that first child. Not all, but first! Not everything, but before anything, God was to be first. What was the point of firstfruits? It made them trust in God. Even after a long winter, they gave the first grain to God. More would come. They proved their trust in God and followed his commands. And we do the same when we set aside money for God first.

I think we all know another reason why God asks to be “first” too. How many of you have a lot of money left at the end of a pay period? Without setting aside money for God on the first day of the week or the month, “God first” easily becomes “God gets what’s left!” When you talk to a financial planner about retirement, what do they recommend? Pay yourself first, right? They tell you to take some off the top and put it in your retirement account. That’s the only way it’s going to happen, because if you don’t do it first, nothing is going to be left. We don’t usually spend based on how much is prudent but on how much is left. So when it comes to your offering, set it aside first!

This is how God asks us to give. For us today, it might not be every week, but with every blessing, we say, “God first!” When your paycheck gets deposited in the bank, say to yourself “God first!” Before the bills. Before the mortgage. Even before the IRA, say “God first!” and set some aside. Remember your God has promised: “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine” (Proverbs 3:9-10). God doesn’t ask you to give him everything. He asks you to trust him, he asks you to give to him first and he will come through. He will give you more than enough, he will honor your faith so that you can be even more joyful and generous.

Does that describe your life? Do you say with a smile, “God first!” Or do all the other things that we feel we need overwhelm us—the house payment, the car payment, the school payment, the groceries, the clothes, the bills? And then, without realizing it, what’s left? I had a professor who would often talk about the “tyranny of the urgent.” The seemingly urgent things in life push out the important things. If you don’t set aside time to workout, you’ll never do it because it isn’t urgent. If you don’t set aside time to read the Bible, guess what the kids will demand every second you allow them. If you don’t set aside money for God you will find it more than easy to use up all available funds. God doesn’t ask you to give to him and let your children go hungry. Let me say this clearly, please do not give a bunch of money to our church if you have crippling debt! Don’t do it! But I think we know the difference between what we need and what we want. Are you willing to take a look at your 21st century American lifestyle and admit that many things we pay for are far from necessities? Will you sacrifice to God first?

The tragic account of Cain and Abel, the first two sons born of Adam and Eve, illustrates this truth in Genesis 4: Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord.4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.  What was the difference? Cain brought some of his crops but Abel brought fat portions, the best stuff, from the firstborn of his flock. Both brought an offering, but God knew the difference. 6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” The truth is that if you hold onto your wealth with hard fists, you aren’t holding onto your money, it’s holding onto you. Sin desires to have you, it desires to rule over us. If we are unable to give to God first, we are being ruled by him but something else. It may be the idol of practicality or prudence, the idol of a cushy life or a big house, it may be the idol of status or family. Who or what do we put first? What rules over us? Sin desires to have us, but we must rule over it. We must put God first and trust in his salvation.

You see what’s amazing is that God is the one who always put us first. He gives to us first. Remember how I said that God commanded his people to give the firstfruits? That’s exactly what God did. God gave us his firstborn son. For every time I’ve put myself first, Jesus said, “You first!” and died to forgive my sins. Every time I feel the chains of money start to tighten around my heart, I remind myself, “…you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” Jesus was doing pretty well up there in heaven, King of all, ruler of the universe, but he gave that up, he came down to earth to become poor and weak. He died so that we might be rich in the love of God. He died and rose as the firstfruits of all who will rise so that in him we might receive the riches of heaven itself! As God’s people, forgiven and rich in every way, we display the sincerity of our faith by putting God first!

Ok so we get “God first.” But how much should we give? That’s the other big question, right? Remember what Paul said: “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money”—now here’s the key—“in keeping with his income.” God doesn’t want us to compare offerings based on monetary value. He doesn’t want us to give what somebody else gives. He doesn’t want us looking at what someone else puts in the plate and then feel bad about what we give, or better about what we give. He simply wants us to look at what he’s given us and give in keeping with our income. So how much? Simply give your best, in keeping with your income, in proportion with what you have.

God is a big believer in proportional giving. In the Old Testament, he gave his people a percentage—ten percent or a “tithe.” That was the law for the Israelites. Ten percent of crops, herds, everything. They were to look at what God had given them and give back ten percent. Some churches still demand ten percent today. The problem is that the tithe is part of the external regulations of the Old Testament law meant just for the Israelites. If a church demands ten percent today, it should also have daily sacrifices, celebrate the Sabbath on Saturday, and not eat pork, because all those laws go together. However, the moral truth of the law still applies. God doesn’t demand ten percent, but he does tell us in the New Testament to give proportionately, in keeping with our income.

When we hear we don’t have to give ten percent anymore, there’s often a problem. A lady asked a pastor friend of mine if his church requires people to give ten percent. He said, “No.” and she replied, “Good, because I have a lot of other things I need to spend my money on!” When he told me he was a little frustrated because he knew that’s not the attitude God wanted to inspire when he gave us this freedom in the New Testament. It’s true, God doesn’t force us to give a certain percent. But that isn’t license to give him scraps. God has freed us so that we can give him our best, which means some will give well over ten percent and some will give under. But God doesn’t care about the amount. He says, “Give your best from your heart.” I want to say this clearly: if you don’t want to give to God, please don’t give money here. God doesn’t want any money that is given reluctantly or under compulsion. God doesn’t need your money. He wants your heart.

But my friends, I know God has your heart. You love Jesus. You enjoy giving to God. So how much? I can’t tell you what your best is, other than that God wants you to think proportionally. He wants you to look at everything he has given you and decide what percentage you want to give back to him. If you don’t know where to start, try using that ten percent as a guide. If you make $50,000 a year, ten percent would be about $100 a week. If you make $100,000, it’d be $200 a week. If you make $20,000, it’d be $40. I’m not telling you that’s what you must give. I just want you to think proportionally. “What’s my percentage right now? Does that put God first? Is that my best?” Those are good questions to wrestle with.

But let your comfort be that, no matter the amount, as long as your gift is given joyfully, God will be pleased. Paul says in another place, “…if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have” (2 Corinthians 8:12). God will accept your sacrifice in proportion with what you have. King David’s best was five billion dollars. There was once a widow whose best was two little coins. People mocked her, but Jesus said, “Truly I tell you this poor widow has put in more than all the others.” (Lk 21:3) The widow gave pennies, but it was her best. And in God’s sight, in proportion with what she had, it was the largest offering! This is what makes God’s way of giving offerings so great. He doesn’t want you to compare yourself to anyone else. He just asks for your heart. Everyone has something to give, so give to God first and, in proportion with what you have, give him your best.

Amen.