Learning to Give BY Faith
Matthew 6:19-21
April 6, 2014 AM
Pastor Craig
Ledbetter
Bible Baptist
Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland
I.
Introduction
A.
We are learning
all this year about Living by FAITH, and
not by Sight. (GRAPHIC)
1.
That means doing
everything we do,
by FAITH, by trusting God, and
trusting that HIS way is best! Instead of by how we FEEL, or whether everyone
else is doing it or not!
2.
That includes
the way that we handle our money – we are supposed to spend IT by faith as well!
B.
A few weeks ago,
I taught you two things:
1.
About Giving by
Sight
- it means the Tithe. Something we are
supposed to do!
a.
You LOOK at what
you earned, and you pay God back 10%
b.
That’s what a
tithe is – it is the giving back to God 10% of what He has given us!
c.
Tithing Meets
the Needs of this Church – we have bills to pay! None of this free!
d.
Tithing is an
Obligation / Duty of every Christian. Not just of rich people, but all
believers!
e.
Tithing Honours
God (Proverbs 3:9)
f.
A Christian
tithes because he or she loves God (John 14:15)! It is not just a “have to”
2.
Secondly,
About Giving By Faith – it
means Giving to Missions
a.
You give not
because you HAVE the money, but because you just want to give!
b.
It Meets the
Needs of Others.
c.
A JOY (Acts
20:35) / Opportunity
d.
Pleases God
(2Cor 9:7)
e.
Because we love
souls (Rom 10:1)
3.
I then asked you
all Two Questions:
a.
“Are You
Tithing?”
1)
God deserves the
10% that He asks for! And He deserves it FIRST, ahead of Revenue.ie!!!
2)
We all accept
that Tax Evaders are Law-Breakers – not paying their fair share
3)
It is the same
with tithing – we all are supposed to tithe- whatever our income
b.
I then asked you
“Are you Giving as well?” – they are different!
1)
Tithing is what
we have to do according to what we earn
2)
Giving is what
we want to do, according to our love!
3)
Giving meets the
needs of others
4)
And we focused
all last month on THE greatest need of people – the need to hear about Jesus
Christ, and that anybody can get saved from the wrath to come (Rom 10:13)
5)
But “How are
people going to hear and believe the good news about eternal life without
preachers, missionaries, church planters telling them?
6)
And, How shall
they preach, except they be SENT?
7)
People who
cannot go somewhere far away, SEND someone who can!
8)
That’s where
GIVING comes in
4.
I want to focus
more of our attention on GIVING this morning!
II.
Background
A.
We will start
with THE economy
1.
NOT the Irish
economy, or the UK economy, or the EU economy – all are broke!
2.
But the economy
of GOD!
B.
Earth’s Economy
Stinks (Matthew 6:19)
1.
Moths eat
everything we collect
2.
Rust ruins
everything we think is precious
3.
Thieves break in
and steal what is valuable to us
4.
And the more
“global” our economies get, the bigger the failures, and the more they all move
toward control by the antichrist as predicted in the Bible in revelation 13!
5.
The amount of
debt people are in is incomprehensible
a.
Ireland spends
117% of all the income in a year – we all go 17% more in debt every year than we
all take in
b.
Italy is
spending 127% of their GDP - they
are seriously in debt
c.
Iceland is 97%
of their GDP in debt
d.
Greece spends
157% - that means they still are spending 57% more than they are earning in a
year!
6.
Poverty is not
going away
C.
Heaven’s Economy
is in Great Shape (Matthew 6:20)! You see, In the Economy of God:
1.
The buildings
are made of Gold. (Rev. 21:18)
2.
The city gates
are made of a single Pearl.(Rev. 21:21)
3.
The earth is the
Lord’s and all it contains. (Psalm 24:1)
4.
Water turns into
wine. (John 4)
5.
5 loaves and 2
fish feed 5000 people. (Mark 6)
6.
There are no
moths that eat away at everything we have
7.
Things don’t
rust there
8.
Thieves cannot
break in and steal
9.
God can take
care of absolutely every last man, woman and child on this planet (Philp 4:19)
10.
“One thing is
for sure: God is NOT running out of money”
D.
The Question:
How Does someone Tap into Such a Limitless Resource?
E.
You have to
Invest in it! Instead of just spending your money here!
III.
Message
A.
The Truth About
Money
1.
Everyone needs
money
a.
Even Jesus did!
Had to get Peter to go fishing to catch a fish with a coin in its mouth to pay
their taxes
b.
You can’t live
without money
2.
You must work to
get it (Prov 10:4)
a.
It usually
doesn’t just fall out of the sky
b.
God commands
that everyone is supposed to WORK to get it – by sweat of your brow
c.
It is a shame
that the past few generations of people have decided that money is provided by
the government, and not by hard work!
d.
The truth is,
You cannot give something away unless you have earned it first
(Act 20:35; Eph 4:28) – that is, unless you’re are a government minister,
who is always only giving away OTHER people’s money!
3.
Money doesn’t
last long here (Prov 27:24; 23:5)
a.
It gets passed
on to others (Psalm 39:6; Eccl 2:18,19)
b.
The more you
have, the faster it disappears (Eccl 5:11)
4.
Riches usually
are trouble
a.
They overburden
you so that you can’t sleep (Eccl 5:12)
b.
Money can give
you false confidence (Prov 18:11)
c.
It can keep you
from getting born again (Luke 18:24)
B.
The Best Thing
to Do With Our Money is – INVEST IT
1.
People do it all
the time
a.
Remember Eircom?
b.
Remember all the
money invested in Irish Banks?
1)
At one time in
2006, they were selling at over €40 euros each
2)
Now Bank of
Ireland shares are selling at €0.32 each!!!
2.
Investing means:
a.
To lay out money
with the view of obtaining an income or profit
b.
Bible word is
Sowing, Planting
c.
Best word is
Laying it Up, storing it up somewhere where it won’t disappear – and that does
not mean in your mattress!
C.
Giving Starts
with tithing – 10 percent of our income
1.
10% of what you
made this week
a.
€200, means €20
tithe
b.
€85, means €8.50
tithe
c.
€1,200 means
€120 tithe
d.
It is not that
hard!
2.
It is only then
that we can actually start investing
a.
It is like
paying your bills first
b.
Before you start
saving some money away
c.
It is NOT right
to save your money and NOT pay your electricity bill, or your house mortgage!
d.
Same is true
with our tithe
3.
Four Reasons why
people do not pay their tithe:
a.
People do not
know about tithing… ignorant
b.
People forget to
tithe… lazy
c.
People are
afraid to not have all their money under their control...
d.
People are
greedy... “the ________ of money is the
________ of ALL evil.” (1 Tim 6:10)
D.
Then, We Can
Give!
1.
Give to people’s
needs
2.
We can Give out
of love
3.
And we can give
for souls to get saved!
E.
So, How do you
transfer money into God’s Economy? How do you GIVE by Faith?
1.
Give first, and
it shall be given unto you (Luke 6:38)
a.
Don’t wait until
you have a load of money before you start giving
b.
Just start
giving money, your time, and your love away
2.
Give Your Money
Away
a.
Give money away
to people that will never be able to pay you back (Luke 14:12-14) – that
transfers that amount into heaven’s economy – and God makes sure the return is
astronomical!
b.
Just give it
away! (Proverbs 13:7; Matthew 19:21)
c.
Some of you are
SOOOO stingy with your money
1)
It shows in your
inability to forgive – the worst giver in this room is the bitter person who has
lost the ability to forgive!!!
2)
It shows in your
inability to be kind to people you don’t think deserve it – always judgmental!
3)
It shows in all
the gadgets and things you collect around yourself! Selfish, self-centred
4)
So, you already
have your rewards (Matthew 6:1,2), and it is gone!
5)
But “I” want a
return on my money that lasts forever!
d.
Christ didn’t
teach you that! Jesus gave everything He had away (2Cor 8:9)
1)
Born poor (Luke
2:7)
2)
Nowhere to lay
His head (Luke 9:58)
3)
Even gave His
life up (Mt 20:28)
3.
Most of all,
Give for souls to get saved, and for nations to be changed for good!
a.
Not just feed
the poor, but save the poor from the down ward cycle of sin
b.
Give so that men
and women, real people can afford to go to the uttermost parts of this world,
and tell someone how to be born again (GRAPHIC)
c.
Missionaries,
church planters, soul-winners
d.
THAT is
investing your money in a SURE investment!
IV.
Are You Ready to
GIVE?
A.
By Faith –
trusting that God will give you money to give away!
B.
As a Promise –
to God that you are going to be a GIVER and not a taker anymore
C.
For Souls - To
Missions and Missionaries, no matter where they are!
V.
Conclusion – Do
Something Right Now
A.
Receive THE Gift
of God (Romans 6:23)
1.
Jesus did what
you NEVER could do!
2.
Let Him save you
from your sin!
3.
What shall you
give in exchange for your soul?
4.
I need you to
come and meet with me and I will get someone to pray with you and answer all
your questions, so that YOU can pray and receive the forgiveness of all your
sins, and become born again yourself!
B.
Get right with
your Saviour – right now!
1.
Admit you have a
hard, unforgiving, UN-giving heart
2.
Ask God to
forgive you for holding onto such a attitude
3.
Ask God to make
you into a GIVER – a glad giver!
C.
Fill in your
commitment card, right now please!
D.
Come back
tonight – we are going to learn about CHARITY!