Giving is one of the most exciting things we can do as believers, because not only does God bless us back in this life, but we will receive heavenly treasures in the age to come!
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Storing Up Treasure In Heaven
Matthew 6:19-21
We come this morning to our last message in the series “A Passion For The Church.” This will be our 8th message in this series. We have looked at:
- The Passion of Christ for His Church
- Why You Should Join A Church
- Loving One Another
- The Church In The Home
- What the Church Should Be Devoted To
- Every Member Ministry
- The Mission of the Church
Today, we are going to look at our final subject. I’m calling it “Storing Up Treasure In Heaven.” A passion for the church includes being a good and faithful steward of your money and possessions to bless the church and advance the kingdom of Jesus Christ.
Although we are going to be looking at a lot of different texts this morning, let’s begin with Jesus’ words in Mt. 6:19-21 where He said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Our generosity is a pretty good indicator of where our heart is. Show me your checkbook and credit card statements, and I’ll tell you where your heart is. Our giving reveals where our affections really lie. If we are spending a lot of money on entertainment and amusement, then our hearts are on those things. If we are spending a lot of our money on advancing the kingdom of Christ, that is a good indicator that is what our hearts are. You see, our heart can’t be focused on 2 things at the same time. Just a few verses later Jesus will say, “You cannot serve God and money.”
Notice that Jesus gives 2 commands in this text – one is what we must not do, and the other is what we must do. We must not store up for ourselves treasures on earth. Rather, we must store up for ourselves treasures in heaven. Jesus is not against us storing up treasures for ourselves. In fact, He’s all for it! In fact, He commands it! He just wants us to stop storing them up in the wrong place, and start storing them up in the right place! Why doesn’t Jesus want you to store up for yourselves treasures on earth? Because they won’t last. Moths and rust and thieves will get to those treasures. Why should we store up treasures for ourselves in heaven? First, because those treasures will last, and second, because it is the smart thing to do. What would you call a person who spends his whole life trying to amass treasures that will all be gone in just a few years, but in the process neglects to store up treasures for himself that will last forever? We would call that man a fool, wouldn’t we? Well, we are fools if we focus our time and attention on getting wealth now, and neglect eternal wealth.
Let’s say I gave you a choice – either you can have $1,000 right now, or you can have $1 million in a year, and then $1 million more every year after that. We call that delayed gratification. The man would be a fool to take the $1,000 now. We are fools to spend this brief life trying to amass worldly wealth, and neglect eternal riches. When we try to hoard our money and possessions instead of generously giving them, we are fools!
This morning I want to focus on the subject of giving. I have two questions for you: 1) Why should we give? And 2) How should we give?
1. Why Should We Give?
Because Giving Is An Act Of Worship
Listen to how Paul describes the gift the Philippians had sent him in Phil. 4:18, “But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.” He calls it “an acceptable sacrifice.” Paul uses the Old Testament imagery of an animal sacrifice. For them to give financially to support Paul and his ministry was like Old Testament saints to bring one of their lambs to the tabernacle where it would be killed and burned on the altar to God. Notice also that it was well-pleasing to God. Their giving was just as much an act of worship as their bible study, praying or preaching, and it was just as well-pleasing to God.
Proverbs 3:9 says, “Honor the Lord from your wealth.” When you and I give, we are honoring the Lord, in itself an act of worship. Have you ever wondered why we refer to our gifts as “offerings” and the box we put our gifts in as the “offering box”? It is because we are offering these gifts to God as a form of worship of Him.
In Deut. 16:16-17, we have a description of what God required of all the male Jews. “Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed. Every male shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you.” There were three feasts every year in which God required the male Jews to come and worship Him at. When they did come to these feasts, God commanded that they not come empty-handed. In other words, they must come to worship Him by giving back to Him as He had already given to them.
Brothers and sisters, giving is an act of worship to God. Every time we slip our check our cash into the Offering Box, we should whisper a silent prayer, “Lord, I worship You in this gift. This is how much I love you.”
Because Our Giving Yields Heavenly Treasures
This, to me, is the really exciting thing about giving. The Bible, over and over, tells us that when we give, we are accumulating treasures in heaven. Let’s look at some of those texts.
Mt. 19:21, “Jesus said to him [the rich young ruler], “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
Lk. 12:33, “Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys.”
1 Tim. 6:18-19, “Instruct the rich to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.”
Notice those expressions – treasure in heaven, unfailing treasure in heaven, the treasure of a good foundation for the future. These expressions teach us that every act of generous giving on our part will yield heavenly treasure. Now, exactly what form that treasure will take, I do not know. But I do know, that when I arrive in heaven, I will be very glad that I stored up some treasure in heaven!
Let’s say that you are living during the time of the Civil war. You happen to be living in the South, but you are actually a Northerner. Your plans are to move back home when the war is over. While living in the South, you have accumulated a lot of Confederate money. You also happen to know that the North is going to win this war. So, what would be the smart thing to do with your Confederate money? The smart thing would be to convert as much of it as you can into U.S. currency, and just keep as little Confederate currency as you need for your short-term needs. Folks, when you die or Christ comes back, you’re not going to be able to use earthly money any more. You can’t take your money with you to heaven, but you can convert earthly money into heavenly treasure that you can enjoy in eternity by generous giving.
Let’s use another illustration. Let’s suppose that you travel to England for work and live in a hotel for three months while you are there. You have been told that you are not permitted to bring anything back on your flight home. However, you can deposit money in your bank back in California. Now, would you go out and buy expensive decorations, and wall hangings, and furniture for your hotel room? Of course not. You would take your money and deposit in your bank in California where your permanent home is located. You would spend only on what you needed while you were in England, but send your treasures ahead so that they would be waiting for you when you got home. My friends, we are just sojourners. Heaven is our real, permanent home. Our life here, is like a three month hotel stay in England. The smart believer will send his treasures on ahead of him to enjoy for all eternity rather than squander his money in this world.
Because Our Giving Funds Missionaries
Here’s a question for you to consider. What did the early church give its money to? Is there any biblical precedent for funding missionaries? Yes, there absolutely is! In 1 Cor. 9:3-14, Paul makes an argument as to why he has the right to refrain from secular work, and to be supported by those he ministers to, even though he has set that right so that he could offer the gospel without charge. But, who has the right to receive financial support from this passage? In verses 3-6, Paul speaks of the apostles, Cephas, Barnabas, and the brothers of the Lord. In other words, this passage is addressing those who are traveling apostles. Today, we have no Apostles with a capital “A”. However, we do have apostles with a small “a”. We call them missionaries today. And Paul says in verse 14, “So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel.” So, my answer to the question as to whether there is a biblical precedent for supporting missionaries is a resounding “Yes!”
What about Pastors? Is there any biblical precedent for financially supporting pastors? Well, let’s take a look at 1 Timothy 5:17-18, “The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing,” and “The laborer is worthy of his wages.” In this text Paul says that certain elders or pastors should receive double honor. “Honor” in this context refers to financial support, as you can see from verse 3 where true widows are to be “honored.” So, the answer is “Yes, some elders may be financially supported.” Which ones? Those who work hard at preaching and teaching. In other words, those elders who need to spend a lot of time in the word to teach and preach, should receive some financial support. Perhaps they only work part-time at their job so that they have time to study and preach and teach. In that case, it is right for the church to give him a stipend to free up some of his time for the ministry that God has called him to. However, in our church, that is not necessary. I own a business, and have free time to study, teach, and preach, and am not in financial need. So, that’s a good thing! That means that the money that might be allocated for an elder’s support, can be allocated to missions, local evangelism, or helping the poor. In the future, as other men are appointed as elders, we may need to provide some financial support for them.
According to a study done by the Evangelical Christian Credit Union, churches spend an average of 82% on buildings, salaries, and administration. We are incredibly blessed here at The Bridge, because we don’t have any salaries, buildings, or administration to pay for. The 82% of the total budget of most churches doesn’t even exist here. So, that means, we can invest the money that most other churches use for salaries, buildings, and administration in missions, local evangelism, and charity. Here at The Bridge we want to invest heavily in getting the gospel around the world, and especially to those that have never heard it. Now that we have moved the church back into the home, we are going to start giving 50% of all our income to missions – Gospel For Asia, and Heartcry Missionary Society! Now, that is exciting!
Because Our Giving Helps The Poor
In Scripture, what did the church give to? Well, we’ve already seen that they gave to support apostles (missionaries), and preaching pastors. In addition, they also gave to relieve the suffering of the poor. We see this in many places in the New Testament.
Acts 4:32-35, “And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need.”
Acts 11:27-30, “Now at this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them named Agabus stood up and began to indicate by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine all over the world. And this took place in the reign of Claudius. And in the proportion that any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brethren living in Judea. And this they did, sending it in charge of Barnabas and Saul to the elders.”
Romans 15:25-27, “but now, I am going to Jerusalem serving the saints. For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. Yes, they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to them also in material things.”
Luke 12:33-34, “Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Eph. 4:28, “He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.”
James 1:27, “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”
1 John 3:17-18, “But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word, or with tongue, but in deed and in truth.”
Now, in all of these passages, we either see examples of giving to the needy, or we are commanded to give to the needy. Sometimes those needy are other believers. Sometimes they are not. The point is that we need to use our money to relieve the suffering of the poor.
In addition to giving away 50% of what we take in, we want to earmark another 10% for benevolence. This may take the form of giving to Sacramento Union Gospel Mission, or Loaves and Fishes, or just a needy person that is brought to our attention.
That is why we should give – because it is an act of worship, because it yields heavenly treasure, because it funds missionaries, and because it relieves the sufferings of the poor. Now, let’s turn our attention to the second question.
2. How Should We Give?
Should Christians Tithe?
Many churches teach that Christians must tithe. That is, they must give 10% of their income to the Lord. Is that true? Well, we need to start by frankly admitting that the New Testament never commands Christians to tithe. If we go back to the Old Testament, we find two instances of tithing before the Law was given. Abraham gave a tithe of the spoil from a battle to Melchizedek, and Jacob promised God a tithe if God would take care of him and protect him from his enemies. Neither of these examples is a parallel to a Christian today. Abraham did not tithe his income. He tithed from the plunder he received from battle. Jacob was promising a tithe to God as a bargaining chip, making sure that God would take care of him. In neither case are we told that God commanded the tithe. Later, under the Law, the Israelites were commanded to tithe. In fact, they were commanded to give three different tithes! There was the Levite’s tithe (Num.18:21-24). There was the Festival Tithe (Dt. 14:22-27). Then there was the Poor Tithe (Dt.14:28-29) which was collected every three years. This tithe was to take care of the widows and orphans. The Levite’s Tithe and the Festival Tithe add up to 20%. The Poor Tithe, given every three years adds up to 3.3%. If you add all three tithes together, the Israelites were paying 23.3% in tithes every year! Further, the tithe was required giving. Israel was a theocracy. Their tithes were like our taxes. Their tithes took care of the Government Workers (Levites), National Holidays (festivals), and Welfare. The Israelites never gave any free-will offerings until they had first paid their 23.3% in tithes. It was only after that, that they could give offerings.
My conviction is that tithing, just like animal sacrifices, and circumcision, and the Sabbath were instituted for the Israelites until Christ would come. In the New Testament, we are never given a percentage of money we should be giving. I think that is because 10% might be way too little for the wealthy, and too high for the poor. Here’s the principle. God owns everything we have. We are only His money managers. We should not be asking how much of our money we should give to God. Rather we should be asking how much of God’s money we should keep for ourselves! A research project from Moody Monthly Magazine revealed that the average church member gives 2.5% of his income to the Lord! Folks, that’s sad! One write put it this way, “If every member of the Southern Baptist Convention alone gave 10% of their income, the Great Commission would be fulfilled in 5 years!”
So, if 10% is not the New Testament standard for giving, what are the Biblical standards for our giving? I’m going to give you five Biblical principles, in fairly rapid order.
Consistently: If giving is an act of worship, how often should you give? You should give every time you get paid, of course. If you get paid weekly, you should give weekly. If you get paid bi-monthly, then you should give bi-monthly. If you get paid monthly, you should give monthly. When Paul was instructing the Corinthians on collecting money for the poor saints in Jerusalem he told them, “On the first day of the week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come.” It is just good stewardship to give regularly and consistently. One of our downfalls as a church in the past is that almost no one was giving consistently. I hope that will change in the future.
Eagerly: I see this principle in 2 Cor. 9:7, “Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” We are not to give because we have to. We are to give because we want to. We are eager to. This is the example of the churches of Macedonia. Notice 2 Cor. 8:3-4, “For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints.” These churches were eager and desirous to give. So should we be.
Sacrificially: The churches of Macedonia also gave sacrificially. Notice 2 Cor. 8:1-3, “Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. For I testify that accord to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord.” Paul describes their condition as “deep poverty.” However, they gave not just according to their ability, but beyond it! That speaks of sacrifice, doesn’t it? It reminds us of the sacrifice of the widow who gave her last two coins into the temple treasury, all she had to live on. Our giving is not sacrificial, until we must sacrifice to do it.
Expectantly: Paul lays out this principle for us in 2 Cor. 9:6, “Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” Earlier I told you that when you give generously, you are reaping treasure in heaven. Well, this principle is similar to that, but yet different. This principle reveals that when you give, God will give back to you, in this lifetime! I know the Prosperity Gospel preachers have abused this truth. They tell us that we should give in order to get. However, that teaching promotes greed and covetousness which are sins of the flesh. Paul taught, rather, that we should give, to get, to give! Notice how he puts it in 2Cor.9:8, “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.” Paul is saying that you can’t out give God. If you give sacrificially to God, He will bless you and provide so that you have enough to do every good deed. John Bunyan once wrote, “There was a saint, some thought him mad, the more he gave, the more he had!” I don’t know how this works, but I have seen it so many times, that I know it is true. We should give expectantly, knowing that God will bless those who give generously.
Proportionately: Now, the New Testament never gives us a percentage that we are to give of our income. But it does tell us that we are to give proportionately. The New Testament principle is that we should give according to our means. 1 Cor. 16:2 says, “On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come.” Acts 11:29 says, “And in the proportion that any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brethren living in Judea.” Simply put, we should give according to how we have prospered and have means. It cracks me up to hear Christians talk of how much money they are going to give to the Lord if they win the Lottery. My question is what are they doing with whatever money they have right now.
There are the New Testament principles. We are to give consistently, eagerly, sacrificially, expectantly, and proportionately.
Conclusion
So, what is our motivation for giving? Paul gives it to us in 2 Cor. 8:9, “For 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 rich in heaven beyond our wildest imagination. But He gave it all up to save us, so that we might share in those riches. Look to Christ as your example in giving.
So, this is what we want to do with the money that comes into this church: 50% to missions, 10% to charity, and about 25% to local radio ministry. That leaves about 15% for our own needs that may surface like audio/visual equipment, chairs, web site development, bibles, tracts, etc. May God help us to be faithful and generous in our giving, and store up for ourselves treasures in heaven!
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