Harvest Pointe Christian Church, Milford Ohio is a non-denominational Christian Church (Church of Christ) on the Eastside of Cincinnati OH

Experiencing the Joy of Generosity | Series: Money Wise | 01-24-10

Experiencing the Joy of Generosity
Series: Money Wise
Various Proverbs

Miserable
Mark 12:41-44, II Corinthians 9:6-7, Proverbs 11:25

Basic Questions About the Nature of Generosity

  I. To whom should we give?
     A. We give to our own children.  Proverbs 13:22, Proverbs 20:21, Proverbs 3:27-28
     B. We give to the people who serve us.
     C. We give to the needy.  Proverbs 14:21, Proverbs 14:31, Proverbs 22:26-27, Proverbs 19:17
     D. We give to the church.  II Corinthians 8:20-21

 II. Why should we give?
     A. We give as an act of worship.  Genesis 22:5
     B. We give because it keeps our focus on target. I John 2:15, Revelation 3:17-18
     C. We give to express compassion.  I John 3:17-18
     D. We give to experience God's blessing. Proverbs 3:9-10, Proverbs 22:9

III. How much should we give? II Corinthians 9:7, II Corinthians 8:7, James 1:17, II Corinthians 8:9

     Generous depends on:
         1. The standard of the past.
         2. The person's condition.

Full Text 

Some people joke about being tightwads, but really,
most people don't want to be known as a scrooge.

We have a place deep down in our hearts that
wants to be generous.

We dream of winning a 10 million dollar lottery, and
we promise the Lord that if that happens
we'll give 9 million dollars to the Church.

We all admire people who are generous.
Last Sunday coach John Calipari of the Ky. Wildcats
held a telethon with the players manning the phones.
They raised over a million dollars for
the relief efforts in Haiti.
Even the Kentucky haters praised that effort.

Generous people are praised and
they find joy.

Has anyone NOT read the book or seen a movie based on "A Christmas Carol"?
Scrooge is a miserable rich guy and
Christmas Eve night
3 ghosts come to visit him.
They remind him of his past and present.
Then he is shown what his future will be if
he continues being tight-fisted and callous.

That transforms this mean, uncaring, stingy man into
a generous happy man.
Scrooge did not know joy
until he became generous.

Look at the word miserable.
It begins with the word, miser.
They come from the same root.

Being stingy will make you miserable.
Being generous will make you happy.

Now, being generous is a proportional thing to God.
In Mark 12:41-44 we find
Jesus and His disciples in the Temple. 
We read, "41Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. 43Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, 'I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything-all she had to live on.'"

Being generous has nothing to do with
the amount you give.
It has to do with the sacrifice you make.

That's why even those out of a job can be generous.
They can be generous with their time and skills.

Not too many of us can just sit down and
write a check for $10,000 and not miss it.
But Harvest Pointe is a generous people.
We give what we can.

But being generous is not always easy to do,
especially in our present economy.

We want to be generous but
we have to battle our selfish side that
wants to horde or enjoy what we have.
Some have to overcome years of selfish habits.

The Bible tells us in II Corinthians 9:6-7,
"6Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

Now, King Solomon wrote a lot about generosity
in the book of Proverbs.
Proverbs 11:25 says, "A generous man will prosper;
he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed."

Proverbs clearly teaches that
God wants His people to be generous, and if they are,
He will reward them for their generosity.

Today, let's see some
Basic questions about the nature of generosity.

I. To whom should we give?

If we're going to be generous,
who are the people who are going to be
on the receiving end of our goodness?

A. We give to our own children.

Sometimes our kids and even grandkids
should be on the receiving end of our generosity.
Proverbs 13:22 says, "A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children."

Now, we've all seen children inherit a big chunk of money and waste it.

So it's not surprising that Solomon warns us about
the amount that we leave to our children.
Proverbs 20:21 says,
"An inheritance quickly gained at the beginning
will not be blessed at the end."

One area I've seen where
the inheritance is gained too quickly
is when a child turns 16.

We've watched parents give their kids brand new cars.
The parents cover the insurance, gas, and repairs.
The teenager doesn't appreciate the car and
more than once we've seen them quickly total it out and
it's like it's no big deal.
They just get another new car.

It bothered us that we couldn't help our sons more,
but since they worked and
bought their own cars, paid their own insurance, and
gas and tires,
They appreciated their cars more and
took better care of them.

Looking back,
we're glad our boys had to work for what they had.

Personally, I think that if parents give their teen a car,
it should be a used car and
the teen should have to work and
pay for the insurance, gas and repairs.

Not only do they appreciate their car more,
it prepares them for life on their own.

Another way I've seen the inheritance given too quickly
is when parents cover
all the college expenses of their kids.
They pay their tuition, books, meals, and even
give them extra spending money.

For too many the inheritance was gained too quickly.
They don't appreciate their educational opportunity.

Like the Prodigal Son they waste their inheritance
on wild living.
They party and drop out.

Or if they do study and get a degree,
they are still not ready for the real world.

They don't know about doing without or budgeting or
working at a job they really don't like, but
doing it anyway to make ends meet.

My parents were very wise.
They had the money to cover my college and
they did pay my tuition, but
I had to work to cover everything else.

They purposely did that so
I would appreciate my education.

They had seen too many go to college and party.
Not all students will do that, but far too many do.

So, don't give the inheritance too quickly.

Marsha's parents are also very wise.

From the time their children were young
they gave them opportunities to work and make money.

The money was saved so
they would have it for college.
They did have to work some while in college,
but they got their educations.

Then, as we got older,
her parents decided that
they would like to
watch their children enjoy their inheritance
while they were still young enough to enjoy it.

So one year they took us all on an Alaskan cruise.
Another year they gave each of their kids
a trip to Hawaii (spouse included).

And since we all worked and had kids,
it was very much appreciated.

Proverbs 3:27-28 reads, "27Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.
28 Do not say to your neighbor, 'Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow'-when you now have it with you."

So our children ought to receive some of our generosity
even before we die.

B. We give to the people who serve us.

I have talked to too many waitresses that
said they didn't like working Sundays.
Regretfully, the problem was not that
they wanted to be in Church instead.

The problem is, typically,
Church groups do not tip or do not tip very well.

Last year I met Mom and Dad for lunch.
Dad had been tipping well.
And yes, we got great service and
not one, but 2 waitresses who were
working in other areas came over and talked!

They do remember and appreciate generosity.

Waitresses should see us Christians coming and
WANT to serve us because
we are generous to those serving us.

C. We give to the needy.

Proverbs 14:21.
"…blessed is he who is kind to the needy."
Proverbs 14:31. "He who oppresses the poor
shows contempt for their Maker,
but whoever is kind to the needy honors God."

This is actually a strength of Harvest Pointe.
The outpouring for Haiti is awesome.
Individuals help others all the time.

But you have to be careful when you help people.
Some are moochers.
They will take you for every penny they can.
Others are con-artists who make a lot of money
begging from people and Churches.

I am not good in this area.
I tend to be a soft touch.

One of our friends said it wouldn't do us any good
to win the lottery because
we'd just give it all away.

That's why Ken screens people before
they get any money from Harvest Pointe!
Solomon also warns that
you're really not helping the poor when
you cosign their loan.

Proverbs 22:26-27. "26 Do not be a man who
strikes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts;
27 if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be
snatched from under you."

You're not really doing a person a favor
if you cosign for someone
when they can't afford it on their own.

And you're putting your own resources and family at risk.

I know a man that co-signed for his nephew to buy a car.
The nephew never made a single payment,
but he kept the car.
The uncle had to pay it all.

Co-signing is a dangerous thing.

Now, when your children are first getting started,
you might consider making them a loan, but
if you can't afford to give it, don't loan it.

But the Bible does say that we are to give generously
to the legitimately poor.

Proverbs 19:17. "He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done."

D. We give to the church.

Since we talked about this last week,
we won't go in to how
the Church should get your first 10%.

I do believe that individual churches are normally
much better at wisely spending the money given to God
than some of the large organizations that
advertise for your charitable giving.

I'm always surprised at
how naïve Christian people can be.

They will donate all kinds of money to
television evangelists and to organizations
simply because they have
a skillful marketing campaign.

They make emotional appeals and
people throw money into it
without really knowing that
the vast majority of the money is
going back into advertising and/or
to pay exorbitant salaries for
some of the people on staff and
very little gets to its intended destination.

When you give money to the local church,
you can see the tangible results.

You can see people won to Christ and being baptized.
You see people studying the Bible and
growing in their knowledge of the Word.
You see people's lives changed.
You see the difference it's making in
the teenagers and the children.
You can go to Haiti and
see the results of the missions giving.
And when we take up an offering for something special,
every single penny goes to that purpose.

And I'd also like to mention that
when we were working on
getting a loan for this building,
more than one banker commented about
how professionally Rosa keeps the Church records,
unlike most Churches.

At least 2 people always do the counting and
the preacher never goes near the money!
And a CPA does an audit each year.

So, you can be certain everything is above board.

When the apostle Paul was taking up a collection
for Christians caught in a famine,
he made certain that there were
honest Christians who were above reproach that
went with the money because, as he said in
II Corinthians 8:20-21, "20We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. 21For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men."

We want to do things right.

II. Why should we give?

A. We give as an act of worship.

Psalm 96:8-9 says, "8 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts.
9 Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth."

Now we usually think of worship as
singing songs, praying, taking Communion,
listening to a sermon; but
when you give your money that is
a very tangible expression of worship.

In fact, the first time worship is mentioned in the Bible, Abraham is going up Mount Moriah to
give a sacrifice to God and
we find in Genesis 22:5 "He said to his servants, 'Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.'"

He wasn't going to sing any songs.
He wasn't going to take Communion.
He was going to give a precious sacrifice to God and
he called that worship.

When you bring a sacrificial gift to God and
you place it in the bag, that's worship.
You're showing your devotion to God.
You're giving of yourself to him.

David Upchurch said that when he was a boy
on Sunday morning
he would always see his dad in the easy chair
before church with
a Bible on his lap,
 notepad and
a checkbook.
He said his dad would write out on that notepad
several things that he was grateful for that week, and
then he would write out the check.
That was his dad's way of
remembering the motive for giving was
to give thanks to God and to worship him.

B. We give because it keeps our focus on target.

When we give, our minds are
off the materialism of this world and
focused on the spiritual things of eternity.

I John 2:15 reads, "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."  And then verse 17 says, "The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever."

Remember that old account of how
the Africans used to capture monkeys?
They would put some fruit inside a small-mouthed jar and tie the jar to a tree.
The monkey would reach inside and grab the fruit and refuse to let go.
He couldn't get his fist out of the jar and
he was captured.

And it is so easy for us to get caught up
in the materialistic mindset of this world, and
we hold on to things so tightly that
we are caught in Satan's thinking.

When we release our possessions on a regular basis,
we are liberated from the greed of this world and
we're reminded that, as Jesus said,
our lives do not consist in
the abundance of things that we possess, and
that we're setting our hearts on things above,
things that really last.

Let's say you get into a time machine and
you go back in time to 1863
during the Civil War.
You land in Savannah, Georgia, and
you find that your great-grandfather
has 10 million dollars.
You begin to wonder,
"Wow!! What happened to my inheritance?"

Then you find out that it is all in Confederate money,
hidden in his home.
He thinks he's rich.


But you know that if he doesn't make some changes,
he's going to be broke.

What do you tell him to do?
Exchange the Confederate money for gold or
even for Union currency.
But get rid of it because it's not going to last.

In Revelation 3:17-18 Jesus told the Church at Laodicea, "17You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich…"

Lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven,
treasures that are eternal.

C. We give to express compassion.

If you care for the needy you just have to give.

I John 3:17-18 reads, "17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."

As the old saying goes: "You can give without loving but you cannot love without giving."

D. We give to experience God's blessing.

Sometimes we shy away from this motivation because
it sounds so selfish.
But God makes it very clear in his Word,
that if you give to him he will multiply that gift in return.

Proverbs 3:9-10. "9 Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine."
Proverbs 22:9: "A generous man will himself be blessed,
for he shares his food with the poor."

Remember. 
To God, physical things are not always most important.

God's blessing on you may be contentment,
emotional stability.
It may be spiritual growth.
It may be family unity.
It may be financial prosperity.
It may be eternal hope.

But He promises if you give
He will give more in return than you give.

It may not be financial, but
you will be blessed indeed.

III. How much should we give?

In the book of Proverbs God promises
to bless the generous but
it doesn't define generosity.

That's a question that each individual has to
answer for him or herself.

As we read in II Corinthians 9:7, "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

But the challenge is found in II Corinthians 8:7.
It says, "Just as you excel in everything-in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us-see that you also excel in this grace of giving."

Now, we're not in any kind of financial pinch, but
we could do so much more.
Think about if everybody tithed.

Dave Ramsey, once spoke about
how different America would be
if every Christian in America tithed.

He said there would be no more welfare in North America. In ninety days there would be no more church or hospital debt. In the next ninety days the entire world could be evangelized. And there would be prayer in schools because Christians would buy all the schools.

That may be an exaggeration, but
the impact would be mind-boggling!

Did you hear about the plane that
crashed on an uncharted, remote, desert island?

The survivors were really worried that
they would never be found.
They became hysterical!
"Nobody will ever find us here."

But there was one man just sitting on the beach,
enjoying the sand and the sun.
And they said,
"Aren't you worried about never being found?"
He said, "No, I tithe to my church.
I know my preacher will find me."

Actually, I have no idea what people give.
I have never looked at the records.

But God knows.
How generous you are is strictly
between you and God.

So, how much is generous?

Let's say we give Fred and Sally each $10.
This keeps it simple because each $1 is 10%.
Then we give Fred an extra $10.

So, Fred and Sally have each received a gift.
Now, will Sally feel jealous that Fred got twice as much?

No, because she was glad she received something
she didn't expect.

Now, everything we have is a gift from God.

James 1:17 tells us
every good and perfect gift comes from above.

You see, we're content with what God has given us
if we don't compare ourselves to each other.
What you have is a gift.

Now, let's say we tell Fred and Sally we want them
to each give the Church 10% of what we gave them.

Fred would give $2 and Sally would give $1.

They would automatically do it because
we were the ones who gave it to them.
It's the least they could do because
we were so generous with them

Now, that's Old Testament.

In the Old Testament God said,
"I've given you what you have.
Ten percent of what you have comes back to me," and
the people willingly did it.
That was required.

Now, what if we came back later and
gave Fred another $20 and Sally another $10.

But this time, instead of asking them to give 10%,
we told Fred and Sally to
give generously to the Church.
How much would be generous?

Generous depends on 2 things.


First of all, it depends on
1. The standard of the past.

In the past we asked them to give 10%.
$2 and $1.
That's the standard of the past.

But secondly generous depends on
2. The person's condition.

What we haven't told you is Fred is 28 with a good job.
He's not married, and still living at home.
His expenses are minimal.

Sally is a single mom whose husband is a bum who
ran off to California with his secretary and
hasn't given her a penny of support.

That makes a big difference, doesn't it.

So generosity is determined by
what was expected in the past and also
the condition of the person.

Jesus modeled generosity.
He was in the form of God.
He had the riches of Heaven!

But II Corinthians 8:9 states,
"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich."
Jesus left the riches of Heaven,
became a human and
generously gave his life on the cross
for you and me.

Have you ever responded to His generous love?
Have you in turn given your life to Him?

If you are ready to receive the riches of His grace,
the forgiveness of your sins,
come forward when we sing and
we'll help you confess Him and
be baptized into Him.

Or if you are an immersed believer and
would like to place your membership with us,
come forward as we stand and sing.

Based on a 1/28/2001 sermon by Bob Russell of South East Christian Church, Louisville, Kentucky