← ArchiveBack to the BasicsBack to the Basics: Reasons Not To Give (Matthew 23:23-24)DateNovember 17, 2024SpeakerDr Josh BurnhamTextMatthew 23:23–24Passages in this sermonMatthew 233:38Micah 618:04Matthew 519:49John 3:1632:21TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00We'll be right back. We'll be right back.0:30So for all of you who are here ground level before me, for all who are lurking in the balcony, for those of you who are, my wife's waving at me from the balcony, by the way.1:00I have no clue why she's up there and it's making me nervous. For all of you who are watching us online and for you who are new here, we just want to say thank you. We believe God is going to do great things in our midst. So let's together give the Lord a big hallelujah, thanking him for what he has done on three.1:26One, two, three. Hallelujah. Let us praise the Lord is what we just said. So we're in the midst of this mini-series called Back to Basics, asking the Lord to restore to us our first love, to rejuvenate our spirits. And last week, we went back to the basics of our faith, which is faith.1:51And we asked God, Lord, we believe, help our unbelief. And today, we're going to look again at something that's core to a transformed heart, and that's Christian generosity. Now, you might be thinking, okay, here we go. Church, speaking about money again, so I have two answers to you. Firstly, every eight times Jesus opens his mouth in the New Testament, he is speaking on finances or treasure.2:15So I need to ask forgiveness. We don't speak on money enough if Jesus is our guide. So I'm asking you for forgiveness. Secondly, if generosity and giving makes you squirm, you're not alone. I heard a story recently that a pastor went to go visit a farmer, and he said, Farmer, if you had $200, would you give the Lord $100? And the farmer said, Pastor, you know I would.2:44The pastor said, if you had two cows, would you give God one cow? He said, Pastor, oh, you know, I love the Lord with all my heart, with all my mind, with all my soul. I would give him a cow. The pastor said, well, farmer, if you had two pigs, would you give the Lord a pig? He said, that's not fair. You know I have two pigs. Some of us feel that way, don't we, in generosity. It's easy to say, Lord, make me generous. But when it becomes personal, we begin to get more uncomfortable.3:13And I believe this is going to be the greatest giving sermon you have ever heard. Because the title of this sermon is Reasons Not to Give. I am going to talk you out biblically, four reasons not to give to the Lord today. From Matthew 23, verse 23. Because we're going to see that the transformed heart for Jesus is the heart of generosity.3:44Reasons not to give. Matthew 23, verse 23. Matthew is the very first book in the New Testament. Hear the word of the Lord. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites.4:09You pay a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, and yet you have neglected the more important things. The matters of the law, like justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These things should have been done without neglecting the others. Blind guides. You strain out gnats, and you gulp down camels.4:37Today's message is Reasons Not to Give. Let's pray. Father, we confess and we acknowledge that today we do not need to hear the word of man. We desperately need to hear the word of the Lord. We need your spirit, Father.5:05We want your spirit. And we know, because we have heard in your word already today, that you are not far off, Lord. We don't need binoculars to find you, but you are near to us. You are near the brokenhearted. And by the spirit of the living God, you tabernacle within us. And Lord, today may we not simply be hearers of your word, but may we be doers.5:30Abide in us and us in you. That we would produce much fruit, generous fruit. Lord, mold us into your image. We ask in Jesus' holy name. Amen. Well, what you have just heard is one in a series of three woes that Jesus gives to people.5:57Primarily the scribes and the Pharisees. When Jesus says woe, it's almost like a cowboy or a cowgirl riding on a horse. Woe, firstly, means slow down, warning. Be careful because there's danger ahead. But the woe to the horse is not simply for the horse. It's a woe, it's a concern, but there's a compassion in that.6:24Because the cowboy or the cowgirl is on the horse. It's not simply you watch yourself, it's watch us. It's a loving shepherd teaching the sheep, don't go that way because you'll be harmed. You'll be hurt. It's a very small word that packs a big punch. So Jesus says woe, be careful when you claim to have a transformed heart but have stingy hands.6:47Woe to you when you say that you have a big heart but you have cold and calloused hands. So today I'm going to give you four reasons not to give. Four reasons not to give. Woe to us. Firstly, Jesus says to the scribes and the Pharisees and he groups them in.7:17He says scribes and Pharisees and then comma. So Jesus is not speaking to three people. He's not speaking to scribes and then Pharisees and then the hypocrites. He's speaking to scribes and Pharisees and then he's saying you hypocrites. Now it's interesting Jesus would use the word hypokrites in Greek. That's a, it's a theater word, it's a Broadway word. It's a word that means someone who is wearing a mask.7:46For the Greeks and if you were in New York City on Broadway, it would be a great word. You see the hypocrite would be the star of the show who would come out at the end of the curtain and she or he when, when they would come out, you would stand up and you would ask for an encore and you would clap. You say you played the part well. You wore the mask fervently, well done.8:11But Jesus is not on Broadway. He's in the promised land. He's speaking to scribes and Pharisees. These are, these are clean people. These are religious people. They are Orthodox people. And Jesus is using a pagan word to describe the Orthodox. Now if you're on Broadway wearing a mask, it's a good thing. You're a millionaire.8:41You receive rewards and applause. But if you're not on Broadway and you're wearing a mask, it's a difficult word. So Jesus looks at the scribes and he looks at the Pharisees and he says, you are wearing a mask today. Why? Because they believe that their giving immediately affects a transformed heart.9:05They think, well, if we give, then we can mask our heart. Really, the scribes and the Pharisees are saying, look at my hands. Look at what I give to the church. Don't look at my heart. Don't look at the mask. Look at the checks that I write. And for you and I, that might be tolerable. Because Samuel reminds us, man looks at the outside.9:33But that's not the end of the verse. Samuel also says, man looks at the outside, but God what? God looks at the heart. So Jesus is looking at the scribes. He's looking at the Pharisees and he's saying, hey, scribes. Your bank account doesn't prevent God from looking at your bankrupt soul. And he's saying, don't give to mask a double life.10:02And it's a reminder to us today, we still can fall into the trap of wearing masks. We think that, hey, because no one else knows I have a mask on, then God does not know. And Jesus reminds us here in Matthew, no matter how much you give, no matter the frequency of your gift, it will not turn Jesus' woe into well done. And so I would just say this.10:32If you give today online, if you give today physically, and you think by giving you are masking a sinful heart, we don't want your gift. We don't. Take it back. Because I would rather you leave here today thinking, they didn't accept my gift. What's wrong with those people? Then leave here today saying, I gave, and so my heart can stay dark.10:57My mask can stay on. So what's the first reason not to give here in Matthew? Jesus would tell us, do not give today to mask a double life. Because you cannot, and it does not work. And then he gets even more personal. He uses this Broadway term, this theater term, pagan term. And I would imagine at that moment, the scribes and the Pharisees, the hair on their neck are standing up.11:28They're bristling, thinking, how dare you call us that? But then he says, you pay a tenth of your mint, your dill, and your cumin. And they're thinking, that's right, we do. Now, let's stop there. Because for the people of God, giving is not merely a good thing.11:56It's better than a good thing. Giving is a God thing. So for the people of God, prescribed in Deuteronomy, they are required to give a tenth. It's a reminder that they give to God because God has given everything to them. And in the Old Testament, in Deuteronomy, you give a tenth of the grain. You give a tenth of your wine, your libations. You give a tenth of the ground. They give a tenth of everything they have given.12:25And to those that want to take it one step further, they would even give a tenth of their garden. So giving for God's people is not a good thing. It's a God thing. It's God mandated. It's one way that they show to the Lord, God, this is the way that we show you that we love you. And it's built in the fabric of God's people. That's why every year at Passover, in the Passover, when they would eat the bread, the people of God would say this, and they say this today.12:49Blessed are you, O Lord, our God, sovereign king of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth. You see, God had woven into his people the fact that they should be generous. So giving is not a good thing. It's a God thing. But somewhere along the way, giving had become a transaction for God's people.13:19What was a good thing became a God thing, and now the God thing had turned into a bad thing. Because they gave so ritualistic that they believed that because they gave, now God owed them. And Jesus says, okay, you give, you give a tenth, and that's good.13:45But listen to the words Jesus says. He says that you, what, he does not say you offer a tenth of your spices. He doesn't say you sacrifice a tenth. What does Jesus say about the scribes and the Pharisees here? Verse 23, it says, woe to you, you hypocrites, you pay a tenth, as if giving had become a transaction.14:08Now this is not simply a problem for the ancient time, is it? There are times in our life where we give, and it becomes so mechanistic that it becomes a transaction. And if we're not careful, not only does it become ritualistic or rote,14:33if we let it become ritualistic over time, we begin to think that we can buy God's grace. Or we can rent his mercy. God, don't you know that I gave a tenth of my cumin today? Because God, that's what you require. Because you're going to make chili this week, and I know you need cumin. Or God, you're making that special chicken breast again, and I know that you put dill on top of the butter.15:03So you need a tenth of mint or dill. God, look what I've done for you. And what happens over time, if we're not careful, when we give, which is a good thing, and it's become a God thing, we begin to think, well, God, because I give, then you owe me.15:31And Jesus would look at that heart, and he looks at the scribes. And he says, woe to you, because God's mercy is not for sale. He's saying, scribes, you can't rent grace. And you cannot lease mercy. I simply say to you today, if you are giving to this church, or any church,15:58and because you give, if you think God owes you, or God's church owes you, or he has to give you grace, or he has to offer you mercy, because of anything you've done, whether it is millions, or whether it is cumin. Listen to what Jesus says. Do not give today, if you are trying to buy, earn, or lease God's grace.16:25Because you cannot. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees. You hypocrites, you pay a tenth of your mint, dill, and cumin. And yet, you have neglected certain things. So if that wasn't bad enough, Jesus now moves from the matters of external giving16:52to matters of the heart. This internal need for grace and mercy. So Jesus, speaking to people of the word, scribes, speaking to people of faith, Pharisees, gives Bible people a Bible of word. Is my microphone going out? Okay, yeah. Just bear with me.17:22He gives Bible people a Bible of word. I'm not doing anything. Okay, we're about to go charismatic. I'm grabbing the handheld mic. So to experts in the Bible, Jesus gives a Bible verse. And he says very clearly here in Matthew 23. He says, you neglect justice, mercy, and faithfulness. It's a reminder of what the prophet said.17:52What, O man, does the Lord require of you to do or act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? Jesus is saying to the people of God, don't you know what the prophet Micah said in Micah 6, 8? This is what the Lord requires. And Micah is actually answering the question that the people of God have. Micah is answering in verse 8, well, what can we give to God?18:19What does the Lord want from us? Does he want our spice cabinet? Does he want our paychecks? Does he want our sacrifice? What can God receive? And what can we give? And the answer is to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.18:43Church, it's not about what you give, but it's about how you give that touches the heart of the Lord. That's why earlier in the book of Matthew, Jesus would say this again to church folk. He would say, hey, if you've come in here today and you are writing a big fat check, and you're19:06at the altar writing that check, you have it, you've dated it, you have it written out, and you're about to sign it. If you're at the altar signing the check, and in doing so, if you remember that you have offended a brother or sister, Jesus says, don't cash the check, don't write the check.19:31Leave here, go seek forgiveness and repentance and restitution, and then come back. Leave your gift there at the altar, he says in Matthew chapter 5. Why would Jesus say that? It's not what you give, it's how you give that touches the heart of the Lord.19:57You see, what the scribes have missed is that God was not interested in their money or their garden herbs. God knew that what they offered externally was a reflection of their heart. And God knew, Jesus knew, that the mint they offered did not match up with the cleanliness or the dirtiness of their heart.20:26And this is the reminder. So this is the third reason not to give. Don't give if you're lifeless, right? Giving without living is not worth giving. You see, if you have hands that are giving to the Lord, but a heart that is not bent towards Christ, then your hands are lifeless. And so this would be my third reason not to give. If you've given today already, or you're going to give later today, if you're not born again, do not give to the Lord today. God does not want your money.20:56He wants your life. The greatest thing you can give today is not a check, it's not mint, it's not cumin. Give your life to Jesus. And find that He alone will change your life forever. This is what the Lord requires. I've given you three reasons not to give today. Let me give you one more reason not to give.21:24And that's what I call the camel effect. And Jesus actually says it so. He says, you've neglected these things of the heart. He says, you blind guides. You strain out a gnat, but you gulp down a camel. Now, firstly, we might ask, does Jesus not understand that gnats and camels, they have nothing in common?21:45Nothing. So first of all, a gnat, or a good gnat, is about one to three millimeters. So a fat gnat is on the three side.22:12An average gnat is two millimeters. Not very large when you put it up into the other animal kingdom. And then Jesus uses a fat back animal. This animal does have a fat back. The camel, right? The camel is roughly 1,300 pounds for the dromedary camel.22:36That's the one-humped variety for those keeping tabs at home. And for those of you who say, well, what about the two-humped camel? Why are they left out? No, they're not. The Bactrian camel weighs about 1,500 pounds. And so Jesus is taking a little gnat and a big back camel, and he's saying, hey, scribes, you strain out the gnats, but you gulp down a camel.23:00And you say, well, Jesus, those have nothing to do with each other. Well, one, he's Jesus, and he knows more than you and I. Because Jesus knows that in Leviticus, the camel was an unclean camel. No self-respecting scribe would ever eat or really be close to a camel because a camel would make them unclean.23:29But Jesus also knows that a gnat is an unclean animal in Leviticus. So the scribes would very carefully strain their wine because in wine you would have in the fermenting process, in the natural process, you would have gnats, you would have flies, you would have larvae that you would have to strain out. And they would be very careful to strain out the wine, but Jesus says, but you're drinking camels.23:59Can you imagine how difficult it would be to pour out some cumin and meticulously divide a tenth of that to the Lord? That's what was going on. Jesus is saying to them, you meticulously strain out gnats.24:27You are very structured in the way that you give. You're disciplined in this aspect of your life. And you should be commended because not everyone gives mint or dill or cumin to the Lord. But listen, you are neglecting large things. Maybe that's why Jesus at the temple one day, I guess he was sitting in the front row and just watching people come and put things in the offering basket.24:51And there were very rich people that would come and put large sums into the offering basket. And there was a very poor widow who came in. And I'm sure the church probably dismissed her because they said, she has nothing. And Jesus looked at the widow and he looks to his disciples and he said, truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all of the others.25:19For they gave out of their surplus, but she gave out of her poverty. She has put everything in it that she had. Now, let's stop there. Unless I'm missing something, large sums are greater than small sums, aren't they?25:46The answer is yes. Unless the scales of heaven are different than the scales of earth. You see, there's something about the economy of heaven that weighs the heart greater than it weighs the hands. And Jesus is pointing that back to the scribes. He's saying, listen, guys, you would never drink a nat.26:13May it never be. But you would gulp down a camel as if it didn't exist. What is wrong with you people? And Jesus is saying to them, listen, don't buy into this idea of the camel effect. Don't be generous with your giving or your time while ignoring the weightier matters of the heart.26:40Don't give but lack justice. Don't give but lack mercy. Don't serve the Lord and make a big deal about it. But lack love for God and love for other people. So listen, if you would never drink a nat, but you have no trouble swallowing a camel today, don't give.27:07First, get your heart right. Find the weightier matters of the word. You say, pastor, what does God want then? If I can't eat camels or drink gnats, what does God want? And he says so. Do mercy. Act justly.27:38Act justly. And walk humbly. Be faithful to your God. Now, some of you hear this and you think, hallelujah, pastor gave me four reasons I don't have to give anymore. Glory be. But that's not what Jesus is saying. He is saying if your heart is not right, don't give because he wants your heart. And no amount of giving, no frequency of giving can get you into heaven.28:04Well, what Christ is saying to us is that giving is a way that we demonstrate our love for the Lord. It's an overflow of our worship. That's why he points out the widow's might. And so what are some things we can learn from the widow in the way that we give?28:29Firstly, look to the widow's generosity as a powerful reflection of the heart of our Savior. This widow made giving a priority in her life. A priority. Many were giving, but she, Jesus says, she gave everything. It hurt.28:58It hurt. It was a priority in her life. And I believe there's something in the scribe's life. Maybe they had an abundance of mint at home. Maybe there was a BOGO deal on cumin. But Jesus knew that when they gave, it was not a priority. They wanted you to think it was a priority. They wanted Jesus to think it was sacrificial, but he knew in his heart.29:28May we be people like the widow. Who says, God, when we give, I want you, I want it to be a priority because you are a priority. God, I want, I want to give her the first fruits, not the leftovers. God, make it a priority in my life. Secondly, the widow's offering was a picture of sacrifice.29:55She gave because she wanted to, and she gave as a sacrifice to what the Lord had been giving to her. And maybe for you, you give, and it's a priority. You give first. Maybe it's a reoccurring gift, and it comes out the first thing of the month. And praise God to that. But maybe when you look at the widow's gift, you realize, God, I should be doing more, and I could be doing more.30:24May we be people in the Old Testament, that giving is not just a good thing, but it's a God thing for us. See, God may not only give him be a priority, but may it be a percentage. May it be sacrificial. May I give to you because you give so freely to me. And then thirdly, we see in the widow. She gave everything she had.30:55She didn't stop at what was required. She gave all, and Jesus says she even gave all that she had to live on. May our giving be progressive. May we not say, God, I'm going to stop here on my generosity. May my giving, may my generosity never be a limit on God's progressive grace in my life. And his abundance in our lives. But may we say, Lord, if you ask, I will give.31:26If there's a need, I will provide. Lord, may I never stop being faithful and generous to you. If you're here today and you think, well, God only wants my giving. The church only wants my money. Don't give. If you're here today and you say, well, if I give enough, then I can keep wearing my mask. I can live a double life.31:56Don't give. If you're here today and you think, well, if I give, then I can ignore loving others as myself. And I can, I don't have to be merciful and I don't have to do justice. No, don't give. Because the greatest gift is greater than what we can give. I'm always fascinated that the greatest, one of the greatest verses that we love and cherish as a people of faith is John 3.16.32:21For God so loved the world that he gave. Why would the greatest verse to some of our lives be about giving? For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son. That whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.32:50So let me tell you about a better gift than the one you can give. If you have never by faith trusted in Jesus Christ, would you do so today? I had a young man in the lobby come up to me. Actually, I came up to him. And I said, hey, what happened this week? Really quick story. He said, I was working on my math homework. I'm like, where are I?33:20I have no clue where this is going. And he said, God spoke to me. I'm like, in math? Like, God can speak in any way he so chooses. And he said, I gave my life to Jesus doing math homework. So let me speak to my teenagers. If you're not doing your math homework, you better do it today. Parents, that's a free gift. But would you be like this young man if you have not given your life to Jesus Christ?33:47Maybe you're listening to this message or maybe today is a normal day. You got up today thinking, I'm going to do math homework like I do every day. No, there is never a normal day with Jesus. God so loved you that he gave his one and only son. God so loved you that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.34:17Have you received Jesus Christ, his grace by faith? Listen to the scribes and the Pharisees. They would say, God doesn't want your mint. He doesn't want your cumin. You can't lease mercy and you can't buy grace. But you can receive it. You receive it by faith. Would you follow Jesus Christ today?34:46Maybe you hear this message and you realize, I've not been generous like I should. Giving has not been a priority. And I've not given sacrificially. And maybe I'm giving sacrificially. And maybe it's been a priority. But I could do even more. And I've kind of stopped because I feel like I'm meeting the requirements. Would we be a people that at the end of the day, we say to the Lord, Father, may there never be a lid on our generosity to you.35:06Because there's not a lid on his generosity to us. Woe to you, scribes. Woe to you, Pharisees. You give a tenth. But you neglect the whiter matters.35:36May we be people who put the first things first. And the greater things in the greater places. Let's pray. Father. Father.Next in Back to the Basics →Back to the Basics – MissionsMore sermons on Matthew →
