← ArchiveHow a Spiritual steward gives money!DateDecember 7, 2014Speaker—Text—Passages in this sermonMalachi 3:102:19Isaiah 35:45:49Philippians 4:197:50Genesis 22:149:04Romans 11:3611:10Galatians 6:713:28John 1218:11Mark 1418:21Matthew 6:19–2118:47TranscriptClick any line to jump there.0:00all right you don't want to miss that tonight i'm wondering greg does the adult choir next sunday go do anything like this yes wait and see okay i don't think the adult choir has that much rhythm but anyway you want to make sure you come back and hear those guys next sunday tonight0:28is going to be awesome and uh parents if you can't found we got some kids running around here looking for parents i'll take them home with me if you don't claim them there you go all right i hope you brought your bibles today if you did turn with me to luke gospel chapter 21 luke's gospel chapter 21 how a spiritual steward gives you know money's a great tool is it not it's a horrible0:52master it's amazing tool that it is a horrible master i saw a funny uh little article in the newspaper several weeks ago and it just it grabbed me i i don't take the birmingham news but it was happened to be in a place where i was it was sitting there so i picked it up and read the funny papers on and it was a picture of uh of a family sitting on a church pew and the and they had all those little1:19kids and the mom and dad were there and they were passing the offering plate and one of the little girl leaned over and grabbed dad by the arm and she said the caption said remember daddy you don't have to pay for jeffrey or pj children under three get in for free and so that's really not the case children under three don't get in for free because it costs does it not it takes money the gospel is free but1:46there is a freight charge to it it costs money to present the gospel around the world the will of god will never lead us to where the grace of god has not provided for us and i want us to look at this passage of scripture as we unpack god's word today looking at this wonderful wonderful passage of scripture on this no name recorded servant of god the uh theme of the whole series the two-part2:11series actually is malachi 3 10 bring the whole tithe into the storehouse test me now in this says the lord of hosts and see if i will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows now i love that passage of scripture for a couple of reasons because if i just get under the windows of blessing and do my part god's going to bless me amen2:40that's what it's actually saying to us get under the windows of blessing and watch him pour it out luke's gospel chapter 21 verse 4 1 through 4 and he looked up the new international version renders it this way and he looked up and jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury he also saw a poor widow putting put in two very small copper coins i tell you the truth3:04he said this poor widow has put in more than all of the others and all these people gave out their gifts out of their wealth but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on i want you to just let that sink into you the rich gave out of their wealth but she gave out of her poverty she gave all she3:33had she put in all she could i want us to understand today from god's word how a spiritual steward gives how a spiritual steward gives money now money in our message truth is one sentence money clarifies the sincerity of my stewardship the in this this passage of scripture this poorest example3:59of a purest example of this of given by any person in the word of god her humility character obedience and integrity are only exceeded by her absolute resolve of her faith in christ her offering marks the greatest measured act of giving as determined by jesus in her silence this no-name recorded servant of god4:25speaks convinced and continuously by her stewardship of money money does indeed talk it identifies the integrity of our hearts and identify and the identification of our treasure money clarifies the sincerity of our stewardship i want us to look at three things today for us to consider and lock into our4:48our hearts today something that we can take how does a godly steward give a godly giver gives first of all without intimidation gives without intimidation they are not going to be a godly giver is going to trust god and completely surrender to his lordship look with verse one says and he looked up and he saw the rich putting in their gifts into the temple treasury now folks let me tell you something some people say5:17well they you know the the rich had a lot more money than the poor lady did yes but i'm gonna tell you what she gave all she had it was easy for them to give was it not it was easy for them to give out of their their rich their wealthiness folks let me tell you something we need to realize that we don't need to intimidate about anybody about how much they give we need to challenge people to be givers and when we give5:41we get under the window of blessing so she was not intimidated in any shape form or fashion isaiah chapter 35 verse 4 says and saying to those who fear with fearful hearts be strong and do not fear your god will come god is our refuge the psalmist says for verse chapter 46 he is our refuge and strength6:04therefore we will not fear you see we a godly giver gives without intimidation without social or gaining any approval from anybody a godly giver does not want somebody to come by and pat them on the back and say wow look what you're getting you're gonna get the blessing right then if a person stands up and says well i gave this they got the blessing right then this no name for 2500 years we still6:30don't know her name we don't know who she is but we see the example of godly integrity and godly character by her giving she was not intimidated she without social gain without economic finality she was without she gave without emotional fear or embarrassment or guilt she gave without the religious legalism6:54attached to it she just gave she reached into the coffers of her purse and she gave two small copper coins so a godly giver gives without intimidation secondly a godly giver gives without limitation i want you to look what number verse two verse two says he also saw he also saw the poor widow put in two very7:21small copper coins you see the rich put in from their wealth she put in all she had this poor no name servant of god gave from the heart from the depths of her heart she gave without limitation now i don't preach normally from the message translation of god's word i think it's a great read but i love reading from a more uh accurate manuscript but the message bible tells us this in philippians chapter 4 verse 197:50listen to what it says you can be sure that god will take care of everything you need his generosity exceedingly even yours it's seating yours in the glory that pours from jesus you see a godly giver gives without intimidation a godly giver gives without limitation because a godly giver gives because they8:13remember who is in charge who's in charge well god's in charge god's in charge he is the creator of all things he is god is in charge of creation in the beginning god created the heavens and the earth the god who made the world and all the things in it so he is the creator of all things he is also the8:35supplier of all things philippians chapter 4 verse 19 a new american standard version and my god shall supply all your needs according to his riches and glory in christ jesus or in jesus christ so not only is he the the creator he is also the supplier he is also the provider god provides everything listen to what the genesis chapter 22 verse 14 says and abraham called the name of the place the lord will provide and it's9:04said to be this day in the mount of the lord it shall be provided folks let me tell you something he's not only the creator of all things he is the supplier of all things he is the provider of all things he will take care of us when we give without limitations when we give without putting a limit on it when we say you know i'm gonna give until it hurts god blesses a cheerful9:34giver amen i believe if every person that is a member of this congregation in a couple of weeks we're going to vote on the night 2015 operating budget for this church if every person would tithe 10 just 10 not 90 just 10 of their income we would have an enormous surplus10:00every person you say well dan you're kind of getting up in our business today aren't you yep i sure am because i believe that we need to be challenged to give amen we need to say god completely take control of my life i want you to save me and when he did he also said i want your checkbook10:24you see he provides he is the provider he is a supplier he is the creator of all things and then he is the owner of all things you could tell a person who's totally surrendered to the lordship of jesus by looking at their checkbook amen how dare this interim come in here and talk about this stuff right well if i don't who is right amen i i'm just i'm just don't shoot don't shoot me i'm just the messenger10:55take it up with god if you don't want to give amen or oh me folks let me tell you something the bible says in romans chapter 11 verse 36 for it for him and through him and to him are all things folks if you don't think he owns it you are highly mistaken he already owns it he created it he created us11:19and so when we surrender to the lordship of jesus christ when we surrender our lives to him he is in control either you're in control or he is in control it can't be both ways i love what the psalmist says in chapter 24 verse 1 the earth is the lord's and everything in it the world and all who lives in it so a godly giver gives without intimidation a godly giver gives without11:47limitation because a godly giver knows who's in charge god's in charge a godly giver knows that he will take care of every need we have i love what my old mentor told me he said dan if you can't live on ninety percent you sure can't live on a hundred percent i love what another friend of mine told12:13me one time said i asked him i said well let me tell you something i'm tithing but i don't know if i'm tithing the right amount do you tithe on the gross of the check that you get or do you tithe on what you take home and he looked at me he says well let me ask you this do you want to be blessed on the gross amount or do you want to be blessed on the net amount i said i think i'm not smart i'm from trustful i'm not real smart i think i want to be blessed on the gross amount he said there you go12:42folks let me tell you something you've heard it time and time again from this pulpit and from other pulpits around the world you cannot out give god the more you give the more you get under the window the more he continues to bless a godly giver gives without intimidation a godly giver gives without limitation because a godly giver knows who's in charge and god is in charge a godly giver gives because he remembers13:10the laws of the harvest you reap what you sow folks that's a choice when you reap what you sow that's a choice galatians chapter 6 verse 7 and a man reaps what he sows we we we weep because what we sow that's a choice we reap where we sow that's a condition and who sows to please a sinful nature from that nature so13:35folks if we sow for a sinful nature we will reap a sinful nature so we reap what we sow that's a choice we reap where we sow that's a condition we reap after we sow that is a continuation sows to please a sinful nature we'll reap so if we continue to reap in a sinful lifestyle we'll continue to receive13:59a a blessing from our sinful lifestyle so reap what you sow that's a choice where you sow that's a condition after you sow that's a continuation and when you reap more than you sow that is a consequence and that nature will reap destruction and will reap eternal life folks let me tell you something when we say i'm going to completely give my life to the lord jesus christ in every aspect of my life i'm going to sow good seed into fertile ground and i'm going to reap goods to harvest you see a godly giver because14:28he knows who's in charge he remembers the law of the harvest and thirdly a godly giver gives because he remembers the reality of our debt we are indebted every person in this room today we are indebted to the last generation we don't need to forget those people who have gone on before us we need to remember those i guess the older that i get14:57the more i get this the more i understand that we need to remember those who have gone on before us the last generation now church let me tell you something i don't want to go back and do church the way we used to do it how many of y'all want to go back that way raise your hand not a person thank you for voting we're going forward thank you i don't want to go back there i love the microwave in15:23my house i'd starve slap to death if we didn't have a microwave right i love my cell phone i love my iphone i love that stuff right we need to be indebted for the foundation of the historical factors of god has black planted in this congregation but we must move forward but we must be indebted for the last generation who paved the way we are indebted to the last generation we're also indebted to the next15:51generation church let me tell you something a godly giver gives because they are indebted to the last generation that built the foundation we are also indebted to the next generation and we see a bunch of them we saw a bunch of them up here folks let me tell you something i'm all about the next generation those who have not yet come i don't care how old they are we should be indebted to the next16:16generation and boy here's where it gets good we are indebted to god because god demonstrated his own love towards us in while we were yet sinners christ died for us that beautiful baby in that manger scene grew up to be a man he lived and walked amongst us just like a man he died on the cruel cross that we16:41might live for all of eternity we are indebted to god because he sent his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life i was in a unique conversation with a young reform guy the other day this young reformer and i was talking about it and he says i don't understand i don't believe that whosoever i said i know what it means it means anybody that17:09calls upon the name of the lord shall be saved for god so love the world i am indebted that god sent his beloved son to stand on my behalf so that we might be able to proclaim his name around the world so a godly giver gives without intimidation a godly giver gives without limitation and finally a godly giver17:33gives without expiration look what it says verse 3 and i tell you the truth he said this poor widow has put in more than all the others i bet you i have read that 25 or 30 or 40 50 times over the years and i started thinking about that early this morning look with me what she said what he said again she has this poor widow has put in more than all the others18:02she put in two copper coins she put in all she had i'm thinking about other people in scripture john chapter 12 mark chapter 14 the woman she took the alabaster file and she broke it over the head of jesus and over the feet of jesus she did all she could with all she had while she had the time to do it18:29she gave all she had not experiencing expecting anything a godly giver gives without expiration matthew chapter 6 verse 19 through 21 says do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither18:55moth nor rust destroys where thieves do not break in and steal for where your treasure is there your heart will be also folks with christ jesus suffering is temporary joy is eternal without christ joy may be temporary it may be fun for a moment but suffering will be for all of eternity19:25i had some time to spend with buddy nashley this week and many of y'all been praying for them and that was called in and when i was called in uh i spent some time with them at the hospital standing at the foot of thomas's bed and i started thinking about what what could i do to encourage them what could i do to encourage this19:52wonderful couple that have affected my life and this young man has totally affected all of our lives and i said i started thinking about an illustration and i said think with me for a moment this long and the longest rope that you could possibly imagine you can't even see the end of it just lay this rope out on the highway and it just keeps going for all for long long long long long and i want you to paint20:22about this much of one tip of that rope red and they looked at me and they said okay i understand that i got that in my mind i said that moment right there is what you've had with thomas but the rest of the rope is what you'll spend eternity with him when you surrender to the lordship of jesus christ your treasure will be for eternity20:52you see joy may be temporary without christ but with him it is eternal this morning as i was driving over i started thinking about this message and i started thinking about stewardship and i started thinking about this no-name servant of god and i started thinking now 2 000 plus years21:25pastors have stood up and talked about this lady sunday school teachers have talked about this lady the general church person just not in leadership but has read their bible faithfully over these years has read about this lady and we're still talking about her life stewardship what a testimony my question is21:53if that red part came to that end today for you what would your testimony be how would you be recognized as a godly giver did you short chain god or did you give all you could with all you had while that you had the time to do it money clarifies the sincerity of my stewardship22:22let's pray with heads bowed and eyes closed i believe there's some in this room today that you have been contemplating your commitment to christ and i'm asking you today do you truly know jesus christ as your personal savior and lord22:52i would be completely derelict in my duty today as the transitional pastor for this church to not give you an opportunity if you've never truly invited jesus christ into your life today is a day of salvation for you if you're here today and you've never transferred your faith and trust of yourself into the person of jesus maybe you have a church membership maybe you are a part of a local church maybe you're even part of this local church23:20but if you have truly never invited jesus christ into your life i'm going to have our instrumentalists but quietly play with heads bowed and eyes closed in this room and i i i was so impressed in the spirit of the lord impressed upon my life during our musical worship portion of our time together this morning to to clearly23:47clearly present to you the opportunity to invite jesus christ into your life let it be your all in all today is a day of salvation for someone in this room i believe it i believe there's somebody here today you've been contemplating it you've been holding on to your own life24:17but you're willing and ready to surrender to his lordship right now i believe there's someone in this room today maybe you've truly come to that point well you know you need jesus christ as your personal savior lord will you today surrender to him will you invite him into your life transfer your faith and trust of yourself into the person of jesus24:46and say yes to him for all of eternity let him have control of your life the bible says you must confess your mouth that jesus is lord and god raised him from the dead and receive him today i'm going to repeat some words they're nothing more than words25:14but if you mean it in your heart you can just kind of word your own conversation with god but maybe you just need some help and i i'm just going to walk you through some words they're nothing more than words but if you mean it in your heart it's a prayer and god will do it right here in this room maybe you need to pray something like this dear jesus today i confess my sin to you today i invite you into my life today lord jesus25:44thank you thank you thank you for sending your son god in the form of a baby and grew up like a man and jesus thank you for dying on the cross taking the penalty of my sin to the cross thank you lord jesus for hearing my prayer26:13i confess my sin to you i receive you into my life in jesus name i pray with heads bowed eyes closed no one looking about our deacons are going to come down here and be at the front our trained staff our trained counselors will be here at the front if you're here today and you invited christ into your heart would you just quietly slip your hand up right where you are saying pastor today i invited jesus christ into my life right26:42now is there one maybe you're here today you say dan i know christ but he's not been lord of my life for a long while and i want to make him lord of my life i wanted to control every aspect of my life if that be the case just slip your hand up right now right where you are right back down god bless you yes god bless you yes is there others i wanted to be controlling control my life right now27:11father god you saw the hands of those that indicated that i pray over them lord right now and i pray you give them courage to stand up and step out to speak with one of our trained one of our deacons or one of our trained counselors and and share their heart with you with them and as they get counseling and pray and be encouraged today god give them that first step of encouragement today and we give you all the glory thank you father for doing what you did in this room27:40today we love you we praise you and we thank you for what you're doing you
