More thoughts on Sacrificial Giving…..

More thoughts on Sacrificial Giving…..

I ended my first blog on Sacrificial Giving with the following paragraph and four points:

So the question for me comes down to this, is it reasonable for me to be asked to give sacrificially? I would say yes, and I must give. God’s Word demands it. However, it is necessary that I choose wisely as I direct my sacrificial giving. In this pursuit of following God’s Word that calls me to be a living sacrifice, I am personally considering these four points:

• God’s purpose—Is my time, efforts, gifts, and/or money going to further God’s purpose rather than man’s agenda?

• Godly repentance—If sin was committed, in other words, if Scriptural principles regarding debt were ignored, has true repentance occurred and has the acknowledgment of the repentance been made public?

• Honesty and Integrity in leadership—Is there honesty and integrity in these dealings which create and/or convey the greater need? Is there responsibility and accountability?

• Modeling leadership—Is the leadership leading by sacrificially giving of their own resources? Are they modeling the response they desire to see?

The question is not whether I will give, nor is it whether I will give sacrificially. The question is: How and where and to whom? And then that I do it, with all my heart, and all that I am, and all that I have.

I would like to further address the idea of Modeling Leadership, leadership that leads by example. This is a Scriptural concept. How many times did the Apostle Paul admonish believers to follow his example and encourage those he was mentoring to be an example to those over whom they had been entrusted with leadership? Here are a few instances.

1Corinthians 11:1—Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

Philippians 3:17—Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.

2Thessalonians 3:7—For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example.

1Timothy 4:12—Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

Titus 2:7-8—In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned….

I think it’s fair to say that Paul led by example, his life was marked by integrity and he could say with confidence, “Don’t just do what I say, do what I do! Follow my example as I model my life after Christ.” That is what I mean by Modeling Leadership; leadership that leads by example, maybe even to the point where words become unnecessary.

I find it interesting that this concept is also clearly portrayed in the Old Testament. I direct your attention to 1Chronicles 29:

Then King David said to the whole assembly: "My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the Lord God. With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God--gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble--all of these in large quantities. Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple: three thousand talents of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings, for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate himself today to the Lord?" Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king's work gave willingly. They gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze and a hundred thousand talents of iron. Any who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the Lord in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite. The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.

David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, "Praise be to you, O Lord, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name. "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. O Lord our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. O Lord, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you. And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, requirements and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided

David led by example. He not only gave out of his resources, but it says he gave out of his personal treasures of silver and gold. He gave willingly, freely and in a way that demonstrated that he knew he was a steward of the possessions God had entrusted him with. He realized that the LORD had provided what he was giving and he was giving back what really belong to Him in the first place. But also notice that the people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders. The willingness and example of giving demonstrated by the leadership caused great joy among the people and encouraged them to do the same. That, I believe is to be the example of Modeling Leadership....leadership that is willing to not only say “Do what I say, but....do what I do.”

Unshakeable…….

Unshakeable…….

I have very fond memories of the Pastor I was raised under. He was not perfect by any means, but he was a man who loved God and loved the people of his church. On Sunday morning he would stand outside the door of his office and greet everyone as they entered the building. As it got closer to the beginning of the service and people were taking their seats, he would walk up and down the isles shaking hands and welcoming everyone. There was a genuine love and connection with his congregation. He loved the Scriptures and although had little more than a Bible School education was able to teach with great passion and conviction. He had memorized many Scriptures that, to this day, when I hear them, I think of him. One of those many verses is 1Corinthians 15:58: Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. (KJV, the version he quoted from) He would quote this verse to every new member as they received, what he called, “The right hand of fellowship.”

I was reminded of that verse this morning as I was reading through Luke 6. This is a wonderful chapter that has many things that could be written about, but this is what really struck me, the thought of an unshakeable house.

Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great. (ESV)

Is anyone struggling with some shakiness today? I have to admit, when I look at the conditions of our nation and think about how things have changed in a matter of a few months, I get a little uneasy. The economy….unemployment….giving greater power to the UN….our backing away from our traditional strong support of Israel….nationalized healthcare….the governmental takeover of the automobile industry and our banks….lack of support for the idea of marriage being between a man and a woman…..abortion….the list goes on and on, doesn’t it? But in these verses we find the answer on how to become unshakeable….knowing and obeying the Word of God. According to Luke 6, when we listen to God’s Word and obey them, we are building on a deep and strong foundation. It is a foundation so strong and deep that the strongest forces of nature will not be able to destroy it. Knowing God’s Word and living in obedience to His Words gives us the ability to be “Steadfast, unmoveable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord.” It gives us the courage to hang in there in the face of incredible opposition, even the attack of the enemy himself.

So today, I want to encourage you with the challenge of getting to know God, His Word and then applying them. If you’re already doing that, Praise God! If you need to develop the habit of a regular time of Bible study and prayer, why not begin today? This is best remedy for any shakiness you may be experiencing.

Sacrificial Giving......

Sacrificial Giving......

I was recently in a leadership situation in which I was challenged to give sacrificially and to encourage others to do so. This particular situation involves far reaching decisions that were made in healthier economic times. So I began to ask, “What is sacrificial giving and what does it look like in terms of its practical application?” Since I believe that the Scriptures provide our most fundamental framework for truth and decision making, I went back to them.

My first thought was the reminder of King David’s statement in 2 Samuel 24:24. I’ve included some of the context here:

On that day Gad went to David and said to him, "Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite." So David went up, as the Lord had commanded through Gad. When Araunah looked and saw the king and his men coming toward him, he went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground. Araunah said, "Why has my lord the king come to his servant?" "To buy your threshing floor," David answered, "so I can build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped." Araunah said to David, "Let my lord the king take whatever pleases him and offer it up. Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. O king, Araunah gives all this to the king." Araunah also said to him, "May the Lord your God accept you." But the king replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them. David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered prayer in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.

David’s sacrifice to atone for his sin had to involve a cost to him. He would not and could not offer a sacrifice to God that cost him nothing. That was sacrificial giving to him, there had to be a cost associated with it.

I also was reminded of the scene of the widow in Luke 21:1-4:

As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. "I tell you the truth," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."

In this scene the widow is putting in what appears to be a very insignificant amount of money into the offering box (ESV), but in fact, it was all she had. It meant that she would not have money to pay for food, clothes, or household needs to say nothing of the vacation, Starbucks or cable tv. She was giving sacrificially, all that she had. She was not giving out of her excess, what she didn’t need to live on, but ALL she had. That was sacrificial giving and there was a huge cost associated with it.

Finally, I thought about Paul’s admonition to the Romans in chapter 12:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Our bodies are to be offered as living sacrifices; sacrificial giving is more than throwing a few extra dollars in the offering plate to help with the church debt. It involves a lifestyle of sacrificial service; giving of our money is just one of its many aspects. Sacrificial giving is really sacrificial living, the realization that all I am and have is His and it only makes sense, in return, to return it to Him through my acts of giving and serving. This type of sacrificial giving is not something that is natural for us, nor is it being modeled for us. Jesus lived it, He willingly laid down His life for us—the perfect example of sacrificial giving....and living. The apostle Paul modeled it; he gave of himself sacrificially for the cause of Christ.

So the question for me comes down to this, is it reasonable for me to be asked to give sacrificially? I would say yes, and I must give. God’s word demands it. However, it is necessary that I choose wisely as I direct my sacrificial giving. In this pursuit of following God’s Word that calls me to be a living sacrifice, I am personally considering these four points:

• God’s purpose—Is my time, efforts, gifts, and/or money going to further God’s purpose rather than man’s agenda?

• Godly repentance—If sin was committed, in other words, if Scriptural principles regarding debt were ignored, has true repentance occurred and has the acknowledgment of the repentance been made public?

• Honesty and Integrity in leadership—Is there honesty and integrity in these dealings which create and/or convey the greater need? Is there responsibility and accountability?

• Modeling leadership—Is the leadership leading by sacrificially giving of their own resources? Are they modeling the response they desire to see?

The question is not whether I will give, nor is it whether I will give sacrificially. The question is: How and where and to whom? And then that I do it, with all my heart, and all that I am, and all that I have.

This is my desire
To honor You
Lord, with all my heart
I worship You
All I have within me
I give You praise
All that I adore
Is in You

Lord, I give You my heart
I give You my soul
I live for you alone
Every breath that I take
Every moment I'm awake
Lord, have Your way in me
(Song Title: I Give You My Heart, Words and Music by Reuben Morgan)

May every gift that I give be “a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.”- Philippians 4:18b