Giving – Your Money or Gods Money – Sola 21st March 2010

2Samuel 24:24  But the king answered, "No, I will pay you for it. I will not offer to the LORD my God sacrifices that have cost me nothing." And he bought the threshing place and the oxen for fifty pieces of silver.

King David went to the house of the man, and the man offered to provide the sacrifice. “I will not off to the Lord God sacrifices that have not cost me anything”…

Want my giving, my sacrifice to cost me something. That means that I should look in my wallet for something precious, not the base notes or coins.

Giving in the body of Christ

The Warren Buffet Effect – He gives, and gives to Charity….

Foundation:

God’s ownership of everything

God is in control of the air, rain, sun, valley, mountain etc….

Our Response – Everything we have belongs to God, we are stewards of Gods things

Stewards are administrators or affairs, possessions etc…

True stewardship will reflect this exchange

Gods owns

god is faithful

gods rewards faithful servants

Giving is a REAL investment

John 3: 16 God invested his own son

Luke 6:38

Matt 6: 19 -20

Mat 6:19  "Do not store up riches for yourselves here on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and robbers break in and steal.
Mat 6:20  Instead, store up riches for yourselves in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and robbers cannot break in and steal.

Do not store…

Acts 20: 35

Why should we give?

—Marriage Relationship Because you love – Love response to God

—Give because you have more than you need

—Obedience to God

—Danger of giving under obligation, Jesus gave out of compassion

—God honours us in our giving

How should we give?

—Willing

—Cheerfully

—Generously

—Direct Debit

—Gift Aid

—Giving of time

—Give out of prompting from God

—Spontaneity

—Response to need

—Obediently

—Don’t give with the wrong attitude

—Sometimes we don’t give as we don’t have enough trust / faith

If Jesus was holding the offering bowl, would you give more?

Jesus IS here every week.

Types of Giving

Tithes – Mal 3:10

Minimum – first fruits

Offering

Special Gifts

Sacrificial Gifts

Cheerful Giving or Tearful Giving

Giving – The real investment

Prov 11:24

Mat 6: 2 – So when you Give

Mat 6:5 – and when you Pray

Mat 6: 16 – when you Fast

Justify what you keep, not what you can give

What is in your wallet?

What is in your heart?

1 Tim 6: 6-10

How much do we give into Gods work?