Embracing the Joy of Giving | Part 2

Discover the transformative power of joy-driven generosity, where we dive into the teachings of 2 Corinthians chapter 9. Pastor Chris unravels the misconceptions surrounding church and money, emphasizing that true blessings come from a willing and cheerful spirit of giving. This isn't a conversation about fulfilling obligations; it's an uplifting exploration of how your financial gifts can become an act of worship and a source of happiness, reflecting a heart satisfied by Jesus rather than material wealth.

Generosity in giving isn't measured by the size of the donation but by the condition of the heart. Our discussion highlights the importance of giving that is both sacrificial and joyful, aiming to empower not our bank accounts but the good works that strengthen our faith communities. We address the vital questions: How much should we give? What motivates our giving? By sharing insights from scripture, we aim to equip you with a spiritually-grounded approach to financial contributions, one that prioritizes the health of our churches and the well-being of our communities.

As we conclude, we consider the state of Christian giving in America, challenging listeners to examine their giving habits and invest in the eternal treasures that align with a kingdom-minded approach to life. Our financial commitments are a mirror of our hearts, and this conversation is a call to nurture a deeper relationship with Christ through grace-filled generosity. Whether you're seeking to grow in faith or looking for a community of believers who value authentic generosity, join us at myrealchurch.org for resources and fellowship on this journey.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:04

The following resource is brought to you by Real Life Community Church in Richmond, Kentucky. We hope you're both challenged and encouraged by this message from Pastor Chris May.

Speaker 2: 0:15

Today I am going to preach for the second week on a subject that I'm a little bit uncomfortable preaching. If you know me, you know this is true, but I'm going to preach on giving and our finances, and you know, as I'm thinking about this song, our generosity and our willingness to give up the resources that God has given us shows that we know. It proves that we know it is not money that satisfies, but it is only the Lord, jesus Christ. Amen. If you have your Bibles, go with me. Same text as last week 2 Corinthians, chapter 9. 2 Corinthians, chapter 9,. If you have it, say amen, amen. 2 Corinthians, chapter 9,. If you have it, say amen. The word of the Lord says this.

Speaker 2: 1:10

Paul, writing Corinth, says Now it is superfluous for me to write to you about the ministry for the saints, for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year and your zeal has stirred up most of them. But I am sending the brothers so that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this matter, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be Otherwise if some Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated, to say nothing of you for being so confident. So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead of you and to arrange in advance for the gift you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as an exaction. The point Paul writes is this Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. Whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver and God is able to make all grace abound to you so that, having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written, he has distributed freely, he has given to the poor. His righteousness endures forever. He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way which, through us, will produce thanksgiving to God, for the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. By their approval of this service, they will glorify God Because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others when they long for you and pray for you Because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift. It's the word of the Lord and you may be seated.

Speaker 2: 3:36

I love the story about two men who were stranded on an island. One of the men was nervously pacing back and forth. He was overcome with anxiety, while the second man just sat there taking in the race. So the first man asked the second man. He said hey. He said how could you be so relaxed? He said aren't you worried that we're going to lose our lives, we're going to die out here? And the man said no, not worried about that at all. He said I make about $100,000 a week and I tithe and give generously every week in the offering. Trust me, my pastor will find us every week in the offering. Trust me, my pastor will find us.

Speaker 2: 4:33

Well, I felt led last Sunday to preach on 2 Corinthians 9, on the somewhat taboo subject of giving, and this is an important topic but, as I've told you many times, it makes me a little bit uncomfortable for two reasons. One, we have all seen the TV preachers and some of the megachurch preachers who have exploited and manipulated people in order to get them to give and also to fund their own ministries, let's say. And secondly, so that's one reason. Secondly, we hear this all the time from the unchurched All the church cares about is money, and you know that may be true of some churches, but there are many churches that is not true of, and if you've been here anytime, I want you to raise your hand. I just need some witnesses to say this church is not all about money. True, all right. So if you're visiting, there's your witness.

Speaker 2: 5:32

So what's so funny is last week I began to prep second Corinthians, chapter 9 and I thought, all right, I'm going to get this sermon out of the way. And I was studying and preparing and I'm like I can't cover this in one week. So it turned into two messages and then I was studying this week and go wait, I got to do this a third week. How many know God has a sense of humor, you know when I thought about this. So I thought you know what if I fail to preach to you about giving generosity, money, finances, that I've actually done you a great disservice, for a few reasons. One, how many know it's more blessed to give than to receive? How many believe that the Lord blesses our giving? Thirdly, guess what I'm called to preach? The whole counsel of God, entire counsel of God. And this is part of the counsel of God. The Bible actually talks quite a bit about our finances and our giving. So here we go.

Speaker 2: 6:33

I'll say this here's the aim, same as last week, of this message. My aim is not to guilt, trip you into giving more. It is not to browbeat you. Let's say here's my aim. It's to invite you into the joy of generosity, to teach you what God says about giving. That's it, and I'll tell you how you know that's true. This is a reason you know that's my aim, Because I did not wait, very intentionally, to the end. I did not wait to the end of service to take offering, because I don't want you to have some emotional experience and just give something that you're not convinced you need to give. So I want you to think about and pray about and seek the Lord about, and then I hope that you will be challenged and cheerful to give. Are you with me? All right. Anybody else uncomfortable with this? All right, here we go.

Speaker 2: 7:34

So last week I started unpacking this text and just briefly I'll say again this is where Paul asked the Corinthian believers, who are known for their generosity. He asked them to prepare an offering that is going to go to support the needy believers in Jerusalem. So that's the context. So last week the first message was all about the why behind our giving. Why do we give? And that's important, because if you do not know the why, chances are you will never care about the how or how much. You got to know the why.

Speaker 2: 8:11

And so here's what we learned last week we give, number one, because our giving, first and foremost, glorifies God. Secondly, we give to support the church and its mission. And we give to support the church and its mission, and we give to support the needy, the poor, the marginalized. Then we give because God blesses our giving. I mean, paul says we reap what we sow. He said if we sow what God has given us, he says he's gonna increase our seed, increase what we have to sow. So that's why we give.

Speaker 2: 8:46

And so now that we have the why, I want to move on to a question that I get all the time, pastor, how much should we be giving Now? Before answering that question, it's worth mentioning again my final point that I kind of blew through last week about the heart of giving, because there is a caveat to experience the joy of giving. There's a caveat to glorifying God in our giving and that is this If we are going to experience the joy and blessing of giving, we must give with the right heart, and that means that we've got to have the right attitude and the right motive when we give. So let's start quickly. The right attitude Look at verse 5 in your text.

Speaker 2: 9:36

Paul says I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead of you and to arrange in advance the gift that I have promised, so that you may be ready as a what Willing gift, a willing gift, not as an exaction. Look at verse 7. Each one must give as he what has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. You know what that tells me? No pastor should ever manipulate you to give. That's why I never browbeat you. We should encourage you. We should never browbeat you or manipulate you, because here's what I believe if you are giving with a resentful heart. It might be and this is hard for a preacher to say but it might be better that you don't give at all.

Speaker 2: 10:36

Furthermore, god, god, commands us not just to give willingly, but he commands us to give cheerfully. You're like man, I'm giving money away. How can that be cheerful? Well, if you're a Christian, you understand this. It is more blessed to give than receive, and you know when you're giving, you glorify God. And you know, when you're giving, that you're supporting ministry at this church and you're supporting missionaries all across the world, and you know that God is going to bless you. How could it not be cheerful? So, bob, offering should not be a time of drudgery. And oh, here we go, let's just get through this. It ought to be a time of joy and celebration. It's a part of our worship. So we've got to get it with the right attitude. But secondly, we've got to give with the right motive.

Speaker 2: 11:26

The Bible implores us to guard from giving for personal gain. Verses 5 to 11 again tell us that as we give, god continues to give to us. The more we sow, the more we reap. Do you believe that? But it's important to note something in verse 7. Look at it. God tells us why he blesses our giving. Sorry, look at verse 8. God is able to make all grace abound to you so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times. Watch this. What's the reason you may abound in every good work? Broke people can't help the poor. God blesses sacrificial givers that they may have the resources to continue in their generosity. That's the purpose.

Speaker 2: 12:22

We should believe God's promises about sowing and reaping. But listen, hear me, we should never treat that promise as a way to bolster our own luxurious lifestyles. We should never treat God as a cosmic vending machine. This is really important. Just for example, let's say you want a larger house and you don't generally give, maybe, but you go, listen, I know the Bible and I want this house and we don't have the money. So you grab your spouse's hand. You say honey, listen, I know how we're going to get this house. The Bible says we reap what we sow. So here's what we're going to get this house. The Bible says we reap what we sow. So here's what we're going to do we're going to sow into this certain ministry and we're going to give to this certain person and we're going to give generously, like we've never given. Sow that and then God is bound to give us this house. He is not. It's not what this text is about.

Speaker 2: 13:14

Beloved, now God will pour back into you, but the reason is now to be sure. He wants you, as he gives, to have all sufficiency in all things, at all times. He wants to meet your needs. He doesn't want you to struggle, but what's the purpose? So that you can be generous at all times. Are you with me? This is really clear. Go with me to the book of James. Flip over there with me real quickly. Chapter 4. James, chapter 4.

Speaker 2: 13:49

Let's read the second part of verse 2. You do not have because you do not ask. How many know it's alright to ask God, it's actually encouraged to ask God, it's actually encouraged to ask God to supply our needs. But watch this you ask and do not receive because you ask, wrongly, to spend it on your own passions. So if the only reason you are giving is to quote unquote, sow your seed so that you can have a bigger house and a nicer boat and a fancier car and eat the fancy meals and all of that Prime rib for breakfast, lunch and supper.

Speaker 2: 14:33

Beloved, you're not going to be blessed by God and you're going to have no joy in your giving. You're going to have no joy in your giving. So when we give summarizing, listen our posture matters even more than the size of our gifts. We've got to give generously, with the right attitude and with the right motive. Are you awake? All right, so that brings us. That's out of the way.

Speaker 2: 15:05

So how much are Christians required to give? Well, let's just start in our text. That'd be a good thing to do. So. Listen to verse 7. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. So how much? What percentage does Paul say that Christians need to give of their income? What's that? Whatever God tells you, it's exactly right. He doesn't mention an amount.

Speaker 2: 15:36

So many of you have grown up hearing that it is incumbent upon Christians to give. How much? 10%? And that's called what A tithe, and I rarely use that word. I usually talk about offerings, though it does slip out because that's the way that I grew up. And, by the way, I think it's really good to give at least a tenth of your income back to the Lord. But I just want to. Let's go back to the Bible and ask what does the Bible really say? Well, the Bible nowhere commands New Testament Christians to give what we call a tithe. The Spirit will lead some to give less, maybe because of their financial situation, but listen, the spirit will also lead some to give more.

Speaker 2: 16:28

Where does the tithing principle come from? It comes from Malachi, chapter 3, verses 8 through 12. I'll read this for you Will a man rob God? Yet you, god, says, are robbing me. But how have we robbed you? Like that's a serious offense to rob God. Yet you, god, says, are robbing me. But how have we robbed you, like that's a serious offense to rob God? Well, you have robbed me with your tithes and contributions or offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse that there may be food in my house and thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there's no more need, I will rebuke the devourer for you so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil and your vine in the field shall never fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts, then all the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight. Saith the Lord of hosts. Who is God speaking to in the book of Malachi? Here?

Speaker 2: 17:30

Anybody know the Jews and the Jews were under old or new covenant at this point, old covenant. This tithing principle was incumbent upon the Jews in the Old Covenant. Under the Old Covenant, do you know that under the Old Covenant there were 613 commandments that the Jews had to follow? Now, some of those to be sure, some of those were.

Speaker 2: 18:02

You might break the Old Testament law down into three sections. Some people do that. You have the civil law, which was more of like a governmental structure for Israel. Then you had the purification laws, or you could say ceremonial laws, and this was about being made clean for worship, purifying yourself. So how many know we're pure in Christ, so we don't have to sacrifice animals, we don't have to go through all these ritualistic things because we are made clean and set for worship in Jesus.

Speaker 2: 18:33

And then, finally, you have what we call the moral law, and the moral law you could say are the Ten Commandments. And, by the way, we should still follow the moral law of God. I think that's a good thing to do. Nine of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the New Testament. The only one not repeated is the Sabbath, because Christ is the fulfillment of the Sabbath, though I will say it's good to take a day of rest in the Lord. Amen, romans 7.6.

Speaker 2: 19:07

But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit. Did you get that We've died to the law so that we serve in the? What New way of the spirit? As you get that we've died the law so that we serve in the what new way of the spirit? There's a new way of relating to god in this new covenant, and he says not the old way of the written code. You know what that means. The old testament saints, the, the children of israel by and large, you know you had the holy Holy Spirit anointing among kings and priests and things, but they did not have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and so what God gave them is a set of rules, and the rules actually increased sin, because the Israelites are just like you and I. They were just like you and I are.

Speaker 2: 19:59

Today. When somebody tells you not to do something. What do you want to do? You want to do that thing Now. You're thinking of your teenagers, but don't throw them under the bus Before you judge them. You're the same way. I'll prove it to you. If this wall was freshly painted and you walked in, or let's say, the door, you walk through the doors and there's a sign that says do not touch wet paint, what would every one of you be tempted to do? And most of you would do it so. So we, after church today, would see like all these bare spots on the door for you doing this, because that's what rules do.

Speaker 2: 20:38

But but the beautiful thing is this under the new covenant, because Christ died for us, gave his life for us, gave us truly the forgiveness of sins and has brought us into the family of God, under the new covenant, jeremiah I believe it's chapter 35, tells us it's a prophecy, saying that when this new covenant comes, that God will not just give us a set of rules, but he will give us new hearts, hearts. This is such an act of grace. He gives us hearts that are bent towards following God's law, obeying God. This is really unbelievable. I want you to go back one chapter from our text, 2 Corinthians, chapter 8. And I'm going to show you why this Romans 7, 6 about serving in the new way of the Spirit is so important.

Speaker 2: 21:34

We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that's been given among the churches of Macedonia. It's all about money. Grace of God that's been given among the churches of Macedonia. It's all about money, for, in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty, watch this has overflowed into a wealth of generosity On their part, for they gave according to their means. Now listen to this and, as I can testify, beyond their means of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints. And this not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then, by the will of God, to us. Your giving is first to the will of the Lord.

Speaker 2: 22:25

So most pastors still put their people under the tithing law because they think, man, if I don't put this burden on them, they're not going to give. But actually I don't believe that. I believe if I faithfully preach Christ, if I can get you to see the beauty and the glory of Christ. Here's what I believe if I faithfully preach Christ, if I can get you to see the beauty and the glory of Christ. Here's what I believe You're going to do, what the Macedonian churches have done, and you're going to say oh, my goodness, I'm going to give everything I can. Pastor, can I please take part in these offerings? Because that's the heart of a Christian. It is to live a generous lifestyle. So, simply put, the Bible does not have to tell Christians how much to give. The Bible doesn't have to tell Christians how much to give, because radical generosity automatically flows from the hearts of the truly saved. You're quiet, you're quiet. That's why I don't harp on you to give. I preach Jesus and I just think if you get a glimpse of who he is, you'll give of yourself in every way, not just your money.

Speaker 2: 23:37

So what should we give? How do we know, then, if it's not oh, here it is black and white 10%. How do we know? We've got some principles here. Number one Christians must give sacrificially and proportionally. 2 Corinthians 8.3,.

Speaker 2: 23:52

For they, the Macedonian churches, gave according to their means as I can testify and beyond their means of their own accord. What does it mean to give sacrificially? Well, it means that when you give and I give that our standard of living is lowered in some way. Here's the normal way we approach giving we buy everything we want, ben, and then whatever's left over, it's not going to impact us too much. God, this is what you give, this is what you get. No, he's worthy of our first fruits. Sacrificial giving is to do what the Macedonian church is doing. It's to give according to our means and beyond it. And our giving should not only be sacrificial, but this is really important it should be proportional, and here's what I mean by that.

Speaker 2: 24:52

If you're a single mother and you're here and you're not out spending money left and right but I mean you're just having trouble even putting food on the table and the Lord lays on your heart to give 1% of your income and you give that. I want you to know how much we appreciate that. I want you to know how much God will bless that gift and I want you to know how much we appreciate that. I want you to know how much God will bless that gift and I want you to know how much he rejoices in your faithfulness. Okay, some of you are making six figures and you might say well, I'm just going to give 10% and maybe that's what the Lord's called you to give. But if you're just convinced that we're under the law of tithing, then you might not ever give sacrificially, because 10% may not impact your lifestyle at all. I mean, think about millionaires who just give 10%. Think of the greater good. Thank God for that 10%, but think of the greater good that they could do if God led them to give even more During a sermon.

Speaker 2: 25:58

I love this story about donating to the church. A pastor explained this principle that not everyone donates the same percentage of their earnings to the church, and he explained that for some congregants, less than 10% of their earnings was sometimes what they could afford to give and that the church appreciated their efforts. But then he went on to explain that some of the wealthier members. For them it may be appropriate to give a quarter of their earnings If they could afford to. Well, a wealthy man in the congregation felt inspired, so he just ripped up his check that he had written for tithes and offerings. After the service he approached the pastor and told him he'd been so inspired by his sermon. He said I'm very wealthy and I plan to donate a quarter of my earnings. The pastor, I mean he was ecstatic. He said it is worn by heart. And the pastor said you're so generous, and he shook his hand. And so the wealthy man smiled and he pulled a quarter from his pocket and dropped it in the offering on the way out the offering box.

Speaker 2: 27:08

I want you to ask yourself this question Really how is your lifestyle impacted by your giving? Is it truly a sacrifice what you give For kingdom purposes? You know what's interesting. I've had so many people say to me Well, if I just made more money, I'd give more. That is statistically not true. If you don't give when you make a small amount, chances are statistically that you will not give when you make more, because it is a lot easier to give $1 out of $10 than it is to give $10 out of $100, $100 out of $1,000, $1,000 out of $10, $10,000 out of $ than it is to give 10 out of 100, 100 out of 1,000, 1,000 out of 10, 10,000 out of 100,000. I mean, think about that If you made $100,000 this week, that would really, even though you have a lot of money, it'd still be a little more painful to write a check for 10,000 for most people than it would be if you made $10 this week and said you know what? I'm just going to put a dollar in the offering plate. You know what's interesting? I have found this in ministry Do you know who our most faithful givers are?

Speaker 2: 28:25

Generally speaking, there are exceptions to give. It's the ones who are not making the largest salaries and they give joyfully. It's really unbelievable. Our giving should be proportional, so we should give sacrificially and proportionally, but then we should give regularly. Go with me to the book of 1 Corinthians, chapter 16. 1 and 2. For time's sake, I'm going to go and read this Even while you're flipping there, so you just listen if you're not there yet.

Speaker 2: 28:56

Concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches in Galatia, so you also are to do On the first day of every week. Each of you is to put something aside and store it up as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. Why do we take an offering every Sunday? Because we are supposed to every week put something aside. Now, if you get paid bi-weekly, fair enough. Every two weeks, if you get paid once a month, every month, store something up. But regular giving is vitally important.

Speaker 2: 29:30

Listen, imagine if you went to work for someone else and you say, hey, listen, what's the salary? And they say, well, it just depends on how much money we get each month and how much you know. If some of our people decide to go on vacation and stuff, then you're probably not going to get paid that week. And so from week to week one week you might have a really good check, the next week you might get close to nothing. Would any of you like to live that way? I'm not being mean today, but I'm going to be honest. That's exactly how our church operates.

Speaker 2: 30:05

We don't think about this. You know it costs between $15,000 and $16,000 at least every month just to keep these doors open. That's what we call essential and operational expenses. That's no ministry money. That's not money for funding ministry. In some months, praise God, we'll get $20,000. But then the next month we'll have like $9,000 come in. So every other month it seems like we're on a spending freeze. So at this church we just honestly, it's so difficult to plan. Stephen, you were our treasurer for the last what three years. Does that not make it difficult? So we'll have a good month and we're like, well, next month's probably going to be awful. So we got to hang on to this money. That's not a lack of faith, it's just reality.

Speaker 2: 31:01

And so, beloved, it is important that we give regularly and consistently. Finally, how do we give? We give sacrificially, proportionally. We give regularly, but this is really important we give prayerfully. Look at verse 7 again in our text, 2nd corinthians 9 7 each one of you must give as he has decided in his heart.

Speaker 2: 31:35

Now, that's an interesting line, because the Bible says the heart is deceitful above all things. Now I know that we have new hearts in the Lord, but how many know, if we're not reading our Bible and praying, that our hearts can deceive us Still, because we're not walking by the spirit, we're walking by the flesh. So here's the thing If you're going to quote, unquote, follow your heart, you better make sure your heart is directed of the lord. How do you do it? Through the word and prayer. So what did jesus teach us? To pray every day. He taught us to pray, lord, not my will, but yours would done.

Speaker 2: 32:12

Let me tell you this We've got to change our mind, our thinking about money Beloved. We are not owners, we are stewards. It's God's money. So hear me this morning, you don't just say well, lord, here's the 10% I'm going to do with the 90 what I want. You say, god, how should I spend every dollar Before you buy a certain house or a certain vehicle, or you go on a? Listen, we want to go on a vacation this year, my wife and I. We have a sabbatical coming up and we're wanting to go on vacation, but I've been on my knees praying. I haven't booked it because I'm saying, lord, is this what you want me to do with your money? You ought to ask God with every dollar, lord, how do you want me to spend it? And then you better listen. Sometimes we talk but we don't like to answer. Well, that must not be God, that must be bad pizza. But then, if you ask and you pray, god says, hey, are you since God quote unquote saying um, hey, go buy a new boat and getting seventy thousand dollars of debt? Well, I know that was the Lord, I know the Lord's voice. But when he tells me to give to the church and to my neighbor, well, I probably was. Surely the Lord's not calling me to give 30 percent of what I made? Right, I can't be him. Think about it. So beloved we've got to pray.

Speaker 2: 33:36

Let me close with these statistics. This is alarming. By the way, these are pre-COVID numbers About giving Only 5% of American Christians give 10% or more of their income to the church. 5% On average, christians in America are giving 2.5% of their income to the church. Now, listen to this. So how much on average are they giving 2.5%? Listen, during the Great Depression it was 3.3 percent and I wish I could say that real life and you say, well, times are tough, I'm poor. Okay, listen, do you know that if you make what's considered poverty level in this country, you know that updated numbers at 24,000 still is that going up? 28, maybe Somewhere between 24 and 28,000 is considered the poverty level here? You know, if you make the poverty level on a global scale, you are in the top 1% of the world's richest people.

Speaker 2: 35:10

About. Of the world's richest people, we have the most money, but we are the most selfish. Sometimes, wow, and we're going to answer to the Lord One day Like the parable of the talents how did we invest your money, god, think about that. Here's why I preach on this. Why do I want you to give more here? Our goal. I really sense the Lord has laid this on my heart. I mean, this has been for three years, and I've had this confirmed by other people. Nobody that I know of has said anything negative about this. To me, it's only been affirmed.

Speaker 2: 36:09

Our goal here is to give away 51% of what comes in. What do we mean give it away? Well, we want to make sure there's no hungry people in our county. We want to give as much as we can to God's outreach. We want to make sure the unborn have a chance to live. So we want to support radically the Pregnancy Help Center and have a chance to live. So we want to support radically the Pregnancy Help Center.

Speaker 2: 36:37

Do you know that there are over 3 billion people right now in the world who have no access to the gospel, that if they were to die right now, they would not spend eternity with God. They'd be cast away into hell. Well, how are missionaries sent to those places? Our generosity, they'd be cast away into hell. Well, how are missionaries sent to those places Our generosity While we're out building mansions and chasing the things of this world and I don't have a poverty mentality, by the way, don't misunderstand me but while we're chasing the things of this world, people are hungry. Forget the number of billion of people who don't even have clean water and we're going to give an account for that because God has blessed us so much.

Speaker 2: 37:31

I don't want you to feel guilty, church. I want to invite you. I want to invite you into the blessing of giving. We need you, the world needs you. We need your faithful giving. Alright now, I know this wasn't a revival message. Stand with me here, it is revival message. Stand with me. Here it is. Listen, old covenant to new covenant. Greater grace, I think, should produce greater giving. Can I leave you with that? Greater grace should produce greater giving. Can I leave you with that? Greater grace should produce greater giving.

Speaker 2: 38:18

Let's pray God. Thank you for those in this church who are so generous. Lord, this church is supported on the shoulders of about 22 people and we're so grateful. And we're really grateful as well for those who haven't given for whatever reason, and we don't assume just because they haven't given that they're selfish, that they're using their money for frivolous things we don't know.

Speaker 2: 38:57

So, god, I pray that nobody would feel beaten up today, maybe convicted by the Holy Spirit, but not by me, and I pray that you would move us all to greater giving, to greater giving, greater generosity. Lord, we know that our giving doesn't just bless us in this life, but it pays off for all of eternity. For Jesus said Do not store up for yourselves treasures on this earth where moth and rust destroy, but store up treasures in heaven where moth and rust will not destroy and thieves will not break in and steal. Help us, god, to be kingdom minded. Where our treasure is there, our heart will be also. And, lord, one of the indicators of where our heart is is what we spend our money on. Let us not love money, but let us love you above all things. In Jesus' name, amen.

Speaker 1: 40:10

Thank you for listening. If you'd like to know more about how you can have a relationship with Jesus Christ, or if you have questions about our church, amen, invite you to join us for worship Sunday at 1045 am or Wednesday at 7 pm. Visit us online at myrealchurchorg.