Getting Financially Fit for Life Rich Nathan January 20, 2013 Fit for Life Series Matthew 6:19-21
I’d like to begin today by welcoming our Sawmill Campus, our Lane Avenue Campus, and our East Campus. I’d also like to welcome our two campus initiatives in Circleville and Mansfield. We’re glad to have you with us. There is a great story I love about President Lyndon Baines Johnson’s great-grandfather, George W. Baines, who was a 19th century preacher. On the wall of Johnson’s White House office was a framed letter written by General Sam Houston in the middle of the 19th century. Baines had led Houston to Christ and the General was a changed man. He was no longer vulgar in his speech, or quick to pick a fight. He became a really peaceful man, very content with life. After General Sam Houston was baptized which was an incredible event for anyone who knew him – he was the last person anyone ever thought would be baptized as a Christian – he offered to pay half of Pastor George Baines’ salary. When someone asked him why, he said, “My pocketbook was baptized along with me.” Sam Houston demonstrated the reality of his conversion by a change in the way that he spent his money. Martin Luther, the Father of the Protestant Reformation, once said: There are three conversions necessary for every human being: the conversion of the mind, the conversion of the heart, and the conversion of the wallet. One of the hardest subjects to talk about in the church today is not sex or politics, but money. Churches do talk about tithing; and, churches talk about stewardship. But a frank conversation about income or purchases with an eye towards serious accountability is absolutely inconceivable in the church today. How we Americans handle money is way more private for us than our sex lives. I’ve been a pastor for 25 years here. During that time, I’ve had hundreds of people talk with me very openly about their sexual lives and sexual sins. Folks have talked with me about pornography addictions and adultery and premarital sex and homosexual sex. But I can count on one hand the number of people who in 25 years have revealed their salaries to me, or what they gave. Our income and our spending are considered absolutely private in America. Richard Foster, in one of his books, talks about two psychologists who would speak openly and frankly in front of their children about sex, death, and all kinds of other difficult subjects, but they would go into the bedroom and close the door when they wanted to talk about money. And in a survey of psychotherapists in which they listed
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things they should not do with their patients, it was found that lending a client money was considered to be a greater taboo than touching, kissing, or even sexual intercourse. In the 21st century, frank, open conversations about our money are absolutely a forbidden subject. And this is true for those not only outside the church; it is true for people in the church. I once talked with a Christian financial advisor. He said to me, “Rich, Christians come to me looking for financial advice. And many of them have so much more money than they will ever need. They come to me looking for ways to increase their wealth. But they get incredibly touchy when I even hint at putting together a plan for giving some of their money away.” We seek financial counsel to increase our wealth, but we don’t seek financial counsel to put together a plan to increase our giving. The bottom line is that we American Christians think that there are no rules, there is no guidance, God has very little to say about our relationship to our money. We treat money as an area in which we are all free to do whatever we feel is right in our own eyes. Basically, with respect to money – the type of house we live in and the kind of car we purchase, how much we choose to give or not give, how much debt we take on – it is a free for all. But as my favorite Christian author, C.S. Lewis, put it 60 years ago: God is a “transcendental Interferer” In other words, God has the annoying habit of sticking his nose into our private business. Maybe you’ve noticed this if you’ve had what you consider to be a personal relationship with God. Not everyone here feels like they have a personal relationship with God. But many of us do feel that way. And maybe you’ve noticed this about God that what is so annoying about God, and I say this with all reverence, but what is so annoying about God is that he constantly shows up and speaks to us about things like our temper, our holding grudges, our weight and the care of our bodies, and our sex lives, and our money even when we didn’t ask for his advice about any of these things. In fact, if you decide to have a personal relationship with God, you are going to discover that he pops into your life like an uninvited guest even when you turn off the outside light, put up a “no trespassing” on your fence, taken in the welcome mat and have decided to bolt your front door. God is, according to C.S. Lewis, and according to anyone who has ever entered a real relationship with God, God is a transcendental Interferer who constantly sticks his nose into business that we consider to be entirely private like money. But today I want to speak frankly about the subject of finances. During this New Year Vineyard Columbus is engaging in a program that we came up with called Fit for Life. We thought what better time than the New Year to try to support each other in making the decisions that many of us what to make concerning weight loss and exercise. We
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started a program called LoseIt! You can find out more about this weight loss program by signing up at: Vineyardcolumbus.loseit.org There is an app for your phone. We’ve got lots of exercise, fitness and nutrition classes at our community center to assist you. But physical fitness is only one aspect of fitness. Last week I spoke about getting spiritually fit. And for those of you who want to get started, or go deeper in your devotional lives, we have copies of a book titled: Search the Scriptures …at our various campus bookstores as well as classes on the devotional life. This week I will be speaking about getting financially fit; and in the next two weeks getting emotionally fit and relationally fit. So today I’m going to talk about a topic that is taboo both inside and outside the church. It is the subject that Jesus talked more about than he talked about prayer, or sex, or Bible reading; the subject is money. I’ve called today’s talk “Getting Financially Fit for Life.” Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. What is God concerned with? Now, let me place these verses in context for you. Matthew 6 is part of that larger block of Jesus’ teaching called The Sermon on the Mount. And in looking at Matthew 6 a little more specifically, John Stott, one of the greatest Bible teachers of the second half of the 20th century, summarized Matthew 6 this way: Be different. In outlining Matthew 6 Stott divided the chapter into two sections. In verses 1-18 Jesus is saying: Be different than the religious hypocrites. And in verses 19-34 Jesus is saying: Be different than the irreligious materialists. Be different than religious hypocrites; be different than the irreligious materialists. Don’t be like the religious hypocrites who love to advertise their piety, love to get the attention of other people when they do religious things. Don’t be like them. But Jesus also says: Don’t be like the irreligious materialists whose lives are absorbed with the pursuit of money and the accumulation of things. Don’t be like the, either. I want my followers, Jesus is saying in Matthew 6, to be a third
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race, to be utterly different than anyone on the face of the earth. Different than religious people, different than irreligious people. Now, before we look at the specifics, notice that God is concerned with both spheres – the religious, the spiritual sphere, and the secular material sphere. God is concerned in verses 1-18 with our private religious life in our secret prayer closet at home, and God is concerned about our public lives at work and in the shopping mall. God’s concerns are not confined to verses 1-18, the religious sphere, or the spiritual sphere. That’s where many people want to confine God. It is great that you have your religion, they say. In fact, we thoroughly support your first amendment free exercise of religion. Just don’t try to take your Christianity out into the public square, into your workplace, or into the shopping mall, or into your business. God belongs just in verses 1-18. Don’t talk about God being involved in verses 19-34, the secular material realm. Don’t leave your Christian faith at home. Bring your faith to work, to the gym and to your classroom in a wise and thoughtful way. Jesus won’t allow us to separate the religious spiritual sphere and the secular material sphere into two water-tight compartments. Jesus says: God sees you and what you do in secret, in your prayer closet, in your giving, and Jesus says in the second half of the chapter that God is aware of your material needs for food, clothing and shelter. God is, as I said in the intro, the cosmic interferer. He cares about your spiritual life, your prayers, your fasting, your Bible reading, and your giving; and God cares about your material and financial lives – how you organize your finances, your spending habits, your budget, your business dealings. Let’s read again verses 19-21: Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. What is treasure on earth? Treasure is a very inclusive term. Jesus was certainly talking about money. The whole text concerns money. He tells us this in verse 24 where he says: Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. But treasure on earth goes beyond money. I think we would be in error if we only thought about money when we read Jesus’ exhortation for us to not store up treasure
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on earth. Treasure on earth is what Pastor Tim Keller, from Redeemer’s Church in Manhattan, calls a “counterfeit god” in his great book by that same title. Counterfeit God by Tim Keller (Book Cover) Here is what Tim Keller writes: A counterfeit God is anything so central and essential to your life, should you lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living. It can be family and children, or career and making money, or achievement and critical acclaim, or saving “face” and social standing. It can be a romantic relationship, peer approval, a competence and skill, secure and comfortable circumstances, your beauty or your brains, a great political or social cause, your morality and virtue, or even success in Christian ministry. When your meaning in life is to fix someone else’s life, we may call it “co-dependency,” but it really is idolatry. An idol is whatever you look at and say, in your heart of hearts, “If I have that, then I will feel my life has meaning, then I will know I have value, then I’ll feel significant and secure.” So how do you know what your treasure is and whether you are doing what Jesus told you not to do which is storing up for yourselves treasures on earth? What is your treasure? Consider Tim Keller’s questions. So let me ask you. What do you have that is so central to your life that if you lost it, life would hardly be worth living? Your treasure could be someone – your son, your daughter, your spouse, your fiancé, boyfriend, or girlfriend, or fixing someone – your life has me meaning only if you rescue a loved one from their addiction or their problems – or something - your career, your ministry, your reputation, your health, your ability to walk or to see or to hear or to think clearly. In many people’s lives their treasure is money. Keller opens his book on counterfeit gods by saying: After the global economic crisis began in 2008, there followed a tragic string of suicides of formerly wealthy, and well-connected individuals. The acting chief of Freddie Mac, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, hanged himself in his basement. The chief executive of Sheldon Good, a leading US real estate auction firm, shot himself in the head behind the wheel of his red Jaguar. A French money manager, who invested the wealth of many of Europe’s royal and leading families, and who had lost $1.4 billion of his clients’ money in Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme, slit his wrist and died in his Madison Avenue office. A Danish senior executive of HSBC Bank hanged himself in the wardrobe of his £500/night suite in Knightsbridge, London. When a Bear Stearns executive learned that he would not be hired by JP Morgan Chase which had bought his
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collapsed firm, he took a drug overdoes and lept from the 29th floor of his office building. A friend said, “This Bear Stearns thing…broke his spirit.” How do you know if you have a treasure on earth? It is, friends, one thing to grieve loss especially if the loss is someone or something that is really valuable to you. It is totally appropriate to grieve the loss of a beloved pet, or your house that burns down, or the loss of some precious photos, or the loss of your job. And it is even more appropriate to grieve the loss of someone much more significant to you – a family member, or a beloved friend. I mentioned to you that this past summer I lost my dad and I grieved. And I still grieve. Some of you are widows and widowers. You’ve lost children. You’ve lost parents, or brothers or sisters. And you grieve. But if we go beyond that and we say because of this loss, my life is over, life is no longer worth living, then you have in Tim Keller’s words, a counterfeit god, or in Jesus’ words, you have stored up a treasure on earth. What is your treasure? What do you look at and say: If I had that, my life would have meaning. I would have value. If I had that, I would feel secure. If I just had a man in my life, or a woman in my life; if I just had this kind of job or this kind of position; this grade point average, these looks, this body shape, then I would have value, then my life would have meaning. Again, anything can be a treasure on earth, but often for us our treasure on earth is money. What’s wrong with treasure on earth? Jesus tells us what’s wrong in verse 19. Matthew 6:19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. In the days when Jesus lived moths would get into clothes, rats and mice would eat stored grain, worms take whatever they put on the ground; thieves would break into homes and steal what was kept there. Nothing was safe in the ancient world. Jesus is not being mean to you when he says: don’t store up treasures on earth. This is cleareyed, sober realism from the most insightful teacher in all of history. He is telling us that every treasure we have on earth is vulnerable; it is subject to decay and theft. If your treasure is your body, trust me, it is decaying. It is great to get Fit for Life, but we know that ultimately we will lose the battle. Its not just our bodies, but everything we have ever bought is in the process right now of breaking down. The timing belt in your car is wearing out. The rings in your engine are going bad. Your muffler is rusting. The
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paint is falling off your house. Your furnace is breaking down. The motor in your refrigerator is going out. The heating coil in your dryer is about to break. Buttons are coming off your coat. Your driveway is currently cracking from the cold weather. Ash borers are killing the Ash trees on your property. Jesus is saying that this is the nature of things on earth. We fight with preservatives and rust proofing and tune-ups to keep this element of decay at bay, but ultimately, you’re going to lose. And you are going to lose against all of the thieves who can break in and steal. If what is precious to you can be stolen, it is a treasure on earth. That’s why the Bible urges you and me to hold every good and precious thing that we have and every good and precious person that we love with a loose hand. 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who are married should live as if they were not; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away. Friend, are you holding everything including every precious person and thing with a loose grip, or are there some things and some people that you have a death grip on? The view of life that is taught to us in the Bible is that we are pilgrims; we’re heading for another home on a renewed earth when the curse of sin and death is finally removed. The Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were pilgrims; they understood that. Even as they moved from place to place and tent to tent, they understood their true home was only where God dwells. Like the old Southern Gospel song says: This world is not my home I’m just a-passin’ through Don’t treat property that is leased to you as if you are the owner. That’s the clear-eyed realism of Jesus, who was the most insightful teacher whoever lived in all of human history. What is treasure in heaven? Treasure in heaven is anything you will keep forever. Treasure in heaven is the development of your character to look more like Jesus. After all, the only thing that you are going to bring into the kingdom of God is yourself. You aren’t going to come with your bank accounts, your degrees, or your car, or your home, or your trophies, – you are going to come with you. The treasure of heaven is faith, hope and love. Paul says these things abide. The people you’ve helped find Jesus. The people whose lives you have impacted for good – the kids you have taught, the poor you have helped in Jesus’ name,
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the marriages you have counseled, the people you have been kind to in Jesus’ name, the creativity you have brought to this world, the use of our money for Christian causes; I will talk about that in a moment. Whatever you have done because of Christ is treasure in heaven. But treasure in heaven, I think, above all things, is Jesus. I love the words of the song: Give Me Jesus. Give Me Jesus When I come to die O, when I come to die Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus Give me Jesus You can have all this world Just give me Jesus Why should you adopt Jesus’ view of life Look at what Jesus says in Matthew 6:19-20: Matthew 6:19-20 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. Now, as we focus back on verses 19-21, it is easy to miss what the contrast is that Jesus is drawing out. You see, in reading passages quickly in the Bible, sometimes we work our assumptions into what the text must say. For me, I think I did this for years in this text. I assumed that the contrast was not only between where our treasure is, whether your treasure is here on earth or whether your treasure is in heaven, but I also assumed that the contrast should be drawn for whom the treasure is stored up. So I often read this passage, at least in my mind, “Don’t store up for yourself treasure on earth. Instead store up for God, treasure in heaven. Or store up for others treasures in heaven.” What I want you to do is if you have a pen, take it out and underline the words “for yourselves” in verses 19 and 20—for yourselves. These two words are key to understanding the motive for obedience to Jesus in the area of money. These two words, for yourselves, lay out for us the essential motive for obedience to Jesus when it comes to money and every other area of life. Note something here…Jesus is appealing to a selfish motive. So often Christian teaching about money calls people to altruistic motives. It says to people, “You have been thinking about yourselves too much. Your comfort, your happiness and your future—
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you need to lay all that aside and start thinking about others. You need to sacrifice more. Give money for the sake of God. Do this for the sake of others.” I want to tell you that unless you underline the words “for yourselves” in your mind, you won’t obey Jesus when it comes to money. Let me spell this out for you. There has been a foreign element that entered Christianity via the humanistic philosopher Immanuel Kant. And this foreign element that entered Christianity goes this way. That if a person benefits from their activity, there is something wrong with that activity. If you derive some personal benefit, then to that extent Kant taught, your activity is tainted. He said the highest motive possible for a human being is selflessness. And Christians bought that and so we have millions of Christians running around attempting to be selfless. I want to tell you that selflessness is not a part of New Testament Christianity. New Testament Christianity doesn't ask you to be selfless. New Testament Christianity says, “Follow Jesus and walk in his steps because it will turn out better for you if you do.” It is in your long term interest to obey Christ in the area of money or in any other area. Maybe in the short term obedience will be hard but long term you will be better off. If you obey, the New Testament says you will be more full of hope, more full of peace, more full of joy. Obey Christ because that is in your interest – spiritually, emotionally, and often physically and relationally. Now, friends, I want to tell you that this is not understood by most of us. You see, there is a perversion that has occurred in Christian teaching that really messes up our thinking about why we should obey the Word of God. Either we have this selflessness kind of mindset, or perhaps you have been instructed in Christian obedience with a motive like this: “You know, God has done a great deal for you. He sent his Son to die for you. He went out of his way to come to earth. He did all of this for you. Now, can’t you do something for God?” And lots of Christians feel guilty when they hear that and say, “Gee, I ought to be doing something for God.” But that is just not compelling enough. Because so often doing something for God runs against what we feel would be better for us. We are in this tugof-war between doing something for God and what we think is better for us. And this whole business of doing something for God makes me think of Jesus Christ standing outside in the cold with a little tin cup saying to us, “Can’t you help me out a little bit, friends? Drop a few coins in a poor man’s cup.” It is not like that at all. Jesus says when it comes to money, “Store up for yourselves treasure in heaven.” See, we must understand that Christianity was intended to be Good News. That it is our Father in Heaven’s heart to do us good. To bless us. To give us peace. To not come to us in the form of a thief who comes simply to steal and to
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take stuff out of our lives. But it is our Father in Heaven’s desire to put things in our lives. And if you apply this essential motive to any other area, I am telling you it works. Why not have premarital sex? Why not? You know, if you are practicing safe sex and you love each other, why not? Because God tells us not to. But when you are alone in an apartment with your boyfriend, or girlfriend, doing the right thing. Because it will turn out bad for you if you do. Any time you disobey something in God’s Word, you are simply sowing weeds into your life and injuring your future. We now know that sex releases a chemical bonding agent in your brain which is great if you’re married and bad if you’re not. The greater the number of partners you have, the harder it will be to form a permanent bond with anyone in the future. If you have premarital sex, you are training yourself to do short-term relationships. So, if you are having sex outside of marriage, stop. Do it for yourself! There is no one here, who has sinned sexually who would not look you in the eye and say, “I wish I had not because all I have done is ripped myself off from lasting joy with my spouse, from an absence of shame, from an absence of pain, from a lack of intimacy. I have ripped myself off. And had I done it God’s way, I would now be enjoying my life together with my spouse much more than I am because I haven’t done it God’s way.” Doing it God’s way, listening to the Word of God and responding is going to result in blessing for you. It is in your self-interest to obey God in all areas including your money, it is not in God’s interest, he doesn’t need our coins, it is not because he can’t find any other way to supply the needs of the poor, it is not because he is bankrupt, he calls us to do certain things in the Bible because he really wants to bless us. Let’s look at verse 21: Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Jesus is asking the question: What do you want controlling your life? Jesus is not saying that your treasures will follow your heart. Rather, he is saying that your heart will follow your treasures. Matthew 6:21: Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The heart in the bible is, of course, the control center of your being. It is where you make your decisions; how you think about life; what you daydream about; and what you meditate on. Jesus says your heart will follow your treasures. Your decisions about life,
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about how your spend your time, about what you do with your family, about what you worry about. All these decisions are determined by your prior choice regarding your treasures. Your Treasure → Your Heart → Your Whole Life Think about it. You buy a boat and it changes your life. You take time boating. You think about boating. You read magazines about boats. You have to fix your boat. You have to store your boat. You worry about the boat. Where your treasure is there will your heart be also. Whatever it is that you invest in, in other words, fixing up your house, buying a time-share or vacation home, betting on a football game. Why is it that some people are much more interested in a football game, or some sporting event, if they bet on it than if they don’t? It is because of Jesus’ statement: Where your treasure is; what you invest in; there will your heart be also. What you invest your money in, is what you will care about. People say: I wish I felt more connected to the church. It’s a good church. I wish I felt more personally connected. Jesus says: Give. Bring your wallet with you to church and you will feel connected. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be. Listen, I’ve talked with lots of people who say, “I wish I felt more strongly about world missions than I do right now. I know as a Christian that I’m supposed to care about the world. I don’t care very much about the world. I wish I did. Maybe I’ll just pray that God would give me a heart for the world. That is one way. But Jesus says that you’ve got it backwards. Give to a missionary here in the church; invest in missions, and your heart will follow. Where your treasure there will your heart be also. I wish I cared about children who are suffering in Africa. I really don’t, but I wish I did. Adopt a child or two from World Vision and you will start caring about children in Africa. Wherever you make a financial investment, you will care. Why give? Because it changes your life in the direction your want it to change. Friend, you want to; and I want to become a generous person. I want to be the kind of person; and you want to be the kind of person that is known as really open-handed and generous. And as I get old, I don’t want to, and you don’t want to, be a selfish, close-fisted person. You don’t want to be a stingy person and neither do I. I don’t want to grow old and bitter and neither do you. You want to, and I want to get old and better. I want to be like Jesus and he was a giver! But it won’t happen unless we develop the discipline of giving. Last question:
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How do you get started? Let’s say you are here and you say, I would love to develop a heart for the poor, or grow beyond where I am. We have an incredible opportunity for you. Urban Ministry 5th Avenue Food Pantry Renovation Project For all the Contractors and Building Material Suppliers in the congregation, we have a unique opportunity for you to use your skills and experience to advance the Kingdom of God. Our 5th Avenue Food Pantry is in severe need of renovation to the point of being unusable, with necessary repairs and upgrades projected to cost over a quarter million dollars. The good news is that we’ve already begun designing renovations that are currently getting building permits with the City of Columbus. In a large church, so often we just hire people to do building projects for us. In lots of smaller churches people in the church volunteer. They work together, build relationships and get to personally make a difference with their skills and talents. Here’s where you come in: we’re inviting licensed Contractors and Building Material Suppliers within our church to participate in the project, donating some or all of your parts and labor to this incredibly important ministry. We need all trades – concrete and masonry, plumbers, electricians, ventilation, painters, and general construction workers – as you invest your reassure – your materials or your skills – your heart will follow. You can make a difference! If you are interested in participating or would like more details, come to the East Lobby Room 01 at the main campus today after the service for a short meeting led by our church architect, Frank Kay. And we are hosting brief follow up meetings at our other campuses. Contact:
[email protected] How do you get started in investing your treasure? The Bible lays out the way that we get started in our finances – and I share this with you not to promote legalism in any way, but to start where God in history started – is with the principle of tithing. Now giving goes far beyond tithing. But it starts with tithing. Leviticus 27:30 “ ‘A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord. The tithe belongs to the Lord, God says. Not to the people. And it applies to everything, not some things. It was holy; it was set apart and given to God, not used for any other purpose. The meaning of the world “tithe” is a tenth part. Today the word “tithing” is wrongly used to talk about any giving to the church. People talk about tithing when they give $50 and they make $4000/month. A tithe on $4000 is $400.
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I like Pastor Randy Alcorn’s comment in one of the best books I’ve ever read on money and finances from a Christian perspective. It is titled Money, Possessions and Eternity, Money, Possessions and Eternity by Randy Alcorn (Book Cover) He says: You can donate 2%, 4% or 6% of your income, but you cannot tithe it anymore than you can “whitewash” a wall with red paint. The Israelites were warned that to present to their Creator anything less that the full 10% was to “rob God” since the first 10% belonged to him, not them. Malachi 3:8-10 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your whole nation— because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. So the tithe belonged to God. That’s why in the Bible people don’t give tithes. Randy Alcorn helpfully says: People bring tithes; they present tithes; they pay tithes… But they don’t give tithes because the tithe belongs to God to begin with. There are voluntary contributions called free-will offerings that are given beyond the tithes. And it is the free-will offering above the tithe that is real giving. The tithe is simply presenting God what he says is his part. Obviously, God owns everything, everything is on loan from God. God generously says: But I’m going to assert ownership claims over only 1/10th of what you make – your income, your inheritance, your tax refunds, your social security check – 1/10th belongs to God. And then God invites us as an act of worship to give him free-will offerings. A lot of folks say: Well, that’s the Old Testament. We live under grace. I’m not going to be legalistic about my giving. I hate legalism almost more than I hate anything. I believe that the Christian life is entirely lived in response to the grace of God. We cannot pour wine, as Jesus says, into old wineskins. But the fact is, friends, virtually every New Testament example of giving goes way beyond the tithe of 10% Grace always takes us further than the law; it never falls short of the law. The superiority of the New Covenant over the Old Covenant is that the New Covenant calls us to deeper and more searching obedience. Not only don’t commit the physical act of adultery, don’t lust. Not only the Old Testament don’t murder, but don’t hate. Not only the Old Testament tell the truth when you’re under oath, but tell the truth all the time.
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Not only the Old Testament tithe, but give freely way beyond the tithe. Jesus never lowered the bar on the Old Testament, he always raised it. You say you’re not under law, you’re under grace – praise God! Grace is going to lead you to give way more than 10%! Randy Alcorn helpful points out that tithing is like training wheels. It’s a place to start in riding the bike. Tithing is like the starting blocks of a race; it’s not the finish line, but it gets you started. If you’re not giving to the work of God, then work yourself towards a tithe. One out of every ten dollars going to the Lord and his work in the church. And then as you grow as a Christian, go way beyond that. But you know, in terms of getting your financial house in order and your spending and giving in order, I’ve said this to you throughout this series – we don’t just want to rely on the sermons. We want to help you and support you. Here’s what we’ve got going on: Budget Workshop – Stewardship for New Believers/Reboot for All Believers Saturdays, January 26th and February 23rd 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. And Financial Peace University from Dave Ramsey Thursdays, February 7th -April 4th 7:00 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. You know, the testimonies that come out of this Dave Ramsey class are just amazing. Because when people get their finances in order, they don’t just get their money in order; it totally changes folks’ lives. We’ve had folks say that they were on the brink of divorce – financial conflict is one of the great reasons for divorce. We’ve had folks say that this Dave Ramsey class saved their marriage. It provided people with relief. They’ve finally gotten the creditors off their backs. They’ve finally got a game plan for their kids and a game plan for their retirement. And they have a game plan for giving. So let me read the Scripture again to you: Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Conclusion CLOSING: Campus Pastors, I’m going to ask you to lead the campuses in prayer now. God bless you and have a good week in the Lord!
© 2013 Rich Nathan | VineyardColumbus.org
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Getting Financially Fit for Life Rich Nathan January 20, 2013 Fit for Life Series Matthew 6:19-21
I.
What is God concerned with?
II. III.
What is treasure on earth? What is your treasure?
IV.
What’s wrong with treasure on earth?
V.
Why should you adopt Jesus’ view of life?
VI.
What do you want controlling your life?
VII.
Where do you get started?
© 2013 Rich Nathan | VineyardColumbus.org
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