ShipShape: Casting Bread on the Waters: Generosity and Eternal Investment | Rev. Paul

Generosity isn’t about losing; it’s about aligning. In this message, discover how giving becomes worship, deepens faith, and anchors our hearts in eternal investment rather than earthly gain.

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Chapters

• 0:22 Introduction to Stewardship
• 28:42 The Weight of Anxiety
• 32:48 Finding Rest in Christ

Transcript

[0:19] All right, so if you have a Bible with you, I want to invite you to open it.

[0:23] We're going to read first from Malachi chapter 3. I'm going to read one verse. I'm going to teach more thoroughly on that verse next week. But Malachi 3.10 and then 1 Corinthians 16, 1 through 4. Those are the two verses we're going to read. So hear the word of God, Malachi 3.10. Word of God's living does not return empty and void. So hear this word. 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 is no more need. So hear the word of God now, 1 Corinthians 16, 1-4.

[1:08] Now concerning the collection of the saints as I directed the churches of 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. And when I arrive, I will send those whom you credit or accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. And if it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me. Now we're going to pray in just a moment, but a couple of things I want to preface so you know what's coming today. I'm going to teach the Word of God here for the next few moments, part three in our Ship Shaped Stewardship series. And then at the closing prayer, we'll pause, and I'm going to stay here for a moment. I've got a little vision casting to do and an announcement to make, and then we'll sing our closing song. I'm saying that so that, well, just so you know what's coming. I don't like surprises. I don't want to catch you off guard, but that's why things are going to roll. And so we're not going to take a timeout when the sermon ends. Why am I thinking of Kirby Smart when I say not going to take a timeout? Yeah, I'm just clapping. Okay.

[2:27] Okay. So anyway, those of you watched the Auburn Georgia game know what I'm talking about. Everybody else, you can maybe ask somebody after the service. So let's move on. That was a tangent. Let me pray for a moment. Father, we pray, again, as your word is taught, that you would illuminate our minds, illuminate our heart, illuminate our spirit, illuminate our being for your glory, we pray in the name and power of Jesus. Amen. Loved ones, I have a sailboat in my office. Now, it's not a full-size sailboat, Tech Team, if we can put that picture up there. Some of you have seen this before.

[3:07] But this is in my office not only for its artistic value, but it's there to remind me of something and to reinforce some kingdom principles. First of all, it's there to remind me that you don't get to where you know you need to go without the rudder of a sailboat or a ship angled in the right direction. And that represents the Word of God for the people of God. We recognize if we want God's blessing in our lives and in who we are collectively as a church, then we need to align with the Word of God. In fact, this is so reinforced among us that one of our core values as a church is to submit to the truth of Scripture. But we're also aware that as we align with the Word of God in our hearts and lives, that unless the wind blows, unless the Holy Spirit comes in his pneuma power.

[4:00] Then we're not going to move toward a holy destination. And so that little boat there is a symbol to reinforce that reality into the heart of your pastor as we serve and lead together as a church family. Now, something similar is happening as the Apostle Paul writes the church at Corinth because their rudder is out of alignment. And he's aligning their rudder in so many ways as we've journeyed through this book. And I want you to notice where we stopped in the series that Paul was dealing with spiritual gifts. And you may remember that he devotes three entire chapters to the proper use of spiritual gifts. But he's responding to them to a letter they've written to him about the proper use of giving in or the proper pattern of giving in the church. And I want you to notice something. He gives three chapters to spiritual gifts. And in the entire book, he gives four verses to the practice of giving. Now, why is that? Well.

[5:06] I would submit to you it's because it's less complicated. There are over 2,300 verses in the Bible on patterns of giving and generosity.

[5:19] In fact, 16 of the 38 parables in the New Testament are around principles of managing money and possessions. We're all aware that money will compete with our devotion to God, And the temptation in that competition is to ignore the fact that God has actually instructed us in a way where money and possessions complement our devotion to God. And when we delve into topics like this, for a lot of people, there's a sense of fear. Some believers err on the side of fearing that when we look at the patterns of giving and the way God says he'll honor giving, that we're going to drift into some type of prosperity gospel. And then there are others that have a fear that there's some kind of pattern that will drift into that we think somehow the Bible teaches a poverty gospel, and the Bible doesn't teach that from Genesis to Revelation. There is no instruction that believers are to take on a life of poverty. It's not a poverty gospel, and it's not a prosperity gospel. And we see that reflected in the wisdom that's personified in the book of Proverbs. Hear the word of God. The author of Proverbs wrote, Two things I ask of you, O God. Deny them not to me before I die. Remove far from me the falsehood and lying. give me neither poverty nor riches.

[6:46] Feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, who is the Lord? Or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God. And what you see reflected there in the wisdom of that proverb is the healthy balance. God has not called you to a life of poverty and God is not saying that you're going to become super wealthy, and we recognize in this passage that there's a place of protection in the balance of the Lord. Nowhere in the Bible does the Bible say that it's wrong for a believer to be wealthy, but we also recognize the Bible gives us a lot of warnings surrounding wealth. Let me quote out of 1 Timothy.

[7:33] Paul wrote to Timothy, But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. And Paul there is warning us that, With riches and wealth can come the temptation that, God, I don't need you. We can well up in pride and live independently. Money has a seductive factor and the power that can be associated with it. Jesus also picked up this mantle and warned us when he said, be mindful. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a wealthy person to enter the kingdom of God. Now, again, a few verses later, he said, with man, this is impossible. With God, all things are possible. But he's warning us that money can have a seductive influence in our lives that blinds us to our need for God.

[8:42] We as a nation, and particularly those of us in this room, we live in the top two and a half percent on a global level of managing wealth in our lives. On a global level, we are the most prosperous people in all of history. And so the Bible illustrates for us that we need to be wise in light of that, because we can look at all that the Bible says about money and possessions and overlook the fact that God is the cause. And what I mean by that is that in God's sovereignty, he gave you intellect. He gave you ability. He gave you the acumen to earn a living.

[9:27] To live in this wealthy nation. It's not by his grace, it's by his sovereignty. And by virtue of living here, we recognize that God's the cause. God has postured you where you could put your hands to the plow, to use a New Testament metaphor, and make a living. So God is the cause in the context that we have much to steward. But God is also the one who is issuing a caution to us, causes the Lord, but it comes with a caution around money and possessions blended with our need for the Lord. So we get to 1 Corinthians 16, and once again, we're aware that Paul is getting ready for the church to take up an offering to send to Jerusalem. It's the same theme that he was bragging on the church that we covered last week. So we get to chapter one, and he says, now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches in Galatia, so also are you to do. So here's the question before us as we dive in.

[10:37] How should a believer give? So let's deal with that. Let's, based upon this passage, number one, a believer should give regularly. A believer should give regularly. Now, notice I put each Sunday in parentheses, and there's a reason. Let me explain that. So the expectation at Corinth was believers give every week as they come together for worship. You see that in verse 2, on the first day of every week, each of you should set something aside. But we recognize that the early church began worshiping on a new day that they honored the Sabbath. It was no longer Saturday. It was Sunday, the first day of the week. And the reason the Corinthians did that and the New Testament church did that is because that's resurrection day. This is reinforced also in the book of Acts chapter 20 on the first day of the week when and we were gathered together to break bread. You see this repeatedly in Scripture. But Sunday is the Sabbath. It's the resurrection day. And it was the day the church gathered for worship, and a part of honoring God in worship was to regularly give on the Sabbath day and to bring glory to God, first day of the week. Now, practically speaking, some of us get paid every other week. Some of us get paid once a month.

[12:05] Some of us in the room that might own businesses or corporations, you may wait until the quarterly results come in. And there are a few who own companies and corporations. They wait till the end of the year to see what their compensation will be. But the point is, based upon the pattern that we see illustrated here, is that for a believer, giving is regular. The other thing we would note is, and this is again very practical, that let's be honest, when the plate is passed in a worship service, there is a temptation for it to become a mindless routine. But it's important for us to remember that giving is a part of the worship of God, of magnifying God with our gifts. Each Christian, we see this pattern here in 1 Corinthians would bring his or her gifts regularly as a part of worship, set aside for the specific purpose of honoring God and expressing worship and worth to Almighty God. And what's happening when the plate is passed is that the church, we collectively, are illustrating that God is Lord over money and over possessions.

[13:23] We're illustrating that God is Lord and he is our ultimate security. He is our greater security than our money or our portfolio or our possessions.

[13:36] He is our ultimate security, our Savior, our Lord. He is Jesus the Christ. And we are acknowledging as the plate is passed during a worship gathering as an act of worship that God in Christ, you are more glorifying, you are more satisfying, more glorious than anything money can buy. And so there's a theology rooted in why we pass the plate as a part of worship. On the first day of the week, verse 2 says, each of you should put something aside. And so the New Testament puts a clear priority on giving and honoring God in worship, giving to the church and the ministry of Jesus with resources being expressed through the church. This is why we see Paul teaching this pattern in 1 Corinthians. This is also why we see this pattern in the book of Acts when you see early Christians honoring God as an act of worship through generosity and giving when they bring their gifts and lay them at the apostles' feet. They're not honoring the apostles. They're honoring God as the church gathers together. So God has not called us to be isolated givers. A believer should give regularly in honoring God as an act of worship.

[15:02] Secondly, a believer should give as he or she prospers. Now, again, look with me at verse 2. On the first day of every week, each of you should put something aside and store it up. Now notice the phrase, as he or she prospers. Now I want to remind you of something, okay? This is so basic. I probably could call on a five-year-old and stand here and let them teach. And some of you might even prefer that. But here's the thing.

[15:31] Everything has come from God. Everything. And I would remind you again, you're not your own idea. neither am I. You did not invent yourself. God arranged a set of chromosomes that are unique to you, unique strand of DNA. Nobody else is like you, but you're the creation of God. God breathed life into you. And as you have grown and developed, and as you've come to Christ, come to know Jesus, you're his creation, you're his recreation, you're his daughter, you're his son. And loved ones, that has implications What that means is that now you're a steward.

[16:17] You're a steward of your life, and one day, we all know the stewardship is so deep and vibrant that you and I will give an account of our lives to Jesus one day.

[16:29] And for the believer, it will not be a judgment of condemnation, but we'll give an account. The Bible teaches we'll give an account of our lives to Jesus. Now, again, for the believer, it's not a judgment of condemnation. I'm trying to keep you from getting confused, but it will be an account. And the picture here is that all of life is a stewardship in which we're accountable to our Creator. All of life. And so, therefore, that has implications. If I'm stewarding my life and my life is accountable to the Creator, my life is accountable to Jesus, then what that means is stewardship of our lives is lordship and whose lordship we're submitted to. And what that means is Christianity is about lordship. And what that means, the implication, is Jesus Lord of my thoughts? Is Jesus Lord of my actions? Is Jesus Lord of my words? Is Jesus Lord of my marriage? Is Jesus Lord of my sexuality? Is Jesus Lord of my dating life? Is Jesus Lord of my work ethic? Is Jesus Lord of my parenting? Is Jesus Lord of everything in my life, including is he Lord over my material possessions and the stewardship thereof?

[17:53] And when we begin asking these kinds of questions and we begin to examine what the scriptures teach around giving, there are some who often think that when we talk about tithing, particularly as I read that passage out of Malachi.

[18:10] That tithing is only an Old Testament concept. And I want to encourage you to consider not to use that as an excuse not to tithe, not only because Jesus referred to tithing, a practice that a believer should engage in, but I want to invite you to hear these words out of Malachi that I read a moment ago. I'm just going to lift a bit of the first sentence and ask you to think and consider something with me. Notice that Malachi wrote in the Old Testament, bring the full tithe into the storehouse. I want to ask you a question. Here it is. Why did he not just say, bring the tithe? Why does he have to use a modifier? Full tithe. Well, there's an explanation on the surface because the people weren't bringing a full tithe. That's true. But there is a nuance that we miss that's very important. Why not just the word tithe? In the Old Testament, the people of God, Israel, they were a political nation. In other words, they were a theocracy. And in that theocracy, here's what a lot of Christians miss. There wasn't one tithe. There were three.

[19:28] There were three tithes. And so there were actually three different types of tithes in the Old Testament. The people of God brought a tithe once a year, which was called the Levitical tithe. And it is found in Numbers 18, 21 and 24. And this tithe was utilized to support the Levitical priests and their service in the temple and the congregation, the people that they served. That was 10% of the produce, the livelihood of the people of Israel.

[20:04] But did you know that that was not the only tithe that the people of God brought to the temple? They brought a second tithe. It was a tithe for the celebration of festivals. It's cited in Deuteronomy 14, 22 through 27. This tithe was for the journey of taking one's family to and the funding for the religious festivals and celebration that happened in the theocracy. And they were very important because at the celebrations.

[20:35] Moms, grandfathers, grandmothers, parents, children, teenagers, and little kids would hear the reinforcement of the stories of God and how he had moved among the people. The Passover story and how God had been faithful to his people in the past. This catechized generations in the understanding of the greatness of Yahweh. But it was funded by a second tithe that came from the people of God. And then there was a third tithe. There was a tithe for the poor. You can read about that in Deuteronomy 14, 28 and 29. This tithe was given every third year. And the text states that the produce that had to be laid up in your towns for the Levite, for the sojourner, for the fatherless, and the widow. In other words, the poor among us. And loved ones, just a moment ago, when we heard from the BDC, just a moment ago, the Binghampton Development Corporation, who was one of our ministry partners, and you heard vision casting for how our church family is connected in an ongoing way in ministry to the challenged, to the oppressed, and the marginalized. That is a reflection of the biblical thread that we see that the people of God are not to be indifferent around the poor and the marginalized in our city. Amen?

[22:04] Amen. Let it be so, God. In fact, early, again, this is a historian that we're going back to the B.C., Flavius Josephus once wrote these words when he was chronicling the three ties in history. In addition to the two ties, which I've already directed you to pay each year, the one for the Levites, the other for the banquets, you should devote a third every third year to the distribution of such things that are lacking to widowed women and orphaned children. So the first two tithes were taken once a year. The third tithe was taken every three years. Now, here's what I want you to think about as a believer. Love the Lord God with your heart, your soul, your mind. Let's love God with our mind and think for a minute. Here's the thinking.

[22:54] In the Old Testament, people gave 23% of their income in worship to honor God. That was the full tithe. Now, you may be asking, Pastor Paul, I'm not saying that's your tone. I just gave it a shot. Pastor Paul, are you telling us that we should be giving 23% of our income to the church? That's not my point. That's not my point. I'm not saying don't do that. I'm just saying that's not my point. But here's what I want you to think about. If people were compelled to give generously before Jesus Christ came, then would it make sense to give less generously after Jesus came?

[23:47] Died for your sins, took them at the cross, rose from the dead, and redeemed you forever. Worshiping God with 10% of our income is the floor of giving, not the ceiling. We need to be wise when we say it's just an Old Testament practice. We don't give out of legalism. We give, as we covered last week, out of joyful, cheerful, liberated hearts, because we love you, Lord. We worship you. We magnify you. All of you in this room have heard of John D. Rockefeller.

[24:30] Rockefeller was, at his time, the most wealthy man on earth. In fact, he was the first billionaire, made most of his money, if not all of it, in the oil business. Many of you know that John D. Rockefeller was raised in a Christian family, and he started out as a tither. But what happens, what happened to him and what happens to a lot of believers is that we begin to make wealth. And then what happens if we go, if I tithe up this, this is a lot of money. And we begin to control things. And that's exactly what happened to John Rockefeller. And when he hit around 50 years old, he began to worry a lot. He worried because he knew if there was a part of his corporation that fell, it was going to have a domino effect and implode. And he worried so much that.

[25:23] That the acid in his stomach began to eat the lining and he developed ulcers. He couldn't sleep. People said he didn't smile and that life began to mean nothing to him. He grew numb for a season. His doctors began to say that we don't think he will live another year when he was 53 years old. He had to eat crackers and milk so that something would settle on his stomach. Now imagine that. You're a billionaire, and you're eating crackers and milk because worry is eating your insides out. And what happened to John D. Rockefeller is that he came back to his first love of Jesus Christ. And one of the symptoms of his coming back to his first love of Jesus Christ is he began to honor God by tithing again. And as he did, I quote John D. Rockefeller as he reflected on his childhood, I never would have been able to tithe the first million dollars I ever made if I had not tithed my first salary, which was $1.50 a week. His doctors thought he would die at 53. Loved ones, he lived to the ripe age of 98.

[26:35] It reminds us of what Jesus Christ said in Luke. Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much. And whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. And in the Corinthian church, God was training his people to put God first from the heart in their lives. And they were reminded that ultimately all things belong to God. Loved ones, I know you all know this, this is common sense, but one day our life is going to come to an end. True for all of you, true for me. I'm always aware a day is going to come when they're going to bury me in the ground and they're gonna go back to the church fellowship hall and eat potato salad.

[27:19] And I'm also aware that.

[27:23] That whatever we possess, you can't take it with you. There are no U-Hauls behind funeral processions. And Jesus has declared that when you give, when you're generous, you're actually laying up treasures for yourself in heaven. He's saying and declaring there are eternal rewards coming for your faithfulness, believer. He's good like that. And that's the word of God. That's not your pastor's opinion. Maybe some of you heard the story Ann Lander shared once years ago. It was from a girl writing about her uncle and her aunt, and she described her uncle this way. She said, my uncle was the tightest man I ever knew. All his life, every time he got paid, he took $20 and put it under the mattress. Then he got sick and he was about to die. And as he was dying, he said to his wife, honey, I want you to promise me one thing. Promise what? What do I need to do? What can I do? Promise me that when I'm dead, you'll take all my money from under the mattress and you'll put it in my casket so I can take it with me. Well, he died and she kept the promise. She went and got all the money, put it in the bank and wrote him a check and put it in the casket.

[28:49] But the point is When money is our master It can make us do and think some pretty weird things And I want to remind you, If I may.

[29:09] That we are navigating a time In which we see lots of people dealing with high levels of anxiety. It has become an unwelcome companion in so many lives. And I say that with great sensitivity, pastoral care. And I'm mindful that we're living in a time where 62% of Gen Z and millennials say that they feel constantly anxious. That's unprecedented in Western culture. That compares to 38% among older generations. Studies tell us that on average, people spend two hours and 18 minutes a day worrying. You're carrying a weight, caught in the grips of worrisome thoughts.

[30:08] Let me invite you to hear the words of Jesus with fresh ears. Jesus said this in Matthew 11. Come to me. Come to me. All who labor and are heavy laden. Can I translate that? All of you that are stressed out, you're overwhelmed. Anxiety is weighing on you. Worry is weighing on you. Listen to this. Too good to be true. Too true to ignore. Lord, Son of God, King of the universe, come to me, come. All who labor, all who are stressed out, overwhelmed, I will give you rest.

[30:50] Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. Now think about that. Remember, this picture of two oxen yoked together, and Jesus said, just come, yoke with me. Move in my way. Move in my instruction. Follow along with me. I'll empower you. And he says, also, don't just do this, but learn from me. Be teachable. Learn from me. For I'm gentle. He's not a tyrant. He's gentle, lowly of heart. In other words, he's humbling himself, getting in the game with you, and you will find rest for your souls. Let me define the word soul once again for you. Soul is defined by your mind, your will, and your emotions. Jesus is saying to you, come to me, yoke with me. I have peace for your mind. I have peace that will align your will with trusting me. I have peace that will calm your emotions. Come to me. My yoke is easy. My burden is light. Not going to burden you. I'm going to carry the burden in church. That's what John D. Rockefeller rediscovered when he was 53 years old.

[32:18] Wealth had caused him maybe two degrees at a time just to drift from God. Just the comfort or even the worries that come with it. And he rediscovered the peace of God. I'm thinking about the rudder of your life. Jesus says, align your rudder, align it with me, yoke with me. And I'll put wind in your sails, the kind of wind that sets the captive free. Come to him. Come home to him.

[32:56] In Jesus' name, amen Let's pray for just a moment, okay?

[33:05] Lord, I can't speak for the people in this room, but there are times, sometimes when I'm standing in this pulpit, I sense your presence in a really special way. And so I'm moving in faith, but I sense you're speaking to some people in a very unique way. And I pray, God, sensitize hearts to be responsive to you, to know that in Christ, sins are forgiven, to know you took them at the cross, to know that you did not come to condemn us, but save us. So I pray, liberate, Lord, all around this room. Initiate and complete liberations.

[33:54] And then, Lord, help us align the rudder with you. Help us, Lord, if we've drifted in many of the blessings that we experience here in Western culture, including wealth. If we drifted, God, draw us home. There's hope for everybody. Nobody's hopeless because you're our hope. Draw us home, God, and draw us into alignment for your glory. And we pray it in Jesus' name, amen.