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Biblical Giving May 1, 2013

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Agenda 1)Illustration 2)Biblical Principles 3)Is Money Evil? 4)Financial Righteousness 5)Four Types of Giving 6)Practical Notes 7)Illustration Part 2 8)Questions?

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Illustration Lets do a money experiment We need a volunteer receiver Susan will keep time, and will give $0.35 every ten minutes for the duration of our talk.

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Biblical Principles I hope today will challenge you. Make this part of your spiritual DNA. Over 800 (!) bible verses relating to money Proverbs 10:22 "The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it. Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Proverbs 27:23 Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, and attend to your herds. Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived,God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. Mark 8:36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?

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Biblical Basics Is money evil? 1 Timothy 6:9-11 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.

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Biblical Basics (continued) God created this world. It is an economic world. Key operative phrase is LOVE OF MONEY is evil Pursuing wealth for its own sake is bad. Matt 6:19-21 19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matt 19:23-26 23And Jesus said to His disciples, Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. 25When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, Then who can be saved? 26And looking at them Jesus said to them, With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.

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Biblical Basics (continued) You are already ridiculously wealthy Both in historical and absolute terms. If you make $45,000 a year You are in the top 0.37% richest people in the world You make $23.44 an hour A worker in Zimbabwe makes $0.53 in that same time A worker in Ghana would take 44 years to make $45,000. (Thats 2057 if youre counting) It takes you 2 minutes to earn a can of coke. An average worker in Indonesia takes 2 hours Your salary could pay the salary of 196 doctors in Kyrgyzstan. We are the rich man. (Not Bill Gates as we think)

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Biblical Basics (continued) God wants you to prosper. John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. Proverbs 10:22 "The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it. Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Deut 8:18 But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. Jer 29:11 For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

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Biblical Basics (continued) Jeremiah 28- All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God: 3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. [] 6 Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. 11 The Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. 12 The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; []13 The Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, 14 and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

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Righteousness What is financial righteousness? Ps 37:21 The wicked borrows and does not pay back, but the righteous is gracious and gives. Prov 21:26 25 The desire of the sluggard puts him to death, For his hands refuse to work; All day long he is craving, While the righteous gives and does not hold back. Prov 13:22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his childrens children, And the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.

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Four Types of Giving Tithe The 10 th. Rebukes the devourer -Mal 3:8-11 8 Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, How have we robbed You? In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. 11 Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes, says the Lord of hosts. Is Gods already (rob him when withheld) God is not excited that you pay tithe, its already his If anything, youre seen as not a thief. Opens windows of heaven

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Tithing (continued) This is the most important part of you financial future If you dont tithe, the devourer will consume your gain Is Tithing in the new testament? Matt 23:23(similar scripture Luke 11:42) Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. Hebrews 7:4,6,7 (Speaking of Melchizedek) 4 Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder! 6 This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7 And without doubt the lesser is blessed by the greater. Examples

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First Fruit & Alms First Fruit Taste of your (God given) increase (raise/bonus, etc.) Prov 3:9-10 9 Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. Like the grandfather who gave candy to his grandchildren Alms Giving to the needy, out of compassion Literally means Loan to God Matt 6:3-4 3 But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. Prov 19:17 One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord, And He will repay him for his good deed.

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Seed Giving Motivated by Faith - Not obedience or sympathy Expect a miracle; keep your heart aligned with God Only type of giving where man gives to God God established seed time and harvest after Noah - Gen 8:22 2 Cor 9:6-8 (Prov 11:24 is similar) 6 Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; Luke 6:38 38 Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return. What does bountiful mean? Good soil -30, 60 and 100x How many apples are in an apple seed?

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Four Types of Giving Ok, Ill just do seed and not Tithe! Wont work. The devourer is faster than you are. One car wreck or broken pipe on your second floor, and all your seed return is destroyed. Ill just stay poor and stay safe! Nope. Lets compare that to Romans 5:20(b) but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more Must Tithe To be obedient To prosper Talk to Steve or John

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Practical Notes Make sure your heart is in the right place. God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor 9:7) Discuss it with your spouse Must be united in moving forward. Dont pay your tithe at the expense of money you owe someone else Violates the righteousness principle Do you pay on the Gross or the Net? Gross Caesar gets from the Gross. Is God lower than Caesar? Does it matter that you cant actually pay God first? Control the things you can control.

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Almost Finished

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Illustration 1 Tim 5:18 For the Scripture says, You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing," and "The laborer is worthy of his wages. Ox was allowed to eat of the wheat he was grinding. Tipped workers earn $2.13 federal minimum wage. The remainder is made up by TIPS. Thats equal to $0.035 a minute. Every 10 minutes is worth $0.35. You serve a GENEROUS God. You may be the only Jesus that person will see today. What is your testimony? Love of money? Poor service? If you feel it necessary, take it up with the manager. A reflection upon your God is at stake. Is that $2 worth more in YOUR pocket or His? Its worth nearly an hours work to her. Come at it in the opposite spirit. If you are tempted to give 5%, give 30% or 50%. Youre giving alms God will repay.

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Questions?