Explores the spiritual discipline of giving, emphasizing the importance of generous, cheerful, and faithful contributions to the church and God's Kingdom.
Good morning, beloved family of God. It's a joy to gather together in the Lord's house, as we seek to grow in our understanding and application of His Word. Today, we are going to open our hearts and minds to a subject that is both deeply personal and profoundly spiritual: our commitment to church contributions, the consequences and blessings of giving, and cultivating the Kingdom through tithes and offerings.
In his wisdom, John Hagee once said, "Since my money is God's money, every spending decision I make is a spiritual decision." In keeping with this, we will not shy away from any part of God's Word, but will embrace all it has to teach us, including its guidance on our financial stewardship.
Our Scripture reading today comes from 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 and Malachi 3:8-10. Please, if you have your Bibles, turn there with me now.
When we think about our involvement in the church, we often consider our time, our talents, and our prayers. But there's another aspect of our commitment that we sometimes overlook, and that's our financial contributions. The money we give to the church isn't just about keeping the lights on and the doors open. It's about participating in the work of the Kingdom, supporting the ministry of the gospel, and expressing our love for God and our neighbors.
The early church in the book of Acts: They didn't just meet together for worship and prayer. They also shared their possessions, selling their property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. This wasn't a legalistic requirement. It was a joyful response to the grace they had received in Christ. And it was a powerful testimony to the watching world.
The words of Paul in 2 Corinthians: He tells us that whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. This isn't a prosperity gospel promise of material wealth. It's a spiritual principle about the nature of giving. When we give generously, we're not just giving away our money. We're sowing seeds of the gospel, seeds that will bear fruit in the lives of others and in our own hearts.
Paul warns us against giving reluctantly or under compulsion: God loves a cheerful giver. Our giving should be a joyful act of worship, not a grudging obligation. It's not about the amount we give, but the attitude with which we give. And when we give with a cheerful heart, we're not just pleasing God. We're also experiencing the joy of participating in His work.
The words of Malachi: He confronts us with a challenging question: Will a mere mortal rob God? And he reveals a sobering truth: When we withhold our tithes and offerings, we're not just being stingy. We're robbing God. This isn't about legalistic tithing rules. It's about our relationship with God. When we withhold what belongs to Him, we're not just hurting our church budget. We're hurting our own spiritual health.
Malachi gives us a wonderful promise: If we bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, God will open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. Again, this isn't a prosperity gospel promise of material wealth. It's a promise of spiritual blessing. When we give faithfully, we're not just supporting the work of the church. We're opening ourselves up to receive the abundant blessings of God.
More than money: In all of this, we see that our financial contributions to the church are not just about money. They're about our commitment to the Kingdom, our love for God and our neighbors, our participation in the gospel, our spiritual health, and our experience of God's blessing.
As we continue to reflect on the wisdom found in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 and Malachi 3:8-10, we can see that our giving has both immediate and long-term effects ... View this full PRO sermon free with PRO
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