This morning we conclude our series called "Start Now, Finish Content: Jesus Words for Financial Freedom." As we have done each week let’s read together our theme verse for this series from Luke 12: 30-31, "Your Father already knows your needs. He will give you all you need from day to day if you make the Kingdom of God your primary concern."

In this series of messages on the management of our material and financial resources we have discovered two essential steps that we must take if we would finish our life content and experience the freedom now that God has for us. The first step was to get a grip on the greed factor of our life. We learned in that message that our stuff cannot bring us our self-worth, security or satisfaction. Last week we talked about the next step, which is to create a plan for the use of our resources. One of the best plans begins by our giving God the first 10% of our resources, then saving the next 10% and at last adjusting our lifestyle to enjoy living on the 80% that remains. Each of these steps is based on the words of Jesus as he talked about the relationship that a disciple has with God and their money.

Now the verse we have read each week has woven into it a condition that isn’t noticeable at first. We hear the first part pretty easily that God knows our needs and will provide for us what we need each day. Did you notice the condition though? Jesus says that God will take care of us, "if you make the Kingdom of God your primary concern." Jesus is saying that there is something we must do in order to activate this principle of God’s provision for us. God isn’t free to do what he wants in regard to providing for us unless we are actively making his interests our primary concern.

How do I make his kingdom my primary concern? Is there someway that I can consistently keep God’s priorities uppermost in my own mind and heart? The secret is found in the words of Jesus we are examining today, "If you give, you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use in giving—large or small—it will be used to measure what is given back to you." (Luke 6:38) The secret to insuring God’s provision for our lives is giving.

I don’t want you to confuse this with the "prosperity gospel" teaching that tells us that we should give so God can make us rich. No, what Jesus is saying is our giving releases God’s supernatural power to provide for our needs not to make us rich. What I want us to see today is that remembering the secret of giving enables us to finish life content and live with freedom now.

Now you are probably thinking, "I knew that sooner or later you would get around to this. You start off all helpful then you play the guilt card about giving." If that is how you feel then I’m sorry but if I didn’t tell you this then I am not being honest with you and I am certainly not helping you. If you have a sense of dread when the topic of giving comes up you might want to ask why you feel that way. I believe that one thing that keeps people from enjoying the blessings of giving is that we don’t really understand the biblical principle or reason behind our need to give. Another reason is we don’t have good models for what this lifestyle of giving looks like and, thirdly, we still struggle with the simple and practical ways of doing this intentionally and regularly.

To help us understand the principle that underlies our need to give we’re going to focus on one very powerful sentence that Jesus gave to his disciples. Then to see the model for this as a lifestyle we’ll look at the early church in Jerusalem. Finally, in order for us to discover how this fits into our life practically we will explore Paul’s directions to the Corinthians on how they were to give their resources.

I recognize that when we talk about giving that giving involves more than money. There are many things that God has given to us that we are to give more than just our money. Yet our money is a litmus test of our true character. It is an index or barometer of our spiritual life. Whether we like it or not, our giving of our money reveals and shapes our heart. It writes our story. Randy Alcorn says, "In a sense, how we relate to money and possessions is the story of our lives." (Giving: Unlocking the Heart of Good Stewardship, p. 12) The question is: What is the story that you are writing with your money?

To help us write our story Jesus tells us that whatever is given to us is to be given away in order that more can be given to us! Jesus is using the symbolism of the marketplace of his day. When persons went to market to buy grain they would pull up a large portion of their robe through their belt and use both hands to form a basket-like pocket. The grain dealer would then pour the purchased amount of grain into the person’s lap—into that huge pocket they formed with their garment. The picture is one of receiving an overabundance of grain into that pocket.

He tells us that there is a principle at work when we give. The principle is that our giving activates our receiving. To define the extent of our receiving Jesus uses words like, "full measure", "pressed down", "shaken together", and "running over". He is saying that our giving activates God’s generosity toward us. Jesus’ words are stated as a command, meaning that we are commanded to give. The verse is, as well, a promise that when we obey the command to give then our obedience releases God to give to us more and more of his blessings. It is not a formula for investment that says, "If you give X then God will give exactly X in return to you." Rather the bottom line is simply this: generosity in giving results in greater reward from God.

Do you truly get that? Do you understand that your giving your resources is not another bill that you pay? Have you grasped the reality that your giving is the key opens the door to God’s provision for you? It will not always be money or material yet he still rewards our giving in his own way. Do you as well understand that the generosity you show in giving is matched by God’s generosity toward you? Do you realize that you are the one who determines the degree of that generosity? People that I know that take this seriously reflect back on God’s activity in their life with the word’s, "God has always been so gracious to me." Every person I know that struggles with giving always says, "I just can’t afford to give." It doesn’t take a genius to see the problem.

In the winter of 1979, Larry Stewart was working as a door-to-door salesman in the little town of Houston, MS. The company he was working for went out of business, and he quickly ran out of money. Stewart hadn't eaten in two days when he went to the Dixie Diner and ordered breakfast. He eventually admitted to himself that he couldn't pay for the meal and concocted a scheme to get away with a free meal. Ted Horn, the restaurant owner, caught on but sympathized with Stewart. Horn acted as though he found a $20 bill on the floor underneath Stewart's chair. "Son, you must have dropped this," Horn said giving the bill to Stewart.

"It was like a fortune to me," Stewart reflected. "I said to myself, 'Thank you, Lord.' Right then, I just made a promise. I said, 'Lord, if you ever put me in a position to help other people, I will do it.'" Stewart decided that one way he could give back in the way that God gave to him was to become what was known as the Secret Santa. For the last 26 years Larry Stewart made it a practice of anonymously doling out $100 bills to the needy every Christmas. It was only when a tabloid newspaper was about to reveal his identity last December that he came forward to reveal his name hoping to inspire others to become Secret Santas.

On January 12 of this year Stewart died after battling cancer since April. Over the years, it is estimated that he gave away around $1.3 million. He said he had been amply rewarded in return. "I see the smiles and looks of hopelessness turn to looks of hope in an instant," he says. "After all, isn't that what we're put here on earth for—to help one another?" (AP, 1/13/07) One man gave $20.00 to a hungry man and that $20.00 was used to become $1.3 million given away to people and charities that have in turn given to others. Did Larry Stewart finish his life content? What do you think? The basic principle is simple—giving what God has given to us makes our lives larger and releases God to fill even more what we have given away.

If that is the principle, is there a model in scripture of individuals who applied this in real life? The answer is found in the Book of Acts in Acts 4:32-35. "All the believers were of one heart and mind, and they felt that what they owned was not their own; they shared everything they had…There was no poverty among them, because people who owned land or houses sold them and brought the money to the apostles to give to others in need." These words tell us that the church from its very inception sought to obey the words of Jesus to give and share what they had with others. In an overwhelming way they gave all they had so that there would not be any more need.

There is one thing to understand, though, about this church—they were desperately poor! Their giving was not because they had vast sums of money to give or share but they gave out of the very depths of poverty. In the face of such extreme poverty the church did all that they knew to do: they obeyed Jesus’ words! They were all in the same condition of poverty so they began to share what they had in order to satisfy the needs among themselves. Notice the key or core conviction they had about all they owned: "they felt that what they owned was not their own; they shared everything they had" (Acts 4:32). The reason they were able to give so freely is that they believed that what they had really belonged to someone else and that someone else was God.

It is this core understanding that enables you to release what you have in order to give to God. As long as you imagine that what you have is yours you will never know the full joy of giving and you will restrict God’s desire to provide for you as he wants and you need. This is what being a steward means: what we have isn’t ours we just manage it for God. That applies to everything we possess from our car to our job to our iPod. It all belongs to him and because it is his we can give it away freely.

Recently I had the chance to attend a session of the Mid-Winter Youth Retreat. Todd Rouse was leading the session and related a story of someone demonstrating this principle in his life. He recalled that while attending seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas his father had died. After the funeral it fell on him to clean out the house and decide what to do with the furniture. After disposing of what he couldn’t use he was ready to head back to school with what was left over. There was only one problem he didn’t have a car that could pull a trailer to haul the items back. Some people he hardly knew found out about his problem and offered their truck. Overwhelmed by their generosity he began to express his gratitude for their offer. Their response was, "Its’ not really ours anyway. We’re glad for you to use it." One families’ generosity resulted in a life lesson being taught to hurting young man: All we have belongs to God and when someone needs what is his we give it away.

The principle is clear: God rewards our generosity with his own generosity toward us. Being able to give is based not on how much we have but on our understanding of who really owns what we have. We still need, however a process that will help us give consistently. That process is found in Paul’s words to the Corinthians when he said, "Now about the money being collected for the Christians in Jerusalem: You should follow the same procedures I gave to the churches in Galatia. On every Lord's Day, each of you should put aside some amount of money in relation to what you have earned and save it for this offering. Don't wait until I get there and then try to collect it all at once. (I Cor. 16:1-2) What had happened was that the church in Jerusalem had given away so much that they had nothing left to sell and no more money to distribute. Now because of a famine they were the ones who needed help from other believers. People like Paul, sought to give back to them. So Paul asks the churches he is serving to share in this opportunity.

This passage contains the process on how we can consistently fulfill Jesus words about giving. The process just says that we are to plan ahead what we want to give based on our ability and do that regularly. Many people want to make this hyper-spiritual and say, "Well, the Lord hasn’t moved me to give to the church budget. I want to give to something really important!" That’s like saying, "I’m not going to eat everyday. I’m just going to eat the big meals like Easter and Christmas. That’s when it is special!" If you give only for what you think is special or really important then you will miss the joy of seeing God’s provision for your life. Remembering the secret of giving is something that you do regularly and consistently as God prospers you. There is no better way to do that than what you give in and through the church you call home. That is how you keep the Kingdom of God as your primary concern!

"Your Father already knows your needs. He will give you all you need from day to day if you make the Kingdom of God your primary concern." That is an amazing promise but how do we access its power? We do it by applying the words of Jesus, "If you give, you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use in giving—large or small—it will be used to measure what is given back to you." Our giving is the secret that unlocks the wealth of God’s provision to us and to the world in need of his love.

At the end of the movie Schindler’s List there’s a heart- wrenching scene in which Oskar Schindler-who bought from the Nazis the lives of many Jews, sparing them death in the concentration camps during WW II-is presented with a gold ring crafted by the Jews he had saved. Inside the ring is inscribed, " Whoever saves one life saves the world entire". Humbled by the gesture he looks at his car and a gold pin that he wore and regrets that he didn’t give more of his money and possessions to save more lives. Breaking down in tears he repeats over and over, "I could have saved just one more from death, just one more." Schindler had used his opportunity far more than any other could have. But in the end he longed for the chance to go back and make better choices.

There are things that I regret about mistakes I have made about the management of money. What I won’t regret is that I made a decision to make the Kingdom of God my primary concern by giving generously to God. That decision enables me to live now with freedom and finish my life truly content. Let me ask you when you come to the end of all that this life means what will you regret? Don’t let it be that you failed to make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. Start now and finish your life content by remembering the secret of giving. "If you give, you will receive…" (Luke 6:38). Simple words that tell a story. What is the story that you are writing?

Sunday, February 4, 2007 a.m.

Dr. Bruce Tippit, Pastor

First Baptist Church

Jonesboro, Arkansas

btippit@fbcjonesboro.org