Introduction: Chuck Swindoll tells the story of an occasion when Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motors, needed someone to fix a machine. He called in the designer of the machine, who went to the machine and spent about ten minutes working on it and had it up and going. Henry Ford later received a bill from the designer for $10,010.00! Shocked, Ford called the man questioning him about the bill and asking for some sort of detail of the cost because all he did was "tinker around for ten minutes". The man said he would send him an adjusted bill. He did. This time the bill explained the cost in detail: "tinkering around--$10.00, knowing where to tinker--$10,000"!

People pay a lot of money for the skill of those who know where to tinker in our lives especially when it comes to money. The subject of money consumes us in our current culture. Within our own church are men and women who make their living guiding the use of money. We have bankers, lawyers, stock brokers, CPA’s, loan officers, mortgage lenders who are constantly giving financial counsel. Their services, because that is how they earn their livelihood, aren’t free. Yet it’s the realization that the money you spend for their counsel will be little compared hopefully to the results you see from their advice. They know where to tinker.

This morning and for the next two Sundays I want us to get some free advice from a man who knows where to tinker when it comes to money. He is recognized as one of the world’s richest, most successful and wisest people who ever lived. The man "wrote the book" on some of the best financial advice ever. His name was Solomon, the first king to rule Israel after David. The Bible says that Solomon’s advice was wiser than anyone else’s on the earth. "God gave Solomon great wisdom and understanding, and knowledge too vast to be measured. In fact, his wisdom exceeded that of all the wise men of the East and the wise men of Egypt. He was wiser than anyone else…His fame spread throughout all the surrounding nations. He composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs."(I Kings 4:29-32)" That wisdom is written down for us in the book of Proverbs.

The book of Proverbs has a lot to say about life and it has a lot to say about the wise use of money. That’s why we’re calling this series "Living Wisely." We’re going to talk today about what the four foundations of giving. A foundation is something upon which everything else is built. When it comes to money these underlying principles are vital to our understanding the purpose, product, priority and promise of our giving. Next week we’re going to talk about five steps for financial security and then we’ll talk in two weeks about the reason we give is to do God’s work God’s way.

You don’t have to go very far in Proverbs before you encounter the first wise piece of advice about money. It’s in Proverbs 3:9-10. This first piece of advice that Solomon gives us points out four very basic foundations on reasons for our giving.

The purpose for our giving and for our living is that we give and we live to honor God. That is to be our highest and strongest motivation for giving and living—we want to honor God. What does it mean to "honor the Lord"? The word honor is sometimes used to describe a king weighted down with all the accessories of royalty—the crown, the robe, the jewels. When we honor God it means we weight him down. In other words, we attribute to God the place of esteem and value that would adorn him. We give him the rightful place of recognition in our lives.

There are many false or shallow reasons that we might use to give. Some are motivated by guilt. They give because they think they ought to give. Others give because they feel like they have to. They give with a grudge. Some give to gain. They give to get recognition for themselves or manipulate God. God’s word says that our giving should be out of grace—a heart that desires to demonstrate honor to God for all that he has done for us. We give not because we ought to or have to but want to.

In the days since September 11 the American people and others around the world have given an estimated 856 million dollars. The scope of the efforts ranges from a boy in Paragould walking six miles to school to raise money to six hours of rock music in New York City and twelve hours in Washington, D.C. All the money was given to place honor where honor is due. When we give our money we do it to say to God, "You are the best. You are deserving of everything I have and more." The purpose of our giving is to honor God. The question is: Does your giving reflect that? Is your giving "light" or is it "heavy"? Does it honor God or dishonor Him? In I Samuel 2:30 God says, "I will honor those who honor me."

II. If the purpose of my giving is to honor God then what am I to give to Him that would honor Him? I am to give to God from what He has given to me. "…with your wealth…." (Prov. 3:9)

Often when we talk about giving we quickly want to avoid the obvious and that is we are to give our money to God. It’s easier to talk about giving your time and your talents and we should, but there is no way to deny that we are to give God our money. The reason is because we will give our time and our talents far easier than we give our money. When we talk about giving our money that’s where it gets uncomfortable. It is as if our life was a hotel with room after room open and accessible until you come to one that says, "Do not disturb." (I always wonder, "What are they doing in there?") Usually the one room in our life that says, "Do not disturb," is the one where we keep our money. Your wealth, possessions and resources are to be the product that we use to honor God. So the question is, "Am I honoring God with my wealth?"

There are three ways we honor God with our wealth. We can honor or dishonor God with how we gain our wealth. Some people gain wealth in ways that are dishonoring to God. We can also honor or dishonor God by the way we guard our wealth. Jesus said in Matthew 6:19, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth." He also said, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." We can guard our money so well that it becomes something that strangles our life and robs our joy. What we have sought to guard becomes what we hoard.

We honor God by not only how we gain and guard our money but also how we give it. As the regular MLB season drew to a close San Francisco Giant Barry Bonds broke Mark McGwire’s home run record with 73 home runs. The fan that wound up with Barry Bonds' 71st home run ball said he didn't take the ball from another fan that temporarily caught it. Patrick Hayashi, ended up with the ball Oct. 7, and is being sued by Alex Popov, who caught the ball but lost it when fans piled on top of him. He said he grabbed the ball, stood up, then was taken by security to a room where the ball was authenticated. Popov claims he rightfully caught the ball and that it's his. He sued on Oct. 24. The estimated value of the ball is between $1 million and $2 million. Mark McGwire's 70th home run sold for $3 million just three years ago. ("Fan With Bonds' Ball Speaks Out" Colleen Valles, Sunday, Oct. 28, 2001, The Associated Press)

In contrast Tim Forneris, 22, is a computer analyst who works part time as groundskeeper for the St. Louis Cardinals. He is the one who retrieved Mark McGwire’s 62nd home-run ball, and he became famous for turning the ball over to McGwire instead of holding on to it and selling it for an estimated $1 million. Although criticized as an example of some poor personal-financial habits. Forneris responded with this thoughtful explanation of his actions:

One gave honorably what wasn’t his back to the one who deserved the honor. The others are fighting to keep what isn’t theirs and losing the joy. We do the same with the way we give to God. The way we give our wealth tells a lot about where our heart is.

III. I give to God to honor Him and I give to God from what He has given me. There’s a third foundation here, though, and it’s this: I give to God the best that I have: "With the best part of everything your land produces" (Prov. 3:9).

Solomon uses a term that is very specific. It is the word "first fruits". The NLT translates it "the best part of everything." It meant in that culture the first seasonal produce from the soil. It was considered absolutely holy and belonged completely to God. The nation of Israel brought a portion of their produce to the Tabernacle or Temple to remind themselves that God was the owner of everything. While their gift of grain or fruit was only a portion, it was a necessary discipline to enable them to recognize their absolute devotion to God.

What this says to me is that I am to recognize the absolute lordship of Christ over my whole life by giving to God the best part of everything. That begins with giving a minimum of 10% of my gross income to FBC, Jonesboro, each year. The priority of my giving is to give God what is his—first!

This verse has been a verse that Kathy and I have treasured as God’s word to us since we were first married. We have tithed faithfully and obediently. I’m not going to say that we have always done this joyfully even though time and time again we have been shown that God honors our faith and obedience. What I do know is that if you do not decide that the first check you write will be your tithe you won’t do it effectively. The practical reason is that if you wait till you see what is left over you won’t have it left over!

Has anyone ever given you something that was left over? When we pastored in South Arkansas there was a woman in our church who each year would bring to us food from her freezer. When she first brought it we thought it was wonderful. Then we started noticing the dates on the packages—they were from the previous year. What she was doing was cleaning out her freezer what her family didn’t use and giving it to us. Now, understand this was not because they were poor and giving to us the best they could; no, this was "let’s give to the preacher instead of throwing it away!’

On another occasion a man in our church who was extremely poor gave Kathy and me some of our most memorable Christmas gifts. He had gone to the garbage dump in Hope and found some striped ribbon Christmas candy that had hardened, apples that had been discarded and a live chicken. He brought all of that to us. They were the "leftovers" but for him they were the best he had to give. What are you giving God? Is it the "best part" of everything or just what’s left over? What I give to God is to be the best that I have—not the leftovers you can’t use!

IV. There is one last foundation for our giving and that is I give believing that it makes a difference: "Then he will fill your barns…and your vats will overflow" (Prov. 3:10).

These words are words of promise. They are a promise from God that when we give the very best from what he has given us to honor him that it will make a difference in our lives. The verb tense that is used here is in the imperfect tense, meaning that it is something that happens over and over again. I can say to you that for the last 26 years of our life God has filled and overflowed our lives over and over again. It is a supernatural event that sometimes I don’t see until I stop and stand in awe of what he has done.

When you examine the major promises of the Bible related to giving our money to God the emphasis is on the reward rather than the responsibility. Malachi 3:10 tells us to bring our tithe so that he can pour out a blessing on us. Luke 6:58 Jesus says one word, "Give," but then thirty-seven words to describe the blessings that will come as the result of our giving. Here the emphasis is on the word "then." When we honor God by our giving, "then" he creates a process for filling and overflowing!

Your giving begins a process for God to make a difference. He makes a difference in your life by promising to supply what you need. He makes a difference in His kingdom by using your resources in ways you may never know. A few weeks ago I was at the hospital and a man and his son stopped me and asked if I was the pastor of First Baptist Church, Jonesboro. I said that I was. The father went on to say that he and his wife, who had died of cancer some months earlier, were faithful watchers of our televised service. He went on to say that on one Sunday when his wife was extremely ill that we sang "How Great Thou Art." Because of the degree of her illness, his wife had not been able to speak and was not coherent, but when that came on she began to sing the words. He shook my hand and said how much our service meant to him. Humbling? Touching? Grateful? You bet. Almost $50,000 a year is spent from our budget to make a difference in the lives of people we may never know. The catch is, though, if you don’t give then you are not part of the difference. You can’t go there but your giving can.

So, whom are you going to believe? God’s word says to us, "Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the best part of everything your land produces. Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with the finest wine."(Prov.3:9-10) Those words are the wisest advice on giving from the wisest man who ever lived. The foundations of our giving is based on these truths: I give to God to honor him; I give from what he has given me; I give the best that I have; and I give believing it makes a difference. So ask yourself: Am I honoring Him? What am I giving? Is it the best? Do I believe it will make a difference? Those are questions we can’t afford to ignore.

Sunday, November 4, 2001

Dr. Bruce Tippit, Pastor

First Baptist Church

Jonesboro, Arkansas