Good Stewardship

The Stewardship of Your God-given Financial Resources
Pastor Jake Gillard expresses his sermon on Stewardship, which was given in October 2004.

I'd like to talk with you about something very important: the stewardship of your God-given financial resources. I don't know your financial position and I don't know how much you give. In fact, I don't care  how much you give. (Can you believe that a pastor actually put that last sentence in writing??) I'm far more concerned with why you give. And so is God. So let's start talking...

This is a congregation where we do talk about money. Why? Because the bible talks about it - a lot. Jesus talks about it - a lot!

It never hurts to revisit the basics, so let's review a few points from the stewardship sermon that I shared in mid-October:

1)  First fruits giving is giving God the first and best.

If you were a shepherd in the Holy Land, you'd give to God the lamb without any blemishes - the lamb that would have fetched you the most money had you sold it on the open market. If you were a farmer, you'd give to God the best fruit and grain - the figs and wheat that would have fetched you the most money had you sold it on the open market.

All this is to show God the attitude or posture of our heart toward Him.

Learn from Cain and Able in Genesis 4:2b-7. Do you see the difference between Cain's offering of "some of the fruits.. in the course of time" and Able's offering of "fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock?"

Can God tell how much you appreciate the gift of Jesus your Savior by the gifts you give Him?
2)  Definition of tithe and offering.

In the strictest sense, a tithe is 10% of your income. Your offering is anything above and beyond that. The beauty of proportionate giving is that if you don't make a lot, you don't give a lot.

The title is an Old Testament concept: A tenth of all your produce is the LORD's and it is holy. (Leviticus 27:30), but that doesn't mean that it doesn't apply to us . After all, what was Jesus' word to the rich your ruler? Answer: "Sell it all." And what does Jesus teach us in Mark 12?

Rich people threw large amounts of money in the temple treasury... But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything - all she had to live on."

Folks, that's radical stewardship. For New Testament Christians, 10% is a starting point.
3)  "Pastor, should I tithe on my net income or on my gross?"

That's something you have to answer for yourself. But let me ask you, If you can trust God to provide for your every need when you tithe 10% of your net income, why can't you trust the same God to provide when you tithe 10% of your gross income? And, most of all, what do you make of the promise from 2 Corinthians 9:6? Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
Let's be frank, some of you are giving sacrificially at 10% of your income and over! Thank you and I thank God for your faith and faithfulness!

To those of you who are reading this who are not near 10%, I ask you, "Will you take a step of faith?" If you are at 2%, I challenge you to try 4%. If you are at 6%, are you willing to try 7%? I dare you to let me come back in one year and ask you if God wasn't faithful.

I make this challenge based on a biblical challenge found in Malachi 3:10:

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this." says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.

Isn't that a wonderful challenge? He's just waiting to bless us! The fact is, you can't out-give God.

I want to thank you for the prayerful decisions that you make as you fill your offering envelopes. This congregation is where you are fed and this is where you're investing yourself, spiritually speaking. So it makes perfect sense that you invest your dollars here, too.

Michelle and I can personally testify about the joy (and blessings!) that come with regular and proportionate giving. The old maxim certainly is true, "I've never met an ex-tither!"

Each one of you, on the first day of each week,
should set aside a specific sum of money in proportion
to what you have earned and use it for the offering.
- First Corinthians 16:2

If you'd like to talk more about the things I've mentioned here, or if there's any way that I can encourage you in your walk with God, please don't hesitate to let me know.

Rev. Jacob Gillard
JacobGillard@gmail.com

P.S. I am deeply sorry if this letter has arrived at an inopportune time. I realize that someone reading this may have recently lost a job or suffered some other event impacting family income. If this is the case, would you please let me know? The Christian Church can and must help in such a time. Holy Scriptures instruct us to bear one another's burdens and we will do our best to assist you through thick and thin.

 

Stewardship Prayer

King Jesus, thank you for your perfect stewardship. Thank you for placing yourself on the Father's altar as the perfect thank-offering: the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world - our sins! We pray that you would reign supreme over every aspect of our life, even our financial stewardship. What a joy it is to love you because you first loved us! Amen.

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