God and My Money (Part 4 – Why Give to God?)
During this series, we encourage you to get your priorities in order.
Simply put…
- Put God first
Jesus said, “But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)
- Save part of your income before you spend it to build up savings and a wealth portfolio
“The wise man saves for the future, but the foolish man spends whatever he gets.” (Proverbs 21:20)
- Budget and plan well
“The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.” (Proverbs 21:5)
- Live within your means by managing your expenses. Cover your essentials first before you spend on the nice-to-haves.
“The earnings of the godly enhance their lives, but evil people squander their money on sin.” (Proverbs 10:16)
The God and My Money series is designed to help you structure your money in the correct order, while…
- Honoring God,
“Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.” (Proverbs 3:9-10)
- Being a blessing,
“Give freely and gain even more; be stingy and lose everything. The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.” (Proverbs 11:24-25)
- Living a contented life, while
“Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:11-13)
- Building towards a fruitful financial future.
“All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” (Proverbs 14:23)
Last week, we looked at the purpose of the tithe.
WHAT IS A TITHE?
The Hebrew word that’s translated as ‘tithe’ literally means ‘a tenth’. The tithe is GIVING 10% OF YOUR INCOME TO GOD.
WHAT IS TITHING?
Tithing is the practice of returning the first 10% of our income to God.
“A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord.” (Leviticus 27:30)
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE TITHE?
“The purpose of the tithe is to teach you to always put God first in your lives.” (Deuteronomy 14:23)
Giving to God helps you get your priorities in the right order, with God at the center.
HOW ARE YOU HANDLING YOUR MONEY?
Does God get your best or your leftovers?
Does God feature in your budget?
We encouraged you to MAKE JESUS THE CENTER OF YOUR LIFE.
Now, today, I want to go a little further and answer the question: WHY AM I CALLED TO GIVE TO GOD?
Let me start by telling you: God does not need your money!
He is the creator. He has all power and authority in heaven and earth.
“For all the animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills.” (Psalm 50:10)
“The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the LORD Almighty.” (Haggai 2:8)
When Jesus needed to pay his taxes, he told Peter, an experienced fisherman, to go fish. Peter did as Jesus commanded.
Jesus told Peter, “Go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us.” (Matthew 17:27)
When Jesus spent time with a crowd that hadn’t eaten all day, he borrowed a young boy’s “Happy Meal” consisting of 5 loaves and 2 fish. He prayed over it and began distributing food.
We are told, “They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.” (Matthew 14:20-21)
Jesus doesn’t need your money. He can bring light into darkness. He can make something beautiful out of nothing.
So, why do we need to give to God?
- WE ARE CALLED TO GIVE TO SUPPORT GOD’S WORK
Giving to God provides for God’s work:
When you give to God, you support His work.
Money is needed to pay ministers to reach out to the lost and hurting.
If people live without Jesus, they cannot know real peace. And, if people die without Jesus, they are lost for all eternity. We need to support the work of reaching those who are broken, bound, and on the road that leads to destruction.
“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:14-15)
People who don’t know Jesus are in trouble. We need to reach the lost no matter the cost.
Some are walking straight into hell without knowing it. When you support God’s word, you allow the message of the Good News of Jesus to be proclaimed.
When you support God’s work, you also provide financial support for the Church —the very Church Jesus died for. God loves the church. He wants to see the body thrive.
Jesus is the head. The Church is his body. The body is there to worship Jesus and to be equipped to go out and impact the world. To do this, money is needed.
“Bring the whole tithe, into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.” (Malachi 3:10)
The storehouse is the Old Testament picture of the Church: When you give to God, it provides for God’s work in ministry.
So, I want to encourage you to give to the Church and to support ministry.
I don’t know if you are aware of it, but a radio station like CCFM uses God’s resources, which come in through donations and generous giving, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ within Cape Town and beyond.
Through CCFm, 10’s of 1000’s have found new life in Jesus Christ. CCFm can reach Cape Town with the Good News. It is extraordinary to see how God has used CCFM to impact Cape Town and beyond with the Good News of Jesus Christ, and it is only through your generous giving to God that this is possible.
I’m here to tell you, I believe that Jesus Christ is the hope of the world. If people would give to God through their Churches and through ministries like CCFM, and if ministries would manage it wisely, we could fulfill God’s mandate to share the Good News of Jesus with the lost and offer hope to the hurting.
It is through your giving to God’s work that our Churches and ministries can make a great impact in our city and beyond.
Unapologetically, I tell you, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that your giving to the work of God can help build and equip the body, reach the lost, and offer hope.
Are there any other reasons we are called to give to God?
I am glad you asked the question.
- WE ARE CALLED TO GIVE TO HELP THE NEEDY
So many people are battling. God’s people are called to be generous and to help those in need.
“Blessed are those who are generous, because they feed the poor.” (Proverbs 22:9)
Jesus called us to look after the needy.
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:27)
We are called to be a blessing, to help those in need, and to show love.
In Matthew 25, Jesus shared a parable that is very sobering.
“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
“Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
“Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’“And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’
“And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:31-46)
We are called to be generous and to help out the needy.
When it comes to giving to the needy, Jesus said, “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.”
“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:1-4)
The is a reward in giving to God’s work and to the needy, but do it humbly. Do it secretly and watch what God will do!
I want to remind you of the main reason we are called to give to God.
- WE ARE CALLED TO GIVE, AS GIVING TEACHES US TO ALWAYS PUT GOD FIRST.
As we started, we shared that the purpose of the tithe is to help us get our priorities in the right order: that is to PUT GOD FIRST!
“The purpose of the tithe is to teach you to always put God first in your lives.” (Deuteronomy 14:23)
How clear is this! God’s word tells us THE NUMBER ONE PURPOSE OF THE TITHE is to teach us to PUT GOD FIRST IN OUR LIVES.
I implore you to put God first.
Giving to God will help you get our priorities in the right order…
- Giving God first place in our hearts and lives,
- Honoring Him.
- Trusting Him.
- Looking to Him as our source, our helper, and provider.
MAKE JESUS THE CENTER OF YOUR LIFE – PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST
Put you first in my life and first with my money.
If God is not first in your life, why not surrender your life to Him?
- This decision will impact your life and your eternity.
When you give to God, you are saying…
- Lord, I put you first,
- Lord, I honor you,
- Lord, I am supporting your work, and
- Lord, I am ready to help the needy.
I want to encourage you to put God first with your money. Give Him your first fruits.
WHEN YOU GIVE…
- YOU PROVIDE FOR GOD’S WORK.
- YOU TAKE CARE OF THE NEEDY.
- YOU ARE LEARNING TO ALWAYS BUT JESUS FIRST.
“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” (Matthew 6:33 NLT)
If you want to start or restart your walk with God, click here to pray a simple prayer we have set up for you.
