Giving

Raymond Exum
Crystal Lake Church of Christ, Crystal Lake, Illinois, USA
Oct. 4, 1998

Two Sunday nights ago we looked at the question of what is acceptable worship. We studied John 4:24, where we are told that God wants worship that is in spirit and in truth. That is, the right attitude that is consistent with His Word. We also find in John 4:24 that God is the object of our worship. It is not a case of trying to entertain an audience or anything like that, but rather a case of pleasing God.

Last Sunday evening we looked at the first of the five acts of worship, the Lord's Supper. We looked at Matthew 26, where Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper. We also examined I Corinthians 11: 23-29, where the Apostle Paul had to correct a terrible mess that the church at Corinth had been involved in. They had mixed up the Lord's Supper with the fellowship meal, and some terrible things were taking place. And so we noticed there some basic principles about how the Lord's Supper is to be conducted.

This evening may we look at another of the five acts of worship. I would like to ask that you please turn with me in the Old Testament to the book of II Chronicles, a book that we do not study very much, but nevertheless, a very positive record of the history of the southern kingdom of Israel. II Chronicles 31. I want to start reading with verse 1. This evening let us consider giving as a way of worshipping God.

For all of us as faithful Christians, I hope that we consider one of the greatest honors in this life the privilege that we have of helping to support the Lord's work. Surely if God had chosen to do so, He could have arranged for the church to be supported some other way. God takes care of the birds, and he also takes care of the grass of the field. Somehow in His providence He has arranged for the birds and the grass to be taken care of. Don't you imagine that He could have done something like that for the Lord's church? And yet, He did not choose to do so. He chose to allow us the honor of supporting His Kingdom here on the Earth. It is interesting in I Corinthians 3:9 that Paul said, "We are God's fellow workers." When it comes to giving and supporting the church, we indeed are fellow workers with God.

Many religious groups no longer consider it to be a privilege to support the work financially. For many people today, it is a burden that they are no longer willing to bear. Therefore, they resort to all kinds of phony schemes to raise money. We see carnivals that are sponsored by denominational churches here in Crystal Lake. We see car washes and walk-a-thons and church dinners where money is charged. Many denominations are heavily in the stock market as a way to support themselves. Here in Crystal Lake, at least, there are churches that I know of that sponsor rummage sales on a regular basis. There are bingo parties. And really, this is all just very, very shameful, especially since it is supposedly done in the name of Jesus.

And yet, churches of Christ are unique among world religions. And that is, there are no fund raising projects. The reason is that God has told us how He wants His work supported, and that is by offerings that are made by His people on the first day of every week. That is how the church is to be supported financially.

This evening let us look at the book of II Chronicles 31 and notice a beautiful passage on this subject that comes from the days of King Hezekiah. Hezekiah was the 13^th king of the southern kingdom of Israel, and he was one of the most righteous kings that the southern kingdom ever had. In fact, if all of the kings had been as good as Hezekiah, then God never would have destroyed the southern kingdom of Israel in 586 BC. But unfortunately, he was an exception. In the years leading up to Hezekiah's reign, the law of Moses had been discarded by the Jewish people in the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin. When Hezekiah took over, he found that they were no longer keeping the sacred holidays. He found out that they no longer knew about the law of Moses. And what he found was that he basically had to start from scratch and teach them the law of Moses and re-institute the various parts of the Old Testament, including starting the priesthood again.

As we see in Chapter 30 of II Chronicles, they had stopped eating the Feast of the Passover, and so he had to start that again. We come to chapter 31 and find that Hezekiah is in the process of restoring the Levitical priesthood. Can you imagine a generation that had so abandoned the word of God that there were no longer Levitical priests, at least practicing in the temple? This is the case that Hezekiah faced. Well, it presented a problem, and that is, how were the Levitical priests going to be supported? Hezekiah and the Jewish leaders came up with the right conclusion: free-will offerings made by the people during the reign of Hezekiah.

This is what we see developing in II Chronicles 31:1-10:

"Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, broke the pillars in pieces, cut down the Asherim and pulled down the high places and the altars throughout all Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the sons of Israel returned to their cities, each to his possession.

And Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and the Levites by their divisions, each according to his service, both the priests and the Levites, for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister and to give thanks and to praise in the gates of the camp of the Lord."

Notice verse 3:

"He also appointed the king's portion of his goods for the burnt offerings, namely, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the sabbaths and for the new moons and for the fixed festivals, as it is written in the law of the Lord. Also, he commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to give the portion due to the priests and the Levites, that they might devote themselves to the law of the Lord.

As soon as the order spread, the sons of Israel provided in abundance the first fruits of grain, new wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the tithe of all. And the sons of Israel and Judah who lived in the cities of Judah, also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of sacred gifts which were consecrated to the lord their God, and placed them in heaps.

In the third month they began to make the heaps, and finished them by the seventh month. And when Hezekiah and the rulers came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord and His people Israel. Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok said to him, 'Since the contributions began to be brought into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat the plenty left over, for the Lord has blessed His people and this great quantity is left over.'"

Let's go back to verse 4 and notice the first of several principles on the subject of giving. Notice in verse 4 that this was the word of the Lord. It was given through Hezekiah, and the command was that they were responsible for supporting the Lord's work for their generation. It has always been that way.

Do you remember in Genesis 14 how Abraham fell down and he gave a tenth of all his belongings to Melchizedek, who was priest of Salem, a priest of God? Abraham believed in supporting the Lord's work. Remember in Genesis 28 how Jacob made a promise to God, and that was that he would give a tenth of all his possessions to support the Lord's work?

The law of Moses came into existence, and in Leviticus 27 we read the details of how they were commanded to give 10% of everything that they had -- the seed that they had, the fruit, the cattle, the sheep, any inheritance that they received, any other kind of income that they received. They were required to set aside 10% for the Lord's work.

We come to the New Testament. We are not required to give 10% to the Lord's work. This is what the New Testament says in I Corinthians 16:2:

"On the first day of every week, each one of you is to put aside and save as he may prosper so that no collections be made when I come."

Notice that this is our command, not necessarily to give 10%, but to give as we have prospered on the first day of every week.

It is so easy to make excuses concerning why we should not give generously to support the Lord. Somebody might say that I'm just a teenager and I just make a few dollars a week from baby sitting, or cutting grass, or working at some fast-food place. I think the Apostle Paul would say that you are still required to support the Lord's work. If you have prospered in the past week, that is, if you have earned any income at all, then as a Christian, you are required to support the local congregation.

Somebody else might say that all the income I have is from Social Security. Surely you don't expect me to give some of that to support the church. And the answer is yes. Everybody who has prospered during the past week is commanded by the New Testament to give part of that back for the work of the church, even if it is Social Security income.

Somebody else might say, "Well, I've got it made because I've got a kid in college and you know what that is like. And therefore, it takes up all of our money and we just cannot give any until that young person gets out of college."

We could make excuses all day long. We could say, "Well, Lord, I can start giving generously as soon as I get that big promotion." Or "as soon as the mortgage on the house is paid off." Or "as soon as we get enough CDs put aside so that we can retire someday." Or "as soon as our grandchildren make it through college." Or "as soon as there is government sponsored healthcare." And "as soon as we get all of the funeral costs prepaid" and "as soon as the cows come home." Then we will give generously to the work of the church. And we can make excuses on and on and on.

But there was that lady in the New Testament who was a widow. And what happened to her just blows away all of these excuses. We read in Mark 12:42-43 that all she had in the world was just, in our currency, one penny. She had two small coins, worth, together, one cent. And yet Jesus complimented her because she put those two small coins in to support the temple in Jerusalem.

We all believe the New Testament when it tells us that we are to be baptized for the forgiveness of our sins. We take that literally and we do not try to make excuses to get around it. And yet, beloved, the same book that tells us to be baptized as a way of getting our sins forgiven through the blood of Christ, also tells us that on the first day of every week we are to give based on our prosperity during the previous week.

Somebody might say, "Well, I only get paid every other week. What are you going to say about that?" When Jesse and I first started teaching school we only got paid once a month, the last Friday of each month. It was a long month, every month. And yet it doesn't take a rocket scientist to divide that into 4 parts or 5 parts in the case of some month. It doesn't take a lot of skill to divide that down and to still put in every Sunday, something based on how we have prospered during the previous week.

Our treasurer, Brother Jim Vermillion, has mentioned a number of times how grateful he is for those who leave their contribution here when they know that they are going to be gone the coming week. I can think of something that happens to me frequently, and that is when I stand up here to speak on some Sundays I will look down and there will be an envelope already in the contribution basket. I know what that is. I don't know whom it is from. But I know that it is from somebody who knew in advance that they were going to be out of town, and they took the time to write a check and to put it in an envelope to guarantee privacy, and to put it in the collection plate.

And in every area of life, we generally do this. Suppose I go on a two-week business trip. And suppose while I am gone that the bill comes from Commonwealth Edison. And so what am I supposed to say? "Well, look. I was out of town that time. Just go ahead and shut the electricity off. My wife won't mind, because I wasn't there. Therefore, I am not required to pay that bill." I hope that we would not do something like that to our families. We know that the bills continue on, whether we are there are not. Whether we are out of town, or sick, it doesn't matter. The bills of the church continue on and still need to be paid. It is certainly good to give something extra to the congregation where we are visiting, wherever it may be. And yet, let us remember that we are responsible for supporting the Lord's work here in Crystal Lake. Whether we are here or not here, the financial part of the Lord's church will still need our help.

Hezekiah, therefore, commanded on the behalf of the Lord, in verse 4, that it was the responsibility of the people to support the priests and the Levites of that generation.

Notice please, verses 5, 6 and 7. Notice how the Israelites sacrificed because they loved the Lord's work. Please notice in verse 5. The sons of Israel provided in abundance, the first fruits of the grain and the new wine and the oil and the honey and so forth. Notice of the abundance that they had that they were extremely generous in supplying what the Lord's work needed. Notice in verse 7 that they began to make heaps of all of the things that they were donating to support the work of the church.

Can you imagine on a Sunday morning up here, having several heaps of money? That would be very pleasing to Brother Jim Vermillion. Imagine that everything is piled up here, everything that people were donating to the work of the church. This is the way it was in the New Testament concerning the church in Jerusalem. Listen to Acts 4:34-35:

"For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the Apostles' feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need."

Can you imagine that? People selling their land, selling their houses, selling their property so that the work of the church in Jerusalem might continue. We see, therefore, in verses 5, 6, and 7 that in the days of Hezekiah the Israelites were so grateful to have the law of Moses reinstated, to have the priesthood re-established, to have worship re-established in the temple in Jerusalem, that they gave beyond what was required. They gave in abundance. It is a sad thing that there are some Christians who have possibly gotten into the attitude of the world, which says that we have to have the best of everything. The best house, the biggest house, the newest car, the heaviest car, the fastest car, the finest clothes. Yet sometimes those people forget about the needs of the church.

Several of us who go back many years at this congregation may remember a very fine older couple who have now moved to a southern state in their retirement years. The man was a fine Christian man, and he was in the management of a large corporation in our area. The woman taught school. And I remember that the first time they invited us to their house that this man, this very fine man, just sort of made an off-hand comment. He said, "You know, we could have a much bigger house than this. But we have chosen to have this size of house so that we can be of more financial help to the Lord's church." I thought what a great example he was setting. What a great policy in his own life. We do not have to live the lifestyles of the rich and famous. But we can live a moderate lifestyle so that we might have more to give to the work of the church.

Please notice verse 10, which is really the result of the abundant giving that the Israelites carried out in the reign of Hezekiah. Notice again please the wording of II Chronicles 31: 10.

"And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok said to him, 'Since the contributions began to be brought into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat with plenty left over, for the Lord has blessed His people, and this great quantity is left over.'"

What we see here is a basic principle of giving. And that is that God will bless us in return far more than what we have given to Him, if we are generous in our giving. I think verse 10 really gets back to a basic principle of giving and that is this question, "Does God really need our money?" Please think about that for a moment. When it comes down to it, does God really need our money? The answer is "of course not." He owns everything. The World is His. What is He going to do with our money? Is He going to go to a store and spend it? Is God on the verge of going bankrupt? The answer of course, is no. If that is the case, then why has God asked us to be the ones to support His work financially? I think the answer is that giving is really a test of our faith in God and of the love that we have for Him. In Hezekiah's day, the people trusted God and they loved His work so much that they were generous in their giving and He returned the honor by blessing them abundantly.

We find comments along these lines scattered throughout the Bible. For example, listen please to Malachi 3:10.

"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this," says the Lord of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows."

That is a promise that God makes to us. God says here through Malachi that this is a test. And the test is this. If you will be generous in your giving then "I will open the windows of heaven." You will be showered with blessings. We do not know exactly the form that those blessings will take. But that is a promise that God has made to us. Bring in the whole amount that you ought to be giving and I will open the windows of heaven.

Our Lord says something very similar to this in Luke 6: 38. The Lord said,

"Give and it will be given unto you; they will pour into your lamp a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over. For by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you in return."

There's something else in the New Testament. This is from the letter that Paul wrote to the church at Philippi. The Philippian church had supported Paul on his missionary journeys. They were very generous. There were times when they were the only ones supporting him. And so the book of Philippians is basically a thank you note, as we would say today, that he wrote to the church at Philippi to thank them for his support.

In the last few verses of chapter 4, in Philippians, there is a little statement sort of wedged in there between some other verses that are very famous. Philippians 4:17; notice what Paul said about their support of his missionary work:

"Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account."

Let me read that again.

"Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account."

That is very interesting. Again, Paul was saying that God would support him, and yet the Philippians were doing it on behalf of God, and the result would be that God would bless them back. They would be the primary beneficiary of their giving. God would repay them with blessings worth far more than what they had donated to the Lord's work.

It reminds me of the young Christian who was extremely generous in his giving. In fact, one of the members of the church talked to him about maybe giving too much. The person said, "Do you think you might be spending too much on the Lord's work?" And the new Christian, the young Christian, answered, "I'm not spending it. I'm investing it."

That is the attitude that the Bible has on this subject. If we take that attitude, that God will repay us far more than what we are giving to support the work, that attitude takes faith, does it not? It takes faith to believe what Malachi said and what our Lord said and what the Apostle Paul said. And my understanding is that is the whole purpose of giving.

If we are suffering financially tonight, as some families may be, this would be the worst of all times to cut back on giving to the Lord's work. Frankly, we cannot afford to give less. We will only survive our financial crisis with the Lord's blessings. We will never survive without the Lord's blessings. He had promised to repay us far more than what we have given to support His work. We find some great lessons, therefore, in this chapter of II Chronicles 31.

As we think about the work here in Crystal Lake, we have been involved in some great mission works over the last few years. There is the Four Lakes Church in Madison, Wisconsin; we assisted them in getting formed and in finding a preacher and in supporting that preacher financially. There is the work in Janesville, Wisconsin. And certainly I think the greatest work that this congregation has done recently, with the Lord's help and His guidance, is the work in DeKalb, Illinois. There are other congregations on the horizon where our men are already going out and preaching on a part time basis, that look to be excellent prospects. They are great potential for being developed and they need our help.

Some of the men who have gone out from this congregation have gone out and have come back and commented on the attitude that other congregations have toward Crystal Lake, and that is an attitude of great praise for the work that this congregation has done. I experienced this when I preached for the church in Sycamore, Illinois. And I'll tell you, when the man stood up to introduce me as their speaker, it was almost embarrassing, the things that he said about the church here. I mean embarrassing in a good sense. He was talking about how we have helped the church there and how we had helped the church in De Kalb County. I was proud for the giving of this church and of the way the money has been handled and the assistance that we have given to smaller and weaker congregations in this area who have needed our help so much.

The challenge is before us for the coming years. Will we be like the people in Hezekiah's day? That is, will we obey the commandment to give as we have prospered? Will we give abundantly as the Bible describes that generation? Will we trust that God will take care of our needs, and that we are not going to go bankrupt because of generous giving? I hope that you will consider all of these things and consider the great generation that Hezekiah lived in.

Next Sunday night, the Lord willing, we will look at a third of the five acts of worship. I hope that you will be present for that lesson.

There maybe someone who desires to become a member of the family of God and to be blessed by Him. If you are subject to that invitation and are ready to be immersed in water for the forgiveness of your sins, please come to the front while we stand together and sing the next song.

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