Jesus knew that the world has a way of squeezing us into its mold.  Without intentional re-formation of our values and attitudes our minds will be conformed to think like the world thinks.

Today we look at Matthew 6:1-4, and explore how Jesus re-forms the way the crowds think about giving.

Evaluate these statements:

• Question 1
  • When the economy is down, we can’t expect people to give.
    (A) – That’s true
    (B) – That’s false
• Question 2
  • If we urge people to give, they’ll get angry.
    (A) – That’s true, finances are a sensitive subject. It’s unbiblical to bring up money in church.
    (B) – Disagree. Giving is an issue of discipleship, and people will respond to it as such.
• Question 3
  • People don’t want to give.
    (A) – That’s mostly true: people may say they want to give, but it’s all talk.
    (B) – Wrong. Generally speaking, people want to give to the church.
• Question 4
  • If we help people, they will generously give back to the church.
    (A) – That statement is true. People who receive the church’s aid will want to contribute.
    (B) – That statement is false. Giving is unrelated to charity received.
• Question 5
  • All we need to do is teach the Bible and pray.
    (A) – False. Sometimes church leaders need to remind men and women of their biblical responsibility to give sacrificially.
    (B) – True. People can make the connection between the Word of God and the Spirit’s leading on their own.

1. Down economy A. B
2. Urge to give get angry A. B
3. Don’t want to give A. B
4. Get to give A. B
5. Preach and pray A. A

Matthew 6:1-4

“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.”

Misconceptions on Giving

• #1 – Membership (country club mentality i.e. fees or services rendered)
• #2 – Duty (obligation or requirement = pay the church bills)
• #3 – Righteousness (a work or makes me “godly”)
• #4 – Guilt (compulsion, manipulation, or false expectation)
• #5 – Tithe (requirement of the Law or God commands it)
• #6 – Greed (giving to get)

Re-Formation on Giving

• #1 – Everything is God’s – Psalm 24:1; John 1:3; 1 Corinthians 10:26

Psalm 24:1

“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it”

John 1:3

“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”

1 Corinthians 10:26

“…for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”

• #2 – You can’t out give God – Luke 6:38; Philippians 4:19

Luke 6:38

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Philippians 4:19

“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”

• #3 – It is better to give than to receive – Acts 20:35

Acts 20:35

“In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

• #4 – We give to God, not to people or organizations – Matthew 6:1-4;

Matthew 6:1-4

“But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Philippians 4:18

“I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.”

• #5 – The gift is measured by the heart not the amount – Mark 12:41-44; 2 Corinthians 8:12

2 Corinthians 8:12

“For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.”

Mark 12:41-44

• #6 – God loves a cheerful giver – 2 Corinthians 9:7

2 Corinthians 9:7

“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Recommendations

1.  – Give from first-fruits (#1, #2, #3)
2. – Give in secret (#4, #5)
3. – Give as worship (#6)

John 12:1-6

“12 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.”