"The Joy of Giving"
Deuteronomy 26:1-15
Sunday, November 19, 2006

Introduction: Example- “Lost on an Island;” There is a story of 2 men who got shipwrecked on an island. One of the men starts to scream, ‘We’re going to die! We’re going to die! There’s no water, no food, we’re going to die!” Then he stops as he realizes the other man is so calm. “How can you be so calm?” he asks. The second man responds: “We’re not going to die. I make $100,000.00, and I go to church.” The first man doesn’t understand the point of his statement, so the second man continues: “You see, I give 10% of my $100,000.00 to the church. My pastor will find me.”

Leon Lederman, who won the Nobel prize for physics in 1988 once said: “Physics is not a religion. If it were, we’d have a much easier time raising money.”

Leon Lederman has probably never had to raise funds for a church budget. The truth is, every year we come to the time when the budget has to be reviewed for the next year. And during this review process, the church has to ask the questions: Where do we stand financially? Where do we think we will be for next year? What does God want us to do as His church? Can we afford to raise our budget to do what we feel we are called to do?/ So often we look at budget time in a very negative way. It is the time when the church talks about money more. We see Stewardship time as a time when the church asks for more money. And yet, as we look at our passage this morning, we see God telling us, as He told the Israelites many years ago, that we need to focus not on the asking, but on our desire for giving; THERE IS JOY FOUND IN LEARNING HOW TO GIVE!

I. The Challenge of Giving- (Malachi 3:8-10)

We are called to give. In fact, the Bible tells us that we are called to give 10% of all that we

make. This is called a tithe. But there are challenges which can make if difficult to give.

a. Debt- We live in a time when there is great consumer debt in our

nation. A few years ago it was reported that the consumer debt exceeded the trillion-dollar mark. The bankruptcy rate was the highest in the history./ In this time of persuasive advertising and easy credit, families have found that 2 incomes have become a necessity to live. Even with 2 incomes though, many families are still stretched to the limit financially, so much so, that it is difficult to find any money left to give to the church. There is something wrong with this picture when families can’t even survive with 2 incomes. It is not just that things cost more. It is that people don’t take the time to budget and live within their means! We don’t see that we are worshipping the god of consumerism when we regularly find ourselves in debt.

b. Generational shift- We are also facing a shift in generational thinking.

The generation that lived through the Great Depression understood about saving and not overspending. They appreciated what they had, and understood the importance of not only coming to church, but giving back to God generously for all that he had blessed them with.

The thinking of today by the Baby Boomers and Generation X (as they are called) is that if I do give, I give AFTER I pay my bills and do the things I want to do. After I spend my money on what I think I need and want, if there is any money left over, then I’ll give some to the church. OR, giving to the church is like going to a concert or a movie. I’ll give my $10.00 to go. In his book “The Secret Kingdom,” Pat Robertson says it like this: “According to the dictionary, the original definition of tithe was 1/10 of the annual produce of one’s land or one’s annual income. According to the Bible, that is merely the starting place of giving to the Lord. In Malachi 3:8-10, it refers to ‘tithes and offerings.’ One might say, then, that there is no offering until the tithe has been paid; the tithe is the expected minimum amount.” (Inspirational Study Bible, ed. Max Lucado, p. 222)

c. Financial training- A third challenge in our giving to the church is

that many people struggle with their finances because they have never had the opportunity to receive good training in how to manage their money. Think about it, there are many things that we go to school to learn. It is important to get good education and training in whatever career or job you are going to pursue. If you don’t have the right training, it will be difficult to do a good job. And yet, so many people are expected to manage their money without any training.

Consequently, too many people fail to understand the concept of establishing a budget and living within that budget. Many people fail to understand the importance of balancing their checkbook so they have an idea of where they stand financially. Many people fail to understand the Biblical perspective on what God calls us to do with our money. If you need help in this area, or know someone who does, please talk to me so that we can look into starting some kind of training and education for those who could really benefit in financial management.

d. Planning for the future- Because of the way laws are right now, unless

we do some good future planning with our money, we will one day surrender more of our income through estate taxes than we have probably totally given to the church in our lifetime. If you have a tax consultant (or someone who does your taxes), you can set-up an endowment fund that not only benefits the church, but allows you to still pass on a good portion of your etate to your loved ones, all the while keeping it away from the IRS. There are Estate Planning seminars conducted all the time. If you are interested, it is not difficult to find out about one.

II. The Joy of Giving- (Deuteronomy 26:1-15)

In the passage in Deuteronomy 26:1-15, we see the Lord bringing regulations to

the Israelites concerning 2 important rituals: the presentation of first-fruits, AND the tithe of the third year. These 2 rituals of giving were being threatened as the Israelites had entered the promised land and were being influenced by the Canaanites.

a. First-fruits- Twice it is mentioned to the Israelites (in verses 2 and 10)

that they are to give of their first-fruits, not of their left-overs. “You shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you…” AND “So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, that you, O Lord, have given me.”/ These are 2 important points here that are good for us to learn as well.

1. It is important for us to make note that what is to be given here is the first of all the fruit. When we make up a budget, or seek to set aside money for what we are to give and the bills we are to pay, we shold look at the total amount of money we have received (ALL OF THE FRUIT) and set aside first and foremost what is to be given to God’s work. Going back to Pat Robertson’s book “The Secret Kingdom,” he gives us an example of a friend of his that not only lives up to this call, but exceeds it. Robertson says this: “This is a true example of a New Jersey florist who has been blessed by following the exercise of giving the first-fruits to God. This florist at times gave up to 90% of his annual income to the service of God. This florist says that his prosperity simply mounted. He was not able to outgive the Lord!” The goal is not to give to be prosperous, but to give out of the first-fruits of what we have, not what is leftover. In fact, I believe that many people are struggling with their finances because they don’t give 10% of their money to God!!

But what is true is that God promises to give to us abundantly. This will not necessarily be giving us more money, but the rewards that we receive will be great. And, God will make sure we have enough to take care of our needs. When we give of our first-fruits, we are to give with the understanding that what we have is a gift to us from the Lord. In both verses the Israelites acknowledged that it was the Lord who gave them the land.

Let us not forget to give God the glory for what we have. Let us not forsake the Lord thinking that what we have, what we have achieved, what we posses, is ours. Rather, it is the Lord’s, and the Lord has given it to us to watch over and to manage.

b. Good things from the Lord- Illus. “Poverty Perspective,” 1001 Hum. Illus., p. 368.

In Hollywood, there is an exclusive school attended by children of movie stars, producers, and directors. One day the students were asked to right about the subject of poverty. One little girl stated her writing like this: “Once there was a poor little girl. Her father was poor, her mother was poor, her governess was poor, her chauffeur was poor, and her butler was poor. In fact, everybody in the house was very, very poor.”

The perspective of being rich and being poor comes from what we have experienced in our lives. There are some who have truly been poor, having to seek to find food to eat and money to pay the bills. There are others who have lived a life of riches, not having to worry about anything. As Deuteronomy 26:11 says- “Then you, together with the Levites, and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with tall the bounty that the Lord you r God has given to you and to your house.”

In other words, celebrate all that God has given you. But how often do we do this? How often are we satisfied with what we have, and say, ‘Thank you God for what I have. Thank you that you have lovingly given me all that I have, and all that I am. I am never poor because I have you in my life.’

The Israelites celebrated what they had been given by having a party. We have had 2 great parties of celebration since I’ve been here: our 70^th anniversary party in 2000, and our 75^th anniversary party last September of 2006!! But we need to continually find ways to celebrate before the Lord both as children of God and as a church that says “Thank you” to the Lord for all that we have received.

c. Giving to others- We receive joy in our giving by understanding that

we are called to give first to God, second by celebrating the fact that all we have is a gift from God, and third by giving to others in need.

ILLUS. “Cold Hands,” Internet, Chicken Soup for the Soul. There is a short story, by Joyce Andresen, who talks about cleaning out her 6-year-olds winter coat one day. In each of the pockets she found a pair of mittens. Thinking that one pair wasn’t enough to keep her hands warm, Joyce asked her daughter why she was carrying these 2 pair of mittens. Her daughter replied: “I’ve been doing that for a long time. You see, some kids come to school without mittens and if I carry another pair, I can share the mittens with them. Then their hands won’t get cold!”

One of the greatest feelings you can ever have is to give of yourself to someone else who has a need. God told the Israelites to do this in Deuteronomy 26:13- “Then you shall say before the Lord, ‘I have removed the sacred portion from the house, and I have given it to the Levites, the resident aliens, the orphans, and the widows, in accordance with Your entire commandment…’”

What this verse is telling us is that to show that the command of the Lord was fulfilled, a person had to go to the Priest and state that their tithe had been given for the purpose of helping the needy. While we are not required in any way to come to the church and make this confession, we are called by God to give to those who are needy, who are orphans, who are out of work, and so on…

In the poem “Lessons You’ve Learned,” Marlene Gerba says this:

For every petal you pluck from a daisy, you’re granted one measure of love.

For every rainbow you find with two ends, I wish you two stars from above.

For every tear you brush from a cheek, I promise you kindness will follow.

Wherever you walk, under rainbows or stars, over daisies, or down lonely hollows.

For every child you play with and talk to, I grant you one heart full of laughter.

For every smile you place on a face, I promise you peace ever after.

If you think “I” am giving you priceless gifts, look close at yourself and your deeds.

The gifts you earned were the lessons you learned while answering other folks’ needs.

When we give to others freely, we learn of the joy that is received.

Conclusion: EX.- A few years ago, when my dad was still alive, our family had come home from visiting my dad in Hemet. Tiffany woke up and was grumpy, and I was trying to give her some love; but she didn’t want to have anything to do with me; she only wanted her mommy. Then Tyler comes over, and touches my heart in only a way that a child can: He gives me a hug and says, ‘Daddy, I’ll be your joy!’

God says to us; come to me, I’ll be your joy. Discover how when you give, you experience joy. Discover how when you acknowledge God as the giver of all things, you experience joy. Discover how when you care for the needy, you experience joy. The secret of the Kingdom is that there really is joy in giving! Amen.