LUKE 21:1-4 HOW GOD MEASURES GIVING2014 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Luke 21:1-4 How God Measures Giving

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2014. Well, this morning as we look at Luke chapter 21, verses 1 through 4, we're talking about the subject of giving.

Now, this is not a subject that we address very often. And it's something we, well, we try to kind of avoid as much as we can. We really want to be faithful to it when the scriptures deal with it. Then we need to be faithful to teach what the scriptures teach. But, you know, there's a little bit of caution because of the abundance of abuses that

regarding the subject of money and giving that has really been happening in the church ever since the beginning. There's always been false teachers. There's always been those who are taking advantage of people. And so I want to try to find the balance and teach what the Bible teaches. And that'll be my objective this morning. The idea, you know, the...

♪♪

The title of the message this morning is How God Measures Giving.

how does God measure what we give to Him? And you might immediately think, well, He uses a thermometer, of course. That's how He measures it, because that's what we see in bulletins all over, billboards, you know, all that kind of thing. It's the measurement of how much is given towards certain projects or things. But of course, I'm not talking about thermometers this morning. No, we're talking about how God evaluates and values what we give to Him. Now,

Now this is a very important subject because, well, there's two major problems that you and I can encounter with money. Two major issues that we can have in our hearts. Either, on one side, we can be consumed or obsessed with getting more money. And that's the focus of our life is we got to have more, we must have more. That's what we wake up for, that's what we live for, that's what we do is we strive for more.

Paul the Apostle warned against this in 1 Timothy chapter 6. And he told us there that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And so that desire, that passion, that obsession for money and for more is the root of all kinds of issues and problems whenever that is the focus, that is the idolatry of our heart.

But that's not the only issue with money we can have. We can also be obsessed with not having enough. Maybe it sounds kind of the same, but it's a little bit different. There's the obsession of getting more, but then there are those who are consumed and obsessed with...

I'm not going to have enough. I'm not going to make ends meet. Things are going to fall through. I'm not going to have money to pay the bills. What's going to happen? And when that's the drive of your life, it's the opposite end of the spectrum. It's the opposite side of the coin. It's also an issue. That when that is what consumes your life and that's what you wake up thinking about, that's what you worry about all day long and you have a hard time falling asleep because you're consumed with, obsessed with not having enough.

that is also an issue. That is also a problem. Now here's where the subject of giving comes in. With this instruction for us to give unto the Lord, God addresses both issues. And for the one obsessed with getting more and wanting more and needing more, having to have more, when God instructs us to give, He helps us address that issue in our hearts, that covetousness and desire for more by asking us to give.

But then also, for the obsession with not having enough, God helps us address that. He helps us identify, first of all, that issue when He instructs us to give. And when we're in that condition, we're like, I can't give. I don't have enough to pay the bills. How can I give? And He helps us identify where our heart is at in regards to money and in regards to what we have.

And so how God measures giving is really important to help us identify those issues in our hearts regarding money. God calls us to give because it's helpful to us. He's not worried about the money. It's not about the money to him. He can provide his own needs. He can meet the needs. He can do what he wants to. But it's about us. It's about our hearts. And it's about helping us

really experience the fullness of life that he wants us to enjoy. But as we talk about giving now and how God desires it, we also need to understand how God measures it. Now, I'd like to think about it this way, if you would. Think about a physical gift. If someone walks up to you and hands you a box, maybe it's wrapped, maybe it has a bow on it. There's a lot of ways that you can evaluate and value that gift.

Now, just kind of thinking practically, we live, of course, in three dimensions, right? And so you could, first of all, measure this gift by its dimensions. You could measure its length, its width, or its height, or all three. Now, if you just measure one of them, that's just one aspect of that gift that is being given to you. And as you measure all three, you get a more fuller sense of...

That gift that is being given to you. But there's other things you could consider as well. You could consider the weight. Well, how heavy is it? And maybe that adds value. Maybe that is more meaningful. Or maybe as you open it up and you see what it is, you could see how much it costs.

And maybe that adds value or makes it more meaningful. Or maybe as you open it up and you see what it is, then you see, well, this took a lot of thought. There was heart in this. There was thoughtfulness behind this. And that makes the gift much more meaningful. And maybe it didn't cost very much, but it's precious to you because of the thought that went into it. And so even ourselves, as we receive a gift...

There's a lot of ways that we can evaluate it. There's a lot of ways that we can measure that gift and different things that make it more or less meaningful to us. Well, as we talk about the subject of giving to the Lord, it's the same kind of idea.

that there's a lot of aspects to it. It's not just one thing. It's not just the amount that is given. But the Lord measures different aspects of our gifts to Him, and different aspects are more or less important to Him, and so make that gift more or less valuable to Him. And so as we talk about how God measures giving this morning, I have four points that I want to walk you through.

The first two, we're going to be here in Luke chapter 21, and then we're going to jump to a couple other passages to get a full sense of what God thinks about what we give to Him and how He evaluates those gifts. So the first point we find in verses 1 and 2, and that is that God measures the amount. As God evaluates what we give to Him, first of all, He measures the amount that is given.

Look at verse 1. It says, and he looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. So here we see Jesus. Remember, this is his final week of ministry before his crucifixion. He's just been dealing with the religious leaders and all their trick questions and trying to trap him. And now we learn from the gospel of Mark that he takes a seat.

He sits down and he begins to observe this scene in front of him of people giving their gifts to

Now they did it a little bit differently than we typically do. They didn't pass a bag around during a time of worship like we usually do. But instead they had a place where people would go and they would be able to give their gifts to the Lord. Now the place that they would go was here in the temple. It was in the outer courtyard so that everybody who came to worship the Lord could give their gifts unto the Lord. But

But the interesting thing about them is that they were big trumpet-shaped metal receptacles. So it wasn't like a little box on the table, but it was kind of like big stations. These big kind of trumpet-shaped receptacles and people would go and put their offerings in there as they would go to worship the Lord.

Now Jesus is watching this whole scene. He's watching the different people as they get in line or as they go up to the offering box and they put in their gift. And as he watches them, he's watching, first of all, he sees the rich people.

Putting their gifts into the treasury. And again, the Gospel of Mark, chapter 12, verse 41, tells us that the rich were putting much into the treasury. So they were giving large gifts. They were giving lots of money unto the Lord. Now, the way I picture this, understand this isn't historical fact. This is just my own imagination, but maybe it's a little bit accurate. I picture this

Have you ever been to the Coinstar machine? You know, usually at the grocery store, right? You take your change and you put it in the basket and then you lift up the basket and the coins fall in. And as the coins fall in, you hear all the ch-ch-ch-ch of it processing. The coins are falling. They're processing. It's a real loud transaction as you...

turn your change into a receipt that you can go cash in for money. And I kind of picture it that way because these were, these offering boxes were big trumpet shaped metal containers. And so the money that they were bringing in wasn't like bills like we have. They had coins and there were different kinds of coins of different values. And so the coins that they would bring in would be

clinging against, you know, the metal offering box. And so it'd be like that, like clink, clink, clink, clink, clink, clink, clink. As they're pouring in their offering to the Lord, it's noticeable. And so as Jesus is observing this, it's noticeable as well how much they're bringing because, you know, if they have a lot...

You know, I just kind of picture a couple of guys with buckets, you know, buckets of coins that now they're pouring into the treasury and it's making a lot of noise. It's very clear and easily observed how much people are giving. And, you know, as the clinging continues to go on, you're like, whoa, that guy's giving a lot. I mean, it's like, it continues, clinging, clinging, clinging, clinging, clinging. There's more and more.

And so Jesus is watching. He sees the rich and they are putting in much. They're pouring lots into the treasury. But then we see the next part in verse 2. It says, So try to picture that in your mind. So here you are. You're lined up at the coin store to give your gift to the Lord.

And ahead of you are these people. They're pouring in buckets. There's lots of noise. There's just great amounts that are being given. And now it's your turn. And you walk up and you put in two little coins. Clink, clink. It's quite a contrast. Two buckets of coins versus two coins. Clink, clink. It's a big contrast. And

That's what is happening here with this woman. As she is there amongst a bunch of others who are giving great amounts of money, she's a poor widow. And she gives two mites. Now the mite was the smallest of the Jewish coins. And so if we were to relate it to our money, it'd be like giving two pennies. So she comes with two pennies and just drops them in to the offering. It's not a whole lot in comparison, in contrast.

To the others around her who are giving, she gives these two mites. Now, this is something that Jesus is paying attention to. He sees on the one hand, these people giving much, and this poor widow who gives two coins. God, as he evaluates our giving, first of all, measures the amount.

It might be a lot, it might be a little, but that is a factor in how he evaluates the amounts or the money that is given. It caused me to consider, and maybe you've been in this position before, have you ever felt that, well, I don't even know if it's worth giving what I have to give, because all that I have to give, it's so little. I can imagine, you know, being that widow and thinking, like, what good is these two coins doing?

going to be for the temple, well, what good is it going to be for God? It's just, it's the smallest amount really that I could give. And there is that feeling that we have sometimes as we seek to give to the Lord. There was a situation with my wife and I a little bit back and we had a yard sale and the Lord had put upon my wife's heart that

There was a portion, $25 from what we made. She wanted to give that unto a missionary or put it towards the mission field and put it towards missions in some way. And she just had that burden on her heart from the Lord. And so that was great. And I said, yeah, amen, let's do that. And so we had this $25 and we began to pray, okay, Lord, what do you want to do with this $25? And it was a challenge for us because we really began to think like,

Well, what good is this going to do? It just seems so little. I mean, it's not very much. And, you know, we've been praying for Tim and IU, you know, and they're in the process of purchasing a building. And, man, we're excited about that. We're happy for them. We want to participate in that. But it's almost like we feel like, like, is it worth giving to them?

that to them because it's so little it it's not going to help them very much it's almost like an insult you know we kind of were wrestling with this that's not how they feel but that's what we were wrestling with it's like it's so it's so little and that's how we felt maybe that's how this widow felt listen jesus knows how much you give now he's about to explain just because it's a little amount doesn't mean it's not meaningful doesn't mean it's not pleasing to god and that's something that we have to get over because

But first, as we look at the subject of giving, understand God knows the amount. He measures the amount. The amount is part of what He considers as He evaluates how meaningful that gift is. It's one factor. Now, there are other things that are more important. What's more important? Well, that brings us to point number two. And verse three and four give us point number two, and that is that God measures the cost.

So God knows the amount, whether it be a couple pennies or buckets full of coins. He knows the amount. And that's an important part of the measurement, but it's not the most important. More important is the cost. And Jesus will explain that here in verse 3 and 4. Look at verse 3. It says, So he said, Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all. This is amazing.

It shows us very clearly God uses a different measurement than we do, right? I mean, this is completely different than the way that we would measure what is going on in that scene. By our measurement, this widow gave the least of all because she gave two small coins, the smallest of coins.

But by God's measurement, Jesus says, she gave more than all of them. Many Bible commentators also say that not only did she give more than all of them individually, but collectively, put them all together, and what she gave is more valuable than all of them together. Now, again, this clearly shows God measures things differently than we do.

He tells us in Isaiah chapter 55, my ways are not your ways. As high as the heavens are above the earth, that's how much higher my ways are than your ways. And that's clearly seen here in this subject of giving. The way that God evaluates giving is so different because although she only gave two little coins, God values that as much more than the others who were giving more.

Great amounts of money into the treasury. How is that possible? Well, Jesus explains it in verse 4. He says, For all of these, out of their abundance, have put in offerings for God. But she, out of her poverty, put in all the livelihood that she had. So Jesus is continuing to evaluate this contrast. These rich were putting in much. This poor widow put in very little.

But at the same time, she put in more than everybody else. Why? Well, because he says, these ones, they gave out of their abundance. Now, the word abundance, it means an excess. There's an overflow. There's more than what is needed. There's more than what is necessary. And so what Jesus is saying is, they took money that they had left over. Left over money, extra money. They took that and they gave that to the Lord.

They put that into the treasury. The widow, on the other hand, was in a different condition. She was not in a position of abundance. She was in a position of poverty. Now, poverty, understand for her, she was a widow, right? So, the widows in those days were usually not very well off because they

In their society, it was the man who made the money. It was the man who had opportunities to work and make provisions. There was not much opportunity for women to do so. And so if a woman had children who could take care of her and her husband died, then she would be okay because the kids would take care of her. But this woman probably did not have children or her children were not able to provide for

And so she really had very little resources, very little opportunity to have some kind of income and to be provided for. She's in poverty. Now, poverty is not just, well, you know, you add up all your bills, you kind of try to reconcile your accounts at the end of the month and you realize, yeah, I need five more dollars to be able to pay the bills that I need to pay. That's not the idea. That's not the poverty that's happening here. This is...

She doesn't know where her next meal is coming from. She doesn't know if she gets to eat dinner. She doesn't know if she's going to be able to have a meal tomorrow. That's the kind of poverty that Jesus is addressing here. Also remember, this isn't a parable. This is Jesus is watching actual people here. And so she's this poor widow. And yet she gives, Jesus says, all the livelihood that she had.

She gives all the livelihood that she had. Now, the word livelihood, it means that she gave the resources that she had for living. That is, the money that she would have used to purchase her next meal, that's what she gave. The money that she would have used for rent, that's what she gave. The money that she would have used for her own necessities...

Not extras, not wants, not wishes. You know, this wasn't her, you know, new iPad money. This was, this is my next meal money. That's what she gave. And so Jesus looks at this, he evaluates it. He says, she gave more than everybody else because of what it cost her. You see, God measures the cost when he evaluates our giving. The others had extra. She had need. And yet she gave.

Now, who would fault her? One of us would say, hey, you don't have to give. You have need. You don't have to give. You have extra. Well, it's appropriate. Yeah, you should give. But you have need. And yet she gave. And her giving costs her much more than it costs the others who are giving. Because she gave the money that she needed to be able to live. While they gave the money that was left over.

And so Jesus says, look, God's evaluating the cost. And because it cost her so much, he values what she gave much more. She gave more than everybody else. Now, this is an incredible truth. I like the way that David Guzik puts it. He says this, this means that the poor man can serve and please God just as much as a rich man. Think about that.

Because God evaluates and measures the cost, that makes it accessible to anybody. If God's measurement was only the amount, and he says, you know, hey, if you give a million dollars, I'll be really pleased. What hope do you have of pleasing God with your giving? Not very much, right? Probably none at all. But it's not about the amount. That's only one aspect, and it's apparently not that important to God.

What's more important to God is the cost. And so every one of us can give to God according to what it costs us and have it be pleasing to God and meaningful to God and valuable to God. David Guzik goes on to say, it doesn't matter if you are poor in influence, in gifts, or in money. If you sacrificially give to God what you have, He sees it and is pleased. You can...

give to God in a way that is meaningful and pleasing, no matter how much you have or how much you don't have. That's what Jesus is teaching from the example of this widow. And so one thing to consider for yourself is, what is the amount that you are giving to God? But a more important measurement is, what does your giving cost you? And I would ask you to consider that and evaluate that for yourself.

What does your giving unto the Lord cost you? Do you give out of your livelihood or do you give out of your excess? What do you give unto the Lord? What does it cost you? This poor woman did remember what Jesus asked the rich young ruler to do. He said, go sell everything, give it to the poor and then come follow me. He went away sad because he wasn't willing to do that.

Jesus said, give a hundred percent to that rich young ruler. This poor widow gave 100%. She did what he was not willing to do. Now, please understand, I'm not suggesting that God requires all of you to give a hundred percent. If I were suggesting that, well, I would be wrong. I would be

off base and I would probably be so twisted I'd be saying God wants you to give 100% and he wants me to receive all of that 100% but that's not what this is about we're not going to take another offering this isn't about trying to build more money look we're just going chapter by chapter and addressing the subject as we find it in the scripture and I should also point out giving is

is not only in the context of this building or the church. There's lots of ways that God will call you to give. And so don't just think about it in terms of what is given on a Sunday morning, but consider, you know, what you give to those who are in need. Consider what you give to the missions. Consider what you give to other ministries. That's all, you know, we're talking about giving to God, not giving to a specific place.

So God isn't probably asking you to give 100%, but here's the point. If he did ask you, would you be willing? And that's where we need to evaluate our hearts. Again, that's where we need to address those money issues of our hearts. Because if God gave you the instruction, would you be willing? Jesus wants you to give everything you have to him in the sense that you allow him to direct you.

How you use it. How it's spent. I know a lot of times we think of giving in the terms of the tithe. And some people wonder, well, is a tithe, you know, is it 10% now in the New Testament? Well, first of all, understand the word tithe means 10th. So yes, tithe is always 10%. But we are not under the law looking at like the Old Testament. Now,

Just follow along with me, okay? The tithe, the 10% was given by example before God gave the law and built it into the law that he gave to Israel. So it precedes the law. But we don't see that carried out in the New Testament. And we'll talk about that a little bit more at the end of the message this morning. So it's not about you have to give 10%.

That's not what God is saying. But it's more like you need to evaluate. Here's all that I have Lord. And what do you want to go where? How much do you want to go to the mortgage? How much do you want to go towards food? How much do you want to go towards clothing? And groceries? And missions? And whatever. It's about allowing God to direct you. And so that when he directs you to give. And it costs you.

It's okay because it's God who's directing you. But are you willing to allow Him to do that? I would suggest that if you're willing, then sometimes your giving is going to cost you. And I would ask you to consider, do you give as much as God is directing you? Do you give as much as He is putting upon your heart? And sometimes we don't give as much as God is directing us to give because of what it would cost us.

And through that, God's highlighting an issue. He's saying, I'm directing you, I'm putting this upon your heart to give this amount, but you're not willing to give it because, well, there's an issue in your heart. You're worried about how much it costs you, which means there's other things that are, well, capturing your attention that I should have. There's other things that you're trusting in instead of me. What does your giving cost you?

That's an important measurement to consider. That's what God considers. He evaluates and measures the amount. It's not the most important measurement. It's an aspect of it. He measures the cost. It's more important than the amount. But it's also not the most important measurement. Let's take a look at the most important measurement. And for that, turn with me please to Matthew chapter 6. Matthew chapter 6. Here we see in verses 1 through 4.

The next thing that God measures, the most important thing I would say that God measures is the motive. When you give, God measures the motive of your giving. And we'll see that here in verses 1 through 4. But starting in verse 1, Jesus says, Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

So Jesus here is addressing this subject of charitable giving or charitable deeds. Again, this idea of giving. He says, look, when you do this, your heart in it is very important. Your motives are very important. He says, if you do it to be seen by people, he says, you have no reward from your Father in heaven. So here's what Jesus is saying. When...

You give. God's looking at what's your motive? What's your inspiration? Why are you giving this amount for this charitable deed or unto the Lord, whatever it might be? What's causing you? What's the source of this? Now, as God measures it, He evaluates how much He thinks it's worth and then He rewards you accordingly. But Jesus says when your motive is

is not right, then there's no reward for that. That is, in eternity, it has no value. There's no reward for you in eternity if you give with the wrong motive. But what if I gave, you know, the million dollars that you talked about earlier? If your motive is wrong, there's no eternal reward for that.

If your heart's not in the right place, if you're doing it to be seen, I'll give you a million dollars and I'll issue a press release to let everybody know I gave you a million dollars. Well, there might be an issue there. That doesn't mean everybody who issues a press release is, you know, I'm not, we're not to evaluate, we don't have to worry about them. Worry about our own hearts. Am I giving to be seen? Am I giving so that others know? Is my motivation...

Not to please the Lord. It's not, I'm giving what God's directed me, but I have other reasons to give. Maybe it eases my conscience. I don't feel as guilty about the way that I'm living if I give. Or I don't feel as guilty about, you know, withholding my time and my gifts and my opportunities to serve. You know, I'm not involved in those things, but I'll give instead and that way I don't feel as guilty about not doing those other things that the Lord's put upon my heart. We have

A variety of motivations that can influence why we give and how much we give. And Jesus is saying here, listen, if you're doing it for the wrong motives, he says you will have no reward. Verse 2. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. This always just

Puts a funny picture in my head. Can you imagine? There you are in the parking lot. Someone comes up to you. Hey, you have any spare change? Hang on a second. You pull out your trumpet. Here's 50 cents. But Jesus is saying, this is what's going on. People are sounding trumpets, calling attention. Hey, everybody, look. I'm about to do this charitable deed. Now, if that's your motivation...

He says you have no reward. Actually, what he says is you have no reward in heaven. Your reward is what you have on earth for that moment. Yeah, you got the applause, the pats on the back. That's your reward. That's all you get from it. If your motives are wrong, you only get out of it what you get out of it right then. But if your motives are right, well, that's a whole different story. Look at verse 3 and 4.

He says, but when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret, and your father who sees in secret will himself reward you openly. So Jesus says, instead of making a public showing of it, be very secret about it. It's a personal matter. So he says, don't let your right hand know what your left hand is doing. Now, that's not meant to be in a legalistic sense.

You know, like you hide your hand behind your back as you write the check. Don't take it too far. But what he's saying is, you get the point, right? It's meant to be just between you and the Lord. That's what it's about. Where's your heart with the Lord in this? And he says, when you give that way, when your motive is to please the Lord, when your motive is to do what God has instructed you and you're following what he has called you to,

He says, then your father sees what you're doing and then there will be reward. There will be open reward for that in eternity. And so your motivation is a big part of how God evaluates your giving. I call it the most important part because here's the thing. If you give the million dollars, but your motive is wrong, you have no reward.

If it costs you everything and you give everything you have to the Lord, but your motive is wrong, you have no reward. And so your motive, your heart in the issue is really what counts. It's really what matters. And then the cost, that plays another role. That's another measurement. And then the amount is the final measurement. Do you want to give? What is your motive in the giving that you do?

Why do you give? And why do you want to give? Listen, please understand me very clearly. If you don't want to give, don't give. You don't have any benefit if you give because you have to give and you're upset about it and you don't want to. But, well, I'm supposed to, so I got to give. So I'm going to give. But I'm not going to like it. Listen, there's not an eternal reward for that. What's your motive? What's your heart? Why are you giving?

I like the way that Paul addresses this in 2 Corinthians 8, verse 12. He says, whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly and give according to what you have, not according to what you don't have. That's the way the New Living Translation puts it. He says, whatever you give is acceptable to God. It's pleasing to God if you give it eagerly.

If your heart is in it, if it's your desire, your motivation is to please the Lord, you're eager about giving, then it's acceptable to God. He says, according to what you have, not according to what you don't have. And so you can look at what you don't have and discourage yourself and say, ah, man, I wish I could give, but I just don't have. All I got is the $25.

Maybe it's not even worth giving. No, no, no. Whatever you can give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. If it's your desire, if it's your heart, if it's, you know, according to what God's doing in your life, then it's pleasing to the Lord. And there's great reward for that. It's according to what you have. It's in proportion to what you can afford. David Guzik says, Jesus looks at us when we give. He notices how much we give and

but is far more interested in what that amount says about our hearts than anything else. You see, that's what God is most concerned about. Our hearts. That's what He pays the most attention to. Again, He's not...

I know sometimes people give the impression that God's like broke and going out of business and if you don't send your money, you know, then God's going to fall off the throne. But that is not the position that God is in. God is not concerned about the money. He's concerned about the heart. And His commands and His instruction to us regarding the money is one of the ways that He addresses our heart and reveals where our hearts are at. That's what He's concerned about.

And so in our giving, God measures the amount. That's one factor. More important though, He measures the cost. That's an important factor. But even more important to that, He measures the motive. And then finally, point number four, you can jump over to 2 Corinthians chapter 9. Here we see that God measures the reward. God measures the reward in proportion to, according to, His evaluation of your motive,

The cost and the amount of what you gave. And so there is value in giving for eternity. And that's the point that Paul is going to make here in 2 Corinthians chapter 9. That as we give unto the Lord, He evaluates it and He rewards us according to His measurements of what we gave. So in 2 Corinthians chapter 9, we'll pick up in verse 6. Paul says, But this I say,

He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. And he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So Paul says, after God measures the amount and the cost and the motive, then he measures the reward for that giving as well. And it's according to whether it was sparingly or bountifully given.

Remember what Jesus said to the rich young ruler when he told him to go sell everything and give to the poor? He said, and you'll have treasure in heaven and then come follow me. You see, God promises reward for eternity for giving that is according to what he has instructed. As he measures it, as he evaluates it, he decides it's going to be worth something for eternity. And if it's

sparingly that you've given, then what you will have to enjoy for eternity will also be, well, it'll be given to you sparingly. But if you give bountifully, again, according to the measurements that God uses, not our own measurements, then he will reward you bountifully. So what should we do? Well, Paul goes on in verse 7. He says, "...so let each one give as he purposes in his heart."

So understanding, first of all, how God measures our giving, understanding the proportion, understanding the sowing and the reaping in this life and in eternity, Paul says, here's what we should do. You and I this morning, as we consider these things, as we understand how God measures these things, we should do this.

Here's what we should do. Paul says, so let each one give as he purposes in his heart. You see, this is really the instruction for us about giving. Give as you purpose in your heart. And he goes on to say, not grudgingly or of necessity. So if you're grumbling about having to give, don't worry about that. You don't need to give.

If it's of necessity, well, I'm giving because I have to. Well, you might be better off just keeping it and enjoying some reward in this life because there's no reward in eternity for that. He says, God loves a cheerful giver. So when you give what you purpose in your heart, then you're able to give cheerfully, joyfully. It's a joy, it's a privilege to give to God. It's a joy and it's a privilege to be part of His work.

And so when you can give cheerfully because you've purposed in your heart, well then there's great reward for that because God measures your motive as well as the cost and the amount. So give as you purpose in your heart. Again, the whole point is you need to have a relationship with God by faith in Jesus Christ. And in that relationship with God, you need to allow Him to

to instruct you on how much you spend and what you spend it on. And He's going to instruct you on how much He wants you to give to Him, to His work, to the things that He is doing. He's going to put those purposes on your heart. And He's going to call you to give. And if you can give cheerfully, well, that's what pleases God. But you've got to sit with Him first. You've got to hear from Him. How much does He want you to give? Sometimes we take this way too far.

Because we do see the principle of the tithe in the Old Testament. And it's a valid principle. It's not, I don't want to water it down or downplay it. That's the 10%. God says, that belongs to me. He invites his people to test him in this, in the book of Malachi. But we're not to try to keep that in some kind of legalistic thing. But it has to be this. Or to take it as, well, that's it, God. I gave you my 10%. I'm not willing to give you anything else.

We could take it too far in both ways. And some people take it too far in another direction and say, you know, if you haven't been giving your tithe, then you owe God back tithes. And you've got to make up for all those years that you haven't been paying the tithe. And I do not think that that represents the heart of God at all. Even when God said, hey, will a man rob God? And he's talking to his people through the prophet Malachi. He doesn't say...

Make sure you pay back all the tithes that you miss. He just says, bring the tithes into the storehouse. Just start right now giving to God as He instructs you. Start right now giving to God according to what you purpose in your heart, what you're willing to give, what you can cheerfully give to God. That's what God desires for you to give and He will reward you as you give in that way.

Well, going on into verse 8 here in 2 Corinthians 9, Paul goes on to say, So check out what Paul says. First of all, he says, So then each of us should give as we purpose in our heart cheerfully to the Lord. He loves that.

And then he attaches to that a promise. Here's the promise. God's going to meet your needs. So if the amount that you purpose in your heart is going to cost you, if God gives you the instruction to spend money, it's going to cost you. It's going to be out of your livelihood. It's not just extra money that now you don't get to go to the movies. But there's some real cost involved. Listen, God's promise...

Is that he will meet your needs. As you are faithful to follow his instruction in giving. Cheerfully. The way that he has purposed or put it upon your heart. He says God is able to make all grace abound to you. That you have all sufficiency in all things. And have an abundance for every good work. God will meet your needs. Paul says. As you cheerfully give to him according to what he puts upon your heart. So don't hold back giving to the Lord. What?

He has instructed you. Again, I want to be careful here. I'm not saying every one of us is supposed to give everything we have. I'm not saying that every one of us, you know, needs to have a forced fast. You can't eat because you're supposed to give to the Lord. I'm not saying that. I'm saying you need to hear from the Lord and follow His instruction, even if it costs you. And know that as you give cheerfully what God puts upon your heart, He will provide for you.

He will meet your needs. And so this morning, I want to ask you, what will be your reward when you enter into eternity? What kind of reward will you have for what you gave? For how you used the funds and the resources that God has entrusted to you? Now again, I am not teaching these things to try to lay some type of guilt trip

to try to get some kind of raise. I'm not teaching these things for any other reason than to say, listen, God wants to work in your heart. He wants to bless you abundantly for the rest of eternity. But if there's issues in your heart that God is highlighting through this subject of giving, well, you need to let God do the work in you that He wants to do. It's what's best for you. It's what God desires so that He can give you

The fullness of life that he promises to his followers. I share this with you kind of like what the Apostle Paul shared to the Philippians in Philippians chapter 4. He's writing them the book to say thanks for your gift. Because he was out on the mission field. They were sending funds to him. And it had been a while since the last time they had sent him money.

some money but they sent him money and so he writes back he says thank you he says you know I want you to know no other church is sharing with me no other church is providing for me but several times now you've sent and made provision and he goes on to say look you know

I know how to have nothing and I know how to be blessed with lots. That's not what I'm concerned about. He says in Philippians 4.17, he says, not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. Listen, I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. I want you to experience the fullness of what God has for you. And so I ask you to measure, to calculate, to consider, to

What are you giving? Now, again, if you think this is suspect, right? Okay, Jerry's got these motivations. He's got these ulterior motives. Listen, please, go to another church where you can find a pastor who doesn't have those issues then. That's not my heart in this. It's not. And giving doesn't just happen here. So I'm not saying just give everything you have here. I'm saying hear from the Lord. And God's going to instruct you to give in a variety of ways.

In different seasons, there will be different instructions that God gives to you. But make sure that you give so that you allow God to work in your heart. So that you allow God to do what He wants to do and so that you have fruit for eternity. Great reward in eternity as a result of your faithfulness to follow what God puts upon your heart. Let's pray. Lord, I pray that You would help each one of us.

That we would understand, Lord, where our hearts are at regarding money. Lord, it could be a big trap in our lives. And you want to set us free. You want to deliver us from the bondage that can come. Lord, that obsession for having more. Lord, that obsession for not having enough. It's not good for us. It destroys us. And Lord, you want so much more for us. So help us, God. I pray that you would reveal more.

our hearts, Lord, that we might see and understand what you're speaking to us about this subject of giving. And I pray, God, that as you give us instruction and you put things upon our hearts, Lord, that we would be faithful and willing to give. Lord, that we would lay down that covetousness and idolatry, those issues of trust, Lord, that we would lay them down and we would trust wholly in you.

That we would look to you to provide our needs. That we would look to you for our satisfaction and fulfillment. That we would look to you for everything that we need and be faithful to follow the instruction that you give to us. And I pray, Lord, for each one here. Lord, that you would bless them abundantly. I pray, Lord, that you would help them to store up treasure in heaven. Lord, that they would have awesome rewards in eternity. That they would lay up

Much treasure in heaven as they live to please you and to accomplish your will through their lives. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.