Just How Rich Are You

= Just How Rich Are You?<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> I Timothy 6:17-19

How rich are you?&nbs= p; Have you ever taken the time to add it up—to try to determine = your “net worth?” If so…were you worth much? How much? Don’t tell usR= 12;I just want to know if you’ve thought about it. I bet you have.

With all we’ve heard about the stock market and = the real estate market and the commodities market—with their recent ups, downs, side-to-sides, and reversals—you’ve probably at least pe= eked a little to see if you’ve still got anything left.

So, again, how rich are you? In light of our Scripture passage = today, this is an important question. For one thing, we have to determine if this Scripture even applies to us. Notice that it only addresses peop= le who are rich. Listen, please, as = I read (I Tim. 6):

"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant n= or to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be ric= h in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasu= re for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take h= old of the life that is truly life." [I Timothy 6:17-19]

What do you think? Are we rich enough for this to apply to us? One of the mistakes we make when we talk ab= out money in the church is that we often do it in connection with some special appeal. Like today—we v= oted on our new church budget. Of course, we haven’t even finished funding this year’s budget yet, and the Stewardship Committee’s getting a little nervous! So, wouldn’t you know it, we’re talking about money today!

But consider this: if I stood here and told you that there are thousands of starving people who need our help and we’re going to take up a special offering to send food, many of you would give and some might even give sacrificially to meet that need.

Or if I told you we need your help with something related to our church fac= ilities, many of you would give generously in response to that need, too. And that’s good…except= that these special offerings can lead to a problem.&n= bsp;

The problem is this: too often Christians are conditio= ned to think the only time we need to get serious about giving is when there is an unusual need—especially one that happens to really do a number on our “heart strings.” = Some needs are simply more appealing than others—right?

For example, we’d rather say, "I gave to refurbish the sanctuary= or the gym" or "I gave to feed a hungry child or build a Habitat Hou= se." But to say, "I gave to p= ay the electric bill," or "to buy some Sunday School materials," or “to put gas in the church vans”—that’s just not as appealing—not to most folks.

Remember a few years ago when some Christians were asked to give large sums= of money to build hotels, condominiums, and a Christian theme park. Thousands = gave--some gave large amounts--only to find out later that much of the money was put i= nto the pockets of those who had made all those emotional pleas.

We are well on our way to a problem any time we fail to recognize that the teaching of Scripture is that you and I are not to give primarily to specia= l needs. Instead, we are to give to God, wh= o, quite honestly, does not need anything from us at all.

When we give to God properly and scripturally, bringing our tithes and offerings into His storehouse, the church, problems like these are avoided.= God has a system of safeguards to prevent such misuse of His funds. It’s the local congregation that has a system of checks and balances to make sure that what is given is used as intended. This is God’s good plan. He expects us to follow it.

So this morning, I want all of us to be thinking about how rich we are—and whether any of this really applies to us as we look together = at what the Bible teaches us about giving:

I. Let’s start here: GOD OWNS ALL THE WEALTH. Psalms 24:1-2 says, "The earth= is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and all they that dwell therein."

Now if you went down to the Anderson County Courthouse and looked through t= he deeds recorded there, you would discover a piece of property at 100 Regent Road in Anderson that has= Pam and my name on it. It says we own= that property.

But don’t you believe it. If you read the whole document, you’ll discover that piece of property s= till has a mortgage on it; and it says that only so long as the Thomasons keep up the payments on that property will they get to live in that house.

It also says that if we make all the payments on time, and pay the taxes to= o, that when we reach some ripe old age, that house will finally be ours. Meanwhile, though, we still get to = mow the lawn, paint the walls, clean the floors, and patch the roof.

But will it really be ours even then? Will it? Or, is it not= more accurate to say that our house is on loan to us from God. Hey, we’re in church—r= emember? We have to think differently when we’re in God’s House—that’s right: this place belon= gs to Him too!

So think about it: our names will be on a paid-in-full= deed for only a relatively short period of time—maybe less time than it ta= kes us to pay for the house. We may = try to call it ours then, but we don’t get to keep it. Just ask me in fifty years if it&#= 8217;s still mine.

God is simply letting Pam and me live in that house fo= r a time—just as He lets us breathe His air and drink His water. He lets us bask in His sunshine too. He lets us enjo= y the blessings of life on this November day—which is also His incredible g= ift to us.

And the beautiful part of this is that God doesn’t send us a bill say= ing, "You have breathed 25 pounds of oxygen this week, so you owe me X numb= er of dollars." None of us = could live for even a second on this planet if God did not abundantly share His wealth with us each moment of every day.

"The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and all they that dwell therein." But listen: only rich people under= stand this, friends. ONLY rich people! So just how rich are = you?

II. God owns it all, and…GOD WANTS HIS WEALTH CIRCULATED. This is a teaching of Scripture th= at seems hard for us to understand--but it’s clear. Even though God is all powerful an= d owns everything He needs to do His work in this world, God only spends the porti= on of His riches that we give back to Him.

He gives us His wealth. He won’t take it away. He gives it to us, telling us to gi= ve only portion back—the tithe, 10%. We then choose whether to keep it for ourselves, or to give it to God.

When we choose to give, God blesses and multiplies the= gift and uses it over and over again. = He intends for His wealth to stay in circulation, doing the good things He wan= ts accomplished for His Kingdom. You see how this works. It’= s all about trust. Do we trust God = enough to be obedient? –enough to give?

Someone said, "A joy isn’t a joy until you share it. Love isn’t love until you giv= e it away. A bell isn’t a be= ll until you ring it. A song isn’t a song until you sing it." Well, maybe wealth isn’t real= ly wealth until we use it and get it in circulation for God. This is when wealth truly enriches = us.

III. So…this makes us (= WE ARE) MANAGERS OF GOD’S WEALTH.
God says, "Here’s my wealth—manage it. The Biblical word is stewardship.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> I am a steward of the things God g= ives me while I make my journey through life.&n= bsp; I manage. You do too.<= br>
I have a choice. I can be a g= ood manager or a poor one. A poor steward= uses up all that God gives him. It= ’s all spent on self and family. I live as though I really do own it all. "It’s mine. I worked for it. I earned it. I saved it. I invested it wisely. Therefore I can keep it all and do= with it whatever I please."

That’s a very common attitude, and it’s existed for a long time. The wise writer of Eccl= esiastes said, "I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner." (Eccl. 5:13)

Haven’t we all seen this—and it’s not like God doesn̵= 7;t care. Listen to this passage from Romans = 14:12--"So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God." Obedience really does matter, frie= nds—we’ll have to give an accounting of our stewardship some day.

It’s like in the parable of the talents. God gives us something to use for a while, and then He comes back and says, "Now let’s check your records. What have you done w= ith what I have given you? Have y= ou managed it in a way that honors me?"&= nbsp; God owns it. We manage= it--for His glory, not ours. Which brings us to this:

IV. WEALTH IS GOOD ONLY WHEN WE GIVE. Luke 6:38 is familiar to most of us. Jesus says, "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 wi= ll be measured to you."

There are three parts to this teaching of Jesus. First, "Give." God has every right to issue that c= ommand because it’s all His anyway. <= /span>But His commandment comes with a promise: when we give to God, He gives back to= us. It’s that circulation thing again.

So Jesus says give; and promises if we give, we will receive. And then to make sure we get what He’s telling us, He adds: "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

Jesus is painting us a picture. Look at the scoop you’re usi= ng when you give. Well, thatR= 17;s the same scoop God will use to pour His blessings back into your life. If you use a little scoop, don̵= 7;t expect much back. Use a big s= coop, though, and God’s blessings will cover you up. People who don’t believe what Jesus says here have never given to God or used only a tiny scoop when they did.

Paul put it this way: "What you sow is exactly what you will reap.&quo= t; If you sow sparingly, you reap sparingly. If you sow bountifully, you reap bountifully. So if we feel we’re not receiving much in our relationship with God, then we are pr= obably suffering from a giving problem—small scoopers! Which leads to this:

V. RICHES ARE A PRODUCT OF FAITH, NOT REASON. What you and I give to God—if it’s a “big scooper gift”--will always be determined by o= ur faith, and not our reason.
The people who are singled out in Scripture for giving great gifts to God w= ould have never given so much if they had just thought about it more carefully—right? Surely= that widow would have never given her last two pennies if she had acted reasonably.

The kid with five loaves and two fish would have kept his lunch hidden if he had only thought about it first. He would have reasoned, "If I give this lunch away, there won’t be anything for me to eat." But he trusted instead. He acted on faith; and that lunch = not only fed him, but 5,000 others as well.

If we are reasonable people, we add up our income and subtract our expenses. Whatev= er is left over after we’ve taken care of all our wants and needs, we give = to God. That’s what we can afford to give, right? Tough = if that turns out to be nothing, or maybe the same ten bucks a week we’ve given for the last twenty years.

That’s not an act of faith. Spiritually speaking, it will make= you dirt poor! Riches in God̵= 7;s Kingdom come by faith—enough faith to do something for Christ and His= Church that the world sees as a little crazy—enough faith to joyfully make t= hese unreasonably generous gifts to God, “for God loves a cheerful giver!”

I’m convinced that this is the only way money wi= ll ever make any of us happy; when we recognize that it really is God’s,= not ours; and we see the need to put our money to good use in God’s Kingd= om--and as good and faithful stewards, we do something most unreasonable: we give—generously and joyfully, we give! And through such faith and obedien= ce, we experience God’s love and His blessings…deeply, richly!

When Christians tithe—and let’s be clear about what this means: when that faithful steward who earns $50,000/year puts $5,000/ year into the offering plate—usually by giving a $100/week or $400/month—they= are tithing, which means that they are living and acting on faith, and not reas= on.

Many of us here tithe—that’s the only way = this church can exist. When I was 9 years old and a brand new Christian, my father told me that he and mom tith= ed their income. He showed me ho= w to determine what a tithe is by moving the decimal point one space to the left—so $100 of income becomes a $10 tithe, $500 in income becomes a = $50 tithe, and so on. Some of us = seem to have trouble doing the math.

Dad told me this was part of being a Christian and tha= t I would never miss the portion I gave to the Lord—that my giving would = actually cause me to appreciate the rest of my money better and enjoy it more. What Dad said was true—it wa= s true to Scripture.

I started tithing back then, continued to do so as a y= outh when I earned money by cutting grass for neighbors and bagging groceries at Bi-Lo. I tithed when I worked= for Milliken; and when Pam and I married, her commitment was the same as my own. She also grew up in a fa= mily that tithed—so, in good times and in lean times—like when we le= ft Milliken and went to seminary—we tithed. We still do.

God is faithful. Life is good. Giving is a joy. If you are a faithful and generous steward today, you already know t= his to be true. If you’re n= ot, I urge you in Christ Jesus to try this. You will never know how rich you are until you give—faithfully, obediently, joyfully! You can= not know how rich you are until you give!