“When Satan Attacks Our Finances” – Part 2 – 1 Cor. 16:1-4

Years ago, there was a shepherd that had a little flock of sheep that he tended the best that he could. He enjoyed being a shepherd even though his flock was small and sometimes unruly. They weren’t the most perfect flock of sheep but he loved them and took care of them and every week he would lead them from one pasture to another searching for the best grass to graze in.

Every week when they left the main pasture, the shepherd would lead them out of the gate and across the prairie and he always walked well around this little draw on the property because he knew that, although it wasn’t much more than a little ditch, there was some thorn bushes in there where the sheep might get caught and he didn’t want that. He had even seen some snakes in that area before and so he went well around that little draw every week as he would lead the sheep to pasture.

Now, sheep aren’t real smart but some of them figured out that it would be faster and easier to walk through this little draw because they knew where the shepherd was leading them and it didn’t make any sense to them to go all the way around when they could just walk through. The pastor, I mean, shepherd turned around and saw what was happening but he didn’t want the sheep to think he was mean by yelling at them or trying to use his staff on them to guide them so he just let the ones that wanted to walk through the draw and into the thorns and the snakes.

Now, let me ask you a couple of questions. What do you think happened to those sheep that went into the draw? The got stuck, didn’t they? And they might have gotten bitten by a snake too. And whose fault was it that they got stuck and / or bit? Was it the fault of the sheep or of the shepherd? The sheep didn’t know any better but the shepherd did and even though he didn’t want to hurt the sheep’s feelings, he did even worse by not warning them. He wasn’t a good shepherd, was he? I think you understand my little made up parable.

In Acts 20:27, Paul says, “Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.” He was saying that he had taught them everything that God had told him or showed him or revealed to him in any way. He knew some of it would be hard to understand and more would be hard to actually do but if they didn’t do it, it wasn’t because they had not been told. He preached the whole counsel of God; what we have today as the whole Bible.

I learned a long time ago that some scripture is more popular than others. Everybody likes Philippians 4:13 that says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Everybody has that memorized. And who doesn’t love Deuteronomy 31 that says, “He will never leave you nor forsake you”? Those are truths and those are good to learn and study but to preach the whole counsel of God, I have to include those difficult subjects like divorce and remarriage, homosexuality, Hell, suffering, repentance, revenge and even what God says about giving money.

I want you to know this morning that I, too, am innocent of the blood of all, as Paul says, because I have not shrunk from declaring the whole counsel…except…giving money. I have been a pastor for eight years and not one time have I preached on the topic of giving. Every one of my sermons from the past eight years is online and you can go back and research this. Not one time have I preached solely on giving or tithes or offerings. Not once.

Sometimes, not often, but sometimes the subject comes up; maybe before we take up the offering as part of our worship time or maybe some other time and what do I always say? God doesn’t need your money and this church doesn’t need your money. Scripture doesn’t teach that we give money to the church to meet the needs of the church. The reason we give is not to keep the lights on or to pay me or to support missionaries. Those things all happen as a result of our giving but that’s not the reason we give. We give because it is part of our worship of all-mighty, all-loving, all-powerful God.

Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 16, if you would please, and let’s see what Paul said about it as he wrote to the church in Corinth and continued his ongoing message of the whole counsel of God. As you turn to 1 Corinthians 16, I will point out what Paul was just saying in the previous chapter. Now, when Paul wrote this, he was writing in response to a letter they had sent him and was answering their questions that they had written and you need to understand that he did not break his letter up into chapters or even paragraphs. The people that interpreted this letter from the Greek did that for us to help us find our way through it.

So, in the previous chapter, the previous few paragraphs, Paul lays out the Gospel of Jesus. He tells again how Jesus died, was buried and rose again on the third day – the resurrection - the absolute heart of the Gospel - and then he goes into what we call the 16^th chapter. Let’s read that, verses 1-4.

“Now about the collection for the LORD's people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. 2On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. 3Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. 4If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me.”

Concerning this passage, W.A. Criswell once said, “It’s just as much of the inspired Word of God to talk about the collection as it is to talk about the glorious doctrine of the resurrection.  They’re all the same.  They’re in the same spot.  They’re in the same tenor.  They’re in the same vein.  They’re in the same breath.  They’re in the same Book.  They’re in the same Bible.  They’re in the same place.  They’re in the same letter.  It’s right there, the same.” Thank you, Dr. Criswell.

Paul goes from talking about the Gospel and why we worship Jesus to the topic of giving which is part of how we worship. Paul says this collection is for the Lord’s people. What he is talking about is a collection of money to be given to the church in Jerusalem. There are several reasons why the church in Jerusalem need financial help but since I spent the first fifteen minutes telling you why I need to preach this, I’ll skip right to the good stuff.

The parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10) makes it clear that we should minister personally and financially to anyone in need, regardless of religion, culture or circumstances. Paul also teaches that we should “do good to all men” (Gal. 6:10). But in the same verse he goes on to say, “And especially to those who are of the family of believers.” (MacArthur, Page 451)

It’s a good thing to support the arts or the library or the dog pound or whatever charity you like but, as Christians, we only have a responsibility to support the church. And by “church”, I mean the world-wide family of believers. An individual in the church may support the arts but the arts are never going to support the church. That is our responsibility.

It is interesting, at least to me, that Paul mentions this collection at least nine different times in his writings and uses a different word each time. In this passage, he uses the word, “logia”, which means an extra collection. A “logia” was something that was the opposite of a tax which a man had to pay. It was an extra piece of giving. (Barclay, page 163)

Guys, have you ever eaten a meal and then seen your wife start to wash dishes and you asked her if you could help her? I know, for some of you macho men, that’s crazy. But, if you ask, she might say, “Only if you want to.” Right? She also might say, “You better, fat boy, if you don’t want to sleep on the couch.” But if she says, “Only if you want to” then she wants you to but she wants you to want to. Doesn’t she? That’s sort of a “logia.”

We don’t give to the church to be a member of the church or to pay the church dues or as a rule we don’t want to break to stay in good standing. We give a gift or a “logia” because we want to. We believe in what the church is doing. We want to be a part of that ministry. It may not be much, but we give, as Paul said, in keeping with our income. So, how much is required?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=130&v=X19whTt_aus

That video says this: Many Christians struggle with the issue of tithing. In some churches giving is over-emphasized. At the same time, many Christians refuse to submit to the biblical exhortations about making offerings to the Lord. Tithing/giving is intended to be a joy and a blessing. Sadly, that is sometimes not the case in the church today. Tithing is an Old Testament concept. The tithe was a requirement of the Law in which the Israelites were to give 10 percent of the crops they grew and the livestock they raised to the tabernacle/temple (Leviticus 27:30; Numbers 18:26; Deuteronomy 14:24; 2 Chronicles 31:5). In fact, the Old Testament Law required multiple tithes—one for the Levites, one for the use of the temple and the feasts, and one for the poor of the land—which would have pushed the total to around 23.3 percent. Some understand the Old Testament tithe as a method of taxation to provide for the needs of the priests and Levites in the sacrificial system.

After the death of Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law, the New Testament nowhere commands, or even recommends, that Christians submit to a legalistic tithe system. The New Testament nowhere designates a percentage of income a person should set aside, but only says gifts should be “in keeping with income” (1 Corinthians 16:2). Some in the Christian church have taken the 10 percent figure from the Old Testament tithe and applied it as a “recommended minimum” for Christians in their giving.

The New Testament talks about the importance and benefits of giving. We are to give as we are able. Sometimes that means giving more than 10 percent; sometimes that may mean giving less. It all depends on the ability of the Christian and the needs of the body of Christ. Every Christian should diligently pray and seek God’s wisdom in the matter of participating in tithing and/or how much to give (James 1:5). Above all, all tithes and offerings should be given with pure motives and an attitude of worship to God and service to the body of Christ. “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). (https://www.gotquestions.org/tithing-Christian.html)

God loves a cheerful giver. Some of you remember a while back, one of the inmates we had ministered to decided, on his own, that he needed to give a gift, a “logia”, to our church every time he got paid. He made something like two dollars a day and got paid once a month and once a month he would send in his gift to our church, that he considered his church, and he was so happy to do it!

For God, the Creator of the universe and the One who makes a couple of loaves and fishes feed thousands and Who paves the streets of Heaven with pure gold, that gift is priceless because that gift is from the heart, in keeping with his income and then some. You don’t have to have me up here telling you it is a blessing to give. All you have to do is try it.

Do you know what the problem is? The problem is all the TV evangelists that talk incessantly about money and how you need to give to their ministry so you will be blessed and then we see the mansions they live in and the Ferraris they drive and it ruins the message that scripture teaches. Satan always takes what is lovely and pure and good and a blessing and twists it into something perverted and wrong. He does it with sex and love, food and contentment, money and power – anything that brings contentment and blessing, Satan attacks and tries to put his spin on it.

Satan wants you to think that all preachers ever preach on is money so they can take it and be rich, and a few of them do that and that gives all of us a bad reputation. Or he wants you to think that if you give your money, God will reward you with money back. That is not what scripture teaches. Or maybe Satan has led you to believe that God needs your money or this church needs your money. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I heard the joke about the guy that asked God how much a penny was worth in Heaven and God replied, “A million dollars.” The guy then asked how long a minute was in Heaven and God said it was a million years. The man thought for a second and said, “God, will you give me a penny?” God said, “Sure. In a minute.”

God needs your money like a man drowning in a lake needs a glass of water. That’s not why we give. Scripture doesn’t teach we are to give so the shepherd will have a way to fleece the sheep. We give because we need to.

If you want to absolutely ruin your children, give them everything they want. Never let them pay for anything or work for anything. Just be their best friend and give it to them. It’s what is happening to our nation right now. When you give everything away to everybody that asks for it, you suck the motivation and pride and discipline right out of people and those are all qualities that make a strong person and a strong nation.

It’s the same in our spiritual lives. I heard a man tell the story the other day of when he was a little boy sitting in church and he heard a missionary from China tell about how the Gospel was changing lives in the Chinese people; how hearing about how Jesus loved them and had died for them and rose again and wanted to have a relationship with them was the spark that so many Chinese people needed to survive and even thrive in that oppressive communist society.

So, the little boy reached in his pocket and pulled out the only money he had and put that one little nickel in the offering plate when it was passed to support that missionary. And he said for the rest of his life he felt a connection to that missionary, that mission, that ministry and to China itself, knowing he had some small part in it.

Giving is good for the person that gives and it is also good for God. Again, God doesn’t need your money but He deserves your honor and one of the ways we show our honor to God is by giving. Proverbs 3:9 says, “Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops.” It’s about what you value. We value our taste buds, so we give money for food. We value education, so we give money for books and tuition. We value entertainment, so we give money for cable TV, Netflix, sporting events, concerts and more. We value the ministries of the church and the spread of the gospel, so we give money to the church and other ministries. (Michael Deutsch) Jesus said in Luke 12:34, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Don’t tell me you love God and the church if you never give because that contradicts what Jesus just said. How much you give is between you and God. And maybe God repays you with money. Maybe not. Maybe He repays you with health. Maybe not. Maybe He doesn’t repay you at all in this life since everything is already His but I can promise you, because Jesus said it, that you are storing up eternal treasure in Heaven with every dime. (Matthew 6:20)

Look, all of this is in the context of how to handle it when Satan attacks our finances and this is the number one way he attacks Christians financially. He tells you that you can’t afford to tithe or give any kind of “logia” to the church. And when you believe that lie you miss out on God’s wonderfully fuzzy math.

A friend of mine got divorced and agreed to assume all the debt the couple had together and when the bills all came in he realized the wife had racked up over $25,000 in credit card debt he didn’t know about. So, he sold the house and almost everything in it; closed out his IRA, worked another job and did everything he knew to do but there was no way he would ever pay off all that debt. In all of that, he had a choice: to give or not to give – that was the question 😊. To this day, if you ask him, he will testify that it was because he chose to give his tithe every week that God worked his fuzzy math and in just a few years was completely out of debt.

Last Sunday night, we were talking about some of what had been mentioned in the sermon that morning and Janet used the old phrase, “You can’t out-give God.” And I said, “Oh, Janet, that is the most cliché…” I got about that far and she got all embarrassed and apologized but I said, “No, that is the most cliché TRUTH ever spoken!”

There is one place, one scenario that God says we can and should test Him. ‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.’” ― Malachi 3:10

I’m never going to beg for your money. Of all my concerns, money is the least of them. God protects and provides for me and for this church with crazy generosity so I’m not asking for your money. I’m asking you – because I love you –

to believe what Jesus said and start storing up treasures in Heaven by giving; if not to this church, then give to some other church in the area. It is the absolute best protection against Satan’s financial attacks that you can have.

As your pastor and as your friend, I want you to live a full and abundant life; the life that Jesus spoke of in John 10:10. I want that so bad for you that I am willing to preach the difficult things of scripture; the topics that are hard to do and hard to understand to the best of my ability. I will always preach the whole counsel of God and at the core of that is the Gospel.

None of this helps if there is no Gospel. If Jesus had not come into the world to live, die, be buried and rise again then none of this matters or is even true. But since He lives and wants to have a relationship with us, I encourage you to be obedient to what He says in scripture and that starts with giving your entire life to Him.

That includes your finances, your concerns, your dreams, your pain and your sin – everything that make you you. Give all of that to Him today. Ask Him right now for forgiveness of your sins as we bow our heads and close our eyes as the music plays. Repent of those sins. Turn away from that lifestyle. I know it’s hard but you can do it with His help and He wants to help. He wants you to have peace and joy along with that forgiveness and all you have to do is accept it and believe. Do that right now.