FAITH PROMISE MISSIONS (Part 1)

Pastor James J. Barker

Text: MATTHEW 28:18-20




INTRODUCTION:


  1. All Bible-believing Christians would agree that our Lord’s last words before He ascended into heaven (what we refer to as “the Great Commission”) are the marching orders of the church.
  2. There are various methods available for carrying out the Great Commission.  Evangelizing one’s immediate area is best done by knocking on doors and distributing Gospel tracts.
  3. Other methods would include preaching over the radio, advertising in the telephone directory and the Internet, and in local newspapers, etc.
  4. But how are we to bring the Gospel to “every creature” (Mark 16:15, 16)?  The answer is faith promise missions.   Not everyone can go, but everyone can give.   And everyone can pray.
  5. I would like to give a few basic principles on giving, especially now that our faith promise missions conference will start next week.

 

I. PRINCIPLES FOR GIVING.

  1. Tithing is first mentioned in Genesis 14, when Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, the king of Salem (Genesis 14:18-20).
  2. While this is the first reference to tithing, we can assume it was already practiced by God's people because Abraham had to have learned about tithing somewhere (cf. Genesis 28:22).
  3. Later on, tithing was incorporated into the Law (Leviticus 27:30).
  4. Contrary to what some preachers say, tithing is not clearly taught, nor is it emphasized in the New Testament.
  5. If you get out your concordance you will only see the word “tithe” mentioned seven times in the New Testament.  It is found 32 times in the Old Testament.
  6. In Matthew 23, our Lord attacked the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy.  He said in Matthew 23:23, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone."
  7. The message here was not on the importance of tithing.  Our Lord was rebuking the scribes and the Pharisees for their hypocrisy.
  8. But notice He also said, "these (tithing) ought ye to have done."
  9. In the New Testament the emphasis is not on the tithe, it is on grace giving.  Grace giving is over and above the tithe (cf. II Cor. 8:1-3).  The tithe should be a starting point, a benchmark.  You have to start somewhere.
  10. (Some Christians give ten percent, but they can afford to give more.  God is not concerned with how much you give.  It is how much you keep for yourself that matters -- cf. Mark 12:41-44).
  11. In the New Testament, God does not command the tithe.  In the New Testament, God says each believer should give “as God hath prospered him” (I Cor. 16:2).  That is more than a tithe.
  12. I recently read a good sermon on giving by Tom Malone.  He said, "There’s nothing I despise any more than to hear some mossy-back, backslidden Christian say, 'I’m so tired of hearing about money.' You wouldn’t be if you were doing right. Some say, 'Don’t you get embarrassed talking so much on tithing?'  No, however I do see people get red in the face while I am preaching about it. When doing what God says, you enjoy it.  Some say they can’t afford to tithe. God says you can’t afford NOT to. This is a grace" ("A Good Steward of God's Grace").
  13. We are talking about grace, not law.  Under the law the Israelite was commanded to give.  Under grace we give because we love God (cf. II Cor. 8:8).
  14. God cannot force you to be saved.  You are saved by God's grace when you put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
  15. God cannot force you to love Him, or to obey Him.
  16. And God cannot force you to give.  We give by God's grace when we trust Him for our finances.  Second Corinthians 8:9 says, "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich" (cf. II Cor. 9:6-9).
  17. The Scofield Bible gives an excellent summary of "the Christian doctrine of giving" (p. 1235).
  18. It points out that in contrast with the law, which imposed giving as a divine requirement, Christian giving is voluntary, and a test of sincerity and love (II Cor. 8:8-12; 9:1, 2, 5, 7).
  19. The privilege is universal, belonging, according to ability, to rich and poor (8:1-3, 12-15; cf. I Cor. 16:1, 2).
  20. Giving is to be proportioned to income (8:12-14; cf. I Cor. 16:2).  The Old Testament proportion was the tithe, a proportion which antedates the law (Gen. 14:20).
  21. Scofield says the rewards of Christian giving are joy (8:2), increased ability to give in proportion to that which has been already given (9:7-11), increased thankfulness to God (9:12), and God and the Gospel are glorified (9:13, 14).

 

II. SOME PRINCIPLES OF FAITH PROMISE.

  1. I want for us to focus now on what Scofield gives as one of the rewards of Christian giving (or “grace giving”) – “increased ability to give…”
  2. The Bible speaks of “tithes and offerings” (Malachi 3:8).
  3. First Corinthians 16:1 refers to “the collection.” 
  4. Second Corinthians 9:13 refers to their “liberal distribution.”  When it comes to the concept of faith promise, I like to think of it as an offering over and above the tithe.
  5. Similarly, gifts to a church’s building fund and other special projects are offerings over and above the tithe.  If a Christian takes them out of his tithe then he does not really understand grace giving.
  6. I think the best example of grace giving in the NT is demonstrated by the churches of Macedonia (II Cor. 8:1).
  7. We do not have time to get deep into this today, but let me point out a few principles here.
  • They gave generously despite their afflictions and their poverty (8:1, 2).  Many Christians use their low income as an excuse not to give.  Again, remember the poor widow who gave her two mites.
  • They gave sacrificially (8:3).  Faith promise is not giving out of one’s abundance for that takes no faith at all.  Faith giving is giving beyond one’s ability (“power”) (8:3).
  • Like the man who was asked how much he was giving for a special collection.  He replied, “I guess I can give $100 and not feel it.”  His friend told him, “Brother, give $200 and feel it!  The blessings come when you feel it!”
  • They first gave of themselves (8:5).  If God has you, He will have your wallet or your pocket book.  Too many Christians are playing church, and goofing off. God cannot bless them till they devote themselves completely to the Lord.

 

III. GIVING IS PART OF OUR WORSHIP.

  1. Some Christians fail to see this, but taking up the offering is an important part of the worship service.
  2. Our worship must be centered around the Lord Jesus Christ.  Otherwise God is not in it.
  3. Jesus said in Luke 6:38, "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again."
  4. Our Lord said in Acts 20:35, "It is more blessed to give than to receive."
  5.  
  6. How sad that many Christians are missing out on these blessings.  Most Christians here in America have it backwards!
  7. I read a disturbing article recently about a special television report entitled, "Almighty Debt."   What made this show different from all of the other shows that deal with the present recession is that it focused on members of a big Baptist church in New Jersey. 
  8. You would think that members of a Baptist church would understand the dangers of covetousness and materialism, but apparently not the members they interviewed for this television program.
  9. One couple that were interviewed haven't made a mortgage payment in 26 months and are more than $100,000.00 in arrears.
  10. The interviewer, Soledad O'Brien, suggested that the couple could still live comfortably if they would trade down to a smaller, less expensive house.
  11. But they said they do not want to do this because that would mean cutting back on their opulent lifestyle.  The program shows the wife in her large backyard, talking about how she wants to put in a swimming pool and a tennis court.  Meanwhile they have not made a mortgage payment in over two years and are over $100,000 in arrears!
  12. Jesus said that if we love Him we will keep His commandments, and He commands us to give (and to pay our bills).
  13. That preacher ought to preach Romans 13:8 -- " Owe no man any thing."  But like most preachers he won't do that because some deadbeat members might get angry with him.
  14. In II Cor. 8:8, Paul says we are to “prove the sincerity” of our love for Christ by giving.
  15. The Bible says, “For God so loved the world that He gave…”
  16. The Bible says, “Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it” (Eph. 5:25).
  17. The apostle Paul says in Galatians 2:20 that the Son of God loved me and “gave Himself for me.”
  18. "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift" (II Cor. 9:15). 
  19. There are many, many Scriptures which talk about God giving.  Giving is an important part of the Christian life and giving is an important part of our worship.
  20. One preacher put it this way: “We can give without loving, but we cannot love without giving.”

 

CONCLUSION:


  1. An example of grace giving in the Old Testament: In I Kings 17, the widow woman of Zarephath only had a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse (17:8-12).
  2. Yet the prophet Elijah told her to bake him a cake first (17:13). By FAITH (this is what we mean by “faith promise”), the widow BELIEVED the prophet and by FAITH she OBEYED GOD.
  3. Through her act of faith, God supplied her needs, her family’s needs, and the prophet’s needs as well (17:14-16).


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