Running To Win 15 Minute Version

Guest (Male): Let us run with endurance, the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.

Guest (Male): Some churches demand their members give a tithe or 10% of their paychecks. Others ask for the tithe plus more, as in tithes and offerings. What does God expect of believers when the plate is passed?

Guest (Male): Today, why the bottom line is determined based on a principle, that of sowing and reaping. Stay with us. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running To Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line.

Guest (Male): Now, with part five in a series on managing God's gifts, here is Pastor Lutzer to talk with us. His focus, The Sermon On The Amount.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Every few years I quote this poem, and I think that in light of my message, it should be quoted again today.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: A big silver dollar and a little brown cent, rolling along, together they went. Rolling along the smooth sidewalk when the dollar remarked, for the dollar can talk, "You poor little cent, you cheap little mite, I'm bigger than you and more than twice as bright."

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: "I'm worth more than you a hundredfold and written on me in letters bold, is the motto from the pious creed. In God we trust, which all can read."

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: "I know," said the cent, "I'm a cheap little mite, and I'm not good, nor big, nor bright." "But," said the cent with a meek little sigh, "You don't go to church as often as I."

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Today I'm speaking on The Sermon On The Amount. Everyone wonders. Yeah, yeah, you're catching on. Everyone wonders how much should we give?

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Well, today I want to help you from God's word. The Old Testament there was a 10% requirement called a tithe, but it was a requirement. It was like a tax. When you fill out your income tax, the IRS doesn't say, well, you know, how much would you like to give this year? Why don't we have a stewardship day and see what your commitment is? No, the IRS says, pay up or you're dead meat or something like that.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: So the thing is that in the Old Testament, it was a requirement and beyond that tithe or that tax, there were offerings and there were even other tithes and so forth. So people often wonder, should we translate, should we transfer that Old Testament context to the new? Well, in the New Testament, we know that there's a sense in which God does have a higher standard. And we are to give the way in which we are prospered.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: But the New Testament does not specify specifically a percentage. It goes to the heart of the matter and gives us principles by which if we follow those principles, God will show us how much we should give.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: The context of Second Corinthians, and if you have your Bibles, I'd appreciate if you would turn there, Second Corinthians chapter 9. The Apostle Paul wanted to raise an offering from the Corinthians for the saints in Jerusalem. Now, many of the Jerusalem folks were Jewish people. And the Apostle Paul not only wanted to help the poor, which was a great motivation for giving, but there was more to it as well.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Paul wanted to bind together Jew and Gentile by means of this offering. There's nothing that brings people together as when wealth and resources are shared.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: And so Paul is talking to the Corinthians who made a promise, but they had not followed through. You'll notice in Second Corinthians chapter 8, he says in verse 10, "And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter. Last year, you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it according to your means."

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Paul says, "You agreed to give an offering and now the offering has not really been taken. You've not made your commitments." A very great deal of relevance for us, it's easy to make a promise and to say, well, we have made a promise, but we have not followed through. Paul says, "Follow through so that it may be completed."

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Now, in order to motivate them, he used the Macedonians, as we noticed last time, he used Jesus Christ, who though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. And now what he wants to do is to motivate us as he has recorded this in God's most holy word.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Paul elevates giving. He calls it in this passage a ministry, a fellowship. He even refers to it as a debt, as the fruit of Christian love. And throughout the text, he keeps speaking about the unique grace called giving.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Now what I'd like to do is to ask you now to look at chapter 9 and we are going to pick it up at verse 6. Paul, in encouraging people to give, chooses the metaphor of a farmer. And having chosen it, he gives us principles that will help us to know how much we should be giving.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: You'll notice he says in verse 6, "Remember this, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously." Three principles. Principle number one, the example of Jesus Christ. Yes, but the first principle is to sow generously. Sow generously. Because we reap what we sow.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Paul is saying, if you sow stinginess, you're going to reap stinginess. Else where he says, if you sow to the flesh, you shall of the flesh reap corruption. If you sow to the spirit, you will of the spirit reap everlasting life. You sow generously, you will reap generously. Because we reap more than we sow.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: You know, back on the farm, there were times when farmers might have an implement that was to be doing the seeding and maybe it got stuck, maybe the grain got stuck and so the wheat was not being put into the ground. Sometimes the farmers perhaps didn't know it until they had done part of the field. But in the fall when harvest time came, if there was no seed or sparse seed, there was a very sparse harvest.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: We used to take grains of wheat and count the number of kernels and one kernel of grain sometimes produced up to 30 kernels of wheat. And Paul is saying that if you sow sparingly, you will reap sparingly. If you sow generously, you will reap generously.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: So the first principle is to sow generously. And if you're wondering how much you should give to God and to his work. There's a question you have to ask, what kind of a harvest do you want? Do you want a bountiful harvest or would you be satisfied with a sparse harvest? That's the first principle.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Second principle, sow cheerfully. The text says in verse 7, "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Now, a farmer, it doesn't matter what his motive is when he seeds. As long as there's rain, as long as the soil is good, as long as God does not send him any hail, he's going to have a crop, no matter what his attitude was on the day that he planted it. But this is a different kind of seeding and a different kind of harvesting. So Paul says, "I want you to do it with the right attitude." He said, "Do not be a sad giver." Don't give grudgingly or reluctantly.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: And I need to say that to you today. That God has to do a work in our heart so that we can give cheerfully, most assuredly. "Do not be a sad giver. Do not be a mad giver." He says, "Do not do it of necessity or as this translation says, don't do it under compulsion."

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: If you're here today saying, well, stewardship enrichment, they can just do whatever they want to do. I don't want to get involved in this. That's their program. Well, then maybe you shouldn't give at that point. Because Paul says, "Don't be a sad giver, don't be a mad giver, but be a glad giver." Why give cheerfully? Because God gave cheerfully.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all. How shall he not also with him freely give us all things? God gives cheerfully. Therefore, he says, we should as well.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: I have a friend who's a pastor who tells his congregation quite often, more often than I think he should, God loves a cheerful giver, but we'll take money from a grouch, he says.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Now, I've thought about that statement quite a bit because I've heard him say it a number of times and I may have used it here at the church a couple of years ago, but I feel a little uneasy about it. But here's my analysis of it.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: If you're a grouch and you give, there's no doubt that God can take that gift and use it. God will bless it, God will invest it. It will have an impact in the lives of people, it will support missionaries, it will help children, it will take care of responsibilities and salaries in the ministry. It will be blessed. But God can bless the gift, but he cannot bless the giver.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: And therefore don't give grudgingly or of necessity. Be a cheerful, cheerful giver. Desire to give more than you can give.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: A couple of weeks ago, a woman in this congregation, an African-American woman, after the service came to me and she said, "Pastor." And the moment she began to talk, she began to cry, tears were coursing down her cheeks. "See," she said, "I want you to know that for years I've given 10% to this church, I've given my tithe, and now I want to double it for stewardship enrichment, but I don't think I'm going to be able to afford to do it."

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: I looked at this dear lady and I said, "Don't feel under compulsion to double the amount that you are giving." I said, "Your tears are testimony to the fact that you are a cheerful giver and you would desire to give more. And God will honor that."

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: If more of us wept, saying, you know, we have a certain amount that we can give, but we're crying because we want to give more. How precious that would be to God, and I will tell you for sure that our need and our goals and our aspirations at this church would be fully met. God loves a cheerful giver, and those tears were a sign of love and cheerfulness.

Guest (Male): Well, my friend, I wish that all of us had the spirit of this lovely woman who loved Jesus with all of her heart. And even as you think about your gifts, I want to thank you in advance for the many of you who support this ministry. You have many other opportunities to give to various ministries, but I want to simply give a shout-out to those of you who have chosen Running To Win as one of the places where you make your investments.

Guest (Male): In return, what we want to do is to help you in your Christian journey. I've written a book entitled Christ Among Other Gods, written because of an experience I had in Chicago many years ago interacting with people from different religions, trying to help them to understand why Jesus is the only one qualified to bring us to the Father. There are plenty of other religions out there making promises, but none can take away your sins, declare you to be as righteous as God himself, and usher you into the presence of the living God. Jesus stands alone. And that's why we offer to you today the book Christ Among Other Gods.

Guest (Male): That was Erwin Lutzer introducing The Sermon On The Amount, the fifth in a six-part series on managing God's gifts. Next time on Running To Win, why, after sowing generously and cheerfully, we should sow expectantly. Plan to join us.

Guest (Male): Knowing why Christ transcends all other religious founders is key to defending your faith in a confused culture. Pastor Lutzer has written a book, Christ Among Other Gods, and will send it as our thank you when you give a gift of any amount to support Running To Win. Just call us at 1-800-215-5001. That's 1-800-215-5001. Online, go to offerrtw.com. That's offerrtw.com. Or write to us at Running To Win, Moody Church, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60614. This is Dave McAllister. Running To Win is a ministry of The Moody Church.