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Wrapping Things Up
1 Corinthians 16
I. THE ORDER OF THE OFFERING. (1-3)
GUIDELINES:
1.
PRIORITY ASPECT - 1ST DAY OF THE WEEK (SUNDAY)
Bring God's tithe into God's house on God's day that God's work might be
done in God's way.
This is when Christ rose, not the Sabbath. This is
when the church met to worship, so to our 7th Day friends I say that after
you worship on Saturday, come back the next day for THIS act of worship
called Christian giving.
It’s about priorities. God’s day is the first day,
not Monday like most of us think of it. And it’s all God’s money, but
He requires the firstfruits from us. If you give Him the first, it
helps the rest of it to last. If you wait ‘til the end of your budget
it’ll never happen. We all have too much month left at the end of the
money!
2.
PERSONAL ASPECT – EVERY ONE OF YOU.
When it comes to giving many Christians stop...at nothing!
He’s talking to believers. So if not saved, this
does not apply to you. If you ARE saved…He’s talking to you! Why
do some feel like they are the exception to God’s rule? Or like they
can have some sort of side arrangement with God. Some feel they make
too little, but in God’s perfectly fair plan they don’t have to return much
to Him. Some feel they make too much, and that it’s not fair to them
to carry so much of the load at church. [Please join me in giving that
person a wedgie!] How about being thankful for the way God has
prospered you!
3.
PRINCIPLE ASPECT - LAY BY (PLAN OR SAVE UP)
You really should have a budget. Being a good
steward doesn’t just happen naturally…you must make it happen on purpose.
Too many live haphazardly, in survival mode all the time, just trying to
figure out today and this week. We need a plan, and God loves it when
His plan comes together…that’s when we see Him work miraculously and see His
higher plan is much better than anything we could imagine!
God always comes thru for us when we put Him first.
We see His hand of provision in our family every single week it seems.
You’d think we would never worry anymore as much as He has proven Himself,
but we still do many times. We have faith that He will provide, but
when we have doubts, it just serves to give Him more glory when HIS plan
comes together in the end even better than we could plan.
4.
PLACE ASPECT – IN STORE (STOREHOUSE)
Mal. 3 calls the church the storehouse. It’s God’s
house, but it is to be the store house out of which many are fed. A
central clearing house, and not for food primarily, but spiritual bread and
water and meat. “That there may be meat in mine house.”
It’s a key part of God’s plan. Yes, the water of
life flows freely here to anyone who wants to partake, but let’s remember
that the plumbing costs money! There will always be some along for the
free ride, and they are welcome, but real maturity comes [Jesus says] when
we start carrying our share of the load. “Where your heart is…your
treasure is.” In other words, God knows He has your heart when He has
your wallet!
We may have to come to the place that we enforce the
charge for our meals here, but we’ll never force the tithe or offerings.
It is for you to give, not for us to take.
5.
PROPORTION ASPECT - AS GOD HATH PROSPERED.
God’s plan is fair, and it’s not about the amount, it’s
about the faith to return a portion…an equal portion for each one. How
much can God trust you with? If He can trust you to give out of
little, perhaps He can trust you to give if you have more. Maybe He
will decide to prosper you more? He has me! This is my
testimony, and many others I believe. It’s not a magic lamp to rub,
and this is not prosperity preaching.
Most people who tithe are also faithful w/ the other 90%,
if they are doing it right they are giving God ownership of it all, not just
the tenth, and the proof that you are doing it right is in God’s blessing
and continued provision.
6.
PURPOSE ASPECT - NO GATHERING. (LAST MINUTE)
Do your givin' while you're livin'...then you'll be
knowin' where it's goin'!
There would never be a problem if everyone carried their
share of the load. No collection notices! That’s right, the
church would have plenty to do everything imaginable. We wouldn’t have
to have bake sales and car washes, and make pleas for extra donations from
those who are already sacrificially giving.
The truth that 80% of the money around here comes from 20%
of the people is made all the more powerful when you realize that they are
not necessarily the ones you think they are. You think they are the
wealthy but not necessarily so. So much is being done by so few that
I’m excited to see what we can do when everyone is on board!
The church would not have to do any gathering if all the
people were giving as they should.
In another sense it is God who wrote this, not Paul, and
God has to do some gathering sometimes too! You see, God will get HIS!
You can give it, or He can take it. Not because He needs it, but
because you DON’T! Not in His perfect plan you don’t. He wants
you to progress, and He wants to then help you progress. Tithing and
giving demonstrate progress.
Tithing is not God's method of raising money...it's His
method of raising Christians!
God gets His, because He demands it. He gives us the
option of giving it, but if not, He takes it.
Why share this illustration? Because it shows how
unfair humans can be. It’s not right for some to shoulder the entire
load. I guarantee you that if it were a flat percentage, the same for
everyone, that everyone would prosper more. The rich would prosper
more, and would hire more and put more money into the capitalistic system.
But what about the poor? Many of them would owe more money to the
government than they do now. As a matter of fact, a very high
percentage pays no taxes at all. So how would this help them?
I’ll tell you:
First of all, it would motivate many who have no incentive
to work, work hard, and better themselves.
Secondly, it would mean more money would be collected to
help those who have sincere special needs, disabilities, etc.
This is not a ‘dis’ on all poor people. Many work
very hard and need and deserve more help than their government gives them.
But many more just lack incentive and character and spend their time and
money on empty trivial things and fleeting entertainment, when they could be
investing time into becoming something better and investing their money into
more important things. People today make the same mistake their
country is making...putting it all on credit. Try this: Give God
the chance to provide something before you just go buy it!
And if they are a Christian, then they could claim the
miraculous promises God makes to us!
By the way, this passage is talking about the church being
the storehouse that doles out helps to the needy, not the government.
This was God’s ideal welfare program, not the mess we have today!
That was the OFFERING and ORDER…
II.
A Spirit world is all around us, though unseen to the
naked eye, it is very real. God is still at work in the world, and
very much in HIS true church. But the devil is working overtime.
There is so much opportunity. The darker
this world gets the brighter our light can shine, but in
God is working in this church, but just like anyplace,
there is opposition. There is a big bulls eye atop this place, and the
devil wants to bring it down. Sadly, it can happen. It has
happened, here and many places, and it will happen again, though we
hope not here. Anytime you do great things there will be some who try
to throw cold water on it. Some from without, and some from within.
Satan wants problems to arise, and there are many
adversaries. We have many enemies around the world by way of the web.
I have told you about our hate mail, and just yesterday part of our site was
hacked and taken down. I don’t know that it is because of our message,
but I know it doesn’t help. In today’s world if you take a stand for
the right many will rise against you.
Some bitter former members from the past just this year
spread lies of deceit to some who were visiting our church in order to take
them away from us. I thought we were all on the same team, even if we
are not a part of the same church!
And the devil doesn’t just try to take us down from the
outside, but from the inside. He actually specializes in this!
He wants cliques to form, attitudes to spread, people to be offended and
leave. He wants people to want their own way and be resistant to
change…to look for things wrong rather than celebrate what is right!
He wants pastors and leaders to fall in their testimony and take many with
them.
I’m so glad that God is greater than the devil and
stronger than all the enemies of the earth. But we must draw close to
Him and rely on Him. In these last days there will be huge
opportunities and huge obstacles.
order of the offering, opposition and opportunity...
III. OBSERVATION AND OUTCOME. (V13, 14)
1. ALWAYS BE ON
GUARD. "WATCH YE"
2. BE STEADY. "STAND
FIRM IN THE FAITH"
3. BE GROWN UP &
MATURE. "QUIT YE LIKE MEN"
4. BE STRONG. "DO NOT
RELY UPON SELF"
5. LET LOVE RULE.
"WITH CHARITY"
v. 15 "Addicted themselves to the ministry..."
1. ALCOHOLIC -
WORK-A-HOLIC - SERVE-A-HOLIC
2. WILLINGNESS TO GO
BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY.
3. WHOLE HEART, BODY
& SOUL.
IV. OUTCAST OF THE OFFENSIVE. (V22)
This church came a long way thru many grievous sins which
were tearing it apart. Now they had something worth protecting.
The purity of the church is at stake, so ongoing church discipline would be
necessary so they could keep making the most of opportunities...they had to
overcome the obstacles.
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