Choose the Lord Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Nyberg. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
9.45 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com.
Now here's our pastor, Todd Nybert. I want to speak this morning
on the grace of giving. Now, all of us, if we've been
to a church service, we have felt manipulated, conjoled, shamed
into giving. That's a bad feeling. And a preacher
that does that is wrong on every count. As a matter of fact, if
a preacher begs for money, all he proves is he has no faith. He is trying to manipulate. Now,
this is not about that. I despise that. I'm sure you
do too. But the Bible does have something
to say about giving. And I'm going to preach the gospel
in bringing this message on giving. Now, Paul says in 1 Corinthians
16, verse 1 and 2, now concerning the collection for the saints,
As I've given order to the church of Galatia, even so do ye. And when he says now concerning
giving, evidently the church of Corinth had asked him about
giving. And he is answering their question. This is one of six times in this
epistle he says now concerning. They would ask a question and
he would address it. And now he's addressing this
question concerning giving. Now look what he says in verse
two. upon the first day of the week, let every one of you lay
by him in store as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings
when I come. And when I come, whomsoever you
shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your
liberality. unto Jerusalem." Now, he's calling
their giving, that they were going to give to the poor saints
in Jerusalem, a liberality. And that is the same word translated
grace, the grace of That's the same word Paul used in Ephesians
2 when he said, by grace are you saved. The grace of giving. Love gives. That may be the best definition
of love. Love gives. God so loved the world that he
gave. If he didn't give, there wouldn't
be love. Romans 8.32 says, he that spared
not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, speaking of
all he was delivered up for. How shall he not with him freely
give us all things? Paul said in Galatians 2.20,
speaking of Christ as the one who loved me and gave himself. for me. What did he who loved
me give? He gave himself for me. Now where there is no giving,
in reality there is no love. God's love caused him to give. Now if a preacher seeks to manipulate
me or give me commandments concerning giving or how much to give or
if he uses shame and guilt manipulation into getting me to give, my gift is
not a gift. It's a payoff. It's hush money. It's trying to get this thing
stopped. Now, giving, that's not giving. That's not giving. If I'm giving
because I'm commanded to, or if I'm giving because I'm commanded
to tithe, or whatever it might be, that is not giving. Now, giving is a part of worship.
II Corinthians 9, 12, Paul called it the administration of this
service. And service is the word we get
liturgy from, public worship. Now, obviously, that doesn't
mean we're to make known publicly how much we give. The Lord said,
let not your right hand know what your left hand does. Don't
sound a trumpet before you to let everybody know just how much
you're giving. But this thing of giving is included
in what Paul says, I beseech you by the mercies of God that
you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto
God, which is your reasonable service. Now, in this passage
before us, we're given instruction with regard to what the Bible
says about giving. And every believer's interested
in giving. Every believer wants to give.
Now, nobody wants to be put under the law and demanded to give,
and it's not giving then. But every believer is interested
in this thing of giving. Now, I'm going to Use the, what
is known as the journalistic approach in considering what
Paul is saying. Who, what, when, where, why,
and how. Who should give? What is to be
given? When were they to give? Where were they to give? Why were they to give? And how
were they to give? Now, who is to give? Look what
Paul says in verse two, upon the first day of the week, let
every one of you lay up in store as God has prospered him. Who should give? Everyone. Rich, poor, middle class, fixed
income, Young, old, male, female, everyone is to give without exception. Let every one of you lay up in
store as God has prospered him. Now, somebody may say, my gift
is not important. It's insignificant. Let the rich
give. Mine is not going to help anything.
Well, what did the Lord say about the widow's two mites? He said,
she hath given more than they all. Now wait a minute, that's
just two mites. That's not gonna pay the light
bill. The Lord doesn't look at how much, but how. And he said,
she hath given more than they all. God is not looking at the
amount you give, but your attitude and your spirit, my attitude
and my spirit. God has plenty of money. He doesn't
need yours. As a matter of fact, whether
you know it or not, what you have is his anyway. It's not like
he needs anything from you. This is talking about attitude
and spirit. I love the way Paul said in 2
Corinthians 9, God loveth a cheerful giver. Not one who's being manipulated
and shamed and guilted into giving. He loves one who enjoys giving. It's cheerful. It's happy for
him to do that because he's giving to one he loves. Now, what are
we to give? Well, here he's talking about
money. Let him lay in store as God has prospered him. Now, giving. We're called upon to give of
our treasures, our talents, our time. You know, some people have
a hard time fitting worship into their busy schedule. Hard time
with time. You need to, you're too busy
then. Worship is to come first, talent,
gifts. Every believer has been given
gifts to use for the good of the church and the glory of God.
They're mentioned in Romans chapter 12. Every believer has a gift
to be used in that sense. And here he's talking about money. You know, the love of money is
the root of all evil. Paul said in 1 Timothy 6, not
money, but the love of money, covetousness, thinking about
what you can benefit from it and thinking that you're losing
if you give it away. The love of money is the root
of all evil, but every believer is called upon to give of their
time, their talents, their treasures, their money. Now, when should
we give? Look what Paul says in verse
2, upon the first day of the week. Let every one of you lay
in store. Every Sunday? Well, the point
is regularly, in a systematic and disciplined way. The writer
of the Hebrew said, to do good and communicate, which means
give, forget not. For with such sacrifices, God
is well pleased. Let him lay in store in a premeditated
way as God has prospered. Him. Giving is to come first. I'm not to give after the bills
are paid and entertainment's taken care of and see if there's
anything left I might give. That's an insult. Giving is to
come first because we're giving as unto the Lord if we give. And He says, give as God has
prospered. He doesn't give an amount. I
wouldn't dare say, give 10%. Somebody said, doesn't the Bible
teach tithing? That's Old Testament law. No,
you give as God prospers you. You give, as Paul said in 2 Corinthians
8, you purpose in your heart. So let him give. Now, if you get paid once a month,
give once a month. The point is, regularly. in a disciplined way. Now, where
should I give? Well, Paul says, now concerning
the collection for the saints, says, I have given order to the
churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Now, you can give to any
charity you want. I can give to any charity I want. There are no doubt many worthwhile
charities, but the main point of giving is to the church. The church is called the pillar
and the ground of the truth, and this is for the spread of
the gospel. That's why we're giving. We're
giving as unto the Lord. We're giving because we love
Him. But the main source of giving has something to do with the
church. Now, I'm not talking about a religious organization.
I'm not talking about a church that does not preach the gospel.
But I'm talking about a way if it doesn't preach the gospel,
it's not a church anyway. It goes by that name, but it's not a
church. A church is the pillar and the ground of the truth for
the spread and propagation of the gospel. Now, why should I
give? There's only one reason, love. Paul said in 2 Corinthians
8, verse 8, this proves the sincerity of your love. Love gives, he says, I speak
not by commandment. I'm not giving you a command
to give. That takes love out of the equation. We are giving
as unto the Lord. Now Paul said in 2 Corinthians
8-9, he spent two whole chapters with regard to this thing of
giving. He said, you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor,
that you through his poverty might be This is the argument
for giving love to Him who gave all for you. If somebody thinks,
I need to give or I'll get sick or God will take it out somewhere
else. I might have a car wreck. I might lose all my money if
I don't give. If that's your attitude, don't give, that's
not a gift. Somebody else thinks, well, if I give, I'll get all
kinds of return on it. If I give $10, I'll beg the Lord
to bless me to have $100. That's not giving, that's an
investment. Don't call it giving. You give hoping for nothing in
return. When you give gifts to your children,
you're not thinking, I want them to give back to me. No, you love
them, and that's why you give. Love is the motive for giving. Now, how are we to give? I love
the way It says when the Lord was watching those people in
the temple cast in their gifts and he saw the widow, the poor
widow cast in all she's had, it says he beheld how they cast
into their gifts, not how much, how, what their attitude was. How are we to give? Well, I've already read where
Paul said, give as God has prospered you. We're not called upon to give
what we don't have. If there first be a willing mind, Paul
said, a willing mind, not because you have to, not because you
feel guilty, but a willing mind. You're doing this because it's
what you want to do. If I can't give it with a willing
mind, don't give it at all. A willing mind, that's how, as
God has prospered you. There's no rule here. every man according
as he purposes in his heart. So let him give. How much? Well,
however much you purpose in your heart, I will not give an amount
or a rule. Paul also says how to give. He
says not grudgingly nor of necessity. This is in those two chapters
of 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. Not grudgingly. Oh, I don't want
to do this. I feel like I'm going to lose
out of it. Not of necessity. This is my duty. Not unwillingly.
If that's your attitude, don't give. I repeat, God loves a cheerful
giver, one who gets joy from giving. And he said to give generously
and bountifully. Here's the example he uses, verse
five of second Corinthians chapter nine. Therefore, I thought it
necessary to exhort the brethren that would go before me into
you and make up beforehand your bounty. your bounty, where have
you had noticed before that the same might be as a matter of
bounty and not as a covetousness. But this I say, he which sows
sparingly shall reap also sparingly, and he which sows bountifully
shall reap also bountifully. If you just put out a few seeds,
you're not gonna have much of a, you're not gonna reap much.
But you sow bountifully, you'll reap bountifully. Every man,
listen to this, every man according as he purposes in his heart,
so let him give. not grudgingly or of necessity,
for God loveth a cheerful giver." I'm to give generously and bountifully. Now, the whole point behind all
this is God's gift to me. Now I want to close by turning
to Romans chapter 8. We're going to spend the rest
of our time here to think of God's gift to the believer. Romans
chapter 8, one of the most important chapters in the Bible. Paul says
in verse 28, and we know. This is not something we're unsure
of, we know. And when he says we, he doesn't
say I know, he says we know, speaking of every believer. Every
believer knows this. And we know that all things work
together for good. To them that love God, to them
who are the called according to his purpose. Now, do you love
God? And I'm not talking about your
concept of God. I'm talking about the God of
the Bible, the God the Bible describes. Do you love him? He gave you that love. You were the called according
to his purpose. That's why you love him. You
would have no love for him had he not given you that love. Let's go on reading. Four. Whom
he did foreknow. He also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn
among many brethren. Now here's what God gave to you,
his predestinating purpose, if you're a believer. Now he didn't
predestinate everybody, we know that. He predestinated those
who were in Christ before time began, those he elected. He predestinated
you to be perfectly conformed to the image of His Son that
He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
He did predestinate them, He also called. He called you and
His call is never resisted. You can't resist His call. The
reason you came is because He called you. He gave you the gift
of His calling. Moreover, whom he called, them
he also justified." Now, here's what the Lord did for you. He
justified you. If you're in Christ, if you believe,
you stand before God justified. That means you've never sinned.
That means you stand before a holy God as one who has never sinned. Somebody thinks, well, how can
that be if I have sinned? Because Christ put those sins
away and gave you his righteousness. And you stand before God's holy
law as one who's never broken the law. You've never done anything
wrong. You've always done that, which
is right if you're justified. He gave you that. It's not something
you earned. He gave you that. Moreover, whom
He justified, them He also glorified. I stand glorified in the Lord
Jesus Christ right now. Somebody says, you don't look
very glorified. I'm sure I don't, but I am. Because if Christ is
glorified, I am too. I'm seated in the heavenlies
in Christ Jesus. Now, Paul says, Verse 31, what
shall we then say to these things? What he just said, all things
work together for good. To them that love God, to them
who are called according to his purpose, for whom he did foreknow,
he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his
Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover,
whom he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called,
them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified. Now what shall we say to these
things? If God be for us, who can be against us. That's what
we got to say to these things. If he's for us in purpose, if
he's for us in foreknowledge, if he's for us in predestination,
if he's for us in calling, if he's for us in justification,
if he's for us in glorification, if he's for us, who can be against
us? Now, what a gift that is to have
God for you, the omnipotent eternal God for you. What a gift. Now let's go on reading in verse
32. This is God's giving. Verse 32. He that spared not
his own son. This is what God gave. He spared
not his own son, but delivered him up for us all. Was that all
men without exception? No. If it was all men without
exception, all men without exception would be saved. All whom he foreknew,
all whom he did predestinate, all whom he called, all whom
he justified, all whom he glorified. He that spared not His own Son,
but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him freely
give us all things? Now, in every aspect of the salvation
of the sinner, it's the gift of God. Do you have a new heart? God gave it to you. You weren't
born with it. It's His gift. Do you have righteousness? Well, it's called in Romans 5,
17, the gift of righteousness. You have the righteousness of
Christ given to you. Do you have faith? Listen to
this scripture. By grace are you saved through
faith and that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God. If you
have faith, he gave it to you. If you have repentance, He gave
it to you. Him hath God exalted for to give
repentance to Israel. Repentance is His gift. The love
you have to Him is His gift. Persevering in the faith is His
gift. He's given the greatest, His
Son. He spared not His own Son. He's going to freely give us
all things. There's nothing he's going to
withhold. And I'm not talking about material provisions. I
mean, you're going to have what you need. I'm going to have what
I need. The Lord's going to take care of that, but that's not
what this is talking about. This is talking about the provision
of salvation. You're going to have everything
that you need. That's what he gives to you. Now let's go on reading. Verse
33. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? Do you know that if you're a
believer, nothing can be laid to your charge? You stand not
guilty without sin. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? No one can. Here's why. God justified them. What a gift! I don't stand before
the judge and he doesn't say, I'm going to give you a choice.
Do you want to be justified or condemned? Oh, I want to be condemned.
That's ridiculous. The only way you can be justified
is for the judge to declare you to be justified. It's not something
you accept or reject. God declares everybody that Jesus
Christ died for to be justified. Who shall lay anything to the
charge, bring anything against God's elect? There's nothing
to charge me with because Christ put away my sin. I am justified
before God. What a gift that is. Verse 34, who is he that condemneth? My conscience quite often smites
me. Anytime I sin, I have reason
to feel guilty. And there are people who have
seen me, could say, I saw what he did or how he acted, and they
could rise up and condemn me, the devil. He's got plenty of ammunition
against me and he's got plenty of ammunition against you as
well. He could say they did this, they thought that, they were,
but yet Paul says, who is he that condemneth? It is Christ
that dies. Whatever accusation may be brought
against me, it is Christ that died. That's why there is now
no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. This is
what God gave to me. He gave to me this gift so I
can't be condemned because of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And look what he goes on to say in verse 34. Not only it's Christ that died,
yea, rather that's risen again. You see, God was completely satisfied
with what he did. That's why he raised him from
the dead. And he's satisfied with everybody he did it for.
What a gift, the gift of salvation, who is even at the right hand
of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Now, right now, there's
a man seated at the right hand of God making intercession for
God's people. Now, that doesn't mean they sin. He says, forgive them. They sin
again, oh, forgive them again. They sin for the thousandth time,
oh, forgive them again for the thousandth time. No, that's not
Christ's intercession. Christ sits at the Father's right
hand completely accepted and everybody in Him is accepted
in the Beloved. And just His presence before
the Father is all that's needed for me to continue in the faith. He's going to keep me and He
is going to preserve me. He says in verse 35, who shall
separate us from the love of Christ? Do you realize that if
Christ loves you, that love is eternal? He said, behold, I've
loved you with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. Now, what gifts, what a gift,
the free gift of God, the unspeakable gift, and all the gifts involved
in salvation given so freely. Now, if I believe that, What
I'm wanting to do is to give in return. You see, this thing
of giving is a trust issue. I trust him to take care of me.
And even more, it's a love issue. We love him because he first
loved us. The grace of giving, not the
guilt of giving, the grace of giving. To receive a copy of
the sermon you have just heard, send a request to todd.neibert
at gmail.com or you may write or call the church at the information
provided on the screen.