My grace, I'm safe, grace-free
and boundless. My soul, I'm going to bring a message
this morning that I've wanted to bring for this program for
some time, but I've been hesitant because of the way this is abused
by preachers. I want to talk about the joy
of giving. And the reason I say I hesitate
to preach on giving is because a lot of times when you hear
TV and radio preachers, they're always asking for money. begging
for money and I think that is shameful and you can write this
down when a preacher is begging for money God's not in what he's
doing God is no beggar and if people have to beg people to
support something the Lord is not in it and it's absolutely
shameful the way preachers beg for money and I wanted to say
that at the outset before I begin this message on the joy of giving
And indeed, giving is a joy to a believer. In 1 Corinthians
16, verse 1, Paul said, now concerning the collection for the saints. now concerning the collection
for the saints. Now, in the church at Corinth,
they had asked him several different questions, and when he was writing
this letter to them, he was answering their questions. For instance,
in chapter 7, they asked a question about marriage. And in chapter
8, they had asked a question about eating things that were
sacrificed to idols. And in chapter 12, they'd asked
a question regarding spiritual gifts. And obviously in chapter
16, they'd asked a question regarding giving. And Paul says, now I'm
going to deal with that issue. Now let me read these first three
verses of 1 Corinthians chapter 16. He says, now concerning the
collection for the saints, as I gave order to the churches
of Galatia, Even so do ye. I had taught the churches at
Galatia concerning giving, and now I'm going to be teaching
you. Do believers need to be taught to give? Yes. Do believers give without being
taught? Yes. Yes to both of those questions. Now he says in verse 2, 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, then will I send to bring your liberality." That's
what he calls their giving, your liberality or your grace unto
Jerusalem. Now, the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ, the gospel of God, giving defines what God does. God so
loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life love
is as love does love is defined by what it does and love gives
God so loved the world that he gave Romans 8 32 says he that
spared not his own son but delivered him up for us all, hastily, not
with him also freely. Give us all things. The gospel is a thing of giving. It's impossible to love somebody
and not give to them. If you love somebody, you do
give, and there's joy in it. It's not a grievous thing. It's
a thing of joy. Now in Proverbs chapter 3 verses
9 and 10 we read, honor the Lord with thy substance and with the
first fruit of all thine increase so shall thy barns be filled
with plenty and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. Honor the Lord with your substance. When people have financial problems,
and they're always under the gun, and they can't pay their
bills, and there's all kinds of problems, generally speaking,
those people are not generous people. You see, if somebody
honors the Lord with their substance, they're not going to have problems.
People say, it costs me too much to give. No, it costs you not
to. Honor the Lord with your substance, and so will your barns
be bursting forth with plenty. I want to read a passage of scripture
in Proverbs chapter 11. Verse 24, the wise man says,
There is that scattereth and yet increaseth, and there is
that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul, the generous
soul, is what that means, shall be made fat, and he that watereth
shall be watered himself. This is a promise from God. You
cannot out give God. I've heard people say regarding
other people, they're generous to a fault. That is impossible. Now, honoring the Lord with your
first fruits is a faith issue. We don't give the leftovers.
What we give to Him comes first. And in honoring Him with the
firstfruits, I'm saying I'm trusting Him to take care of the rest. Now I'd like to give you some
scriptures that tell us the importance of giving. And giving proves
what's in my heart. What I give demonstrates what
I really am. If God has given to me, I will
give. And it's going to be very important
to me. Now, in 2 Corinthians 8, verse 9, Paul said that giving
proves the sincerity of our love. Now, if you judge some people's
love by what they say, oh, they love much. But if you judge by
what they gave, they love very little. But in reality, it is
what we give that proves the sincerity and the reality of
our love. Paul said in Galatians 6, verses
6 and 7, to withhold in giving is to mock God. To fail to give
is actually to mock God. And then in Malachi 3, verses
9 and 10, when we withhold giving, it's said to rob God. He said,
you've robbed me of tithes and offerings. Does the New Testament
teach tithing? You know, I'm really not sure. But I know this. I want to give more than a tithe.
It's all the Lord's. It's 10% not the Lord's. It's
all the Lord's. I like what one man said. He
said, if you tithe, you're under law. If you don't tithe, you're
an outlaw. So the best thing to do is to
give more than a tithe. And I believe that. and to fail
to give is to rob God according to the scriptures. And if we're
not faithful in giving, really we're not going to be faithful
anywhere else. The Lord said, he that's faithful
in that which is least, talking about giving, is faithful also
in that which is most. And to be unfaithful in that
which is least, to be not faithful in giving, means I won't be faithful
anywhere else. You remember what the Lord said
concerning that rich man who Pulled down his barns to save
more, and he thought he had it made, and he said, take down
his soul, you've got many goods. I want to read that passage to
you from Luke chapter 12. Look what the Lord says to him. Now,
verse 16, He spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground
of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully. And he thought
within himself, saying, What shall I do? Because I have no
room where to bestow my fruit. And he said, This will I do.
I'll pull down my barns and build greater, and there will I bestow
all my fruits and my goods. I'll have plenty of money. And
I'll say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many
years. Take thine ease, eat, drink,
and be merry. But God said to him, Thou fool,
this night thy soul shall be required of thee. Then who shall
those things be which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth
up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. Now Paul said to the Ephesian
elders, when he was wrapping up a summary of the ministry
that the Lord had given him, and he was speaking to the Ephesian
elders, and he closes with this statement. He said, I've coveted
no man's silver or gold or apparel. A true preacher is not a covetous
man, after people's goods, after people's money. That's why I
tell you what, when you see the way so many preachers are, I'm
ashamed to be identified with them. The way they always got
their hand out, wanting things from people. Yet, Paul said,
I've coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. He said,
you know that my hands have ministered to my necessities and yours.
And then he said, you remember the words of the Lord Jesus,
how he said, This is what the Lord said, it's more blessed
to give than to receive. Now, it's a great blessing to
receive. When you're in need and someone gets to you, what
a blessing that is. But it's a greater blessing to
give. What would you rather do? Give
$1,000 or receive $1,000? It's more blessed to give than
it is to receive. Now, back in 1 Corinthians chapter
16, he says, now concerning the collection for the saints, he's
talking about giving, as I have given order to the churches of
Galatia, even so do ye, upon the first day of the week, let
every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered
him. Now, how much should I give?
Well, you give as God has prospered you. That's one of the reasons
I don't believe in tithing. If somebody has been prospered
greatly, they certainly could give more than a tithe. As far
as that, it's all the Lord's. And we're to give as God has
prospered us. And I feel sure the great majority
of us, if we give as God has prospered us, we'll give more
than 10%. Look what he calls this thing of giving in verse
3. And when I come, whomsoever you shall approve by your letters,
them will I send to bring your liberality. He calls their giving
their liberality. And that is the same word in
the Bible that's translated as grace. Giving is a grace. It's a gift from God to be able
to give. What a gift! If I give cheerfully,
if I give generously, if I give willingly, it's because God has
enabled me to do so. And I'm only giving back that
which He has freely given me. I want to read a passage of Scripture
to you from 1 Chronicles 29. These are the words of David.
And beginning in verse 12, he says, Both riches and honor come
of thee. and thou reignest over all and
in thine hand is power and might and in thy hand it is to make
great and to give strength unto all now therefore our God we
thank thee and praise thy glorious name now look what he says this
is King David the man after God's own heart he says but who am
I and what is my people that we should be able to offer so
willingly after this sort for all things come of thee and of
thine own Have we given thee? David said just of who am I that
you've given me the grace to offer so willingly and what I've
given is simply what you gave me to give. For we are strangers
before thee and sojourners as were all of our fathers and our
days on the earth are as a shadow and there's none abiding. O Lord,
our God, all this store that we've prepared to build Thee
in house for Thine holy name cometh of Thine hand. It's all
Yours. And I know also, my God, that
Thou friest the heart and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for
me, in the uprightness of my heart, I have willingly offered
all these things, and now I've seen with joy thy people which
are present here to offer willingly unto thee." The ability to give
is a gift of His grace. As a matter of fact, in 2 Corinthians
chapter 8, when Paul is going to describe the grace of God,
he says in verse 1, and if you want to know something about
giving, what the Bible teaches about it, there are two entire
chapters devoted in 2 Corinthians to the subject of giving 2nd
Corinthians chapter 8 and 2nd Corinthians chapter 9 but when
he begins speaking of this subject in Verse 1 of chapter 8, he says,
Moreover, brethren, we do you the wit of the grace of God bestowed
on the churches of Macedonia. He said, I want to tell you about
the grace of God bestowed upon these churches. And when he tells
them about the grace of God bestowed upon them, he starts talking
about their giving, their generosity, their liberality, their giving
of themselves. Let's read a few more verses.
Look in verse 2. How they did a great trial of affliction.
Now this is the grace of God bestowed upon the churches at
Macedonia. Having been in a great trial
of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty
abounded under the riches of their liberality, their generosity. For to their power I bear record,
yea, and beyond their power, they were willing of themselves."
We didn't have to coerce them. We didn't have to make them feel
guilty. They were willing of themselves, praying us with much
and greedy that we would receive the gift. Evidently, Paul said,
you're all too poor to give this much. And they said, no, we want
to do it. and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering
of the saints. And this they did, not as we hoped, but first
gave their own selves to the Lord and to us by the will of
God. Now this is a grace of God. The desire because of the love
they had to Christ. They saw what the Lord did to
them. They saw what the Lord did for them. They saw the freeness
of His grace. They saw the power of His precious
blood wiping away their sins. They saw how He had made them
perfect before God through the gospel. And their attitude was
thankfulness. Their attitude was generosity.
They were so thankful. You see, this giving, this thing
of giving is a response to the grace of God. If I love God,
I want to give unto Him. I want to give myself. I want
to give all that I am. I want to give all that I have.
I want to be His lock, stock, and barrel. That's what it is
to give. It's a response to the grace,
the free grace, the gift of God. That's why we want to give. And
I love the way Paul says they first gave their own selves to
the Lord and then to us by the will of God. Have you ever seen
parents? who fail in their responsibilities
as a parent they don't correct their children they don't pay
attention to their children they don't do what they should with
their children they don't spend time with their children and
then they try to buy them off with gifts they try to earn their
favor through what they give them and actually they're not
performing their responsibilities. So they try to give gifts in
order to make up for their deficiencies. That's wrong. And I've seen people
do that in religion. Their giving is to buy off God
or buy off favor. And God doesn't need your money.
God's got plenty of money and He certainly doesn't need your
contributions in that sense if you're trying to buy His favor.
Giving must be done freely. Paul said it proves the sincerity
of our love. Now, like I said, if I say I love, but I don't
give, what I say is insincere. Giving proves the sincerity of
our love. Now, Paul said in 2 Corinthians
8, he said, how that in a great trial of affliction, the abundance
of their joy and their deep poverty abandoned them to the riches
of their liberality. Here, giving is called liberality. They didn't give sparingly, but
bountifully. Look in verse 6 of chapter 9. And if you have your Bibles open,
he said in 2 Corinthians 9, verse 6, But this I say, He which soweth
sparingly shall reap also sparingly. And he which soweth bountifully
shall reap also bountifully. Romans 12 8 says he that giveth
let him do it with simplicity which means liberality and joy
now if we don't give liberally and generously our sincerity
and our simplicity is suspect I love what our Lord said about
that little widow woman he was watching people cast money into
the treasury and there were many who were rich who cast in much
And she cast in, this poor widow woman, two mites. That's the equivalent of two
pennies. What could two cents do? What can you buy for two cents?
How can that help pay the bills? What kind of gift is that? Two
cents? And yet our Lord said she had cast in more than they
all. For they all cast in out of their
abundance, but she in her poverty, cast in all her living. She gave
everything she had. And you know the Lord's going
to take care of that woman. She gave everything she had. You know, what you give really
can be seen more about what you have left over after you give.
She gave all. And she was blessed in her deed. I have no doubt about it. Now,
in true giving, there is a willingness. Look in verse 3. 2 Corinthians
chapter 8, I'm going to read this. If you have your Bibles
open, I think this would be helpful. For to their power I bear record,
yea, and beyond their power, they were willing. They were
willing of themselves. They didn't have to be coerced.
They didn't have to be beat. They didn't have to have a guilt
trip laid upon them. They were willing of themselves. in verses 11 and 12 of this same
chapter, and therefore performed the doing of it, that there was
a readiness to will. So there may be a performance
also out of that which you have, for if there first be a willing
mind, It's accepted according to what a man has and not what
he has not. You're not called upon to borrow
money in order to give. You're not called upon to give
what you don't have, but you are called upon to give what
you have willingly. Now, listen real carefully. If you don't want to give, don't
give. It's not like the Lord needs
your money. The Lord has a lot of money. He says, if I were
hungry, I wouldn't tell you. The cattle on a thousand hills
are mine. The Lord doesn't need what you
have. He really doesn't. He doesn't
need anything from you. He's altogether independent.
He has no needs in that sense. I'm not speaking facetiously
when I say the Lord has a lot of money. He owns everything.
And He doesn't need what you have. If you don't want to give
it, don't give it. If somebody is unwilling, that's
your problem. But oh, how these Macedonians
gave. In 2 Corinthians 8, he says,
For to their power I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they
were willing of themselves, praying us with much entreaty that we
would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the
ministering of the saints. Oh, how they wanted to give.
Now, in this thing of giving, I, we, you and I, we, every believer,
whoever is called upon to give, were to give as unto the Lord. I'm not giving to a need. I'm
not giving to pay a bill. I'm giving as unto the Lord,
the one who saved me by His grace, the one who called me by His
grace. I give as unto Him. Whatsoever
you do, do to the glory of God. We give as unto Him. And look
what 2 Corinthians 8, verses 13 and 14 says. He says, For
I mean not that other men be eased, and you burdened, but
by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a
supply for their want, and that there may be equality. What he
means by that is everybody's to give. We're not to wait on
somebody else to give, or we're not to depend on somebody to
give. Everybody is to give. according as they purpose in
their heart. Let every one of you, Paul says,
lay him up in store as God has prospered him. We're not to simply
look to others to give. We are to give. And we're to
give sacrificially. Look what Paul said in verses
5 and 6, and this they did not as we hope, but they gave of
their own selves to the Lord, done to us by the will of God,
insomuch that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would
also finish, and you that same grace also. They gave sacrificially. And what my mind was called to
when I thought of this, and you know, really, if there's no sacrifice,
it's not giving. If I'm just giving the leftovers,
I'm not truly giving to the Lord. I am to give sacrificially to
where it cost me something and there's a joy in doing it. I
thought of David when he comes to the threshing floor of Arunah
and Arunah sees him come and he's going to offer a sacrifice
and he says here let me give you the oxen, let me give you
the wood, let me give you everything and David said no. No, I don't
want what you have. I'm not going to offer to the
Lord that which cost me nothing. Now, I'm not, by the grace of
God, I'm not going to offer to the Lord that which cost me nothing.
In true giving, there is sacrifice involved. And true giving is
cheerful. It's cheerful. God loveth a cheerful
giver. It's not out of duty. It's not because you're afraid
of what'll happen if you don't. Oh, if I don't give, God will
probably take it out somewhere else. I've heard preachers say
that. You're afraid you better give or God will take it out in a
coffin. Oh, that's mercenary. That's not the attitude of giving.
No. God loves a cheerful giver, one who enjoys it, one who gives
hilariously is the word. It's fun. It's enjoyable. And
you know, isn't it enjoyable to give to somebody you love?
If you love that person, you enjoy giving to them. It's a blessing. You want that
person to be pleased with you. You want that person to rejoice
in what you do for them if you love that person that's what
love does love gives now I'd like to close by looking at a
familiar story in the New Testament Luke chapter 19 it's the story
of Zacchaeus beginning in verse 1 and Jesus entered and passed
through Jericho and behold there was a man named Zacchaeus which
was the chief among the publicans and he was rich he was a crooked
man he made his riches through extortion through overcharging
people for their taxes he was employed by the Roman government
and you can bet everybody in Jericho despised this man Zacchaeus
and he sought to see Jesus who he was and could not for the
press because he was of little stature he was a very short man
he couldn't look out over the crowd so he ran before and climbed
up into a sycamore tree to see him for he was to pass that way
He'd heard all kinds of things about the Lord Jesus, and this
was just curiosity, and he wanted to see him for himself. And when
Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him, and said unto
him, Zacchaeus, you reckon Zacchaeus was shocked? Is he talking to
me? Of course he was shocked. Zacchaeus, make haste and come
down. For today I must abide at thy
house. Now this is the call of grace.
You see the Lord had purposed this before time began. This
is one of his elect. This is one of his children.
He sees Zacchaeus and he says, you make haste and come down. Today I must abide at thy house. And the Lord never makes a command
in power when his people don't obey. Look what happened. He
made haste. He came down. And he received
him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all
murmured, saying that he's gone to be guessed with a man that's
a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood and said unto the Lord. He wasn't
talking to anyone else at this time. He was speaking to the
Lord in gratefulness. And Zacchaeus stood and said
unto the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to
the poor. And if I have taken anything
from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus
said unto him, this day is salvation come to this house. Because he
gave? Because he was generous? No,
for as much as he also is a son of Abraham. That's a true believer. For the Son of Man has come to
seek and to save that which was lost. When the Lord called this
man with irresistible, invincible grace, He became a generous giver
and loved doing it. Now this is what I want to be
by the grace of God. I want to be a true giver. Not somebody with my hand out
expecting people to give to me. I want to be a true giver in
response to the grace of God. Truly there is joy in giving. May God make you and I cheerful
givers. Now, we have this message on
cassette tape, on CD, and DVD. If you want a copy, write the
church, call the church, or email the church, and we'll send you
a copy. This is Todd Niagara praying God will be pleased to
make himself known to you. That's our prayer. Amen. By grace I'm saved, grace free
and boundless. You have been listening to a
message by our pastor Todd Nyberg. Address all correspondences to
Pastor Todd Nyberg here at Todd's Road Grace Church, 4137 Todd's
Road, Lexington, KY 40509. I