(“Supporting A Building Project”)

Selected Passages (NASU)

(I Timothy 6:18)

Blessed are You, O Lord God, our heavenly Father, forever and ever! Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory – Yours is the victory and the majesty – indeed everything in heaven and on earth is Yours. Yours is the dominion, O Lord, and You have rightly exalted Yourself as Head over all creation. Whatever riches and honor we have in life come from Your sovereign hand, because You rule over all. In Your hand is power and might – hence, it lies in Your hand to make a man great and/or to give him wealth. Therefore, we thank You, our Father, and praise Your glorious name for how generous You have been to us (c.f. I Chronicles 29:10-13).

Now magnify Yourself through the preaching of Your word as You teach us how to be generous in our giving. We know we can never be as generous as You are – just as we can never be as wise, or as loving, or as merciful as You are. But by your enabling grace, we can learn to imitate and/or reflect Your generosity – and that’s what we are asking for – in Jesus’ name. Amen.

(A) OUR BUILDING PROJECT HAS BEGUN

(1) As you know, the work of renovating our present church building began this past week. That’s why we’re going to be worshipping in this facility for the next two months or so – thanks to the generosity of the staff and congregation at Christ Community Church. I went by and personally thanked Pastor Brock about ten days ago – but if you have friends who attend Christ Community, be sure and thank them, also.

Hopefully, once the renovations to the interior of our building are complete, we’ll be able to start on the new addition that’s planned – which will give us some much needed space for storage, fellowship, and Sunday School.

(2) Building projects cost money – and you’ve been asked to contribute financially, above and beyond your normal giving. Many have responded generously – despite the fact we’re not a particularly wealthy church, and/or some are on fixed or limited incomes. So, I don’t want anyone to interpret this morning’s message as a rebuke – rather, I hope you will receive it for what its intended to be, namely instructive and encouraging. If I had been thinking, I would have done this message a month ago – but, I had other things on my mind back then. However, I take comfort in the fact God is sovereign – and therefore, conclude He kept this particular message out of my thoughts until now.

(3) Although the verse from I Timothy 6:18 is listed as our text, I’m not going to be preaching on it per se. Instead, I’m going to give you a brief overview of what Scripture says about giving in general – which often comes, as we will see, in the context of building projects similar to our own. In fact, in the instances we will look at, the projects involved the place(s) God’s people worshipped Him in Old Testament times. Moreover, we’re going to see that when given the opportunity, God’s people usually contributed generously to these projects. Hence, when Paul told Timothy to “instruct” the people on the island of Crete “to be generous” (c.f. I Timothy 6:18), we could say he was encouraging them to follow the example set by their Old Testament brothers and sisters!

(B) BUILDING PROJECTS IN SCRIPTURE

(1) We begin, then, with a very quick look at three building projects mentioned in Scripture – starting with the tabernacle in the wilderness in the days of Moses.

(a) Here’s a biblical synopsis of that project, starting with the initial command in Exodus chapter twenty-five, beginning at verse one: ¹“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²‘Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me; from every man whose heart moves him you shall raise My contribution. ³This is the contribution which you are to raise from them: gold, silver and bronze, ⁴blue, purple and scarlet material, fine linen, goat hair, ⁵rams’ skins dyed red, porpoise skins, acacia wood, ⁶oil for lighting, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, ⁷onyx stones and setting stones for the ephod and for the breastpiece” (c.f. Exodus 25:1-7).

From there we go to some selected verses in Exodus chapter thirty-five, starting at verse four: ⁴“Moses spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, ‘This is the thing which the Lord has commanded, saying, ⁵“Take from among you a contribution to the Lord; whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as the Lord's contribution” … (Then) ²¹Everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone whose spirit moved him came and brought the Lord's contribution for the work of the tent of meeting and for all its service and for the holy garments … ²²all whose hearts moved them, both men and women, came and brought brooches and earrings and signet rings and bracelets, all articles of gold; so did every man who presented an offering of gold to the Lord. ²³Every man, who had in his possession blue and purple and scarlet material and fine linen and goats’ hair and rams’ skins dyed red and porpoise skins, brought them. ²⁴Everyone who could make a contribution of silver and bronze brought the Lord’s contribution; and every man who had in his possession acacia wood for any work of the service brought it … ²⁹all the men and women, whose heart moved them to bring material for all the work, which the Lord had commanded … brought a freewill offering to the Lord” (Exodus 35:4-5, 10, 21-24, 29) (NASU).

And finally, we go to Exodus chapter thirty-six, also starting at verse four: ⁴“(Then) all the skillful men who were performing all the work of the sanctuary came … ⁵and … said to Moses, ‘The people are bringing much more than enough for the construction work which the Lord commanded us to perform.’ ⁶So Moses issued … a proclamation … throughout the camp, saying, ‘Let no man or woman any longer perform work for the contributions of the sanctuary.’ Thus the people were restrained from bringing any more. ⁷For the material they had was sufficient and more than enough for all the work, to perform it” (Exodus 36:5-7).

(b) As we examine these verses, looking for general principles regarding giving, we find that every person gave as their heart and/or spirit moved them (c.f. Exodus 25:2; 35:21-22, 29) – that they gave according to what they had, not according to what they didn’t have (c.f. Exodus 35:23-24) – that they gave willingly and/or freely (c.f. Exodus 35:5, 29) – and that they gave so generously they actually had to be restrained from giving more (c.f. Exodus 36:5-6)!

(2) The tabernacle eventually gave way to a temple built in Jerusalem under the supervision of King Solomon. However, it was his father David who actually “raised the funds” (so to speak) so this magnificent edifice could be constructed.

(a) Here, then, is a Scriptural synopsis of that building project, starting in First Chronicles chapter twenty-two, verse fourteen, where David told Solomon: ¹⁴“behold, with great pains I have prepared for the house of the Lord 100,000 talents of gold and 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron beyond weight, for they are in great quantity; also timber and stone I have prepared, and you may add to them … ¹⁶Of the gold, the silver and the bronze and the iron there is no limit. Arise and work, and may the Lord be with you” (c.f. I Chronicles 22:14, 16).

Later, in First Chronicles chapter twenty-nine, we find that David gave even more to the construction of the temple – for he says: ²“Now with all my ability I have provided for the house of my God the gold for the things of gold, and the silver for the things of silver, and the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, onyx stones and inlaid stones … stones of various colors, and all kinds of precious stones and alabaster in abundance. ³Moreover, in my delight in the house of my God, the treasure I have of gold and silver, I give to the house of my God, over and above all that I have already provided for the holy temple, ⁴namely, 3,000 talents of gold … and 7,000 talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the buildings; ⁵of gold for the things of gold and of silver for the things of silver, that is, for all the work done by the craftsmen” (c.f. I Chronicles 29:2-5).

David, however, was not the only contributor, for we also read in First Chronicles chapter twenty-nine that ⁶“the rulers of the fathers’ households, and the princes of the tribes of Israel, and the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, (along) with the overseers over the king’s work, offered willingly; ⁷and for the service for the house of God they gave 5,000 talents and 10,000 darics of gold, and 10,000 talents of silver, and 18,000 talents of brass, and 100,000 talents of iron. ⁸Whoever possessed precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord, in care of Jehiel the Gershonite. ⁹Then the people rejoiced because they had offered so willingly, for they made their offering to the Lord with a whole heart, and King David also rejoiced greatly” (c.f. I Chronicles 29:6-9).

(b) When we examine these verses for general principles regarding giving, we find that the leaders of the people set an example and/or led the way (so to speak), from the king down to the rulers, princes, commanders and overseers (c.f. I Chronicles 22:14-16; 29:6-8) – that everyone gave willingly, joyfully, and/or with a whole heart (c.f. I Chronicles 29:2, 6, 9) – that people gave according to their ability, meaning they gave from what they had, not from what they didn’t have (c.f. I Chronicles 22:14; 29:8) – and that in David’s case, at least, he not only gave generously, but because his resources were greater, he gave more than once (c.f. I Chronicles 22:14-16; 29:3-5).

(3) Because God’s people sinned against Him (in part by worshipping idols), and then made matters worse by refusing to repent, the temple in Jerusalem was eventually destroyed by the Babylonians and many of them were taken into captivity. Later, however, God sovereignly ordered events so some of the Jews could return to Jerusalem and begin rebuilding the temple. However, as we all know, building projects cost money – so we read in Ezra chapter two that ⁶⁸“some of the heads of fathers’ households, when they arrived at the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, offered willingly for the house of God to restore it on its foundation. ⁶⁹According to their ability they gave to the treasury for the work 61,000 gold drachmas … 5,000 silver minas and 100 priestly garments” (c.f. Ezra 2:68-69).

In chapter seven we have a record of the decree issued by Artaxerxes, king of Persia, giving Ezra the priest permission to return to Jerusalem and help oversee this rebuilding project. In that decree Artaxerxes stated (in part): ¹³“I have issued a decree that any of the people of Israel and their priests and the Levites in my kingdom who are willing to go to Jerusalem, may go with you … ¹⁵and … bring the silver and gold, which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, ¹⁶… along with the freewill offering of the people and of the priests, who offered willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem” (c.f. Ezra 7:13, 15-16).

(b) When we look for general giving principles in these verses, we see some of the same things we’ve already noted – namely, that the leaders of the people, including the priests, led the way in giving to this project (c.f. Ezra 2:68; 7:16) – that everyone contributed freely and/or willingly (which means they didn’t have to be pressured and/or coerced into giving) (c.f. Ezra 2:68; 7:15-16) – and that people contributed according to their ability (which means their giving was consistent with how the Lord had blessed them, and/or that they gave as He enabled them to give) (c.f. Ezra 2:69).

(C) BIBLICAL GIVING PRINCIPLES

(1) Most Christians have heard of tithing. The word “tithe” is a biblical term meaning “tenth”.¹ Furthermore, it indicates God’s people are to give one tenth of their income back to Him in some manner. The tithe is the most basic giving principle in Scripture. If every Christian did it, most churches would have enough money to improve their facilities whenever they needed to do so. More importantly, they would also be able to support a larger number of missionaries and/or mission projects than they are presently able to do. Hence, in an oft-quoted verse from the Book of Malachi, God says: “‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows’” (c.f. Malachi 3:10).

God promises to bless those who give Him the “whole tithe” – i.e. the full one-tenth. Unfortunately, statistics show only 3-5% of Americans, who donate money to a church, actually tithe² – that the average donation by an adult attending a Protestant church in the United States is $17 a week² – and that the typical church member in our country gives 2-3% of their income to some aspect of the Lord’s work, instead of the biblically mandated 10%.

We often criticize the Pharisees for being religious hypocrites (with some justification, I might add) – but at least they tithed (c.f. Matthew 23:23; Luke 12:18)! That means many people attending churches today don’t even measure up to the Pharisees when it comes to giving!

(2) There are, however, other Biblical giving principles in addition to the tithe – most of which have to do with the attitude of our heart. For example, we’ve already seen we should give willingly and/or freely, rather than reluctantly and/or grudgingly. Provided we have the resources, no one should have to “twist our arm” (as it were) – nor should people have to “force us” to contribute by putting a “guilt trip” on us. Hence, the Scripture says: “Take … a contribution to the Lord (from) whoever (has) a willing heart” (c.f. Exodus 35:5) – while in another place Paul says: “Each one must (give) just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion …” (c.f. II Corinthians 9:7).

(3) Along this same line, we’re to give as our heart moves us – which means, in part, that we’re to give of our own accord – that no one (except Christ) has the right to tell us how much we should contribute to any particular project and/or ministry. God is ultimately the One whose enabling grace moves His people to give – but beyond the tithe, He doesn’t always “move” us to give the same amount, and/or even to the same ministries. Hence, the Lord says: “from every man whose heart moves him you shall raise My contribution” (c.f. Exodus 25:2) – and again: “Everyone whose heart stirred him and … whose spirit moved him came and brought the Lord's contribution” (c.f. Exodus 35:21).

(4) Another principle is that we are to give according to our ability (c.f. Ezra 2:69) – or, (as we saw earlier) we’re to give from what we have, not from what we don’t have. Hence, the Scripture says: “if the readiness (i.e. to give) is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have” (c.f. II Corinthians 8:12).

We might also say that our giving is to be based on what we have, not what someone else has. Maybe they have more than we do – but maybe they have less! The point is, what someone else has and/or gives has no bearing on what our contribution ought to be. Instead, Paul says: “On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections (will need to) be made when I come” (c.f. I Corinthians 16:2) – while in another place, speaking of the grace of God given to the churches in Macedonia, he said (in part): “I testify that according to their ability … they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participat(ing) in the support of the saints” (c.f. II Corinthians 8:1-4).

(5) Continuing on, we find that we’re to give joyfully and/or cheerfully. I assume most Christians are familiar with the verse that says, “God loves a cheerful giver” (as opposed to someone who gives “grudgingly or under compulsion”) (c.f. II Corinthians 9:7c).

Giving to the Lord and/or His work can be and should be a joyful experience.³ After all, its one way we get to participate in His sovereign purposes – one way He uses us to impact other people’s lives, physically and spiritually – one way He stoops to use us to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ! So, why shouldn’t we give “cheerfully” to such causes?! Hence, a passage of Scripture we read earlier says, “the people rejoiced because they had offered so willingly, for they made their offering to the Lord with a whole heart, and King David also rejoiced greatly (c.f. I Chronicles 29:9) – i.e. everyone (in this case) enjoyed the whole experience – they enjoyed being able to give to this particular project!

(6) Still another giving principle found in Scripture is that we are to learn to give sacrificially. David once said: “I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God which cost me nothing” (c.f. II Samuel 24:24). In the eighth chapter of Second Corinthians, Paul commended the people in the Macedonian churches, saying in part that, “in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord” (c.f. II Corinthians 8:2-3).

You will hear the echo of numerous giving principles in these two verses – but the one I want you to see at the moment is that these people gave sacrificially (in part) because they gave out of their poverty rather than out of an abundance.

This principle is also illustrated by the unnamed widow in Mark chapter twelve who gave two small copper coins worth about a cent. In commenting to His disciples on her contribution, Jesus said: “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on” (c.f. Mark 12:41-44) – which tells us that sacrificial giving is not always measured by the size of the gift, but by what’s left after the contribution has been made!

When it comes to sacrificial giving, Jesus Christ is our ultimate example – for He, too, gave everything He had to save us from our sins – including His form as God (c.f. Philippians 2:5-6), His fellowship with the Father (c.f. Matthew 27:46), and His own life’s blood (c.f. John 10:11)!

(7) One principle that’s often overlooked is that we are to give from our financial resources without neglecting our other Christian responsibilities. In other words, we are not to assume that giving somehow exempts us from having to do other things – as though we can kind of “buy our way out” of having to do anything else.

For example, we are to support the evangelism projects and/or missions programs of our church with our money – but we are also to be about the business of doing these things ourselves in a “hands on” manner. In other words, giving our money doesn’t mean we have fulfilled Christ’s mandate to be His witnesses (c.f. Acts 1:8).

If you wonder where this principle comes from, look at Matthew chapter twenty-three, where Jesus said: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: (like) justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others (i.e. tithing)” (c.f. Matthew 23:23). In other words, Jesus wasn’t telling the Pharisees to stop tithing their spices – He was telling to continue tithing without neglecting the other things God also expects His people to do!

(8) And then finally, not because we’ve exhausted the subject (because we haven’t!), but because we’ve exhausted our time, we are to give generously and/or liberally. The Book of James says “God … gives to all (men) generously” (c.f. James 1:5b) – which includes those who reject Him and/or pay little (if any) attention to Him (c.f. Matthew 5:45; Acts 17:25). Those of us who have been saved by His grace through faith in Christ know He has been generous to us! Hence, He is our example when it comes to being liberal and/or open-handed in our own giving.

Furthermore, God promises to bless those who are generous, saying in one place: “A generous man will prosper; (and) he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed” (c.f. Proverbs 11:25, NIV) – and again: “He who is generous will be blessed …” (c.f. Proverbs 22:9).

Hence, the Scripture commands us to be generous, saying: “(let him) who gives (give) with liberality” (c.f. Romans 12:8b) – and once more: “Instruct them … to be generous and ready to share” (c.f. I Timothy 6:18).

May the God of all grace, who has given us such clear instructions, now enable to do what He has commanded by putting it in our heart to give as He has given to us (c.f. Deuteronomy 16:17)!