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Our Father in heaven we are just so thankful as we think about this mild winter that we've had and the blessing it's been to not have snow to deal with and To be able to keep our homes warmer at a little bit less cost.
And we just praise you for that father. Just pray that as we gather here this morning. We'd be Mindful of all that you have granted us in Christ Jesus forgiveness of sins reconciliation with you and the promise of heaven.
Father would you just keep us focused on that even as we discuss the seemingly mundane matter of money in Christ's name. We pray amen. Well, I say Mundane some of you might think what's mundane about money?
And well, that's kind of I guess that would be wrong. It's seemingly mundane, but it's not mundane at all. Let me ask this. I'm gonna go slightly out of my Outline how weird without a show of hands. So we'll do a silent poll.
How many of you would say that you're in great financial shape? I See those hands. Okay, I Guess you know what? I've talked about as Sort of introductory matters not just the theology but also the importance of having an emergency fund.
Which for some people, you know. It really does depend on how much money you make because the more the more you have the more expensive your problems are. The less you have the less expensive they tend to be.
But you know what when an emergency happens, it is very inconvenient. I don't care how much money you make with within certain reasons. You know parameters but an emergency fund. We talked about the importance of getting out of debt.
Because credit cards essentially make you a slave. You are an indentured servant. Bible says what that when you that you basically are a slave to the debtor as the slave of the Lender so there you go.
What I haven't talked about what somebody asked me about. I got some really good questions by the way. But what somebody someone asked me about you talking about an emergency fund you say five hundred thousand or five hundred thousand.
That's an emergency. Sign me up for that emergency. If you have a $500 ,000 emergency feel free to call someone else $500 to $2 ,000 just sitting there in the bank and some people think well, that's not a good use of my money.
Yes it is. Anything that prevents you from charging more is a good use of your money. But beyond that what should you have? What would be a good thing to have in the bank? There's a lot of tumult in the employment world right now.
Some people are losing jobs some people haven't had jobs for a while. Well, what if you had Three to six months salary sitting in the bank when you lost your job. Might make things a little bit easier.
And that's kind of what we should be aiming for is that sort of cushion so that you know. When things go upside down and it depends on your line of work. I mean, I wasn't really too worried when I was the deputy sheriff about getting fired a couple close calls.
But. But they would they don't lay people off in those kind of positions. But in the real world and the real world being the business world and everything else people lose their jobs. You guys know that so it's good to have ideally.
Here's what you do it. You would have an emergency fund and in addition we'll talk about this in the weeks to come. Although it'll be a few weeks before we get back to this because I'll be gone but Ideally you have money.
We do in our budget we have money set aside for auto repair. Okay, so I've said well an emergency. What if the car breaks down? Well, you know what better yet? You have a dedicated repair fund. You have a dedicated fund for this that and the other thing because all these different items we budget money for oil.
Every month whether we're paying for it or not. Why? Because we're gonna need it and sooner or later. We're gonna have to pay the money anyway. So if you budget it when they say you can sign a contract for this much money.
We don't have to go gulp. Where do we get the money? Kids you're gonna have to you know. Starve at lunch or whatever at school because we've got to scrape up the money for the oil. We've got the money sitting there.
And you say well, that's a lot of money sitting around and I'm just like well, okay but the goal is to get to a place where You're not in panic mode all the time. You're not trying to figure out which of the twelve Apostles are Rob and You're good.
You're just sound money is not the worry doesn't mean you're rich. It just means that you so structured things that there's no need to worry. And so a good goal would be For and and I'll readily confess.
We don't have this to have three months salary sitting in the bank. Why because if you lose that job, you're gonna think okay now I've got some time to get a job and not have to worry. I mean ideally it would it be even more than that and then you know, we will get into things like talking about Retirement whether that's a biblical by the way.
What verse talks about retiring if you want to retire early my advice go to Greece. Oh wait, that's wrong. Somebody where was that? Anyway, oh, yeah, it was Candace Jeffries posted something about About that on Facebook.
I do monitor Facebook. She said something about it and and I just looked I saw this article. Where people in Greece, you know, they're riding and going crazy because I think the average retirement age is like 54 55 or something like that and get this at that age.
You retire at 94 of your salary. 94 I'm like, dude I'm two years away, you know 94 in Germany. You retire at of course you all read the same article I did so that's why I'm like you retire at 66 and you retire at like 60 of your salary and Who is paying whose bills?
Germany is paying Greece's bills right now. And so, you know, it's the Greeks who are riding and it's the Germans will be next. They're like we're we're funding it for you guys. And you guys are you know living on our dime and having a great time.
So. But there is no biblical verse that was just a complete aside and apropos of nothing. All right, so we talked about tithing last time 10 and I think it is a good guideline. It is not necessarily it's not a commandment and I want to just quickly stress that again because what why do you think that we?
So glom on to the 10 figure flow said we like rules. I Think that is so right. We like rules. We don't want to have to think about it ourselves. Wrestle with it ourselves. Just tell me 10 because then my conscience is clear.
I've mentioned this not to you guys, but I've said to other people I want to write a book called, you know becoming a Practicing Catholic or something like that. Only it won't be written to Catholics.
It'll be written to Protestants because in our mind what we want. We want to know that if we go to church every Sunday if we pair 10 if we get baptized. If we do this we do that that we're okay, that's Catholicism.
It's wrong thinking. Says God loves a joyful giver not somebody who can drop 10 in the plate. That's not the point. And I think 10 is a decent guideline. But for some people it's gonna have to be less for some people shame on you if that's all you give.
Okay. Now I want to move into. Another question that I got and I'm gonna kind of blend it in with some of the things that MacArthur said. But someone asked about the salaries of the pastors. And they asked about it in the sense, you know, how can I how can I give?
Joyfully, you know when I think gee the pastors get a lot of money and you know, is that the best use of the church's money and kind of. If I how do I avoid thinking about it as a consumer look when I go into Best Buy and I see a TV and it's $2 ,000.
And I think I don't have $2 ,000 spent on TV, but that's neither here nor this is for purposes of illustration I go to Best Buy and I see a television for 2 ,000. I go home and I look at amazon .com and it's 1 ,100.
Where do I buy my TV? The Best Buy because store loyalty and I get the extra no I Get an Amazon. The problem is when you're talking about and and you know. If any of this and it may I don't know I can't I can't really tell because I'm not sitting out there.
Some of this may sound self-serving. I don't want it to be because I'm perfectly content. Perfectly content with my salary. So let's just set that aside here for a moment. And if you don't believe me on that and you could talk to me later.
But the idea of getting our money's worth or being consumers or thinking you know, is that really the best way to use our money or you know, I want to give to the Lord's work and I did some thinking about this and I Want you to kind of get your mindset this way if we give to the Lord first of all, we're giving to the Lord.
But secondly we do it why so that the the gospel could go forth. Just if we just took pastor Mike's trips to other continents. The gospel has been proclaimed from this church in Africa and in Europe and in Asia.
That's pretty good. And I'm sure at some point we'll be adding South America to it too, but I digress. So we've got that going on and we've got no compromise radio which basically costs the church nothing and We are heard all over the world there.
And we get emails from all over the place too and and they track where that goes. So I think that's pretty good. But let's look at what the Bible says here for a moment. Let's look at 1st Timothy chapter 5 Verses 17 and 18 and it says this let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.
For the scripture says you shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain and the laborer deserves his wages. And I want to just kind of I'll just tell you Candidly about how I viewed it before I ever got in the ministry and before I ever thought about getting in the ministry and This probably won't surprise you but John MacArthur gets a lot of money.
What might surprise you is? What he does with his money because a lot of it just goes straight back to grace you because he doesn't get any money from them. He gets whatever he gets from the church. He also gets there's a local car dealership.
They're pretty near the church. Where the guy is a Christian and he gives John MacArthur. Or the church however, they work it financially he gives him like a new lease free every year. You know, come on in pick whatever you want.
Drive it. Pretty nice. But in my mind when I was writing my check and giving a grace community church I never thought I wonder how much of this is going to John MacArthur salary. I Wonder how much he's making.
I wonder if the church could do better. In fact, I do remember this that when the entire staff got raises I I just heard because I was good friends with one of the guys who was on staff that they got raises.
I was pretty happy about that because they do a lot of they do a lot of work. And then when the seminary profs got paid what the staff was. Getting paid. I thought that was outstanding because the seminary guys were woefully underpaid.
And I want to just talk a little bit about what what this looks like. I mean, I worked for 21 years to the deputy sheriff. I know what it's like. I have to tell you the truth one of the best feelings in the world because I never really.
Some of you're gonna think this is a little weird. I never really was comfortable with being a police officer and so my one of my favorite things to do Was to put my uniform back in my locker close the door and stop being a deputy sheriff.
Now obviously I still had a gun and badge. So I was still a deputy sheriff. But I didn't I didn't like to just carry around that idea with me that I was a deputy sheriff all the time. And a lot of you are salaried.
Meaning I like I know Andrew Smith is a lot of guys these days. It's become very popular to put people on salary. Why because then you can work them like indentured servants and not have to pay many more money.
But there's something about being a pastor. Though these things don't go away. You can't just you know when I go home today, and I take off my suit I don't just get to close the closet door because we don't close the closet door, but if we did.
If I did I don't get to stop being a pastor just because I've taken off my suit and tie it doesn't work like that and It really is an unusual Position. Emergency phone calls. Husband left. Someone's in jail someone died.
We get rumors about Complaints people are upset about this out of the other thing, but I want to just talk about a moment about the pressure of The pastorate you know we talked about most people last most men last about five years in the ministry.
That's the average amount of time. Because they're just done. Let's look at 2nd Timothy chapter 2 and we're gonna look at the Iwana verse. But the Iwana verse in context is it written for little kids.
It's not written for little kids. This is to Paul writing to Timothy his last letter that he wrote. We think it's his last letter that he wrote. It's getting old he's dying and these are his instructions to a pastor.
And he says in 2nd Timothy 2 verse 15 do your best to present yourself to God as one approved a Worker who has no need to be ashamed rightly handling the word of truth. Now the idea of rightly handling is what many of you know this?
Some of you know this. To cut straight. Thank you. I knew somebody would know and listen to how the Biggest Greek dictionary describes it they say that it means to cut a path in a straight direction or cut a road across Country that is forested or otherwise difficult to pass through so here's the picture you have Things in your path, and you're going to flatten everything you're gonna straighten everything out to make this road Straight so that the traveler may go directly to his destination.
So in this context they say this would probably mean to guide the word of truth along a straight path. Like a road that goes straight to its goal without being turned aside by wordy debates or impious talk.
So the idea is that they handle it accurately that they preach it directly that they give you the pure unvarnished Word of God. That's the idea in 2nd Timothy 2 verse 24 Says in the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome, but kind to everyone able to teach which is kind of an interesting translation because able to teach Doesn't mean just they have the capacity for teaching it means they must be skilled in teaching.
They must be good teachers and Paul's point there in 2nd Timothy is it That these men are going to be. I mean also We can look at James where he says let not many of you be Teachers. Why. Because you're gonna be held to a higher standard, and this is what he's saying.
He's saying handle it accurately. You must be skilled to teach and then going back to Where I was at first Timothy 5. The point there is that all elders should be honored right every single one of them.
But those who labor in preaching and teaching Should be double honored and. And Why. Well, I mean we know for example that Scott and Pradeep have full-time jobs. They're busy guys. I mean, I'm just trying to get an elders meeting together.
It's not easy, and it's not because I can't adjust my schedule or Mike can't adjust his schedule those guys are busy. Listen what Simon Kistemacher says he says it would be it evidence of lack of Honor if the church should demand of a man who devotes himself entirely to spiritual work to do this for free.
The word labor means to exert oneself physically mentally or spiritually. To work hard to toil to strive to struggle. How many of you and I know there are several men here this morning. I've done this.
How many of you have preached a sermon before. Okay, how long does it take to prepare one two minutes. Two weeks. Well, I mean just in hours 40 to 50. I mean If you've done it enough you can probably get it down.
I think I could probably do it in about 15 to 20, but it takes a long time. You know call my house some time when I'm preaching on a Sunday call me on a Friday night or a Saturday and see how Quickly I try to handle your problem.
Because it's gonna be like oh, yeah houses burned it out, okay I Got a big call on another line. You know it's hard. I Mean it might look easy. Might seem easy. I'm sure people think it's easy till you try to do it.
I mean is it easy. Anybody anybody. I mean if you think it's easy probably you're in the wrong line of work. You could probably do it. It takes it takes a lot of and you know here's the here's the trick.
And I don't I'm not even gonna pretend to have this wire, but the trick is there's a big leap between knowing what a text means and Then knowing how it preaches it is. It's a chasm and if somebody gets up.
I remember once in a seminary preaching lab. We were doing these really short sermons. I don't remember they were so short. It was like ridiculous and the the prof said you know they have to be exegetical and they have to be like five minutes.
Really you know and they have to have an intro and everything like like that. And they the first guy gets up or me was a second guy, and he says you know I'm not gonna tell you guys anything. You don't know.
So he gets done after his five minutes. And the process if you're not gonna tell us anything. We don't know don't get up right. And I'm like that's why it's hard because anybody can just read the passage and go well this means Did it did well most anybody can do that you listen to some sermons, and you go well people people apparently can't do that.
But it's harder to say okay. This is how a particular passage preaches and some passages are Eminently more preachable than other passages. They're easy ones. Mike sent me an email the other day. He was like oh boy this next passage or this next part gulp.
I'm like yeah, tell me about it. I mean, I'm in the part of John where he's gathering his disciples. That's a barn burner. You know I mean so No, now everybody's like oh, we'll just be watching for that one.
It's not easy, and that's just that's just getting a sermon prepared. You know then we talk about issues like church discipline. Marital counseling people counseling with all kinds of problems people wanting to leave the church whatever.
The church budget. I have nothing else to say about that one a new building two services people not liking going into services. I Just think sometimes people have the wrong idea that you know it's like.
How many housewives do we have here? How many of you before Oprah went off the air just sat around watching Oprah and eating bonbons all day? You know that's it. That's the idea right housewife sit around eat.
You know. You're a stay-at-home mom. Easy. Yeah, Peggy well Peggy's right, that's it, and that's where I'm going. You know it's how much you value what the pastor what the pastor does it's the same with being a stay-at-home mom.
You know people would say You know ask about our kids, and I'm going well. You know what here's one of the amazing things and not only love my kids, but I actually like them. And I give I mean you know everybody could say they love their kids.
That's nothing, but how many of you actually like your kids? That's a whole nother you know it's a whole nother matter. And I like my kids, and I give my crop my all the credit to my wife because she's the one who raised him.
You know so what was what was the Opportunity cost if you remember all the way back two weeks ago when we talked about our opportunity costs for her staying home I mean she kind of got out made more money.
But she stayed home with the kids, and I think that was invaluable. Yeah. Well now is said way better than what I had here anyway. So let me just try to recap that what Charlie was saying is you know when?
Calamity strikes when disaster strikes in your life, and you've been sitting under the Word of God. How do you respond to it? Then is it the same way as you did before you came to a church where you heard the word week in and week out?
And the answer is probably not. You know you still may be Sorrowful you still may be shocked you still may have that moment of panic, but you step back and you just think okay. Now what a pastor might talk about when this kind of situation talk.
You know happens, or you know what what have I been listening to that would help me think about this rightly and That kind of thinking just having your mind transformed by the washing of the word by by listening to good preaching that kind of thinking is Invaluable you know that that kind of Reshaping of your thinking and I'll get to how I phrase it in just a minute here.
And it wasn't nearly as good as Charlie just did so if you didn't get to hear him sorry about that. But but but the heart of the matter I wrote is threefold. First of all I would just say again. We have to think about who we're giving the money to.
I'm not giving the money to Pastor Mike. I'm not giving the money to Pastor Steve. I'm I'm not giving the money to The new building necessarily unless I've designated the building fund or whatever but I'm giving the money to the Lord.
This is my first fruits. This is my offering to him. Second question who will be held accountable for the manner in which the Lord's money was dispensed. It's the Lord's money when it comes into Bethlehem Bible Church.
It's not Pastor Mike slush fund. He doesn't sit around at night, you know just kind of rubbing the money together, you know, and I said this before. We don't know who gives what? We don't get to spend whatever we want.
You know in fact if there's anything I mean we do small things. We do little behind-the-scenes things for different people and but if it gets up over $500 we we take it to the other elders if it's a deacons fund matter, then we handle it at that level, but.
And It's it's not anything that we have direct control over and my third question is Which is more valuable the Word of God or money? We know the answer that I mean, that's what Charlie was talking about.
Will you trust a man to rightly divide the word and worry about what he does with the money? The Lord provides for him if you don't trust him with the money. Then I think there's another problem if you if you think that he gets too much or there's you know the things aren't done rightly then you you really have a problem with first Timothy 3 and you need to go talk to him or me or Pradeep or Scott?
Listen to first Timothy 3 talking about the qualifications for an elder. Starting verse 1 the saying is trustworthy if anyone aspires to the over office of overseer elder pastor. He desires a noble task.
Therefore an overseer must be above reproach. The husband of one wife sober mind is self-controlled respectable hospitable able to teach there's that word again not a drunkard not violent, but gentle not quarrelsome and listen not a lover of money and.
And I think if you if you think about it that way then it's either an issue with them or it's an issue with the way you're framing the question, but. Let let me move on to what MacArthur says here he says Paul.
Let me let me give you the the context we should go to 2nd Corinthians. And since I didn't put the verses down there. I'm gonna have to wing it 2nd Corinthians, and I think it's chapter 8. Sometimes I'd like to fire myself as secretary.
It probably only happens once a Sunday. 2nd Corinthians. Yeah, it is chapter 8. And I'm just gonna read they we started talking about the Macedonian thing here a few weeks ago, and I'm gonna read verses.
What is that 16 and 17? I want to read verses 16 and 17 then we'll get to MacArthur's comments. Talking about this collection for Jerusalem and how the Macedonians gave and but now he's addressing the Corinthian Church.
He says this but thanks be to God who put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you. But he not only accepted our appeal but being himself very earnest. He is going to you of his own accord in verse 18 with him.
We are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his preaching of the gospel. This is somebody else that they're saying and the whole point of this is he's setting up Paul setting up Accountability beyond himself for this money that's being given.
Listen what? MacArthur says he says Paul knew that to operate a God honoring stewardship fundraising. It had to be more than a one-man show with his special collection for the Jerusalem Church. He realized he had to answer the criticism.
That was merely his own pet project. He had to disarm those critics at Corinth who claimed his enterprise was not credible because it was not accountable to anyone else. And my message to everyone here this morning anybody who's struggling with that issue is I?
Know Mike said this before but he doesn't set a salary. It's said by the elders and guess what? I get no vote on what Mike gets paid so if you think well, you know. He's Steve's boss, and so Steve's gonna give him what everyone.
Steve doesn't get a vote either. It's between Scott and Pradeep and Before that it was before it was between Dave Pradeep and Scott and before that it was Louis Pradeep, and you know cetera cetera cetera in other words it it has never been.
Mike decides that he gets a raise and that's just the way it is and It's never been that Steve gets a raise either, and I have or Steve gets to decide his race. And finally I would put it this way this is kind of my variation on what Charlie said.
If you're going in for heart surgery. Do you ever think to yourself? You know what I? Think my heart surgeon gets too much money. I'd be happy you know whether he's whether he's the highest paid or not.
I don't really care, but I want the best right and So here's my question for you this morning. What's more important than your physical life, and it would be your Spiritual life and that that's exactly what Charlie was addressing.
Okay any quick any questions about that before I move on. If you have any you can send them to me. And I'll anonymize them and I send them through a anonymizer on the internet, and no I don't. But I mean we're we're wide open on that it's I mean it is what it is.
I just know that you know not only this church, but other churches in the past, and I'm not talking about now, but in the past. Have liked the idea of keeping the pastor on impoverished. Because you know it keeps him humble, and I I just I don't think that's biblical in any way shape or form.
We're not supposed to muzzle the ox and I talked about Before about how the biblical picture of that was it was basically cruelty to animals. And he's using that picture and saying you if you wouldn't treat an animal like that.
Why would you treat your pastor like that? Let's see here's another question. I got. How much should parents contribute for their kids college education, it's a tough one. Biblically how much should you give well Biblically there is no answer that.
Well what seems right and reasonable well, I think you know for some parents the answer is going to be zero. They can't really do anything. Right. I mean if you're making ends meet, and you're just barely getting by and you've got an emergency fund.
And you're working towards something else. Then the answer might be zero. But let's say everything aside. Here's what I know I've told the story of me. I haven't fully explained it, but when I went to college straight out of high school I Had a free ride at the University of Southern, California.
It wasn't based on my academic prowess. Or sorry it was based on my academic prowess. I don't know how that happened exactly, but it wasn't based because I was an athlete because you know people say hey.
Did you play football in high school? I was like well. No there were just a couple problems. I was too slow too weak, and I didn't weigh enough on that everything was good. Six to 160 pounds and I couldn't have bench-pressed a bologna sandwich, and I'm not exaggerating.
But you know basically it was a combination need and and Academics and SAT scores which which is really amazing because in the SAT I think I was running out of time on the Math and I just filled in the bubbles and that I scored you know higher on the math than I did on the verbal.
But thank you very much. And so I was at USC for one entire semester free of charge one semester. What happened. Well they wanted me to go to class and do my homework and stuff like that and I really it didn't work for me now.
It was sometime after that probably about a year after that that I joined the army. And I got out of the army and I started going back to school and guess what? I did really well at school. Why was that?
Because it was my money. It was kind of a joke when the state was paying for it. I mean. And I think a lot of kids are like that. Stupid like me and yet when you you know when it is your own toil sweat and tears you you take a now.
You know there may be exceptions that some kids move right along well, then go ahead and help them. I I don't think there's any hard and fast rule on that. I think you have freedom there. There's no biblical Thing and and you know frankly for some kids.
Some people think that every kid should go to college. I Think it depends on what they want to do. I mean if you're if your child Particularly probably your young man Is good with his hands he went he likes to build things and you know stuff like that well.
Then what's he gonna go to go get a degree in carpentry? You know he's gonna go get a master's degree in auto mechanics for what? So he can go work in a shop. I I think that'd be kind of silly. I Don't think you need a master's degree for that.
So I I think it all depends. I mean I don't have any hard and fast rule for that and in fact I think I said this in the beginning in the beginning of the class that one of the funky loopholes in the law and You know this if you've had kids who've gone through college if you save money for them It counts against them and It reduces the amount of financial aid that they can get going to college, which is really perverse.
I was talking to somebody here not too long ago. He said you know what we say for our kids college. And we know some people who are you know in the same general ballpark? Financially as us and every year they go out on these wild vacations.
And they live it up, and they got nothing in the bank their kids are gonna get more Aid to go to college than we are because we were responsible they weren't so they get more money. It's dumb, but those are your tax dollars at work on the other hand if your grandparents save money.
It doesn't show up on the government application and therefore it doesn't count against them. And you know like I said, it's a dumb loophole, but that's the way it is because grandparents aren't expected to give anything to their grandkids for college, so How much do you give it your college is it's it's up to you.
I Think it'd be a good idea to sort of work that out with your kids ahead of time. And I would say to you know I we did this with our own kids two years of junior college. Just because many of the classes not all the classes, but many of the classes are going to be the same or similar required courses.
So why spend Thousands and thousands of dollars more to do that and there was another reason why we did it to the other reason that we wanted To do that was to keep them closer at home. We believe that they were Christians.
But we didn't see any reason necessarily for them to go a few thousand miles away from home. It'd be subjected to every manner of temptation and told that they're morons if they don't do X Y Z. You know what to find out if they were Christians.
So you know that because there is a little bit of a transition as I discovered at Between high school and college. There's a big difference it just in terms of maturity and everything else. I mean it is a big challenge, so I don't see anything wrong with a couple years of junior college.
Another question do we have yet? We have time for one more. Somebody says okay, I get a salary and I'm going to tie them my salary, but what if I get commissions? Or what if I have gifts or what if I have this that the other thing?
Even inheritance tax refunds. Whatever anybody have any thoughts on that no one has a thought okay? Steve I'd like to say it a little differently, but yes you voluntarily give. Free will offering joyfully give.
Yeah, I mean, I I think you give on all that. I maybe not. Let's put it this way if your parents give you if you're my age and your parents give you $100 for a Christmas. Let's put it this way if they gave you a hundred dollar box of candy.
Would you would you tithe on that box of candy so I I don't know about you know small little inner family gifts or whatever. I I don't really think that's necessary but if you're I used to work for the sheriff's department.
We had every year we got a $1 ,500 Christmas bonus. They called it a uniform allowance, but if it was a uniform allowance, why did they give it to us on December 15th? Okay, wink wink nudge nudge say no more say no more.
And and I think it was right to Excuse me to give Based on that too because it really was part of our income it was taxable income or whatever. So I mean I but but I think it is basically the idea that we need to have is it's an increase.
It's the first fruits of what the Lord has granted us, and I think that's how we need to look at it. Any other thoughts on that? Charlie yeah. Yeah, so and I think that's right if if you've if what you do.
And I don't mean this in a legalistic way if you've said I'm going to Tithe I'm gonna give 10 on my gross and again I just I just don't even like the term and the reason I don't like the term is because as we discussed last week It's the only time it's mentioned in the New Testament.
It's not in a good light. So tithing isn't the commandment the type that the commandment is to give sacrificially to give purposely all these other things. But if that's what you're doing if you're tithing 10 of your gross, and then you get a tax refund.
Well if you tithe again on that then I mean you're certainly welcome to do that, but then in essence you're Tithing you're giving on something that you've already given because you already paid that money before now you're getting some of it back so.
But the church doesn't rebate into that money. Steve. Yeah, it really is. I mean What well let's let's just put that aside for a moment. Why do you suppose it is that we could get a large gift like that?
Not that I'm anticipating one, but I Have absolutely no idea who and my family could die and leave me a lot of money. Let's say some distant cousin gave me you know passed away unexpectedly and who knew I was in his will.
And he gives me a hundred thousand dollars, so I just go gee whiz that is great that I got that hundred thousand dollars. And I put it all in my wallet, which you all know I love to carry lots of money in is It I mean is that how we should think about it.
I Think Steve hit the nail on the head. We ought to think about it is what a what a gift from God. I didn't expect to get this money. What a blessing and Not I'm going to give all hundred thousand dollars to the church or whatever.
But I had to think about how I can use this for the Lord and for his purposes and his glory. Let me do one more and I because I could do this real quickly. If you buy something small for the church. That the elders know or approve of is it okay to just subtract that amount from your normal giving?
Or is there a benefit to having the money move through the church and submit a receipt? Tax tax purposes. You know I think that's I think that's just a matter of conscience, I mean there might be tax benefits for that.
But I mean here's here's How I've looked at it before. If I if I could see need at the church, and I think I can I could afford to do that. I'm probably just gonna do it and not really what you know unless it's some astronomical amount and and I I've never had to do that, but where I where I wanted to like.
Say hey, I'm gonna designate it for this and you know include it my giving or whatever but I I think We we I just want to get us out of the mindset that there's some legalistic threshold that we have to meet and us to not have us look at the money as if.
What we give to the Lord to the to the Gospel ministry to BBC is somehow a loss on our part. You know money that we give here is not something that is I mean, it's something that won't be in our checkbook, but it's not something that we lose because we've just invested in something eternal.
It's amazing. We have absolutely no idea. I Not too long ago pastor Mike. I don't know when he'll may use this as an illustration. I mean sometimes it's just small things somebody hears the radio show.
This woman call or send an email. She had just all kinds of marital problems this and the other thing well her real problem was she had absolutely no idea how to submit to her unbelieving husband. So Mike said something like and this is a big paraphrase.
You know you need to get some counseling and You know you need to find such-and-such a church or whatever well the church was pastored by one of Mike's friends in, Texas. This lady went got some counseling.
Changed her behavior at home her husband got saved. Her husband got saved. You just think well, okay now. Here's what I would say to you in an indirect way. The Lord used your giving to save that man.
You might say well, how does that work. Because the giving here allows Mike to do what he does and Because he needs no sleep. Etc etc etc. And he can do this radio show and it goes out all over the place and people hear it and he can send somebody like that the Lord uses that and this woman's life and Then saves her husband, and we did that Mike didn't do it.
Actually we didn't do it, but the Lord used us as a collective body to save that guy. I Think that's worth it. And so I just I if anyone struggles, and I'll say this openly if anyone struggles with giving if they think you know.
This isn't done. Well, or that's not done. Well, or I wish the Christmas concert was on a Wednesday or whatever the issue is and you just you grudgingly give that check. Don't give. Just don't give. God loves a joyful giver.
He doesn't love people who just cannot stand to depart with their money. He loves people who are Joyful when they give and and who understand that what they're doing is changing the lives of people. Let's pray Father in heaven.
I just pray for each one here for me as well that you would just give us hearts that would long to See your son Lifted high and exalted. For the gospel to be proclaimed in every corner of the earth. Father what a joy it is to think that we can even play a small part here in the middle of Massachusetts.
Really touching lives all over the world. Father I just pray that you would continue to grow the impact of the ministry here as the word goes forth just that many people would be saved and Father I even think about one particular woman who's been writing and just really upset with the radio show.
Father I just pray that you would save her Lord. I pray that you would correct her thinking about ADD ADHD and all the other issues and Father I just pray that she would open her heart to your word, which she's been reading.
I Pray that you would open her heart to your word Father for each one here, I would just pray that you would make us just really joyful givers understanding that what we are giving we cannot keep and What we get in return Can never be lost.
Lord. Would you bless each one in Christ's name? Amen?