Not in Heaven: The Blessing of Giving | Pastor Neil Passmore

A sermon on generosity, stewardship, and the heart behind our giving

Good morning! It's wonderful to see everyone here today, even though some of our church family are locked away in their homes due to the Ironman event on the west side of the city and down in the Gower.

Before we dive in, I want to give a special shout-out to someone watching online who has a milestone birthday this week. On Tuesday, Ronaldine Phillips turns 80! Ronaldine, we know you're watching at home with Dennis, and though this season of life means you can't be with us on Sunday mornings, we want you to know that all of us at City Church wish you a very happy 80th birthday this week!

Continuing Our Series: Not in Heaven

Over the last few weeks, we've been exploring a sermon series entitled "Not in Heaven", things that don't happen in heaven but happen here on earth. These are things we can't do in heaven, things that are too late to do when we get to glory, things that we have the opportunity to do only while we live in this life, on this earth, before we meet Jesus face-to-face.

In previous weeks, Pastor Michael and Pastor Philip have spoken about bringing a sacrifice of praise, something we can only do while we're in this body and in this life. When we get to eternity and we're in His immediate presence, face to face with Jesus, we'll really know what it is to experience the depth and perfection of worship, praise, and glory. We also heard last week about sharing good news, something we can only do while we're in this body, in this life. We can tell people about the love of God and encourage them to get to know the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ, whom we as Christians have met and know for ourselves.

Today's Focus: Giving

This morning, our subject on this theme of "Not in Heaven" is giving. How many times have we heard and understood that phrase: "It is better to give than to receive"?

When I was a little boy and Christmas came, I didn't always believe that, it seemed better to receive all the presents! But you know, we grow up, we learn, and we understand that actually, in this life, there is so much blessing in giving. Giving to God, giving to others, that's what we're talking about this morning. The blessing of giving to God and giving to others while we have the chance in this life, not in heaven, but in this life.

Money Has No Place in Heaven

When it comes to giving, the Scriptures have a lot to say about it, and it all refers to our time in this life and the opportunity we have now to give.

In our physical world, money is a tool used for trade and transactions. But when we get to heaven, money has no place in the spiritual realm where material needs are absent. In heaven, there's no need for currency or any system of exchange. There's no need to feel resentment when you go on holiday to Spain, change your well-earned pounds into euros, don't spend them all, bring them back, and they say, "Oh, that €300 you changed? We'll give you £10.50 for it now because the exchange rate isn't as good when you bring them back to us."

Material possessions, wealth, and finances do not exist in heaven. All needs are met. There is no concept of being scarce or of not having enough or of lack in heaven. It's a place described as abundance, perfection, where there's no need to ration resources or compete for possessions.

It's only in this life that we make our decisions about giving, not in heaven.

Your Attitude Toward Giving Reflects Your Heart

Our attitude toward giving very much reflects the attitude that's in our hearts. An attitude toward giving gives us a glimpse into our heart and into our soul, our spiritual outlook, our spiritual focus in life, our perspective, and our condition.

We're going to read some verses this morning about encouragements to be the person and the people that God wants us to be, where we realize and understand and find for ourselves that it is far more blessed to give than it is to receive.

A Humorous Tale About Three Givers

I've got a little humorous story to share with you about three people who got together and were discussing their offerings that they wanted to give to God. Let's call them Louise, Gwen, and Paul.

Louise was a generous lady. Gwen was an extravagantly generous gentleman. But Paul? Well, he was a bit of a miser. He was so tight-fisted that when it came to breathing, he would only breathe in, he wasn't giving anything away! I hope there's no Pauls in the room, though maybe one or two watching online.

Let me paint a picture. They came together to show how generous, or otherwise, they were toward giving to God.

Louise came first. She drew a chalk circle in front of her, then put a hand into her pocket and got all the money that was there, notes, coins, buttons, whatever was in there. She said, "I'm going to give to God everything I got in my pocket." Then she threw it all into the air and said, "Everything that comes down and lands in that circle belongs to God."

Down it came, some went in the circle, most went outside. About 10 or 20 percent of what she'd thrown up came down in the circle. "That's what I'm giving to God," she said. "How generous am I?"

Then Gwen came along. He's extravagantly generous. He also drew a chalk circle in front of him, put his hands into both pockets, took out what was there, and said, "Everything that comes down and lands outside of the circle, I'm giving to God." Of course, most of what was thrown into the air landed outside the circle. Extravagantly generous, he gave more to God.

But Paul the miser came along. He didn't bother with a circle, but what he did began to surprise everyone. He got everything out of his pockets. He took his piggy bank money box from his shelf at home, broke it, smashed it open, and got all the money out. The others looked and said, "Wow, he's really got a lot going on here!"

He also went to his bank and withdrew everything from his current account and his savings account. He pulled it all together, this huge amount of money. Then Paul, in front of the others, took everything he had, threw it up in the air, and shouted, "Whatever God catches, He can keep!"

True story? No, it's not.

This Is Not a Fundraising Appeal

This is not a sermon that is an appeal or attempt to raise the church bank balances or increase church offerings. Although I must say, I believe Michael will give us an incredible encouragement at the end of the service about the way that we as a church have responded in ways of giving.

But this sermon is part of our series. We want to look at the spiritual principles and the biblical background to giving to God and blessing others.

My dad used to be church treasurer here, a role he held for 25 years in our church. Growing up in a house when my dad was the church treasurer, I know there were struggles that he and the leaders of the day would work through because of mortgages to pay on this building and things that were happening to bless the community. Things were tough financially at times.

But I learned very early from my father that he knew things would be fine and that blessing would be seen if the people of God did the right thing in giving to God according to biblical principles of giving. He and everyone right through the history of our church have encouraged all of us at City Church to tithe, to bring offerings, and even to Gift Aid our offerings. He was staunch on that, if the government wants to give us 20% back on what we give to God, then we'll take it from the government as well.

This is a sermon about the principles of giving.

We Came With Nothing, We Leave With Nothing

Let's state a fact: We came into this world with nothing, and we leave with nothing.

"For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it" (1 Timothy 6:7).

If our focus is just to gain as much as we can, we need to realize very gently today that we won't be taking it anywhere with us when the time comes. It's very true when people say you can't take it with you when you die.

We only get the opportunity to give and to bless and to be blessed through giving when we are alive in this life, not in heaven. That's the reality.

The reality is that our attitude to money and possessions has a direct link to the attitude that's in our hearts.

What Jesus Said About Money

Jesus spoke a lot about money, and on most occasions, it was to illustrate how much our attitude about money reflects our heart for God and the way we live out our faith.

Where Is Your Treasure?

He said in Luke 12: "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Where is your treasure today? Where is my treasure today? Do I class my treasure as the numbers in my bank account, or what's locked in a safe, or the plans I have for what I'm going to do to enhance my life?

Where is your treasure? Because we know that the treasure we hold dear is what shows us up for what is in our hearts. If we are the person who loves to bless, then that shows that our heart is a heart that is blessed and wishes to bless others.

When it comes to finances and possessions, Jesus used these words to challenge people and to say, "Where is your treasure? Is it tied up in all manner of things that you have or that you own, or is your treasure in your heart, a heavenly treasure that's bigger than what you possess?"

Watch Out for Greed

Jesus also said in Luke 12: "Watch out for greed. Watch out, be on your guard against all kinds of greed. Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions."

But I need that. I want that. I have to have that.

No, that's not what it's all about. Life is not about an abundance of possessions. He told us to guard ourselves about falling into the trap of being greedy and wanting more and more and more, and letting that drive our lives.

Who Is Your Master?

He said, "Who's your master? Who do you serve?"

"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money" (Matthew 6:24).

Yes, we need money for the transactions of this world that we live in, but that's just to get us through. Everything that comes our way is a blessing from God, as we'll see in a moment. But what can happen is we can focus and aim far too much to one side. Instead of seeking the Lord, the King and the God of our salvation being Master in our lives, we can let other things distract us: finances, wealth, riches of this life.

The Rich Young Man

Jesus also talked about being careful about entering the kingdom and how money can have an effect. In Matthew and Mark chapter 10, He told a rich man: "Go sell everything you have, give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me."

What was the man's response? The man's face fell. He went away sad because he had great wealth.

Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."

Not because money will stop you or that it's a necessary evil, but because the focus and the desire was on money more than the kingdom of God.

Can We Be Trusted?

Jesus asked: Can we be trusted?

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with very much. And whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much" (Luke 16).

Why? Because it's all to do with the heart.

"So, if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?"

Can we be trusted? We say, "Oh God, if only I had this..." Well, what will we do with it when we get it?

I've never won the lottery, it's not a surprise because I've never bought a ticket. But if God wants to entrust us with more, we've got to show to Him that we are trustworthy. God's a God who works with economy. God's a God who knows our hearts, knows what we can deal with, and knows how to trust us.

Our part is to say, "Lord, let me be the person, the man, the woman who You want me to be in this area of giving."

Our attitude to money shows what our heart, our desire, our focus is really like.

The Heart God Wants Us to Have

What sort of ways did Jesus tell us to be in our hearts?

Be Generous

He asks us to be generous.

"One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed" (Proverbs 11:24-25).

It's far better to give than to receive.

"You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God" (2 Corinthians 9:11).

There's so much we could unpack in all of these verses. There's a message and a sermon in every one of these elements, but what we're doing is just looking over these things briefly. Generous givers is what the Lord wants us to be.

Be Cheerful

What about being cheerful in our giving? Cheerful givers.

"Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7).

The word "cheerful" in the original Greek language is "hilaros." What sort of word do you think we get from "hilaros"? Hilarious! Hilarity!

There's an outward expression of what is going on in our hearts when we are giving, almost with a hilarious nature, to enjoy giving over and above what we want to give.

The word "hilaros" actually means spontaneously, non-reluctantly. What it's saying is that when we give because we want to give, we're giving spontaneously. We're not giving out of reluctance. We're doing it because our hearts are right. We are generous people, and we've got a lot to give, and we know it's more blessed to give than it is to receive.

Are we the sort of person who holds on tightly to what we have, or does our heart reflect a person who overflows in giving, with cheerfulness, with a smile on our face, even with a laugh as we give? It's that hilarious!

We Are Stewards of What God Has Given

We are called to give to God and to bless others. God also calls us to steward what we have.

Whatever you or I have, or whatever we don't have, we are only stewards of what God has blessed us with.

Sometimes we get that mentality where people say, "It's mine! It's mine! It's all mine!", like the little child who doesn't want to share and wants to keep it all for himself or herself.

As adults, we can always have a tension within us to say, "Well, I've earned that. I've worked for that. I'm worthy of that. I'm due that. It's mine."

But actually, we're not going to keep it. We've got to let it go.

Rather, we should have a mentality that says: Everything I have in this passing life, from coming in with nothing to leaving with nothing, everything I have in between is God's, and He's given it to me. He's blessed me with whatever He's blessed me with, and it belongs to Him.

How different would our lives be if we didn't say "It's my bank balance," but we said "It's God's bank balance"? I've received that. I've taken that into my life as a steward, as a manager of what God has given, rather than saying, "It's mine, all mine!"

The Parable of the Talents

The parable of the talents is a story about a master entrusting his possessions to his servants. If you remember the story, he gave five bags of gold to one, two bags to another, one to another. He was going away, and then he comes back and says, "What have you done with what I entrusted to you to steward, to manage?"

The one who had the most had put it to good use, invested it, and he got a return for his master. The man who had a middling amount did the same, and he was trustworthy as well. He was told, "You've been a good servant. You've done well with what I trusted to you."

But of course, the one who didn't have very much said, "Well, I don't have much here, so I'll just keep it." It says he buried it. So, the master comes back, and the servant says, "I looked after it. Here's what you gave me."

But you see the difference? He didn't invest it. He didn't put it to use. He just kept it.

The whole reason for that parable was about utilizing what God has given us, in our finances, in our talents, in our abilities, in our time, in blessing others, in every part of our lives.

The parable of the talents teaches us that believers should actively use those God-given gifts, those God-given opportunities to serve God and serve others. We will be held accountable for how we stewarded those gifts.

It talks about stewardship, faithfulness, responsibility, the importance of using what God has blessed us with to contribute to the kingdom of God.

Many Ways to Give

There are so many ways that we can give when it comes to our finances.

Tithing

We talk about tithes. We could spend a whole series speaking about tithes and offerings. But in the very beginning, Israelite society practiced tithing, the practice of giving back to God a tenth of all that they had been blessed with.

We see Abraham giving a tenth from the spoils of war to God's priest Melchizedek in Genesis 14. The tithe means a tenth part. It was a staple in their lives, in the life of their community, in the life of the people of God. It was non-negotiable. The tithe belongs to God.

They gave a tenth of what they owned back to God, and so it continued through the generations. In Genesis 28, Jacob vowed to God: "Of all that you give me, I will give you a tenth."

It was written into the laws in Leviticus, where 10% of the grain, of the fruit, of the herds, of the flocks, all the things that they possessed, they gave to the Lord because it belonged to the Lord and was holy to the Lord.

There's something holy, there's something precious, there's something very spiritual about the tithe. Tithing became an act of worship. You can read about that in the Psalms.

Other writers in the Bible challenged God's people to prove God's blessing by their faithfulness in tithing.

"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it" (Malachi 3:10).

Do you see? Again, it's the giving and the blessing. There's a continual going and coming, flowing and throwing between heaven and earth in the giving of our resources toward God.

Prove God in this. If you've never proved God in the tithe, something that so many of us in this room and so many watching online at home will have learned from our earliest moments as Christians, in our homes, by our parents, understanding the scriptural basis of giving.

Mother gave me pocket money, £1. Ten pence is going in my offering to the Lord. How many of you did that?

I've earned my first paycheck, £100. A tenth belongs to the Lord.

I proved God. Speaking to Julie about this and her talking about her life and the way that things have been for her, these are things that we have taken for granted as a scriptural understanding and a scriptural basis. We can stand today and say, "Lord, you've never let me down. You've proved yourself. I've proved You in the tithe."

There's something very, very precious about the tithe, about giving to the Lord. It releases the blessings of heaven.

If you've never tried before, maybe right now take a moment to say, "Lord, maybe it's about time I started to prove You in this, that the storehouse of heaven can be opened upon my life by just doing what You've called Your people to do, the very basics of giving a tenth to You."

Offerings

But if the tithe was the standard, was basic, the New Testament teaches that not only did Jesus recognise the practice of tithing, but He also told His followers that the motives of their hearts were paramount in their giving generously.

Over and above the tithe, they brought offerings. As I was studying for this over the last few weeks, I came to realise more and more that they used to have offerings for everything. You read through the Bible and see the types of offerings. Even when it wasn't money, they had wave offerings. They brought things before the Lord, and they waved them. They always wanted to offer something to God, whatever it was.

There were so many offerings. It's like there's something we could give an offering for, let's do it!

In the early church, God's people not only brought their tithes, but they went over and above with those offerings. The offerings are the voluntary gifts, the possessions, the resources, the time, the abilities, everything that is given to God and His work.

Firstfruits

They also brought firstfruits, another type of giving to God. It was dedicating the best or the first part of someone's harvest or their income to God. It symbolised their thankfulness, their trust, and their gratitude to God.

Almsgiving

Then there was the giving of alms, not these arms, but A-L-M-S, almsgiving, which was giving to people who were in need.

Some of you might have heard of alms-houses that they used to have centuries ago in different parts of the UK, where they would build houses so that they could house those who had no houses, so that they could look after and feed those who had nothing. They were alms giving, alms-houses.

Giving to those in need, the poor and the vulnerable, is a recurring theme through the Bible. It highlights the compassion and the social responsibility that God asks of us.

Sacrificial Giving

Lastly, sacrificial giving involves giving beyond what is comfortable to give, what is expected to give, often out of love and pure devotion to God.

Two weeks ago, I was on call with my funeral role, so I wasn't here. I watched the live stream of Michael speaking about sacrificial praise. It struck me during that message that every area of our lives is sacrificial. Every area of our lives calls for sacrifice to God. And giving is sacrificial too.

I started to make some notes and it came into my mind, the story of the widow's mite. I started to read it, and of course, five minutes later, Michael briefly mentioned that very same story. I looked at Julie and said, "I think that's a sign. I think that's a good parable to use for sacrificial giving."

The Widow's Offering: A Lesson in Sacrifice

Let me share the story of the widow's offering from Mark 12:41-44.

Jesus is looking at the heart. It says:

"Jesus sat down opposite the offering box and watched the crowd putting coins into it. Many rich people were throwing in large amounts. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins worth less than a penny. He called His disciples and said to them, 'I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the offering box than all the others. For they gave out of their wealth, but she, out of her poverty, put in what she had to live on, everything she had.'"

It's all about the heart.

Those coins were the smallest Roman coins in circulation at the time. They used a currency where the denarius was used, and the small coins that were placed into this offering box were 1/128 of a denarius. It was the equivalent of what someone would earn by doing less than five minutes of work during their average workday.

It was worth hardly anything. It would be the time that we sit down at a computer and look at an email, or type a message, or get into a car to go to work.

It was just nothing.

But the widow's act of giving everything she had, even though it was small in comparison to others, demonstrated a profound level of sacrifice and trust in God.

Do you think to yourself: I wonder what that woman thought about how she would manage for the rest of that day or the rest of that week? She put in all she had. Where would her trust have to come from? She couldn't trust in the little that she still had in her pocket. She had a sense of "Whatever I've got, I'm going to give to God."

Jesus was teaching His disciples that true giving comes from the heart and is measured by the sacrifice, not the size of the gift.

The Story Continues Today

I finish by saying this: The story of giving continues to be so relevant today.

It's not about how much. It's not about what we've got or even about what we've not got. It just emphasizes that whatever we do have is all about stewardship that involves giving our best to God, not just our leftovers.

So, note the heart from which we give and the fact that true generosity can only come from the heart.

Giving, well, not in heaven, but certainly here in this life, there are incredible blessings that result from giving to God and giving to others.

Maybe God is reminding you of how blessed it is when you give. Maybe God is challenging you today to understand the reality of giving and the importance of giving.

Whether it be possessions, whether it be tithes and offerings, whether it be giving to the poor, whether it be giving to the vulnerable and the needy, whether it be giving your time and your talents and your opportunities to serve God, whatever it might be, it's got to come from the heart. Hilariously, non-reluctantly, spontaneously at times.

Maybe God is saying to you and to me to understand that the result of giving will bring His blessing upon our lives as we respond to Him.

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

We're going to pray in a moment, but let me remind you that every Sunday, as we've done already this morning when we have the announcements and then we read and pray our giving prayer, many of the things that I've said this morning are words and phrases that are touched on in what we pray.

We thank God for the ability. We thank Him for what He's blessed us with. We give to Him out of a generous heart because of what He's done. We want to be generous. We want to be like Him.

We say it every week. But in common usage, we say, "Let's put our money where our mouth is."

Let God touch our hearts and touch our pockets. Let God touch our understanding and our generous hearts and also our bank balances. Let God touch our diaries. Let God touch our time. Let God touch the way that we deal with people and the time that we give them. We honour them by giving time, as God has honoured us by what He's done in our lives.

We bless others as He's blessed us.

Closing Prayer

Father, today we thank You that You have given us every good gift. We read that in Your Word: "Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of light who doesn't change like shifting shadows."

Lord, everything that we have, everything that we say we own, is Yours. We are stewarding it and managing it for You in this life.

But Lord, before it's too late, will You touch our hearts more and more in these days and times that are ahead of us? Touch our hearts so that we will be the most generous, most giving, most blessed people that we could ever wish to be.

Because we follow You. We follow what Your Word says. And we say, Lord, it's that simple.

We come before You as people who long to be generous of heart, long to be people who give as You give. As You gave Your one and only Son, You gave everything You had so that we could know life in You.

Lord, will You come and bring us back to that place in our lives when it's not about us, but it's all about You?

Because we ask it in Jesus' name, Amen.