Tough Love – 1 Cor: Chapter 9 - Tim Haynes

We are in a sermon series called Tough Love, looking at the Apostle Paul’s letters to the early churches, and the different ways he tells these churches what God wants them to do, how they should live, how they should act, how they should be different from everybody else. Paul’s letters are sometimes encouraging, and often times rebuking, but always written as a brother in Christ, with love.

Before we go further let me remind you of our three guidelines we share each week:

1. God’s message is intended for you, not for the person who isn’t here.

2. The message is for you personally, not just for the other people listening here or online today. You are here this morning, and God wants to speak to you through this experience. Let God speak to you, not me. I am a man and I will make mistakes, but God is perfect.

3. When God speaks to you, listen and be obedient. God will speak to you. Prepare your heart to act, even on little things, because little changes create growth in Jesus.

I’m really glad I get to deliver the message this Sunday, because if you were here last Sunday, you would know that the message of 1 Corinthians chapter 8 is not exactly kid-friendly. Depending on who’s preaching about it, the content falls somewhere between PG-13 and R, at least for most of us. But this week we’re transitioning away from the physical relationship between one man and one woman exclusive to the bond of marriage, and we’re going to talk about a topic that isn’t nearly as steamy, but which is also very difficult for most pastors to talk about. We’re going to talk about how to support the church and support ministry. The sensitive topic for today is the fact that it takes money to operate a Church, to do ministry, to reach more people for Christ. It takes money to buy food and gas, to keep the lights on, to show hospitality and provide opportunities that attract people to hear the Gospel message. That costs money. There’s no way around it.

There are many places in the bible that concern financial matters, and we can consider the issue of supporting ministry from many angles:

Matthew 19:16 (EASY) “A man came to Jesus and asked, ‘Teacher, what good thing must I do to have eternal life?’”

Matthew 19:21-22 (EASY) Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, then go and sell all that you own. Give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come and follow me!” But when the young man heard Jesus tell him to give away his money, he was sad. He didn’t want to do this, because he was very rich. So he left.

Lesson: We need to use all of our blessings to support ministry and spread the Gospel.

DT: When we are asked to give, either by people or by the Holy Spirit, do we respond with obedience, or do we tighten our grip on the things that belong to us? Does any of our earthly wealth really belong to us? What about our health? Our breath? Our family?

You might ask, “How much do I have to give to be generous in God’s eyes?” Here are some biblical examples you can refer to as guidelines.

--A tithe is considered 1/10 of all your wealth, which you should give to God. If you don’t, God says we are stealing from Him. (Malachi 3:8)

--The old woman who gave two copper coins, gave generously (Mark 12:41).

--Proverbs 3:9-10 “Honor the Lord with your wealth and the first part of your harvest. Then your barns will be full of grain, and your barrels will be overflowing with wine.”

That old-testament attitude toward giving is how many of us feel sometimes. We only do it because we have to, or because God will punish us if we don’t. But we live in a new-testament world. Jesus has won and we don’t have to make burnt offerings at the temple anymore.

DT: Does God need our money? Will God still love us if we never give to ministry? What is God’s relationship to our wealth?

1 Samuel 15:22But Samuel answered, “Which pleases the Lord more: burnt offerings and sacrifices or obeying his commands? It is better to obey the Lord than to offer sacrifices to him. It is better to listen to him than to offer the fat from rams.”

God doesn’t need our money. What he really wants is for us to give and serve joyfully, to glorify Him and show Christ’s love to other people. That won’t happen if we keep our blessings to ourselves. Sometimes we give money when we should really give our time and energy. I believe that’s the difference between obedience and sacrifice. God says obedience is better. If God calls, we must be ready to answer that call.

Lesson: Since everything we’re blessed with actually belongs to Christ, we must glorify him with it. Whether it’s the 10 percent we give to ministry, or the 90 percent we keep to sustain ourselves, it’s all His. Everything.

Does tithing include just money, or does it include our time, too? If there are 24 hours in each day and I am supposed to tithe my time as well as my money, then I should be prepared to devote 2.4 hours each day to ministry, right? Everybody has spiritual gifts, and we don’t all have to glorify God in the same way. The Bible explains that one body is made up of many parts that serve different functions. Not everybody is called to be a full-time pastor. Most of us aren’t. But we are all called to minister however and wherever we can. I can glorify God in everything I do. When I’m interacting with colleagues at work, or coaching Itty Bitty soccer, or when I’m waiting in line at the DMV.

But when someone in the Body of Christ is called into full-time ministry, they should be able to count on their brothers and sisters to step up and support them, so they can do ministry. In some sense, all of us should be thrilled to do that, if we are not called into full-time ministry ourselves, and we should be diligent to pray for the Holy Spirit to bless our tithes and donations, and to bless our brothers and sisters in full-time ministry. The need is just as great now as it was when Paul wrote to the Corinthians.

Paul and Barnabas did a lot of traveling. It wasn’t free then, just like it isn’t free now. They often stayed in hotels, bought food and drink, and those logistics required a steady supply of money. They were frustrated that the church at Corinth treated them differently than the other apostles.

1 Cor. 9:3 3 Some people want to judge me. So this is the answer I give them: 4 We have the right to eat and drink, don’t we? 5 We have the right to bring a believing wife with us when we travel, don’t we? The other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Peter all do this. 6 And are Barnabas and I the only ones who must work to earn our living? 7 No soldier ever serves in the army and pays his own salary. No one ever plants a vineyard without eating some of the grapes himself. No one takes care of a flock of sheep without drinking some of the milk himself.

Skipping ahead…

1 Cor. 9:22 22 To those who are weak, I became weak so that I could help save them. I have become all things to all people. I did this so that I could save people in any way possible. 23 I do all this to make the Good News known. I do it so that I can share in the blessings of the Good News.

In prepareing this message, I read a study that concluded about 26% of all pastors are bivocational. In the modern context, there is such a thing as a bivocational pastor. This means they are not in full-time ministry, at least in the traditional sense. Of the pastors surveyed, 36% sometimes wish they were not doing pastoral ministry. My brother is a missionary who serves in Romania with his family. They’ve been there for a few years, and they’ll be home for several months starting this summer. Most of their time will be spent fundraising for their work so they can continue serving in Romania. My brother and sister-in-law are being obedient to God’s calling in their life. It isn’t my place to decide whether that calling is legitimate. It is my duty as a Christian to support ministry in proportion to how richly God has blessed me and my family.

Sometimes I don’t know how to support ministry. I don’t know whether God is asking me to give my time, or my money, or my possessions. In those moment when I’m not sure what to do, the first step is always to pray about it. Then, ask yourself these questions:

---Am I giving with a generous heart, or am I just giving to comply with the Law?

---Am I being obedient to God, or am I just giving sacrificially to appease Him?

---Am I allowing the Holy Spirit to use my generosity to glorify Christ, or am I trying to control that which really doesn’t belong to me?

---Is it my sincere desire to grow the Kingdom?

God will bless your obedience to Him, whether you give a lot of money, or a little, or none at all. His blessings to us are infinite, and when we share our blessings with others we are always blessed in return. God will be glorified, and as Christians we should be excited about the opportunity to glorify him, because that is the only reason we woke up today. God has given us the freedom to choose how we might use that gift to minister to others. If ministering to someone else can lead them to Jesus, then it doesn’t matter how much it costs. There isn’t a better way to use the gifts God gave me.