Today we continue the series The Joy of Discovering Hidden Treasure.

Today we will look at how we can start this journey of finding hidden treasure and the joy of generous giving. Matthew 6:20-21 (NIV) “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’ Pastor Rick, I want to start this journey of generous giving but I am not sure how to get started. As always, let’s go to God’s Word and see what He says. Leviticus 27:30 (NIV) “A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.” The meaning of the word “tithe” is “a tenth part.” Ten percent was to be given (brought to) the Lord. There were to be freewill offerings but the tithe belonged to God and was mandatory. 

1. Giving in the Church. Maybe you are one of those people who believe that each of us should only give what we feel in our hearts we should give. You may feel the early church fathers were wrong when they said the tithe was the minimal. Alcorn’s Prayer – “God, do you really expect less of me---who has your Holy Spirit within and lives in the wealthiest society in human history---than you expected of the poorest Israelite?” What is troubling to me is that in such a wealthy society like ours, that our giving amounts only to a fraction of the First Covenant Standard (a tenth) and the Word of God. Tithing is God’s biblical and historical means of getting His people on the path of generous giving. It is only the gateway. It’s unhealthy to think tithing is a place to stop but instead, a place to start.

2. Don’t Throw Out Tithing. Malachi 3:10 (NIV) “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 you will not have room enough for it.” It is ironic, many people say and suppose they can’t afford to give precisely because they are not giving and experiencing God’s blessings. What did God say to people when they failed to give.

3. Obedient Faith Can Bring Breakthrough. When we put God first (bringing the firstfruits – tithes and missions first), we invite the blessings of God to help us with our own finances and debts we owe. How much of our harvest (our money) is blown away because we don’t make giving to God, to missions, and to others a priority? No wonder we don’t have enough. Tithing is like a toddler’s first steps: they aren’t his last or best steps, but they are a good start. To start your journey to generous giving, start with obedience to giving 10%.

Today we welcome Doug Reed to Life Church...

... and we anticipate great teaching and the presence of Holy Spirit. Today is Pentecost Sunday and Doug will be preaching for the rally here at our church so be here and be praying for a Holy Spirit outpouring! Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 (NKJV) “And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” We see the ‘what’ and the ‘why’. The ‘what’ that is needed is a demonstration of Holy Spirit and power and the ‘why’ is so men’s faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. If we will see a great sweeping revival with lives being totally transformed it will happen because we have sought God to the point that He begins to demonstrate Holy Spirit and power. We must hunger for such a move of Holy Spirit that we see the sick healed, the bound set free, and the lost being saved in mass. Amen! Right now there are people we love and people we call brothers and sisters in the Lord who need a miracle. They need a demonstration of God’s power not more empty words.

1. Unusual Miracles. Acts 19:11-12 (NKJV) “Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.” Handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched Paul’s body brought healing. That’s unusual. People brought out sick people so that Peter’s shadow might fall on them. The implication was they were healed. Unusual. Are we ready for God to do some unusual things in His Church?

2. Evil spirits know. Acts 19:15 (NKJV) “And the evil spirit answered and said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" Does hell know our name? You can say you want revival and you want unusual miracles to happen but are you going after God with all your heart, are you living in a constant state of repentance, and are you truly filled with Holy Spirit?

3. True repentance. We love what we consider revival. We love to be in exciting services where the worship has us dancing and people laying around like cord-wood. Modern day revivals seem to leave out what is, according to the Word of God, is a key ingredient. Unless there is a turning from our wicked ways, no lasting change will come. Psalm 85:6 (NKJV) ^“Will You not revive us again, That Your people may rejoice in You?”

Again today we continue with the series The Joy of Discovering Hidden Treasure.

 Matthew 6:19-20 (NIV) "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Why is it that so many people have roadblocks to giving? We know Christ commands us to give and we know He promises great rewards for giving. So why is it so hard to give? The roadblocks can be unbelief, insecurity, pride, idolatry, and a lack of trust in God. It appears that the greatest deterrent to giving is the illusion that this earth is our home. We must understand that Heaven and the future New Earth, not this earth, is our home. Think about it…the Bibles says we are pilgrims, strangers, aliens on Earth. We are just ambassadors here.

1. We Should not Live for the Dot but for the Line. Think about this…everything that we put so much emphasis on will all be burned with fire. They disappear. 2 Peter 3:10 (NKJV) “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” Think about your lives in terms of the dot (0) and the line. Our lives have two phases: one a dot, the other a line. Our present life on earth is the dot. It begins. It ends. It’s brief. 0------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ETERNITY. Right now we are living in the dot but what are we living for? The shortsighted person lives only for the dot. The person with the right perspective lives for the line…eternity. 

2. Giving is Living for the Line. Matthew 6:20 (NIV) ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven… Missionary Jim Elliot – “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” But money is not evil. A.W. Tozer – As base a thing as money is, it yet can be transmuted into everlasting treasure. It can be converted into food for the hungry and clothing for the poor; it can keep a missionary actively winning lost men to the gospel and thus transmute itself into heavenly values. Any temporal possession can be turned into everlasting wealth. Whatever is given to Christ is immediately touched with immortality. 

3. Giving is the Cure for Materialism. The very act of giving is a vivid reminder that life is all about God, not about us. It’s declaring that I am not the point, He is the point. He does not exist for me. I exist for Him. 1 Timothy 6:18-19 (NKJV) “Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share,
storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.”

Today we continue the series The Joy of Discovering Hidden Treasure.

   Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV) "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Alcorn – My heart always goes where I put God’s money.

1. Our Eternal Rewards. If you think Heaven is just a place where you sit on a cloud and strum a harp for eternity, you will probably dread going there. But on the other hand, if you read the Word and believe it, Heaven will be an exciting place of worship, of relief from pain and sorrow, of receiving rewards for our faithfulness, and most of all, seeing Jesus. Wow! Think about this; Jesus notices everything we do in His Name. God keeps very good records of all we do. Matthew 10:42 (NIV) “And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."

2. Store Up for Yourselves Treasures in Heaven. Matthew 6:19-20 (NIV) "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Alcorn – “If it were wrong to want rewards, Christ wouldn’t offer rewards as motivation. Rewards are God’s idea, not ours. Love for God, love for people, and compassion for the poor are all vitally important. But these motives for giving are in no way contrary to the fact that God calls us to be motivated by rewards.” 

3. Our Hearts in the Right Place. How tightly are we hanging on to the things, the treasures, of this world? How many treasures are we laying up in Heaven by our extreme generosity? Why is that important? It shows us where our hearts are. Matthew 6:21 (NIV) ^“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Alcorn – My heart always goes where I put God’s money. What we do with our money doesn’t simply indicate where your hearts are, according to Jesus, it determines where our hearts go. Our hearts follow our treasure…show me your financial records and I can show you where your heart is. 

Today we continue the series The Joy of Discovering Hidden Treasure.

 Matthew 13:44 (NKJV) "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Today we are going to look at this principle. God owns everything. I’m His money manager. Psalm 24:1 (NLT2) “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.” Haggai 2:8 (NIV) “The silver is mine and the gold is mine,' declares the LORD Almighty.” Sometimes we struggle to understand how everything belongs to God and that He wants us to be generous. Doctor Choco De-Jesus – Obedience comes first, and then, understanding will come later. This is absolutely necessary you get this: what I have has been entrusted to me, not given to me. A steward manages assets for the owner’s benefit. 

1. Generous Joyful Giving. When we realize God’s ownership of everything especially in the light of missions, you realize you are giving away God’s money to do God’s work. When you realize this, you find joy and peace you didn’t have when you thought the money was yours. The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it. Many get stressed out every year when our Mission’s Convention comes around. They just want our money. Not at all, we want to give you the joyful opportunity to invest God’s money into God’s missionaries. 

2. The Poor Can Be Generous. 2 Corinthians 8:1-2 (NIV) “And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.” How do “severe trial,” “overflowing joy,” “extreme poverty,” and “rich generosity” all end up in one verse? Giving is not just for the rich, it is a joyous privilege of the poor. 

3. To Be Like Jesus. 2 Corinthians 8:9 (NIV) “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” Think about Christ giving Himself for us. An infinitely wealthy King chose to become poor, not only to save us from Hell, but also to make us rich by buying our peace with God through His own death. It makes you want to shout this verse. 2 Corinthians 9:15 (NIV) “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”