Giving is quite a broad topic, but you would mostly assume it refers to finances. What that tells me, is that our finances are (by nature) the hardest thing to give. I've never had anyone question me or put me down for giving my time to volunteer. I've definitely never had anyone question the fact that I give my old clothes to the Salvo's - but quite a few times I have been almost interrogated about why I give my money to a church. Or why I send my money overseas when people need it just as much here. Or why I drive a nice car - like, shouldn't Christians be driving Datsuns and Corollas, and nothing newer than 1994? That one's not really relevant, it just annoys me when people live with a poverty-mindset and think it's what God wants.
The funny thing is the people that seem to question me are the ones who give nothing. Unless for some personal gain, they don't give of their time, their knowledge, and definitely not their money. I believe it is in our human nature (the part of our character that is impacted on by society) to not give. TV Ads are constantly telling us to spend, Banks are telling us to save (but mostly spend!) and everyone else is telling us to invest in shares, create super and build wealth.
Unless your parents were givers, and instilled in you to give, a part of us (or all of us) wants to hang on to every hard-earned dollar we have, or spend it on something that satisfies or entertains us.
GIVING IS A MINDSET. The foundation of that mindset is FAITH. When we limit our thinking we limit our capacity to give.
Faith enlarges our concept of what we can give. Naturally, we want to play it safe - we want to pay the bills, fill the car up, and work out what we can then AFFORD to give. Faith says 'I'm going to give this much - I'm going to stretch myself and believe that at the end of the week there is still food on the table, the school fees are paid and I'm still going to be able to take my wife out for dinner.
We are so blessed in this country and even in this part of the country. Don't get me wrong, we have all worked hard to get to where we are, but with blessing comes the challenge to stretch yourself further than you ever have and rise to obedience in giving what we are called to.
Society has it the wrong way around. The world tells us to BUILD WEALTH - to keep working (it never ends). We get to a point where we think we will be happy but we're not - we're always striving for more more more. It also tells us to GIVE COMFORTABLY - to give an amount you can safely afford (whether it be by sponsoring a child, tithing or whatever).
FAITH tells us to build wealth to a point we are comfortable but know that our identity and provision are in Christ. We should, instead, be constantly working to build our GIVING, always striving for the next level.
God will give seed to the sower. I don't go looking for opportunities to give - I believe that the opportunities are already there, you just tend to notice them when you're living wholly dependant on God and you listen to the Holy Spirit.
Come back to the mindset - You are using your head and your heart. You're not giving mindlessly, it takes effort, committment and faith to stretch yourself in giving - But this mindset seems to flow into your whole life and brings joy and builds your faith. Once you have a real grasp on how giving works in your life, you can't go back.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
The Spirit of Money (Wealth)
The Spirit of Money
So here's my dilemma...
Ever felt like money is a moving target... it comes into your account but then magically disappears.
Some seasons, there is a large windfall, a “little lottery win” you could say, and then the next season, it's only rained half as much and you did the same things, worked hard, completed the same tasks, but the result didn't match the previous tax return...
Better still, you thought, hey I have a windfall here, I'll put some of this to work, invest it, it's going along well, providing a return and then within 6 months, it's almost halved...it's locked up and you can't even get access to it.
Okay, throw in tithing, throw in sponsor kids and charities, throw in those pledges and commitments you made to God to build his church.... and now what...?
And then you read:
Matthew 6:
31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God[d] above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
Or
Luke 12:
13 Then someone called from the crowd, “Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me.”
14 Jesus replied, “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?” 15 Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”
16 Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. 17 He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ 18 Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. 19 And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’
21 “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”
But then you read:
3 John 1:2
Beloved I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health just as your soul prospers
Psalm 1
1 Blesssed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or sit in the seat fo mockers or stand in the way of sinners instead he meditates on the law day and night and is like a tree planted by streams of water which yield it's fruit in season, not so the wicked for they are blown like chaff.
Commit your ways to the lord, and you will have good success
Test me in this, try me, and see that I will open the windows of heaven that your barns will not be able to contain the abundance
The Devil comes to steal kill and destroy.... but I have come to give life and life in abundance..
If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray.... I will restore their land.
Proverbs 28: 20 The trustworthy person will get a rich reward,
but a person who wants quick riches will get into trouble.
To my mind, if I try and look at it through the eyes of Jesus, here's what he's got to say and his character and actions say just as much:
He came to give – give his life
He didn't worry about tomorrow and what he had on his back
He was accountable to God
Whatever he did, he gave or did with 12 baskets too much
He warned of getting rich in place of God's kingdom like Proverbs 28:20
He never talked about a vow of poverty or doing without or doing it tough, rather he said that God's character is to provide us our physical needs beyond how the lillies are clothed.
He really knew that the pursuit of wealth at the expense of God was a powerful spiritual force.
In that case, the generation and maintainability of wealth needs the following:
1.Prayer: for ways to make it, grow it, maintain it, give it
2.Give – to a level that means I have to rely on God (Proverbs 30: 7-9)
3.Rebuke the enemy: Malachi 3 by giving and tithing
4.Continue to be faithful in all seasons of wealth
So here's my dilemma...
Ever felt like money is a moving target... it comes into your account but then magically disappears.
Some seasons, there is a large windfall, a “little lottery win” you could say, and then the next season, it's only rained half as much and you did the same things, worked hard, completed the same tasks, but the result didn't match the previous tax return...
Better still, you thought, hey I have a windfall here, I'll put some of this to work, invest it, it's going along well, providing a return and then within 6 months, it's almost halved...it's locked up and you can't even get access to it.
Okay, throw in tithing, throw in sponsor kids and charities, throw in those pledges and commitments you made to God to build his church.... and now what...?
And then you read:
Matthew 6:
31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God[d] above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
Or
Luke 12:
13 Then someone called from the crowd, “Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me.”
14 Jesus replied, “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?” 15 Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”
16 Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. 17 He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ 18 Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. 19 And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’
21 “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”
But then you read:
3 John 1:2
Beloved I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health just as your soul prospers
Psalm 1
1 Blesssed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or sit in the seat fo mockers or stand in the way of sinners instead he meditates on the law day and night and is like a tree planted by streams of water which yield it's fruit in season, not so the wicked for they are blown like chaff.
Commit your ways to the lord, and you will have good success
Test me in this, try me, and see that I will open the windows of heaven that your barns will not be able to contain the abundance
The Devil comes to steal kill and destroy.... but I have come to give life and life in abundance..
If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray.... I will restore their land.
Proverbs 28: 20 The trustworthy person will get a rich reward,
but a person who wants quick riches will get into trouble.
To my mind, if I try and look at it through the eyes of Jesus, here's what he's got to say and his character and actions say just as much:
He came to give – give his life
He didn't worry about tomorrow and what he had on his back
He was accountable to God
Whatever he did, he gave or did with 12 baskets too much
He warned of getting rich in place of God's kingdom like Proverbs 28:20
He never talked about a vow of poverty or doing without or doing it tough, rather he said that God's character is to provide us our physical needs beyond how the lillies are clothed.
He really knew that the pursuit of wealth at the expense of God was a powerful spiritual force.
In that case, the generation and maintainability of wealth needs the following:
1.Prayer: for ways to make it, grow it, maintain it, give it
2.Give – to a level that means I have to rely on God (Proverbs 30: 7-9)
3.Rebuke the enemy: Malachi 3 by giving and tithing
4.Continue to be faithful in all seasons of wealth
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Character
Okay guys, following on from the previous sessions on Value, let's finish this with another part that is an enabler to sustaining our values and value system: Character.
Hebrews 1:3 Jesus Christ radiates God's own glory and expresses the very character of God...
Just stop right there. "... the character of God"
Jesus Christ is the "secret special sauce" to life because he has the character of God.
Hold that thought and take a look at this:
The word Character in the Greek I am told is "Charakter": to engrave, imprint, a stamp, duplication - what the first stamp carries, perfectly onto the next.
It is said that when we meet another, we leave our mark on the them, or they on us. That is, we show our character. First impressions can be good but unsustainable.
It is said, the true character of another rises to the surface over time.
I would say, that the true test of a man's character is on display when difficulty and adversity comes. Am I a flake or a man of my word, a man who holds to my values?
Hold that thought and come with me to Genesis: "Go and subdue the earth and govern it" - the Dominion mandate. That is, God has given us the authority to govern the earth, to reproduce and do greater works. As one person put it: It is the loving transformative stewardship that creates greater things/outcomes than what we had before.
Who said that? JC himself: You will do greater works than mine....
JC, so confident in himself that he was not intimidated, or had an issue with his personal character, because he knew who he was. Guys, don't overlook what I have just said: most of us today (if not all) have at some stage had a personal crisis of character. You know the story: the affect of that crisis could be minimal or has been life changing.
So a man's character is corrupted at the Fall. That's why God has to deal with matters of a man's heart,(“out of a man's heart, come the issues of life”) his character before he can begin to be transformed and walk out the Dominion Mandate.
The affect of not managing our character, keeping the corruption in our hearts is self evident. Look around and see. It may not be untrue to suggest that effectively all aspects of human society that has trouble, is caused by a crisis of character.
One example I heard was of the first $1B athlete. $100M of that was because of his talents, his ability, the other $900M was for endorsements, brought about by the perception of his character. But when that character was found to be otherwise, the endorsements quickly diminished.
The point being, out talents, our skill, our ability, our looks, our image will take us so far, but it will be unsustainable if our character is not set up.
Just think about it for a minute: As men, we are so locked into our self image by what we do, what we achieve, and yet if you're anything like me, I try and fight that and be super altruistic and say “ I am not defined by my job or title”, and some days that is true, but the real litmus test is when you get fired/retrenched/redundant/given a written warning.... and then you question the importance you place on your talent and character is given a lower rating at that time. Then we blame the boss, the company, someone else, something else.... it's not my responsibility. And even if it wasn't, if you're anything like me, you begin the trash the guy that fired you. Can you see Jesus doing that?
We spend (as we rightly should) a lot on investing and enhancing our talents and abilities, but what of our character. It's all great to get to the top and be king of our world, but as Tiger Woods (and he's just the high profile one) found out, your character, your characteristics, your person (that is what you think and what you do) rise to the top..... Boy have I had acted in an inappropriate way and afterwards sat back and thought: where did that come from?
To my mind a good few questions to ask our-selves:
What is the imprint that I leave with people that I come into contact with on a regular basis?
What would be their response if someone were to ask them about my character? Better still do you think they are gossiping about me?
Can I really be trusted, I mean really be trusted.
Do I protect the absent in conversations when they are not present?
How would I describe the character of JC? Secondly, am I attempting to imitate those characteristics?
Here are some great quotes on character:
Character cannot be summoned at the moment of crisis if it has been squandered by years of compromise and rationalization. The only testing ground for the heroic is the mundane. The only preparation for that one profound decision which can change a life, or even a nation, is those hundreds of half-conscious, self-defining, seemingly insignificant decisions made in private. Habit is the daily battleground of character. (Dan Coats)
When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost. (Billy Graham)
Character is the ability to follow through on a resolution long after the emotion with which it was made has passed. (Brian Tracy)
Hebrews 1:3 Jesus Christ radiates God's own glory and expresses the very character of God...
Just stop right there. "... the character of God"
Jesus Christ is the "secret special sauce" to life because he has the character of God.
Hold that thought and take a look at this:
The word Character in the Greek I am told is "Charakter": to engrave, imprint, a stamp, duplication - what the first stamp carries, perfectly onto the next.
It is said that when we meet another, we leave our mark on the them, or they on us. That is, we show our character. First impressions can be good but unsustainable.
It is said, the true character of another rises to the surface over time.
I would say, that the true test of a man's character is on display when difficulty and adversity comes. Am I a flake or a man of my word, a man who holds to my values?
Hold that thought and come with me to Genesis: "Go and subdue the earth and govern it" - the Dominion mandate. That is, God has given us the authority to govern the earth, to reproduce and do greater works. As one person put it: It is the loving transformative stewardship that creates greater things/outcomes than what we had before.
Who said that? JC himself: You will do greater works than mine....
JC, so confident in himself that he was not intimidated, or had an issue with his personal character, because he knew who he was. Guys, don't overlook what I have just said: most of us today (if not all) have at some stage had a personal crisis of character. You know the story: the affect of that crisis could be minimal or has been life changing.
So a man's character is corrupted at the Fall. That's why God has to deal with matters of a man's heart,(“out of a man's heart, come the issues of life”) his character before he can begin to be transformed and walk out the Dominion Mandate.
The affect of not managing our character, keeping the corruption in our hearts is self evident. Look around and see. It may not be untrue to suggest that effectively all aspects of human society that has trouble, is caused by a crisis of character.
One example I heard was of the first $1B athlete. $100M of that was because of his talents, his ability, the other $900M was for endorsements, brought about by the perception of his character. But when that character was found to be otherwise, the endorsements quickly diminished.
The point being, out talents, our skill, our ability, our looks, our image will take us so far, but it will be unsustainable if our character is not set up.
Just think about it for a minute: As men, we are so locked into our self image by what we do, what we achieve, and yet if you're anything like me, I try and fight that and be super altruistic and say “ I am not defined by my job or title”, and some days that is true, but the real litmus test is when you get fired/retrenched/redundant/given a written warning.... and then you question the importance you place on your talent and character is given a lower rating at that time. Then we blame the boss, the company, someone else, something else.... it's not my responsibility. And even if it wasn't, if you're anything like me, you begin the trash the guy that fired you. Can you see Jesus doing that?
We spend (as we rightly should) a lot on investing and enhancing our talents and abilities, but what of our character. It's all great to get to the top and be king of our world, but as Tiger Woods (and he's just the high profile one) found out, your character, your characteristics, your person (that is what you think and what you do) rise to the top..... Boy have I had acted in an inappropriate way and afterwards sat back and thought: where did that come from?
To my mind a good few questions to ask our-selves:
What is the imprint that I leave with people that I come into contact with on a regular basis?
What would be their response if someone were to ask them about my character? Better still do you think they are gossiping about me?
Can I really be trusted, I mean really be trusted.
Do I protect the absent in conversations when they are not present?
How would I describe the character of JC? Secondly, am I attempting to imitate those characteristics?
Here are some great quotes on character:
Character cannot be summoned at the moment of crisis if it has been squandered by years of compromise and rationalization. The only testing ground for the heroic is the mundane. The only preparation for that one profound decision which can change a life, or even a nation, is those hundreds of half-conscious, self-defining, seemingly insignificant decisions made in private. Habit is the daily battleground of character. (Dan Coats)
When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost. (Billy Graham)
Character is the ability to follow through on a resolution long after the emotion with which it was made has passed. (Brian Tracy)
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