Dr. Michael Youssef with words about giving to begin today's episode of Leading the Way Audio.
Thank you for making time in your day for Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef. Is giving a high priority necessity for your life? Okay, I'm not really talking about paying it forward for the person behind you in the coffee drive-thru or even sharing treats from your lunch with your co-workers.
I mean, those are nice things and they do reflect a generous spirit, but I'm talking about experiencing unspeakable joy when you obey God's leading to give generously. Today, Dr. Youssef looks closer at the gift of giving. It's just one message in his practical, life-impacting series called Who Me? Gifted?
So listen along as he begins this episode. When I lived in Southern California, I got invited to attend one of those development seminars and the speaker was a very renowned fundraiser who has reputedly raised not only tens of millions, probably hundreds of millions of dollars for well-known universities. And one of the points that he made over and over and over again is that you can use two emotions to raise money, guilt and need for recognition. And I remember sitting there and thinking how contrary this is to everything the Scripture teaches about money and giving because our guilt is already taken care of under the blood of Jesus Christ. And we don't give out of guilt.
For the Bible does not speak about guilt giving. The Bible speaks about the cheerful giver. And the Bible speaks about the quiet giver. The Bible speaks about the joyful giver. The Bible speaks about the sacrificial giver. The Bible speaks about the willing giver. And the Bible speaks about the hilarious giver. But when you hound people with motivations such as guilt and all this stuff, which is absolutely contrary to the teaching of the Word of God, then giving is only a business transaction.
That's all it is. In fact philanthropy as you see it in the media today and exercise in society at large today is nothing but a business transaction. And here's what the Bible said about this type of giving because you see they were doing that during the time of Jesus. And Jesus said, you know what, those people already got the reward. They got it all here. You say how come?
Well by receiving the praise of men, by receiving public recognition, by receiving all of the rewards right here on earth. That's it. I've got to be upfront with you. The subject of money and giving in general is a very touchy subject to some people.
It really is. Someone said the most sensitive nerve in the human body is that nerve that leads all the way to your pocketbook. I read about a man who was coming out of the water of baptism and as he came out of the water he said, good grief pastor, I forgot to take my wallet out and it got ruined. And the pastor said, hallelujah, we could stand more baptized wallets.
But beloved, here's what I've learned through the years. Those who bristle when the subject of money and giving comes up are the very people who do not see money as a servant. They're the very people who have taken a servant and made him a master. They do not see money as a mere tool that is given to us to use just as a tool as any tool can be used. The one who sees money as a servant and a tool to be used never bristles when the subject is brought up, particularly when it's taught biblically. And one of the gifts that the Holy Spirit gives to some people in the body is the gift of giving. They don't bristle when you hear about subject of giving. They're the ones who would say when they hear subject is being preached on, preach it brother.
Good, well I got some of you here. Because there was a country preacher in a small church who was trying to elevate the vision of people and stewardship and he started preaching and he said, now congregation, he said the church must go from crawling into walking. And the little congregation yelled back, let the church walk pastor, let the church walk. And then he got encouraged so he said, the church must go from walking into running. And the congregation yelled back, let the church run pastor, let the church run.
And he said, man, I'm doing really well here. So he said, and the church must go from running into soaring high and that's going to take a lot of money. And there was absolute deafening silence. No, preach it brother. And the silence was broken by somebody in the back who said, let the church crawl pastor, let the church crawl. Well, someone said that lots of people are willing to give God the credit but not the cash. But what we have been seeing throughout the series of messages on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, something is of vital importance, don't miss it. The fact that someone does not have a certain gift of the Holy Spirit does not excuse that person from living in obedience to the word of God on the subject, whatever it may be. We saw, for example, that because somebody does not have the gift of faith does not excuse that person from living by faith as the Bible commands all of us. The fact that someone does not have the gift of mercy does not excuse that person from exercising mercy when the need arises.
Because somebody does not have the gift of evangelism, it does not mean that that person lives in disobedience and not witness to their faith when the time has come. And the same thing happens here with giving and all of the service gifts. The Bible clearly shows us way before Moses and the law of Moses and way after the law of Moses, the Bible makes it very, very clear throughout the scripture that 10% of one's income is the beginning point.
It's a training wheel. It's a starting point. Giving 10% back to God was of vital importance even before the law of Moses was given.
You say, why? Because the reason God insisted on that tangible giving in the Old Testament, it was an indication that that person believes that God owns everything. That was an indication that everything they have came from God. And that recognition is expressed tangibly by giving back 10% to the Lord.
Now in the New Testament, there's more than that. Of course, we're given recognition that God owns everything. We're given recognition that every good thing we have is from God.
But we also do more. We give in gratitude and in thanksgiving for redeeming us. We give in gratitude to the Lord for dying and rising again.
We give in gratitude to the Lord. It's an expression of our gratitude for him shedding his blood on Calvary in order that he may set us free from sin and death. It is for liberating us from sin and guilt. It is for giving us the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. It is for assuring us of eternal life with him. That's why we do it in the New Testament. While 10% belongs to the Lord, and we see that throughout the Scripture Old and New Testament, God is just as interested in what you do with the 90% you got left over as what you do with the 10% you give back to him. Amen? You see, some may think, well, you know, I just write a check for a tithe and I do whatever I want selfishly with the 90%.
No. You see, life, all of life is a stewardship. Money, all of money is a stewardship. God cares deeply about how you use every single blessing that he puts in your hands. Now here's an important message that the Scripture gives us. Very important. Don't miss it.
Don't miss it. You see, the tithe and the giving has nothing to do with money. Did you get that? You say, wait a minute. Yes, it's not the issue of money. It's not a matter of money. The tithe and the giving has something to do with the heart. It's a matter of the heart. It's a heart issue. And the issue is this.
Do you trust God to provide for you, don't you? I mean, that is really the bottom line. That is really the question. I don't want you to miss this point because it is not a money issue.
It is a heart issue and therefore you got to start with your heart. Where am I? Am I really trusting God completely, totally that he will provide, has provided and will provide for the rest of my life that the psalmist said I've been young and now I'm old. I've never seen the righteous forsaken nor his children begging for bread. Is that what you believe or isn't? The money is secondary. The money is a servant.
The money is a tool. But nonetheless, the Holy Spirit gives some people the gift of giving. In Romans 12, 8 where we find one of the three lists, the apostle Paul is saying that those who have the gift of giving must give liberally. Another translation said they should give with simplicity. Well, what does that mean? Literally the word in the Greek means without a fold, without being folded. It means singleness of mind. It means mental honesty.
It means without pretense. It means that you do it with delight and you do it with joy and you do it freely and that is why biblical giving is very different from secular giving. Biblical giving is not philanthropy. It is a giving unto the Lord directly as if you're storing it up in heaven. The believer who has the gift of giving gives without ulterior motive. That's it.
That's what he's saying here. What does it mean to give without fold, with simplicity? The best illustration I think is from the Greek text. The idea is of a cloth. You see? Giving with simplicity is like a cloth that's unfolded. That's wide, open. Now, when somebody gives with a fold, just imagine the same cloth, twisted, turned, twisted, and turned, and they're all convoluted and complicated.
And that's the difference. That's exactly what Paul is saying here. He said those who have the gift to give, to give without fold, with simplicity, singleness of mind. Now, those who have the gift of the Holy Spirit, the gift of giving, they don't give to erase guilty conscious because they have no guilty conscious. Their guilt has been washed by the blood of Jesus.
Those who have the Holy Spirit's gift of giving do not give so they may get something out of it. The fact that God promised to bless, and he does, it is a fact. It's not something you even have to ask for it because that is his word.
He said he will do it. That's a fact. You don't even have to think about it.
That is just a fact. God said he will bless. And I thank God for all the faithful people who give with singleness of mind. You know, I read a story that reminded me when I thought of this kind of folding cloth. And Paul said, give unfolded. I thought of how some people, when they have the reputation, they've been blessed of God. Everybody goes to them for money. This was a small town and a very wealthy guy, well known, and everybody goes to him for money, but the guy's a tightwad.
I mean, he's a skin flint. And a group of three Christians who went to see him and they were asking him for money and he said, listen here, did you know that my mother is in a very expensive nursing home? No, we did not know. I'm sorry. He said, did you know that my brother died and left five kids with very little insurance?
I mean, they're beginning to feel rotten by now. I'm sorry. No, we did not know. And the next thing he said, he said, do you know that my son is working with the poor and the destitute and he is living, making below poverty wages? I'm so sorry.
We did not know any of this. And just as they're beginning to feel so horrible inside of them, even for coming and asking the man, he said to them, now then, if I don't give any of them anything, why should I give you? Yeah. 2 Corinthians 9, 7, Paul told the Corinthians to give, not grudgingly, not grudgingly. But you know, beloved, and I have a hunch, that those whom the Holy Spirit has given the gift of giving, they also have the gift of faith. Somehow, at least in my personal experience, that those two go together. I'm convinced in my mind that the hilarious givers, they give because they have unwavering immovable faith that God not might or possibly but will provide.
That's where it comes, at least out of my convictions. Also, hilarious givers are upfront givers. They give upfront. They don't sit back and say, you know, when my ship comes back, I'll be able to give. When I make a million dollars, I'm going to start tithing.
Let me tell you something. If you're not going to tithe a dollar, if you got a million, you're not going to tithe it. It's just a matter of the heart. It has nothing to do with the money.
It has something to do with the heart. And these people with the gift of giving, they shovel it out as fast as they could. Why? Because they know, they believe, they trust, they are confident that God is going to shovel it back faster.
Why? So that they may keep on shoveling into the kingdom of God. So they might keep being a blessing to the work of God. And I thought of several examples in the scripture. But there's one example of a woman who had both the gift of giving and the gift of faith but she did not know it. 1 Kings 17, beginning verse 7. 1 Kings 17, 7.
I mean this is a story that thrills the heart of a hilarious giver. Now remember this was a famine time. I mean starvation.
I mean this is an incredible time. It was one of those hard times that we have never experienced or will never even understand. And in the middle of this famine, the Lord said to Elijah, the prophet, go to Zarephath, I have commanded a widow to feed you. Verse 11. So in the middle of this famine, Elijah comes to the widow and he says to her, get me something to eat. Now I told you this lady had both the gift of faith and the gift of giving, she just did not know it. Once she got challenged by Elijah, she discovered her gift.
That's what I'm hoping to do with you in this series of gifts. As I challenge you that you'll discover your Holy Spirit's gift. So verse 12. As surely as the Lord God lives, the lady said, I don't have any bread. Only a handful of flour in the jar and a little oil in the jug. And she said, I'm gathering a few sticks right now to go and get the oven going so that I may bake two little pancakes. That's basically what the word is. And I'm just going to make two small pancakes.
One for me and one for my son. And we're going to eat them and then we're going to die. It's the last supper. That's the last meal. Now please understand, this is not just a recession, not even a depression. I mean this is starvation, this is famine. This is not the Jerusalem Stock Exchange equivalent to the Dow Jones, whatever they had back then, and I dropped 500 points.
I mean this is starvation time. And this woman wanted to have at least one little piece of bread to eat it with her son and they both died together. Verse 13. Elijah said to her, don't be afraid. That always gets to me. I don't know about you, but it always gets to me.
If I was in her place, I'd say, wait a minute, what's that don't be afraid business? I mean I want to say to him, you preachers are all alike. You preachers just live in an unreal world. I mean you preachers just don't understand, I mean you got your head buried in your Bible, you don't understand the real life. You don't understand the economy, you don't understand all of the inflation, you don't understand all the stuff that's going on, you don't understand the stock market, you don't understand, I want to say you don't know this. But wait, it gets worse.
It really does get worse. Elijah said to her, go home and do just as you said, but first make a small cake of bread for me, right. From what you have and bring it to me. I don't know about your faith. You just think this woman is not even a believer and now discovering that she has the gift of giving and generosity and faith.
And then after you give what you have, you'll get some for you and yourself, your son. Again, put yourself in her place. I mean this is incredible. She's probably thinking, this guy is still not getting it. He's not getting it. He doesn't understand.
What I have in the house does not make three pancakes, he's going to make two little ones. You know what Elijah is saying to her? He's saying to her, bake God a cake first. Put God first. It's not just to give himself, he's saying, trust God first.
Place your total faith and trust in him first. Verse 14, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says, the jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not dry up until the day the Lord gives rain in the land again. I told you that she had the gift of giving and the gift of faith and she went home and did exactly what the prophet said. You know those who have the gift of giving are the very people who take God at his word and absolutely refuse to be shaken by the circumstances. I don't care who said what, what the market does, they are absolutely trusting in the promises of God no matter what.
They refuse to practice dead religion, they refuse to fear and worry of their circumstances, they refuse to lean on others, they refuse to lean on things, they will trust in God alone. Verse 15, she went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day, every day, admittedly it's not a great deal of gourmet food but she had, you know, biscuits for breakfast, biscuits for lunch, biscuits for dinner, but that's okay. There was food every day for Elijah and a woman, and I want those of you who have the Bible in front of you, tell me the next word, and her, where in the world did this family come from? And we just said, she and her son, they were going to eat what's left, they're going to die. All of a sudden, this had failed. Don't miss this, don't miss this.
I know this maybe just in the Middle East but I think it's everywhere. When you're blessed of the Lord, you're going to find relatives you did not know exist. They will find you. When you're blessed of God, you're going to find cousins that 20 times removed and they still think you're related to them. Praise God. You see, the gift of giving gives with open heart, gives liberally, without ulterior motives, those who give without expecting anything in return.
And you know what? The Bible said that God delights in them. Not only that, he delights to bless them.
He delights on pouring onto them for some simple reason. God wants to see his work go forward and therefore he blesses that you're forgiven. Do keep in mind that leading the way is listener supported. That means that Dr. Yusef and the team rely on God's provision through God's people to spread the message of the gospel. Become a key part of the movement that's changing lives for eternity when you call us at 866-626-4356 or go to ltw.org. What would Jesus say to the church today? As darkness rises and faith is tested, his words to the seven churches in Revelation echo through time, calling us back to him. Earthly dictators and rulers may want to persecute the church, but don't ever, ever, ever forget that Jesus is the King of all kings.
He and he alone is the holder of the title deeds of the universe, that he and he alone has a name that's above every name. In his new book, God's Final Call, Dr. Michael Yusef unveils the urgent message of Revelation, a call to reclaim our first love. Learn how to stand firm for Christ against opposition, compromise and cultural pressure. With God's Final Call, discover how to confidently walk through the open doors God places before you. Get your copy of God's Final Call for your gift of any amount today. And of course, you can always speak to a helpful ministry representative when you connect to the Leading the Way Call Center at 866-626-4356. Well, I do need to say goodbye for now. Thank you for joining us. And remember that you're invited to gather with friends around the world right here next time for more Leading the Way. This program is brought to you by Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Yusef. Connect further with audio and video content at ltw.org.
