Giving

Wherefore, I take you to record this day that I am pure of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you the whole counsel of God. Take heed, therefore, unto yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He has purchased with His own blood.

For I know this: that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also, of your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after themselves. Therefore, watch and remember that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn everyone night and day with tears.

And now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. I have coveted no man's silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands have ministered unto my necessities and to them that were with me.

I have showed you all things, how that so laboring you ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." And when He had thus spoken, He kneeled down and prayed with them all. They all wept sore and fell upon Paul's neck, and they kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they should see his face no more. They accompanied him unto the ship.

Father, we ask for Your wisdom. As we look into Your word, we thank You that You have promised that You would give us the Spirit of Truth, who would guide us in all truth and teach us all things. We pray that You would do just that this morning, Lord, that You would continue to transform us by the renewing of our minds, that we would not be conformed to this world, but that we would be an honorable treasure unto Your name, we ask in Jesus' name.

And all God's people agreed, saying, Amen. You can be seated.

I am tremendously blessed to be with you this morning to teach. My wife and I have been on the edge of our seats with expectation for the last couple of weeks. We've been waiting for the arrival of our new little baby girl. She is not here yet, or else I would not be here. But we keep having these false starts, and so she is still not here. Tomorrow is the official due date, so we shall see. Continue to pray. Such anticipation really does induce joy.

At the same time, this last Thursday, I was filled with a deep sorrow as I received news from one of the families in our church that this last Wednesday morning, they had given birth to stillborn twin baby boys. Life is a mixture of bitter and sweet. As those who love God, we know from Romans 8:28 that all things work together for good to them that love God and those who are called according to His purpose. However, at times like that, it is incredibly difficult to grapple with truths such as those, promises like Romans 8:28.

Every Christian is confronted with the challenging reality that what we have is given to us by God, and it is not ultimately ours, but His. He has allowed us a blessed stewardship over this life and the things of this life. But those things are not ours; they are His. Parents are faced with the reality of this stewardship in a way that people who are not parents are not.

Parents are filled with a love for their children that is equivalent to what Jesus spoke of in John 15:13, when He said, "Greater love has no man than this, than that a man would lay down his life for his friends." There is a fear resident in the heart and mind of every true parent—the fear of experiencing the loss of that which they love and perhaps treasure more than any other possession in this life.

I talked a little bit about that in our first message in this series on joy. There is a tension in the heart of every God-loving Christian parent that says, "I don't want to idolize this special treasure that has been given to me." The Bible says that children are a heritage from the Lord. So, there is this tension where we say, "I don't want to idolize this precious gift, but I sure do love him or her," this little child that God has given. That tension becomes very strong at times.

Such love is a good thing. God created us with an incredible capacity for love like this, the love that is experienced between a parent and their child. Even those who aren't parents still have that love for family members and close friends, but it is very deep in the area of the parent-child relationship. God created us in that way, and it gives us the opportunity to appreciate the zealous love with which our God, who is our Father, loves us. However, our conception and understanding of His love for us, as we see our love for our children, is just merely scratching the surface of how great His love for us is.

Job recognized God's hand in the affairs of our lives when he said in Job 1:21, "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." We sing a song inspired by those words here at Calvary Chapel. They are powerful words: "The Lord gives, the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." But it is not easy to live with that kind of resolve. Amen? It is very difficult to live with that resolve. In fact, I would say that for us, it is impossible in our own strength to live in that way.

The Bible says, "Those things that are impossible with man are possible with God." In Philippians 4, we read that we can do all things through Him who gives us strength. So, He strengthens us. But where does that strength in Christ come from? Nehemiah 8:10 gives the answer to that question: "For the joy of the Lord is your strength."

Whatever circumstance we face and whatever situation we go through, we can find strength because the joy of the Lord can be our strength. He desires that we would have that in our lives, His joy strengthening us.

Over the last several weeks, we have been going through this series on John chapter 15, verse 11, where Jesus says, "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." Our goal in this series is to apprehend the very thing that we have been apprehended for. Paul, in Philippians chapter 3, verse 12, expresses this desire: "That I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me." We want to have what He has for us. The Bible describes that He has for us a joy that is full and enduring. It is increasing into fullness and on into eternity; it will not fade away.

In our previous studies, we have seen that Jesus is the key to unlocking joy, as evidenced by Paul's reckless abandon to apprehend Him and to lay hold of Jesus. In Philippians chapter 3, verse 7, Paul writes, "But what things were gained to me, those I have counted loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them as rubbish that I may win Christ."

In his journey, Paul came upon that treasure in a field, which is Christ, and he said, "I want to lay hold of that." He willingly let go of everything else because those things do not bring fullness of joy; they are just marginal pleasures. He chose to let go of those in order to apprehend the greatest joy. Jesus is the key to that.

He has shown us the path of life, which is salvation. Psalm chapter 16, verse 11 begins, "You will show me the path of life," with David speaking to God. Jesus said in John chapter 14, verse 6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by me." He is the path; He has opened the way. As we saw last week, or the week before, He is the source of enduring joy. Psalm 16:11 continues, "In your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand, pleasures forevermore."

Joy increases unto full joy, and eternal joy is found in Him. Last week, we saw that there are things we can do to promote joy, because the confession of many Christians would be, "I believe these things, but I'm not experiencing increasing and full joy at this point." So, how do we promote joy? Since it is available, since Jesus has unlocked the way and opened the path for us to have it, how do we get it?

We learned that we can promote our joy in God through gratitude. Gratitude is an emotive response; it's not self-will. It's not something we just generate. We don't wake up and say, "Okay, now I'm going to be happy, and now I'm going to be thankful." You can try to make yourself thankful, but then your thankfulness, your gratitude, is not from the heart; it's just lip service. As Isaiah identified in his day, God says, "This is a people which honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." They are just commanded to do these things by men, saying, "Well, this is what you're supposed to do."

Many Christians say, "Well, this is how it goes. This is what I'm supposed to do. Thank you, God. I'm not thankful, but thank you." However, we can promote our joy in God through gratitude, which is an emotive response encouraged by contemplating His greatness—who He is and what He has done. The secret to gratitude is to constantly behold the greatness of the glory of God as manifested through the beauty of His Son, Jesus Christ. We ended last week with the true reality that the overflow of gratitude is worship, which escalates our joy.

Jesus is the key to unlocking joy. He has called us to come into full and enduring joy. It is available to us and is encouraged through gratitude, which is fostered by thinking on and remembering His greatness. The Psalms are filled with calls to remember, meditate upon, and speak of His goodness. In doing that, our joy is increased.

From there, we see that worship of God and our joy in Him expands our love for Him, which overflows in love for others. Let me say that again: worship of God and joy in Him expands our love for Him, which overflows in love for others. Furthermore, love for others is expressed not only in tender affections.

I feel good about them, but also in tenderhearted action. It's not expressed only in tender affections, but also in tenderhearted action, which is, as we're going to see today, giving and then next week, serving. So last week, this week, and next week, we're talking about the things in the Christian life that heighten, promote, and encourage fullness of joy in Christ: gratitude and now giving.

One author said that love is the overflow of joy in God, which gladly meets the needs of others. Love is the overflow of joy in God, which gladly meets the needs of others. Giving and serving, when motivated by love, result in joy. In Acts chapter 20, verse 35, Jesus said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." There is a blessing inherent in giving, and God calls us to give, I believe, to lay hold of that blessing.

Now, I recognize that in saying this, some may immediately respond, "That doesn't seem right." So, we have to explain. It is more blessed to give than to receive. Jesus opens the way into salvation and the potential in this life for increasing joy unto its fullness for eternity. However, not all Christians experience that. We want to encourage joy through gratitude, and gratitude overflows into love for God and love for one another, which means that we will give. In doing so, our joy will increase. Therefore, gratitude and giving are two keys to the promotion of joy.

The question, though, is whether it is right to be motivated in our giving by the promise of joy—the joy that we will receive in giving. Is it right to be motivated to give by the reward of joy when we give? Before we answer that, I want to show you that this truth from Jesus, "It is more blessed to give than to receive," is actually being proven scientifically. In 2006, Psychology Today magazine, Science Central, and many other journals reported on a National Institutes of Health study published by the National Academy of Sciences.

In a recent study, it was found that the words of Jesus, "It is more blessed to give than to receive," are psychologically and physiologically true. Let me read to you from this article. If you'd like to look at this article more fully, I linked to it on my Facebook account.

Brain imaging research is unwrapping what is behind the joy of giving, according to this article. A group of researchers led by a man named Jordan Grafman decided to study which areas of the human brain are involved in donating to organizations. We know that this is something that other species just don't do. They developed a computer program, a game, and took a group of people to study. They wired them up through functional MRI technology to see what happens in the brain when you receive and when you give.

In this computer game, players would receive gifts, specifically money gifts. We all like that; that's why so much money is spent on lotteries. We want to get more. In the game, players would win money, and the little circuits in the brain would light up. However, there was also an opportunity in the game to give sacrificially of what you had received and to do so anonymously. They studied the brainwaves during this process.

This is what they found. As reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, donating to charities lit up the brain's reward circuits even more than receiving cash. The same regions of the brain that are associated with the reward and the feeling of good when you get something for yourself, like money, were the same areas that were activated when you give. This surprised Grafman. Not only were the same areas involved, but they were more activated when you give than when you receive.

Giving also excited areas of the brain that are not activated when receiving. One of these areas produces the so-called cuddle hormone, oxytocin. It is well known that oxytocin is released when people feel an attachment. Grafman states that it definitely seems like you're going to get more pleasure, if these brain activations can be any guide, when you're giving than when you're simply receiving.

He finishes by pointing out that while kids get excited about receiving gifts, their parents prefer the role of Santa Claus. If you have young children, you can see that they are much more excited when they are receiving something, and they don't like giving something up to somebody else.

Anybody witness that in their children? Clearly, donating is more a learned behavior than simply taking or receiving from others. In some sense, you have to experience donation, Grafman says. You have to be persuaded to donate at the beginning, but once you do donate, you'll come back and give more because you'll realize what a pleasurable sensation it was to donate.

He notes that the frontal lobe of the human brain is not only the most recently evolved, but it's still evolving. He believes that donating and giving more often in various ways will only support the brain's evolution. It is good for the species to donate so that God be true and to be proven true over and over again. Amen? It is more blessed to give than to receive.

But is it right to be motivated in our giving by the promise of joy that we will receive in giving? I believe that joy induces giving. The joy of gratitude stirs us to give, and giving itself produces more joy. Acts 20:35 states, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." I'm going to say that about thirty times today. You'll memorize it by the end of the service: more blessed to give than to receive.

However, many Christian ethicists would argue that the desire for one's good or joy in doing good or giving would lack virtue. If you're desiring your joy in giving, that's not virtuous, many Christian ethicists would say. One Christian author stated that happiness is never a goal to be pursued; it is always the unexpected surprise of a life lived in service to others.

As we saw a few weeks ago, C.S. Lewis, in his sermon "The Weight of Glory," identifies this thinking, which is evident in Tom Sine, the author who wrote that, as actually more from the Kantian ethos of Immanuel Kant than from the Christian faith. He says in "The Weight of Glory," "If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit to you that this notion has crept in from Immanuel Kant."

The Stoics are in no part of the Christian faith. Immanuel Kant said that an action is moral only if one has no desire to perform it. As soon as you have a desire to perform it, it's no longer moral. Instead, it should be performed out of a sense of duty, deriving no benefit from it of any sort, neither material nor spiritual. A benefit destroys the moral value of an action.

Now, the reality is that a lot of us Christians think like that, and we can point to many verses that seem to support that view. Let me just throw out a few of them. In 1 Corinthians 13, verse 5, we studied this several weeks ago. Paul says, "Love does not seek its own." We might conclude that if I am seeking my joy or happiness in this action, then that would not be right. Paul also admonished the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 10, verse 24, saying, "Do not seek your own, but the good of others." Immediately, we conclude that to desire my good would be wrong because Paul says, "Love does not seek its own."

However, 1 Corinthians 13, verse 5 comes two verses after verse 3. That's pretty amazing logic, isn't it? We have to read verse 5 in the context of verse 3. Let me read to you 1 Corinthians 13, verse 3. Paul says, "And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor," which is giving, "and though I give my body to be burned and have not love, it profits me nothing." I can give; I can even give my body to be burned, and if it's not motivated by love, it does not profit me anything.

Why does Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, bring up the issue of our gain in lovingly giving? Why does God even seem to care about whether or not we gain from it? Wouldn't you expect Him to say that if you give and you give your body to be burned without love, then that's just nothing? Instead, He says, "It profits you nothing." So, God here in this passage is apparently interested in our gain in giving. It would seem so.

There is a desire for gain that is right, while there is also a desire for gain that is wrong. Even worse than Paul's words, or what we already read in Acts chapter 20, are Jesus' words, where He says, "I have showed you in all things how that laboring with your hands you should give to the weak." When you give, remember what Jesus said: it's more blessed to give than to receive.

If it is immoral to be concerned about your reward in giving, why would Jesus say, "Remember, it's more blessed to give than to receive"? Why doesn't He just leave that out? Why doesn't Paul say, "Forgetting the words of Jesus, it's more blessed to give than to receive"? Just keep that out of your mind because it's immoral to give with the desire of getting something in return, of receiving a reward. If God wants us to give without looking forward to the blessing of increased and enduring joy, then why doesn't He just say, "Just give sacrificially, self-denial, take up your cross, give for nothing"? Why does He say, "And you will be rewarded"?

It gets worse. Turn in your Bibles to Luke, chapter 14. In Luke 14, verse 12, Jesus said also to those who bade Him, "When you make a dinner or a supper, when you have a party, how many of you like to throw a party?" We are in the holiday season. When you throw a party, do not call your friends, nor your brothers, nor your kinsmen, nor their rich neighbors, lest they also bid you again and recompense be made to you.

So Jesus says, when you throw a party, don't invite all those wealthy people, your neighbors, and your friends just so that they will invite you to their party and give you a reward for inviting them to yours. We think like that, don't we? "I invited you to my party. I gave you a gift. I gave you something to eat. You should invite me to your party. Give me a gift. Give me something to eat now," right? We think like that. Jesus said, "Don't think like that."

In verse 13, He continues, "But when you make a feast, when you throw a party, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. Invite them to your party." It would be a very awkward party, right? Why?

And you shall be blessed, for they cannot repay you. You shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just. Why did you say that? Why didn't you just say, "Deny yourself"? Love. It's a Christian thing to do. Invite those people you don't want to invite, because that's being loving. Instead, He says, "Invite them, because you're going to be blessed." In eternity, you're going to be recompensed; it's a reward. They won't be able to repay you, but you'll get a reward.

So what are you saying? He's saying there is one kind of reward that we ought not desire: just to get temporal things that bring marginal joy. I'm going to invite this rich person over because they're going to bless me. It's temporal. It's marginal. It's not maximal joy. He says, "Don't desire that." Instead, desire a greater treasure that God will bless you with in eternity.

Why do you say things like this, Jesus, if it is immoral to look for our reward in doing something? If Immanuel Kant is right, Jesus shouldn't say things like this. And yet He does. Why didn't He just say, "It's good to be good"? Why do you have to ruin it? Why couldn't He just have left it at, "Give to those who have nothing because it's self-sacrificing, it's self-denying, it's taking up your cross, it's the right thing to do"? I mean, wouldn't you expect He says that?

It gets worse. In Luke 6:38, Jesus says, "Give, and it shall be given to you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over." Why are you telling me this? "Give, and it's going to be given to me." Now, perhaps you're saying at this point, "This just can't be. This doesn't seem Christ-like." And yet, this is the example that Jesus, our Lord, left for us.

Turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 12. Jesus is our example, the one who gave to the uttermost more than we ever could possibly give. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 2 tells us to look at Him, to behold Him, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher, or perfecter, of our faith, who, for the joy that was set before Him...

Endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. He went to the cross, giving all, because of the reward that would come on the other side of the cross. The joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

And so we are commanded in Luke chapter 9 to take up our cross. Deny yourself. Take up your cross and follow Me. That is not the goal of the Christian faith; that is not the end of the Christian faith. That is the process whereby we apprehend greater joy. By taking up our cross and following Him, we are doing so for the joy that is set before us on the other side of the cross. This is how we become that which the Bible says God delights in.

I'm assuming that you want to delight God, right? Well, what does the Bible say about delighting God? Turn your Bibles to 2 Corinthians 9. In 2 Corinthians 9, verse 6, it says, "But this I say to you, he which sows sparingly shall reap also sparingly. But he that sows bountifully shall reap also bountifully."

Now, what is sowing? This is planting. What is he talking about? Am I going to go out and plant wheat? Is that what he's referring to? He explains it in verse 7: "Every man, according as he has purposed in his heart, so let him give." Not grudgingly or out of necessity or by constraint, but God loves a cheerful giver.

So, God desires that we would be cheerful in our giving. You see, there is a way in which we can give where we are giving begrudgingly. Someone asks us, "Will you help me with this?" We might respond, "I can't afford it. Will you help me?" Then we might say, "Oh, I guess so. I worked so hard for this. I'll help you. Whatever. Fine."

The petition is given by the church to give to something, and we might think, "Oh, there always is. I worked so hard for this. Fine." Now, if I came to you today...

I said, "I have this gift for you. It's a CD. I worked really hard for it. I don't know if you're worthy of it, but I'm going to give it anyway. I'm not happy about it, but here you go." How many of you would say, "Yeah, I want that gift"?

So, we come to God and think, "I'm going to give to you, but I'm just... whatever. Fine." You know how hard I worked for this. You know how hard it is to keep a job in this economy. Do you know how hard it is? And He responds, "Oh, thank you for that. I appreciate it." But I just don't think so.

The Bible says, "God loves a cheerful giver." Our world is under the sway of the wicked one. Our culture, the world in which we live, says to keep, keep, hoard, hoard, and give nothing away. It encourages us to hold on to as much as we possibly can because that is going to give us joy. This message is extended in our world by the enemy, who the Bible says is a thief that comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy.

A thief who desires to rob us of the joy that we could have in God and rob God of the glory that He could have in us. So, of course, he tells us, "This is the way you'll be happy: keep, keep, hoard, hoard, give nothing away. Keep it all for yourself. Build bigger barns."

What do the Scriptures say? In Luke 12:20, Jesus says, "Thou fool, tonight your soul will be required of you." Paul tells Timothy, "You brought nothing into this world, and it's certain that you're going to take nothing out." All such things are temporary. They lack the ability to provide satisfying joy.

Yes, there is pleasure for a time in those things, but they do not produce maximal joy; it's just marginal, if that. The exhortation is given to sow bountifully, to give bountifully, so that you might reap bountifully.

Now, you may say, "Oh, this sounds like health, wealth, and prosperity." No, I'm not saying give so that you can get money, cars, or that great house. I'm saying give...

Because there is something better than those, a reward in heaven that is far greater. It's eternal, enduring joy, which the things of this world do not bring. We all recognize this on an existential level. We say it doesn't result in joy. If it did, then why, in the most beautiful place in the nation, where we have so much stuff, are there more suicides off the Coronado Bridge than the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, where they have quite a bit less? You would think everything would be perfect here. Everything would be happy. Yet, we are not.

Joy in God will overflow into thankful worship, which pours forth into cheerful giving, which itself produces increased joy. This is the beautiful cycle. When I think upon the greatness of God and the awesomeness of the gift that He has given to me in salvation, the forgiveness that I have in Christ—He who spared not His only Son but gave Him up for us because He loved us—I realize He gives us life more abundantly. When I contemplate that, it stirs my heart in gratitude, which overflows into worship, expanding my love for God and love for others. This love is displayed in tender-hearted affections and tender actions.

We are motivated by love to give. That's how God was motivated. John 3:16 states, "For God so loved the world that He gave." God loved, and that stirred Him to give. We give, as Jesus did, to apprehend greater joy. Hebrews 12:2 tells us to look unto Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross. This is the greatest demonstration of love—giving on the cross. Why did He do it? "Thy will be done." For the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross. See, the purpose...

On the other side of the cross, Jesus gave the cross true meaning and value. He said, "I will gladly go and do that." Even though His flesh in the Garden of Gethsemane was sweating drops of blood, His flesh was saying, "This is hard." Yes, it is hard. But for the joy that is set before Him, He endured the cross.

We are motivated by love to give. We give to apprehend greater joy, which induces more giving. Turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians 8. In verse 1, writing to the church at Corinth, Paul says, "Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit the grace of God bestowed upon the churches in Macedonia." He calls attention to what God is doing among the churches of Macedonia.

In the midst of a great trial of affliction, they were going through difficulty, yet they had an abundance of joy that was not determined by their circumstances. Despite their deep poverty, they were filled with joy. We might say that a person in such trials and poverty would be unhappy, yet they had an abundance of joy. This does not align with what our culture says joy comes from. Trials and poverty do not typically equate to happiness, yet they were filled with joy.

The abundance of their joy, as noted at the end of verse 2, abounded unto the riches of their generosity. Going through trials and poverty, they had such overwhelming joy that it stirred them to give generously. Paul bears record that, to their power, and even beyond their power, they were willing of themselves. They said, "We don’t have much, but we want to give."

In verse 4, Paul mentions that they were praying with much entreaty that he would receive the gift. He told them, "Listen, you don’t have anything. You don’t need to give." Yet they insisted, "No, we beg you to take this because our abundance of joy has abounded into riches generously." They wanted to take upon themselves the fellowship of the ministry and the saints. Thus, the church in Macedonia exemplified a remarkable spirit of generosity despite their circumstances.

I heard through Paul's testimony that the church in Jerusalem was going through a very difficult time. Paul came and shared that things were bad in Jerusalem and that they were hard. The church responded, saying, "You know what? Things are difficult here too, but we want to help them." The abundance of their joy overflowed and abounded to the riches of their generosity. We are motivated by love to give. We give to apprehend greater joy, as stated in Hebrews 12:2. That greater joy abounds into more giving, which produces even greater joy. It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Now, I want to address something that might lead to some anonymous notes. Let me just tell you firsthand that we don't read anonymous notes; we just throw them away. If you don't have the courage to put your name on it, we won't read it. If you have something to say, put your name on it. We will gladly read it, even if it starts with, "We love this church, but..." Just put your name.

This is going to sound crazy, and I realize it. Exhorting you to give is calling you into increased joy. You may say that sounds incredibly self-serving because this is a non-profit. We have a budget, a staff, and we do great things based on giving. Now, I'm saying I'm asking you to give because it will increase your joy. You might think, "Seriously?" But this is what the Bible says. Jesus is the key to unlocking joy. He has shown us the path to joy. In His presence is fullness of life, fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore.

So, increasing joy unto fullness for eternity is available to us in our Christian experience here and now. Joy is promoted through gratitude, as we saw last week, and it is further promoted through giving, as we see this week. Next week, we will see that it is further promoted through serving. Gratitude is encouraged through the remembrance of God's greatness. Gratitude encourages our giving, which produces joy. Therefore, there is a joy that we should seek, or a reward that we should seek.

There is a reward that we should not seek. Turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 6 to support this truth. In Matthew 6, there is one kind of reward we should seek and another kind we should not seek.

In verse 1, Jesus said, "Take heed. Be on guard. Be careful. Caution. Take heed that you do not do your good deeds before men to be seen of them. Otherwise, you have no reward from your Father in Heaven." Therefore, when you do your good deeds, do not sound the trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have the glory of men. Truly, I say unto you, they have their reward.

You have two different rewards: the reward of your Father in Heaven, which you will not have if you are merely doing your good works to get the glory of men, and then you have an earthly reward, the glory of men. Some people say, "I'm giving, I'm giving. Look what I'm doing right here. I'm giving." People respond, "Oh, you're so giving." And they think, "Oh, I know. Thank you." That's their reward. There you go. Didn't it feel good? It was really quick, wasn't it? I need more reward. I didn't get a big enough reward. Well, you have your reward.

Continuing on, in verse 3, Jesus says, "But when you do your good deeds, let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your good deeds may be in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, Himself shall reward you openly."

So, Jesus is encouraging us to seek a reward from Him by doing good deeds and by offering. He says the same thing a few verses later when He talks about prayer. "Do your praying before God, not to be seen of people." People might say, "Oh, He prays so well. Nice, nice reward for someone." But Jesus instructs us to do our prayers before our Father, who sees in secret, and He will reward us openly.

Then He talks about fasting. "When you fast, don't be like those who say, 'Oh, it's so hard. I've been fasting for 45 minutes. It's so hard.'"

It must be so difficult for you. That's your reward right there. He says, "Don't do it for men to be seen by them. Do it. Your Father sees in secret. He will reward you openly." The Bible is filled with reward language. Do this to get a crown. Do this to have this. There is reward. He calls us to seek that reward in Him. You can seek for it here, but it's temporal, fleeting, and passing away. In His presence is fullness of joy; at His right hand are pleasures forevermore. He has made the way open for us to have full and enduring joy.

How do we promote it? How do we apprehend it? How do we lay hold of it? Through gratitude and giving. A few practical things as we close: giving involves not just treasure, but our time, our talents, and our treasure. Next week, we're going to be looking at our time and our talents. How do we give through serving? But right now, we're talking about treasures—giving of our treasures. Jesus said, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

This church, Calvary Chapel of Escondido, is an incredibly giving church. To date, with 11 months completed in 2011, the body of Christ here at Calvary Chapel of Escondido has given in excess of $1 million. That's awesome! This excess over $1 million has been donated to the general fund, to specific ministries, and to missions.

That does not include the 100 gifts that were given to Operation Christmas Child with Samaritan's Purse. It also does not include the 200 gifts that have been given or are being given to the Angel Tree Outreach. Additionally, it does not account for the significant funds that were given for short-term trips to China and Africa, and for talking Bibles, exceeding probably $50,000 total.

This is a very giving church. It's an awesome thing to see that there is never a time when we share a need here at Calvary Chapel of Escondido that it goes unmet. Many of those needs don't even come to the office; we don't even know about them because they happen within the men's ministry.

Within the women's ministry and home fellowships, there is a need that is expressed, and the people in that home fellowship take care of that need because that is what the body of Christ does. It is an awesome thing to hear and see how God works through His people. It is just beautiful.

Now, all that said, with just a few weeks remaining in the calendar year and fiscal year, we are about $35,000 shy of meeting our budget. This shortfall is not due to a lack of oversight or mismanagement; rather, it is due to the furthering ministry of Calvary Chapel of Escondido. We are doing a lot of things we have never done before. We have expanded our Vacation Bible School, our Harvest Celebration, and we have added Christmas at the Center for the Arts over the last few years, along with Easter at the Center for the Arts.

Many people in our church were first introduced to Calvary Escondido through our TV broadcast. How many of you have seen our TV broadcast? Most people who have cable have hundreds of channels. I have no idea how they end up on Channel 18. Have you ever watched Channel 18? It is weird. There is some funny stuff on Channel 18, and we are on Channel 18. We have been there for almost 15 years now, and many people are introduced to our church through Channel 18 on Monday nights and Saturday nights down in the southern part of the county. They see it on TV and then come here.

At the beginning of the year, we started to receive news from people who are watching. We have people who watch but cannot attend our church because they are bound to their homes or are just further away. They watch us faithfully every single week. Some of them called and said the audio is really bad; they cannot hear it, and the quality has not been very good. So our board decided that we would invest in that. This is the first time we have invested in it for 15 years. It has always been through the generosity of those who run the video ministry.

We invested $40,000 to put in new cameras, and there is going to be another one. Someone asked us a few months ago when we put a camera up there if the government told us to put that there. No, we put that there for outreach. We are trying to reach people. All fiber optic wired, Dave and Brett, the guys who run the thing, are playing with all these toys, getting it all tweaked and zeroed in. It is amazing. But why are we doing this? To reach more people.

We are currently in the process of putting our videos on the internet so that we can reach more people. Our audio content has also been made available online, and the last time we checked, it had received about 45,000 downloads of our podcast. It’s just amazing what God is doing. As we finish 2011 and step into 2012, God has great things planned. We are excited about what He is doing here, as the leadership and elders throughout the church. I hope that you are excited as well. Many of you are leaders in our church.

We are making some changes that might feel strange at first. I announced a couple of weeks ago on Wednesday night that we will no longer be holding a Wednesday night service. This Wednesday night will be our last. Some people are very upset about that, but I want you to understand that we are not cutting things out just because we need another night off each week. We are pruning things because we expect God to do great things. We have a lot planned, and there will be some changes in the new year that we are implementing. God is doing amazing things, and we are excited to share some of those in the first few weeks of the year.

I say all this to emphasize that if you have been a part of Calvary Escondido for a while, you know that it is not typical for us to discuss these matters openly. We are asking you to partner with us in the work that God has called us to do as a church—not just the staff or the leaders, but all of us together. We want to reach this community to a greater extent, and we need your help to do it. This assistance is not just through financial contributions, but also through your time and talents. Many of you are already serving in various ways, and we encourage those who are not to consider doing so.

About a month ago, I was finishing up 1 Corinthians, specifically chapter 16, where I also talked about money and giving. If you are new here, you might think that we often focus on money, but that is not the case. We only cover it when it comes up in the scriptures. After I taught that message, I got into my car in the afternoon, preparing to go home. Often, after delivering a message that might provoke some anonymous notes, I find myself questioning whether I should have said certain things. As I was driving home, I reflected on the fact that it is in Your Word, Lord. It’s right there; I need to teach it.

I believe it was the Lord who spoke to my heart, saying something like this: when people get upset because you are talking about money and giving...

Those topics generally upset the people who don't give. The people who do give are encouraged; they rejoice and say, "Praise the Lord for what He's doing. It's awesome!" Those who don't give often question, "Why is he talking about money?" They become contorted and upset, and it might just be the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Just saying, don't kill the messenger.

I know this for sure: where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Over the last several years, our economy has fluctuated significantly. Sometimes it rises, and sometimes it falls, as we've seen recently. People get all freaked out and jarred by these changes. Many individuals in our church and throughout our county have invested in things that have just tanked. A 401(k) has become a 201(k); it's been cut in half. Housing prices have dropped, work is down, and all sorts of issues arise. If your entire investment is in those things, you will be distraught.

Some might say, "I'm going to buy gold, get more gold, get more silver." They believe that's where security lies. However, let me clue you into something the Bible says: it's all going to burn. All of it. Now, that doesn't mean we shouldn't save or have something to hand down through inheritance. The Bible talks a lot about that, and we will discuss saving and related topics in the future when we come to the relevant passages.

The reality is this: if your whole life is bound up here, it's all going to burn with a fervent heat, as Peter says. It might look really cool when gold melts—wow! I've never seen it do that before. But it's all going to burn. There is, however, a bank of eternal securities where moth and rust do not destroy, and a thief does not come in and steal. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

It's a wonderful thing to give. Jordan Grafman, a scientist, says it's beneficial for the human race. The joy that comes from giving is very evident if you've experienced it. I even see it in our kids. Our children are only two and three years old, and when we participated in Operation Christmas Child just last month, we took them to Walmart. It was one of the first real shopping days of the season—not a good idea! It was crazy and a bit scary. But when you take them...

A two-year-old and a three-year-old in the cart entered the toy aisle at Walmart, and they were excitedly saying, "Let's get this! Let's get this!" We explained to them, "Listen, we're not buying for us. We're getting these for our friends really far away." Suddenly, they became really excited and asked, "Can we get this for our friends? Can we get this for our friends?" When we brought those gifts in a few Sundays ago, Ethan was even telling people in the office, "This is for our friends really far away."

Joy is an awesome thing. I'm convinced, as I study through the Scriptures and spend a lot of time thinking about these things this year, that joy is encouraged and promoted through gratitude, giving, and, as we'll see next week, serving. In all honesty, I say this with a pure heart before you: my encouragement for you to give is that our joy would be full, not because I need something from you. God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, as the psalmist says. That doesn't mean that He is going to give you a whole bunch. What it means is that He doesn't need what you can give. What He desires is to transform us through giving so that we are not so attached and absorbed with the things of this world. Through giving, we let them go and gain a greater reward. Amen?

Let's stand and pray. Father, I thank You for Your Word, which is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. At times, it is challenging and convicting. Lord, I pray that as we go from this place today, You would soften our hearts to receive anything that may have been convicting today. Your Word says that we, the leaders of the church, are workers together for the joy of the people, and it is our desire that we would be a joy-fulfilled people. We want the world around us, who does not know You, to see that joy and find it desirable. Work these things into our lives, we pray. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you.