Money Matters: Part 4 - Giving That Costs

0:06 For the past few weeks, I've been ministering on finances. This is our series on finances. This is part four. Today, I preached on the first day on money matters, first from Corinthians about generous giving.

0:29 Then we talked about the dangers of depending on debt. Go ahead, look at your neighbor and say, Oh, where are my credit cards? Here's our credit card jar. I'm on my second bottle here today, second whatever it is called, whatever it is. So we filled up one already. So anytime during this series, you want to come and cut up your credit cards. But don't go back home and call the company and tell them to send you some new credit cards.

0:58 We want to look to God before we depend on debt. Amen. That was a week amen. I see how it's going to be right now. Then the week after that, I talked about God's supernatural ability to deliver us from that. God wants to get you free from that. And if you make a commitment to it, God will help you get out of that. I've been in debt, I'm now out of debt. I like being out of debt a lot better than being in debt. Y'all are weak with those claps. That's okay. It's not you. I understand. There's tension there. I understand the tension. But if God did it for me, he can do the same thing for you.

1:53 So I want you to today open your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 24. 2 Samuel chapter 24. I want to set the stage for this particular situation in David's life. David is a man that God says he's a man after God's own heart. That's what the scripture says about David. Now David was a jacked up joker. He did a lot of stuff. He was an adulterer, murderer.

2:42 Just he did a lot of things. But when it's all said and done, he recognizes he needed God in his life, and he was a man after God's own heart. And what that tells us is no matter what you did in your life, you could be a person after God's heart. Go ahead, turn to your neighbor and say, you know you done done something you shouldn't have done.

3:06 Matter of fact, tell the people, you look guilty. You look guilty. But what I love about God, he's a God that will give you another chance to get it straight. But David did something that angered God. Here's another thing he did that he did a lot of stuff that angered God, but he did something that angered God. One of the things he did in this text, the history of Israel is God fought battles for them. No matter how many soldiers they had, no matter what their journey was, God supernaturally gave them power to overcome and be victorious. But David gets to a spot in his life where he wants to know when he goes into his next battle, he wants to be sure that he has enough soldiers. And so he takes a census.

4:01 He counts the number of soldiers that he has. And this angered God. It angered God because the history has been God has always fought the battles for them. How many of you know when you got God on your side, you don't need to count how many? How many soldiers you have? When God fights your battles. But now he's resorted to thinking that he's going to be victorious because of the number of soldiers that he has. And it angered God. And it angered God to the point that he sent a plague on the people. As a matter of fact, the text tells us that 70,000 people died. all because of what David did. He counted the people, and that's what this thing comes. So I want to walk through this section of Scripture for just a few moments, and this play comes upon the verse 15.

5:06 Look at verse 15, 2 Samuel chapter 24, verse 15. It says, so the Lord sent a plague upon Israel from the morning to the appointed time. From Dan to Beersheba, 70,000 men of the people died. A judgment came upon them because of what David did. 70,000 people died. Now, I'm calling this the people's problems. If y'all are taking notes, this is my point here. the people had a problem, the people's problem, that this plague comes. And I want to suggest that some of you have a people problem. There's issues in your life. There's problems in your surroundings. There's a situation that you can't fix. You can't change. You can't do anything about.

5:58 And it is a problem. Matter of fact, how many of y'all have made choices that you know God is judging you because of some choices that you made? Just one? Okay. One, two, three, four. I see we have some liars in here. I see that it's a problem.

6:20 They have a problem. As a matter of fact, this plague comes because of what David chose to do. and unfortunately The people have to be at the consequences of his choice. but God sends a prophet to talk to him, and the prophet comes up with a plan to tell him what to do to get out of the plague. I call this the point two, first problem. The first point is the people's problem. The second point is the preacher's plan. So point two, I'm the preacher bringing a plan to y'all. Thank you. I can tell this is going to be a tough sermon right here. Let me start reading the verse 18.

7:20 I'm going to read this starting at verse 18. It says, and Gad, by the way, Gad is the prophet, came that day to David and said to him, go up, erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Aranah the Jebusite. So David, according to the word of God, went up as the Lord commanded. Now Aranah looked and saw that the king and his servants coming toward him. So Aranah went out and bowed before the king with his face to the ground. Do y'all follow the picture yet? Y'all see it? Then Aranah said, why has my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, to buy the threshing floor from you to build an altar to the Lord that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.

8:18 Stick a pen right there. Are y'all with me on this thing? Let me make sure it's clear. I want y'all to be clear what happened. So the prophet comes and says, look, you want this plague to be ended? What you need to do is go buy this land from this Jebusite, erect an altar on it, and God will remove the plague. And worship me, and God will remove the plague. So he went to buy it, verse 22. 22 says, now Aaron, I say to David, let the king take and offer up whatever seems good to him. For here are oxen for burnt sacrifice and threshing implements and the yokes of the oxen for wood. All these, O king, Aronot has given to the king. All these, O king, Aronot has given to the king.

9:13 And Aronot said to the king, may the Lord your God accept you. Stop, stick a pen. Now y'all with you, so Aronot said, you can have the land. Matter of fact, you can have not only the land, you can have the oxen and the wood to build an altar, and you can have the animals to make the sacrifice. This man is giving his land to the king.

9:41 Verse 24. I'm right here at the climax of my message right here. I'm already. It's a short message, but it's powerful. Then the king said to Aronot, no, but I will surely buy it from you for a price. Nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing. Y'all missed a great spot to say amen. This is why David is a man after God's own heart. Here's what he said. Here's what David is saying to this man. The man said, you can have my land. You can have my, I'm giving you my land. I'm giving you my oxen.

10:35 I'm giving you the animals to make a sacrifice. I'm giving you the wood to build an altar. I'm giving it all to you, king, and go ahead and offer up so that people can be free. But the king said, how dare I come to God and offer him something for which it cost me nothing. The problem is some of y'all can't get out of your dilemma because you've offered God something that costs you nothing. I don't like this kind of preaching, but I'm trying to give you the answer. I'm trying to give you the delusion. I'm trying to tell you when you want God to move on your behalf, when you want God to answer your prayer, when you want God to work a miracle, when you want God to heal your marriage, when you want God to deliver your children, when you want God to open up those opportunities, when you want God to bless your business, you've got to offer something that costs you something.

11:35 Go ahead and look at your neighbor and say, you don't want the truth. Tell them on the other side, you don't want the truth. You can't handle the truth. Some of y'all think you've done something because you gave God $20. You think you put something in the offer because you put a 50 in there. That didn't cost you nothing. Come on, talk to me for y'all. $20, you spend that in Starbucks.

12:15 Come on, brother. It's $50. That's what you put at the table at the strip club. Come on, talk to me for a second. If y'all all say amen, nobody will know I'm talking to you. I'm feeling something back here. I'm coming back here. I believe if you make an offering and it means nothing to you, it means nothing to God. If you don't feel it, neither does God. But some of y'all think because you dropped a few pennies, it's something when it really means nothing. David won God's heart because he said, I would never come here and offer something to the eternal God.

13:22 that didn't cost me something. Who know what I'm talking about? I feel tension in the room. I feel stress. I'm not taking up another offering. Let me relieve you of that. I'm not taking up another offering. I'm just trying to adjust your mindset when it comes to offering. I'm trying to give you a different mindset. I told y'all already, I don't give to every offering that I'm going to give. I'm in church all the time. I'm in church almost every day. Conferences and meetings and stuff. People taking up offerings all the time. I don't give to everyone. I do not. I give to ones that feel God give me a tug on my heart.

14:15 Give me an influence on my heart. And when I do give, I feel it. What does that mean? Here's what I mean by that. When you give something to God, when you give something to God, I want you to have to say, do I really want to write this check for that amount of money? because you want God to feel it. You need to feel it. Amen. Do I really want to put that much money in the offering?

14:53 Hello, hello, hello. Is this on? Is this on? Can you hear me? Yeah, there ought to be some level of tension. There should be some level of reconsideration to say, do I really want to do it? Yes, and when you reach that spot, when you make that offering, when you give that amount, when you make that move, when you write that check, you'll see God do something spectacular and he'll be here. Amen, Pastor. Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

15:29 This is the shortest message you're going to hear me preach in the next. Matter of fact, it will be the shortest message I ever preach. I'm bringing my plane for Atlanta. I didn't tell you what my subject was. The subject of this message is giving that cost. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

15:55 Every month I write a check to the First Baptist Church of Glen Arden. It's not just my tithes. Some of y'all are so tight. You give your tithe to the penny. $37.58. I can't get my head around like God is not worth the other 42 cents.

16:25 You're getting the exact 10% and not another penny above that. Hasn't God been good enough to you? Hasn't he? Don't he deserve more than down to the penny? And I've been preaching this for 37 years, and some of y'all still write y'all checks down to the pen.

16:50 What I'm trying to give you is a different mindset. And so I write my, matter of fact, I write my, I get paid once a month. And I write the checks. When I get paid the first of the month, I write the check for the month.

17:11 Yeah. not down to the penny I'm way above the penny I'm way above the tenth yes and guess what I have received rewards from God far above what I ever could have dreamed or imagined I keep feeling drawn to come back here and talk to these people back here in the back. And I feel God telling me to tell you and to challenge you and to say to you, hasn't God been good enough to you to honor him afar above? Some of y'all have never given a sacrificial offering to God. Some of you have never tithed.

18:10 Some of y'all have never tithed. Let me say that again. You didn't say nothing. Some of you, if you all say amen together, nobody I know. I'm talking about you. You've never given a sacrificial offering to God even above that. but I'm saying to you give sacrificially tremendously before God if you want him to do something tremendously for you Let me close this dynamic anointed message. with verse 25 of this verse. well let me read verse 24 and 25 then the king said to Aaron I know but I will surely let buy it from you for a price nor will I offer burnt offering to the Lord my God with that which cost me nothing so David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for 50 shekels of silver Verse 25, and David built there an offering, an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

19:26 Verse 25, so the Lord heeded the prayers for the land and the plague was withdrawn from Israel. Let me prophesy to you today that God is looking around for somebody to open up a door and do a miracle. God is expecting to do something. I like the song that I think we sing sometimes, I'm expecting a miracle. I'm looking for God to do the spectacular. I'm expecting God to open the door. I'm expecting God to fix marriages. I'm expecting God to deliver your children. I'm expecting God to open up the business. I'm expecting God to do something that's beyond your wildest dreams. But all I'm saying to you is we serve a God who is more than able. Somebody help me give God praise if you believe he's able. Do y'all believe he's able?

20:26 Somebody high five your neighbor, say, I believe he's able. I serve a God who will open up the door, who will answer my prayer, who will fix my dilemma, who will deliver me from my challenges. I believe we serve a God who's a repairer of the breach. I believe we serve a God who's a heart regulator. He's a mind fixer. He's able, he's able to do it. How do you know, Pastor? We paid off this. Matter of fact, we done paid everything off. We don't owe nobody, no money, nowhere. Somebody say drip, drip. I want some of that to drip down on me. I want that anointing on my life. I want that anointing on my family. I want that anointing on my home. Drip, drip.

21:18 But my challenge to you today is give to God to you. Give what you...