Well
it’s great to have you all out on a Sunday night! And you’ve chosen a great
time to come to church, because we’re starting a brand new series called
Treasures of the Heart.
Over
the next four weeks, we are going to be looking at various scripture lessons
that all have one thing in common; they all speak about money!
It
has been said that the top two issues plaguing our culture today is sex and
money; so we want to take a proactive approach and let you know what the Bible
has to say about money.
As
we being this series, I want to give you the key thought; or the main theme
that will tie each message in the series together.
If
you’ve got a writing instrument, you might want to write this down: It’s better to
give to God what’s right, not what’s left (over).
When someone
asks you about the sermon tomorrow morning, you can tell them that “It’s better to
give to God what’s right, not what’s left over.”
Throughout
this series, we are going to be examining at least 4 different Bible lessons
that deal with our money and possessions, but they will all be connected
together by our key Scripture verse.
It’s
found in Matthew 6:21. Jesus said: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (NIV)
To
find the immediate context of this verse, we have to back up 2 verses.
Jesus is teaching His followers about
money and possessions and He said to them: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
20 But store up for
yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where
thieves do not break in and steal.
21 For where your
treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21, NIV)
Jesus was telling His followers
not to let our love of stuff take the place of our Love of God.
If you want to
take a peek into a person's heart and see what is important to them, all you
have to do is look at what we treasure.
Things in and of
themselves aren’t necessarily bad, but they can become bad when we value them
more than we value the Giver of things.
Eventually what
we have will either rot or be stolen, but Who we have will last forever, so
it’s time for us to take stock of what we have and what we’re doing with what
we have.
To begin our
examination of what we have, we need to go all the way back to the first
worship service recorded for us in the Bible.
It may not have
looked exactly like our services do today, but it was worship, because at its core,
worship is giving to God what’s right, not what’s left (over)
So, if you have
your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Genesis 4.
Just to bring
you up to speed with what is going on leading up to this chapter, God had
created the world and everything in it, and when He came to man, He said that
it wasn’t good for man to be alone, so God created a helpmate for Adam.
Adam and Eve
were given instructions as to how they were to live in the Garden, and they
were told that there was one tree that they were not allowed to eat from.
They didn’t do
what God had told them to do, and as a result, sin entered the world, and we’ve
been dealing with the effects of sin ever since.
Because of their
decision to disobey God, Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden and
Adam was forced to work the ground and provide for his wife.
In Genesis chapter
4, we are told that Adam and Eve decide that it’s time to start a family and
their first child, Cain, is welcomed into the world.
At least nine
months pass by, and their second child, Abel born.
We’ll pick up
the story in the 2nd half of verse 2: When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain
cultivated the ground.
3 When it was time
for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord.
4 Abel also brought
a gift—the best of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel
and his gift, 5 but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very
angry, and he looked dejected.
6 “Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain.
“Why do you look so dejected?
7 You will be
accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then
watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must
subdue it and be its master.”
8 One day Cain suggested to his brother, “Let’s
go out into the fields.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his
brother, Abel, and killed him.
9 Afterward the
Lord asked Cain, “Where is your brother? Where is Abel?”
“I don’t know,”
Cain responded. “Am I my brother’s guardian?”
10 But the Lord
said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from
the ground! 11 Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has
swallowed your brother’s blood.
12 No longer will
the ground yield good crops for you, no matter how hard you work! From now on
you will be a homeless wanderer on the earth.” (Genesis 4:2b-12,
NLT2)
The Bible tells
us that the children of Adam and Eve grew up to be productive members of
society. They both held good jobs… Cain was a farmer, and Abel was a shepherd.
When the time of
harvest had come, “Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. 4
Abel also brought a gift—the best of the firstborn lambs from his flock.” (Gen
4:3b-4a, NLT2)
Both brothers
brought an offering to God, one brought “some” while the other brought “the
best”.
There it is! Our
Key thought is expressed once again, in the first few pages of the Bible: It’s better to
give to God what’s right, not what’s left (over)
““Cain presented some
of his crops as a gift to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought a gift—the best
of the firstborn lambs from his flock.” (Gen 4:3b-4a, NLT2)
One brought
Brussel Sprouts; the other brought filet mignon (which as you know is wrapped
in Bacon!)
One took left
overs to God; the other one took the first helping to God.
One gave the
best to God; the other one kept the best, and gave God the rest.
One gift was
received; the other gift was rejected: “The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, 5 but he did not accept
Cain and his gift.” (Gen.4:4b-5a, NLT2)
With his gift, Abel demonstrated that it’s better to
give to God what’s right than what’s left (over).
Abel valued God more than he valued
what God had entrusted to him, so he have God the best, while his brother gave
God the rest.
Friend, this is an excellent opportunity
for all of us to look with in and see what we are giving to God.
Are we giving Him what’s right? Are we giving God the best part
of what we have: the best part of our time, the best part of our talent
(abilities) and the best part of our treasure; or are we giving God the leftover’s
of our time, talent and treasure?
One or the other very clearly dictates
who we treasure (value) the most.
If we are giving God the best part of
our time—the time when we are the most alert to read our bible and pray; we are
offering Him what’s right.
If we are using our talent (the
abilities) that God gave us to serve Him by serving others, then we are giving
God what’s right…
If we are giving God the best portion
of our income—the first 10%-- then we are giving God what’s right.
However, if we are not giving God the best part of our time, the
best part of our talents (abilities), and the best part of our treasure, then
we are giving God what’s left (over).
The Bible tells that Cain was “...very angry, and
he looked dejected.”
(Gen.4:5b, NLT2) at the news that God didn’t accept his gift; he was upset that
God didn’t want his leftovers.
ILLUSTRATION- The scariest night of the
week for me is when I come home after work and ask my wife what is for supper.
Most
of the time my wife will let me know that she has slaved over a hot stove to
make a fantastical meal, and I’m going to love it…
But
every once in a while she will say one word that will send a chill down my
spine… She will tell me that we’re having: “Leftovers”
I
hate leftovers. I will only eat leftovers if there is nothing else to eat! I
don’t like left-overs, and I don’t want left overs!
(I hope, I’m not the only one who has a
general distain for left-overs….)
Why should
we be surprised at God’s refusal to accept Cain’s gift ? God didn't want left
overs, He wanted what was right, not what was left (over).
God even
reminded Cain of what He was looking for: “You will be accepted if you do what is right.
But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the
door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” (Gen. 4:7, NLT2)
Cain had
a choice to make; he could have done the right thing; he could have gone back
to his produce stand and selected some of the best parts and given them to God,
and God would have accepted him and his gift.
Because
Cain refused to do what was right, he became bitter and he ended up taking the
life of his very own brother:
“One day Cain
suggested to his brother, “Let’s go out into the fields.” And while they were
in the field, Cain attacked his brother, Abel, and killed him.” (Gen.
4:9, NLT2)
If left unchecked, sin has a way
of destroying all of us, and if we are giving the left overs to God, we will
one day be picking up the broken pieces of our lives.
If you
boil this story right down to its core, Cain wanted more of his stuff for himself;
which is why he gave less of his stuff to God.
This
brings us back to our key verse in Matthew 6. Jesus said: “For where your
treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
(Mt. 6:21, NIV)
What is
that thing that you are hanging on to so tightly? What is that thing that you
are refusing to give over to God?
It could
be your income. It could be your talents and abilities. It could be your time.
It could even be your very life.
If you are
holding out on giving any aspect of your life over to God, you are giving Him
the leftovers of your life.
The
story of Cain and Abel teaches us that it’s better to give to God what’s right,
not what’s left (over).
So,
again I ask: what are you giving to God? Are you giving Him the best part of
what you have, or are you giving God the rest of what you have?
Paul wrote in 1st Timothy
6:10: “For
the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money,
have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (NIV)
The account of Cain and Abel is a
warning about how we view our stuff and what it does to our attitudes and our
behaviours.
Abel’s desire to please God made his
offering acceptable to God.
Cain’s desire to please Cain made his
offering unacceptable to God.
How does all of this apply to you and
me? Well, I would like for us to consider the things that we treasure—Jesus
said the things you treasure the most is where your heart is—so consider what
you are giving to God:
Are you giving Him the best part of
what you have, or are you giving Him what’s left (over)?
If you are giving God what’s left
(over),know that it will lead you down a path you don't really want to go down...
But, I also want you to know that you
can make a commitment tonight and give to God what’s right; because it’s better to
give to God what’s right, not what’s left (over).
So, what are you giving to God, what's
right, or what's left over?
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