Sacrificial giving is painful to a degree, and should cause you to re-order your priorities and change the way in which you live. Giving what you can afford requires no faith, and no vision, and no change in your lifestyle. Everyone can give what they can afford; that’s inherent in the word “afford!” Giving sacrificially means you give MORE than you can afford! In fact, it means giving in such a way that it causes you some consternation and maybe a bit of sleeplessness and a good deal of pencil pushing to come up with the right offering.

I’m not suggesting that you go into debt. I’m not suggesting that you live beyond your means. I’m not suggesting that you become financially irresponsible. Sacrificial giving means you “sacrifice” some things in order to give. Cable TV, gym membership, magazine subscriptions, cleaning out your rented storage so you can save the monthly payment, mowing your own grass, cleaning your own house, drinking your own coffee, giving up smoking, eating at home, taking a sack lunch. Those are easy ways to sacrifice and turn the savings over to the Lord.

But - how about these? Giving some of your savings. Liquidating some investments. Using your vacation money. Selling your car. Getting a second job. Taking your kids’ college money. Now, wait a minute. . . don’t get bent out of shape or angry at these suggestions! I’m simply telling you that sacrificial giving is painful and causes you to re-order your priorities. All of these are ways of still being fiscally responsible, yet sacrificing at the same time. It’s giving more than you can afford right now, but with some creativity and ingenuity, you sacrifice in one place in order to give responsibly.

For some, this won’t take much thought. You simply close down some of the eccentricities and luxuries of life, and pour those savings into your offering. Some of you could cash out a savings account and give it today, and start saving again tomorrow. Painful? Yes – but doable.

For others, trying to figure where to cut and where to re-prioritize in order to give sacrificially will not be so easy. You may already be living a pared-down financial existence. You’ve given up everything in order to simply exist. There are still ways to think fiscal responsibility while sacrificing in some area to give. Remember – we’re not looking for equal gifts – only equal sacrifice; not an equal gift amount - but an equal degree of difficulty in securing the gift the Lord asks you to give. (For some, $100 is a sacrifice, for others $10,000 is a sacrifice. You and the Lord will decide the level of difficulty and depth of sacrifice that fits your individual situation!) You could created a cookbook and sell it online. You could create Christmas cards and sell them to a local store. You could offer to clean houses or start a grocery shopping service. If you give where it hurts and where it requires you to change the way you live, then you’re probably giving sacrificially!

For some, it’s difficult to give a significant, sacrificial gift because you have over-extended yourself. You’ve made irrational or immature purchases, gotten into serious debt, and/or are simply living way beyond your means – you spend more than you make, or close to it. Figuring out how to give sacrificially is going to mean coming to grips with your approach to your entire financial health.

You have made these comments to me, “I can’t afford to give much”, or, “I’m really having trouble making ends meet.” Respectfully, may I teach you on this? I have always taught about generous, cheerful giving. I have never pulled a punch, or watered down a sermon about giving. I believe in tithing with my whole heart – that means giving the first 10% of my family’s income to Quarry Ridge. There is no other definition for tithing. Anything I give beyond that first 10% is an “offering” and it can go anywhere I want to give it. I believe that Scripture fully supports this teaching and way of living. If you’re giving less than 10%, you’re not tithing, you're simply making offerings to the Lord, and you’re shortchanging Him and yourself!

God owns all of your wealth. Psalm 24:1 teaches us: “The earth is the LORD’S, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. . .” Everything you own or have in your bank account is His. Have you overextended yourself in the use of His wealth? Is His wealth tied up in debt? Is the money God has entrusted to you all going just to make ends meet? So much so that you cannot free up anything to give back? Don’t you see that as a problem? Your re-prioritizing may be a bit more painful and a bit more difficult, because it’s going to mean changing the way you give, save, spend, and live. God’s asking you to change; He’s asking for His wealth to be freed up and used in His Church as He desires. You have some hard choices to make.

New cars? Too much house? Multiple homes? Credit card debt? Expensive vacations? Memberships to clubs or organizations? Impulse spending? Failure to save? Failure or refusal to work? Failure or refusal to tithe? Some things might need to be sold, other things might need to be closed down, still others might need to be overhauled in order to get your financial health back on track.

Please hear these words of Jesus – don’t skim – read them and take them to heart! “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38)

Jesus is teaching us a Scriptural principle that governs every aspect of our lives: if you invest your time, if you serve, if you pray, if you love, if you give. . . then the depth and the quality of your commitment will be the unit or system of measurement that God uses to give back to you. It's really that simple. (Read Luke 6:38 again.) If you are upside down in debt or are barely able or unable to make ends meet, the first question I would ask you is about your obedience and generosity toward the Lord. That’s the first place to look to find out why you can’t get ahead. If you’re tithing and beyond – and you are still not able to make ends meet, then the second question I’d ask is “What are you doing with the other 90% in your care?” If you’re doing things that dishonor God – or not doing things He asks of you with what is left after you tithe, then the first 10% you’ve already given is ruined by the incorrect or disobedient use of the rest of what belongs to Him.

Listen to Jesus’ words about that: “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you – and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” (Mark 4:21-25)

Jesus is carefully laying out how this “economy” works. If you misuse, or refuse to use, or mismanage any portion that He has entrusted to you, it’s going to come out into the open! Those who have done the right things will receive more, and those who have mismanaged will lose even the little they have. I'm not afraid to embrace this reality, and I'm not afraid to tell you this truth even though I know some will be offended. Jesus is teaching this to us – lovingly and carefully. Shouldn’t we listen?

This Commitment Sunday – and the offering we’ll be giving – is an opportunity. We can partner with God and build His Church and His Kingdom, or we can refuse, or we can feel like we’re unable to join in because of our fear over our financial situation. This offering is a test. God has been slowly and carefully bringing us to this place, now He’s shown us what to do. Are we ready – are we willing – are we prepared to follow Him into this promised place?

If I may get off of money for a moment and into the timing of this offering, I’ve had some people suggest: “It would have been nice to have been given more time to prepare for this project and this offering.” May I respectfully remind everyone that we have been talking about constructing a building or leasing a building for the last five years. Everyone knew the day would arrive when we would move into a full-time facility – either one we leased or one we owned. Where was that money going to come from? The only source for financing such a project has been, is now, and will always be: you and me. Haven't we all been praying and dreaming for this day? Have any of us saved for this day?

Gail and I have been saving money for this offering for nearly five years. We have also identified some cash that we can get a hold of to boost that gift on Commitment Sunday. On top of that, we’re identifying ways to increase our giving this next year to more than double our cash offering. We’ve known this day would come – we’ve been preparing. Please don’t suggest that this is a surprise! God’s timing may not be what WE want – but this full-time Ministry Center is something we’ve been praying about since our inception. Now, this particular location with this particular lease amount is a gift He’s poured into our laps; we simply need to follow Him in obedience. We should have all been prepared for where we were all sure God would one day lead us; and once this move-in is accomplished, we should all be preparing for God's next work in the life of Quarry Ridge.

Sacrificially giving to this 24-7 Ministry Center is more than giving what you can afford. It won't necessarily be a comfortable gift, but it can be a wonderful, fulfilling, joyous, and exciting gift!

I’ve heard some joyous things in the past few weeks:
• Someone is selling personal items on Craig’s List to give the money to the offering.
• Someone is giving the money they were saving for a new car.
• Someone has limited their Christmas spending to give more to the Lord.
• Someone is taking all the coins in their bank and giving them.
• Someone is going to devote the extra pay from extra days of work.
• Someone is trusting God and are going to give more than their tithe this next year.
• Someone is going to start tithing for the first time.

I’ve heard words like “We’re so excited about this offering” and “We can’t wait to see what God does.” There's a buzz of excitement, tinged with nervousness, under-girded by faith in what God is doing that seems to be running through our people. I'm excited!

I am convinced that the people who give sacrificially – and still remain fiscally responsible – will see God touch their lives and their finances in amazing, unforeseen ways. He most likely will not make you rich, but He can make your money go further and do more than ever before. At the very least, He can break money’s control in your life, and use you and your money in ways you’ve never dreamed!

God is not affected by the world’s economy – therefore, neither is the wealth He’s entrusted to you that you, in turn, willingly offer back to Him for His use. His money does not suffer inflation or recession. His bank accounts are not robbed by poor management of Wall Street or the banking industry. His money is not tied to Mortgage-Backed Securities or some other man-made empty promise.

Our God is a big God – who owns the Earth itself and everything in it!

This Commitment Sunday is your opportunity to partner with Him and with your brothers and sisters in Christ to accomplish far more than we could ever do on our own, and far more than we can even dream.

May God’s richest blessings be yours as you process with Him what you’ll commit to our campaign.

Pastor Marty