Because God Has Said

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               What if God hadn’t said a word about how to be saved?  If there were no passages like “It is by grace you’ve been saved…not by works,” what would you guess about being right with God?  You’d probably assume it’s about being a good person, being morally above average, not doing anything too evil.  You’d hope you were one of the good people.  But deep down, you’d probably be afraid.  “What if I haven’t been good enough?  What if what I did with my girlfriend wasn’t moral?  What if what I said to my parents wasn’t right?  What if what I thought about her was evil?”  If God hadn’t said a word about being saved, all of us with a functioning conscience would be afraid.  But…God has spoken.  In a thousand places in the Bible, God says we are loved and forgiven not because of how good we’ve been, but because of how good God is.  Not because of our morality, but because of God’s mercy.  God has said, “[Salvation] is a gift, not by works”.  And since God said that, we don’t have to be afraid.

               What if God hadn’t said a word about death?  If there were no passages like, “Whoever believes in Jesus will live even though he dies,” how would you feel at funerals?  You’d probably be afraid of death.  “What if the lump is cancerous?  What if dad doesn’t come out of this?  What if my kids get in an accident?”  If God hadn’t said a word about death, we’d all be afraid.  But…God has spoken.  In a hundred places in the Bible, God says believers have eternal life.  They will live with God forever.  The day they die, they will be with Jesus in paradise.  And since God said that, we don’t have to be afraid.

               What if God hadn’t said a word about finances?  If there were no passages like, “God will meet all your needs,” how would you feel about having enough?  You’d probably be afraid.  If you’re below the poverty mark, you’d be afraid of the “what ifs”.  “What if the landlord says, ‘You have to leave?’  What if my food stamps run out?  What if I get sick without insurance?”  Even if you’re middle class, you’d be afraid of the “what ifs”.  “What if they cut my hours?  What if my kids’ tuition goes up?  What if I can’t pay the mortgage?”  Even the upper class would be afraid, “What if I can’t retire?  What if inflation hits and I have to go back to work?  What if taxes increase?”  If God didn’t say anything about finances, we all would be afraid!

               I’ve felt that fear.  The other day, I started a college fund for my kids.  After researching 529’s and ESA’s, I finally chose a good option for my daughters.  They still think the word “college” starts with the letter “m”, so I thought, “We’re ahead of the game.  We’re starting young.  We have 16 years to let this money grow.”  I found one of those online calculators that lets you punch in your children’s age, what kind of college they’ll attend, what percentage you want to pay.  So I typed in the details.  But I made one simple mistake.  I hit the button labeled “calculate”.  Bad idea.  The “online investment expert” explained my current investment was not nearly enough to reach my goals.  But if I increased my contribution by $500 each month, I could pay for half of my children’s college education.  $500 a month?!  For the next 16 years?!  You can guess how I felt.  What if my kids rack up college loans?  What if they carry school bills into their marriage?  What if we can’t afford to pay for Christian education and college tuition for the next 20 years?  There’s plenty to be afraid of!

               Some of you know exactly what that’s like.  The more you think about the “what ifs”, the more you fear.  The more you feel less content about your future.  The more you believe you don’t have enough.  The more you think you just can’t be generous, at least not now.  You never set out to love money.  You never had a goal to be discontent.  You never imagined you’d compromise your marriage just to work more.  You never thought you’d give up quantity time with your kids just to earn more.  You never believed you would sacrifice time with God in worship and prayer just to have more.  But the “what ifs?” scared you into that kind of life.  So much could happen.  So much could go wrong.  And if God hadn’t said a word about finances, that fear would be perfectly rational.

               But…God…has…spoken.  God has not remained silent.  Just like he spoke about salvation and death, God has covered his Word about his place in your finances.  One of those passages is our sermon text from Hebrews 13—“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have…”  And we would object, “But, God, how is that possible?  What if that happens?  What if this comes up?”  And God says, “Let me finish…”  “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’” 

God has said to you, “I will never leave you.”  Never.  So when you open your investment update and see the depressing downward graph, God says, “I will never leave you.”  When the landlord says, “You have to leave”, God says, “I will never leave you.”  When the mail comes and you don’t even want to open it, God says, “I will never leave you.”  When the online calculator predicts your dismal future, God says, “I will never leave you.”  God does not just show up on Sunday.  He does not just hang out in churches.  God is at work at your work.  At the bank.  In the loan office.  In the unemployment line.  God will never leave you. 

Do you see how that changes everything?  My girls, God willing, will one day go to college.  I don’t know if I can afford to send them.  But God won’t leave them.  He could give an unexpected inheritance.  He could make our cars last longer so we have more to invest.  He could make them smart enough for a scholarship.  He could use tuition to teach my girls the value of hard work and smart spending.  He could use my untimely death during a donut eating competition to fund their education.  I don’t know and I don’t need to know.  God will work it out.  This doesn’t excuse careful planning.  But it does take away our fears.  God will never leave his people.  We don’t have to be afraid.

               Why do we sometimes think he will?  Why do get so afraid God has checked out and left us alone?  Because we know ourselves.  We know we’ve doubted his promise.  We’ve freaked out about our finances as if God had left the building.  We trusted Him when times were good, but now...  Our sin fuels our fear that we deserve to be alone.  But that’s where Jesus shows up.  He left heaven so we wouldn’t be left alone.  He died on the cross for our greed, for our fear.  And do you remember what he said there, “My God, why have you forsaken me?”  Why did God forsake him?  Why did God leave him alone on that cross when Jesus did nothing wrong?  Because Jesus was taking our place.  Jesus was the innocent substitute for guilty sinners.  Since Jesus was forsaken, you never will be.  Since God left Jesus alone that day, he will never leave you alone.  Since your sin has been taken away, he has no reason to walk out.  Through faith in Jesus, God is now your Father.  Like a good dad, God the Father will always be there for his children.  God has said, “You are forgiven.”  That’s why he now says, “I will never leave you.”

               How does that impact our generosity?  How does God’s promise to be present change us today?  Look at v.6—“So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.  What can man do to me?’”  God is not just here.  God also helps.

               Have you ever done a trust fall before?  A trust fall is when you let yourself fall backwards even though you can’t see what’s back there.  You just have to trust someone will catch you.  What if I asked you to come up here and I had my 1 year-old stand behind you?  “It’s okay.  Someone’s there.”  Would you fall?  Uh…you’d be like, “My scale says I’m 215.  And force equals mass times acceleration and I don’t like suffocating children, so…not going to work.”  Okay, what if I stood behind you?  Uh…you’d be like, “I’m 215.  And no offense, pastor, but a girl scout could beat you in a cage fight.”  True.  Okay, what if I found your strongest friend, the guy whose shoulders swallowed his neck back in 2007; the guy who has been there for you since the 6^th grade.  Would you fall then?  Well, yeah!  Because it’s not just the presence of someone that takes away your fear; it’s who that someone is.

               I know you can’t see what’s “behind” you?  You don’t know what’s coming in this life.  You don’t know about the recession or inflation or tuition.  And that unknown tomorrow can scare you out of being generous today.  But here’s what you do know:  “The Lord is my helper.”  God himself stands behind you.  If God wasn’t there, how could you give?  You couldn’t.  But God has spoken.  The one who said, “Let there be stars” and ten billion trillion blazed into existence; he stands behind you.  The one who once made bread appear in the desert to feed his people; he is with you.  Jesus, the one who once multiplied a kid’s lunch and fed a stadium’s worth of people; he is here.  That’s the one who says, “Be generous today.  Trust me.  I’ll catch you.”

               When you realize what God has said about your finances, something weird is going to happen.  Something you thought only happened to really rich people.  Here’s what will happen:  You will become a cheerful giver.  You’ll find joy in being generous right now, with all the what if’s and all the bills and all the stuff that could happen.  You’ll give so much…and you’ll actually like it.

               You see, there are four kinds of people when it comes to money:  1. Cheerful non-givers.  They don’t give and they’re okay with that even if God isn’t.  2. Fearful non-givers.  They want to give, but are so afraid, they don’t.  3. Fearful givers.  They give, but are worried about tomorrow.  4. Cheerful givers.  They give and aren’t afraid.  Where are you at today?  And how do you move from scared and stingy to generous and joyful?  Well…you just remember what God said. 

               Because God said:  “Seek first [my] kingdom…and all these things [food, clothing, and life] will be given to you as well.”  Because God said, “Honor [me] with the first [portion] of your wealth and your barns will be filled to overflowing.”  Because God said, “Test me in this [generous giving] and see if I don’t throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing you don’t have room enough for it.” 

               God has said.  I want to be a man who lives by this phrase, “Because God said.”  I want us to be a church that breathes this phrase, “Because God said.”  We don’t have to love money…because God said.  We don’t have to be discontent…because God said.  We don’t have to worry about what men will do…because God said.  We don’t have to be afraid of the what ifs…because God said.  We can give our first and our best and more than we ever imagined and love doing it…because God said.  Yes, if God hadn’t said a word about finances, we would be terrified.  But God has spoken.  Amen!