when a church is sold who gets the money This is a topic that many people are looking for. newyorkcityvoices.org is a channel providing useful information about learning, life, digital marketing and online courses …. it will help you have an overview and solid multi-faceted knowledge . Today, newyorkcityvoices.org would like to introduce to you Does Jesus Teach Us to Sell All Our Possessions? // Ask Pastor John. Following along are instructions in the video below:
Hello again. Thank you for listening to ask pastor. John with longtime pastor and author author john piper.
Im your host tony rank ii. While jesus was never ashamed tell his disciples or his potential disciples to liquidate all of their assets. And to give away all of their cash first giving rise to todays question from a college student.
Named noah. Hello. Pastor.
John and tony this program has encouraged and strengthened me for over a year. Now whether im at the gym or walking back from class or folding my laundry. I am truly blessed by the wisdom you share thank you i am a christian hedonist at stanford university.
Finishing my third year of undergrad. Work. I just finished reading the chapter that you wrote pastor john on money in desiring god.
The book and i am faced with this question. Why should i not give all or a significant portion of what i earned to the lord most teaching. Ive heard on money and tithing.
Ive pretty much said give and give generously i want to give as generously as possible and invest eternally. But at what point does my giving to the lord become irresponsible right now i dont earn very. Much but i also dont need very much of the.
10000 i earn i only spend about 2000. Per year and after giving over 20 percent to god and investing the rest. I still cant help.
But feel like my reward would be greater in heaven. If i gave more which id happily do the problem is i think i would feel the same way after giving 30 percent or 50 percent or 80 percent to god. But is that a problem wasnt the widow commended for giving everything are we told not to worry about what we will eat or drink or where jesus says sell your possessions.
Give to the needy provide yourselves with money bags that do not grow old and you said in desiring god. The book jesus is not against investment. He is against bad investment namely setting our hearts on the comforts and securities that money can afford in this world.
Money is to be invested for eternal yields. In heaven. So.
If god has given me a generous heart and blesses me beyond. My necessity. Why should i not give away everything well im not going to tell noah not to give away everything i dont know what god may be calling him to do jesus certainly called on the rich young ruler to give away everything.
In luke. 18. 22.
Jesus said to the rich young man. One thing you still lack sell all that you have and distribute to the poor. And you will have treasure in heaven and come follow me and as noah observed.
He commended. The widow jesus it says. Many rich people were putting in large sums of money as jesus was watching in the temple and a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins.
Which make a penny and he called his disciples to him and said truly i say to you this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box for they contributed out of their abundance. But she out of her poverty has put in everything everything that she had all she had to live on i dont know what measure of sacrifice financially jesus may call noah or anyone to undergo. I dont know im not assuming.
He shouldnt give away everything. But heres what i will do i will say that i cannot biblically tell noah this is his duty this is his biblical obligation from the lord or that it is the biblical obligation or duty of christians in general to give away all that they have there are reasons and ill just list several number one jesus and the apostles never made giving away all our possessions. A duty for all followers of christ.
The command to the rich young ruler was not a command to all number two zacchaeus was commended for giving away half of his riches to the poor behold. The half of my goods. I give to the poor and if i have defrauded anyone of anything i restore it fourfold and jesus said to him today.
Salvation has come to this house since he also is a son of abraham in other words. Hes he saw in that kind of generosity namely fifty percent. Plus salvation has come.
Hes hes showing. These really saved third barnabas was admired as a son of encouragement in the early church and when the believers were selling their lands and houses to gather money for the poor. It says thus joseph who was called barnabas.
Which means son of encouragement. A levite a native of cyprus sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles feet. So one field.
No doubt a very significant gift. But not everything number four. When paul was taking up a election for the poor in jerusalem among the churches.
He said to the corinthians this is 1st corinthians 16 1. Now concerning the collection for the saints as i directed the churches of galatia. So also you on the first day of the week.
Each of you is to put something aside and store it up as he may prosper. So that there will be no collecting when i come so the the idea seems to be in proportion as you prosper put more aside. Not everything just more for those who earn more less for those who earn less put something aside number 5.
All says aspire to live quietly. This is 1st thessalonians 410 aspire to live quietly and to mind your own affairs and to work with your own hands as we instructed you so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one so it seems that in the ordinary life of the church day in and day out in the world. We should at least seek to have a stream of income that keeps us from lazy mooching.
Thats what he says so that you will be dependent on no one work so that means you need to have enough to pay your bills and you dont give everything away you you and you invest in and create a life that keeps you from being dependent on others number 6. Paul said let the thief no longer steal. But let him labour doing honest work with his own hands.
So that he may have something to share with anyone in need seasons four twenty eight. So three options you can steal thats option. One option two you can work to have thats option two or you can work to have to give thats option three the assumption is that as the money passes through our hands into productive uses whether for the poor of invested in some way to help society.
We are not dependent on others enough enough our income is supporting us. So that we can give and give and give as as well as not being moochers off of others and by the way that that does not mean. It is a sin for churches to support missionaries paul.
I think thats another hole. Asked pastor john. We can do how paul in fact took money from churches in order to make it free for others.
But thats a parenthesis and ill stop there number seven paul speaks of his own pattern of partially forgoing. The right of support quote by toiling night and day that we might not be a burden to any of you it was not because we do not have the right. But to give you in ourselves an example to imitate for even when we were with you we gave you this command.
If anyone is not willing to work let him not eat for we hear that some among you are walking in idleness. Not busy at work. But busy bodies now such persons.
We command and encourage in the lord jesus christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living so the normal pattern in the early church and in christianity day to day life is make a living pay your own way and turn your whole life into ministry. Now lots lots of other passages could be brought in to show that owning nothing and giving away everything was not in the new testament. The way jesus and the apostles conceived of the on going corporate christian life and ill just mention two things in closing that might give noah some guidance against this background.
Number one dont just think of percentages for how much you give away think of concrete people concrete needs as you live your life and as you see if your heart. Really loves people heres heres what im the good samaritan was commended that he stopped and he helped the wounded man on the road. He had some wine to give him he had a donkey that he would let him ride.
He had money for paying for his lodging and jesus. Didnt question hey. Why do you have a why do you have a donkey.
Why do you have wine. Why do you have money youre supposed to give everything away the point was do you love the person in front of you at cost to yourself. So so shift your way of thinking not merely to think oh how much how many what percentage can i get rid of but rather do the people i deal with and that im aware of do i love them as i ought with my resources.
And heres the second thing. I would say finally remember that all of your money is gods not just what youve give to the lord this means that we should think of every expenditure in a kingdom. Advancing way not just not just what we give away.
It is all christs he owns you he owns it and every single thing you spend and what you give is his ministry and should be designed to magnify christ. So noah. Im with you in the struggle.
Just as much now at age 73 as i was when i was 23. So lets lets pray for each other that we not be taken captive by our possessions amen. Same here.
Theres a really good example of your pastor. John of explaining a truth by synthesizing a lot of other texts around it thank you for that model thanks for the question. Noah blessings on your studies.
Thanks for listening on campus and as always thank you for listening wherever. You are whatever youre doing thank you for listening you can search your browser or past episodes. Or send us a question of your own you can do that through our online home at desiring got that org aus pastor.
John on monday. We look at the glorious text in galatians 2 20. What what does it mean that christ is alive in me.
And what does that mean for the stewardship of this life is this life really my life anymore. We look at that on monday. Im your host tony ranked you have a great week.
Well see you back here monday you .
Thank you for watching all the articles on the topic Does Jesus Teach Us to Sell All Our Possessions? // Ask Pastor John. All shares of newyorkcityvoices.org are very good. We hope you are satisfied with the article. For any questions, please leave a comment below. Hopefully you guys support our website even more.
