Randy Alcorn: Giving isn’t a cause for insecurity, but a cure for it!

“Ironically, giving isn’t a cause for insecurity but a cure for it, because it turns our hearts towards the only One worthy of our complete trust, and it fulfills the conditions of seeking first His Kingdom so that we can depend on him to provide for us materially as well (Matthew 6:33).”

Randy Alcorn in Money, Possessions, and Eternity (Tyndale House: Wheaton, 2003) 337.

It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. Psalm 118:8

“Undoubtedly, the reader has been tried with the temptation to rely on things that are seen, instead of resting alone on the invisible God. Christians often look to man for help and counsel and mar the noble simplicity of their reliance on their God…

If you cannot trust God for earthly needs, how can you dare to trust Him for spiritual needs? Can you trust Him for your soul’s redemption and not rely on Him for a few lesser mercies? Is God not enough for your needs, or is His all-sufficiency too limited? …

Is His heart faint? Is His arm weary? If so, then seek another God: but if He is infinite, omnipotent, faithful, true, and all-wise, why do you waste your time seeking another confidence?

Why do you comb the earth to find another foundation, when God is strong enough to bear all the weight that you can ever build upon Him? …

Wait only on God, and let your hope come from Him…Let the sandy foundations of earthly trust be the choice of fools; but like the one who foresees the storm, build your house upon the Rock of Ages.”

Charles Spurgeon in Morning and Evening (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 2001) reading for evening on March 7.

“Earthly goods are given to be used, not to be collected. In the wilderness God gave Israel the manna every day, and they had no need to worry about food and drink. Indeed if they kept any of the manna over until the next day, it went bad. In the same way, the disciple must receive his portion from God every day. If he stores it up as a permanent possession, he spoils not only the gift, but himself as well, for he sets his heart on his accumulated wealth, and makes it a barrier between himself and God. Where our treasure is, there is our trust, our security, our consolation and our God. Hoarding is idolatry.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer in The Cost of Discipleship (New York: SCM Press, 1959) 175.

“Not only does borrowing often involve spiritual problems, but it can burden a ministry with distinctive disadvantages. These disadvantages are not mere inconveniences. Rather, they are serious barriers to ministry effectiveness. In some case, these disadvantages overwhelm a ministry.

We have identified at least five of these borrowing disadvantages. When it borrows, a ministry risks:

• Becoming a slave of a lending institution
• Becoming a slave to big givers
• Becoming trapped by financial pressure
• Becoming mired in an endless cycle of borrowing
• Losing flexibility to respond to ministry opportunities.

All these disadvantages are symptoms of financial bondage.”

Jeff Berg and Jim Burgess in The Debt-Free Church (Chicago: Moody Press, 1996) 54.

“Giving produces freedom 100 percent of the time—freedom from the bondage of things, freedom to receive more from God, and freedom to be a conduit of blessing to others. Christians who have freely given their time, money, and themselves are the people who have changed eternity for themselves and countless others.”

Tricia Mayer in a letter to Randy Alcorn, as recounted in Money, Possessions, and Eternity (Wheaton: Tyndale, 2003) 292-293.

“If I have learned anything in this life it is this, the world offers us NOTHING. Christ offers us EVERYTHING. My peace comes from knowing and loving Christ and living within that love. My peace comes from knowing that the King of the Universe created me, is redeeming me, and will succeed in this task such that when I see him in the end, He will say, “Well done.” My confidence comes from nothing other than knowing that He is in control even when the world seems completely mad.”

Dan Burke in RCSD email entitled “Christ the King – Source of Peace” on 24 November 2012.

“Live simply. Love generously. Serve faithfully. Speak truthfully. Pray daily. Leave everything else to God.”

Kelly Anderson of Goshen, IN, as recounted in Cancer: One Day at a Time (Bloomington, IN: Wings for Injured Athletes, 2012) 126.

Chorus
Wake up! Wake up!
Wake up O spender, arise! Arise!
Wake up! Wake up!
Wake up O spender, arise! Arise!

Now I’m what you might call a shopper
Born with a consumer gene
I can’t seem to pass up a bargain
I’m living the American Dream.

I have eBay on favorite places
My email is cluttered with spam
It takes two hours a day just to clear it
But I can’t get out of this jam.

Chorus

We’re getting much closer to Christmas
My catalogues tell me it’s so
Santa arrives in July now
So I can start spending my dough

I have every trinket and gadget
My home just can’t hold anymore
Thank goodness for mini warehouses
So I can go back to the store

Chorus

I thought money would make me happy
My goal is to have more than you
More stuff, nicer homes, and vacations
But I’m learning that this isn’t true

Now when it comes to my money
There are limited options I know
I can spend it, or save it, or give it
But I can’t send it ahead when I go

Chorus

Jesus was calling my name
But my heart was close to his voice
I finally woke up and heard Him
And I began to rejoice

Now Jesus is clear in His teaching
He claims everything that I own
It’s not that he needs it or wants it
He just wants me to know it’s a loan

Chorus

Jesus has made me His steward
I manage His portfolio
Some get this concept quite quickly
Others, like me, are quite slow

I’m now at the end of my story
I know that for me it’s been fun
I hope when you stand before Jesus
He’ll say, “Bless you servant, well done!”

Chorus 2x

Songwriter: Rev. Donald J. Curran, Jr. of
Christ the King Anglican Church, Ocala, FL.
Tune: My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean

“Thanksgiving is when everyone says they are thankful for what they got (aka – family, home, football) then the next day, by the stroke of midnight, people go back to less thankful and more greedy and decide that they want more than they got.”

Sophie Hoag (my 15 year old daughter) on Facebook, 17 November 2012.

“Priests without kings chase provision to their own hurt. Kings without priests try to generate vision many times to their own hurt…Today we have churches full of frustrated kings, sitting in pews with their arms folded, listening to frustrated priests who have heard from God but don’t have the money to make it happen…Many good, godly men have destroyed themselves and their ministries when they felt they had to become fundraisers. Once they started chasing money, something twists inside and their message and ministry begin to ring hollow.”

David A. High in Kings & Priests (Oklahoma City: Books for the Children of the World, 1997) 18, 26. cf. Randy Alcorn in Money, Possessions, and Eternity (Wheaton: Tyndale, 2003) 248.