offerings

Offerings

Nehemiah1

And some of the chief of the fathers, when they came to the house of the Lord which is at Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God to set it up in his place: They gave after their ability unto the treasure of the work threescore and one thousand drams of gold, and five thousand pound of silver, and one hundred priests’ garments.

-Ezra 2:68-69

Thirty-nine cents might not seem like a big deal, however, back in 1996, one could supersize their fries and drink at McDonalds for that additional 39 cents.

In the mid-1990s, America was a fast-food nation, but we hadn’t yet become preoccupied with large food portions. Therefore, it often took the suggestive sale of the cashier to get the customer to agree to the 39-cent enhancement of their meal. As a result, it became a standing directive for fast-food order takers to ask customers, “Would you like to supersize that?”

Why would McDonalds build so much strategy into earning an additional 39-cents per customer? Simple.

Quora.com reports that the average McDonalds restaurant serves up to 5,000 customers per day. If each customer were to up-size their meal by 39 cents, then that individual McDonalds would earn an additional $1,950 per day, or $711,750 per year.

Across the entire corporation, McDonalds serves 68 million customers daily. That 39-cent upgrade would earn McDonalds an additional $26.5 million, or $9.6 billion in a year. Back in the 1990s, McDonalds understood that small amounts added up to big things.

It’s a strategy also employed by Texas Dairy Queens, which promote the fact that if all of their drive-thru customers would donate 25-cents per visit, then DQ could donate $5,000 per restaurant to Children’s Miracle Network.

Or, as my sales manager back at KYYK would tell me, “all those nickels and dimes add up.”

In Ezra 2, the Israelites were returning to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple. As they arrived, those that had the ability gave offerings to the Temple. Some were able to give big offerings, others could only give a little. Therefore, “They gave after their ability unto the treasure of the work threescore and one thousand drams of gold, and five thousand pound of silver, and one hundred priests’ garments.”

God took the offerings of the people, and blessed it in a big way, using it to fund the reconstruction of the Temple.

The concept of “giving according to your ability” is a totally scriptural concept. It’s why God set the tithe at 10-percent, and why the Old Testament law ordered giving to be set by the ability of the worshiper to give.

When it comes to giving, there are those who have the ability to give a lot. There are those who can only give a little. However, if you give God something to bless, He has shown the ability to bless it into something big.

In Ezra, they wanted worship restored at the Temple, which needed to be rebuilt. In our time, we want to see revival in our land, and the Gospel spread throughout the world. If we want God to bless that effort, we have to give Him something to bless.

Imagine what God can do.

If McDonalds can turn 39 cents into $9.6 billion, and Dairy Queen turn 25 cents into $5,000, and these being secular organizations, imagine what God can do with the offerings we bring Him. May God bless you, as you bless Him.

So, when you worship God at your church this weekend, don’t forget to bring Him something to bless. One day, you will find out just how big of a difference you made.

What’s it worth?

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And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.

-Ezra 1:4

She stared at the huge chunk of rusted metal that sat on her husband’s flatbed trailer.

“You paid how much for that?” She asked.

“$900,” he replied.

“I wouldn’t have paid 50-cents,” she responded.

Such is the life of a couple where the husband collects classic cars, and the wife knows how to drive a car.

The rusted chunk of metal on the flatbed trailer was one of the first 1964 1/2 Mustangs to roll off of Ford’s assembly line in Detroit. Knowing this, the husband valued the car in its current state at $750, but wound up paying $900 after being bid up at an auction.

Why pay more? Because he knew that, after he sanded the rust, applied primer, painted, reupholstered, and rebuilt the engine and drive train, that newly restored Mustang would be worth at least $20,000 to a collector. You see, the value of anything is determined by what you are willing to pay for it.

In Ezra 1, the Lord stirred the spirit of King Cyrus, who called upon the people of Israel to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple. To finance this project, he ordered the return of the gold and silver vessels taken from the Temple during the Babylonian captivity, and called upon the people to contribute financially to the project. Ezra 1:6 says the people did just that:

 And all they that were about them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, and with beasts, and with precious things, beside all that was willingly offered.

The rebuilding of the Temple was so important to King Cyrus that he gave the gold and silver vessels that were handed down to him from a previous invasion to be used for the Temple. The Bible says there were 5,400 vessels made of precious metal handed over.

While the argument is valid that those vessels belonged to the Lord in the first place, it was still a huge transaction for a pagan king who had not been raised in the faith. Just as God stirred Cyrus to make this contribution, He stirred the hearts of the people to financially donate to the rebuilding of the Temple as well.

From this, we learn that if God has stirred your heart, it will affect your pocketbook. If you have been moved by God’s grace in your life, you will want to see that happen in the lives of others. That will motivate you to financially support ministries that carry out the Gospel.

Whether you give, and how much you give, will be determined by how much you value seeing God move in the lives of others. Again, the value of anything is determined by what you are willing to pay for it.

When we began this post, we noted the difference in value of an old Mustang based on who was looking at it. The wife, who had no interest in classic cars, saw an old hunk of metal, and assessed no value to it. Her car enthusiast husband saw the value of the restored classic, and assessed a higher value to it, and thus was willing to pay more.

In the Spiritual life, there are two types of individuals: those who see the church as a milquetoast institution with a pastor who works two days a week, and those who see the potential lives changed through the missionary efforts of that church. The one who sees the latter will value the church more, and thus will be a more faithful financial supporter.

In which camp do you find yourself today?

–Leland Acker has served as the pastor of Life Point Baptist Church since its inception in 2008. Life Point meets for Sunday School at 10 a.m., Sunday Worship at 11 a.m., and meetings are held at the Early Chamber of Commerce/Small Business Incubator Facility at 104 E. Industrial Dr. in Early, TX, pending the construction of a new worship facility.