Giving

The Heart Behind Our Giving

Days like today are a cause for celebration—celebrating what God has done in the past year and the excitement of what he'll do next. But I'm aware that the word giving can make many of us tense up or feel nervous. There's been much done wrongly in the name of Christ regarding attitudes toward giving in the church, leaving many feeling they give out of duty rather than worship, guilt rather than freedom, fear rather than joy.

Yet the story of Scripture is that those who willingly give can expect to find worship, freedom, and joy rising in their spirits.

Giving as Worship, Not Obligation

At HTL, we do not see giving as a membership tax or something obligatory. Instead, giving is both an invitation and an expression of worshipping God—a means for seeing his kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.

My prayer for all of us today, especially for those who find giving difficult, is that the Holy Spirit will transform our hearts toward a deeper revelation of worship, freedom, and joy as we consider how we give.

David's Extraordinary Sacrifice

The passage we read comes from King David's prayer near the end of his life, as he addresses a large assembly of leaders before passing the throne to his son Solomon. He's pledging his wealth to the building of God's temple.

God had told David he wasn't allowed to build the temple because of all the wars he'd waged—that responsibility would fall to Solomon. But David said, "If I'm not allowed to build it, then I'll certainly give toward building it."

In verse 4, David gave:

• 3,000 talents of gold
• 7,000 talents of silver
• Bronze, iron, wood, and precious stones

To modernize this: one talent is about 34 kg. One talent of silver is worth about $27,000 in today's money. One talent of gold is worth about $5 million. David contributed 100 metric tons of gold and 230 tons of silver—worth roughly $15.6 billion, not including the bronze, iron, wood, or precious stones.

This wasn't spare change. This wasn't a measly offering driven by duty, fear, or guilt. This was a world-changing sacrifice of kingly wealth unto breakthrough in the kingdom of God.

A Man After God's Own Heart

David is described as "a man after God's own heart"—a true worshipper who worshipped in abandon, caring deeply about his nation's spiritual health. Of course he wanted to build a temple. The Psalms show how consumed he was with this desire:

"One thing I ask, one thing I seek, that I may dwell in your house, O Lord, all my days." (Psalm 27)

"Better is one day in your house, in your courts, than a thousand elsewhere." (Psalm 84)

The worship of God was where his treasure was—both spiritually and financially.

Where Your Treasure Is

You can tell what people treasure most based on what they talk about and what they invest money into. I can talk about music for hours because I've invested in it—a degree, studio equipment, instruments, every CD I've ever bought. I've paid to watch every Marvel film in the cinema because I'm invested in those stories.

When I meet people and they ask about my wife's family, I love telling them about Shine Relief Trust, the charity her parents run in Malawi caring for orphans and child-headed families. I've been a regular donor for 10 years. I even waxed my body and ran a half marathon to raise funds.

When I meet other Christians, I boast about HTL—our compassion ministries, King's Coffee House, the children and young people we're connecting with, the different ways we worship on Sundays.

There's nothing wrong with things that aren't my treasures. But the things I am invested in are on my heart, on my mind, and to some extent my soul.

I'm willing to bet that if I wasn't regularly giving to the work of this church, I probably would be less interested in how God's kingdom is coming here. That's not because I feel owed anything—it's because giving to a village in Malawi that becomes a beacon of hope in Christ amid unthinkable poverty, or giving to the work of this church seeing salvation come and people of all nations find the power of the Spirit—that's what brings me joy.

Kingdom Investments vs. Personal Kingdoms

Giving to the breakthrough of God's kingdom for the sake of others frees us from the stress of building up our own kingdoms. Our resources will only ever get us from A to B, but God uses them to transform the estates, towns, cities, nations, and world we live in.

So what are your vested interests? What do you most naturally talk about with colleagues, friends, family? What excites you to give your money and time to?

• Your hobbies?
• Your children?
• Pop culture?
• The coming kingdom of God growing here on earth?

There's nothing wrong with spending money and time on hobbies and family—they're important. But I want to let this question hang in the air: Is God's coming kingdom equally important to you?

David's Prayer of Surrender

David's prayer from today's passage could be summed up like this:

Lord God Almighty, all praise and honor, glory and power belong to you. Who are we that we could give you this abundant 15.6 billion for your temple? It all comes from you anyway. So to you I willingly and joyfully give it back.

Everything we have is God's anyway. Even if we had $15 billion, it all comes from him.

David's desire to give is rooted in worship, rooted in love. Giving is always an expression of love. The Bible tells us we can only love because God first loved us. We can only want to give to God's kingdom if God first gave to us.

And he did. He gave his only begotten Son—the one through whom all things are created and sustained, who died for our sins, rose again so we can know eternal life, and sent the Holy Spirit so we can know the grace, truth, and power of God's kingdom today.

A Statement of Faith

David's statement is one of faith in God as the ruler of everything. It's also an expression of worship—that his life and resources were for building up God's kingdom. The same is true for us.

When we give, it's a statement of faith that Jesus is supreme over all things. It's an expression of worship—making his name great in the earth because that is what he deserves.

How could we not give of our resources to the one who has saved us and brought us into eternal life with him?

In Times of Crisis

I'm incredibly aware of the cost of living crisis, housing crisis, political insecurity, job insecurity, and many other financial factors at play. How do the words of Jesus encourage us?

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and vermin destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up your treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

For those regularly giving—whatever percentage or amount—I want to encourage you not to stop. Not just for practical reasons that it keeps our ministries running, though they are good things. There's something more important at stake—something spiritual.

It's by willingly giving to God's kingdom that we will know God and be known by him in a deeper way, freed from the shackles of duty, fear, and guilt, and instead be forever marked by a scandalously joyful freedom as we live to worship God.

Living as Kingdom Disciples

How can we take steps to live out this attitude as kingdom-focused disciples responding to Scripture's encouragement to give to God's kingdom?

I'd like to briefly look at the KINGDOM BIO description we've been using:

B — Before God

What do your conversations with God look like around giving, money, and resources? God loves to talk to us, challenge us, and bless us in the area of our finances. When was the last time you really considered this before God and with others—not in a place of need, but simply to explore your heart?

I — In Community

How are we expressing the kingdom of God together with each other? Our young adults community set up a WhatsApp group entirely to bless those in hardship—helping with visas, transport, providing meal trains for those who moved or had babies. Could you do the same in your kingdom community? Or could you give one-off donations to HTL's hardship fund?

My father-in-law's catchphrase is: "I'm blessed to be a blessing." Whenever I've given to someone in my community, it fills me with joy and freedom. I never leave feeling burdened or stressed. So many others in this church have found this to be true as well. If you're not giving in this way, you're missing out on a whole lot of joy.

O — On Mission

How are you investing in mission? Here's a live example: my phone contract runs out in about a month at £25 monthly. The phone works fine, so I have options:

• Get a new upgraded iPhone for £40–50 per month
• Get a SIM-only deal for £5 per month and save £20
• Or get that £5 deal and decide where that £20 goes

Then I can pray: God, what do you think this £20 should go to? Is it a local, national, or international cause? That's an exciting prospect.

A Call to Celebration and Commitment

I want to end where I started: today is a cause for celebration. I want to thank you for all the ways you have been and are giving to the work of God's kingdom here.

Behind every cheerful giver is a heart that longs to see God's kingdom come. That's David's story. That's the teaching of Jesus—not to build up our own kingdoms, but to unlock and invest in eternal treasures.

As we respond now, I invite you to recommit to the Lord what you currently give, and to ask him if there is any duty, fear, or guilt holding you back from freedom, joy, and worship. The band will lead us in worship, and the prayer ministry team will be available either side of the stage if you need prayer in this area.

Let's together worship the Lord, lift our gaze to see him as worthy of all we have, and recommit ourselves to his kingdom.