Published August 6, 2019

“Gimme, gimme, my name is Jimmy”.  The issue of being a “Jimmy” has to do with the attitude of the heart especially when it comes to the Church.  Somewhere, somehow, the “Jimmy’s” in the Church never came to an understanding in their Christian walk that they have a financial responsibility to fund the Kingdom of God.  Money is required to do the work of the Kingdom of God and to see His will performed in the earth.

The disconnect in their heart and mind is very evident whenever they need a pastor or member of the leadership team to pray for them or a member of their family, when they need an encouraging word, or when they come to Church looking for the word of the Lord; they want to be discipled; they want to grow in the things of the Lord but they expect it all to be free.  In their mind, they have an expectation that the Lord owes them something, but they never owe the Lord anything nor those He has called as full-time ministers.  For some reason, they believe that the Lord is bringing the funds to the church or ministry through someone else.  They may pray for the Lord to provide for the needs of any number of things the Lord has opened their eyes to, but they seldom if ever put themselves or the resources the Lord has entrusted them with at His disposal.  In short, they don’t give to the Kingdom of God.  For them, it is someone else’s responsibility, never theirs.  Why?  It’s because they never learned how to sacrifice.

Yet they never once expect to go into a restaurant without paying for a meal.  They never give it a second thought about paying for their groceries, or their utilities (who could make it without a maxed-out cellphone plan and cable/satellite service!), or making a car payment, buying clothes, going out to eat on a regular basis, etc., etc.  No, they expect to pay for these things, but when it comes to the things of the Lord, you won’t find a line item in their budget or on their hearts to give to the work of the Lord when He sends someone to them in an answer to their prayers.  Why?  Because they decided, and it is a decision, to be a “Jimmy”.

The Apostle John was able to commend Gaius in 3 in 3 John 4–8 (NASB95) saying–

⁴ I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth. ⁵ Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers; ⁶ and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. ⁷ For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. ⁸ Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth.

What is the difference between our friend Jimmy and Gaius?  Jimmy doesn’t take any responsibility for the furtherance of the Gospel, whereas Gaius takes full responsibility.  What applied to Gaius applies to us when John commends him for blessing the ministers that come to their assembly because they have been appointed and sent out to proclaim who Jesus is as well as teach, encourage and exhort believers.  John makes the point that ministers have been sent out and accept no financial support from the Gentiles (vs. 7).  Why?  Because the Lord has appointed believers to give to support them financially.

But John doesn’t stop there.  He sets forth the same principle that David instituted in I Samuel 30 where his group of warriors recovered everything that a band of Amalekites had taken during a raid, while some of David’s company remained in camp –

 1 Samuel 30:21–24 (NASB95)

²¹ When David came to the two hundred men who were too exhausted to follow David, who had also been left at the brook Besor, and they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him, then David approached the people and greeted them. ²² Then all the wicked and worthless men among those who went with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away and depart.” ²³ Then David said, “You must not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord has given us, who has kept us and delivered into our hand the band that came against us. ²⁴ “And who will listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who goes down to the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage; they shall share alike.”

The Apostle John builds on this principle telling Gaius, as well as every follower of Jesus in 3 John 8, “Therefore, we ought to support such men, that we may be fellow workers with the truth.”  Those that are sent out working for the sake of the Gospel and those that are not, even though all of us are sent to be witnesses for Christ and all are called to be workers in the truth.  Both are equally important in the Kingdom of God and both are workers in the furtherance of the Gospel – those who are sent out and those who fund them financially.  Both are members of the body working together to see the Lord’s kingdom come.

The Apostle Paul also speaks of this principle when writing to the Philippians –

Philippians 4:13–19 (AMP)

¹³ I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency]. ¹⁴ But it was right and commendable and noble of you to contribute for my needs and to share my difficulties with me. ¹⁵ And you Philippians yourselves well know that in the early days of the Gospel ministry, when I left Macedonia, no church (assembly) entered into partnership with me and opened up [a debit and credit] account in giving and receiving except you only. ¹⁶ For even in Thessalonica you sent [me contributions] for my needs, not only once but a second time. ¹⁷ Not that I seek or am eager for [your] gift, but I do seek and am eager for the fruit which increases to your credit [the harvest of blessing that is accumulating to your account]. ¹⁸ But I have [your full payment] and more; I have everything I need and am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent me. [They are the] fragrant odor of an offering and sacrifice which God welcomes and in which He delights. ¹⁹ And my God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Paul’s specific point is that the Philippian’s were the only ones that entered into a partnership with him for the sake of the Gospel.  What does that suggest?  It suggests that many won’t enter into a partnership because they think it is the minister’s responsibility to raise his own support, even though they receive from that ministry.  Paul admonished the Corinthians asking them if they thought they were right in expecting a soldier to raise his own support (I Cor 9: 1-11).  It appears that the Corinthians felt no responsibility even for Paul’s general well-being when it came to food and drink (vs. 4).  In Paul’s day it appears that he was surrounded not only by people whose name was “Jimmy”, but that there were multiple churches that could have been labeled “Jimmy” churches.  Paul goes on to elaborate in that spiritual fruit would increase to their account when they gave (vs. 18).  Did David institute this principle?  Did John institute this principle?  What about Paul?  No, it is the Lord who has set forth this principle for how His people are to act regarding furthering His purpose in the earth.

What is even more interesting is that Paul exhorts the church to give to his ministry even at a time where he was, “amply supplied” (Phil 4:18).  Paul is encouraging them to invest in the Kingdom of God.  Many of us are so stingy that even when we hear of a desperate need, we are unwilling to ask the Lord what He would have us to do.  Why?  Are we afraid He will tell us?

What we must realize that those who are in the ministry bare a number of very serious difficulties as they stand for the Gospel, much of which is directly related to the lack of proper financial support from their brothers and sisters in Christ.

Much could be said about Abraham giving a tenth (a tithe) of all he owned to the priest Melchizedek (an Old Testament type of Christ).  We could discuss at length how the Lord commanded Moses to raise money for the building of the tabernacle by receiving a free-will offering from the people of all those that were moved in their hearts (Exodus 30:20-29; note how many times in this passage the people’s hearts were moved, or stirred; lit. lifted up in wisdom).  We could discuss how Saul knew it was improper to inquire from the prophet Samuel about the whereabouts of his livestock without a gift (I Samuel 9:6-8).  Moreover, we could talk about the abundance given willingly for the building of the Temple that David received in preparation for what Solomon would ultimately build for the Lord (I Chron 22 & 29).

We should mention the prophet Haggai who was sent to rebuke the people for taking care of their own needs and their own property rather than making the Lord’s house their priority (Haggai 1:1-11).  The result was that they were operating under a curse related specifically to their provisions.  I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Holy Spirit speaking through the prophet Malachi when He rebuked His people for stealing by withholding their tithes and offerings (Malachi 3:8-12).

If many were called to give in the building and re-building of the Lord’s Temple, how much more should we be willing to give of our time, talent and finances as the Lord resets a new foundation for His Body such that the glory of the latter house, will be greater than the former!  The time for building, ministering and calling forth His army, has come.  We should not delay!

In all this the principle that can be gleaned is that the Lord did not want His people to give under compulsion, but rather freely from their hearts.  This is the kingdom of God pouring through us as we are moved to give.  If we feel manipulated to give or condemned, or for not giving (rather than convicted), then we have the right before the Lord not to give to that church or ministry.  We should ask the Lord and diligently seek after what ministry we can give willingly to with the Holy Spirit’s guidance.  In the end we must remember the resources at our disposal are not ours but His.  He should always have the final say.

So much more can be said, but we shall end with Judas.  How strange a character Judas is in the New Testament.  A person called to follow Christ during His earthly ministry, who witnessed His mighty miracles, heard His teachings first-hand as well as Jesus rebuking the storm and the sea that resulted in instantaneous peace and calm.  Who ministered alongside Jesus and the other disciples and yet having been privileged to be part of the greatest events in human history, hindered the ministry of Christ by stealing from the donations meant for Him (John 12:6).  The wickedness in his heart brought his own destruction within a few years, resulting in his betrayal of the Son of God for 30 pieces of silver.  Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters; either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and hate the other.  You cannot serve God and wealth” (Matthew 6:24 ‖ Luke 6:13).  Judas found out that he couldn’t walk on both sides of the fence regarding his love for money and finally chose to his own demise.

We condemn Judas and stand amazed at how wicked he was, and yet we refuse to honor the Lord by hindering the work of Christ by not supporting those who are called to take the Gospel to the four-corners of the earth, or we as leaders pilfer the resources we are given responsibility for.  Now more than ever we must cultivate a listening ear and receive the Holy Spirit’s direction as He releases revival in the earth in and through His people while guarding our hearts from the love of money.

Every person must resolve in their own hearts what they can and will give to the work of the Lord.  Should everyone feel a sense of obligation to give to every ministry they encounter?  By no means!  There is no Biblical formula for giving other than the tithe.  But we must stand up to the challenge and seek the Lord asking for His guidance as to who and how much we should give in the form of offerings.  It’s His money, not ours.  As with all things our goal is to do His will and not our own.  This is the part we play in praying for the Lord’s will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven.  We must make the right choices that allow His will to be done.

To see His will done on earth, the time has come to be sensitive to the Lord as to who/what we are giving to and how much.  We are called to obedience in this area of our lives.  Let us stand and fight against our own love of money as we give ourselves and the resources He has entrusted us with as the Lord directs with a joyful and willing heart.

Mark Biteler