God loves the hilarious giver by Pastor Melissa Scott
Q. You’ve said God loves the hilarious giver, and we don’t give to get, but considering most people don’t understand about giving, what should people keep in their minds and their hearts when they give?
A. Well, I will say this, in Luke 14 Jesus said no man can come after Him except he forsake all, and He lists all the things to be forsaken: the family, houses, land. But He also states the paradoxical truth that no man has forsaken all but what he receives many times that, not only in the life to come but here also. Now, the paradox is that the forsaking is without the motive to get. But when you cross that hurdle and you give to God because of your love and value and worthship expression to Him, it triggers a response from Him. I often teach the difference between the Greek words phileo, which is mutual love, and agapao, which God calls forth, which is an uncalculated giving of yourself to the other because of the intrinsic value or worth of the object. Everybody likes phileo; we’d like to love and then be guaranteed that we get loved back the same way. But when people are doing for me “to get,” it makes me look out for me. If I’m drowning and somebody risks their life to pull me from the water, I’m not going to have to talk myself into liking them on the bank. That’s the power of agapao. It’s a paradox and complicated, but when God sees us giving without calculation, He will give us more than we can give to Him. That’s the paradoxical truth. God loves the hilarious giver because the hilarious giver is giving out of happiness. It is the way you are when you first fall in love with someone, or you have that bright-eyed baby that brought new life in your home. You don’t have to be whipped into giving, you have great joy in giving to the object of your love. God, who sees the heart, sees that expression of love and worship and uncalculating effort and He loves that true, hilarious giver. But paradoxically, He also is going to hilariously give back.
The one unqualified promise regarding tithing in Malachi is: “Prove me now herewith, and see if you honor me with your tithes and offerings, that I don’t give you a blessing that you can’t contain.” (cf. Malachi 3:10) Now, it may not be the blessing that WE define, but it’s the blessing that the God of all goodness will provide to us. You are never going to know until you try, and you aren’t going to know until you keep doing it no matter what.
About the Gospel by Pastor Melissa Scott
Now what I love about this verse is we can just read through it very quickly, but in doing so, there are some little significant points. See, he says for example, “Neither when I up to Jerusalem which were apostles before me,” by the way, he’s still calling these people brethren. He’s trying to let them know if anything is on par with “anybody”, and he’s going to go on and mention Peter and James and John; he wants these to know if anybody’s on par with anybody he’s staying the course but he, Paul received it straight from Jesus. These others probably said, “Well I have something, too.” “And not like me. I didn’t go and get it from somebody else.” He’s making his case right here. I’d say verses 11 and 12 are kind of like his thesis, talking about the Gospel, the revelation and the understanding; this is not a man-invented thing going on here.
Pastor Melissa Scott tells us that now he then goes on to kind of catalog a time frame. You can line it up. My interest is not for the history, my interest is to show in lining it up Paul is trying to tell these people “what happened to me over here and then progressively until the point that I’m now speaking to you”. So he says here, “but I went into Arabia, returned again unto Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter”. Everybody always says that was his first visit. I don’t really care if it was his first, his second or his third; for this discussion the very fact is that he went to see Peter first.
God’s way by Pastor Melissa Scott
My burnt offering I place here and I expect nothing in return. It brings me joy to say “This I put here.” And not like the Pharisee “Let me show what I’m putting here.’ Matthew 6 tells us clearly when you do your alms you do them quietly. Don’t let the left hand know what the right hand is doing. The Bible is so clear, this is what’s paining me, I don’t understand why people are not just taking that and teaching the people. There is dignity, there is dignity in giving to God God’s way. God loves a hilarious giver and I’m going to prove that right now. If I haven’t proven it already, I’m going to make a capstone on this.
Pastor Melissa Scott tells us that this word here: hilaron, I’ve said we get our English word ‘hilarious.’ Now you read in Romans – you don’t even need to turn there, I’ll just tell you – Romans 3:25 and Hebrews 9:5. Jot these down, look at them later. Those two places, and I’m going to write it in English for you so you can see. Hilaron, this word here and the word that we have read when we read Jesus was not only the propitiatory, He was the propitiation. The propitiatory, the propitiation, the place which we call the ‘mercy seat,’ He ‘mercy-seated’ Himself. This word here is an adjective. All right. The word for what Jesus did, where He did it and how He did it: hilasterion, I’m writing in English so all the folks can see, is also an adjective.
No complicated stuff today, it’s just simple stuff. Now this is the Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Danker and Bowers. This word hilaron and its derivatives: hilaros, hilara, hilaron, translating ‘to be full of cheer,’ ‘cheerful,’ ‘glad,’ ‘happy things’ – ha, ha, ha, right? The next word down hilaratos, hilaratos: ‘quality or state of cheerfulness.’ It’s the ‘state of being,’ gladness,’ ‘whole-heartedness,’ ‘graciousness,’ et cetera. You keep going down the etymological scale of things and you will come to hilasterion.
About God’s Word by Pastor Melissa Scott
Pastor Melissa Scott tells us that if you’re listening for the first time on Internet, wherever you’re listening, please don’t send any money to this ministry unless you have been taught by this ministry, unless you have been taught in the Word of God. And that is the only reason for sending money to this ministry because you’ve been taught in the Word. You recognize what you have received and you are paying accordingly for it. I don’t want people sending change because they think we’re some mission somewhere. We’re in the middle of rebuilding and we’re stepping out in faith. But I want to make sure I have people knowing this is a Church that means business about God’s Word. And I’m not interested in having people who don’t understand what they’re supporting. I don’t want you to become a partner. We don’t have any partners. I’m not a partner of Jesus Christ, I’m His servant, so are you.
Now let me go back to some fundamentals because I know a lot of people are going to say “Are you saying the most important offering that you can do is a burnt offering?” No, the spirit of the burnt offering. The spirit that’s behind that that says…. I’m not telling you put everything you have in the pot. That’s what I’m going to get to in a minute, which is what the New Testament Church did. I’m telling you the spirit in which you give – it was Abraham offering Isaac. What do you think: God’s some sadist?
He wanted to know Abraham really was believing and faithing and trusting the LORD before the angel stayed his hand. “Now I know,” that’s what God wants from all of us. And that, when that is real, not coerced, not pretend, when that attitude of giving is real, I believe that’s when God starts to bless. And it’s not the blessing of “Oh, my business is prospering and everything’s coming up rosy and all the flowers are growing in the garden.” It’s a blessing that you can’t understand if it’s really happening to you. It’s one where you are beginning to realize your reason for being is not some function that rotates around society but your reason for being in whatever capacity you serve the Lord, you are His bought with a price.
Process of evolution by Pastor Melissa Scott
But I do believe, this is going to confuse everybody. I do believe there is a process of evolution that occurs in Christianity. That is ‘I was lost, and now I’m found’ and the minute ‘I’m found’ it doesn’t mean that I start becoming Christ-like. Pastor Melissa Scott tells us that the process by which I’m conformed, Romans 8 says the process by which I’m conformed that canopy makes me a product of Jesus Christ’s evolution in me. What I will become when I’m completed. So if you want to ask me if I believe in the theory that Darwin or whomever supported and purported and put out there: No, absolutely not! But let me get to what I came to talk about. That’s not it. No one knows what I’m going to talk about today. Isn’t that wonderful?
Actually I did prepare a message. And it’s very hard for me to start this message because it seems like everywhere when you turn on your TV anybody who is talking about Christianity; they’re not talking about Christ. They’re only talking about $$.$$. Everywhere. I’ve made up my mind that I have to do this. And I have to do this because you’ve been taught about giving God’s way. But there’s a whole world out there that thinks that giving to God is reaching into your pocket grabbing down for some change and some lint and putting it in the pot as it passes by. Jesus, when He spoke, He many times, by means of the paradox. Okay you in order to go up you must go down, in order to be first you must be last, in order to get I must give. That becomes the Aristotelian formula for this society we live in. If this, then that. If I give, I will get. And if you are giving in that mode, if you are giving in the formula ‘if this, then that’ you are not giving God’s way. You aren’t even giving at all because you are calculating what your investment is and what your return will be. And when you are doing it God’s way it is unconditional, there’s no strings attached.
The age of emancipation by Pastor Melissa Scott
Now comes the age of emancipation. A child is old enough that when Mommy or Daddy shuts the lights at nighttime ‘It’s time to go to bed Johnny.’ Remember the days – now this is really, even though I said what I just said, it’s going to kind of, a little bit date me a little bit. Because I used to think that flicking on the flashlight and reading a comic book was like taboo. Now lights are shut off – click – you. Now a days the lights go off, the kids click on the computer on the mouse and they’re off on some chat room, chat land somewhere. The age of emancipation. Deceit begins. Mom and Dad think the child is in bed. The child’s doing something else.
Oh come on. Don’t try that with me. I’m trying to make a point. I love the way people try to delineate and define. Like we’re being weighed in the balance. The only measuring rod that can be used by the way is the glory of God; His standard. You go back to the garden. Let me build on this analogy and I’m going to just abandon Boice because what I have to say at this point is probably more important than what he’s going to say. You can read his book anytime.
Pastor Melissa Scot tells us that back in the garden a measure of freedom is given. Before the fall they’re clothed in that Shekanyah glory. They were naked, but they were clothed in God’s glorious light. They were radiant, beautiful, however they were. That’s the clothing pre-fall. Then the clothing right after the fall, they make aprons of fig leaves. Listen to this. The fig leave were enough to cover what they wanted to cover but not enough to cover shame because when God came and said “Adam where art thou” he hid himself. Those leaves were not enough cover.
Mediator on earth by Pastor Melissa Scott
You want to be everything that God will impute to you. And at the same time you’re in that body like Romans 7 wrestling against the old man that’s still present. So I was glad, I was glad for that response because it tells me the minute we come to a point – that is the corner I turned; I had to turn it too – where we recognize – now I’m going to speak for myself – I recognized the state I’m in. Truly come to a state of recognition. This is not going to be popular, but I’d rather you – the ones that raised your hand and the ones that wrestle with this – I’d rather try and help you than just play the hypocrite game and say ‘Well you’re okay and don’t worry about it and go away.’ How can you be everything that God intends you to be in your Christian walk if you keep getting stepped on? And the stepping may not occur from the outside. It may be you, yourself and the devil crushing your ability to grow.
Pastor Melissa Scott tells us that there’s only one Mediator on earth that can hear your plea and do something about it. Just one. Jesus Christ. You want to tell somebody that’s your business. But your confession, your issues, only one person can do something about it. We want to talk about the issues of guilt and repentance and propitiation and expiation, which we will. We’ll touch on all of those things.
I picked a little something to read to you before I get started from Pinkum, his book called The Lamb of God. I don’t necessarily agree with everything he says but says it better than I could possibly say it. So why bother trying to explain it? Just read from it. His topic, the title is Romans 3:23, The Universality of Sin. Now I can guarantee you after I am done today you either are going to – the few that raised their hand – like you’ve been liberated or you’re going to leave here thinking that I tried to lay some trip on you, which I’ll be the last person to want to do that to anybody. I want to encourage you. I want you to be able to say ‘I’m growing in the faith.’
The Apostolic Age by Pastor Melissa Scott
“And all the churches shall know that that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts” – literally ‘the kidneys’ is the word, but the innermost part of mankind. You’ll know when this little woven in there, the churches – that’s just more confirmation: He’s talking to this church. It’s not a woman. It’s a type. And the corruption is just growing and growing and getting worse. Now probably this week I pray that I’ll be able to come and do this. I’ve wanted to do this for months now. I want to start looking at church history through these different doors where we go down a corridor and we see this point in time.
Pastor Melissa Scott tells us that this is the historic church from the Apostolic Age and actually go through all of the real defining moments that let us know why we have some of the things that we have in the church; what’s going on.
He says, “I’ll give unto every one of you according to your works. But unto you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine” – don’t have this type of teaching – “and which have not know the depths of Satan” – you have not even gone to that place where now the church has taken you -”as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.”
Now here’s a strange inversion of things. What I called the formula of how we have a letter that closes, in times past, the letter closes something like this. We’ll have a “to he that hath an ear let him hear” then “the over comer” – the promise to the over comer. Here it’s a little bit different. “He that hath an ear” is going to be at the end because there is a double promise with a double emphasis of something that’s going to be asked of the church. “And to he that overcometh” and we’ve already covered that. The victor, those who cross the finish line, those who will not get involved with those things, those who are going to be victorious in Christ and “keepeth my works.” I’m not going to get into the Greek here except to tell you there is a double emphasis. Not only “to he that overcometh” but a double emphasis on “he that keepeth my works.” Now what does that mean?
Six commendations of the church by Pastor Melissa Scott
What else? “His eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet like fine brass.” Well I said He’s going to come to the people exactly where they are. Those eyes of His are going to burn through and pierce through the veil of fallacy. And His feet of brass when they finally do touch down there will be judgment, but you’re going to see in this He’s already warned this church. We don’t have record of it. He’s already warned them and I’m going to prove that as we go through the text. There’s going to be a lot of hot stuff flying around because these people as good as they are in these, in the next verse.
Pastor Melissa Scott tells us that in verse 19 you have six commendations of the church. Not seven for example but six. Listen to what it says “I know thy works” – erga the King James does a little blunder it says “and charity.” The word is agapane. How strange that – you know the word. I’ll write it phonetically in English. It’s actually the ending tells us what it is. The whole text is written, almost all of it in the accusative referring to the church because “I know your works, I know your love” – not charity – “your love” and not just any kind of love. Not eros: erotic love. Not phileo: you do for me I do for you. But “I know your agapiv” – your unconditional, uncalculated giving of yourself.
So how could we be in this church? I just told you a lot of bad things about it. How could this be happening? Well they had to have a little bit of good, right? Just a little bit. It says “I know your works, I know your agapiv and service.” That word transferred over. I don’t want to too much into language because I’ve got other stuff to do is the word we get for ‘deacon.’ He’s saying service to the ministry. It’s the word that we eventually translate into English deacon. So ‘I know your service in the ministry and your faith’ – pistin -’and your endurance’ – not patience – ‘your endurance and your works. He just repeated works twice. Is that a mistake?
Book of Revelation in the Bible by Pastor Melissa Scott
Let me explain it to you. Yes, inevitably they become interchangeable, they’ll be know as the great dragon, that old, all the names they all merge together, in the use here you’ll see the same things and it’s so beautiful the way it works out. Satan is a noun, person place or thing, person supposedly, right? And diabolos for devil guess what it is?
Pastor Melissa Scott tells us that it is an adjective pronominal. Just like this, it’s pretending to be something it’s not, so typical of the devil. If you can remember that it will forge this in your mind that what starts here is nothing but a copycat want-to-be and it does that through your whole life, through the Bible, through everything. That’s why I love the grammar, it helps us to understand the words much more that just reading them as we go.
Now, I put on the board here and I’m going to use my cheat sheet briefly, put on the board here the Aramaic, Syriac because there’s something peculiar about what happens. There was a tendency to misunderstand what was being said in the text so rather than say ‘Jew’ or ‘Jewish’ and I personally think the better term, more politically correct is ‘Jewish,’ but the term being used is by the King James translators, but the language here translates it in a funny way.
It says “The blasphemy,” the blasphemy, the word here vela goop, velegodapa, this word here from, I told you I’m using my cheat sheet, ‘from’ dmn, d-m-n, aylayn which is ‘those’, I’m going to write underneath. Those who say, “those who say.” This is the most important part of where I’m going to get to because this word here being translated “they say of themselves,” I’m sorry I skipped over than, they say of themselves, this word here being zapeshene Judean, yudhhedaene, Judeans because they didn’t want to translated the word from the text, they changed the text as a sympathetic way of saying and that’s okay because I’m going to use the analogy from what I’ve just said. Again, “who say themselves Judeans,” Judeans, yudhhedaene cud. This word here ‘not,’ “they are not.” I’m glad that this analogy is here for me to do use. If I didn’t have it, I’d be stuck to try to explain.