The Generosity of God

1 Amens

Amen

Welcome-KatieKobie explains AdventAdvent reading- by Chip and AaronReading together: Luke 1:68-75Song- SethAhh... Christmas. The beginning of Advent. The shopping season. How did you all do presents for your parents when you were kids- how did your family handle that? See, for me- there was always a day when we went shopping- between when I was 7 and say 13 or 14, my grandparents would give me something like $20 and this two hour window where they would drop me off at the local strip mall- and I would do my shopping. Looking back, it never occurred to me that the idea of my grandfather giving me money to buy him a present was a little silly. I'm not sure how it would have happened otherwise, but still...But here's what DID occur to me. I had twenty bucks and about 5 presents to buy. That's four bucks apiece. What if I only spent 3 bucks apiece on each present? That's $5 in my pocket! Whoa. The saddest part is that the result of this line of thought was that my grandparents ended up getting crappier and crappier gifts every year...I just couldn't see was how wrong it was for me to spend on myself what was specifically given to me to be used for others...And now that I'm on the other side of the parenting equation, I get to see it in a whole different light. Yesterday we gave Jack $20 and dropped him off at the Mall... No, not really. But...Just before Jack was born, Amy and I had all these wonderful ideas about what great parents we were going to be. No McDonald's… No TV… Then reality hit. Those of you with kids know how devious McDonald's is- those playgrounds! You get to this point where the kids are literally bouncing off every flat surface in sight and it's raining outside, and you get desperate to get them out of the house... and there's McDonald's. And their playplace. And their Happy Meal. So all that to say, Jack and I have spent some time in Micky D's. And usually- I buy him a happy meal- and we share it- I get milk for him, we split the burger... but those fries. He takes the whole bag and he'll shove 10 or 12 in his mouth at the same time. He knows it's a zero sum game- the more time I have to pick at them, the less he might get...And while it doesn’t really bother me (okay, maybe a little), sometimes, it breaks my heart when I ask him if he’d like to share his fries with Daddy and he says- No, they’re mine. And I think to myself- they’re yours because I gave them to you- and you won’t give me even a couple? As I said- this week we start Advent- that season where we focus on what God has given us in Jesus. And two weeks ago was Thanksgiving- a time to focus on what God has given us in our families, our homes, our jobs, our possessions...This Sunday- we’re going to do a little but of community business and walk/talk through a budget for 2008- but before we do that- I want to talk a bit about 2 things- God’s generosity to us and the effect it should have on us, and why we support our church community financially. So, yeah- we’re going to talk a bit about money. And knowing that money talk is a big turn off for a lot of people when it comes to church, we want to do so carefully- but unapologetically. The fact is- we don’t spend a lot of time talking about money here. Maybe once a year, twice at most- and usually that in the context of giving to the poor. But we talk about it this morning knowing it's artificial to avoid or stay away completely from the issue of money- it's a primary area of concern for all of us- I know- this is a young community- nearly everyone is struggling with issues of debt and student loans or maybe making a decent salary for the first time and wondering how much to upscale your life and house and all that. It's an area of concern, so we need to talk about it. Second, it's a part of our community life- what we do with our shared finances, whether we put money in together as a community and what we do with it matter- and so it's right for us to talk about it...But we start thousands of years ago when God came to a man named Abraham, and He told him: Gen 12:1-3. God blessed Abraham- but why? In order to be a blessing to others. Now- fast forward to the people of Israel- here’s what God told them: Deut 8:10-18 (NIV) Here’s the way VS 18 reads in the NLT: Why does God bless us? Because He loves us- but a big part of it is that Abrahamic covenant- I bless you to bless others. And the danger would be that we would begin to think when the hard days get behind us and we’re making good money that somehow, we should get the credit. After all, we got the job, we punch the clock, we work hard. Well… “But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant.”Here’s how the NT frames that sentiment: 1 Cor 4:7Everything we have is a gift from God. Everything. Jack may think those are his fries because he’s holding them. I may even think they’re mine because I bought them. Truth is, we’re both wrong. Everything we have is a gift from God. That’s why we say thank you. Thank you when we eat, thank you when we worship, thank you when we get up in the morning and go to bed at night. We say thank you with our mouths, with the work of our hands and with the money in our wallets. Here’s what Paul says in 1 Tim 6:17-19God wants us to be generous, to see what He’s given us first and foremost through the lens of how we can bless others, to not be stingy and hold on to what He intends us to use for others. Do you see that?But should all of that be given through the local church- through your community?Short answer- No- Not at all. Amy and I and many of you give outside this community- to Compassion Int’l, to various agencies and people. That’s all good. I do think, though, that we need to work through what our responsibility to our church community is.Here’s what it says in Acts 4:32-37: We give to our church community- that is, we pool our money together for a number of reasons- first, to take care of each other. You all should know- your giving goes to fund benevolence- when people in and out of this community are in need, you step up- We’ve fixed cars, bought food, paid rent, paid medical bills- this community has done a lot in its short history. Notice also Acts 2:44-47- We give to the poor to demonstrate that we get God’s grace to us. One of the main ways that the world understood that these people, Christ followers were different was in the area of their possessions- their money. We meet needs when we see them because we embrace our calling to bless others with what we’ve been blessed with. And we do it all to point to Jesus, so that people will understand what kind of compassionate, giving God we serve, and will give their lives to Him as well and follow Jesus along with us. We also give to support the work of the community- check out 1 Cor 9:1-10. Apparently, Paul worked as he moved from place to place planting churches. He made tents. He did this because he saw his calling as starting new things among those who had never heard the Gospel, so, even though he was supported by the past churches he had started, he felt strongly about still working- as he traveled around so that those he was preaching to would understand- he wasn’t after their money. It’s interesting that Peter, who didn’t travel like Paul did, didn’t work- but was completely supported as he did the work of the church community, first in Jerusalem, and towards the end of his life in Rome. Paul makes it clear- when people give their lives to serving you full-time- to counseling, teaching, administrating- doing the work of the community, they need to be taken care of. He says the same in 1 Tim 5:17.Now- none of us Pastors expect to get rich doing what we’re doing. We don’t buy the whole Benny Hinn/TBN philosophy. And right now- Chris and I are the only elders drawing a paycheck from this community. Dustin has raised support to work for you, knowing that we couldn’t pay him for the roughly 15-20 hours a week he’s putting in. But even in understanding that we’re not in this to get rich, we still want to take care of our families- and Paul says- that’s a part of the work of the community- taking care of those who are working hard to take care of you. So- we give to take care of each other in the community, we give to take care of those outside the community, and we give to take care of those who are taking care of the community. And now the big, practical question- HOW MUCH? Does God mandate that I give a certain percentage?Again, short answer- No. In the OT, they were commanded to give away more than 1/3 of their income to the poor, to the maintenance of the Temple and the priests/Levites and to various other offerings and celebrations. That old system, that LAW way of doing things has been fulfilled in Jesus and we don’t live under it anymore. Great! So I’m free to throw $5 to charity once a year and call it good! Not exactly… 2 Cor 9:6-9- Am I going to tell you to give 10% away? No. I think it’s a great starting point, but what God calls us to is giving generously, and at least for Amy and I, and for our community as a whole- what we’ve decided this means is that 10% is a starting point- and as God increases our income, we want to increase the % we give. We model our giving on the sacrificial giving of Jesus, who gave all for us- not the legalistic, count it out to the exact cent giving of the Pharisees. Here what I want you to hear today: You will always give money effortlessly to that which is your god.Sometimes- it’s hard to give. I know. But I also know it’s easy to spend money on ourselves- on the latest thing we’d like to buy, upgrading this or that, raising our standard of living. But when Paul talks about giving cheerfully- it’s not the forced smile kind of thing while you reluctantly write a check. No! You will always give money effortlessly to that which is your god. Think about how easy it is to spend money on something you really want. Why? Because most of us- myself included- make an idol out of our hobbies, our wants, our desires. And God gets whatever we feel we can spare after. I’m not going to tell you how much to give. Some of you can’t afford 10% right now because you are so far in debt. Make it a goal to work out of that- why? So you can buy more stuff? No- so you can give your money towards what God is really about in this world- blessing others. Pointing them to Jesus by taking care of them. Modeling Christ by our giving. In 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 Paul wants the church to take an offering and give some money to some Christians in another area who were struggling. He says, “I don’t want to order you. I don’t want this offering to be just a response to my demand.” He doesn’t put pressure directly on their wills (saying ‘I’m an apostle and this is your duty to me!’) and he doesn’t put pressure on their emotions (telling them stories about how much others are suffering and how much more they have). What does he do? He says this, “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” When he says ‘you know the grace’—he uses a powerful image, bringing the Gospel and what Jesus has done for us into the realm of money and wealth and poverty. He moves them not by banging on their wills, playing on their emotions, but by asking them to meditate on the Gospel. Paul is saying, ‘Think on what the grace of God cost Him- and how generous He is to you. Think on that grace until you are changed into generous people by the gospel.’ As we start the Advent season and remembering that God’s promise to Abraham, all His promises to His people culminated in the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus, we need to begin by allowing the Gospel to work on us.Am I a generous person? Not just with my money, but certainly with that- with my time, do I display a generous spirit to others, am I free with my friendship, my encouragement- do I see God’s grace to me and become moved to give to others? I want us to spend some time worshiping- thanking God for what He has given us. Even if you feel like you don’t have much- can you be thankful for that? Let’s meditate on the grace of God to us, be thankful for all He’s given us- and let’s see what it does to our hearts- how that changes us. Songs- giving- thankfulnessSarah presents the BUDGET! ☺Announcements-KatieBlessing- Bob
Read More