Part 8: Always Giving Series

The Always God

Part 8 - Always Giving

Good morning! Please turn in your Bibles to Luke 12. Today we bring our “Always God” series to a close. We’ve talked about how God always speaks. Always works. Always hears. Always pursues. Always restores. And this morning, as we observe communion together, I want us to look at how God always gives.

For about ten years now, I’ve been blessed to speak at LifeWay’s Centri-Kid camps in the summer. I am hoping that this year, for the first time, I can take a group of our own 3-6 graders with me. Centri-Kid is an incredibly gospel-centered week in the life of a kid. Every night, we share the gospel in a simple, straightforward way:

God rules. We sinned. God provided. Jesus Gives. We respond.

Now, I have to admit, at first I really struggled with “Jesus Gives.” Not theologically—I know Jesus’ death on the cross for our sins is absolutely the cornerstone of our faith. I know Jesus blood was shed for me.

My struggle was grammatically. I thought, “Shouldn’t it be “Jesus gave?” I mean, the cross was a once and for all event, right? We believe that it was completely sufficient for us. So the English major and editor in me wanted to call the Centri-Kid office and say, “we need to change this gospel presentation.”

But here’s the thing: Jesus giving His life for me is, without a doubt the greatest gift.

But it isn’t His only gift. And while his sacrifice for our sins was indeed a once and for all, never to be repeated, perfect sacrifice, three days later Jesus rose from the dead. And He lives today. He is seated at the right hand of God the Father. And He has never stopped giving.

So we are going to talk about that this morning, As we get ready for communion, I want us not just to look at the nature of our always giving God, but also the warnings He is always giving to those who aren’t saved; the peace He always gives to those who are saved, and the assurance He gives that you can know the difference.

So let’s pray, and we will get started.

[Pray]

We know from Scripture that God gives. James 1 tells us that “every good gift, and every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, in whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

This week I did a quick word search of every verse that talks about God giving something. There are almost 400 verses. Here’s just a few of the things God gives, according to scripture:

Food.

Prosperity.

Children.

The Sabbath.

The Law.

The Land (big one in the Old Testament. Over and over God gave the Israelites instructions for what to do when they entered the land God was giving them.

God gave Israel their enemies. And just as often, God gave Israel over to their enemies, so it went both ways.

Life

A new heart

Wisdom, rain, security, songs, understanding, counsel, power, strength.

Sleep! Psalm 127:2 says that God gives sleep to His beloved. I know a few Atlanta Braves fans are saying amen to that this morning.

God gives Victory. He gives favor.

He gives names to the stars, says Psalm 147. Food to the beasts of the field. Snow to the slopes of the mountains.

Every good and perfect gift! And that’s just the Old Testament.

In the new Testament, John says that God “gives the right to become children of God” to as many who would receive Him.

Jesus said “Come to Me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

We could go on and on. Grace. Peace. Growth, wisdom, love, the Holy Spirit. Eternal life. But really, Paul summed it all up in his sermon in Acts 17:

25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

So yes, God is always giving. But the gospel isn’t just about God giving gifts. The hard truth of the gospel is that God also gives plenty of warnings about the consequences of not trusting in Him. Let’s look now at Luke 12:

Verse 1 gives us the context and the audience for what Jesus is about to say:

12 In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

This is probably the high point of Jesus’ ministry, or at least the peak of His public popularity. He’s fed multitudes, He’s healed diseases and cast out demons. In other words, He’s given and given, and now, Luke describes that there are so many thousands of people gathered together that they are trampling one another.