Intro - John Young moved into an apartment tower in Chicago. The apartments had seen better days. All the colors had faded, the maintenance had been neglected and the mood of the place was downright ugly. It was just a real rough part of town. One of the things John noticed was that hardly anyone had any plants at all on their patios that overlooked a vacant lot. So John bought some geraniums and wicker furniture to set out on his patio. It made the patio look so much better, but from the outside, the building still looked like a plain concrete box. He then realized that changing his patio wouldn’t do it. He had to get everyone involved. So John went door to door of the tower, talking to people about cleaning up the place and making it more inviting. Soon he had every single resident improving the look of their dwellings and patio and soon the place began to take shape. And John and everyone also noticed that as their tower began to look better, the attitudes of the people got better too. They began to acknowledge one another and build friendships. Next, John and the residents of Lake View decided to tackle the vacant lot and turn it into a garden, a place where they could escape the concrete jungle of the city and have a place to enjoy nature. John’s garden creation transformed the look and the spirit of the community and caught the attention of Mayor Daley, who awarded him the Gardner of the Year award for the City of Chicago. Most people would have said “All I can do is work with what is mine…I can’t change everyone else…but John knew that for a real transformation to take place, they had to get everyone involved and everyone to take ownership.
Over the last few weeks during this “Firstfruits” series, we’ve talked about “giving our best”, “making a commitment” and “extreme giving”…all these focus on individual giving. But does God care about how we give as a group? Shouldn’t giving focus on what I give? After all, it’s up to me as to what I decide to give and how to give it, right? But does the Bible ever address “group giving?” In the past, God spoke to His people as a nation about giving. Look at Deuteronomy 26:1-2…“When you have entered the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, 2 take some of the firstfruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the LORD your God is giving you….” Again, talking about giving our firstfruits, but notice Moses when he says “When YOU”…He’s talking to the nation. Not individuals. If he were from the south, He’d say “when Ya’ll” have entered….He means everybody. As a group. This is something the nation was supposed to do. So God held the entire nation accountable. And likewise, when God gave the nation instructions, everyone was to follow and it was important that EVERYBODY complied. And even when only a few did not do their part, He judged them and it hurt the nation. In Joshua 7, we read a story about how when Joshua was leading the people to take over the promised land, one of the men named Achan decided to keep some of the things for himself when God strictly forbid them from doing so. But this was not just an ancient idea or one time deal. God will also do this in the future. In the future, God will speak to His people as a church about giving. Read Revelation 3. In Revelation 2 and 3, God allows John to see the judgment that is coming upon the churches in the future. 7 churches to be exact. And in Revelation 3:1, He says to the church at Sardis “…I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God…” The people had a reputation for doing the right things, but lacked completing what they were commanded to do. This can be true of the church in giving. We all agree we should give, and we may have the reputation of doing it in the past, but if we are not honoring those commitments, then God holds us accountable. And again, God looks at us as an entire church, not just individuals. Basically, God is saying that if even only a few don’t do their part, then the whole church falls short of what God has called us to do.
So what does God expect, not just from us individually, but what is God looking for from churches when it comes to giving? Look at 2 Corinthians 8. Paul speaks about a church that is getting it right and he commends them for the way they give. And just like we’ve been trying to emphasize with individual giving, the same is true here: It’s not about the amount. In other words, Paul is not praising this church because they were the number one givers. Instead, he is pointing out what is good about their giving. We can take some lessons from this and have a better understanding as to what God is looking for when it comes to OUR giving as a church.
First of all, God is looking for churches that are eager to give. Look at 2 Corinthians 8:1-5. “And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will.” These 5 verses tell us a lot about the churches in Macedonia. We see right away that these are not wealthy churches, but poor. They were people who didn’t have much, but they were generous. Amount couldn’t have been much. But generous with what they had. And not only were they generous, they were EAGER to share it. Look again at the last part of verse 3…This is a church that WANTED to give, saw it as a privilege. They knew that a normal function of a church is to be givers. In preparing for this message, when I read this passage, it reminded me of a church I met when I was living in Virginia. Like I used to do at Furman, I was working with the Baptist Student Union and we were taking a team of students to the San Blas Islands off the coast of Panama. The New Testament had just been translated into their native language of Kuna and we were among the first to go and distribute Bibles. I was going around to churches telling them about our upcoming trip and I went to one church out in the country to share with them about it. It was a small church, no more than 50 in attendance on Sunday morning. I shared with them what we would be doing and that the students were working to raise about $15,000 dollars to help cover the costs of the trip and that we lacked about $10,000. The service ended, I shook hands with people, left and was back in the office Monday morning when the Pastor called me up and said the church wanted to make a donation to help us take Bibles to the Kuna Indians in Panama. So I drove out to the church and met the Pastor and the church treasurer and they handed me a check…for $10,000. Now this was a church that couldn’t have had more than a $50,000 annual budget. I stood there with my mouth open, speechless. I knew what a sacrifice this was. But then they told me how excited they were that they, a small little group of farmers in rural Virginia could have the honor of taking the word of God to another group of people around the world, they just couldn’t pass it up. They knew that giving was a privilege! They didn’t want to miss out! To me, Giving means giving, not taking. Too often, we’ll part with the money, but we don’t do so with the right spirit like these Macedonian churches. They knew that it was a privilege to give, to start new churches, to take the gospel or to help others in need. And they didn’t do it once they raised up enough to take care of themselves. As it says in v. 5 “they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will”. That means they didn’t just take what they were going to tithe and use that…it means they dug deeper and gave sacrificially and they were eager to do it. In one church, the pastor stood up and said “Christmas is coming and we have a poor family in our church who needs our help, so we will be collecting a special offering next Sunday to help them with Christmas. Patricia Martin felt the Lord was leading her to gather her kids to help out. Times were tight in the Martin house. She had 5 kids, 2 still in diapers, and her husband had died about 6 months ago. But they still had a home, could still keep the lights on and they were thankful for what they had. So each of the kids found some things they could sacrifice for the sake of the poor family in their church. They sold some old games and movies they didn’t need anymore, one was old enough to do yardwork for hire, so he raked leaves. And Patricia worked an extra shift at her job and took part of that to contribute. So when the collection was done, the Martins felt proud that they could contribute $50 to help out this family in need. A couple of days later, Patricia was at the church for a ladies Bible study when one of the deacons found her and pulled her to the side and said “Patricia, everyone knows how difficult things have been for you…so we decided to collect some money to help you provide Christmas for your family”…and inside was a check for $300. Even though they were “poor” in most people’s eyes, the Martin’s knew that giving to help others was a privilege and they were eager to give. God is looking for churches that give with this spirit.
God is also looking for churches that are equal in giving. Look at 2 Corinthians 8:13-15. “Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written: "He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little." Do we all same gifts? Can everyone give the same amount? No…but all should share in the giving, as the Lord leads. Sometimes you can give more, sometimes less. Sometimes, like the Martins, you need to be the receiver instead of the giver. References Exodus 16, when “Manna” from heaven fed them. Set it up where could only get enough for family for one day…so they would trust God, not food or stuff. And here, Paul is emphasizing that everyone needs to share in providing for others. When it comes to giving in the church, there needs to be equality. Not equal gifts, but equal participation.
Back in the summer, Elizabeth and I went rafting. We enjoy whitewater rafting. Ever do this? If you go, keep in mind, that you don’t just “float” down the river. You have a guide and when the guide tells you to paddle, then you paddle. In case you are having trouble seeing this, let me give you an example. Need 6 volunteers. Take place in raft…now when I say stroke, you stroke…Notice these two in the front. Digging in, paddling hard, even after I said stop, keep going. Some givers in church are like this. They know they have to do their part and they’ll dig deep, they’ll even go more if called upon. what about these 2 in the middle? Are they paddling? Sort of…once in a while…when asked, go a little harder, but then lose interest. Some givers are like this. It’s not their nature, but when asked, they’ll help out a little when they can. And then there are these folks in the back. Their paddles don’t get very wet. They are enjoying the ride. And they are in the boat, but they aren’t helping much. Churches also have these kind of givers (or non-givers). Just going along for the ride…Don’t have to paddle as hard as others….but still need to help. But what would it look like if everyone did their part. Let’s see…stroke…all digging in in rhythm. Imagine if our church did the same! Everyone equally giving as the Lord leads them. A powerful force for God. So what are you doing in our boat? Most of you here are members here (guests, not for you, you enjoy the ride, our pleasure), but member, committed to serve. What are you doing in the boat? Going hard at it? Every now and then? Not for me? God is looking for churches that are eager to give, equal in giving, but I want to give you one more idea about a giving church.
God is also looking for churches to be examples of giving. Flip over to 2 Corinthians 9:1-2… “There is no need for me to write to you about this service to the saints. For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you in Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action.” Paul brags on the church in Corinth for giving, saying they have inspired other churches, “stirred most of them to action.” Felt it was their nature to help others. Actions were used by God to encourage others. Here’s an image I would like for you to think about. Today, this afternoon, we’ll be presenting our 2008 Ministry Plan for our finances for next year. Most of you already have a copy. See that it’s significantly lower than last year. We’ve had to deal with some losses. But here’s where I would like you to dream a little…what would it take for us to be a great example to other churches? Let’s not think about ourselves and our issues for a moment…how could God use us, like the church in Corinth, to stir others to action? Don’t think buildings or budgets. Don’t think amounts or size. Notice again what it says in the scripture… “For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you in Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action.” This was a church that was eager to share, enthusiastic! It wasn’t the amount. It was a group of people who loved God, loved each other and said “We love these other churches too and we’ll be happy to help you by giving part of what we have.” They needed to be fed, but they also saw themselves as feeders of others. The same is true for our church. The people of First Baptist Mauldin need to be fed…AND to be feeders. We have needs, sure, but as followers of Jesus, we all need to be feeding others too.
Folks, I love missions. I love doing missions, hearing about missions and supporting missions. And in our Ministry Plan for 2008, our missions giving is less than last year. And I hate that, but the fact is for the last few years, we’ve gotten smaller and our resources have gotten smaller too. But this in no way has to reduce our excitement about missions! I want to see us grow in our passion to help others and to proudly give a portion of what God has given to us to help carry Christ around the world and right here at home. In 2008, we will have opportunities to help people in need. Many of them right here in our own neighborhood like the Golden Strip Resource Center. Next year, we’ll travel to places like Maine and Mississippi to help others who need us. And we’ll send teams around the world, all with the same goal: to tell them Jesus loves them. And whether we give $5 or $5 million, I’ll be proud to do it ESPECIALLY all of us join in the effort as we can. To me, THAT’s the best way we can be a positive example to our brothers and sisters around us. I don’t mind if folks around us say “First Mauldin is going through some transitions, dealing with some issues….” I don’t mind…as long as they say after that “but boy, do those people love doing missions! Every single person in that church is doing their part in telling the world about Jesus! This is something we can do! It’s not an unreachable dream! We can do it and we should. In two weeks, December 2nd, we begin our Lottie Moon Christmas offering. We do it every year. Every single penny goes to support missionaries, over 6,000 of them, all around the world building churches and telling people about Jesus. Anyone against that? We have a goal, $16,000. Some years we reach it (most time), other times fall short… But you know what I don’t think we’ve ever done? Is for every single person in our church to participate! But what would happen here if all of us gave toward this? Wouldn’t that be exciting? We need to think like this…God thinks like this, He wants to see ALL of His people in ALL of His churches, giving as He gives to them.
