Does anyone else really like to give gifts? I really love to buy and give gifts to other people because it makes their eyes light up and their face glow. Just seeing a shiny wrapped present is enough to have fun. You may feel this sermon is a little too late but I think it is just in time. Christmas has become a time for gift giving but the other 364 days each year work just as well. I think it is fun to randomly give gifts to people. Some of you may have received letters from me throughout the year. Some of you will be receiving some soon enough. It may only be a few minutes each but I still want to contact you somehow so that you know that I care. Sometimes we may feel like we are not able to give gifts because we don’t have the resources to give to others. Maybe finances are running a little short this year or maybe you just don’t have time to go out and buy a gift.
It could be a little like my situation. My dad is the biggest pain to shop for in the universe because he just doesn’t care if he gets anything. I hate to admit it but I am just as bad. No matter whether it is his birthday, Christmas, or even father’s day, no one can find a gift for him. So far, the best gift he has received is an electric razor that cleans itself. He loves that thing. So, I would really like to get something for my dad that would show him how much we, the kids, love and respect him. I once saw a show where a guy bought his father the car of his dreams and fixed it up for him. That episode made me think of buying my dad the vehicle of his dreams, a Harley Davidson motorcycle. I think my dad would scream like a little girl if he saw one of those pull in his drive with his name on it. It might almost be worth it to hear my dad scream like a girl. None of us make that kind of money, so it is out of the question.
I want to discuss with you today Matthew 10:8 which says, “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.” Jesus had given this specific group of men and women miraculous powers for a short time so that they could go out and help people and give them the hope of knowing Christ. Christ has given each of you many assets and abilities that you too can give away and help those around you. It can become easy to make excuses for not reaching out to others and helping them. You might be afraid of rejection or maybe you don’t feel it is necessary. Yet, both the rich and the poor need what you can give. You can give time, love, your story, and most importantly, Jesus Christ. Let’s start with the smallest and yet still crucial giving of time.
Time:
I spent some time considering Jesus Christ’s ministry and found a very consistent pattern. One very clear example comes from Mark 6. Jesus had just fed five-thousand people with a couple of fish and five loaves of bread. He had just finished teaching them from light until dark. I would imagine he was probably exhausted from all that he had done. Before all that, he had been traveling by slowly by boat in tumultuous waters. Everyone wanted a piece of Jesus. “The people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them.” Thousands and thousands of people saw Jesus on the water and ran toward where He was heading. The man could not get a break and yet look at how he deals with them. He commands his disciples to feed the people to make sure they don’t faint on the way home. Instead of being worried about himself, He put these people at the top of his list when giving out his time and energy.
I remember my family once we moved to Anadarko to take care of my grandmother. My father had been blacklisted from hospitals which means they refused to hire him and so my mother worked. My dad constantly worked trying to help make ends meet. Honestly, we just didn’t have time to do much together. We didn’t have any money to do stuff together either. We always wanted to go fishing but it never happened. The greatest memory I have of my father is when we went to cut down the Christmas tree every year. We got to spend 100% of our time as kids with my dad. I believe that is why that memory is so absolutely important to me today.
The best gift your children and your spouse can ever receive is your time. You have only two other more precious resources that you can give and both require this resource. I know you have to work to make ends meet. I know your kids have basketball, soccer, and every other sport known to man. I know they have band concerts and academic events. Who cares about activities if they can’t spend quality time with mom and dad? God put you in charge of those little darlings. He gave you a wonderfully awesome gift. I may not understand what its like to raise three kids and the need to give time to each of them but I do understand what it is like to watch your parents always working just so you can eat. “Kids are very adaptable. They learn to go with the flow, know when the right and wrong time is to ask us for something, and learn that sometimes it is just easier not to ask. And sometimes kids just don’t know the words to express what they are feeling or what they need from us. So their frustrations come out as crankiness, whining, and bad behavior.” Stop and listen to what they have to say. Stop being so impatient with your children. You will have to intentionally set aside time to spend with them. Yet, we all have this resource and would rather give it to Mr. T.V. rather than our family. You didn’t pay for your time on this earth. You received it for free. Freely give it to others who need it, especially your children.
Love:
We all have time, though it may be limited by our short life spans. We also all have the capacity to love. There are so many scriptures on the subject of love and giving love to others. I Corinthians 13 and 1 John 3-4 seem to be two of the most prominent on the subject. We are even commanded to love one another in 1 John 3:23. “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never fails.” Faith in Christ opens up a whole new realm of love called unconditional. This kind of love comes directly from Christ. This means loving regardless of action. This means loving your kids when they act bad and when they act good and doing so equally.
One way we try to make up for time and love given is to find ingenious devices to help. Here is one story. “One ingenious teenager, tired of reading bedtime stories to his little sister, decided to record several of her favorite stories on tape. He told her, "now you can hear your stories anytime you want. Isn’t that great?" She looked at the machine for a moment and then replied, "No. It hasn’t got a lap."” Basically, who cares whether it is simple or fun when a child cannot get the attention and affection of their parents. This goes so much further than just young children. Your parents could use more than a phone call every six months. Your friends and family in the nursing homes are lonely, bored, and depressed. They need human interaction that shows love and affection. They don’t need just a chat.
Honestly, the world has enough selfish, hateful love as it is. I see it everywhere I look, even in this very auditorium. Husbands and wives have spats and are angry at each other. Family members keep grudges going for weeks, months, and even years without showing an ounce of care much less the love of Christ. People are about ready to give up on life because they cannot find meaning behind living. Why live when nobody cares? Children gather anger and bitterness at mothers and fathers because they have little more than fear for their parents. How can you respect someone who always instills fear to control you? Kids aren’t stupid. I see older men and women who feel unloved and forgotten because no one takes the time to visit them, especially their children. You have so much to give others. You can give love!
Jesus Christ:
You have freely received time, love, and also Jesus Christ. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Jesus came to earth and became human because He wanted to rebuild the bridge to God that man had destroyed. He was sent by God to cure the disease man could not cure called sin. Sin means breaking God’s rules. Everyone has sinned which means everyone has broken God’s rules. There is a punishment for breaking God’s rules and it is death. Yet, instead of you dying for your sin, Christ took your punishment on himself. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” God loved you enough to send His Son to take your place. “God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Even in the depths of sorrow and struggle, Christ came to you and brought you up. He picked you up out of the depths of your sin and kept you from drowning.
“In 1981, a Minnesota radio station reported a story about a stolen car in California. Police were staging an intense search for the vehicle and the driver, even to the point of placing announcements on local radio stations to contact the thief. On the front seat of the stolen car sat a box of crackers that, unknown to the thief, were laced with poison. The car owner had intended to use the crackers as rat bait. Now the police and the owner of the VW Bug were more interested in apprehending the thief to save his life than to recover the car. So often when we run from God, we feel it is to escape his punishment. But what we are actually doing is eluding his rescue.” - unknown
“The wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The free gift of God is eternal life. Some people say, “The best things in life are free.” I tend to agree with them because the greatest gift we can ever receive is absolutely free. Not only is it free, it cannot be bought with money, jewels, time, or even good behavior and earnestness. It cannot be earned. Eternal life is given from Christ to mankind, to you. Why do we continually run away form the one person who can save us from certain doom? Why do you continually run from God when he offers you life for free? Some of us have Christ and yet refuse to give Him to others. Do you not understand that the free gift you received was life? Other people need the life you have to give and yet you keep it to yourself.
VIDEO: Evangelism is True Love
“Freely you have received. Freely give.” Freely give your time and don’t expect anything back. Stop demanding your children be a certain way and just give them time. When they act out, it may be because they genuinely need your attention. If they are actually getting real mommy and daddy time, maybe they wouldn’t beg quite so much for it. Freely give others love and don’t expect them to love you back or to act a certain way just because you love them. Just love them because you love them and nothing more. Freely you have received Jesus Christ. Freely He has paid your debt of sin. Freely He died for you so that you could be set free. Freely give Jesus Christ to others. This is what you can do. Schedule time to spend together and plan what you will do. Now, do it. If someone calls and asks for something, say no. You can say no. You can give this year. You can give your children the greatest gift ever; you. They want you more than they want another toy. Your parents want you, not just a silly phone call. Give more this year. Give yourself. Give Jesus Christ. If you don’t know Jesus but would like to, I will gladly tell you all about Him. Maybe you need to rededicate your life to Christ because you’ve failed and fallen away for a while. Today is the day. Don’t wait because you may not have tomorrow.
http://www.familieswithpurpose.com/howtofitfamilytime.html
