Share your Fries
CHCC: April 20, 2008
I Chronicles 29:9-18
INTRODUCTION:
I want to start by sharing a little story, but let me ask for a show of hands first. How many of you like French Fries? Okay, this ought to be a good story to tell…. And just for this story can we please suspend all thoughts about things like cholesterol, trans-fatty acids, carbohydrates, calories, and how bad fried foods are for you. Just for the moment, let’s admit how good hot French fries taste, especially with generous portions of catsup.
One day a dad was running errands with his little 5-year-old son. They were having such a great day that dad wanted to do something special before they went home, so he asked, “Son, let’s go get a snack. What kind of treat would you like?”
Well, the little guy got all excited and shouted, “I want McDonald French Fries!” and his dad grinned and said, “You want it, you got it!” (Isn’t it great when kids are at the age when it’s that easy to make them happy?)
The little boy was so excited he didn’t even want to play on the toys while Dad ordered. When he heard Dad “super-size” the fries, Jimmy started jumping up and down.
The boy had a big grin on his face when he sat down at the table and pulled his fries out of the bag. Dad brought the catsup over and sat down next to his son. He felt good to see his son so happy over something so simple. He decided to join in the fun and reached over to get a couple of fries for himself.
To his surprise, the boy quickly put his arms around the fries like he was building a fort. He pulled the fries toward himself and said, “No! These are MINE!” Dad sat there in a state of shock. No one was smiling any more. Dad sat in silence while his son sullenly ate the fries.
What was going through the dad’s mind? Here are a few things he COULD have been thinking:
* “Hey, I’m the one who gave my boy those fries in the first place. … And besides that, I even “super-sized” the order!
* Not only that, but I’m over 6 feet tall. If I really wanted the fries, his skinny little arms couldn’t stop me. Doesn’t he know that if I wanted to, I could take all his fries. And if I wanted to, I could go order him so many fries that he could never possibly eat them all!
* After all, I don’t NEED any of his fries. I can afford to buy my own any time I want to. What I want is for my son to let me have a share in His little-boy JOY.
* And most of all, I want to see that my boy is willing to share the blessings I give him. (adapted from “Whose Fries are These?” by Rick Gillespie-Mobley sermoncentral.com)
You’ve probably figured out why I told this story. In fact, I hope whenever you eat Fries after this, you’ll remember that story. God has given ALL of us some French Fries. He’s given some of us small orders, others medium, or large, or even “super-sized” bags of fries.
* And like the Dad in the story, God wants to sit at the table with us and join in the fun.
* He hopes we will understand that all the Fries came from Him.
* He wants us to know that He takes JOY in giving to us.
* He hopes to see us take JOY in giving back what He gives to us.
Today we’re looking at a time when the children of Israel gave back to the God who had blessed them. It was the end of King David’s rule in Israel. His son, Solomon, was about to be crowned as the new King. David knew that God had chosen Solomon to build God’s Temple.
David had done all he could to finance the project his son would complete. David was not allowed to build the temple himself because he was a man of war, but Solomon, who reigned during a time of peace in the kingdom, was given the privilege to build a temple to God’s glory.
In preparation for this project David had given, from his own treasury tons of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, onyx, turquoise and other precious stones, marble and other building stones. Furthermore, at the time of his prayer which we will study today, David added to what he had already given another 260 tons of gold, and 190 tons of silver.
The leaders of the tribes of Israel had also given 190 tons of gold and 185 pounds of gold coins, as well as 375 tons of silver, 675 tons of bronze, and 3,750 tons of iron, as well as precious stones. Now, that, my friends, is a sizable offering! The text tells us that the people rejoiced in the willing response of their leaders who gave so freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord. Some people see offering time at church as a real downer, but David and the leaders of the Jewish nation caught a fresh vision of what a joy and delight it would be to build a temple to the Glory of God. And their giving was as generous as it was joyous.
We can learn some things from these verses about giving to God. For one thing, we see that when we SHARE what God has given to us, we are giving GLORY TO GOD.
1. SHARING GLORIFIES GOD
Let me ask for another show of hands. How many of you ever watch American Idol? I don’t watch it much, but my wife does … so I see enough of it to know what’s going on. Last week they had a show called Idol Gives Back. It was really a two hour fund raiser where the money (estimated to grow to about 100 million dollars this year from the 67 million that was raised last year) was given to 6 charity organizations. I’m bringing it up because we were surprised that they ended the show with a song we sang today in church: SHOUT TO THE LORD.
It’s not all that common for any TV show to use Christian music. But I think it illustrates what we’re talking about here. Any time we GIVE generously, it shines a light on the ORIGINAL GIVER. Generous giving will always GLORIFY GOD because He is the One who gave everything to us … and He is the One who motivates us to share with others.
That’s what the prayer of David in I Chronicles 29 is all about. Right after he listed all the GIFTS that had already been given to the Temple-building Project, this is what David prayed:
"Praise be to you, O LORD,
God of our father Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.
Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.
Now, our God, we give you thanks,
and praise your glorious name. I Chronicles 29:10-13
Any time you SHARE generously, you are giving attention and honor to the God who gave us Everything we have.
It is no surprise to hear talk at church about how God owns the cattle on a thousand hills or some other scriptural quote to point out how God owns everything, but I wonder how many people buy into that logic at a heartfelt level. When we’re not at church, how many of us really believe at a gut level that God is the giver of every good gift (James 1:17) In his prayer, David revealed that he wholeheartedly saw all good things coming from the hand of God. He also revealed that giving back to God is one of the best ways we give glory to Him. We can sing praise to God, pray to him, or serve him in some form of ministry, but nothing tops giving as a means of giving glory to God.
That wasn’t all of David’s prayer. The rest of it shows that Giving not only GIVES GLORY TO GOD who is the Original GIVER. When we give, it changes US.
2. SHARING DEVELOPS INTEGRITY
Here’s more of David’s prayer: "But who am I, LORD, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. 15 We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. 16 O LORD our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. 17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. I Chronicles 29:14-17
Why did David talk about honesty and integrity when he was praying about this special offering for the Temple? David knew that GIVING is always a test of the heart.
In the matter of tithing, God wrote in Malachi 3:10 about putting Him to the test to see how much blessing he would pour out on those who honored him with the tithe. But we also know that systematic giving puts us to the test as well. It tests our integrity, and our honesty, and our commitment. Some pass the test in flying colors, while others reveal that there is some growing and maturing yet to be accomplished. When it comes to giving back to God, some are inclined to fold their arms around their “fries” and say “No! Mine!” just like the little son in the first story did.
It is interesting to discover that People who make a lifetime habit of giving will become more and more HONEST. People who share what they have become people of INTEGRITY. On the other hand, people who want to spend everything they have on themselves will become more and more DISHONEST. It’s hard to keep everything for yourself without resorting to cheating or lying --- cheating the people you do business with --- lying to the IRS or anyone else that threatens to touch what you want to hoard.
And in the end, refusing to SHARE takes all the JOY out of life. Kind of like what happened to the folks in this short video:
VIDEO: “Go for Broke”
When it comes to our finances, we really have only two choices. We can “go for broke” --- which is what a lot of people are doing. Or we can “give back to God.” One way will always end badly. The other way will absolutely end with JOY.
3. SHARING PRODUCES JOY
Here’s how David ended his prayer: And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. 18 O LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you. I Chronicles 29:17-18
I know how David felt. A couple of weeks back, our treasurer told you about the results of our “30 pieces of silver offering.” Because of your generosity we were able to whittle away a huge chunk of our remaining mortgage. It dropped from about $78,000 to about $46,000 in just a few weeks.
I never cease to be amazed that in less than 10 years time we have been able to plan, build, and nearly pay for a 1.1 million dollar building all because you folks have had a mind to give back a portion of what God has blessed you with.
A week ago I sat down with a man who reminded me, that when these plans were being made by the elders, he came to an elders meeting and spoke his mind, saying that he didn’t think building this building was what we ought to do. He told me, “Ed, now as I look back on it, I’m glad you didn’t take my advice. I can see in hindsight that this was the right thing to do, even though at the time I couldn’t see the rationale of it. He went on to say, “How could we have known then that when this building was finished, we would soon face the need to condemn and demolish the old sanctuary because it had become unsafe.”
It’s true folks, that in 1999 when we undertook to plan such a bold project as a new sanctuary, no one had a hint that in the spring of 2007 the old sanctuary would have to be demolished. What we couldn’t possibly know, the Lord knew, and had as part of his plan for us and for our good as a congregation. Bless his Holy Name! God is soooo good to us!
CONCLUSION:
Before we close, let’s re-visit the fries for a moment. God loves to bless us and share with us from his bounty. He has it within him to “supersize” anything for our benefit. And it is his great joy to enter into the glad moment of what he lavishes on us. But what will our response be when God reaches over to have a taste of our fries? Will we circle our arms around our blessings and say “No! Mine!” or will be have the mature ability to know that
* what we have came from him in the first place,
* that he can always provide more to us at any moment,
* and that sharing back with God can be a moment of great joy for us
We say that we are a church with Passion for Christ and Compassion for People, (but we can’t show compassion for people unless we are a giving congregation. And if we HAVE passion for Christ, we WILL want to share everything He gives.)
