Someone has said “There are two kinds of people: givers and takers; the takers eat better but the givers sleep better.” How are you sleeping at night? In my last church there was a young man named Chris who gave a testimony one Sunday. In his testimony he said “All my life I have been a taker. From now on I am going to be a giver.” The last I heard he was teaching a Bible study class and serving as chairman of deacons. He became a giver.
I want to show you a picture of a man who was a giver. His story will give you guidance in this important and life changing decision. “We weren’t aloof with you. We took you just as you were. We were never patronizing, never condescending, but we cared for you the way a mother cares for her children. We loved you dearly. Not content to just pass on the Message, we wanted to give you our hearts. And we did.” (I Th. 2:7-8 NLT) This is taken from the New Living Translation. Notice the last phrase in verse 8. Paul said “We wanted to give you our hearts.” That is awesome! Here is a man who wanted to share his heart with other people. This is God’s plan for life. He created us to share our hearts with other people, in service to Him. He wants us to be a giver. Jesus said “If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give it up for me, you will save it” Lk. 10:39 TLB)
There are three barriers that will keep us from serving others.
1. Sin causes us to hold back. We become concerned with looking out for number 1.
2. The circumstances of life will cause us to hold back. Sometimes job pressure, family circumstances, or our economic situation can keep us from sharing with others.
3. Satan will cause us to hold back. Jesus said “the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I am come that you may have life and have it more abundantly.” Jn. 10:10 Satan will try to keep you from being a giver.
Our first step in becoming a giver will be facing the personal barriers that are holding us back. Begin there today!
As you examine your heart I want to lead you to learn from Paul. What are the indicators that Paul gave away his heart? These same indicators should be present in our lives.
1. To give away our heart we must see the needs of others. Notice verses 6-7. “We might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children.” Paul was like the General Patton of the Christian faith. He was a get in your face kind of person. He had every right to expect those people to support him, but he was not demanding. He was gentle. The opposite of gentle is demanding, impatient, or forceful. Gentle is a word that goes against the grain of our culture. We use words like take charge, conquer, and defeat. Can you imagine a football coach talking to his team at half time? As he speaks he wants to motivate those players. He wants to win the game. What do you think his team would think if he said “Guys, be gentle in the second half.” He says things like, “take charge”, “dominate”, “get in their face”, and “show them who is number 1.” In this passage Paul says he was gentle. Why did he say that? He was sensitive to the needs of the people in that church. He knew that if he got in their face he would discourage them. It was his desire to represent Jesus. Therefore, he suppressed his natural bent and exercised the fruit of the spirit. He was gentle. He knew that if he was demanding he would break the spirit of those young believers. It was his desire to meet their needs.
Illustration: We have a tendency to give people what they deserve rather than what they need. There is a good example of this in our society. In recent years there has been an explosion of ADD cases. This malady has probably always been present. However, we have given it a name. When a young person has ADD we tend to give them what we think they need. Unfortunately we usually begin with the heavy hand of discipline. What they deserve and what they need are two different things. They might need discipline but more importantly they need understanding.
Jesus had the special ability to see the needs of others. His vision caused him to display a gentle nature as he responded to those in need. You see this in his response to the lady at the well (John 4). You see this in his response to the lady who committed adultery (John 8). You see this in his response to Zacchaeus (Luke 19).
2. To give away our heart we must care. Notice Paul’s words in verse 7. “But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children.” Paul compared his care for the Thessalonian believers to that given to a child by a nursing mother. A mother fulfills a nurturing, caring role with her children.
Caring, like gentleness, is an awkward virtue, especially for men. Men are not natural care givers. Men do not have the gift of nurturing. The difference between men and women can be witnessed in the way they carry things. A man will carry things in his hand or with it resting on his hip. A woman carries things with it held against her breast. They are natural with the nurturing process. That is the way God made them.
As I thought about a mother’s caring/nurturing role I looked for the real issue. What does a mother offer through her caring? She offers a safe place! That should be the goal of our church. We offer a safe/supportive place where people can find love, support, encouragement, and friends. That is the purpose of our small group (especially Sunday School) ministry. We are seeking to offer a caring, supportive, and loving community where people find a place to belong.
Les and Leslie Parrot wrote a book about relationships. In this book they said “Recently a pioneering band of researchers studied the age-old mystery of what makes people happy. Their answer is not what you might expect. What appears consistently at the top of the charts is not success, wealth, achievement, good looks, or any of those enviable assets. The clear winner is relationships, close ones.” They add: “Nothing reaches so deeply into human personality, tugs so tightly, as relationship. Why? For one reason, it is only in the context of connection with others that our deepest needs can be met. Whether we like it or not, each of us has an unshakable dependence on others. We need camaraderie, affection, love. These are not options in life, or sentimental trimmings; they are part of our survival kit. We need to belong!” We need a safe place.
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Michael McCartney)
A young boy was sent to the corner store by his mother to buy a loaf of bread. He was gone much longer than it should have taken him. When he finally returned, his mother asked, “Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick about you.” “Well,” he answered, “there was a little boy with a broken bike who was crying. So I stopped to help him.” “I didn’t know you knew anything about fixing bikes,” his mother said. “I don’t,” he replied. “I just stayed there and cried with him.”
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Rich Young)
One aspect of my vision for Faith Baptist Church is to build a network of supportive, encouraging, and loving small groups. We would like to give people a place where they can connect with other believers in authentic caring relationships.
3. To give away our heart we must be self-giving. Notice Paul’s words in verse 8. “Because we loved you, we were happy to share not only God’s Good News with you, but even our own lives.” (NCV) Paul literally laid his life on the line for the believers in Philippi. .
There was a show on The History Channel, several years back, titled, “The Man Who Predicted 911.” The program was about Rick Rescorla. Long before September 11th, Rick Rescorla, the 62-year-old head of security at the Morgan Stanley Bank, developed an evacuation plan for the bank. The bank’s offices were situated high up in the South Tower at the World Trade Center. Rescorla was convinced that Osama Bin Laden would use jet planes to try and destroy the World Trade Center. The plan and its preparation were hugely unpopular with the Morgan Stanley staff, many of whom thought Rescorla was mad. On September 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 11 hit World Trade Center Tower 1 at 8:46 am. Rick Rescorla ignored building officials’ advice to stay put and began the orderly evacuation of Morgan Stanley’s 2,800 employees on 20 floors of World Trade Center Tower 2, and 1,000 employees in WTC 5. Rescorla reminded everyone to "be proud to be an American ... everyone will be talking about you tomorrow", and sang God Bless America and other songs over his bullhorn to help evacuees stay calm as they left the building. Rescorla had most of Morgan Stanley’s 2800 employees as well as people working on other floors of WTC 2 safely out of the buildings by the time United Airlines Flight 175 hit WTC 2 at 9:07 a.m. After having reached safety, Rescorla returned to the building to rescue others still inside. He was last seen heading up the stairs of the tenth floor of the collapsing WTC 2. His remains were not recovered. As a result of Rescorla’s actions, only 6 of Morgan Stanley’s 2800 WTC employees were killed on September 11th, 2001, including Rick and three of his deputies who followed him back into the building. The remainder of this very moving broadcast focused on Morgan Stanley Bank employees who now in tears were praising and acknowledging Rick Rescorla for saving their lives from total destruction that day. Many felt so guilty and apologetic for thinking Rick to be foolish for preaching and standing for what he believed would happen if they were not ready. Those interviewed said they would never forget Rick Rescorla. He was their hero. He was convinced people entrusted to his care would perish if his plan of escape were ignored. Rick Rescorla stayed the course even when unpopular and ridiculed because he believed what he was doing would save lives. He was self giving.
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Bruce Fer)
Illustration: I heard James Dobson tell a story, on the radio, that perfectly illustrates self-giving love. Dr. Dobson said he and his wife, Shirley, married in 1960. At the time they only had $100 to their name. He said his father and mother were in bad health and that his father was the pastor of a small church. Due to this they also had serious financial problems. Dr. Dobson said while he and Shirley were on their honeymoon his mother bought $20 worth of food and stocked their home. He said that in 1960 you could buy a lot of food for $20. Dr. Dobson said they were touched because his mother bought something she could not afford and gave it to them. That is self-giving love!
Many of you have sacrificed your money, time, and hearts to establish Faith Baptist Church. At times your sacrifice has been great. You are to be commended for your sacrifice. I would remind you that sacrifice is not abnormal but normal. It is the way of life for the dedicated follower of Jesus Christ. This was Jesus intent when he said “If anyone will come after me let him take up his cross and follow me.” (Lk 9. 23) There may be someone here who has shunned cross bearing. You have shunned sacrifice. (or) You begrudge God’s request for you to sacrifice. Sacrifice should be standard equipment in the heart of a believer.
4. To give away our heart is to be hard working. Notice Paul’s words in verse 9. “For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil; for laboring night and day.” Paul indicated he had worked hard among the Thessalonian believers. The concept of labor and toil is found in II Th. 3:8. Paul said “We didn’t sit around on our hands expecting others to take care of us. In fact, we worked our fingers to the bone, up half the night moonlighting so you wouldn’t be burdened with taking care of us.” The word toil refers to labor that brings pain. It refers to labor that is done through difficulty.
Illustration: When I was in high school we often made spending money by hauling hay. In those days they did not have the big round bails, like they do today. Most farmers use the big round bails that you pick up with a tractor. They had the little rectangular bails that you picked up by hand. I will never forget that work. I remember one afternoon in particular. We had sweated and worked hard. We were exhausted and it was almost dark. I leaned over to pick up a bail and my right hand locked up. I had lost so much sweat and strained so much that my muscles locked my hand in a closed position.. I literally had to pry my fingers open. That was painful. That is the kind of labor described in verse 8. Paul had labored to the point of exhaustion. When you serve Jesus Christ your service will not always be easy. It may be difficult.
On this mother’s day I want to commend mothers because they are also hard working individuals. They give their hearts away in service to us. Erma Bombeck wrote this essay entitled, When God Created Women. “By the time the Lord made mothers, he was into his sixth day of working overtime. An Angel appeared and said "Why are you spending so much time on this one?" And the Lord answered and said, "Have you seen the spec sheet on her? She has to be completely washable, but not plastic, have 200 movable parts, all replaceable, run on black coffee and leftovers, have a lap that can hold three children at one time and that disappears when she stands up, have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart, and have six pairs of hands," The Angel was astounded at the requirements for this one. "Six pairs of hands! No Way!", said the Angel. The Lord replied, "Oh, it’s not the hands that are the problem. It’s the three pairs of eyes that mothers must have! One pair of eyes are to see through the closed doors when she asks, “What are you kids doing in there?” Another pair in the back of her head that sees what she shouldn’t but what she has to know. And of course the ones here in front that can look at a child when he goofs up and say, “I understand and I love you without uttering so much as a word. The Angel tried to stop the Lord. "This is too much work for one day. Wait until tomorrow to finish." "But I can’t!", the Lord protested, "I am so close to finishing a creation that is so close to my own heart. She already heals herself when she is sick AND can feed a family of six on a pound of hamburger and can get a nine year old to stand in the shower! The Angel moved closer and touched the woman. "But you have made her so soft, Lord." "She is soft," the Lord agreed, "but I have also made her tough. You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish." "Will she be able to think?", asked the Angel. The Lord replied, "Not only will she be able to think, she will be able to reason, and negotiate," The Angel then noticed something and reached out and touched the woman’s cheek. "Oops, it looks like you have a leak with this model. I told you that you were trying to put too much into this one." "That’s not a leak", the Lord objected, "That’s a tear!" "What’s the tear for?", the Angel asked. The Lord said, "The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her disappointment, her pain, her loneliness, her grief, and her pride," The Angel was impressed. "You are a genius Lord, this woman is amazing.”
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Aaron Burgess)
I have highlighted four indicators that reflected Paul’s willingness to give away his heart in service to Christ. However, there is a deeper issue we should consider. There is something that must occur before one can give his heart to another. There must be a death. One person can give a heart transplant to another but before that happens he must die. Paul had died to self in order that he could live for Christ. When he chose to live for Christ he was willing to share his heart in service to other people. That is our greatest need!
