Intro. There is a difference in a paradox and an oxymoron that is often confusing. Both involve seemingly contradictory and conflicting words. Oxymorons are so interesting and humorous that we up make top 10 lists. Here is my top 10 oxyomoron list: alone together; same difference; exact estimate; tight slacks; jumbo shrimp; soft rock; pretty ugly; working vacation; tax return; government organization. Oxymorons are intriguing and funny but differ from paradox in that a paradox seems to oppose common sense but is actually true. Many great truths in Bible and many major aspects of Jesus’ teaching appear to the natural eye upside down yet carry principles that bring us into harmony with God. Heavenomics is built upon such truths. So you recall the First Principle -- It’s Not Yours? It is a paradox – God gives you things but they are not yours.
The Second Principle flows from the first and is one of broadest paradoxes in the Bible – You Only Keep What You Give Away. This derives from the idea that you don’t own anything, that the only way God leaves something in your hands to manage is if you continually give it back to Him. Before you get too nervous today note we’re not talking only about money and possessions. This principle covers all of life. It may or may not make sense to the natural mind but lines up with certain laws and promises God has given that make it work. I assure you that grasping this principle will improve your quality of life and overall contentment because whatever you give away, God replaces with incalculable blessings. Jim Elliot said, "He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." So what does God ask us to give away?
Give Away Your Rights – The Golden Rule.
(verse 31) Just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.
1. Grow In Grace (giving others what they do not deserve). (v. 27) Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you...bless those who curse...
a. Enemies don’t deserve kindness, those who hate us don’t deserve prayer, the thief of my coat doesn’t deserve my hoodie, etc. They took from me, why should I give?
1) To get love, you must give it away. Jesus asserts that we have no right to decide whom we love. If we only love when loved back – what is that – selfishness. Love that is not deserved gains credit in heaven – love comes to us from God and eventually from others.
I read this paradox: "If you love until it hurts, then there is no hurt, only more love."
b. Jesus uses extreme cases (enemies, hostility, cursing, spiteful treatment, theft, etc.) to show the unconditional nature of love. He says love isn’t about what others do for you, but what you do for others regardless of their conduct (i.e. this is God’s kind of love: He gave His Son to die for us when we were still sinners and continues to love us even when we disobey, ignore, reject His correction, etc.)
APPLICATION: In practical terms this works: If YOU want someone to love you, be loving to them. If we give acceptance, a sense of belonging, genuine concern for others’ interests, we can be sure of companionship. Gracious, forgiving, people who overlook faults are apt to be forgiven by others. Demanding love, acting hostile, giving evil for evil will not produce love.
Illustration: Kids get it (children’s descriptions of love): Love is when: grandma got arthritis and couldn’t bend over to paint her toenails, so grandpa does it for her, even though he has arthritis in his hands; Love is when someone hurts you and you get so mad, but you don’t yell because it would hurt their feelings; Love is when mommy makes coffee for daddy and sips it to make sure it tastes OK; Love is a little old woman and little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well; Love is when mommy sees daddy all smelly and sweaty and still says he’s handsomer than Robert Redford; Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left it alone all day; You shouldn’t say ’I love you’ unless you mean it, but if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.
2. Exercise Mercy: (not giving others what they do deserve). (verses 36-37) be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Judge not and you will not be judged.
a. Give up the right to give people what (you think) they deserve – to be the authority of justice. Our responsibility is to forgive (give up the right to payback). God is the judge, so leave punishment and payback to Him.
1) The Golden Rule. We want forgiveness, so give it.
Illustration: Albert Tomei, justice in a NY Court: "A young defendant was convicted for gunning down another, execution style. He had a bad record, was no stranger to the justice system, and only stared in anger as the jury read the verdict. The victim’s family attended every day of the trial. At the sentencing, the mother and grandmother spoke, but not to the jury. Speaking directly to the murderer, both forgave. "You broke the Golden Rule, loving your neighbor as yourself. I’m your neighbor," the older said, "You have my address. If you write, I’ll write back. For the last 16 months, I tried to hate you, but I couldn’t. I feel sorry for you because you made the wrong choice." The judge writes: "For the first time since the trial began, the defendant’s eyes lost their laser force and surrendered to nurturing, unconditional love. After she finished, the defendant’s head hung low with no more swagger or stare. The evil and destructive forces within him collapsed helplessly before this remarkable love. When we give away grace & mercy, it comes back to us.
Give Away Your Possessions – The Law of Sowing & Reaping
(verse 38) Give and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over...with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
1. The Big Bucket Rule. The measure you use...will be measured back.
Galatians 6:7 Don’t be deceived, God is not mocked...what a man sows...he will reap.
Heavanomics is like agriculture. The seed one plants determines what grows. If I plant corn, corn grows, if I plant okra I grow okra. This applies to our conduct – to reap what is good, plant good conduct. This applies to our possessions – sow generosity to receive blessing.
a. You decide the size of your return by the size of your bucket.
II Corinthians 9:6 He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully
1) The more you sow, the bigger the harvest. Here is where we learn we can’t out-give God.
Malachi 3:10 "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house and try Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it."
2) Remember it all belongs to God. The tithe confirms that I agree it is all His and I manage it for Him. When I faithfully yield the first part, He blesses all the remainder so I am blessed.
Illustration I have experienced this both personally and in our church. As a church, when we began to support missions with faith promises – God began to pour blessings to our church. Last year we gave more to missions than ever before and the church income was more than ever, nearly $600,000! God has supported Lilia and I even while we’ve been giving a second tithe to the building fund, supplying all our needs with only 80%. Is it a sacrifice? Yes. But have we known God’s blessing? Double yes! Over the years God has graciously allowed us to increase what we give while overwhelmingly supplying every need! You can’t out-give Him!
2. (we should think) Spiritual Gardening.
Proverbs 11:24-25 There is one who scatters, yet increases more, and there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty. The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself.
a. Sowing and reaping relates to wealth, to spiritual gifts and fruit, to behavior, etc. The more I use God’s gifts to bless others (scatter), the more He gives me to continue to bless. As I use my gifts to serve, God increases my capacity to give service.
1) Hoarding God’s blessing leads to poverty because if we don’t use what He gives us for the kingdom, He takes it away!
Illustration: Many don’t give because they fear losing what little they have. The one talent servant had the talent he hid taken away. Sowing and reaping is a reciprocal law: I get watered when I water! What I give away, God gives back!
Give Away Your Status – The Law of Kingdom Promotion
Mark 10:43-45 Whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant...Whoever of you desires to be first shall be the slave of all for even Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many.
1. Who’s Number One? Whoever desires to be first...be slave of all.
a. Promotion in Heavenomics does not come from striving to be on top. James and John are asking to be Jesus’ right and left hand men, they wanted the top spots in leadership. Jesus gave just two qualifications for promotion:
1) Give one’s life to follow Jesus. Endure the same trials Jesus would. They agreed to do that not knowing all that it meant.
2) Gladly take the lowest job – be everyone’s slave. Every time they jockeyed for leadership roles, pecking order, etc., Jesus came to this – the top spots are reserved for those willing to shine the most boots (here I take a towel and walk among the people shining their shoes), clean the most toilets, carry the heaviest loads while expecting nothing. This, after all, is what Jesus did – He gave up His status as Lord of all to be the servant of all.
b. The best leaders recognize that leaders serve those they lead. This is only learned by starting at the bottom. When we serve, God promotes us.
2. Movin’ On Up. Mark 10:31 Many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.
a. Humility results in praise from God, that no one can take away.
James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
Jesus illustrated this when He said, "When invited to a feast, enter and take the lowest seat, don’t seek prominence, be unrecognized." He said it’s better to have the master tell us to move up than to find out we’ll be demoted.
b. Self-importance and pride will always be taken away. God resists the proud. When we give it away, He moves us up.
Give Away Your Life – The Law of Profitable Loss
Mark 8:34-35 Jesus said, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.
1. The Only Really Guaranteed Investment. This is recession-proof
a. Jesus offers life that never ends, pleasure without heartache, joy without sadness, reward without risk. This is the gospel message: Jesus gave His life so we could have forgiveness and an abundant life here, and eternal life when here is over. This is a gift of grace, received by faith apart from works.
b. How wouldn’t trade this short, stressful, error-prone, risky, sorrowful, painful life here for something eternal? That’s the best interest rate ever offered!
Illustrate: The world we live in says, Grab on, hold tightly, squeeze till get what you want. Jesus teaches a paradox: you can never touch what you grab for and you can’t keep what you think you’re holding. As soon as you think you have piled up the good life – made your mark – it will come crashing down like the twin towers on 9-11. Wanting to be served, we lose it all. A well-known fact about a boomerang is, once thrown, it returns to the thrower. The least remembered fact is that the boomerang is intended to be a weapon and only returns if it misses the target. I can keep thinking I’m throwing myself at life with more effort, wisdom, money, more, more, more – and it will somehow change all in my favor. But, here I find everything I’ve thrown has missed the target of a better life and comes back slightly more used than when I threw it. The paradox is that in keeping our lives, building our lives, living our own lives, we waste all the life that is in us.
2. (follow) The Biblical Investment Strategy.
a. If it’s free, why does Jesus talk so much about picking up the cross, losing your life, etc.? This defines what faith is in Heavenomics. It’s not just mental assent. "Yeah, I think that’s right, I guess I’ll believe it." (it is in my head but doesn’t affect my actions).
b. In Heavenomics, if I believe, I give Jesus title to my time, talent, pursuits, passions, ideas, relationships, agendas, possessions, etc. I surrender my life here to Christ, give up every prerogative I have in this life, even my ways of earning His favor and submit to His will in everything (that’s the cross). This is the faith that James says is not dead. Jesus then fills my life with the abundance of His presence and blessing, and guarantees it will never end.
Illustration: The rich young ruler asked Jesus what to DO to inherit eternal life. Jesus first said to keep all of God’s commands which the man affirmed he had already done, asking what is there more. Jesus then said sell everything, give the proceeds to the poor, take up the cross to follow Jesus. This stunned him and he left saddened because he couldn’t bring himself to give his whole life to Jesus like that. Deeming the price too great he turned down eternal life! Here’s the paradox: Even if you leave everything, you leave nothing! Jesus later told Peter anyone who leaves all ties here will receive 100 fold back here AND eternal life. God knows how to reward! The problem is not stuff in the world, it’s our heart ties to the stuff. God is not against wealth, family, etc., He just wants the top spot, priority. He puts all His abundant wealth in our hands as long as we’re willing to say its His and let Him decide what we do with it. Let’s see: eternal life or a few years of pleasure...Hmmm, it’s a no brainer.
Illustration: Sadie Sieker, who served many years as house-parent for missionaries’ children in the Philippines, loved books. She gladly loaned some of here books, but others she treasured for herself in a footlocker under her bed. Once, on a quiet night, she heard a faint gnawing sound. After searching the whole room, she discovered the noise coming from the footlocker. She opened it and found a huge pile of dust. The books she kept for herself were lost to termites. What we give away, we keep. What we hoard, we lose.
Conclusion: This principle has the potential to bring the greatest blessings our way. God’s rewards are guaranteed but we only keep what we give away. Jesus modeled this. Paul says, "Though He was rich, He became poor for our sake that through His poverty we might become rich." (II Corinthians 8:9). He gave His life, so He could take it again and offer the same resurrection and eternal life to us. Go back again to Jim Elliot’s quote, "He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."
The rich young ruler lost everything by holding on to it (he has long since died). If he had been willing to give it away, God would have returned it to him many times along with eternal life.
What are you holding on to today? Is there any part of your life you haven’t surrendered completely to Jesus’ complete control? Do you make decisions based on your desires or His? What is there you consider yours (rights, status, possessions, life) which you would not give away immediately if Jesus asked? What is it you have the tightest grip on? What could you do this week to give that to Jesus? How would you show that? Have you given your life?
