GIVING
Authentic Christianity – #6 of 7
Jerry Watts
Luke 6:38
* In the ‘hay-day’ years of the train a young man from the country got hired as a switchman on the train. We’ll call him, Leo. As part of Leo’s training, he was taken to a switch by his supervisor. The supervisor said, “Leo, you think you understand how all this works and what your responsibility is?” Confidently Leo said, “Yes sir, I think I have it.” “Okay then Leo,” the supervisor continued, “Let’s say you have a train coming from the north at 80mph and a train coming from the south at 50mph on the SAME TRACK – and you were standing here at this switch, who do you think you would do?” Leo excitedly repeated the scenario to his supervisor to make sure he understood the gravity of the situation. Unexpectedly Leo said, “I’d run and get Uncle Jed!” The supervisor couldn’t believe his ears and responded, “You have two trains coming at each other at a cumulative speed of 140 mph, you’re standing at this switch, and you’re going to run and get ‘Uncle Jed?’” More excited than ever Leo said, “YES SIR! Because Uncle Jed has NEVER SEEN A WRECK THIS BIG!”
* Human-kind is on a collision course with Jehovah God. Every man & woman, boy & girl, is on a collision course with the God of creation. The Bible tells us that every one of us is sinful and that as sinful being we are headed toward eternal damnation in a place prepared for the devil and his demons. It is only when we respond to the call of Father God through the Holy Spirit of God to repent of our sins and turn to Jesus Christ, and then live for Him that we can avert this certain doom. Have you?
* This is called ‘Followship’ or ‘following Jesus.’ It is a decision but it’s more than a decision. To make this decision is to bring about a cascade of changes in our lives. Where at one time we would never ‘repent’ of anything (because of pride, fear, arrogance, etc), to follow Jesus in an authentic way means a lifestyle of repentance.
* Following Jesus means to live like Jesus lived which requires us to live a life which has purpose and a sense of mission to it. Jesus’ mission held little thought for preserving this world, but focused on eternal things. That is why we sing, “And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”
* Following Jesus also means that the concept of “love” took on a different meaning. Experiencing the unconditional love which Jesus had & has results in the giving of a love that can only come from Him. Instead of the ‘if’ or ‘because of’ types of love, we are to know and live the ‘in-spite of’ which we received from Jesus. In fact, if we only love those who love us– the Bible asks – how are we different from the pagans?
* To authentically follow Jesus means that our lives bear fruit in keeping with our repentance. People can see & hear it in our lives because the life given us by Christ produces fruit which others can see and enjoy. This is authentic Christianity.
* This world needs to see a people like this, God expects His people to live like this, and if we are HIS people, we need to live for Him in this culture.
* Today, let’s talk about another characteristic found in the life of an Authentic Christian. It is found in our text. Let’s read it. – I remind you these are Jesus’ words.
* This attribute of the Authentic Christian runs counter to this culture.
1. A Divine Command – Here we are again, using the word, “Command.” Why is it that this word or concept (which we hate) surfaces every time we look into God’s word & plan for our lives? The reason we hate the word has to do with our fallen-sinful nature. We don’t want anyone telling us what to do. What’s more – in the land that we live, we are led to believe we are in control because this is a democracy & the very definition of the word democracy is ‘people rule.’ Let debunk this concept, I don’t know about you, but presently, I don’t believe the rank & file people of this nation control anything! It is an illusion (but that’s another message). More to the point, ‘Believers in Jesus’ (Authentic followers of Christ) are not citizens of a democratic nation, we are part of the Kingdom (of God). A Kingdom is run differently than a democracy. There are no Senators or Representatives. There is no election. There is only the King. He controls the Kingdom, He makes the rules, and when those rules are broken the King has the power to make ‘heads roll.’ If you are ‘in Christ’ as a believer, you are a citizen of the Kingdom of God– He makes the rules.
* The rule (or command) we are hearing today is simply, “GIVE.” It is given in the imperative sense so there is no discussion on the law. It is a word which our Lord knows so well because He has modeled it for us. (Matthew 20:28 & Mark 10:45 John 3:16, 1 Timothy 2:6, Titus 2:14) Ours is a giving God. All the other religions have deities who ‘take’ and we have a God who ‘gives’ & expects us to do likewise.
* Our Lord not only modeled giving but taught it. In Sermon on the Mount, Jesus referred to giving multiple times. In Matthew 5 He teaches, “Give to the one who asks you.” In Matthew 6 He doesn’t say, “If you give”, but rather, “When you give” because He expects us to give. The concept of giving will expose the hidden ‘gods’ of our life. If we are too stingy to give, we’ll find ourselves like the rich young ruler. He held fast to his money & walked away from Jesus because money had become his god. Our response to this command says much about whom & what we are.
* But not only is giving a ‘command’, it is also;
2. A Desire Characteristic – The first words of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount are known as the Beatitudes. These are the statements which begin with the word, “Blessed.” “Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger & thirst for righteousness” and the like. Several other “Beatitude-type” statements appear in the New Testament which, by some, are referred to as the ‘forgotten Beatitudes’. The one that speaks to the subject of giving is found in Acts 20. Paul is saying good-by to the Elders at Ephesus. In part he says, “It is necessary to help the weak and to keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus, for HE said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” To marry these words to His words of Jesus in Luke 6 is to realize that Jesus wanted us, His children, to be known as giving people
* Bro. Jim Henry rightly observed that, “Everything God has made gives.” The sun, the moon, the stars, the air, trees, & animals all give. The question is: do we?
* While reading Bro. Jim’s message, he offered what I believe is truthful & helpful; it is the 3 types of givers. Ask yourself, “What kind of giver am I?”
* There is the grace giver. This sounds good, doesn’t it? This person has no plan, no tithe; they just give out of the grace of their heart. Most times, these people give haphazardly. This seems to be a ‘self-made’ theology about giving.
* There is the defensive giver. This is the person who is the ‘amen-er’ for all the moral messages but when the preacher begins talking about money, that is a different story. The attitude is this is ‘my money’ and “I’ll decide what I do with it. A thought or two for any person who believes this. The money is not yours (no I’m not a fan of the President’s), but whatever you have has been loaned to you by your heavenly Father. You are merely a steward – whether you are a good steward or not depends on whether you use it the way HE wants you to or not. The only thing which I guarantee you’ll do with the money you have is – leave it behind when you die. (ILLUS: Man’s dies with money under his mattress – wife writes check).
* Then there is the Biblical giver. This is the person who gets excited about giving because he doesn’t see giving as a burden but a blessing. He is the joyful giver. Actually the scripture says, “God loves a hilarious giver.” Wouldn’t it be great if we laughed and had fun at the opportunity to give? Until we comprehend & buy into the truth that everyone of us are blessed people, being a Biblical giver is not likely.
* Do you know why giving is a desired characteristic? 2 Corinthians 9:6
* When you give, you sow seed. You know what happens when you sow seed? It produces a crop. Am I saying that if you start tithing that you’re going to get a ‘raise in pay?’ Nope. What I am saying is this; based on God’s word, you cannot out give God! What you give to Him will be the sowing of seed from which He can bring a harvest in your life and in the life of His church.
3. A Daily Challenge – It is one thing to read, study, hear a message, and know God expects me to give. It is one thing to know that God has promised that if I give, He has said He’ll bless me. But the truth is, giving generously is something else entirely. When I think about all that Jesus gave up, gave into, and has given me – my most natural response is to give Him the treasure of my life. What is the ‘treasure’ of your life? Your time, your energy, your talent, your family, your job, your money; what is it? Where your treasure is, that exposes where your heart is.
* God’s word tells us that we are simply stewards of all we think we possess. If it’s His to begin with, why is the tithe such a big deal? Candidly, in this congregation for the most part, people give to ‘special things’. When a need arises, you rise to the need.
* In regular giving we have folks who, even when they are absent, they make sure they get their tithe & offering given. Even though I never look at gifts, I submit that in the life of this church, we have not received the blessing which can be done through His people yet, because He doesn’t think He can yet trust us. It seems that many are doing other things with the gifts which God expects to be given.
* This is our daily challenge. And it honestly speaks to your authenticity as a Christian. Jesus gave. And He gave everything He had. Whether we give or not is largely dependent on our attitude. We find these attitudes in the Good Samaritan story.
a) What’s yours is mine and I’ll take it – This is the attitudes of the thieves. In a church setting, these are the people who expect everyone else to ‘pay-up’ so that the mission and ministry of God’s body can thrive. They may want to lead a ministry or mission endeavor & may even complain about the lack of resources to do the Lord’s work, but they are not doing their part.
b) What’s mine is mine and I’ll keep it–This is the attitude of the Priest & Levite. Some overlap between these two groups, but this person – doesn’t really care whether Kingdom works is done or not, he just knows that ‘no one is getting his money.’ As I think of these two groups of people, I am reminded of 30+ years ago in the church where I was a staff person. We were growing, running out of space, and needed to build a building. The Sunday school director would say with confidence that we ‘needed to build’ a $350k-$400k building. This man made $50k a year and it was well-known that he gave $25 per week. What you give exposes what you think about God’s Kingdom.
c) What‘s mines is HIS and I’ll share it – What an attitude! This one is from the Samaritan. To the horror of the Jewish listeners, Jesus said, a ‘good-for-nothing’ Samaritan had the right mind set. He was a giver. Are you a giver?
