Several men in the locker room of a private exercise club were talking when a cell phone laying on the bench rang. One man picked it up without hesitation, and the following conversation ensued:
“Hello?”
“Honey, It's me.”
“Sugar!”
“I'm at the mall two blocks from the club. I saw a beautiful mink coat. It is absolutely gorgeous! Can I buy it? It's only $1,500.”
“Well, okay, if you like it that much.”
“Thanks! Oh, and I also stopped by the Mercedes dealership and saw the new models. I saw one I really liked. I spoke with the salesman, and he gave me a great price.”
“How much?”
“Only $60,000!”
“Okay, but for that price I want it with all the options.”
“Great! Before we hang up, there's something else. It might seem like a lot, but, well, I stopped by to see the real estate agent this morning, and I saw the house we had looked at last year. It's on sale! Remember? The beachfront property with the pool and the English garden?”
“How much are they asking?”
“Only $450,000, a magnificent price, and we have that much in the bank to cover it.”
“Well then, go ahead and buy it, but put in a bid for only $420,000, okay?”
“Okay, sweetie. Thanks! I'll see you later! I love you!”
“I love you, too.”
The man hung up, closed the phone's flap, and raised it aloft, asking, “Does anyone know who this cell phone belongs to?” (John Fehlen, Stanwood, Washington; www.PreachingToday.com)
It’s easy to be generous with someone else’s money; but when it comes to giving your own resources, it’s not so easy. Is it? And that’s especially true if you don’t have a whole lot to give. Many of you want to be generous; but between paying the bills, the taxes and the insurance, you don’t have much left to give.
So how do we learn the secret to joyful generosity especially when our resources are so tight?
Well, let’s see how God’s people in Nehemiah’s day did it. They were poor people, having just been uprooted from their homes in Babylon. They’re trying to eke out a living in a land that had been ravaged by war. Now, they’re called upon to raise up a city to the glory of God, to rebuild the Holy City, the city of Jerusalem. However, they don’t have much to give. Even so, they find ways to be joyfully generous with what little they have, and God uses it to restore His fame in that place.
If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Nehemiah 11, Nehemiah 11, where we see the secret to their joyful generosity.
Nehemiah 11:1-2 Now the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem. And the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem the holy city, while nine out of ten remained in the other towns. And the people blessed all the men who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem. (ESV)
More than anything else, the city of Jerusalem needed live bodies within its walls. It needed a population of people within. After all, what good is a city without people?
Now, you might think that people would flock to live in the city of Jerusalem, but you have to remember the housing situation there was pretty bad. In fact, there were no houses at all according to Nehemiah 7:4. Therefore, to live in the city would mean a considerable sacrifice. It would mean hardship and hard work, starting over from scratch and living away from your extended family.
That’s why some had to be drafted to live in the city, but those who volunteered were “blessed.” Now, the rest of the chapter, going into chapter 12, lists the names of those who lived and worked in Jerusalem.
These were people who gave themselves when they didn’t have much else to give, and that’s all God wants us to give. More than your money, more than your tithes and offerings, more than anything else, God wants YOU! So when you don’t have anything else to give…
GIVE YOURSELF TO THE LORD.
And even if you DO have something else to give, still give yourself to the Lord. As Romans 12:1 puts it, “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.” In other words, volunteer to GO where He wants you to go, to DO what He wants you to do, and to BE what He wants you to be.
Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34).
C. S. Lewis put it this way: “Christ says, ‘Give me all. I don't want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want you. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don't want to cut off a branch here and a branch there. I want to have the whole tree down. I don't want to drill the tooth, or crown it, or stop it, but to have it out. Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think are innocent as well as the ones you think are wicked—the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you myself: my own will shall become yours.’” (C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity)
Now, that’s scary for some people – the idea of giving yourself wholly and completely to the Lord. But all that fear would go away if you could just see Him, if you could just get to know Him a little bit.
In a recent TV commercial, a young man is struggling with whether to go through with an arranged marriage. In his home country arranged marriages were the norm. But after living in America, he was having second thoughts about adhering to this ancient custom, especially since he'd never met his wife-to-be.
Still, when she flew into the airport, he dutifully waited for her, flowers in hand, and a gloomy expression on his face. But when she stepped through the terminal, everything changed. She was beautiful! Suddenly his glum demeanor disappeared. The thought of marrying this woman was no longer a dreaded duty; it was a delight. What had changed? He'd seen her. (Drew Dyck, Yawning at Tigers, Thomas Nelson, 2014, page 54; www.PreachingToday.com)
Many people serve God out of obligation. They drag themselves to church with their offerings but their hearts are not in it. They’re like that guy at the airport, grudgingly holding flowers for God. They’re trying to do what’s right because they know they should, but it's burdensome, joyless.
However, when we get a vision of who God truly is, it’s no longer a burden; it’s a delight to give not just what we have in our hands, but our whole selves. Suddenly, we’re energized to do His will, to give ourselves wholly and completely to Him. Obedience ceases to be tiring. Once we grasp his great love, serving is no longer a duty—it's a joy!
So if you don’t know God, start by getting to know Him through Jesus Christ His Son. Trust Christ as your Savior. Invite Him into your life and catch a glimpse of who He truly is – the One who died on a cross for your sins and rose again. Then you’ll have no trouble giving yourself completely to Him. It’s the first step towards joyful generosity. Give yourself to the Lord. Then 2nd…
GIVE YOUR SONGS TO THE LORD.
Praise Him with your whole heart. Make a joyful noise to the Lord.
That’s what God’s people in Nehemiah’s day did. Skip down to Nehemiah 12:27, where it tells us what God’s people did after they built the wall and moved into the city.
Nehemiah 12:27-31 And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres. And the sons of the singers gathered together from the district surrounding Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites; also from Beth-gilgal and from the region of Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built for themselves villages around Jerusalem. And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and they purified the people and the gates and the wall. Then I brought the leaders of Judah up onto the wall and appointed two great choirs that gave thanks. One went to the south on the wall to the Dung Gate. (ESV)
Nehemiah 12:38-40a The other choir of those who gave thanks went to the north, and I followed them with half of the people, on the wall, above the Tower of the Ovens, to the Broad Wall, and above the Gate of Ephraim, and by the Gate of Yeshanah, and by the Fish Gate and the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, to the Sheep Gate; and they came to a halt at the Gate of the Guard. So both choirs of those who gave thanks stood in the house of God… (ESV)
Nehemiah 12:43 And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away. (ESV)
It was a grand and glorious day! Nehemiah divided everyone up into two great choirs, accompanied by trumpets (vs.35 & 41). They all got on top of the wall at the south side of the city. Then both choirs began to march in opposite directions on top of the wall, no doubt singing as they went. They met again on the north side of the city near the Temple. And there, they proceeded into the Temple area where they sang so loud, people from “far away” could hear their joy.
Everybody sang, not just the professionals. Did you notice that in verse 43? It says, “The women and children also rejoiced.”
They gave their songs to the Lord, and that’s what God wants us to do. He wants us to praise Him, whether or not we can sing.
Don Hustad once said, “Somehow, about forty percent of churchgoers seem to have picked up the idea that ‘singing in church is for singers.’ The truth is that ‘singing is for believers.’ The relevant question is not, ‘Do you have a voice?’ but ‘Do you have a song?’ (Donald Hustad, Leadership, Vol. 3, no. 1; www. PreachingToday.com)
You see, when you give yourself to Jesus, Jesus puts a song in your heart. You may sing bare-ly-a-tone, or you may sing tenor – i.e., 10 or 12 notes off key. It doesn’t matter, because if you know Jesus you have something to sing about!
Mark Knoll, church historian, says that “One of the most notable, but least studied, aspects of the 18th-century revivals that led to the rise of modern evangelicalism was the disputed place of hymn-singing.” During that First Great Awakening in our own country, in 1736, Jonathan Edwards reported that “the revival had worked an extraordinary musical effect:
“Our public praises were greatly enlivened, and God was served in our psalmody as in the beauties of holiness. There was scarce any part of divine worship wherein God's saints among us had grace so drawn forth and their hearts lifted up, as in singing the praises of God.” (Mark Noll, “Singing the Lord's Song,” Books & Culture, Jan/Feb 2004; www.PreachingToday.com)
When God gets a hold of your life, He puts a song in your heart, so SING whether you have a good voice or not. SING so that people can heart it “far away”. SING from the bottom of your heart.
Sandra James, from Orange, California, talks about the time her 3-year-old daughter, Katherine, was singing and dancing around the house one morning as usual. However, when Sandra listened carefully, she noticed her daughter was singing, “I love you, Lord, and I lift my noise!” (Sandra James, Orange, CA, “Heart to Heart,” Today's Christian Woman; www.PreachingToday.com)
If you don’t have a voice, you can at least lift your noise! When you can’t give much else, give yourself and then your songs to the Lord.
On November 13, 2010, 80 singers from Chorus Niagara surprised shoppers who paused for a quick lunch in the food court at the nearby Seaway Mall in Ontario, Canada. Take a look at what happened (show video of Food Court Flash Mob).
This kind of performance, called a “flash mob,” has become popular all over the country. It involves singers or musicians sprinkled throughout a public area, who on cue begin to perform a song which catches everyone else by surprise.
Now, you might not be able to sing as well as these people; but no matter where you are, sprinkled throughout your school, workplace, or community, you can praise the Lord with your voice and your life, quietly pointing others to Christ.
If you want to become joyfully generous, start by giving yourself to the Lord. Then give your songs to the Lord. Then you can joyfully…
GIVE YOUR SUBSTANCE TO THE LORD.
You can bring your offerings to Him with gratitude. You can gladly offer to God whatever He has placed in your hand. That’s what God’s people did in Nehemiah’s day.
Nehemiah 12:44-47 On that day men were appointed over the storerooms, the contributions, the firstfruits, and the tithes, to gather into them the portions required by the Law for the priests and for the Levites according to the fields of the towns, for Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who ministered. And they performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did the singers and the gatekeepers, according to the command of David and his son Solomon. For long ago in the days of David and Asaph there were directors of the singers, and there were songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave the daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers; and they set apart that which was for the Levites; and the Levites set apart that which was for the sons of Aaron. (ESV)
All Israel gave, because their hearts were full of joy! Did you see it at the end of verse 44: “For Judah rejoiced!”
They gave because they were happy, and that’s how God wants us to give. 2 Corinthians 9:7 says, “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
Don’t give because you HAVE to, because you really don’t HAVE to give. God doesn’t need your money. No! Give because you WANT to give. Give, because your heart is so full of joy you can’t help but give.
Gordon MacDonald tells the story about the time he and his wife made a missions trip to West Africa. On the first Sunday of their visit, they joined a large crowd of desperately poor Christians for worship. As they neared the church, Gordon MacDonald noticed that almost every person was carrying something. Some hoisted cages of noisy chickens, others carried baskets of yams, and still others toted bags of eggs or bowls of cassava paste.
“Why are they bringing all that stuff?” MacDonald asked one of their hosts.
“Watch!” she said as almost every person in that African congregation brought something. Soon after the worship began, the moment came when everyone stood and poured into the aisles, singing, clapping, even shouting. The people began moving forward, each in turn bringing whatever he had brought to a space in the front.
It was offering time in West Africa! The chickens would help others get a tiny farm business started. The yams and the eggs given could be sold in the marketplace to help the needy. The cassava paste would guarantee that someone who was hungry could eat. (Gordon MacDonald, “Transforming Scrooge,” Leadership Journal, Summer 2013; www.PreachingToday.com)
And those West African believers were glad to give! They brought their offerings with singing, clapping and shouting, showing the rest of the world what real giving is all about.
It’s not rich people begrudgingly tipping God in the offering plate. It’s poor people joyfully giving all they can, thankful that God can use their gifts to bring glory to His name. You see, joyful generosity is not about how big your bank account is. It’s about how big your heart is.
Do you want to be joyfully generous? Start by giving yourself to the Lord. Then give your songs to the Lord. Then you’ll be glad to give your substance to the Lord, as well.
In September 2013, a man in Brazil developed what doctors called “pathological generosity.” In an article published in the journal Neuroscience, doctors described the strange case of a 49-year-old man identified as “Mr. A” who had a remarkable personality change after suffering a stroke. Affecting the subcortical regions of the man’s brain, he suddenly had an “excessive and persistent” urge to help others. He wouldn't stop giving money and gifts to people he barely knew. According to his wife, he would buy candy, soda, and food for kids he met on the street. He also quit his job as a manager of a large corporation. Dr. Larry Goldstein, a neurologist at Duke University said, “Although the observation of personality change is not that unusual, this particular one is apparently novel.”
Mr. A. was put on medication for depression, which he said helped, but his “pathological generosity” remained unchanged. (John Erickson, “Brazilian Man Can't Stop Giving Gifts, Money after Stroke Induces ‘Pathological Generosity,’” Medical Daily, 9-8-13; www.PreachingToday.com)
Now, that may be a little extreme, but may God give all of us some of that “pathological generosity” as we turn our lives over to Him. Let’s pray…
