Video Illustration: Mr. Hollands Opus is a story about a man who invested in other people with music and in the scene he is discouraged – feels like a failure because his program is cut and he soon discovers how he had become the gift to so many people.
Series: Be the Gift!
Thesis: If we have received the indescribable gift of Jesus and are thankful for this gift then we should want to choose to be the gift to others this Christmas season. Why? So, they too can receive the greatest gift of all time. We need to receive the gift and be the gift because this is the best Christmas gift you can give Jesus for His birthday!
Scripture Text:
2 Corinthians 9:6-15: Sowing Generously
6Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
7Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
8And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
9As it is written: “He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”
10Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.
11You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
12This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.
13Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.
14And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you.
15Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
Introduction:
We are into the season of gift giving just recall last weekend – we were bombarded with the “Red Hot” Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale deals. The stuff has been unleashed on to all of us and the ads of finding that right gift abound on the internet, TV, radio and in paper adds. People are making their lists of what they want and some are posting them on Amazon and other such websites – they want people to know these are the perfect gifts for them. But for those quiet people the ones who say “I don’t need anything” it’s hard to discover what is the right perfect gift? My mom and her husband Ron are like that “we don’t need anything” – but Kathy this week knows my mom and knows what is the perfect gift for her so she mobilized the family and recruited all of us to take a day between know and Christmas to have them call my mom each day – now that is a perfect gift for my mom!
What was the greatest gift or most perfect gift you have ever received? I once received a truck for Christmas – no really – I bought it for myself when I was single. No seriously what is the best gift you have ever received – can I challenge you think about it? For me it was the gift of encouragement I received when feeling down about ministry and about 14 people were impressed by the Lord to call me, from all over the world – some sent me emails or even cards and to encourage me – wow that was a perfect gift!
I. The perfect gift or giving the right gift.
a. I read a sermon on sermoncentral.com called “The Perfect Gift” written by Leo Launio and he said this: “Finding the right store and the right price are two other related concerns. Just weeks before the holiday season started, bazaars and other bargain stores have been flooded with people. People go to these stores to find not necessarily the right item, but for the right price. But why worry about the right gift?” He goes on to share why we search for the perfect gift for people:
i. He noted “For one thing, gifts convey several messages:”
1. “Gifts convey a message about the giver’s economic, social, and moral status in life. If a gift, for example, is an expensive one, we generally conclude that the giver is rich. If a gift has religious bearing, we often think that the giver is a pious (religious) person.”
a. As you listen to what people got for Christmas you soon discover he is right. The twins twins told us we are the best grandparents because we get them the higher price things on their list! I think they are buttering us up for this Christmas – what do you think?
2. “Second, a gift, although it may not tell the true worth of the recipient, conveys the value and importance that the giver has toward the recipient.”
a. For example - The gifts of the Magi, conveyed the Magi’s value they placed on Jesus as a king. The gift of gold connects and points to Jesus kingship.. The gift of incense symbolizes Jesus priestly role. And the gift of myrrh symbolizes His death..”
b. My wife for a while use to buy me gorillas that sang so I am not sure what she was trying to tell me through her gift to me.
3. “Third, gifts are given for the purpose of strengthening relationships, or mending a broken one. It is a symbol of good will.”
a. The Bible story Jacob and Esau illustrates this point. In Genesis 32: 13-21, we find Jacob selecting precious gifts to be given to his brother to pacify his anger and ultimately restore their broken relationship.
b. So gifts are significant.
b. So back to the big question “What makes a gift the right gift or the perfect gift?”
i. Is it connected with its monetary value – some may think so!
ii. Is it connected to a specific need being met – some think so!
iii. Is it perfect if it’s from my list – some think so!
iv. Is it perfect if it’s unexpected and thoughtful – some really think so!
1. The right gift is gift that connects to the recipients heart.
c. Chuck Smith shares this story about the wrong way to give gifts: From Blue Letter Bible
i. “You know, there are those who, when they give, make their giving so complicated. Many times there are strings attached to it. Years ago, a family gave a rocking chair to our church in Tucson-a rocking chair which we really did not want. It was sort of worn out but they gave it to the church. And my immediate thought was, "We have to get rid of this thing," because the only place we had to put it was in our living room and it just did not go with anything. But then we found out that they did not want us to get rid of it. It had belonged to "aunt somebody" and she had given it to them and they did not want it or need it. However, they did not want to get rid of it because it had sentimental value to it, so they decided to give it to the church. But it was not given with simplicity because there was this condition attached to it-"You cannot get rid of it." Often when a person explains all of the conditions that go along with the gift I will say, "Well you know, maybe you just ought to keep it." There are too many conditions.”
1. By the way this is not the way to give a perfect gift!
2. Now God has corned the market on giving the perfect gift of all time which is found in Jesus see John 3:16 which highlights this indescribable gift – this gift is so amazing it’s hard to describe so you just have to experience this gift first hand!
a. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
b. God gave us an unbelievable gift – a perfect gift of His own flesh and blood so we could be set free from a life of bondage.
3. Now if you are a born again Christian then you have received this great perfect gift and because of this indescribable gift you received you should be compelled to pass on this gift to others through random acts of kindness this Christmas season.
a. If we want to see the harvest of souls for Jesus we need to start reaching out in love toward others revealing to them the greatest gift of all Jesus.
d. So, my challenge for this month of December 2018 is for us “To be the Gift!” really to try to give people the right gift connected to the Perfect Gift.
i. Reference the giving wall and the directions for how it works:
1. Each ornament has an action attached to it for example some are for the Christmas Offering if you choose to do this take the ornament and envelope to use for giving this special gift which will be collected throughout the month, but there are other gifts to give too and these are faith in action gifts, or being the gift to others – so note was is written on the tags.
a. Please make sure you read the action and choose which ones you want to do this Christmas season.
b. So here is the how too -- You will take an ornament and take the hook off the string, complete the action on the tag to be the gift. Once you have completed the action you will bring the ornament back and put it on the tree Note: but make sure you write your name on the tag so you know which one is yours. Then on Christmas Eve you can take your ornament home and put it on your tree to remind you of how you were a blessing to someone this season for Jesus – this is the best birthday present you could give Jesus for His birthday – for Christmas Day.
ii. Since some of you may be wondering about “how to be the gift” here are some of the things that are on our Giving Wall on the tags and some things you could do this month to see people impacted by your special gift which are not on the tags but are great things to do:
1. Make homemade decorations (snowflakes, popcorn strings, paper chains, handprint ornaments) with others and with your family!
2. Bake Christmas cookies and give to others like your neighbors and make sure they are good ones!
3. Go Christmas caroling in your neighborhood or to a nursing home! Pastor Tiffany is leading teams this month so jump aboard with her.
4. Read Christmas books with young children and their friends.
5. Drive around to see the lights and decorations but take someone with you who cannot do it on their own.
6. Attend a Christmas drama, or children’s Christmas program – Our Christmas Program for church and school is Dec 13 and 14th – come be part and invite a friend but make sure you secure your tickets online. Attend a live Nativity - Faith church in Tinley Park has there’s this afternoon starting at 1.
7. Sponsor a child or family in need check out the giving wall to help people in our domestic crisis center in Tinley Park or for someone connects with Pass pregnancy center.
8. Give money to the bell-ringer AND buy them something to eat or drink.
9. Shovel sidewalks or driveways for neighbors – people in need.
10. Visit residents in a nursing home and give Christmas cards to the residents.
11. Start or join a “Pay it Forward” in a drive thru lane (pay for the customer behind you)
12. Smile and say Merry Christmas!
13. Offer to babysit for a single mother and give her a gift certificate to go shopping or to pamper herself.
14. Volunteer to help serve a holiday meal at a soup kitchen or shelter like at Morning Star or with Tom at Southside Christian Center.
15. If you eat out during the holidays, give your server an outrageously large tip, even if they didn’t meet your standards.
16. Be the kind of person that you wish others would be to you…be a gift to others.
a. Note: These ideas came and are adapted from https://redandhoney.com/25-ways-can-gift-others/
T.S. - Some of you may be thinking but I do not have much to give Pastor Mike I don’t know if I could be the gift?
II. Be the gift by using what you have in your possession! What’s in your hand?
a. This week we were exploring chapter 9 in the book we are doing as a staff called, The One Jesus Loves and it was so fitting for this new series and this very sermon: I so love how the Holy Spirit does this! Robert Crosby opens up the chapter sharing this thought:
i. “Amid a windfall of miracles and supernatural events among the Five Thousand, Jesus’ disciples seemed worried. While blinded eyes opened, lame legs walked, and deaf ears heard, the Twelve were concerned about another need: getting hungry. Philip answered . . . , “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” “Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. (John 6:7–11) The boy with the sack lunch during the feeding of the Five Thousand learned a secret almost everyone else in the group most certainly missed. The secret of surrender. The moment this boy extended his hand and offered his lunch to Jesus, he took a step out of his own agenda and a step into Christ’s; his focus went from his selfish interests to kingdom work. While it appeared that he was giving something he needed most in that hour—namely, food—he was just about to gain something much greater.” (Excerpt From The One Jesus Loves Robert Crosby https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-one-jesus-loves/id763823567?mt=11).
ii. Did you hear what this boy did he gave his lunch to 5,000 people and look what Jesus did with that sack lunch.
b. Crosby continues on toward the end of the chapter with this thought:
i. “What about you? What do you have in your hands? What has God given you to use for his glory? Give it back to him. Present it to him intentionally. Place it in his hands even now and you will no longer just have a possession. You will have a ministry. You may say, “But I don’t think I have anything that can be used for a ministry.” Are you sure? Consider this:
1. Do you have a house? God wants to make it a place of ministry by filling it with people in need of hospitality this Christmas season.
2. Do you have a spouse? God wants to make you a powerful partnership of prayer with each other.
3. Do you have children? God wants to use you to shape them into men and women of God – spitfires for the Kingdom of Heaven.
4. Do you have an income? God wants you to honor him and to strengthen other ministries with the “firstfruits” of it so he can bless you with more to give (Ex. 23:19).
5. Do you have a voice? God wants to season your words with grace to touch other lives in song – do you play and instrument use it for God – are you willing to help with sound to connect people to worship with the Perfect gift.
6. Do you have feet? God wants to lead you to places where you can share his love with others.
7. Do you have hands? God wants to touch lives, to embrace the lonely and serve needs through those hands.
8. Do you have a talent? God wants to bless people with it.
9. Do you have a skill? God wants to enrich lives and his church with it.
10. Do you have a sack lunch? God wants you to share it and see how it multiplies.
a. What you have in your hands is what God has given you to show others what you have in your heart—the love of God.”
c. I have a quote on my wall which reminds me of the great gift giving power of God it states, “God can use your resources – yes- the ones you already have to do a miracle!”
i. Do you believe this – seriously that God can do a miracle with what you already have?
ii. I read of another scriptural account in Exodus 4:1- 5 which reflects this same truth.
1. 1Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?” 2Then the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. 3The LORD said, “Throw it on the ground.” Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4Then the LORD said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So, Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. 5“This,” said the LORD, “is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”
a. Question; What do you have in your hand that you can use to bless others and be the best Christmas present for Jesus.
T.S. - Cultivating this Christmas Season with the gift of giving can change your life and someone else’s life – it’s the best Christmas present you could give to Jesus for His birthday.
III. Being the gift is the best Christmas present you could give Jesus on His birthday! Yes I have said it three times in the last paragraph.
a. Gift givers not only bless Jesus but they bless others and this act of kindness can transform lives as the Lord uses it to reveal His love for them through you.
i. Story Chuck Smith notes: “Those persons who have the gift of giving always have many friends. In a proverb it says, "Every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts." We love generous people. But God loves generous people. Think how generous God is with us and has been to us?”
1. He adds this teaching on the word “give” and its cognate forms used in the Bible – it’s used 1,981 times. So, it should make you think that God has a lot to say about giving. But the interesting thing, as you go through and look at all of these references you discover the vast majority are references to what God has given us. These references are probably on a ratio of about five to one. Most of the references on giving in the Bible are referring to what God has given unto us.
a. Are you with me God always out gives the giver. You cannot nor will not out give God.
ii. Chuck Smith shares this story to reveal how we can be the gift and bless others this season of giving:
1. It is not always those who have a lot who have the gift of giving. Sometimes they do and sometimes they do not. There was a man and he became very wealthy. His name was R. G. Levterno and back in the '40s and '50s he designed and invented a lot of heavy-duty, earth-moving equipment. He was a very sharp and innovative fellow. When he started his business he made a covenant to give God ten percent of everything they made, that is, of all his profits. Did you hear that?
a. As time went on and he began to be blessed more and more he made a new covenant with God to give Him twenty percent. But Levterno did it the other way and as the business increased, he gave twenty percent. And as the business continued to increase he then raised it to thirty, then forty, then fifty, then sixty percent. And when he went home to be with the Lord he was giving ninety percent unto the Lord and to the Lord's work all over the world. Ninety percent! Are you kidding me really – this is true story folks.
i. Of course, God had so blessed him that the ten percent which he kept was more than you make anyhow.
ii. God just will not be out-given it’s the truth!
iii. So give and discover the power of giving and how it is filled with more blessings.
b. Would it not be amazing to be so giving as a church and body of Christ that we all had to say we have enough!
i. Reference sermon from last week about Bez-a-lel and O-holy-eb and the people’s giving:
ii. Smith states, “Now the beautiful thing about this is that the people had a heart to give. And as a result, the people began to bring in their gold and their silver and their jewelry to make this tabernacle. And one thing that I think is really special, for materials for the brazen altar the women gave their mirrors which were made of highly-polished brass. But they spoke to Moses finally, those who were counting and weighing all the gifts. And they spoke to Moses and said, "The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work which the Lord commanded to work." So, Moses had to give a commandment and caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp saying, "Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary" (Exodus 36:6-7). And so, they had to restrain the people from bringing any more. The stuff that they had was sufficient for all the work in order to make the sanctuary. They actually gave too much! Now that is the spirit of giving. When God moves upon the hearts of people to give, it really is an exciting thing. Because when we open up our hearts to give unto the Lord it is a beautiful thing.
b. Giving and being the gift is not about the monetary value as much as it is about the heart of the giver.
i. Smith states, “Surely Jesus indicated that it is not the amount that is given (in Mark 12) as He was watching with His disciples and the people were putting their money in the treasury offering. And the wealthy were coming with all their pomp and circumstance and glory, putting in their large gifts. Then one little widow came up and dropped in a quarter of a cent. And Jesus turned to His disciples, and said, "Did you see that? She gave more than all the rest-because they just gave from their surplus. This woman gave her very livelihood. That is all she had." In the Lord's eyes it is not the amount that is given, it is the heart that is behind the giving and what it has cost you to give. Interestingly, the Lord loves sacrificial giving and this is something that seems quite rare. But if a person has the gift of giving, they really do not think of it as a sacrifice. They think, "Oh, praise the Lord! I am glad I can give."
1. The Bible says, "As a person has purposed in his own heart, so let him give." This is something between you and God. Paul says, "For God loveth a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7).
a. The Greek word for cheerful is a little more intense and would better be translated "hilarious." God loves a hilarious giver – yes one who gives with extreme joy.
2. The Bible says we are to give freely. Jesus said, "Freely you have received, freely give" (Matthew 10:8).
3. The psalmist said, "I will freely sacrifice unto You. I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good" (Psalm 54:61).
c. Whether we are giving to God or Jesus for His Birthday or giving to someone in need, it must be motivated by love because Paul said, “And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profits me nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:3)
i. So when we “be the gift” we need to do with Love in our hearts – we do it for our love for Jesus and His great indescribable gift He gave us.
Conclusion:
What do we need to know?
Answer: We need to be the gift this Christmas season because this is the best Christmas gift you could ever give Jesus for His birthday.
Why do we need to know this?
Answer: We need to know that we can all be the gift this Christmas season if we choose to. It does not matter what you have or don’t have just use what God has placed in your hand – He can do the rest.
What do we need to do?
Answer: We need to commit to go out and “be the gift” this Christmas season and do the things that will bless others and honor Jesus on His birthday.
Why do we need to do this?
Answer: I truly believe that if we choose to “be the gift” we will be blessed, Jesus will be honored and others will see the love of Jesus in action and in turn I believe their lives will be transformed for the good this Christmas season. Who knows they even may come experience the perfect indescribable gift of Jesus through your actions of love.
