It was a very long time ago that I learned the basic math facts in school. If I have two hymnals, and I can find people to give me two more hymnals, how many hymnals will I have? Four. I came out ahead. And now that I have four hymnals, if I give one away, how many will I have? Only 3. I’ve lost out. I’ve gone down. And I don’t want to lose, so now I’m going to guard my hymnal stash. Stay back! It’s basic math. If you add, then you gain. If you subtract, then you lose.
This morning we’ll continue in Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount. In it, Jesus gives his disciples some new math, something that seems crazy at first. But it’s one of the foundational principals of the kingdom of God. If you give, you will receive more in return. Our text for this morning is, again, Luke 6:37-42. I invite you to open your Bibles so you can see it for yourself. It is on page 65 of the New Testament section of your pew Bible.
"37 `Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.'
39 He also told them a parable: `Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? 40 A disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully qualified will be like the teacher. 41 Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? 42 Or how can you say to your neighbor, `Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye.'"
Today I want us to look at just one verse, verse 38. “give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.'”
In the kingdom of God, what happens if we give something away? We get it back.
And what you get back isn’t just an equal amount. I think Jesus has in mind giving grain to someone who lacks food. And what you get back is a full measure. It’s been shaken down and the measuring cup is overflowing.
Did you ever open up a cereal box and discover that the contents had settled until it looked like the box was half empty? Here’s one of our favorite cereals. I measured it. The box is 11” high. But the bag inside is only filled to 8 ½”. (And I’ll assume that the weight is just what they said it was). When we give, God doesn’t pay us back like that. He pushes it down, shakes it to settle it, then he fills it up again and makes sure it is overflowing. Keep God’s generosity in mind whenever you start to feel afraid to let something go and give it to God. Nobody is going to out-give God! He promises you will receive more in return.
So, how does this work. Let’s ask some questions about what this all means. Who should give? Jesus is giving a very foundational teaching to people who want to be his disciples. It is our calling to be generous people. If you want to be like Jesus, understand that he was the givingest person of all time. He gave healing. He gave food. He gave hope. He emptied himself and became a servant. He gave his life for our sin. Disciples of Jesus Christ are called to have giving, generous hearts. The “who” of giving is us.
What should disciples give? We usually think about money, our offerings to the church.
We share through bringing our offerings to church and they make it possible for many good things to happen. We share food by bringing in non-perishables for our food pantry. And that gets used and it has really made a difference for some families.
This church has a ministry that most of you never see through the Matthei Fund, that’s not part of the general budget. From time to time people come to our church as a desperate last stop. And the Matthei Fund allows me to help them through the crisis. Maybe the car broke down and it took every cent they had to get it repaired so they could keep working. But now the gas tank is empty and payday doesn’t come for 3 more days. Well, I can take them over and give a tank of gas. Maybe they just can’t make the rent and we can put them over the top. Maybe they can’t afford medicine and we can make it possible. And the fund is usually low, it depends on donations. But that’s an important ministry of this church that you don’t get to see. And there are other agencies that can give cash assistance. But here I can listen to people’s struggles and care and pray with them and give in the name of Jesus. That’s a way that this congregation gives that most of you don’t get to see.
When the crowd asked John the Baptist what they should do to be ready to meet God, one of the things he said was that people who have 2 coats should give one away to someone who doesn’t have any. Giving to our rummage sale is a pretty effective way to do that.
Our PADS team gives tasty, nourishing meals to the homeless.
Disciples of Jesus watch for every opportunity to give. Have you ever really needed to talk and someone just sat and listened, giving you their full attention? That’s a wonderful gift you can give to someone else. And it’s free.
Disciples of Jesus can give the gift of encouraging words. Disciples of Jesus can give the gift of their talents, perhaps helping someone with yard work that has gotten too much for them, clearing their sidewalk or a simple household repair.
Kathy Aram and Florence Sklenar have been reading tutors, giving adults who fell behind in school the gift of being able to read for their jobs or for helping their kids in school. That’s a huge gift. And they are getting a lot of joy in return.
Disciples of Jesus Christ look for any chance to give in any way they can.
When do disciples of Jesus give? Again, we might think first of the Sunday offerings, when we give together to be able to do things we couldn’t do alone. That keeps the ministries of the church flourishing and goes out all over the world. That’s regular and predictable and you can work it into your weekly routine easily.
But the call to give often comes at unexpected times, right when you are looking forward to a relaxing TV show. And we all need times to relax. God gives his people rest. But disciples of Jesus Christ keep some flexibility. They are quick to jump in and help when the time is right. We are on earth to give, and we find our destiny as we learn to do it well.
And how do Christians give? Well, the Apostle Paul wrote in his second letter to the Corinthians that God loves a cheerful giver. That’s a bonus to anything we can do. When we serve someone and do it cheerfully, then we have made God’s day. Is there anything better than that? True Christian giving is cheerful giving.
And any time I talk about giving with Christians there’s a precaution to keep in mind. Does being a Christian mean you have to give anybody anything they ask for? Not at all. Kids may ask their parents for sweets three meals a day, to skip school and spend hundreds of dollars on computer games. I’m exaggerating there, because most kids know better. But parents know that isn’t good for them and so it isn’t loving to give it to them.
There are people who will hit you up for money for alcohol or drugs. What’s the loving thing to say? No!
You give them your prayers, your encouragement that God has a better way for them, your help to move in a better direction. Christians give, but not always what people ask for.
You know those panhandlers that hit you up for money down in the loop. They say they have no money for food. And you know that some of them will take your money and spend it on alcohol or drugs. When that happens, I don’t give them money, but I may well offer to take them straight into the nearest diner and buy them a meal. I’ve had one take me up on that and we had a nice time together. I’ve had others just walk away. And then I knew they weren’t being honest with me.
Let’s see, who, what, when, how. Why do we give?
The reason that Jesus said to give is because when we give we will get back more than we gave. And some of us may feel guilty about even thinking of getting a reward, but in this passage Jesus offers the reward and held the reward up to motivate us. It’s OK to work for his reward. He wants us to find that added joy in our giving.
I once watched some guy on TV promising that if you send him $50 God will pay you back, guaranteed, dollar for dollar and more. But I don’t think that’s what Jesus had in mind. Jesus isn’t into get rich quick schemes. Giving is to be an act of worship and an act of compassion, not selfishness.
There are a lot bigger blessings than just money.
Giving to God just plain feels good inside. That’s worth a lot. It helps us feel in control of our lives, like we really can make a difference on this earth.
Giving to God enriches us by helping us sort out the priorities in our lives. Our culture is addicted to consumerism. For every longing in our hearts and for every hunger and fear there is somebody out there offering to sell us a product to fix it. If life is boring, buy a hot new car. If you are lonely, buy that expensive perfume. If your family is struggling to get along, buy that desert that will make them all come together. Consumerism sucks us into a materialistic frenzy of working ourselves to death to get money for all that stuff and then shopping till we drop. Consumerism fills your mind with all the things you want to buy for yourself and your family and makes the thought of giving to others downright threatening. Everything I give to others means less for me.
Giving is the antidote to the empty consumerism of our world. If you want to break yourself of worrying about money, give some away. It will set you free and make you rich inside. And that’s what really matters. You’ll discover that life can go on without all that stuff, and that it can even be better.
But there is another dimension to God’s new math for giving that enriches us. When God sees that we will use the resources into our hands faithfully to pass them on to where they are most needed, he will often open the gates of blessing.
In about 1976, while we were still in Nepal, friends of ours in the same mission group we worked with had a vision of buying an ocean liner as a mobile ministry base. They found one for sale at a bargain price: only about 5 million dollars. Of course, it needed a lot of work. Of course, it needed an extensive crew of very skilled people with very specific licensing and training. Of course, it would be very expensive to run and maintain.
But God gave them the vision. A large percentage of the world’s population lives in seaports cities today. Often the port districts are the darkest and neediest parts of the darkest and neediest cities. And an ocean liner could be equipped to carry and deliver famine relief supplies. It could have a mobile hospital and dental clinic to give free medical care to the poorest people in Calcutta, Karachi, Rangoon, and Manila. They could invite pastors in for seminars to train them and encourage them. And it only cost $5 million dollars to buy.
But this was when I was walking 45 minutes into Kathmandu because I couldn’t afford a 75-cent taxi.
Our mission held an international conference in Eagle River, Wisconsin. Somebody donated the facility. At that point we had raised $130,000 for the ship. And we prayed for the rest. And God said that the rest would come if we let go of what we had, that we were to give the $130,000 to another mission for their work. And we did. What does that do to your balance sheet?
Let’s see, we have $130 thousand. We need $5 million. So we give away $130 and then we have nothing.
Was that the end of it? No, God opened the windows of blessing. Contributions started flooding in. We gave God the $130,000 that we had and all the money came in for the ship, as well as the crew, and today that entire ministry is being fulfilled and there is a fleet of 5 ships altogether. You may have heard of the ministry, it’s called Mercy Ships today. We put God in charge of the finances. We gave as God directed us and God returned, “pressed down, shaken together and running over.”
It’s a strange math isn’t it? It just shouldn’t work. That is, it doesn’t work if we don’t include God as part of the equation. But when we do that, everything changes.
A few minutes ago, I was worrying about how many hymnals I would get, could I get three hymnals, or four? But how many hymnals are out there? Can you grab all the hymnals in the room and hold them up? There are plenty of hymnals out there. That puts my worries about a few hymnals in a different perspective, doesn’t it? The Bible says that our God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He has no shortage of resources to meet the needs of his children if we will put him in charge.
Is God part of the equation in your finances? Is God part of the equation by which you see our church finances? The only limit to what he can do is our faith and our obedience.
Jesus said, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.'” AMEN.
