The Two Seas
Text: Proverbs 11:24-25
There were two seas that dominated the
land of Jesus,
the land where he was born and grew up,
the land in which he lived and ministered,
the land which some today call Israel,
and others call Palestine.
One of these two great bodies of water,
filled with fresh water,
fed by the headwaters of the Jordan River at Caesarea Philippi, was the center
of much of Jesus’ activity during his ministry.
It was a scene of sometimes tranquil,
sometimes fierce beauty;
for the length of its almost thirteen miles,
fish abound in its waters,
both in numbers and in kinds.
As a result, from before the time of Christ to the present day,
the boats of fishermen have dotted its surface and shoreline,
spawning cities, like Capernaum and Bethsaida,
that were haven and home to Jesus and his closest disciples.
It is encircled by pebbled shores and rolling green slopes;
trees huddle along its shores and sink their roots deep into the refreshment at water’s edge;
the surrounding countryside is a patchwork of teeming cities and valuable farmland.
At the southern tip of this sea,
the Jordan River,
having passed through the Sea of Galilee,
continues its southernly trek
through the land in which Jesus lived.
Seventy miles south, after winding like a snake through the countryside, the Jordan empties into the other sea.
This second sea Jesus knew boasted none of the characteristics of its northern counterpart.
It receives an average of six million tons of water every day from the Jordan River,
water that has collected mineral substances from the soil of the area,
substances such as
the chlorides of sodium, magnesium, and calcium.
There these substances abide, for, unlike the Sea of Galilee to the north, this sea has no outlet.
As a result, the water there is about four times as salty as the ocean;
so much so, in fact, that eggs will float on its surface.
A swimmer entering this sea will find himself buoyed as though he were wearing an inner tube, and upon coming ashore will find a greasy deposit of minerals on his skin, which is liable to irritate, and which will torture any scratch or inflammation.
The water is likewise bitter to the taste, undrinkable.
In this southern sea can be found barely a trace of life:
No fish,
not even shellfish or coral are found beneath its surface;
The landscape all around is unoccupied, except by the hardiest of creatures.
It is desert:
dry, rocky, wilderness.
The dry, burnt look of the shoreline,
the sometimes overpowering heat of the region,
the lingering stench of sulfur,
the apparent lack of life in and around the sea
all combine to make its name—
“The Dead Sea”—
a fitting description.
I mention these two seas as a parable this morning:
one is a scene of beauty,
a center of commerce,
whose shores and depths teem with life;
the other is quite the opposite;
its shores are barren,
the atmosphere is harsh,
and its bitter waters cannot sustain life nor quench thirst.
The difference . . . is in the giving.
You see, the Dead Sea receives fresh water daily from the Jordan River, but keeps it all to itself. . . .
All the rich minerals and sediment of the Jordan Valley that course into the Dead Sea halt their flow within its boundaries. It hoards what it gets, and gives none of its riches to the wilderness of Zin, Paran, and Edom to the south.
The Sea of Galilee, however, sparkles with freshness because it not only receives the water that flows down from the northern mountains; it also gives itself to the winding Jordan River as it flows to the south.
I’ve been asked to speak this morning on the subject, “Why I Give Regularly”. . . .
That is, why do I take the first ten to fifteen percent out of my family’s budget,
and give it to my church;
and then, above and beyond that,
why do I also give to missionaries, parachurch groups, crisis pregnancy centers, charities, and so on and so forth?
I could say, “Because God’s Word commands me to.” God commanded the Israelites,
A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD. (Lev. 27:30).
And Paul told the Corinthian believers,
On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income [for believers in need elsewhere in the world] (1 Cor. 16:2).
I could ALSO say, “I give because I love the Lord.” In its purest form, my giving is just the response of a grateful heart to God. Like the psalmist sang,
I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.. . .
You are my God, and I will give thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you (Psalm 118:21, 28).
I could say that I give because I believe it is God’s plan for financing his kingdom, and this is — to me — an awe-inspiring thought: God has entrusted the financial stability and success of his kingdom to the generosity of his people!
He commanded the Israelites,
From what you have, take an offering for the LORD. Everyone who is willing is to bring to the LORD an offering (Exodus 35:5).
He could have created a tabernacle in the wilderness ex nihilo, out of nothing!
He could have dropped the Jerusalem temple onto Mount Zion from the very heights of heaven!
He could send the staff of this church to Brookville Lake every week to pull their salaries out of the mouth of a fish!
But he does none of those things. . . He charges each one of us with the awesome challenge and privilege of participating in the financial stability and success of his kingdom!
And, to be truthful, those reasons are all a part of my answer. . . .
But they’re not the biggest part. The main reason I give regularly and proportionally to the work of God has to do with those two seas I referred to moments ago.
Because the principle we can see at work in the tale of those two seas is also at work among us,
in the narrative that plays itself out every day on the stage of human activity. . . .
I would put it like this:
There are two kinds of people in the world:
givers, and takers. . .
And the givers are much richer
and fresher,
more sparkling
and happier.
The person who is always taking and never giving will become stale, unpleasant, and bitter.
Men and women who freely give of themselves — their possessions, time, and lives — will as surely become sweet, pleasant, and refreshing.
The wise king, Solomon, once said:
One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed (Proverbs 11:24-25, NIV).
That’s what I want to be like.
That’s what I want for myself,
for my wife,
and for my children.
I don’t want to be like the Dead Sea,
always taking, never giving,
storing up, hoarding,
and yet becoming not fresher but
more and more stagnant
more and more unpleasant
more and more unattractive
as I keep all that comes to me,
giving up and giving out nothing.
No! I want to be like the Sea of Galilee,
always refreshed,
always replenished,
always receiving and giving,
receiving and giving.
It is a principle that has been dramatized over and over again; you remember Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol , don’t you? It is the story of an old miser named Ebeneezer Scrooge, who receives a series of ghostly visitors, who show him what his selfishness and greed do not only to others, but to him. When the ghosts leave him, he starts to share his wealth with others, and finds the results so thrilling, so exhilarating, that he suddenly can’t give enough!
Or take a lesser known story, George Eliot’s Silas Marner. Silas is a lonely, embittered old man who spends his evenings counting and recounting his hoard of gold coins . . . Until two strange events occur, one right after the other:
he is robbed of his gold coins,
and an unknown baby girl appears
practically on his doorstep.
As he takes in the little girl,
whom he names Eppie,
he begins to change,
as he starts to care for the child,
and give to someone other than himself,
and the more he gives, the richer he becomes. . .
But such stories are not found only in the realm of fiction. Take ninety-three year old Cecil Green, for instance. My brother met Cecil at an convention for fund raisers (and no, Vice President Gore was not in attendance).
Cecil had given away more money than most people ever see in their lifetimes. He had given millions of dollars to various organizations, and he was invited to this particular convention to receive an award for all the good things his generosity had accomplished.
As he reached the top of the wobbly steps to the podium, he shook loose from the people who supported his ninety-three-year-old form on either side, and walked toward the podium. With each step he seemed to get more excited and energetic, until suddenly he stopped, looked at the crowd, and broke into a dance that looked something like an Irish jig.
“I am so excited,” he said when he stepped to the podium after his little dance, “and I appreciate this award very much. But I don’t understand why someone should be given such an award for doing something so enjoyable. Giving away my money is so much fun I wish everyone could do it. My goal is to be able to give everything away before I die.”
Cecil Green had spent much of his life working hard to earn as much as he could. While he enjoyed making money, he didn’t really start to have fun until he started giving it away! The more he gave away, it seemed, the more fun he had.
He discovered how much fun it is to surprise people with generosity.
He discovered how much fun it is to make a difference in other people’s lives.
He discovered that the greatest thing about making more money was being able to give more away!
That’s why I give regularly and proportionally to God’s work, to this church, to people in ministry— because I. . . .Want. . . To! Because that’s the kind of person I want to be!
A long time ago, someone—it might have been Doug Wilson, who used to attend OBF—told me of a late-night phone call he once received. It was an old friend of his calling from several time zones away. While Doug tried to shake the visions of sugar plums out of his head, his friend explained that years earlier, he had resolved never to let a day go by without giving something away. It might be a quarter to some kid who lost his money in a machine or a book to someone he knew would enjoy a good read. And he had called that night, he said, to give Doug something. . . He remembered something Doug had done for him years before, and wanted to tell him how much that gesture had meant to him. He gave him a compliment and his heartfelt thanks, and then hung up the phone.
Imagine— giving something away every day!
That’s the kind of person I want to be.
I want to experience the full fun of giving!
I want to surprise people with generosity!
I want to make a difference in other people’s lives, in the life and ministry of my church!
Like Solomon said:
One man gives freely, yet gains even more. . . . A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed (Pr. 11:24-25).
Jesus said something similar:
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you (Luke 6:38).
And the apostle Paul taught:
Whoever sows generously will also reap generously (2 Cor. 9:6).
Now don’t get me wrong.
It’s not a deal God makes with people, you know, “Plant a seed to feed your greed.”
It’s nothing like that.
It’s just a simple law of nature:
God cannot give more to those whose hands are already full.
Or to put it another way,
to quote C.S. Lewis quoting Augustine,
“God gives where he finds empty hands.”
“A man whose hands are full of parcels,” adds Lewis, “can’t receive a gift.”
Now, none of us here are rich, I know that;
but you don’t have to be rich to give as though you were.
For example, take the story of George, a story, told by reporter Anne Keegan in the Chicago Tribune Magazine.
George had no home.
Most nights, he slept at the YMCA.
He owned only the clothes he wore: a shirt, a pair of pants, a pair of shoes wrapped with rubber bands to keep the soles from flapping, and a shabby coat.
On cold winter mornings, George would go to the police station nearby and spend the morning sitting in an old metal chair in the back. At least it was warm inside the police station.
A couple police officers befriended Old George.
They would occasionally slip him a few dollars for a cup of coffee.
They found out that, Billy, a nearby restaurant owner gave Old George a hot breakfast every morning, for no charge.
They decided to invite George to join their families for Christmas dinner, and George agreed. They even gave him a few presents, which he unwrapped carefully.
As they drove their guest back to the YMCA that evening, George asked, “Are these presents really mine . . . to keep?” When the officers nodded, George asked the officers to drive by Billy’s restaurant before taking him home.
By the time the officers drove up to the curb in front of Billy’s restaurant, Old George had carefully rewrapped all his presents. He tucked them under his arms and walked into the restaurant.
“You’ve always been real good to me, Billy,” he told the man behind the counter. “Now I can be good to you.”
He plopped the presents down on the counter and slid them toward Billy.
“Merry Christmas!” he said, as he gave away all his newfound wealth.
That’s the kind of person I want to be.
A giver.
One whose hands are never too full,
one who “gives freely, yet gains even more.”
So I would ask you today,
• “What about you?”
• Are your hands too full to receive from God?
• Do you wish a little too fervently for what you don’t have, and cling somewhat too tightly to what you do have?
• Are you afraid to give generously to God and his church, thinking that he cannot somehow replenish your account from his treasure house? OR that if you are generous he will be stingy, and “will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it” (Malachi 3:10)?
• Do you know that his will is that you “excel in this grace of giving?” (2 Cor. 8:7). . . Not because he is impoverished if you don’t, but because you are!
So, if God has challenged your heart in any way this morning, I want to suggest a few things you can DO in response:
• first, plan your giving. Don’t just give what’s left over, because there will never be anything left over. Give God your firstfruits, and try to outdo yourself every year. Keep track of your giving, so he can prove to you that you can never outgive God.
• second, prioritize your giving. I suggest that you support your local church first, and then add Christian ministries you believe in and benefit from, and then, if you like, add other charitable causes after that.
• plan for spontaneity. Designate a certain portion of your monthly giving so you can respond to an occasional emergency or surprise someone with an unexpected gift. For example, right now there are members of this church family, such as Sam and Tolivar Wills (and others), who are working hard to raise support for their ministry with athletes and would be blessed by one-time gifts as well as new, regular supporters.
• and finally, if you don’t already do so, every once in a while give something anonymously, so that you can enjoy the pure pleasure of giving without anyone knowing, without a receipt, without a tax deduction.
Would you please bow your heads and pray with me:
Oh, our all-loving and all-giving Father,
How we thank you,
that “from our mother’s arms,”
from our first moments of life,
you have blessed us with countless gifts of love,
and still your mercies and your grace are new
every morning:
GREAT is thy faithfulness.
With all that you’ve given us, Lord,
what can we ask of you this morning. . .
EXCEPT to make us like you;
O God, open our hands and our hearts to you,
and to the needs around us.
Fill us with the Spirit of him who, though he
was rich, yet for [our] sakes, he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).
Grant that we might “excel in this grace of giving,”
and that the response your Spirit has prompted
in our hearts right now will remain and multiply even as we go from this place, that our “generosity will result in thanksgiving to [you]” (2 Cor. 9:11), our gracious and generous God. Amen.
