"Radical giving" Acts 4:32-37 Pastor Bob Hunter
(read scripture)
(opening illustration)
In our home these days, there is such a thing that rules called toddler control. Our children are young, and from a very young age human beings understand that possession is 90% of the law. Only in the mind of a toddler its 100% of the law!. If they play with it, it’s theirs, even if it’s not theirs. If it looks like theirs, its theirs and don’t try to tell them otherwise. If they play with it, set it down for five minutes and walk away; its still theirs. Don’t think for a second you can take it way, you’ll be in big trouble. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to make obnoxious toys disappear and been caught red handed. I’m talking about the world of toddler control.
A couple of years ago, for his second birthday my son Grant was given a little toy Tonka backhoe that he would often take to the park and play with in the sand. It was the neatest toy, in fact I played with it myself a few times! The only problem was that all of the other kids wanted to play with it too. Every kid in the sand pit wanted to take their turn digging dirt with the backhoe. On one of our trips to the park, the backhoe disappeared and was never seen again. Now why did that happen? Simply put, somebody possessed it. To a child possession is everything. In the mind of a toddler, the world revolves around me! If it mine, it stays mine, if it looks like mine, it probably is mine, if I played with it, it’s mine, if I touched it, it’s mine, if I even looked at it, it’s mine. Mine, mine, mine & me, me, me.
Acts Ch. 4 is the total opposite of ‘me.’ These verses represent the polar opposite of me and what is mine. The early Church operated with a fundamentally different premise. Among them there was no place for selfishness. The early followers of Jesus were characteristically unselfish in every way. They made huge sacrifices to meet the needs of the less fortunate. They even sold property to finance the ongoing mission of the Church. They were radical in their giving. They were generous with their stuff. They were liberal with all of their possessions.
And I don’t know about you, but when I read this I get a little bit uncomfortable. I mean its a little bit unsettling to think, that maybe God expects the same thing from us. That maybe you and I should live this way. That we should see all of our possessions as not our own, but as vehicles to help and serve somebody else. That’s a pretty frightening proposition. Are we ready for something this radical? To some Acts 4 sounds a little bit socialism or wealth redistribution. Though none of it was forced or demanded. Having everything in common was a choice of their own! I’m already challenged! But before we go further we need to deal with some issues.
Let us first talk about some of the things that prevent us from being truly radical in our giving and sharing. What is it that holds us back? Why are we not sharing and giving this way? Why is the sharing way of life so unpopular? Let’s just take a moment to answer that question. Why is it so hard for us to adapt a radical giving way of life? Why don’t we do this? Why is radical giving difficult for us?
1. There is a fear giving up control.
Letting go of possessions that we worked hard to accumulate is a dangerous proposition. There’s a human element of fear involved in it; taking our hands off & letting go. We tend to fear our possessions will fall into the hands of someone who might not appreciate, value, or use it appropriately. We fear they might squander or take it for granted. You see, we never outgrow our childish ways do we? Even as adults, we hesitate when it comes to sharing. Giving up control of our possessions is just one among many of the challenges we face in life as we grow and mature. And it happens to be one of the chief reasons why we don’t share very openly. The second reasons is this…
2. There is a risk of not being rewarded.
Let’s just suppose you are to give generously to a cause or to a project, and nobody stops to say ‘thank you’ or appreciate your input. Let’s just suppose you pour your heart out & give generously and theres recognition lack. No credit where credit is due, and no thank you whatsoever. Is that O.K? Many of us fear our acts of kindness & generosity will go unoticed.
(Illust)
When I was at the Valley Church in Wilsonville, the front doors all the way around on the building needed refinishing. They were faded, rusted and in need of new paint. I had some extra money, (that was 2 kids ago) so I went out and bought some really nice paint that matched the color scheme. Sanded the doors down and painted them. I spent two days, doing this work. And I thought everyone would notice, since the doors are visible to all. Surely a church with about 200 people in attendance would take note. But guess what? A couple weeks passed, and there was dead silence. If people did notice they didn’t say anything to me. Only the pastor and a couple others even recognized, barely! I was kinda feeling a little bit sorry for myself. Ya know, gee, give all this time, and nobody even stops to say thank you, some Church this is. But you know what? Receiving recognition for gift giving isn’t really a good motive is it? Whether 2 people or 200 noticed need not be the issue. I was painfully reminded by the Lord, that my gift was unto Him and Him alone. Even if nobody noticed I was going to have to be content no matter what. Whether or not the Pastor ever said or did anything in my favor was inconsequential, it’s simply not the point. Well, this is a fact, not being recognized is one of the reasons we hold back, and so is #3, not only is there a fear of giving up control and not being recognized, but there’s also the danger of not making a difference.
3. There is a danger of not making a difference.
#3 is like the chief of all excuses not to give. This is what we think, "Well, I can’t make much of a difference, my part would be so small and insignificant that I think, I’ll just sit back and let somebody else." "I don’t have much to give, I can’t make much of a splash, so I’ll let others step in and take my place."
Illust: Need I remind you of the story Jesus when he fed the 5,000? You remember how it began, with a little boy on a hillside with a small bag containing 5 loaves and 2 small fishes. And Jesus takes that small offering and multiplies it to feed 5,000 hungry mouths. Little is much, when God is in it! The miracle of multiplication is still alive and well. There is always a danger we won’t make much of a difference from a human standpoint. But when God is in it, and we give unto Him, anything can happen. It’s not about the amount or quantity, its about attitude and quality. Amen?
But we have this fear to contend with; that what we give won’t make much of a difference, so therefore we’ll hold back. We falsely conclude that we should step back and not give generously.
Transitional statement: Have you noticed something peculiar about all these reasons, they all have something in common. Anybody know what it is? They all have to do with ‘me’, and how I feel, and insecurities. Most of the reasons we just discussed for not being a radical giver, are selfish. Because they focus on a narrow perception of what my role is in the Kingdom of God.
So the question is: How can we get away from a preoccupation with self and shift our focus to God, and what He wants us to do meet the needs of the church and other people. How can we adopt a more giving way of life? What can we do to encourage the kind of radical giving that distinguished and set the early church apart from every other group?
If you think of it, nobody wants to be a part of a greedy Church, there’s a certain toxicity and repulsion that we have toward people that who are selfish. That’s why there’s so much outrage in regard to many of the recent accounting scandals. People tend to have little tolerance for greedy people. Let me give you an example, If I went out to the front lawn, and changed the wording on our Church sign to read, "First Church of Enron" or "Worldcom fellowship" Do you think anybody would show up the next Sunday? Probably not, you would walk in here on Sunday morning and find a clearing house of empty chairs. You see, greed kills. It sucks the life out of us. That’s why we need to get over our insecurities in regard to giving & sharing and become more like the early believers in Acts 4. So what can we do to become more radical givers? Let me give you a few suggestions...
1. Recognize it all belongs to God.
Everything you have is a gift from God. God has allowed all of it to come about for a purpose. It’s not by accident, that you and I have been blessed. Every good and perfect gift comes from above. Job said in best in the O.T., he said, "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord." It all belongs to God. We are not the hand of our own providence and the source of our own blessings, God is. That you are even able to wake up in the morning throw your carcass in the shower, eat breakfast & get ready for work, is a blessing from God. Our health, our physical well being; we owe it all to the Lord. He’s the giver and sustainer of life. And to whom much is given much is expected. Everything that you have and everything that you are is because of Almighty God.
Jesus taught his disciples an important principle. And its this: We are not the owners, we are the stewards. Jesus taught this principle to the disciples in Luke Ch. 19 & 20 in two separate parables. One the parables of the minas, the other the parable of the tenants.
In the parable of the minas, Jesus tells of a noble man who imparted an equal gift to ten of his servants. He departed for a time and left them to use this resource for good. Upon his return, he called them to account for their stewardship. Two of the men used the mina wisely and invested it. They were rewarded for their stewardship. Because they put the mina to good use. There was yet another servant, however, that tucked his mina under the pillow and let it collect dust! And when the noble man heard that he let it collect dust, he took it away from him and scolded him. The morale of the story is this, if you the resources God gives you wisely you’ll be blessed and rewarded. If you don’t use what God gives you wisely, then you risk having it taken away. That’s a hard truth isn’t it? It has a pretty frontal application doesn’t it? The underlying message of both parables is strong: we are not the owners of what we have, God is. To whom much is given, much is expected.
So let me tell you how this works out. There’s a downtown Church that called us last summer and inquired about using our Church van to take kids to camp. They called other Churches and were turned down. So they came to us at the end of their rope hoping that we would allow them access to the van to transport these kids. And as I thought about, I realized that the Van is really the Lords, it’s not mine and not yours, it’s God. Here’s a Church doing God’s work, why shouldn’t we allow God’s van to be used for God’s work? The van will otherwise just be sitting here. Why not let em use it? And we did. Now that’s what I call stewardship. We recognize that it all belongs to God, and that we are stewards, the managers, not the owners. Think about your stuff, are you willing to surrender your stuff to God? Everything you have came from God, you get this awesome privilege of borrowing it, and being a steward of it. Use your stuff wisely. It is so much easier to give, when we recognize who it all belongs to.
I would also challenge you, in addition to this awareness, to resist selfishness…
2. Resist Selfishness.
The best way to resist selfishness is to give generously and sacrificially. Mother Teresa said it best when she said, "You have to give until it hurts!" She said, "If you only give what you can do without, then you really haven’t given anything." Wow, that’s a powerful statement. Now why is it painful when we give? It’s painful because it involves detachment. Detachment from our stuff and even our schedules and sometimes the detachment from self is painful.
A good example of sacrificial giving is Baranabas. It says right here in Acts 4 that Barnabas had a field. I just wonder what his plans were for the field? Perhaps he planned to farmed it and turn a profit. Maybe it was a piece of property that he hope to homestead, build a house on and retire. What Barnabas intended to do with the field is anybodies guess. I sure he had great plans. But what he did with it got the immediate attention of the Apostles. Rather than pursue his own plans, he put a for sale sign in the yard and sold it. He then brought the proceeds and laid them at the Apostles feet.
Perhaps it was Barnabas that inspired yet another Christian couple to do the same thing; to sell a piece of property and give the proceeds to the Church. Their names were Ananias and Saphria. The only problem was, Ananias & Saphria didn’t go far enough, they couldn’t quit resist being selfish. Selfishness and greed reared it’s ugly head. They sold a piece of property and kept back a certain portion for themselves. And when asked about the price, they lied, so they could take home some of the profits. And you know what happened to them don’t you? They fried. You lie, you fry. They got struck down by the Holy Spirit of God for lying. The example is extreme, but it’s one that nevertheless illustrates a point. Greed kills. And for many people, including people in the Church, subtle notions of greed are hard to overcome. Ananias & Saphria would have been far better off to not have made the offer in the first place. Than make one and then lie about it. There is no place for selfishness in the Church. The clear teachings of scripture remind us that among the fellowship of believers generosity is the standard.
Thirdly, once you recognize who it all belongs to, and resist selfishness, then finally, there’s only one thing left do, and that’s rely on Christ.
3. Rely on Christ.
Rely on Christ to meet your needs. The apostle Paul said it best in the book of Philipians when he said, "My God shall supply all of your needs according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus." Circle the word all. This is a great point to conclude on, because basically what it says is this: God’s going to take care of you. He’s going to meet your needs. We are so insecure and fearful about having something taken away from us. God says that’s not going to happen when you trust Christ. He’s going to meet your needs.
In fact, Jesus said, you don’t even have to worry about it. He pointed the disciples to the birds in the air, he said, "Look at the birds of the air…your heavenly father takes care of them, are you not more valuable than them?" Jesus went on to say, "who by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" (Matt. 6:25-27 ) You can’t. God promises to meet our needs, not necessary our greeds or our wants. So in other words, we should live like the birds, and quit worrying so much. When is the last time you saw a bird have a nervous breakdown? It just doesn’t happen. God takes care of them, and He’ll take care of you. You just have to trust Him & rely on Christ to meet your needs.
Now if you understand these things about God, it makes it a whole lot easier to become a radical giver. Now watch this, radical givers make a radical difference. Who do you think is going to be most remembered? Mother Teresa, or Madonna. Who made more of an impact on society? Helen Keller or Marilyn Monroe. Who do you think is going to have a stronger legacy? Malcom X or Martin Luther King. You see, it matters whether or not you’re a radical giver. It really, really matters. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t want it to be said of me that I was selfish with my time, my talents and my treasure. I don’t want to be guilty of holding back something that doesn’t belong to me in the first place. And folks, if you get a bunch people together that believe this and live this out, then guess what? To the rest of the world, WATCH OUT! Radical givers, make a radical difference. You can get started in this direction today, by surrendering your stuff to Jesus. Declare a radical God ownership of everything that you have. The old timers use to say, ‘lay it all on the altar.’ That means you have to let-go! And get the focus off of yourself. Are you willing to do that? Let’s pray…
