INTRO.- ILL.- The American industrialist, Henry Ford, was once asked to donate money for the construction of a new medical facility. The billionaire pledged to donate $5,000. The next day in the newspaper, the headline read, "Henry Ford contributes $50,000 to the local hospital."
The irate Ford was on the phone immediately to complain to the fund-raiser that he had been misunderstood. The fund-raiser replied that they would print a retraction in the paper the following day to read, "Henry Ford reduces his donation by $45,000." Realizing the poor publicity that would result, the industrialist agreed to the $50,000 contribution in return for the following: That above the entrance to the hospital was to be carved the biblical inscription: "I came among you and you took me in."
Sometimes in life we feel like we’ve been taken in or we’ve been took! Ever make a bad purchase? Ever buy a lemon? Ever give to a cause that you knew was going nowhere? Ever give to a person whom you knew would blow it?
To give or not to give? That is the question. No, that is not the question. That may be the question for many people in our world, but it should not be for the Christian. Giving should be a natural part of our lives. We should want to give because of God’s example of giving to us.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave…”
God has given everything for our enjoyment in this life and He has given us what it takes to make it to eternity. The greatest of all gifts is the sacrifice of His son Jesus on the cross. Giving doesn’t get any better than that.
No matter how much we give back to God through the church or missions or by any others means, we will never outdistance His giving. But this doesn’t mean that we should stop giving or cut back in our giving.
ILL.- Preacher W.A. Criswell told of an ambitious young man who told his pastor he’d promised God a tithe of his income. They prayed for God to bless his career. At that time he was making $40.00 per week and tithing $4.00. In a few years his income increased and he was tithing $500.00 per week.
He called on the pastor to see if he could be released from his tithing promise, it was too costly now. The pastor replied, "I don’t see how you can be released from your promise, but we can ask God to reduce your income to $40.00 a week, then you’d have no problem tithing $4.00."
That doesn’t figure, does it? You would think that as a person is blessed by God financially they would want to give even more back to God. This story just reminds us of how self-centered we really are.
ILL.- Ever heard of Jon M. Huntsman? He is a billionaire who gave $100 million dollars to help find a cure for cancer. Huntsman has gone through two bouts of cancer himself. He had prostate cancer in 1992 and then cancer of the mouth in 1993.
It’s said that Huntsman could be a poster boy for old-fashioned values. He grew up in what he describes as a “humble and modest” home in Blackfoot, Idaho, the second of three sons of a schoolteacher and his wife.
HOW DID HE MAKE HIS BILLION DOLLARS? One thing was the “Big Mac” plastic burger box for McDonald’s. I think prior to that it was the egg carton and then came plastic bowls and plates for hospital use. His companies are in 23 different countries. Huntsman said, “I never dreamed that I would be in this position financially someday, nor did our family ever expect it, nor do I think, frankly, that we deserve it.”
“But it’s unfolded in such an incredible way, I feel maybe the good Lord intended me to utilize it for the betterment of human-kind. There’s no better explanation for someone to have picked potatoes as a kid and suddenly have a $4 to $5 billion dollar company in one lifetime.”
Huntsman has done a good thing. His giving has apparently been motivated by a gracious God. And so must our giving be.
It’s been said that when we give we are most like God. This may very well be. Giving is one of the hardest things for most people to do, because we are taking away from ourselves. And self is very strong in all of us. SELF OFTEN DOMINATES AND CONTROLS.
So when it comes to giving in any form, let’s think in terms of becoming more like God and Christ who have given their all for us and to us.
Now for some more motivation. Does it do any good to give to others or for the cause of Christ?
PROP.- In our text, Paul tells us what our giving will do for others and us.
1- Bless others
2- Credit accounts
3- Please God
4- Meet needs
I. BLESS OTHERS
V. 14 “Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles.
ILL.- A minister performed the wedding for a young couple. The bride wore a veil and he couldn’t see her face. After the ceremony was over, the man asked the minister, “How much do I owe you?”
“No charge,” the minister said. “But I want to show my appreciation to you,” so the man gave the minister $.50. About that time the bride pulled of her veil, and the minister looked at the bride and gave the groom 25 cents change.
Now the moral to this story is.... Don’t marry an ugly bride. Don’t get married. You’ll have troubles. You’ll have troubles regardless of the person you marry.
ILL.- It’s like what 8 year old Ava said about marriage, “One of you should know how to write a check. Because, even if you have tons of love, there is still going to be a lot of bills.” We all know that two people cannot live cheaper than one!
Most everyone experiences some kind of trouble in life, but not everyone experiences financial troubles. There are a few people who are blessed financially.
ILL.- I had one man in a church tell me that he’d always had a very good job that paid well. They never wanted for anything. If they wanted something, they just went out and bought it.
That’s nice, but doesn’t happen with most of us. And it didn’t happen with Paul either. He knew what it was to be in need and what it was to abound at times.
ILL.- Sophie Tucker (January 13, 1884 - February 9, 1966) "Last of the Red Hot Mamas": vaudeville entertainer is quoted as saying:
From birth to eighteen, a girl needs good parents.
From eighteen to thirty-five, she needs good looks.
From thirty-five to fifty-five, she needs a good personality.
From fifty-five on, she needs cash.
Most people need cash occasionally. Paul needed cash or some kind of financial support in his missionary and evangelism ministry.
Whenever we give to someone in need we bless them. Paul said it was good that they shared in his financial troubles. It’s always a blessing to people when they have a need and we can help with that need. It helps to lift a burden.
Rom. 12:13 “Share with God’s people who are in need.”
Gal. 6:9-10 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”
Prov. 3:27 “Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.” God has given us the power to act, to do good, to share, etc.
WHEN YOU DO FEEL BEST ABOUT YOURSELF IN LIFE? When you do good? When you do something for someone else? When you help another person in need? When you give to someone in need? Yes, it’s true and it’s because God made us to care for one another. God wants us to bless one another and that’s what our giving will do.
II. CREDIT ACCOUNTS
V. 17 “Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account.”
ILL.- How’s your account? It depends on what you’re talking about. Bless my mother’s heart, I must tell you something about a banking deal of hers.
My dad passed away in December of 1982 and following that time I always went back home to help mom anyway I could: hospitalization, illness, surgeries, run errands, whatever. I was glad to do it and felt motivated to do it since she was my mother. I had the ability and I wanted to do it even though I lived 400 miles away.
One day I took mom to a bank in Joplin, MO, where she had an account. Mom wanted to check her account, the balance, etc. but mom forgot to bring her checkbook with her.
We spoke with a lady at a desk and she said, “I’m sorry, Mrs. Shepherd, but without your checkbook we don’t have any proof of your account.” I told mom, “Mom, I’ll drive back home and get your checkbook if you want me to.” Mom turned to the lady and said, “If he has to drive back to get my checkbook I will take every dime I have out of this bank.” The woman said, “Well, we could have you give us your signature and we could compare it to your signature card.”
Mom did. They did. And they quickly became apologetic when they saw that her account had something like $100,000 in it.
I got a real chuckle out of that incident. Mother wasn’t laughing, nor was that lady, but I was.
How’s your account? Not that good? Mine isn’t either! How I wish! How we all wish!
But more important than our bank account is our heavenly account. How’s that account? Didn’t you know that you had one? According to this text and others, you do.
Matt. 6:19-20 Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
Apparently, we all have some kind of heavenly account, in which hopefully we are making deposits.
ILL.- I heard Bob Russell of the large Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, KY, say on the radio some years ago that Christians in America give 4 billion dollars a year to their churches. SOUND GOOD? Is good. Sounds very good until you hear that those same Christian people spend something like 34 billion dollars a year on diet and exercise products.
ILL.- I am reminded of the story about the wealthy, but very selfish lady who died and went to heaven. She was told that she would be taken to the house, which had been prepared for her. She passed by many beautiful mansions and saw in them, people whom in this life had been very poor and somewhat rejected by others. Finally, on the very outskirts of heaven she was shown a very small, rundown house and was told it was hers. She complained and protested, but she was told, “We’re sorry, but this is all we could do for you with the materials you sent up.”
I Tim. 6:18-19 “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”
What will our giving do? Apparently, we have some kind of account in heaven. The important thing is to make deposits and we do this by giving, not by saving or hoarding.
III. PLEASE GOD
V. 18 “They (the Philippians’ gift to Paul) are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.”
Heb. 13:16 “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for which such sacrifices God is pleased.”
ILL.- One day when I was in elementary school I went home with a friend after school. I was told to come home as soon as school was out. Why did I go home with George Huffman instead of going to my own home? I don’t know. I liked George and I wanted to play more than I wanted to go home.
However, when George took me home on his new bike after we had finished playing, I saw my dad standing in the front yard, waiting for me. HE WAS NOT HAPPY. I had not pleased my father and he quickly demonstrated his displeasure with his belt.
ILL.- I remember that as a teenager in high school I would lift my homemade weights outside the house. Dad thought it was somewhat foolish. I think he thought I would gain more muscle and do more good by working. I DID NOT PLEASE MY FATHER.
ILL.- When I was about 18 years old, I wrecked my car while driving to work at 10 p.m. I worked the night shift at Safeway, 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. I went between a telephone pole and the guy wire, and then mowed down a farmer’s wooden fence. My 1955 Chevy was totaled. I was fortunate and only had a few bruises and a huge bruised pride. I crawled out of the car and asked the farmer if I could use his phone to call my dad. DAD WAS NOT HAPPY, but he came to get me and take me to work. The next morning he picked me up from work. OVERALL, THROUGH THAT SITUATION I DID NOT PLEASE MY FATHER.
Now, you may be thinking, “I wonder if he ever pleased his father?” Hopefully, I did, but I don’t recall. It’s sad to think that we don’t know if we ever pleased our parents and that’s because they never told us we did.
Commending a child is just as important as criticizing a child and perhaps more important. Children need commendation in life and more than we realize.
Matt. 4:17 “And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I have well pleased.’”
After Jesus was baptized in order to fulfill all righteousness (and to please His father), His father commended Him. We need to learn this from our Heavenly Father.
For many of us, it’s too late. Our children are grown and gone, however, we can still commend them as adults and our grandchildren when they do well in life. I think the art of commending one another is a must for all of life. It’s a “must do” thing.
All of us should want to please our Father. When we’re baptized into Christ it pleases our Heavenly Father. When we witness for Christ, invite people to church, demonstrate love to hurting people, etc. we please our Heavenly Father. And when we give for the cause of Christ or to help some needy person we are also pleasing our Heavenly Father.
ILL.- My dad, Leo Shepherd, was a truck driver. I never wanted to drive a truck. I don’t know why, because when I was young I was fascinated with dad’s big truck and how well he could drive it and back it into a loading chute. It’s just highly possible that one of the finest compliments I could have given him would have been to take more interest in his work and become a truck driver myself.
Probably one of the finest compliments we could give our Heavenly Father would be to take more interest in His work and imitate Him in giving.
IV. MEET NEEDS
V. 19 “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”
Prov. 3:9-10 “Honor the Lord with your wealth…then your barns will be filled to overflowing…”
Malachi 3:10 “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”
II Cor 9:6 “Remember this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”
ILL.- Arnold Schwarzenegger was born on July 30, 1947 as the second child of a police chief in Graz, Austria. He was raised in poverty and was 14 before his family could afford to furnish their home with indoor plumbing, a refrigerator and a telephone.
When Arnold began lifting weights as a teen to train for the local soccer team, he first sensed that he was destined for greatness. At age 15, he set a goal of winning the Mr. Universe weightlifting contest. At age 18, he joined the Austrian army to supplement his weightlifting training diet with fresh meat. One month after enlisting, he went AWOL to compete in the Mr. Junior Europe contest. He went on to win the titles of Junior Mr. Europe, Mr. World, Mr. Universe (five times) and Mr. Olympia (seven times).
Brothers and sisters, Arnold has not always been the Arnold that we know today! He wasn’t born with big muscles. It took time and hard work to develop those muscles and that physique.
The point of what I’m saying is this: when you give to the body it gives back to you! I know this is true, because I’ve proved it to myself, in both weightlifting and running. WHEN YOU GIVE TO SOMETHING IT COMES BACK TO YOU!
This is also very true when it comes to giving away kindness, money, etc.
Prov. 11:24-25 “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.”
Goodness and kindness will always come back to you! What you sow is what you will reap. God will always take care of those who give to others.
ILL.- J.L. Kraft, head of the Kraft Cheese Corporation, who had given approximately 25% of his enormous income to Christian causes for many years, said, "The only investment I ever made which has paid consistently increasing dividends is the money I have given to the Lord."
J.D. Rockefeller said, "I never would have been able to tithe the first million dollars I ever made if I had not tithed my first salary, which was $1.50 per week."
I am not suggesting that if we give that God will make us rich people. Not at all, but He has promised that when we give He will provide for us and take care of our needs.
CONCLUSION--------------------------------
ILL.- Someone said, “It’s not what you do with the million if fortune should be your lot, but what are you doing at present with the dollar and quarter you got.” To give or not to give? The real question is: what are you doing with what God has already given you?
