It is good to be back with you after another week of vacation and thanks for your prayers for my mom during her surgery this past week. Her doctor expressed satisfaction Friday afternoon with her surgery and recovery so far. Thanks also for your prayers on behalf of my uncle’s family as they give thanks to God for him this day and place his body in the grave tomorrow morning knowing that his soul is with the Lord.
(1) This sermon begins the conclusion of our summer sermon series, ‘Being God’s People by Serving, Obeying, and Giving.’
(2) In June, we looked at the foundational value of obedience to the Lord by staying focused on the Lord and not being concerned with personalities and performance.
(3) In July, we examined the motivational value of service as we focused on serving one another as well as our community in love because God has gifted each of us to serve in a different way and context but as the community of faith.
(4) This month we are going to examine the third value that is important in being God’s people by serving, obeying, and giving. It is the operational value of giving.
Over the next few weeks, we will be hearing from two families with ties to this church. Both families are currently serving the Lord in other countries and will be sharing about their work in those countries as part of our service.
Now I know that for some people missions is not a favorite topic and believe that there is enough to do in this nation to keep us busy. I understand and respect that perspective.
But, Jesus made it clear in the Great Commission to go and make disciples of all nations. This means that for some of us, God will call us, as he has the Smith’s and the Webb’s, to go to another nation and culture to serve. It also means however, that others of us are senders as we give and support those whom God calls to go.
Another important perspective that we need to keep in mind is that all of us here has a mission field of our own. It is our place of work, our neighborhoods, our schools, our families, and our clubs and community groups. Each of us has a mission field that the Lord has called us to go to and it is right here. But, we need to hear from those who live in other nations to serve God because I believe that God has lessons for us to learn from them about serving, obeying, and giving. I encourage your attendance the next two Sundays.
We will also be having our annual business meeting and Capital Funds Campaign annual celebration in two weeks. Part of that Sunday is the election of important leadership positions.
This reminds me of a story that I recently read about a recently elected church treasurer who agreed to take the position on two conditions, 1. Only if no reports are required for one year. 2. Only if no one asked him any questions for one year. Surprisingly and reluctantly, the church leadership agreed.
A year later the treasurer, who was also the manager of the local grain elevator, gave his report. The debt on the church building had been paid in full. The salaries of all the staff were increased substantially. Several new buses had been purchased and paid for. All missions commitments had been met. There were no outstanding bills, and a surplus of several thousand dollars was on hand.
The shocked and amazed congregation asked, ‘How can this be?’
‘It’s simple,’ the treasurer replied. ‘Most of you bring your grain to my elevator. As you did business with me during the year, I withheld ten percent on your behalf and gave it to the church in your name. You never missed it.’
Now, I do not think that will ever happen here and I think that it runs counter to the Biblical injunction that ‘God loves a cheerful giver.’ However it does make a point about the importance of giving as a key value in being ‘a fully functioning and faithfully following church’ that I believe God has called us to be.
However, not only does God challenge us to give our money, He also calls us to give of our time and abilities to the ministry of the church and needs in the community. Time is as valuable as money these days.
Our main text for this morning was a part of my Bible reading this past week and when I read it, the joy and exuberance of giving to God stood out to me. What can we learn from this passage about the value of giving?
(5) Everything comes from God. He gives first.
The setting for this passage is the celebration of the offerings for the construction of the Temple as we read in the opening verses of chapter 29. David makes it clear to the Israelites that he has done what he could in his personal offerings and then asks the people, as we read in verse 5, “Now then, who will follow my example? Who is willing to give offerings to the Lord today?”
I give to the ministry of this church, not because I am its pastor, but because I believe that an important part of my faith is to give at least 10 percent of my gross weekly income to the Lord. Susan and I made that decision when we married 23 years ago.
Now could we do something else with that money? YES! However, we have given when it would have been easier not to give but we have no regrets about giving that 10 percent.
Everything we have, everything we own is from God. We give thanks to Him for all that we have, including… all of you.
How did the people respond to David’s challenge? We read in verse 6 and following, ‘Then the family leaders, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the generals and captains of the army, and the king’s administrative officers all gave willingly.’
The budget that we operate under and the new budget that voted on in two weeks is a very important tool in God’s hands to help us with our ministry in this community. Cheerful and good giving is an essential value for us. It helps us do God’s work.
A second lesson we learn from this passage is that (6) giving needs to be celebrated!
In verses 17 and 20 we read, ‘I have watched your people offer their gifts willingly and joyously… Then David said to the whole assembly, “Give praise to the Lord your God!” And the entire assembly praised the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and they bowed low and knelt before the Lord and the king.’
We can financially support many good groups, events, and programs because they improve the lives and circumstances of others. Things like Right-to-Life, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Habitat for Humanity, and the like. However, when we cheerfully give to our church, we are able to provide resources for our children, teens, and adults that have eternal importance.
This means we need to (7) (a) celebrate that our giving is of great importance to God. As we read our text, we cannot but help pay attention to the fact not just David or David and his family were alone in celebrating and worshipping God as they gave, Israel’s leaders and all the people worshipped God as they gave. Their giving mattered to God.
Another thing that we celebrate is that (b) our work is temporary, but God’s work is not! In verse 15 we read, ‘We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a shadow, gone so soon without a trace.’
You and I (unless the Lord returns first) will not out live this church. We will become historical footnotes as the years go by. But, we have, at this present time, the ability to help write the history of our church with our giving. Our acts of giving – our time as well as our talents and money – affect the future ministry of our church. What do we want our giving to do? Enhance or inhibit our ministry? Do we have something worth giving to, even when we don’t see results right away? Yes we do!
David realized this. He knew that his time would end and that Solomon would be the one to build the temple. But, David’s legacy lives on in the history of our faith and in the examples of faithfulness to the Lord because he gave cheerfully and faithfully to the Lord! He gave all of himself, which is what the Lord wants each of us to do as well.
This brings me what they were giving to, the construction of the Temple in Jerusalem. It would be a magnificent place of worship.
It would also be broken, fall into disrepair as Jerusalem would be overrun many years later, and many would be exiled to another nation. However, it would be rebuilt and stand tall as the Son of God, Jesus Christ would enter it and comment that ‘in three days this temple would be torn down and raised again.’
Jesus is speaking of Himself because the importance of the Temple would be replaced by the new agreement, the new covenant that would no longer require its usage. As we read in Matthew 27:51 at the moment Jesus died on the cross ‘the curtain in the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.’
Bricks and mortar come apart; they age as the years go by. They are temporary.
We do not give to build or maintain bricks and mortar alone. We give to help the Lord build lives and legacies that will last long after we are gone. That is why need to give more than money. (8) (9)We also must remember that giving is about our time and talents.
As we prepare for communion, we need to remember the great price that Christ paid for us to experience forgiveness and freedom from our guilt and shame. He gave it all for us.
We need to give all of us to Him. Let us do so. Amen.
Treasurer illustration is from 1001 More Humorous Illustrations for Public Speaking by Michael Hodgin. Illustration #941. Page 327. © 1998 by Zondervan Press
Power Points for this sermon are available by e-mailing me at pastorjim46755@yahoo.com and asking for ‘081306svgs’ Please note that all slides for a particular presentation may not be available.
