¡§Give Willingly¡¨
(Luke 18:18-19:9)
One of the best evidences of genuine salvation is generosity. That¡¦s right ¡V when God enters a life, giving becomes a way of life.
Would you say that with me as I show it behind me on the screen?
When God enters a life, giving becomes a way of life.
Unfortunately, too many people are like the businessman who, after being away on business, thought it would be nice to bring his wife a little gift. ¡§How about some perfume?¡¨ he asked the cosmetics clerk. She showed him a bottle costing $50.00. ¡§That¡¦s a bit much,¡¨ he said, so she returned with a smaller bottle for $30.00. ¡§That¡¦s still quite a bit,¡¨ he complained. Growing annoyed, the clerk brought out a tiny $15.00 bottle. ¡§You know,¡¨ he said, ¡§What I mean is that I¡¦d like to see something really cheap.¡¨ At that point the clerk handed him a mirror!
Fortunately, that was not how Zacchaeus showed gratefulness when God changed his life. Instead, he became very generous when God saved him. Yes, the little man who stole became the big man who gave once he met Jesus.
Open your Bible to Luke 19 and let¡¦s see the change that took place in this man¡¦s life as a result of an encounter with Christ, and gain further insight into the simple principle we¡¦ve already stated.
As you are turning there, I want to paint the backdrop a bit by reminding you that much of the material in these two chapters ¡V our passage for this week¡¦s message and small groups ¡V deals with giving. For instance¡K
...18:18-22 is about a man who couldn¡¦t give anything away.
...18:23-30 is about disciples who had already given everything away.
...18:31-35 is about Jesus who just about to give his life away.
So as we come to Zacchaeus, it is not surprising that giving is an integral part of this text. Follow with me as we read.
...V. 2 says his ¡§name was Zacchaeus¡¨ which literally means ¡§righteous one.¡¨ However, that was a far cry from reality when you look at¡K
...V. 2 ¡V he was a ¡§chief tax collector.¡¨ Not just a rookie or a low-level employee¡Ka chief! So his status was far from righteous¡Khe was the scum of society. In fact, the text indicates most folks agreed with this as they considered him a ¡§sinner,¡¨ for this is what they were ¡§muttering.¡¨(v. 7)
...His curiosity is intriguing ¡V ¡§he wanted to see Jesus¡¨ (v. 3). So he devises a creative way to get a wide-angle view of the Christ: Climb a tree! I have to admit that for a chief tax collector to climb a tree must have been a strange sight, but it clues us in on just how deep his curiosity was. To what measure would you go to see Jesus, to get a glimpse of the Savior?
...V. 5 contains a key word ¡V ¡§must.¡¨ The use of this word indicates textually an imperative situation, which is why I believe it is at this point that Christ is saying, in effect, ¡§Today is the day you have to believe. So get down here!¡¨ And what did Zac say?
...V. 6 indicates he ¡§welcomed him gladly,¡¨ which I believe is the point at which Zacchaeus believed. Zac¡¦s response is a response to Christ¡¦s initiative, which is exactly what happens in salvation scenarios. Christ reaches out to us, and we respond.
...And how to Zac show he had been changed? He willingly offered to give half to the poor (a non-required gesture) and also to pay back what he owed, in the highest amount/way he could. Let me explain. Based on OT Law (Lev. 6 and Ex. 22), if a thief voluntarily confessed his sin, he had to restore what he took, add 1/5 to it, and bring a trespass offering to the Lord. If he was caught with the goods, he had to repay double. If he could not restore what he stole, he had to repay four-fold. Isn’t it awesome how Zacchaeus went to the highest and most costly level of repentance. WOW! He was willing to do whatever was necessary to show he was truly changed.
...And that is exactly what he was doing: showing the fruits of his repentance.
By the way, 19:9 doesn¡¦t teach that he was saved because he gave, but rather it teaches that giving was proof positive he had been changed (¡§Today salvation has come to this house¡K¡¨). And by the way, the statement about ¡§salvation coming to his house¡¨ is literally true, for Jesus had come to his house. And Jesus is salvation. What a awesome thought ¡V when Jesus shows up, salvation is here! Yes, this rich man had gotten through the eye of the needle ¡V but only because of Jesus! And that¡¦s exactly why he came ¡V to seek and save lost people who desperately need salvation ¡V Jesus!
And when salvation comes, what happens??? You got it ¡Vsay it with me ¡V
When God enters a life, giving becomes a way of life.
This shouldn¡¦t surprise us, for when God moves in and gives us His Spirit, we begin acting like him. And what is one of his fundamental, essential traits? Giving! Remember John 3:16?
¡§¡Khe gave his only begotten Son¡K¡¨
Giving is what we do as we move closer and closer to the heartbeat of God. For God is a giving God. And when we give, we are simply showing we belong to God; we are imitating God in an essential way!
Have you ever wondered what things people in the Bible gave? How did their faith show up in generous ways?
„X A widow gave all her flour and oil in 1 Kings 17
„X The Israelites gave a tenth of their grain and crops in Nehemiah 12
„X A widow gave two mites in Luke 21
„X A little boy gave his lunch in John 6
„X The first church gave their possessions/belongings in Acts 2
„X Timothy gave his time for an extended period in Acts 16
„X Aquilla and Priscialla gave their time and skills to disciple Apollos in Acts 18
„X The Macedonian churches gave money to other churches in 2 Cor. 8
„X Lydia gave her home to start the church in Philippi in Acts 16
„X The Philippian church gave money to Paul¡¦s missionary efforts in Phil. 4
When I see that list, I think about the people of FFC! You guys remind me a lot of biblical givers¡K
„X Remember the Tsunami and the gift of over $10,000 you gave? (Jan 2005)
„X Remember the first special offering we took at Easter of 2005 and how you gave over $25,000 for missions around the world and right here in Ankeny? That was the day we agreed to buy the nine acres on State Street. We now own that land and are just $300,000 from paying it off!
„X Remember the Christmas you all gave to the missionary families, the Baptist Children¡¦s Home, and New Horizon¡¦s Adult Day Care? We loaded them with physical gifts!
„X Remember last year when you gave up your time on Christmas Day and gave to all those who were working on that day all over Ankeny? 36 Christmas ¡§services¡¨ that day!
„X Remember the Ministry Fair where many of you signed up to serve and give of your time? Hallelujah!
„X Remember the amount of clothes you collected one year for T.A.K.E.? You shared your possessions!
„X Remember when one of our Lighthouses collected money and then gave it away at Hy-Vee and WalMart to people who were there in need? They were the opposite of the Salvation Army Bell Ringers¡Kthat small group gave instead of taking.
„X Remember when we invited you to be a LH leader and give your skills and time away to help care for and disciple others? We doubled our leadership base that year, all because you were willing to give! And trained you even better this year because everyone was willing to give a little extra to make LH even more effective!
„X Remember when we had to move locations in 2 days? That Saturday loads of people showed up and we made light work of this set up thing, all because everyone gave?
„X Remember last week when we loaded the trailer¡Ktearing down, packing away, hauling it off¡Kthis is an every week event, and we need more of you to start giving! ƒºƒº Seriously, the set up and tear down teams need you to not grow weary! Not serving? Need to meet new people? This is one of the best ways ¡V serve!
„X Remember when we announced our desire to move from a PT Worship Leader to a full time WL? You guys responded so affirmingly and the time is coming when we will need to back that up with actions. Our giving needs to be really strong as we head into next year because we are attacking some important areas of our vision, namely our staff needs.
Giving and sharing, whether it is your time, money, or talents, is what we do as a church. Why? Because of Luke 19:10! Yes, Luke 19:10 tells us why we give ¡K and give ¡K and give ¡K and give ¡K and give, even till it hurts:
¡§For the Son of Man is cone to seek and to save that which was lost.¡¨
As your pastor, I want to ask you a question:
What are you giving so that others will come to Christ?
Remember, your answer will fall into at least one of following three categories: your time, your talents, and your treasure. That¡¦s right ¡V Everything falls into these categories. So I ask you again ¡V
What are you giving so that others will come to Christ?
Are you biblically sharing your finances?
Are you biblically investing your time?
Are you biblically using your talents?
To better help you apply this, I have included something in this week¡¦s WF¡Ka sheet that will help you start giving in some capacity. It¡¦s our ¡§I¡¦m Ready To Give¡¨ worksheet, and it acts as this year¡¦s ministry fair. Here¡¦s how¡K
[EXPLAIN the ¡§I¡¦m Ready To Give¡¨ Worksheet and SHOW it]
As you pray over that and look at how God wants you to give and serve, I want you to meet some people who have done exactly this: given. Let me introduce you to our Peru Mission Team who just got back from Manchay, Peru and want to share with you how they received a blessing as they gave to the people of Peru:
[Peru testimonies]
Thank you, Peru Team. You truly exemplify for us what it means to give in all kinds of ways. May we follow suit. Let¡¦s pray.
