You Before Yours

(God wants the giver before the gift)

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Introduction – Life Stirs Up Life

Before we even open our Bibles, think about something amazing. The New Testament calls the church the body of Christ.

Not a building. Not bricks and mortar. You and I are the church.

Every part of a body matters. Imagine if your lungs decided to stay home today. After years of breathing polluted air and dealing with smog and ozone, they just said, “I’m taking a Sabbath off.” How long would the rest of you last?

Or think of something smaller: eyebrows. Little bushy strips of hair above your eyes—do they really matter? Absolutely. They catch sweat and shield our sight. And toes—who needs toes? We all do. They keep us balanced.

Each part is connected. Each part has purpose.

Now carry that thought into the church, the body of Christ.

If one part is alive and active, it will stir up the rest. If one part withers, the whole body feels it.

Say this with me: “Life stirs up life.”

Again: “Life stirs up life.”

Zeal stirs up zeal. Courage stirs up courage. Power generates power.

But sin stirs up sin. Doubt breeds doubt. Weakness multiplies weakness.

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Greatness Inspires Greatness

Nathaniel Hawthorne told of a wise and beloved king. After he died, his people carved the king’s face into a mountainside and vowed never to crown another ruler who did not look like him in character.

Years passed. Then one day they found such a man—living in a cottage at the foot of that very mountain. As a boy he had gazed for hours at the stone face, until the king’s noble character shaped his own.

The lesson?

If we look at Jesus, the King of kings, long enough we become like Him.

And greatness inspires greatness—life stirs up life.

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Relationships Are Never Static

Every relationship is changing right now. Every second moves us closer or farther from the person we want to be.

I’m not the same person I was before meeting you—even briefly. And you are not the same after meeting me.

Think of the people God has used in your life: gracious saints who could have wounded or discouraged you but instead stirred you toward righteousness. I look back and marvel at those patient believers who could have given up on me but didn’t.

That principle is true in families, friendships, and especially in the body of Christ. We either stir up faith or we stir up apathy.

Which are you stirring?

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Christian Stewardship: A Heart Issue

With that in mind, let’s talk about Christian stewardship.

Contrary to popular opinion, money is a deeply spiritual subject. Over 700 verses in Scripture deal directly with finances, and hundreds more touch it indirectly.

But stewardship is never first about dollars; it is about discipleship.

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Justification and Sanctification

Here’s why.

The moment you trusted Jesus’ death on the cross as your only hope of salvation, you were justified—declared right with God.

But at that same moment, another process began: sanctification—the Spirit making you more like Jesus day by day.

Sanctification touches everything:

Diet and health (and everybody said, Amen).

Sexual purity (Amen).

Speech—you don’t cuss like before (Amen).

Witness at work, school, and home (Amen).

Bible study and prayer life (Amen).

Family life—you become a better spouse, parent, child (Amen).

And yes, sanctification reaches into your pocketbook.

(Now wait a minute!, you might say.)

Exactly. Too often we let the Holy Spirit reshape every room of our hearts except the vault where we keep our money.

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Scripture Foundation

Let’s open God’s Word.

2 Corinthians 8:5 – “And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.”

2 Corinthians 12:14 – “For I seek not yours, but you.”

Acts 4:32 – “The multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own.”

God’s priority is clear: He wants you before He wants what you own.

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When Giving Is Grace

Paul lifts up the Macedonian churches as a stunning example:

> “In a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality… and beyond their power they were willing of themselves.” (2 Cor 8:1-3)

Think of it:

They were persecuted.

They were poor.

Yet they begged Paul for the privilege of giving.

That is grace at work.

Real Christian giving isn’t wrung out by guilt. It flows freely when hearts are on fire for Jesus.

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Illustration – God’s Chemistry

Mix deep poverty with great affliction and you expect despair.

But God, the perfect Chemist, added joy and the result was overflowing generosity—just like sodium and chlorine (each poisonous alone) become life-giving salt together.