Closed for Weather - iMoney: The "It" Factor

With snow and ice making the roads and parking lots unsafe and causing us to have to cancel our morning worship service, I thought I would take the time to write out today's sermon. I hope that we can use this to continue to draw closer to Christ Jesus our Lord as we spend the morning in rest. We're currently in the series "iLife: Embracing Life By God's Design"and our focus this week is still in the area of money and stewardship.

iMoney: Embracing God's Design For Your Finances: The "IT" Factor

What is the "IT" factor?

As we continue to look at God's design for our lives and we desire to live infused by the power of the Holy Spirit, we must continue to examine our thoughts, actions, and attitudes according to the teaching of scripture. As we specifically continue to look at our finances this week, I want to draw your attention to an area that should captivate the heart and attitude of all believers.

This "IT" factor is Generosity.

The word generous means: 1. showing a readiness to give more of something, as money or time, than is strictly necessary or expected. 2. showing kindness toward others. 3. larger or more plentiful than is usual or necessary.

If we are truly going to be good stewards (managers) of the resources that God has intrusted to us than we need to have a willingness to give generously to others as we seek to be Christ's ambassadors in this world.

Go ahead and open your Bible to 1 Timothy 6:17-19

 ^"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 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."

First Paul tells Timothy "Command those who are rich..." for many of us we instantly think this doesn't apply to me, after all, I'm not a wealthy executive or a billionaire like Bill Gates. However, we shouldn't be so quick to dismiss this command. Look at these 2014 statistics. (I did round the numbers to make it simpler.)
World wide the average per capita income is nearly $10,000.
Keep in mind that there are many countries where people live on less than $2 a day.
In the US the average per capita income is just above $45,500.
Using these nice rounded figures, the average US income is 455% higher that the average world income. So I think it is easy enough to say "You are the rich people of the world."

Not only are we rich on the world scale, we who are Christ followers are spiritually rich. Therefore, this command is for us.

God's plan is for us to put our hope in God, not in possessions, or money, or anything else. God alone is our source of hope and provision. God wants us "to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share."

God has a plan for our generosity.

Turn to  2 Corinthians 9:6-15

"Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously^.  Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.  And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.  As it is written:

“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor, their righteousness endures forever.”

  Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.  You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.  Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.  And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!"

In this passage Paul is writing about the collection that the Christians at Corinth are sending to feed the starving people in Jerusalem. This is in reference to an offering above what is being collected to meet local needs. He is encouraging them to give and think generously. Paul is saying that if you have to be compelled to give to those in need that it really isn't giving. After all God loves a cheerful giver. God desires His people to want to give to meet needs. To demonstrate their love through providing God's resources to demonstrate the beauty of God's kingdom.  Here he quotes Psalm 112:9 as a prophesy of God's generous people who bring Him glory, praise, and honor for there selflessness. 

 So let's examine ourselves:
Three Reasons People Give 

#1 We give to receive something.
This type of giving is a giving that is motivated by selfishness. This type of giving isn't motivated by God's love, mercy, and grace. Though the Bible does make mention of the rewards of giving generously, that shouldn't be our motivation. Remember what 1 Corinthians 13 says, "Love is not self seeking." 

This type of giving isn't encouraged in scripture. Philippians 2:3 says, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition. Don't let greed be the measure of you giving, let love motivate you.

#2 We give out obedience. There are various reasons we give out of obedience. These can be good or bad, so this calls for self-examination. Some people give out of obedience because they desire to love, honor, and respect God. Others give because they are afraid of some consequence for disobedience. 

Obedience giving is often a good place to start. It often shows a desire to draw closer to God. However we need to be careful that obedience giving doesn't make us prideful or arrogant. Some have began to see themselves as a great spiritual giant because of the obedience to God's commands, in this we can become very Pharisaical in our devotion to God. (Look at how holy I am!!!!!!)

Obedience giving generally only deals tithing but can proceed into generosity when we desire to follow commands to give generously like in 1 Timothy 6. 

Turn to Leviticus 27:30-32

 “‘A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord.  Whoever would redeem any of their tithe must add a fifth of the value to it. Every tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod—will be holy to the Lord."

or Malachi 3:6-12

 “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.  Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty.
“But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’
 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.
“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’
“In tithes and offerings.  You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me.  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 there will not be room enough to store it.  I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty.  “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty."

Many will read these passages and in obedience they give. Scripture does encourage us to be obedient to God in all things.

#3 We give in response or sacrificially.
This type of giving isn't based out of selfishness or fear, it is a generosity that is motivated by our awe for the magnitude of God's love. When a Christian begins to grasp the overwhelming, life transforming truth of the Gospel - how Christ Jesus, who made everything, owns everything, maintains everything, and provides everything, forsook the glory He rightfully deserved to be made a little lower than the angels and was born as a mere human sacrificed His life for me. 

While I was still God's enemy, Jesus died for me. When I was naked, wretched, and poor He loved me, clothed me, cleansed me, healed me, and set me free. This is motivation! If He can give His all, how can I do less. I need to be generous as He is generous. I need to be more like Him. I am responding to his love, so tell me, how much is too much for my Jesus?

One of my favorite passages on generosity is found in Mark 12:41-45.

"Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts.  But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.
 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.  They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”"

Here we see an amazing demonstration of sacrificial giving. This woman wants to bless God. She doesn't have extra money to pull out of savings so she gives God her everything. Jesus said she put it all in---all she had to live on. And He praises this. This is the faith response He has been looking for. 

This woman is trusting God in every way. She may just go home and die of starvation. She may live the rest of her life in abundance. The Bible doesn't say. But Jesus declared that her act of generosity was greater than all the others. Her gift was greater than all the rich people before her because it required unwavering trust in God.

In 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 Paul praises the Christians of Macedonia because their poverty welled up in great generosity. 

This is the way of God! This is the way of a Holy Spirit infused follower of Christ.

The "IT" factor - GENEROSITY

It aligns our hearts, minds, and attitudes toward God. 

God desires all of you. This after this is the greatest commandment: To love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

Sometimes I feel weak

Sometimes I feel weak.

OK I feel weak most of the time.

This may sound like a bad thing but the truth is; this is a great place to be. As a: church planter/pastor, as a husband, as a father, as a friend, as a man of God, I constantly have to face my short comings. I must daily accept that I can't seem to live up to my expectations of myself. I am too selfish, too stubborn, too angry, too self-critical or too self-righteous to be the man I want to be (to be the man God wants me to be.)

In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul, shares about his weakness. He talks about a thorn in his side that keeps him humble. He tells us in 2 Corinthians 12:8 that he prayed three times for God to remove this thorn. (I don't know about a thorn but I seem to be covered with a thorn bush. I also have prayed more times than I can count for God to remove these thorns.)

Paul goes one and tells us that God responded, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

In my weakness there is grace, in  my weakness there is power, in my weakness there is HOPE. It is in my weakness that I understand the depth of my sin. It is here that I see the great mercy of a perfect, holy God that chooses to love me, to save me, to sustain me. It is only through His love that I can find victory. 

Like Paul, I will boast in my weakness. Not because I am proud of my shortcomings but because it is in my shortcomings that I most clearly see God at work in my life. "For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:10c


 

Needed rest

All too often I find myself struggling in this life. I find that I allow busyness, stress and frustration to overwhelm me. When this happens I start to close myself off from the world. Now don't get me wrong, I am not hiding away where I can't be seen. I start hiding in public. I am living life but I refuse to let anyone in. This may be one of the most destructive patterns in my life and if I am honest about it, I have been here a lot lately.

During times like this life gets harder, not easier. I get angry, or depressed, or cold and even when I don't mean to I become mean. I answer simple questions with harshness. It is at these times that I feel like the Psalmist who says, "My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest." (Psalm 22:2) 

In the midst of my struggles I am reminded of a powerful truth: the Gospel. The good news that tells me how an all-powerful, all-loving, and holy God loves a worm like me. Proverbs 25:25 says, "Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land." 

Sometimes I need good news. 

One day, while teaching, Jesus extended an invitation to people like me, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28) This is good news! This is what I need. A God that will give me rest. A peace that is beyond circumstances. This rest is only found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

To Him be the glory and praise forever!     

Unexpected

Sometimes things happen that are way outside our control. For example, one week ago today, a man was killed in the apartment right behind mine and one of the bullets came through my dining room wall and into another wall. There was nothing I could have done to prevent this from happening. I can't even imagine the odds and I even tried to look them up. One of the police officers even told me that there hadn't been a gun fired in our apartment complex for 10 years and that one was an accidental discharge.
 

  Since last Monday I have been reflecting on all the ways that night could have went wrong. What if my wife would have went grocery shopping? Would one of us been standing in the bullets path putting food in the pantry? What if my daughter wouldn't have struggled about what to say during family devotion time? What if the bullet went through the wall at a different angle? Would one of my children had been hit? What if that second wall wouldn't have been load-bearing? Would the bullet have went through into my daughters bed?
So many details, and I have no control over any of them.

This event has served as a great reminder to me that life is short and no one is guaranteed tomorrow. What if one of those uncontrollable, unexpected things happened to you. Are you ready?

In Luke 12, Jesus tells this story about a man who's farm was very productive. It was so productive that the man didn't have room to store it all. The man then made the decision that he would tear down his existing barn and build a bigger one so he could store all his crops. Then he would take it easy for the next few years.

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’" Vs. 20 NLT

This man was so caught up in himself that he missed what was important. He wasn't focused on God or people just himself and God announced that the unexpected had come. 

My friends, this could very well be the last blog I ever write, it could be the last blog you ever read. With that in mind I want to take this chance to share with you the greatest news the world has ever known. "God Loves You!"

God loves you so much more than you will ever know. You see in our selfish ways we have turned our backs on God. We have lived to fill our selfish desires and as a result we have separated ourselves from God. This selfishness in our life is called sin and the result of sin is eternal separation from God in hell. This is the second death. 

Because of God's nature, His holiness, His righteousness, and His goodness He can't even look upon sin. But because of His love, His mercy, His grace, and His compassion , He sent His Son Jesus to die, to pay the price of our sin. And anyone who believes in Him can receive the free gift of salvation and eternal life that follows.

I hope and pray you will consider what I have shared. If you would like to know more or ask questions, just let me know.




  

A Thought

It seems that every time I set out to write on here I just get frustrated. There are so many different things that I long to say but the words just never come out right.
So tonight I want to set out to do something different. I'm not going to deal with a passage of scripture. I just want to share my heart. I hope that you will read this and find some encouragement.

If you don't know by now, I am planting a church in Miamisburg, OH. It is called LifePoint Community Church and it is amazing to see what God is doing. But life as a church planter can be frustrating yet very rewarding. I get frustrated because everyday I am faced with my inadequacies to preform the tasks necessary to start a new church. At the same time I am rewarded in seeing God work in ways that are far beyond my understanding to fulfill His purpose in me.

I am excited about this year. 2013 will be a big year for LifePoint and for my family. I have set out a challenge that we live this year as if it is the last year Christ gives, then I asked the staggering question, "what will that look like if we live it out?"

As I think about this question, I have to ask God to show me what needs to change but not just on the surface.  Sure, I could put on a show and saw look at all the things I am doing but that would miss the point. Do I want Jesus to return and find me putting on a show? Do I want Him to see me going through all the motions that people define as my role as a pastor? or Do I want to be transformed as I surrender areas of my life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ?

Please Lord let me surrender to you!

I don't want it to be about me at all. I need Jesus to take charge. I have a lot of things in me that I don't want in me. Why do I get so easily angered over little things? Why do I beat myself up every time I make a mistake? Why do I shut down mentally and emotionally when my wife needs me to talk? Why do I feel so alone sometimes?

The answer is simple. I get distracted. Rather than focusing on Christ I start focusing on self, circumstances, or others. I try to take control rather that pick up my cross and die so that Christ might live in me.

This year for me is about learning to surrender more than ever before. It is about learning to trust God with the big picture and the details. It is about learning to see myself and others through the eyes of the Gospel. It is about being faithful with what God has given me and praising Him in all circumstances.

What will this year be for you?

I pray that God will help you see what you could be if you gave Him the control.

 ...and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then... ~ Ephesians 6:13b-14a

We are at war. I'm not talking about a war fought with physical weapons on an open battlefield or in a deep jungle in some remote location in the world. The war rages in ourselves.  We are the battle ground.

God knows we don't have what it takes to win this war. We are weak, we are afraid, and we don't always want the victory. This is the beauty in this passage in Ephesians. God is supplying everything we need to win the battle. Jesus won the war on the cross and He will win the battle that rages in you. All we have to do is let Him win.

Paul told the Ephesians, "After you have done everything, to stand." After you have done everything in your power, and you can't stand anymore, "Stand firm then..." Now stand in God's power. In His armor. In His might.

In Psalm 46:10 we read these words, " “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

May God give you victory today. 

Time to let it go

Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ~Matthew 9:5

So often the church is focused on meeting the physical needs of people that we forget the true message of Jesus Christ. Jesus didn't heal people physically just to heal people. He performed miracles to show that He had the ability to forgive sin.

As Christ followers we are called to forgive others. Jesus didn't just give us the ability to forgive but He commanded us to do so. 

I don't know what burden you are carrying  today, but it is time to set it down. It is time to let it go. It is a time for Forgiveness.