Formation Church - Chandler, Indiana

We RISE in the power of the resurrection! - RISE

The Greatest Investment - The Generous Life

Making a Living so We Can Enjoy Giving - The Generous Life

 

Making a Living so We Can Enjoy Giving 

1 Timothy 6

 

 

Last week was a great day for our church.

We had a really great crowd (166 people) here.
The parking lot was full, the sanctuary was full, the overflow was full, we ran out of tables to eat at, but we did not run out of food.

 

That's out highest anniversary sunday count, but it’s only the 3rd highest day of this year. Easter was 200 and VBS Sunday was 174.

Easter didn’t feel as packed because we did 2 services.

VBS Sunday didn’t feel as packed because we had 40 kids in Childrens church.

 

Here’s whats crazy about last week, we didn’t have a real big number of guests- and the guest we did have for the most part were not first time guests.

 

What we had last week was mainly made up of people who ought to be here every week.

Right now we have a very large crowd- a large group that is affiliated with our church, that if you were to run into them at the grocery store and invite them to church they would say, oh thanks but I go to Faith Church in Chandler…

 

We need to see more people move from the crowd to the congregation and from the congregation to the committed and eventually to the core.

 

 

 

 

Here are the steps:
Community

Crowd

Congregation

Committed

Core

 

 

Last week I invited everyone to be a part of the New Core Group.
some next steps that I'd like for everyone to consider are the following:

 

1. Believe in Jesus

Before we can talk about taking steps to be more involved we need to talk about the most important step of all, believing in Jesus.

It’s a commitment to trust Jesus with your life and follow Him.

It’s the invitation that Matthew accepted when He walked away from everything and followed Jesus.

It’s the invitation that you need to accept.

It’s the most important step of this process and it is the most important step of your life.

 

Following Jesus is not only the first step in becoming a part of our church, it is the most important step of your life.

 

2. Grow in a group

We have classes for every age at 9:30 on Sunday mornings. These classes all cover the same biblical theme so families can discuss what they learned through the week.

We have Bible Studies for every age on Wednesday nights, plus a group for those needing to take the steps of recovery.

 

 

 

3. Serve on a team.

the entry level on serving is at an event- like at Trunk or Treat, the upcoming Christmas parade, etc. These are a one time commitment and usually require little prep.

 

The next level of serving is to join a ministry team. We've got sound and media team, worship/music team, facilities and maintenance team, teaching team, kids ministry team, etc.

 

We are introducing team meetings over the next couple of months and starting in 2017 we will give one Sunday night a month to bring all teams together to spend 15 minutes on vision and strategy for everyone serving and then break into the different teams to meet for 30 minutes with their specific team, discussing ideas/issue that pertain to their particular ministry.

 

4. Give to the cause.

The next few Sundays are going to be focused on finances. There are many people who would like to give, but they find themselves in a financial situation where they are unable to give.

I hope to cover some basic money principles from God's word that will help everyone who wants to give be able to give and encourage everyone to is able to give to make the commitment to give.

 

Now, this process isn’t going to be easy.

It shouldn’t be. It shouldn’t be something you can do in your sleep, it needs to be a commitment on your part.

 

The first difficulty is going to be listening to a sermon on money.

Money is a difficult subject.

 

People say it’s not polite to talk about politics and religion, however people talk about this all the time in a very personal way but few people talk about their personal finances.

You’ve probably never said, I’m rich. 

But you’ve probably said I’m broke.

 

Even at the point in your life that you had the most money or the best income, you probably didn’t consider yourself rich.

However, by most standards some of you were or are-

but even me saying that feels a little uncomfortable.

 

What you have probably said is, They’re rich. They’re loaded.

It’s easier for us to make judgment calls about other people’s finances even though we know very little about it and hard for us to make the judgments about us even though we know the most about our own…

 

You’ve probably never said about yourself, I’m a cheapskate, I’m stingy, but you’ve probably said it about other people.

“Oh man, he is soon cheap.”

“I can’t believe how stingy he is, he is clearly loaded.”

 

“Nothing confounds the human heart quite like money.” 

 

 

 

- Carey Nieuwhoff.

 

 

We see this all the time- people make statements, take stands, choose sides in politics, sports, and business and then suddenly change their stance, position, or team and we quickly find out why.

Money.

 

I remember years ago listening to sports radio and people were talking about some major changes that a team had made that didn’t seem to make any sense. They were asking why would they do this?

Why would they get rid of their best young recruits?

Why would they move to a new city?

Tony Kornheiser said, the answer to all of your questions is money, money, money.

 

Money is a great motivator, right?

Be honest, for many of you the only reason you’re going to work tomorrow is because they’re going to pay you for it.

 

Because money is so confounds and motivates our hearts, because our lives are so wrapped up with it, the other part of this Nieuwhoff quote is true.

 

“Nothing confounds the human heart quite like money.”

 

“When you trust God with your money, you’re finally trusting God.”

 - Carey Nieuwhoff.

 

 

Some of you right now you would say, oh I trust God.

But do you?

 

If you were to say to me, 

Pastor Daniel, I trust you. I’ll confide to you my deepest darkest secrets and come to your for advice.

 

What if then I said, Can I borrow $100? 

I’ll pay you back next week.

 

That’s a different feeling isn’t it…

 

Money wraps itself around our hearts and eventually it will choke out our generosity, gratitude, kindness, and joy.

 

Paul wrote to Timothy a younger pastor and encouraged him to lead his church well and he said this to him in 1 Timothy 6:9-10.

 

He was saying, Timothy money can be quite the dangerous trap.

 

Back up a few verses to 6 and read through verse 8.

 

Paul is telling Timothy- Godliness and Contentment are a wonderful combination.

When you believe in God and you trust Him to take care of you, you’re happy with what you have, it’s a beautiful thing-

 

but a love for money is evil and dangerous.

 

So how do they combat this?

Look down at verses 17-19.

 

 

Many, many years ago a guy visited the church and it just so happen that he showed up right as we started a series on money, of course. 

I met him for coffee and he said, so is the church about to start a building campaign.

No…

 

Is the church about to hire a staff member?

No…

 

Is the church trying to pay off some debt?

No… Why do you ask.

He said, well you just started this series on money so I figured there was some major expense you were trying to raise funds for…

 

I want you to know I’m not talking about money today because there is something that we want to build or buy.

 

We just had the carpet put down and when the trim goes in over it this week it will mark the completion of our foyer project and we’ve paid for it in cash as we’ve gone.

We’ve afforded this because so much of the work has been done by our volunteers.

 

I’m not talking to you about money this morning because I want something from you, I’m talking about money this morning because I want something for you.

 

I want you to be invested here. I want you to be bought in to the mission- I want you to be all in on the difference we are trying to make here in the community.

 

I want you to own it.

 

Giving to the mission of the church makes you “own it.”

 

I’m not talking about ownership in a “this is mine!” type of attitude, I’m talking about ownership in the sense that you are committed, you care….

 

Craig Groeschel told the story of a time he tried to go into a sandwich shop to buy some food for a bunch of volunteers that were working at the church.

He said, I got there at 7:55 and said I need to order 30 sandwiches.

The lady said, I’m sorry we are closing.

He said the owner would have said, 30 sandwiches! Great! A huge sale!

but the employee said, I’m getting off in 5 minutes, I’m not doing that….

 

I don’t want you to say, I just attend at Faith Church.

I want you to be all in.

 

I don’t just want you to be able to give, I want you to BE RICH.

 

Paul said in verse 18

18That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute

 

BE RICH!

 

God wants you to truly be rich. Rich in good works.

Ready to distribute.

God wants you to be in a place where you have money in your pocket ready to give to a need, ready to be generous with.

 

Because I want something for you- I’m going to share with you 3 of the major financial issues that Scripture addresses again and again.

 

They are reoccurring in scripture because they’re common issues.

 

I believe that for many of you, you want to give but you’re convinced that you can’t.

 

It’s difficult to be faithful in giving when you’re struggling to make a living.

 

I want to help you this morning so that nothing hinders your giving but also so that you’re able to pay for next vacation in cash, so that when you’re car breaks down you don’t have to borrow money from your parents to fix it, so that you can watch your retirement funds grow instead of wondering where you’ll be working at age 75.

 

So let’s cover these 3 reoccurring issues.

 

1. Your eyes are bigger than your check.

 

Whenever I would put more on my plate than I could eat, my grandmother would say, “your eyes were bigger than your stomach.”

The bad news is that my stomach caught up with my eyes.

 

For many, your eyes are bigger than your check.

You want stuff that you can not afford. 

You buy stuff that you can not afford.

 

And whenever your check catches up to your eyes, your eyes just get bigger. You’ve got richer tastes than you did a last pay raise. Your extra income wasn’t extra because it just went to pay for the stuff you had already bought.

 

Ecclesiastes 5:10

10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.

 

Your paycheck will never catch up with your wants and desires.

 

Right now some of you are scheming for that next pay raise or promotion because you figure when you get that, then you’ll have the money you need to get what you want, do what you want.

You’ll never be satisfied with more if you don’t learn to be content with what you have.

 

In Luke 12:15 Jesus said, 

a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

 

Now some of you are thinking, well Pastor Daniel it’s not like I just want lots and lots of stuff, I just want the basic necessities…

 

Would you consider that in a materialistic culture like ours that materialism is considered normal?

 

The average person owns a little more than 3 times as many outfits as the average person of decades ago.

 

The average size of home has increased dramatically and still we don’t have enough room for all of our stuff so

only 25% of garages have enough room for a car to be parked in them…

Storage units are being built everywhere because we don't have enough room for all our stuff in our homes or garages or sheds.

 

1. Your pockets have holes in them.

 

Some of you have never held onto money for longer than a month.

You can’t miss a day of work because you’re already out of last paychecks money.

 

I like what I read someone say online,

our family used to live paycheck to paycheck but through determination and handwork we now live direct deposit to direct deposit.

That’s right where most of you live.

You’re money is gone immediately.

 

You put it your pocket and it’s gone.

 

Proverbs 21:5

5 The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want.

 

Hastiness leads to poverty.

 

Proverbs 23:5 says
for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.

 

Money disappears fast enough all on its own, but some of you are helping it out. 

 

For some of you, you’re only budget is pay these 6 bills that are past due and then do what you want with what’s left.

 

Your already looking forward to getting your tax refund and it will be gone within the month.

You’ll be flush with cash for 4 to 6 weeks, maybe and then by summer you’ll be living check to check.

 

You should have budget- a plan for your money that includes saving at least 10%.

 

For some of you that might mean doing an envelope system.

For others, it might look like having a an automatic withdrawal from your checking account into a savings account the day after your get paid.

 

Now right now you’re thinking, well I really need to spend that money. We needed this or that. It has actually saved us money in the long run, I think…

 

back in the 70’s and 80’s the American car manufacturing industry was losing ground to Japanese made automobiles at an incredible rate. A few American car executives went to Japan to tour the Japanese car plants.

 

They noticed at the end of the line where the doors were put on that the worker didn’t carry a rubber mallet.

In the US the guy who put on the door always had a big rubber mallet to knock the door into place because it wouldn’t quite fit or would be snug and he’d use the mallet to push it in.

 

One of the executives asked, how does he make sure the door will go in all the way and close if he doesn’t have a mallet?

The tour guide was perplexed by this question and simply responded, we make sure the door will fit when we design it.

They had taken the time in design and development and they didn’t have to beat it in later.

 

Many times we don’t follow a financial plan, we just do what feels right or what we want, and then we break out the rubber mallet and we beat the decision into making sense.

We rationalize our hasty purchase.

 

We are experts at justifying the decision that we want to make.

 

“Well, I needed a new car to drive to work because you’ve got to have reliable transportation. yeah, I’ve barely got any money left over because I can hardly afford the payment, but you know I’ve just got to have this.”

 

“Well, this vacation was more expensive than we had planned, but we figured if we are going to do this, we want to go all out, and we won’t be taking another trip for a long time- I mean I know we said that 6 months ago, but the deal that we got on the hotel room was something we just couldn’t pass up.”

 

“Yeah this furniture was pretty expensive and a lot more than we planned on spending, but they gave us such a great deal. We saved so much money by spending more than we have on hand, but it’s no big deal because they have great financing options.”

 

 

 

1. Your back is broken by debt.

 

Have you ever seen the offices and headquarters of places that loan money. They didn’t make enough money to build those monstrosities by merely giving you money and you paying them back, they make their money on the interest.

 

Whenever you finance something, you are paying more for it.

You are giving someone money.

 

Proverbs 22:7

The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

 

Taking on debt so that we can get what we want now sounds great, until you consider just how much more you are paying to have it now.

 

Right now, many of you are so bound by your debt that you are trapped and the only way out is to make some radical changes.

 

This doesn’t sound like any fun, but it will bring you freedom.

 

I remember seeing a guy make a half court shot and winning a large sum of money and they asked, what are you going to do with the money!?

I’m going to pay off my student loans.

The announcer was like, oh…

 

His facial expression read, “Boring!”

 

But if that guy owed $50k at the standard rate for student loans and still had 10 years to go, he just saved another $10k.

His $50k half court shot became a $60k half court shot!

 

 

Next steps:

Act your wage.

Make a budget that includes giving & saving

Speak with a debt counsellor or develop a debt snowball plan

 

GIVING God the Glory - The Generous Life

Giving God the Glory

2 Corinthians 9

 

 

 

In VA Beach there are 2 phrases that you hear often- they’re almost greetings. “No Worries.” The other is “It’s all good.”

You’ll often hear them together, “No Worries, It’s all good.”

 

It means that there’s nothing to be worried about or get upset about because it’s all gonna work out.

 

“It’s all good” is pretty close to what I want you to realize this morning. This morning I want you to realize it’s all God’s.

 

When you realize “It’s all God’s” you have “No Worries.”

 

Saying it’s all good is supposed to be a reassurance, but really is it? It’s just a saying and we know right off that it’s not all good. There’s actually quite a lot of bad.

 

But the truth that it’s all God’s can be quite reassuring because if He’s got it, He can handle it, if He can give it to us, then we don’t need to worry.

 

In the passage that we are going to look at next week Jesus points out that God takes care of the lilies in the field and the birds in some far tree that you’ll never see or know about and if He can manage all that, then He can manage what’s going on with you.

 

Some of you are facing problems that I don’t know anything about and I couldn’t even begin to imagine but God knows all about it and better yet God knows the solution and how it can all be worked out for good.

He’s on top of it.

“No Worries. It’s all God’s.”

 

Now there are a couple of applications of the truth that it’s all God’s.

 

1. We should thank Him.

This week is Thanksgiving and hopefully it will be about more than the incredible amount of food we are going to enjoy on Thanksgiving Day.

Hopefully it’s a time to reflect on everything that God has given you. Hopefully it’s a time that you have a profound sense that God has given you so much and done so much for you.

James says in chapter 1 every good gift comes from God.

John 3:27 no man receives a anything except from God.

Anything good in your life, it’s from Him.

 

Anything bad in your life, He can turn to good.

Romans 8 says he uses all things for the good…

That’s why Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5 to be thankful in all things. 

 

 

All the good in your life is from God and He’s able to use all the bad in your life for good.

 

 

Here at our church we try to emphasize thanksgiving each year.

In the past we’ve done the photo challenge when we asked you to submit photos of what you are thankful for, we did A Thousand Thanks where we challenged you to send out a Thousand Thank You notes as a church (remember that was featured on the front page of the Thanksgiving Day paper), and a really tough one was we did the no complaints challenge…

 

Today we’re going to challenge you once again to be grateful in a unique way…

 

1. We should be wise stewards.

 

If it’s all God’s then we should act in a way that reflects that it doesn’t belong to us.

If you’re a noble person- you’ll take better care of something that belongs to someone else than you do your own stuff.

 

I remember one time Kerry said, I hate to borrow someone’s tools because I’m afraid I’ll break them. We have a greater respect for something that has been loaned to us, given to us to use…

 

It’s all God’s so everything is on loan to us-

It’s all borrowed.

 

Sometimes people use the phrase “living on borrowed time” to refer to someone who doesn’t have long to live…

We are all living on borrowed time.

It’s all God’s…

 

A steward is someone who takes care of something for someone. They manage it, they oversee it.
If you ask someone to house sit while you’re on vacation, they’re a steward. If they have a party and wreck your house, they’re not a good steward…

 

If you’ve heard this story before, I apologize but I love to tell it.

 

In college there was a guy named Mark from Indiana. Mark had a pretty beat up car. It had green trunk and red front fender.

 

Mark loaned his car to this guy named Jeremiah who worked nights. Mark came out to go to class one morning and his car wasn’t back in it’s space. He went and found Jeremiah asleep so he woke him up. My roommate Marcus was there when Mark woke up Jeremiah he said Mark asked “Jeremiah, where’s my car?” and Jeremiah responded with “I don’t really want to talk about it right now…”

 

Jeremiah had run off the road and the car had to be towed but Jeremiah had forgotten the name of the tow truck company so Mark had to call every tow truck company in the phone book looking for his car…

 

Jeremiah was a pretty bad steward with what Mark had given him and his response of I don’t really want to talk about it right now was laughable, but let’s be honest.

When God asks us what we did with what He’s given us our standard response is “I don’t want to talk about it…”

I recognize that money is awkward to talk about and this might be uncomfortable because you don’t have a great answer for what you did with what God has blessed you with.

Some of you know and it wasn’t a wise choice.

Some of you are like Jeremiah and you’re not even really sure where what you were given went to…

 

 

This morning I’m going to talk to you about giving once again because I want you to be able to give acknowledging that it’s all God’s.

 

We are not talking about giving because we are building something or trying to fund the budget- I’m not worried about that, you know why? It’s all God’s.

We are not building buildings or funding an organization, we are changing lives. That’s what I’m after today.

 

I don’t want something from you this morning, I want something for you. I want you to live the good life and the good life is the generous life.

 

The Generous life is the good life because it acknowledges that it’s all God.

 

If I wanted something from you, I could preach a message this morning that would guilt you into giving.

I could make you feel bad for not giving and it would probably work to get you to give-
I’ve seen it work. I’ve seen churches do this.

I’ve seen churches compel people to give through guilt and obligation.

There are churches that have people sign contracts.

 

If you give out of guilt or because you are forced into giving, you’ll be free of the guilt once you give, but then you are right back here where you started only you have less money…

 

But if you were to give because you wanted to- because you were being generous, that would be true progress. Then not only would you be giving, your heart would be changing and becoming more generous…

That’s what we are doing here.

We are changing lives.

 

That’s what this passage that we are going to dive into is talking about, giving generously because you want to- not because you have to…

 

Truth is there are some of you that want to give generously and faithfully but you can’t because you’ve made bad financial decisions then there are some of you that you could give but you are not because you don’t see it as important, and really everyone who isn’t giving is living somewhere in between- some of you have made bad financial decisions because giving isn’t a priority to you- you didn’t even factor in your monthly or weekly giving when you made the decision to buy your last house or car…

 

 

Let’s check out verses 6-7.

 

The Corinthians had some major issues so Paul wrote them his first letter. They made some progress but still had some wrinkles that needed to be ironed out but one thing that the Corinthians did get was generosity.

So much so that Paul says in the beginning of this passage that he has bragged on them for how generous they are…

 

Paul includes a reminder about a collection for the saints in Jerusalem and tells them to be ready, not because they have to but because they want to…

 

 

1. God loves when we give cheerfully. (v. 7)

 

 

It’s interesting that Paul says, as every man has purposed in his heart, let him so give.

This was a special offering that was being collected. It was in addition to the support of their local church, it was an outside cause they were giving toward.

We do this here, we collect special offerings for causes, missions, etc.

We’ll do it again in the month of December. We’ll collect a special offering called gifts for Jesus and 100% of it will go to Family Ministries which is a cooperation of ministries to a crisis pregnancy center (which we gave diapers to at Easter) and children’s homes for foster children.

 

The offering that the Corinthians were preparing was not for their local church so Paul tells them to give as you feel led.

We see that in the local church setting there was an expectation of a regular consistent gift of the “tithe.”

Tithe means 10%.

 

The ministry of the church is supported through tithes.

Special causes such as gifts to the needy and collections for missionaries are offerings.

 

While Paul is speaking of an offering here, the principles he lays down apply to all giving.

He says God loves a cheerful giver.

 

The word for cheerful is the root word for hilarious.

God loves a hilarious giver- that doesn’t mean that he looks at how much money you gave and laughs but it means that He loves when you are excited to give.

 

In other words, God loves it when we are excited to give.

God loves it when we give because we are passionate about it.

God wants you to be all in on the mission and vision of the church to reach those who do not know Him that you are pumped to contribute to it.

 

 

 

The contrast is giving grudgingly or out of necessity.

If you give because you feel like you have to or you give with a grimace on your face, then there is something wrong.

Your heart is not in tune with the mission and vision, you are not believing that God has got this and that He’ll reward your faithfulness….

Something is off…

 

My grandfather was a Pastor in Norfolk, VA.
He went to a Christmas play that my mother was in and he couldn’t believe that they didn’t sing any Christmas songs that he was familiar with. When he asked about it he was told that they weren’t allowed to sing any songs that mention the birth of Jesus.

This was in the 60’s.

So he was passionate about starting a Christian school.

It took a lot of effort and sacrifice, but it happened.

 

At the first graduation a man who had given generously to see the school get started was standing there and he pointed at one of the graduates and said “there goes my bass boat.”

My grandfather looked at him and before he could say anything the man said, “but that’s better than any bass boat.”

 

Beauty of that isn’t that he gave the an equivalent of a bass boat, but rather that he was thankful for the choice he made.

 

 

1. God blesses when we give generously. (6-10)

 

Now Paul’s point is that we should give because we want to, not because we have to.

Paul does point out that God blesses when we give.

He’s not saying that they should give in order to get something, but he’s telling them that when they give from the right motivation, God notices and He blesses.

In the Old Testament God actually says, prove me or test me, give and see if I don’t open up the windows of heaven and send rain.

 

Scripture says that when we give faithfully God blesses.

It doesn’t promise to bless us with more money or nicer things.

I don’t believe that if you give in the offering today that God is going to send you a check in the mail.

I do believe that God will see your generosity and bless you for it.

That might be in the form of a material blessing or may be in the form of a spiritual blessing.

 

verse 8 says
8And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

 

Remember, it’s all God’s. 

He’s able to make all grace abound in your life.

He’s able to influence everything in your life.

He’s able to lean on, nudge, direct, and align everything in your life.

He’s in control. Do you believe that?

 

If you believe that He’s in control, why would we doubt that when we are faithful to give that He would not be faithful to bless our lives.

 

Verse 10 points out, He’s the one that gave you the seeds to be sown in the first place.

He’s the one that gave you what you have to give to Him so why couldn’t and why wouldn’t He give you more so that you can give more back in return.

 

Notice that verse 11 says “being enriched.”

Do you remember the verse from Ephesians last week that God wants to help the rich in this world “be rich” in generosity.

 

 

Some people take these verses to mean that if you have faith and give that God will make you rich- that’s not what God is interested in. God is interested in making you radically generous.

He’s not interested in you having more so much as he’s interested in you giving more.

 

Some of the richest people I know are the most generous people I know and I fully believe that God blessed them so that they could be generous- 

And if God is going to bless someone so that they can be generous, He’s gonna start with someone who is already generous.

 

Some of you don’t have anything to give because if you did you wouldn’t give it.

I’m sure you tell yourself, “well if I had more money then I would give” but if it’s hard for you to be generous with a percentage of where you are at right now, I doubt you’ll be generous with a larger amount either.

 

God blesses generosity. He does not bless selfishness.

 

I’m blessed. So blessed.

I was raised giving. It has always been natural to me.

When I was kid I mowed my grandmothers grass for $10.

I got paid in a 5 and 5 singles because I was going to give 10% in Sunday School.

I’m sure it’s easier to learn and take that step when 10% is a dollar.

 

More than I’ve been blessed to learn that from an early age, I’m blessed in what it has done for my heart.

I’ve always viewed what I have as from God.

That’s not bragging, in fact it’s the opposite. It’s acknowledging that nothing in my life have I earned for myself, it’s all been a gift from God.

Right now Nicole and I are renovating an old house that we bought from the bank. It had been a foreclosure.

We are getting really close to being done.

I’ve worked some late nights over there recently.

When I call it a night and walk to my truck it’s really quiet and the stars are really clear and I have this profound sense of gratitude because it’s all God.

 

If God never gave me an extra dollar or an extra pair of shoes for my giving through the years but he gave me that profound sense of gratitude, it was worth it. It would be a great harvest on the seeds I’ve planted.

 

1. God glories when we give obediently. (11-15)

 

 

Verse 11 says that you are enriched which causes through us thanksgiving to God.

 

Paul said one of the harvests that your generosity will immediately produce is our thanksgiving to God.

 

Paul is saying that their generosity is a seed that will immediately produce Thanksgiving to God through Paul and his ministry team.

 

That’s the real harvest that we are looking for, more and more people giving God the glory.

 

At the end of all things, what John saw when God gave him a glimpse of the very end, the final scene is people of every nation, every tribe, every tongue, giving God the glory.

 

and this is fitting because it’s all God’s. Even the glory.

 

For this reason Paul ended or started his letters with something along the lines of all glory and praise to Him.

 

Paul says not only will we thank God, but those who are blessed by this gift will thank God too.

 

In verse 13 Paul says,

Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men;

 

Paul says they will glorify God for your subjection to the gospel.

In other words, they will give God glory because you’ve been obedient.

 

 

When we are generous God gets the glory in our lives and in the lives of those who are blessed by the gift.

 

 

The Story of Hiram Ramirez.

The Generous Life is the Good Life! - The Generous Life

Anniversary Sunday

 

 

We’ve just finished a months long study of 1 Corinthians.

Last week we wrapped up chapter 15 and there are 16 chapters in 1 Corinthians but the final chapter mainly deals with logistics for a visit that Paul is planning and some greetings to specific people in the Corinthians church.

 

The beginning of Chapter 16 starts this way

 

1Now concerning the collection for the saints…

2On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. 

 

Paul is speaking of a collection that the Corinthians are gathering up for the believers in Jerusalem that are experiencing great adversity.

 

The people in Corinth were collecting money to give away to people that they had never met-

Why?

 

Because when we come to Jesus, we realize every good thing we have is because He’s been gracious.

We realize it’s all a gift and we’re more likely to give it away.

 

Today in Luke 5 we are going to look at someone who jumped at the chance to walk away from all he had to follow Jesus.

 

Luke 5:27-32

               

Now, to many of you this doesn’t seem like a big deal because you nearly walk away from your job every week.

 

However, you need to realize that Levi’s (Matthew) had a job that compensated well.

Not only was it a job that paid well, it was a job that had a high commitment level- what I mean is that Matthew would have had to really count the cost when he took this job. It would have been unpopular to be a tax collector.

He would have counted the cost before taking the position.

This wasn’t merely something he was doing until he figured out what he wanted his career to be, this was his career.

 

When Jesus said, follow me, He left all and followed Him.

 

Why?

It’s Jesus.

When people are around Jesus, everything changes.

Everything is more clear when we spend time with Jesus.

Priorities fall into place.

We have a greater clarity than ever before.

We recognize what really matters…

 

All the money in the world would not meet the need Matthew had. He was searching for something more.

 

Matthew was searching for what we are all searching for, meaning.

 

There was a fascinating op-ed in the New York Times this past week, and I want to share a few highlights from it.

 

Excerpts from op-ed in New York Times this past week:

 

…fewer among us are poor, fewer are hungry, fewer children are dying, and more men and women can read than ever before.

 

How strange, then, to see such anger and great discontent in some of the world’s richest nations. In the United States, Britain and across the European Continent, people are convulsed with political frustration and anxiety about the future.

 

Refugees and migrants clamor for the chance to live in these safe, prosperous countries, but those who already live in those promised lands report great uneasiness about their own futures that seems to border on hopelessness.

 

A small hint comes from interesting research about how people thrive.

In one shocking experiment, researchers found that senior citizens who didn’t feel useful to others were nearly three times as likely to die prematurely as those who did feel useful.

This speaks to a broader human truth: We all need to matter.

 

Scientific surveys and studies confirm shared tenets of our faiths. Americans who prioritize doing good for others are almost twice as likely to say they are very happy about their lives. In Germany, people who seek to serve society are five times likelier to say they are very happy than those who do not view service as important.

 

Selflessness and joy are intertwined.

 

It’s almost as if we were made to make a difference- as if that’s what were built to do…

 

This helps explain why pain and indignation are sweeping through prosperous countries. The problem is not a lack of material riches. It is the growing number of people who feel they are no longer useful, no longer needed, no longer connected…

 

Everyone is in pursuit of the good life, everyone is in pursuit of the appealing lifestyle that is portrayed in marketing, ads, and media. We see the stuff that others have and we think, ah, that’s the good life. We see the travel and leisure or free time that the wealthy enjoy and we think, ah, that’s the good life.

We see the abilities and skills of those more talented than us and we think ah, that’s the good life.

 

But people with talent, money, leisure, money- they aren’t experiencing the good life. Instead they are still in search for the good life.

 

We will never find the good life in stuff, money, leisure, or ability.

 

The good life is not found in what we can get,

the good life is based upon what we can give.

 

When we give our stuff, time, money, and talents away we find the good life.

We find a happiness that is deeper that any sensation selfishness could ever find us! Isn’t that crazy? Isn’t that the opposite of our default manner- what we tell ourselves is I’ve got to get, take, keep, protect, what I want so that I can be happy-

It cuts against the grain of our thinking to find that doing the opposite of all brings me greater happiness.

 

Beyond that, the joy that comes from giving is enduring.

It lasts.

The shine of our new toy fades quickly.

The vacation goes faster than any other week of the year.

The stuff we had to have quickly becomes the junk we hope someone takes off of our hands at a yard sale or we throw it in a box and give it away or we put it in a storage shed and then kick ourselves for paying monthly fees to merely store it in a building we only go to store more stuff or eventually throw the stuff away…

 

The stuff we just have to have becomes a hassle…

The stuff we said we needed becomes a nuisance…

 

Getting grows old.

Giving grows sweet.

 

Our church became self supporting in 1982- before that we were a mission work which means that other FWB Churches and FWB people gave financial support so that we could get started.

Going self-supporting is to say, through the generosity of the people who belong to our group, we are able to pay our own way- please direct your funds to a new mission work.

 

Our church got to 1982 because people gave, and their gifts kickstarted the movement that we are a part of today.

 

Many of those people have passed away- but their gift lives on.

 

When I was in high school a man named Jeff Sloan came to our church and told us about the church he would plant in Ft Wayne, IN. I worked a job after school, so I had a little gas money.

I signed up to give $5 per month to help start the church in Ft Wayne. It wasn’t much. It was something small, but for 16 year old me, it was a major commitment.

My $60 per year didn’t make or break the Ft Wayne church, but the return on that $60 has been far greater than if I had spent it on 3 more t-shirts with surf company logos on them.

 

Just 2 weeks ago I was around people who came to Jesus through the ministry of that church.

 

It brings joy to me to know that my gift was part of that,

even if it was small.

 

The Generous Life is the Good Life.

 

I’m not merely taking about being generous with your money.

I’m speaking of being generous with who you are, with your time and your talents and your ideas and your energy.

 

The passage that we read about Levi walking away from a prosperous affluent job to join Jesus’ rag tag band of a dozen disciples isn’t just a radical moment in Levi’s life.

It is the greatest moment of his life.

It is the moment that everything changed and he stepped onto a path of great happiness.

It is the moment that his journey took an unexpected turn toward adventure, purpose, meaning, and legacy.

 

That’s what I want for every one of you.

 

I want today to be a day that you take a step onto a path of great joy. I want today to be the beginning of a great journey of adventure, purpose, meaning, and legacy.

 

The group that Matthew joined would work together for just over 3 and a half years and at the time that Jesus died and rose again, their group had grown to 120.

 

Then God’s Spirit was poured out upon them and 3,000 joined them on the journey in one day.

A couple of weeks later, 5,000 joined them in one day.

 

As the movement spread, it was said of these people in a Roman court, these are the people who have turned the world upside down.

 

Matthew joined a movement that changed the world.

 

Friend, I believe that our world needs change.

I believe that our world needs to be turned upside down.

 

I believe that our community needs to be turned upside down.

 

I’ve got a dream that we, us, our church, could make an incredible impact right here- that we would influence such a dramatic change that it’s out of the ordinary for me to stand at the graveside of a young father or mother instead of the all too normal reality that it is now…

 

I’ve got a dream that we, us, our church could make an incredible impact right here to the degree that every child in our community would grow up knowing that Jesus loves them more than they can imagine.

 

Will you join me?

 

Will you be a part of the new core group?

Will you jump in and help us build the church our children will lead?

Will you be generous with who you are-

with what you have

with what you can do

with what the ideas God gives you???

 

 

 

If you’re in, let me quickly point out 3 steps the core group of disciples took.

 

 

Disciples gather around Jesus.

 

 

Jesus’ words to Matthew were incredibly simple.

“Follow me.”

 

Jesus gave a very simple, straightforward invitation to all the disciples, follow me.

 

Jesus didn’t tell them all that laid ahead, He didn’t make them grand promises. He didn’t tell them that they would see miracles. He merely invited them to follow Him.

 

It wasn’t extravagant- It wasn’t flowery- It wasn't flattering-

It was simply an invitation to be with Jesus.

 

There is no better invitation in the world.

 

When Nicole and I got married one of the major steps in the wedding planning process was picking out invitations.

 

There’s a whole industry dedicated to this…

If you’ve ever received a wedding invitation, you know that it’s no ordinary invitation.

I can remember when I graduated from high school there was a guy who came to our school to sell us graduation invitations…

They had script type font embossed in expensive paper.

 

Some invitations are better than others- but really what matters is what you are being invited to…

 

 

 

 

Disciples grow in faith.

He left all and followed him.

 

The word follow sounds to us like following someone on a trip, you’re just watching where they go so that you know where to go.

 

In their culture, this was a joining.

Matthew wasn’t following Jesus to a place for lunch.

Matthew was joining Jesus as his student- He was coming alongside Jesus like an apprentice, to learn all He could.

 

When you read the gospels you find that all along the way the disciples were being taught, trained, and encouraged.

All along the way Jesus was working on them.

Their faith was growing.

 

Every moment with Jesus grew their faith.

 

However, when Jesus was arrested and tortured and killed, their faith took a major blow.

Then they saw Jesus alive- he had risen from the dead and suddenly they went from being timid and afraid and hiding to broadcasting who they were and what they believed in the streets.

 

I invite you to not only gather around Jesus, but learn of Him.

FOLLOW Him.

I invite you to grow in faith.

 

The people in the core group of this church, they’re patriarchs and matriarchs of the faith around here, they’re leaders and teachers and sages of Biblical wisdom.

 

But you want to know a little secret-

they didn’t start out that way.

 

They were average joes and janes.

They were people who knew little about the Bible.

They were people with problems in their marriages.

They were people who were struggling to raise their kids, manage their time, and pay their bills.

 

They were ordinary people when they joined the team,

but they’ve grown in faith through the process.

 

Kelly said something really great a couple weeks ago as a group of us were talking about kids classes, Kelly said:

 

I have been teaching SS for years. I love it. But, I am also learning too. You may feel like you are inadequate to teach or volunteer (I know I did) but it's fun, it's rewarding, and you learn right along with the kids.

 

 

Disciples go on mission.

 

I love what Matthew immediately does when He starts following Jesus. He puts together a feast, he invites Jesus over to his house and he invites all of his friends who are sinners just like him.

 

Matthew made a personal investment- he was generous with his time, his money, and his house so that his friends could meet Jesus.

 

Matthew would go on to serve Jesus is a big way over many years, but here was an immediate step he could take to serve the mission of bringing people to Jesus.

 

I believe God has big plans for ways you can make a difference in the years ahead, but I also believe there is a step you can take today.

 

 

God’s calling you to a life that matters,

and it starts with one step today.

 

When the core group gathered in the Newburgh Town Hall, they had no idea what laid ahead.

They just took the next step.

When Jesus asked Matthew to follow Him, he didn’t know everything that lay ahead, but he took the next step.

 

None of us know what the next 34 years will look like,

but we can all take the next step.

 

This phone is capable of using GPS to show me where I am at in the world. It can using mapping software to show me how to get from here to anywhere else in the world…

 

I use the GPS and mapping software often, but you know what I use even more often, the flashlight.

 

God has a big journey planned to change the world,

but all we need to see right now is the next step.

 

 

 

 

Some of you need to take a step toward gathering around Jesus:

1.You need to commit to following Jesus.

2.You need to commit to obeying Jesus by getting baptized.

3.You need to surrender some sinful activity to Christ.

 

Some of you need to take a step toward growing in faith:

1.You need to begin a daily quiet time with Jesus in prayer & Bible Study.

2.You need to join a Bible Study group to learn more about Jesus and develop relationships with other believers.

3. You need to get a mentor or coach to train you.

 

Some of you need to take a step toward going on mission:

1.You need to sign-up to volunteer at an upcoming event.

2.You need to decide to financially support the ministry.

3.You need to join a ministry team and serve on a weekly or monthly basis.         

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Find all the messages from our series on the Corinthians in audio, video, and text at http://www.faithinchandler.com/corinthians/

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Many Callings, One Cause - The Corinthians - Message 22

The 22nd Message in our Corinthians Series.

Find all of these messages at Faithinchandler.com/Corinthians