We all want to have a life that really matters! A life that matters, the life of a Christian is a life of service; service to God and to people. Like Jesus, all of his disciples must be willing to follow God's plan from beginning to the end. Let’s listen to several Scripture verses that will inform our journey to a life that really matters. Would you now listen for a word from God first as found in Joshua 24:14-15 14 "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
Our next reading is from Psalm 37:3-7: 3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 4 Take delight in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: 6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. 7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.
Our Gospel reading is from John 12:26 (Jesus says): Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
Finally a word of encouragement from Philippians 4:12-13: 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Amen.
God calls us to a life of love and service to God and to others; a life of victory by persevering. What an example of love and self surrender we find in the story of Dick Hoyt in his amazing love for his son; a love that brings life and joy to both of them. Dick and Rick Hoyt are a father and son team from Massachusetts who together compete just about continuously in marathon races. And if they are not in a marathon they are in a triathlon – that daunting, almost superhuman, combination of 26.3 miles of running, 112 miles of bicycling, and 2.4 miles of swimming. Together they have climbed mountains, once they trekked 3,735 miles across America. What makes this even more remarkable is that Rick can’t walk or talk. For the past twenty five years Dick (who is 65 years old) has pushed and pulled his son across the country over hundreds of finish lines. When Dick runs, Rick is in a wheelchair that Dick is pushing. When Dick cycles, Rick is in the seat-pod from his wheelchair, attached to the front of the bike. When Dick swims, Rick is in a small but heavy, firmly stabilized boat being pulled by Dick. At Rick’s birth in 1962 the umbilical cord coiled around his neck and cut off oxygen to his brain. Dick and his wife, Judy, were told that there would be no hope for their child’s development. They were not willing to surrender to defeat when they were told by doctors that they should just put Rick away. They were determined to raise their son as “normally” as possible.[i] Faced with difficulty this family did not give up. Theirs is a story of life serving others; a life of victory by persevering. During our days here on this planet, life will offer us many opportunities to experience joy and victory if we stay the course and not surrender. God wants for us to live lives of joy and victory – let us choose a life that really matters! As for me and my house, we will choose the Lord!
The Old Testament of the Bible is filled with stories of difficulties. Joshua was a prophet of God and he said that people were given a choice. When faced with difficulties and disaster they chose to either give up or give in. They could choose to serve the gods of the world or serve the One true God Almighty. But that had to make a choice. Joshua said, “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Fear does not me be afraid, but revere the Lord your God. When all the chips were down, and despite all the odds against them they chose God. It took prayer and commitment to live a life of freedom, joy and victory- a life that really mattered! We too have a choice, like the people of Israel to choose our God.
What’s there to choose? We can sit in our mess or we can choose God. Every act of trust increases your capacity for God. The simple truth is that every time I trust God, I have more room for God. God dwells within me in ever-richer fullness, occupying room after room in my life. That is a glorious assurance, and one that is filled with infinite comfort. Let me repeat it again, for it is the very music of the soul, little acts of trust make larger room for God. During life I can try to prepare for emergencies. I can build my body to climb the steep hills. In the green pastures and by the still waters I can prepare myself for the valley of the shadow. For when I reach the hill, the shadow, the emergency, I shall be God-possessed: God will dwell in me. And where God dwells God controls. Put your trust in the Lord and you will live well in the immediate present; live well in the immediate present and you will have the spirit of calmness which is the secret of strength. With God’s help, any emergency that comes along will not scare you to death! You will approach it with that quietness which is the essential factor in triumph. (Interpretation of writing from Rev. John Henry Jowett.) This means surrendering to God and trusting that God will bring about blessing from any situation.
I can testify that God is indeed faithful if we trust and obey! I don’t think I can even talk about the horror I experienced Friday night with a terrible accident that took place at my home. All I can say is that we immediately called upon God and found strength and peace and power and healing in supernatural ways. We were surrounded by prayer during this terrible time. And God was faithful! What could have been the end of the world was gently, tenderly cared for by our Almighty God. We were able to see God’s hand and find blessing despite this tragedy. We went to the hospital chapel and claimed God’s word – from Psalm 37 (4-7) that says to be still and commit our ways to the Lord and trust in him, rest in him, patiently wait for him we will be blessed! Committing our way to the Lord may sound like a lot of work, but it is not. It means surrendering our will and ways to God and trusting that God will bring about blessing from any situation.
In John 12:26 Jesus said, “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.” We are all called to follow Jesus and serve him. As a matter of fact, if you love him you will serve him and you cannot serve Jesus unless you are following Him. Part of living a life that really matters means following and serving Jesus; and we will not only find hope, victory and joy in Jesus the Christ, Scripture says that in knowing, following and serving we will be able to delight in the Lord. Why aren’t people lined up to receive this great victory? Surrendering our will is not necessarily an easy task. I can testify that God is indeed faithful if we trust and obey. This means surrendering our will and ways to God and trusting that God will bring about blessing from any situation.Because when we find the courage and strength to surrender we will find ourselves in the company of the Apostle Paul who wrote in Philippians 4:12-13 12 “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Amazing strength and power is available to every Christian through God’s grace!
Brothers and sisters, I do not know how I could live – how I could stand up here and proclaim the Gospel without having experienced the power of God. I don’t know how people live without the life giving, soul soothing, peace generating power of the living Christ in us. Have you ever stopped to consider what God has called you to do with your life? God has made us an amazing offer! It God cost everything and cost us nothing. Are you living a life that matters? Is it all for you or for some greater purpose? Maybe you think we are just supposed to work hard, raise a family, go to work day in and day out and that will make a life that matters. It take more than that, it takes surrendering our will, our life and our love to God in Christ Jesus. Do you want to live a life that really matters? Have you confessed with your mouth and believed in your heart that Jesus is Lord? That’s all that it takes! Accepting Jesus the Christ! Let’s together pray and decide if you are indeed really ready and willing to make the commitment to follow Jesus. Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for sacrificing your life for me. I open the door of my life and ask you to step in as my Lord and Savior. Thank You for forgiving me and granting me peace, power and life eternal. Take control of my life. Let your Spirit take up residence in me and make me the kind of person You want me to be. In the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.
For the past 4 weeks I have been asking you to pray about joining a 10 Brave Christians group. As of right now we have 8 brave women and 5 brave men and 1 brave youth and 1 youth leader! All have made a commitment to explore for 30 days how they can put God first. You still have time to decide because the groups will not be closed until after worship next Sunday, August 1. If you would like, you can read the book, A Life That Really Mattersby Danny E. Morris to help you decide if it is time to put God first in your life and live a life that really matters. There are many ways to serve God! When we put God first everyone is blessed. Here is how 10 Brave Christians will put God first: 1. Meet once each week to pray together. 2. Give two hours each week to God through serving the church. 3. Give God 1/10 of our earnings. 4. Spend 5:30-6:00 a.m. each morning in bible study, prayer and meditation. 5. Witness for God our experiences to others.
Now, are you are ready, willing and able to commit to a life that really matters through the 10 Brave Christians John Wesley experiment? If you are ready then let me know and be here next Sunday so you can sign a commitment card. Next week we will have a pot luck lunch and we gather to have a brief meeting to decide when and where our group will meet every week. That's it! Sounds easy, right? Surrendering our life can feel a little scary! But I have faith that God will lead us to A Life That Really Matters through The John Wesley Great Experiment filling us overflowing with grace and love! I am getting more and more excited about our groups! I pray that God will bless and guide our life and our decisions as we seek to put God first!
[i] Excerpt from article “Team Hoyt, Racing Towards Inclusion” by David Tereshchuk
Unless you want to, Release the Powerful Power of Powerful Laity, You never will!
The church in Colossae was struggling with many of the same problems that faced the other new first century Christian churches. Here was a community that had heard and received the Good News, believers who had died and been raised again in Christian baptism, and disciples who were striving to match their worship lives and lifestyles to their theological expectations. The writer of Colossians addressed all these aspects of this church's life and faith in the four brief chapters of this book. Chapter 3 begins by appealing to all those who have been "raised with Christ," that is, born again through baptism. Having experienced this new birth, there are now certain responsibilities that believers must begin to shoulder. Let us first hear from Colossians 3:1-2; “So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”
Our next reading is from the Gospel of Matthew also found in the New Testament. This Gospel account reminds us that Christian life entails a shift in one’s attitude about the real value of material goods. All pursuit and possession of material comfort, safety, ease and wealth is subordinated in importance to a life of Christian discipleship. Jesus points us toward what is real and valuable. Hear now these words found in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.”
This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Amen.
A powerful personal growth tool is the 30-day trial. This is a concept where you can download a trial version and try it out risk-free for 30 days before you’re required to buy the full version. It’s also a great way to develop new habits, and best of all, it’s simple, simple, simple! Yet we often psyche ourselves out of getting started by mentally thinking about the change as something permanent — before we’ve even begun. It seems too overwhelming to think about making a big change and sticking with it every day for the rest of your life when you’re still habituated to doing the opposite. The more you think about the change as something permanent, the more you stay put. Could you do it? It still requires a bit of discipline and commitment, but not nearly so much as making a permanent change. Any perceived deprivation is only temporary. You can count down the days to freedom. And for at least 30 days, you’ll gain some benefit. It’s not so bad. You can handle it. It’s only one month out of your life.
That’s how I first started my experience of the 10 Brave Christians A Life that Really Matters . It was a 30 day trial. This 30 day trail meant that I would put God first by sacrificing a little beauty sleep. I was first a little put off by the requirement that I get out of bed at 5:30 a.m. But really, that’s not too much for God to ask. After all, it’s only for a half hour and it is only for four weeks; because I really do want to live a life that matters. I want to know how to study the Bible devotionally and I know that this study will help. I already know how to care for people who are special to me so now I need to focus on how to put God first. And today is the day we will learn how to start!
This is the fourth week of our six week call to action that invites you to experience spiritual discipleship in a new program called “10 Brave Christians”.We are taking seriously the Jesus’ call to seek first God’s righteousness and kingdom! We will do that through the daily disciple of Bible study, prayer and meditation and doing good deeds for others. As of right now the Rock has 5 brave women and 3 brave men (I have not heard from any of our youth yet) exploring how they can put God first. You still have time to decide because the groups will not be closed until after worship Sunday, August 1. You can read the book, A Life That Really Mattersby Danny E. Morris to help you decide if it is time to put God first in your life and live a life that really matters. These books will guide us and provide a daily diary for our experience. There are many ways to serve God! When we put God first everyone is blessed. Here is how 10 Brave Christians will put God first: 1. Meet once each week to pray together. 2. Give two hours each week to God through serving the church. 3. Give God 1/10 of our earnings. 4. Spend 5:30-6:00 a.m. each morning in bible study, prayer and meditation. 5. Witness for God our experiences to others. [1] Like I said before, there are many ways to serve God! But I must tell all of you, even if you do not participate in this Great Experiment, doing a daily devotion is still good for you too. How many of you are currently involved in doing a daily devotional? How many of you are reading the Bible every day? Cultivating a time of daily devotion to God before your day starts will energize and bless you! Every spiritual discipline blesses God, so I pray that you will consider what God is calling you to do even if you do not participate in the 10 Brave Christian’s four week program. Being a Christian means making a real commitment to God through exercising spiritual disciplines. Through these disciplines we move ever closer to the realization of God’s love and call on our life. If you are feeling called to participate in this 10 Brave Christian program please let me know.
When I started praying about this commitment to God to get up at 5:30 a.m. I prayed for God’s help. I prayed and prayed and yet I was still feeling a little nervous about waking up at 5:30 a.m. So I asked God to help. You better believe that when I asked God to help me wake up at 5:30 a.m. I began waking up around 5:30 a.m.– without the alarm clock. Be careful what you pray for, I always say! Now I am praying for a cheerful heart to practice this new spiritual discipline. Just 30 minutes spent in this way will honor God and jump start your day! Every Christian can use this half hour format to experience a powerful morning devotion that starts every day with 30 minutes of Bible study, prayer and meditation. The first act of discipleship is to show up; that’s the first and most important part! God doesn’t really matter what we wear when we meet together every morning – I hope that you don’t either! It is all about cultivating a relationship with God. Let’s go through a typical devotional session that will take place from 5:30 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. It’s good to find the right place to do your devotion. Some people will stay in bed, others will find a comfortable chair and still others may sit at the kitchen table. Figure out that special place for you where it is quiet and private. Make sure you can see the clock because it is important that you stick with the schedule. Also be sure to have your Bible and notebook or journal.
Let’s take the mystery out of the morning prayer and meditation schedule that will be followed in the 10 Brave Christians program. We start the first ten minutes by reading a passage of Scripture, pray about its meaning, and write in less than fifty words and in less than ten minutes what the passage says to you. During the second ten minutes, pray about one good deed you will do for one person that day. Name the person, name the good deed, and write these down in your prayer notebook. The last ten minutes are spent carefully writing how you would like to build and develop your life. Go into great detail - take your time and be thoughtful and prayerful. One well prayed -out and thought out sentence a day would be excellent!
The devotional time begins with a preselected Scripture reading. It is usually just one verse and then write in less than fifty words and in less than 10 minutes what the passage says to you. Let’s look at Matthew 6:33; “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.” Could you write in fifty words or less what these words mean to you? The first 10 minutes is meant to focus on God’s word and what it says to you. It is not a time for critical historical biblical study- you don’t need to bring out the concordance, bible dictionary or ancient language guide! This is a time to let the words roll around in your head and heart and find meaning for them in your life. What is God trying to tell you in these verses? Matthew 6:33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.” For me, for today it is: “Put God first; first in the morning, first in the day time first in the evening too; then your life will have meaning, purpose and blessing every single day through!” (That was only 30 words.) You may get something entirely different from these verses. That is okay too. Let God speak to you through these verses for only ten minutes and write it down in fifty words or less.
The next ten minutes of our devotion time is spent in praying about one good deed that you will do that day. If you are like me you may find this to be a really hard thing to figure out every day. In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis wrote, "Do not waste your time bothering whether you 'love' your neighbor act as if you did."[2] Here is where we figure that out what we will do and it does require action on our part. We have only 10 minutes to decide on one act, one good deed and write the name of the person and the good deed that you will do that day. Select a good deed that you will not get paid to do or you are not obligated to do. I must confess that I have had the hardest time with this part and often it takes me the whole 10 minutes to figure it out. As a pastor I kind of get paid to do good deeds, so I have to find one that has nothing to do with my work. This seems to be the hardest part of my early morning devotion. It has become a time when I realize that I have often failed to do all the good I can. With only 10 minutes to decide here are a few things to consider: How can we care for the person next to us by listening; how about taking a walk with someone; sending thanks to someone by writing a thank you card; just do the dishes – without being asked. The list is endless when we try to plan to do something completely selfless, write it and then just do it. Be sure and record in your journal what you will be doing and leave plenty of room to record what happened when you did your good deed.
The last ten minutes of bible study is spent carefully answering the question, “How do you want to build and develop your life?” We have only ten minutes to describe in great detail, our life goals - take your time and be thoughtful and prayerful. One well prayed -out and thought out sentence a day is excellent! This discipline will help to build and develop the kind of life that is honors and puts God first. The cultivation of this early morning devotion will do just that. Once you have done something for 21 days it becomes a habit. Let me ask you a question. When is the last time you sat down and said, “Today I am going to add a new holy habit to my life?” Maybe you have never even considered this, yet it is easy to add holy habits to your life and grab hold of the power they have to change life. Habits are unstoppable! Most of us know about how hard it is to change our bad habits like smoking, procrastinating, or overeating. It is equally hard to break a holy habit that produces positive benefits, actions and attitudes. So how do we go about adding new positive habits to our life? It's really pretty easy. You simply begin repeating an action, attitude or thought process every day for at least 21 days. Research has shown that an action that is repeated for a minimum of 21 days is likely to become a permanent habit. Adding this kind of structure to your daily devotion makes for great holy habits that will certainly have positive benefits for your life! Could you do it? It still requires a bit of discipline and commitment, but not nearly so much as making a permanent change. Any perceived deprivation is only temporary. You can count down the days to freedom. And for at least 30 days, you’ll gain some benefit. It’s not so bad. You can handle it. It’s only one month out of your life. Now if you actually complete a 30-day trial, what’s going to happen? First, you’ll go far enough to establish it as a habit, and it will be easier to maintain than it was to begin it. Secondly, you’ll break the addiction of your old habit during this time. Thirdly, you’ll have 30 days of success behind you, which will give you greater confidence that you can continue. And fourthly, you’ll gain 30 days worth of results, which will give you practical feedback on what you can expect if you continue, putting you in a better place to make informed long-term decisions.
Often I hear from people that when are deciding about participating in the 10 Brave Christians program, that the 5:30 a.m. devotion time seems to come up as the biggest reason why people say they can’t do it. I have heard, “I don’t have the time” or “I can’t get up that early.” But really isn't God worth the time investment? Can't you just try a 30 day trial? Because in just 30 days of 30 minutes a day, spent in bible study, prayer, planning good deeds and our life goals by focusing on these holy habits will honor God and jump start your day and maybe even change your life! With God’s help you life will take on more meaning as we begin to really understand what is real and valuable, as we live a life that really matters! Seek first God's Kingdom, says Jesus, seek first God’s righteousness and all this will be given to you; the power to live a Christian life that really matters!
Let us pray. Our prayer is very simple, God. Awaken us. Draw us into your Kingdom, give us work to do, and let us know its value, that we may not grumble, but serve you joy fully. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen
"Unless you want to understand the Joy of Giving, you never will!"
July 11, 2010 Sermon by David Dauber
Scripture Reading: The God who created us knows full well the trials and temptations the pursuit of money and possessions can have on our lives. The Bible has given us clear directions about giving and making sound investments. It is filled with insights and wisdom when it comes to money matters. One time a person highlighted every verse in the Bible that had to do with money and material possessions. When he was all done, he discovered he had highlighted 2,350 verses on financial subjects including wealth, generosity, borrowing, investing, financial planning, business, inheritances, taxes, purchases and possessions. This morning we will explore just a few of these verses from Scripture that speak of the attitude of the believer about financial giving. Let us now listen for a Word from God found in the book of Acts 20:35. This little verse may begin to challenge some of our basic assumptions on giving and what it means to be blessed. According to Jesus, blessing others is what it means to be blessed oneself. Join me in reading Acts 20:35; “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" Next in Philippians 4:19, we hear that God will reward the Philippians for their generosity, not simply giving them back what they’ve given, but rewarding them based on a more excellent standard, the great and inexhaustible riches of glory in Christ. Let us now hear and read these words from Philippians 4:19; And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Finally we will read from the Gospel of Matthew chapter 6:19-21, a reading that will give strict instructions about our investments. Let us now read and hear these words from Jesus from Matthew 6:19-21; “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Amen.
That MadTV sketch is exactly how I used to view tithing. I used to have this conception that my tithe went straight toward the pastor’s Lamborghini payment. It became so upsetting to me at one point that I considered never going to church again. I had heated conversations that involved both yelling and tears between me and God. For the past five years God has been working on me as it pertains to the topic of money in church. Let this be a lesson to you about heated conversations with God. As Terri and I began worshiping at The Rock, Anna Welch approached us about serving on leadership teams. We were both honored and a little terrified. We came from a big church where only people that had worshipped for years at the church were asked to serve on committees. Of course, where did God want me to serve? The finance team. I told Pastor Tina, no way and I had hard time with church and money. She told me that the team was already full of money people, and asked me to bring a calming peacefulness to the team. I agreed and was later asked to bring that calming attitude toward money out to the rest of the congregation and lead a few of The Rock’s stewardship campaigns and discuss tithing with the church. Now here we are today, Pastor Cheryl is attending a pre-teen camp and the worship team asked me to preach in her absence. I asked her what the topic was on. She told me I could talk about whatever God led me toward talking about. “Let’s just stay on you current sermon series,” I said. Later she emailed me today’s topic, “Unless you want to Understand the Joy of Giving, you never will!”
So what is tithing? According to A Dictionary for United Methodist [1] tithe is the setting aside of one-tenth of one's income for God as specifically noted in the Bible. Tithing has been the traditional minimum standard of giving for Christians. The United Methodist Church has taken the official position that tithing is the standard for United Methodists, and the practice of tithing is to be actively encouraged in every local church.
I realize that the topic of giving is usually very uncomfortable. But I’ve learned that if we can remain focused on God, guided by Scripture, prayer and meditation we can all learn great lessons about placing God first in our lives. God becomes first in our lives through giving our time, talent, gifts and service. The reason we tithe is to literally put God first. It is a heart principle. Even though tithing is a recommended practice for all United Methodist churches, it is not an official requirement for anyone. Tithing is a proverbial door to help open communications between an individual and God. Tithing is about putting God first in how we live and give.
The giving of tithe is a personal decision and gift to God. Tithing is between God and me. Terri makes her tithing commitment independently from mine. It is between her and God. It is the same decision you have to make too. To tithe, or not to tithe, that is the question. But that question can only be answered between you and God. Every choice I make toward giving to God is my own choice. I must face that decision with God alone.
I have a tendency to strive for perfection in everything I do. But, the only perfect thing is God. Therefore, to truly strive for perfection, means that we must put God first. If we honor God then we grow in grace and love. I say this because, at the heart of giving is the knowledge that we serve a great big wonderful God. It is a faithful understanding that we can’t do it alone, but with God’s help we can learn to give lovingly and joyfully. Tithing is all about living out our faith. Following the words of Christ that it really is better to give than receive. Putting God first is what tithing is all about. God desires that we invest our heart first and foremost because our hearts follow where we spend our money. Everything we spend our money on, all our giving pulls the heart along with it. Jesus warned us that if we invest in temporal things, our investments will lead no where, especially since everything on this earth is subject to rust, theft and destruction sooner or later. Here’s some interesting investment news…if you had purchased $1000.00 of Nortel stock in 2001, it would’ve been worth $49.00 in 2002. With Enron, you would have had $16.50 left in 2002 from a $1,000.00 investment the previous year. With WorldCom in 2000 to 2001, you would have had less than $5.00 left. But, if you had purchased $1,000.00 worth of coke one year ago, drank all the coke, then turned in the cans for the aluminum recycling REFUND, You would have had $214.00. Based on these investments, the best current investment advice is to drink Coke heavily and recycle. I think we’ll call it the 401-CoKe Plan (ha! ha!).
Where we invest our money our hearts and minds follow. Tomorrow you if you invest in Apple you become vested and from then on when you see an article you will read it. You will be drawn to where you are invested. You see, is it natural to follow our investments and when we invest in God that is where our heart will be.
I believe this is such a big area of our lives that God clearly wants us to have a solid understanding of His heart. Billy Graham once made the statement, “You tell me what you think about money, and I will tell you what you think about God.” I thought about that for a while. I think there is a lot of truth to the fact that if you took a good look at your checkbook or financial records, you could very quickly see where your heart is towards God. Just look to see how you spend your money and where you put your resources. When I looked at my own finances with this in mind, I hold my own head in shame. Wow! Giving 10% sure isn’t very much of an investment in God, when we consider all the things we have been given.
Jesus was very clear in Matthew 6:24.
Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
Want to care about Bible translation? Begin writing monthly checks in support of Bible translation, and your heart for getting Scripture to those who do not have it in their own language is sure to grow. Want to have a heart for your church’s outreach? Start funding it, and your interest and concern will grow. We have heard Lou’s passionate message about feeding the hungry by donating cans of food. Every week since, I see cans of food on these steps. The school supply drive and vacation bible school are coming soon. Do you have a desire to invest in the education of today’s children. Talk to Cathy about how you can invest your time or money.
Meaningful investment happens when we put God first then our “hearts” will be in the most secure place possible. God wants us to be invested in our relationship with Him first and foremost. Whatever we give in the Lord's service is invested, and the return on it will be incredible and unimaginable. Now how's that for an investment strategy? Do you have any broker who will guarantee you a hundred-fold return on your investment? Keep in mind that a hundred-fold is not simply a hundred percent, but rather ten thousand percent. So do you think it's crazy to tithe to the Lord, to give generously of your time and talents and resources to the work of Christ's church? If there is any merit to what Jesus said about giving, then it is crazier not to. Here’s another important component of tithing... Its about praying! Praying about how we will spend the other 9/10's of our money. Economists use the 90/10 rule often to explain that 90% of the world’s income and resources are controlled by 10% of the population. For God’s economy we give 10% to God leaving 90% of our income for us to spend. Yet I would venture a guess that not many us pray about how we will spend the other 90% of our resources. If we are giving 10%, then praying about the other 9/10’s is absolutely necessary. Some of us may be struggling just to make ends meet with 100% of our income. So how in the heck will we manage on only 9/10? Putting God first and agreeing to this commitment makes prayer absolutely necessary!
There is a group within this church that spends a lot of time praying about money. That is the finance team. You and I pay our bills from the money we make. If we don’t have enough we cut back or find more work. The church body has to use what is given from our hearts. The finance team then prays very hard about how to use that money for God’s will.
Our finance team also prays very hard about other ways to pay the bills. And they, along with other caring members, have come up with some very creative ways. We’ve had garage sales. We rent our space. We’ve had movie nights. We are restarting our very successful adopt a bill campaign, for those that love to take ownership in a piece of this church. “You see those lights on? Yeah I paid for that.” There is information in your bulletin about that. Call Ruby at the church office, the number is on your bulletin.
And even our Chick-filet night THIS Thursday! Everybody has to eat; so this Thursday, eat at Chick-filet on 1431 near the toll road. Put your receipt in the donation box and Chick-filet is gonna tithe to The Rock the total of those receipts. Then tell everyone you know to go eat there and do the same.
The Bible provides ample guidance and spells out clearly the five most basic activities for every Christian, they are: giving tithe, prayer, Bible reading and study, Christian service and telling others the Good News about Jesus Christ. This is the third week of our 5 week sermon series and call to action to experience spiritual discipleship. This week is the most challenging week yet – it is the call to tithe! Thank you, pastor Cheryl.
The other night Pastor Cheryl said that interest to participate in 10 Brave Christians, The John Wesley Great Experiment is growing. We are praying to have at least 10 women and ten men to join this experiment. This experiment has an invitation to everyone in this room. You don’t have to be a leader in the church, nor do you even have to be a member of the church, and if this is your first time at The Rock, we would love to have you join us in this great experiment toward a closer relationship to God. Each person will be asked to make a commitment to contribute 10% of their resources during the entire 6 week experiment. If you do not participate in this Great Experiment, don’t checkout on me yet, there is still more on this sermon for you. I pray that you will consider what God is calling you to do even if you do not participate in the 10 Brave Christians 6 week program. I pray that every week you move closer to the realization of God’s love. Being a Christian means making a real commitment to God through exercising spiritual disciplines. We follow after the example of Christ, our leader and role model. I hope that each of you will come back to church next week ready to learn more about each of these important spiritual disciplines. I know I’ll be here ‘cause I wanna know why we gotta get up at 5:30AM!!!
Any one of these spiritual practices is powerful; when we practice all of these - giving tithe, prayer, Bible study, Christian service and telling others the Good News about Jesus Christ together in a small group; they are like spiritual dynamite. There are many ways to serve God! When we serve, God’s Spirit moves and the church is blessed. Please pray about your involvement in 10 Brave Christians, and if you feel called to make a commitment to grow spiritually through this program contact me or Pastor Cheryl when she returns. Or if you’re really moved, text her right now, her mobile number is on your bulletin.
In too many churches, the giving of tithes and offerings is the low point of the service. It's sometimes glossed over, ignored, tolerated or even openly resented by many. But the Bible teaches that God wants our giving to be a deeply meaningful heart felt expression of worship; giving that expresses our love and gratitude to God. When we give back to God, it is a time to express our appreciation for all the ways God has blessed us. We're saying, "God, we're grateful for all you’ve done in our lives, and we love You." That's why no one should ever give under pressure.
As it says in 2 Corinthians 9:7 “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
If you’re not currently giving to God through a church, I urge you to try it for a while. If you’re not comfortable with 10%, set a given amount and give that on a regular basis. See how it changes your life. Then eventually work up toward that 10% level. Remember Unless you want to Understand the Joy of Giving, you never will!
Please don’t do it because I said you should. There is nothing worse than feeling pressured into saying “I love you!” before you are ready to make that commitment. If you say it just because someone says it to you first, it really doesn’t mean much, does it? Tithing for the first time can be just as scary as saying, “I Love You” for the first time. Just remember God has already told us that He loves us. God wants our giving to be motivated by our heart. Truth be know, God doesn't need our money. God doesn't want our money. God is the Master of all resources and yet all God wants is our hearts.
There's a purpose behind Christ's teachings in Matthew 6 to refrain from storing up "treasures on earth." Jesus taught us that people are eternal - things are not. There are no locks strong enough to keep out every thief. Nothing can outlast rust and ruin. Whether it’s our personal goods or our financial portfolios, they will all pass away. Things can never bring real security and fulfillment. Everything belongs to God. When we begin to embrace this life lesson, we begin the journey toward God and begin letting go of our stuff. Scripture tells us over and over to guard against greed and materialism. Material goods can easily come between us and our relationship with God.
Just the other day I came home to find Denver playing in the living room with his cars spread out all over the floor. He jumped to his feet with excitement when he saw me saying, “Daddy, Daddy.” He began to run toward me when he realized he didn’t want to leave behind his favorite cars. He quickly bent down to grab Lightning McQueen, then Doc, then Ramone, then his other Lightning McQueen, and as he reached for his favorite of all, Matter, he dropped them all. He was still very excited to see me, but began picking up is cars again one by one. Only to loose them all again after the fifth one. I pulled up to him, and he placed all the cars in my lap. Then crawled up on my foot rest and gave me a huge hug. Only when his hands were free of the things he clasped so tightly could he give his full attention to the one who truly loves him. The things we hold onto keep Christ at arm's length. It is only when we put our “things” in God’s lap are our hands free to take hold of the hands of Jesus.
The treasures of this world, shiny and valuable though they may seem, are few and fleeting. But the beauty of the treasures awaiting us in Heaven are incomparable, and they will never pass away. Let us put God first, focus on what is eternal and the things of the world, the rest of our stuff will not be important. Would you please take a few minutes to consider what it is that God is calling you to do, who God is calling you to be and what it is that you must drop into God’s lap to place your arms around the neck of Christ?
Let us pray… Almighty God, You have blessed us abundantly and we know that we have not always grown in our giving without being challenged. Thank you for this challenge to grow. Thank you for your gentle nudging to move closer to the level of giving that will honor and glorify your work at this place and time. Thank you for loving us through our weakness. Give us strength to love you in return with all our hearts and minds. Grant us insight, blessing and help in letting loose of the worldly treasures that we may grasp onto that which is real and eternal. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.
[1] A Dictionary for United Methodists, Alan K. Waltz, Copyright 1991, Abingdon Press. Used by permission. [2] Frank Martin Lighten Your Load, How one family got the best of moth and rust, http://www.navpress.com/EPubs/PrinterFriendly/1/1.78.9.html Issue #78 November/December 1993.
