Last
Sunday and again this morning, we are emphasizing the church's
stewardship program. I want my remarks to be positive and
helpful
—that’s why I am preaching on “The Joy of
Giving” I know of no better passage of Scripture to begin
with than 2 Cor 9:7. It says, “Each one must do as he has
made up his own mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God
loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor 9:7).
We are not to give grudgingly. We are not to give in response to
pressure. Rather we are to give cheerfully.
The challenge before us is to be persons who give cheerfully.
And
you might wonder, “Is that possible? A lot of people would ask,
why should I be cheerful about giving my money away? Jesus said, 'It is
more blessed to give than to receive’ but many have never bought
into that statement.”
Our Scripture lesson gives us four reasons why there can be and even
ought to be joy in giving.
1. Encourages Others
First, there is joy in giving because our giving can be a great
encouragement to others. St. Paul writes in Phil 4:14 - . .
. it was good of you to share in my troubles. 15
Moreover,
as you Philippians know, … not one church shared with me in the
matter of giving and receiving, except you only; 16 for even when I was
in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need.
Paul mentions that he had troubles. It was good of you to share in my
troubles.What were Paul’s troubles? This champion of the
Christian faith most likely had his hands and feet in chains. He was
writing from a Roman prison.
If anyone had reason to be in a slump, it was the Apostle Paul. You
would think that his letter would be full of complaints to God, -- a
long list of grievances. But instead of focusing on his
problems,
Paul focused on the generosity of the Philippians, --they had supported
his ministry by sending financial gifts to him again and
again.
These gifts were a great encouragement to Paul, --and he wrote his
letter to the Philippians to let them know how much he appreciated
them. And now, two thousand years later this letter from a Roman jail
comes to us with the reputation of being Paul’s most joy-filled
letter.
Through the 150 year history of this church, in times of plenty and in
times of trouble, thousands of individuals and families have
given of their Time, Talent and Treasure to make this church a place of
worship and joy.
And we are the beneficiaries, as we sit in this beautiful Gothic
sanctuary: the ceiling ribbed and finished with Belgian brick, the
three large iron chandeliers wrought in Gothic design . The stained
glass windows on the upper level of the sanctuary designed in America
by Charles Connick. It was his hope that the windows would --listen to
his words -- “sing like harps in the wind, beautiful in all
variations of light.”
You and I come each week and as we meet with God in the beauty of this
place we are encouraged by the generous gifts of so many who were here
before us--are we not? During our l50th Anniversary
Celebration I saw this response of gratitude and encouragement in the
words that were written in our Book of Remembrance .
One person wrote, “The Church’s one foundation is Jesus
Christ our Lord, but people like our former pastors and moderators and
council members and staff help make it stand fast and straight and be a
light to the world and to people like me.”
Someone from Nigeria spoke of encouragement that came to him and his
family by finding a place of welcome and comfort here. He wrote,
“The ACP is a home far from Home (Nigeria) for me and my
family.”
Another commented on the encouragement he found in the safety and
shelter of this place. He wrote, “We are grateful for this
friendly refuge away from home.”
Enlarges Your Influence
But notice, secondly, we give cheerfully because our giving enlarges
our influence. In Phil 1:4-5, Paul wrote, “In all my prayers for
all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the
gospel from the first day until now."
The key word is partnership. (koinonia) The word can also be translated
communion or participation. They gave their gifts, their
money,
their prayers in support of Paul’s work; and he says, “You
didn’t know it when you sent the money, but your partnership has
enabled me to plant churches in Ephesus, and in Thessalonika, and in
Corinth, and in Colossia. You invested in me and your money
allowed me to stay longer, to work harder. You may not have realized
it, but you have been my partner in the gospel, Your influence has been
greatly expanded.”
It is well for us to remember that God created us not to live only to
please ourselves, but to be in partnership with others and with
God. If we miss that truth, we will miss the joy-filled life
that
God intends for us. By joining together, by giving our time,
talent, and treasure to this church, we also are in partnership in the
gospel and with Christ in doing his work here.
Think for example, of our partnership with the it’s 7th African
and Filipino fellowships. The African Fellowship is celebrating
Anniversary next week, and our Filipino Fellowship has just celebrated
its 21st Anniversary last week. These wonderful brothers and sisters in
Christ meet together to laugh and dance and sing with one
another, raise money for various missions, celebrate birthdays and
anniversaries; weep together at their memorial services;
rejoice
together over the birth of their children. And they welcome all us to
be part of their dreams and joys. And as we do that, our influence is
enlarged.
Or, think of AFCU, the American Foreign Christian Union. Made
up
largely of former members of this church, they contributed very
generously to our “Faith into Action” campaign, and they
continue to support this church in a variety of ways One of the things
they do is to provide the salary of the senior pastor. So that this
congregation does not pay for my salary, but the AFCU -- former members
of this church -- take on that obligation out of their love for this
church. They are truly participants with us in this ministry,
and
as they give their influence is greatly enlarged.
Just so, your tithes, your offerings, your pledges, your free-will
gifts, your time your talent offered so generously to this church are
constantly enlarging your influence. We all have a part in
providing for the beautiful music, the youth and young adult
programs, the Sunday School, the “Bloom Where Your Planted”
seminars, the Bible study programs, the Friday Lunch for the Homeless,
and on and on.
Builds Your Account
Why is there great joy in giving? Because, thirdly, your giving builds
your account.
Phil 4:16 - not one church shared with me in the matter of
giving
and receiving, except you only; 16 for even when I
was in
Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need.
17 Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am
looking for
what may be credited to your account.
What's he talking about -- “credited to your
account”? Paul is saying that he is more interested in the
benefit they will get than he is in the gift they gave to
him. He
knows that when they give, God will credit their account. What does he
mean? Is there an account up there somewhere? When you give down here,
is credit added up there?
Jesus seems to be saying the same thing when he said--Everyone who has
left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or
fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will
inherit eternal life. (Matthew 19:29)
One hundred fold-- Do you realize how high that interest rate
is?
If someone gives you one-fold, that's 100 percent interest.
If he gives you ten fold,
that's 1,000 percent.
If he
gives you 100 fold, that's 10,000 percent.
How’s that for a good interest rates? When you do business in
God's bank, Paul says that God will meet “all your needs
according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Phil
4:19). The interest is 100-fold, 10,000%!
Listen to Jesus in Lk 6 If you give… your gift will return to
you in full and overflowing measure, pressed down, shaken together, to
make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you
use to
give, -- large of small-- will be used to measure what is given back to
you. (Luke 6:38)
So, every time you feel a generosity impulse, don't squelch it, don't
thwart it. Act upon it. And God will reward you
according
to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. As your pastor, I am
seeking your spiritual well-being. You are being asked to make a pledge
to support the ministry of this wonderful church. I would say to
everyone of you -- for your own sakes -- don't pass up this opportunity.
Remember, you will reap what you sow. When you reach out and help
others; when you stretch yourself and give to God's church, God builds
your account and promises to pour out rich blessings upon you.
Pleases God
Why is there great joy in giving? Because, fourthly, when you give God
is pleased.
Phil 4:18 - I am amply supplied, now that I have received
from
Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant
offering, an
acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.
As a younger man, I attended the Greek Orthodox church in Annapolis
Maryland. A visiting deacon from Washington D. C.
was
preaching one Sunday on this very same text. And he was commenting on
how our giving and how our prayers are a sweet-smelling sacrifice,
filling the air with fragrance, pleasing to God.
He illustrated the point by leaning over the pulpit as though he were
high and lifted up in the place of God. As the people on earth gave
generously of their gifts, he explained that a lovely fragrance rose
heavenward and God was able to smell the sweet incense. This was a very
tall and very thin man and he had an unusually large nose. As he
illustrated his point -- he took a very deep breath of the aroma that
was ascending into heaven, -- at the same time, he made his
point
all the more dramatic, by opening his eyes wide and gradually widening
his nostrils into a very full flare. I remember thinking to myself,
“Man, this guy rcan really preach.”
God loves it when we sing and when we pray, and I think he also loves
it when we laugh. But nothing pleases God any more than when we take
care of one of his children. Jesus said, “Truly I say to
you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the
name of Christ, will certainly not lose his reward” (Mark 9:41).
Some people wonder why we talk about 10 percent? Why does
that
keep coming up in stewardship sermons? Because the
Bible
emphasizes it, especially in the Old Testament. How about the
New
Testament? The New Testament emphasizes that we owe everything to God
--In 1Cor 6, Paul writes, “You are not our own. You were
bought with a price, therefore honor God with your body” --
honor God with the material things of life.
As Tony Campolo says, we don’t sing 1/10 to Jesus I
surrender, 1/10th to Him I freely give. We sing “All to
Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give.”
What about tithing? In Matthew 23:23 Jesus, himself, says,
Yes,
you should tithe. (LB) Why should we tithe? Because, “The purpose
of tithing is to teach you to always put God first in your life”
(Deut. 14:23). As we said last week, we should give to God
right
off the top. It’s a way of saying, “God you take priority
in my life.”
That's what we are doing when we take the morning offering during
worship. The tithes and offerings that we put into the
offering
plate are a demonstration that we are putting God first in our
lives. When the offering plates are brought forward and the
pastors hold them up toward the cross. we are symbolically saying to
God, “We present this offering to you, as a way of saying that
You are first in our lives; not the money, but You.” That pleases
God.
And when we give generously and cheerfully that pleases God since
generosity is one of his attributes. As John 3:16 reminds us:
“God so loved the world that he gave-- and he give His very
best-- his only begotten Son, to help men and women like you and me who
desperately need his love and mercy.
You can’t go wrong when you give! But -- as someone has said
--
If you focus only on making money, you’ll be called a materialist.
If you try to make money but don’t succeed, you’ll be called a loser.
If you make a lot and keep it, you’ll be called a miser.
If you make it and spend it, you’ll be called a spendthrift.
If you don’t care about making any, you’ll be called lazy.
If you make a lot and still have it when you die, you’ll be called a
fool—for trying to take it with you.
The only way to really win with money is to hold it loosely— be
generous with it to accomplish things of value like taking care of our
family, investing in the Lord’s work and helping those who are
poor. If you’ll do that the Lord will be pleased.
During the past two weeks, our Stewardship Committee has sent many of
you letters inviting you to make a pledge to the church for the coming
year. Let me ask you to
(1) Read the material sent out by the Stewardship Committee
(2) Consider stretching yourself. If you gave 3 percent of
your
salary this year, consider increasing it to 4 or 5 percent in the
coming year. Did you give six percent to the church, consider
increasing it to 8 percent so that you’re moving toward the 10
percent tithe.
We will have to stretch if we are going to grow in our support of the
annual budget from 33 percent to 37 percent.
And I checked that statement I made last week about the benefit of
giving in euros. If you make your gift in euros, 2/3 of your
contribution can be deducted from your French income tax
payable.
So if you give 9,000 euros, you get 6,000 deducted from your French
income tax payable. I like this French system more and more!
(3) Pray about how God wants you to respond. Ask the Lord
what He
wants you to give. Settle on a figure that brings peace to
you.
God leads us by his peace.
(4) Submit your pledge commitment on Thanksgiving Sunday,
next Sunday, Nov. 18--
Above all, we want you to be a joyful giver.
Don’t feel pressured.
Don’t give grudgingly or out of compulsion---
Remember, God loves a cheerful giver.
And that’s the kind of giver we want to
be--
We want to give in such a way that we experience joy in giving. Amen.
