GIVE AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN TO YOU

Jesus gave a promise, “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” (Luke‬ ‭6‬:‭38‬‬). You cannot out-give God. Now, this is not some, “name it and claim it, blab it and grab it,” prosperity gospel, that is not the true gospel at all. Scripture does not promote a, “get rich quick” scheme. 

So, what did Jesus mean? It means that we will have all we need to do all God calls us to do, and enough left over to supply our needs, (our need, not our greed). The promise is that we can exchange the coin of earth that will not last, for the currency of eternity that will abide forever!

Churches need to understand this too. Antioch was a giving church. As a newly established congregation, when they heard that circumstances would impact their mother church, Jerusalem, in a profound way, they immediately decided to send money to help the believers in Judea. 

As Jeff Iorg writes in his book, “The Case for Antioch: A Biblical Model for a Transformational Church,” one of the marks of such a church is “Generous Sacrifice,” (pp. 162-181, Kindle edition). He makes these vital points: 

1) ANTIOCH GAVE AWAY ITS MONEY, (Acts 11:27). This reveals our heart. Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” (Matt. 6:21). A church that hoards what it has discloses it cannot be trusted with more. 

2) ANTIOCH GAVE AWAY ITS LEADERS, (Acts 13:2-3). The two champions, Paul and Barnabas, who were so instrumental for the growth of the church at Antioch would be sent out as missionaries. Giving money is costly, but sacrificing leaders is more so. But, as I have heard, a church should be known more for its sending capacity than its seating capacity!

Church members need to support mission work. It does not stop there. Churches need to give sacrificially to missions.  Another statement I have heard and affirm is, “A great commitment to the Great Commission is what makes a great church.” 

GOD REQUIRES FAITHFULNESS

In Flickering Lamps, the late Henry Blackaby shared these words:

A truth I have based my ministry upon is this: If you are faithful in a little, God will give you more (Matt. 25:21, 23). God will not hold you accountable for what you do not have. But, He will make you answerable for what you did with what He gave you. What is the best way to have more? Be faithful with the little you already have! The key, of course, is faithfulness. 

In the parable of the talents, the master gave one servant five talents, another three talents, and a third servant one talent. The servants with five and three talents immediately invested what they had been given. Investing is risky; it involves uncertainty. Yet those two servants knew their master well. They understood that he despised timidity and expected growth. They invested aggressively and doubled their funds. When they showed their master what they had accomplished with the resources given to them, he declared, “Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy!” (Matt. 25:21). 

The servant who received one talent, however, took the opposite approach. He feared he might lose the only talent he had. What if something unexpected happened? Better to play it safe by burying the talent and doing nothing. His focus was on his fear of loss, rather than on hope of gain. Ironically, in trying to save what he had, he lost it. The master declared: “You evil, lazy slave!” (Matt. 25:26). The little he had was removed from him. The master then declared, “Throw this good-for-nothing slave into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 25:30). 

Every church has at least one talent. The Head of the Church has entrusted something to every congregation. The onus is on us to invest our resources in what matters to the master. At the day of accounting, there will be no rewards for having merely preserved what we have. Instead, the heroes will be those who took what their master gave them and invested it so they could earn the greatest possible return for their King. 

You will never make disciples of all nations if you only attempt what you think you can afford. This doesn’t mean you recklessly invest in every church growth fad that comes along. It does mean you let God set the agenda for your church and then you confidently obey His commands, understanding that God can well-afford to accomplish whatever He leads you to do. The crucial thing is not to attempt what you can afford, but what God can afford. What will Christ find when He returns to your church? (pp. 109-111, Kindle Edition)

WHO’S YOUR ONE? Day 17

What's in It for Me?

“One person gives freely, yet gains more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭11:24‬ ‭CSB‬‬

“In every way I’ve shown you that it is necessary to help the weak by laboring like this and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, because he said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ””
‭‭Acts‬ ‭20:35‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Generosity benefits the giver and the receiver. It is paradoxical for the Bible to assert that the more we give, the more we gain, since our hearts incline us to hoard instead of give. In Christ, we have been given a treasure in the form of good news (2 Corinthians 4:7), and there is much to gain in sharing this news with others. When we are generous with the gospel message which has been entrusted to us, it is not only for the recipient’s benefit. When we generously share the gospel with our one, we gain something too, be it in the form of intimacy with the Lord, the joy of being used by Him or a reminder for ourselves in our very words about how precious this news really is.

As you share the gospel this week, remember the message you are sharing is for the recipient, but it’s also for you, too. For it is truly “more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). (From “Who’s Your One?” Devotional, NAMB)

DECLARING THE GOODNESS OF GOD

“Oh, how great is Your goodness...!” (Ps.31:19a). David declares the goodness of God—and we should too!  Here are some ways we may:
 
• Express Gratitude—Praise Him for His goodness!  Give voice in worship, for God is worthy of our praise.

• Exclude Grumbling—This is a sin against His goodness!  God takes this seriously.  Israel was judged and a generation of grumblers died in the wilderness. Don’t be like that. It is an affront to a good God.

• Exercise Faith—You can trust Him for He is good.  Do we believe it?

• Embrace Grace—Stop trying to earn His goodness.  God will not be indebted to you.  He is good because it is His nature to be good.  We are bad because it is our nature to be bad. That is what makes God doing good to us to arise from the glory of His grace!

• Exhibit Goodness—We are never more like God than when we do good.

“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matt.‭5:44-45‬).

This is why God loves a cheerful giver!  We are reflecting Him!  God’s goodness is to be a focus of my life.

JESUS MAKES THE DIFFERENCE

When is a door not a door?  When it’s ajar!  I know that’s corny, but it makes an important point. The Christian is not just someone who tries stopping certain behaviors, but, by the grace of God, becomes different than they were.  The Apostle Paul speaks to this in Ephesians 4.  Of course, he tells us to stop sinning against our fellowman, but more—to start serving our fellowman.

Paul, the champion of grace, reminds us of the place of our works.  We are not saved because of what we do, but there are things we don’t do and actions that we do because we are saved. “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.” (v.28‬)

When is a thief not a thief?  When they become a productive member of society.  It isn’t enough to stop taking—though we must.  We are to also start giving. Bonnie and Clyde were notorious bank robbers, yet they didn’t steal 24 hours a day.  But, neither were they contributing to the good of others.  The Christian life runs on two tracks—a negative and positive—if it isn’t to be derailed.  We must stop taking from others in selfishness and start contributing to others in selflessness.

Not only are our works important, so are our words.  “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” (v.29‬). Words are powerful.  They can hurt or they can heal.  We are not to carelessly tear down others, but to carefully build up others by our speech.  We can choose corrupt or constrictive language.  Whatever is in the well of our heart will be brought up by the bucket of our mouth. If there is grace in our soul, then there will be grace in our speech.

God deliver us from sin and direct us into sanctification!  Take away the old and put in the new, Lord!  Do you know what that is?  Repentance. We turn from wickedness and turn to righteousness. Christ makes a difference!

INVESTING IN ETERNITY

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  (Matthew 6:19-21 NKJV)

Right now the stock market is in record territory, rising like a rocket.  The thing about rockets, however, is they can come down just as fast—with a crash at the end.  Let me tell you where you need to invest—in eternity!  The things of God will endure when all that is of this world passes away.  While it is true that we can’t take it with us, we can send it on ahead to a place where it is safe.  On earth, designer clothes can be moth-eaten, fancy cars will rust, and extravagant homes may be plundered by thieves.  No worries about that in heaven!  You are guaranteed an abundant return on your investment!

The month of November will feature a series of Biblical messages to challenge us in this area.  By far, the most significant investment we can make is on FRIEND DAY, November 5.  Invite some friends to join you at Pole Creek where they will hear a special Gospel message on “Life’s Most Important Question.”

On November 12, we will consider “The Stewardship Challenge.”  God challenges us to “prove” Him.  Did you know this is the only area where God invites us to put Him to the test?

November 19 presents “The Stewardship Choice.”  We have a choice about how we invest in what God gives to us.  What we have is not ours, but His and we will be accountable for how we choose to invest it.

The series concludes on November 26 with “The Stewardship Commitment.”  The commitment we make needs to be plentiful, purposeful, and productive.  We will ask God to guide us in our giving commitment for the next year.

Thank you for being such a generous church!  The Lord has blessed us with a big-hearted congregation.  It is a privilege to serve you!

Blessings,

Pastor Dennis  

THE HOUSE PAYMENT

Then all the leaders and all the people rejoiced, brought their contributions, and put them into the chest until all had given.  (2 Chronicles 24:10)

Some wonderful things happen at our house.  But there is a price—time, effort, and money are required. There are wonderful things that happen in the house of God at the house of God, but there is a house payment to make. We see this illustrated in 2 Chronicles 24.

We note THE PERSON JEHOVAH USED (v.1-3).  Joash was a young man thrust into a tremendous responsibility. The youth had a godly mentor in Jehoiada the priest.  He gave direction and support to the king. Joash owed his very life to the priest.  Joash had a grandmother named Athaliah.  When Her son, King Ahaziah died, this wicked woman greedily grabbed for power.  She had all the royal heirs put to death.  Imagine a woman so maniacal that she would kill her own grandchildren, so she could be queen!  But, the priest, Jehoiada, and his wife, rescued baby Joash and hid him six years. Chapter 23 tells how Athaliah was overthrown and Joash brought to the throne.  God had a plan for Joash.  God has a plan for you.  You’re not here by accident, but appointment.  God uses people. If your church moves forward in faith, it will be because you respond in obedience.  One person can make a great difference.

Next, we see THE PROBLEM JOASH UNCOVERED (v.4).  Athaliah was the daughter of Jezebel. During the reigns of Athaliah and her son Ahaziah, the pagan pollution of Jezebel permeated the land. As a result, the worship of God declined and the house of God deteriorated. Now Joash is moved to repair the house of God.  Our support of the ministries of our church indicates a lot about our heart. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is there will your heart be also.”  Many want to enjoy the blessings of the house of God without contributing to its support.  You are experiencing all the wonderful ministries that at the church.  Now the house payment has to be made!

Here was THE PLAN JUDAH UTILIZED (v.5-14).  The people of God were challenged by their spiritual leaders (v.5a).  Some people don’t want the preacher mentioning money.  They say they are tired of hearing about money.  I’m sorry, but it’s my responsibility to tell you. They were to challenge all the people to contribute something—from the poorest to the richest, the youngest to the oldest—everyone was to come together and have a part (v.5b).  Every member can and should do something.  There was an urgency (v.5c,6).  It is instructive that the temple was called “the tabernacle of witness” (v.6).  We can witness to the depth of our commitment to the Lord to our children, grandchildren, and generations to come.  We can testify to a dying world that we have a living church.  Sadly, many take that which belongs to God and give to Baal (v.7).  We choose to worship God or mammon—we cannot do both.  The chest of Joash was put in place (v.8-9).  The people gave cheerfully and abundantly (v.10-11).  The workmen were paid and God was glorified (v.12-14).  This is the Bible plan God gives us.

Sometimes we need a challenge.  As we come to the end of the year at Pole Creek, one of members has committed to give $15,000 for the ongoing mission and ministries of our church.  They are challenging the rest of us to match that—dollar for dollar above our other gifts.  May we respond joyfully!

PARTNERSHIP IN MISSION

 

Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had offered willingly to the LORD….  (1 Chronicles 29:9b)

God does not need us, but we surely need Him.  Yet, in His grace, He invites us into partnership with Him to accomplish His mission in the world.  Remember this formula, “Apart from God, we cannot, but apart from us, God will not.”  He has invited the people of God to join Him in His work.  God does not need our money, but we need to give.  There are a few final lessons from 1 Chronicles 29 that challenge us to partner with God and each other in mission.

Partnership with God and fellow believers requires DECISIVE ACTION (v.2-3).  David made a commitment.  He made a promise and followed through.  I can wish and hope and intend all I want to, but until I make a commitment I will accomplish little.

Not only does this partnership require decisive action, it takes DEDICATED UNION (v.4-8).  The Scripture says, “whoever had…gave…”  The work was too big for even a king or the leaders—it took all of the people together to prepare for the building of the temple.  Do we have a God-sized task that we have embraced?  Most of us are content with walking on molehills when God has mountaintop experiences for us.  I can climb a hill by myself.  To scale Everest requires partners.  Every member is important. Tenzing Norgay, who reached the summit of Mount Everest with Edmund Hillary in 1953 said: “You do not climb a mountain like Everest by trying to race ahead on your own, or by competing with your comrades. You do it slowly and carefully, by unselfish teamwork.  We could never have made it alone.  We needed a great team.”  That is what the work of God requires.

This in turn will lead to DELIGHTFUL CELEBRATION  (v.9)    The people and their king “rejoiced greatly….”  When we honor God by faith and obedience, we see the hand of God move in mighty ways.  Then we respond in worship!  The church will be filled with glad givers.

I’ll never forget an overcast Sunday when my parents decided to go out to eat with some friends after worship.  I wanted to go home and watch football.  I had no interest in sitting around with a bunch of old church folks listening to them gab.  So I pitched a fit, begged, and then pouted all the way from Black Mountain to Marion.  When we pulled in the parking lot, I announced stubbornly that I wasn’t hungry and didn’t want anything.  So, my father let me have my way.  They went in, ate a good meal, laughed and enjoyed their friends, while I was cold, bored out of my mind, and hungry in the car.  It seemed like eternity.  Somewhere along the way I became very sorry, but it was too late.  I missed my opportunity.  It is tragic that God has abundant life for His children and we settle for far less because we want our way rather than God’s will.

By the way, there is more to the story.  They did bring me some leftovers.  I was a rebellious son, yet still their son.  I didn’t get what I could have.  All I got was scraps.  It was a missed opportunity.  Some of us are going to get into heaven that way.  We are God’s children—truly saved—yet insisting on our own way and we miss out on the opportunity for partnership with God and His people.

THE GLADNESS OF GIVING

 

So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.  (2 Corinthians 9:7)

“Give till it hurts!”  That is the advice we often hear.  But, if we stop at that level of giving, we haven’t given enough.  We need to give until it feels good!  That’s what Paul is encouraging us to do.  In chapter eight of Second Corinthians there is a grace and a glory in giving.  Now, in chapter nine, the Apostle informs us there is a gladness in giving.  Grace is the exhibition of God’s power.  Glory is the experience of God’s presence.  Gladness is the expression of God’s praise.  That is why we gather on the Lord’s Day—for the purpose of worshipping our worthy Lord.  Our giving is an essential way that we express our worship to God. 

God is as much concerned with why we give as what we give.  Our attitude matters as much as the amount.  Underscore that last phrase in verse five, “as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation.”  The story is told about Billy Graham visiting a church service years ago.  It came time for the offering and he reached in his wallet and pulled out what he thought was a twenty dollar bill.  When he looked down, he saw he had taken out a hundred by mistake.  He fidgeted.  He knew people were watching.  What could he do?  He reluctantly tossed it in the plate.  His wife Ruth, knowing his intent and seeing him squirm, leaned over and whispered, “You only get credit for a twenty!”  Our motives matter to God.  God wants gladness.

Paul bragged on them for their desire to minister to others through giving (v.1-2).  People who are concerned for others buy Bibles, support missionaries and broadcast the Gospel.  It should make you glad to know that your giving is touching a world with love! 

Paul exhorted them to keep their promise (v.3-5).  They had committed to giving and now he expected them to honor that commitment.  We are committed to the bank, the car company, the grocery store, the electric company, the phone company, the insurance company, and on and on.  How committed are we to God’s work? 

Verse six reminds us of the law of the harvest: if you want a bumper crop then you best sow bountiful seed.  Jesus said, “Give and it shall be given you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give unto your bosom.”  If you are stingy in giving, then God will be slight in blessings.  If you are generous in giving, then God will be generous with grace.  

Don’t you want to be the kind of giver that God loves?  Then do it cheerfully (v.7)!  What would you think if one Sunday, the preacher announced, “You’ve given so much we really don’t need anymore.”  Then, we posted the ushers to hide the offering plates so no one could give!  Far-fetched?  That’s what happened in the collection to build the tabernacle during the days of Moses.  Read about it in Exodus 36:3-7. 

God ministers to us and through us as we gladly give (v.8-15).  God will provide whatever He puts in our heart to give.  Every need that arises is simply God inviting us to trust Him for Divine resources.  The giving of the Corinthians resulted in praise to God.  May God make us glad givers!

HEAVENLY HARMONY

 

Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.  (Acts 4:32)

Have you heard an orchestra warming up before a concert?  It is the most horrendous sound.  There is no rhythm, no tune—just noise.  Everyone is doing his or her own thing in a kind of musical anarchy.  When the conductor steps up and raps the baton, everything changes—as the percussion, woodwinds, strings, and brass blend in beautiful harmony.  God has designed the church with diversity—some are cello players, others hold cymbals, and some clarinets, yet in following our Great Conductor, and reading from the same sheet of music—the Word of God—there will be heavenly harmony.  Sadly, many churches are more like the orchestra warming up with awful, discordant notes!  We discover the difference in the latter portion of Acts chapter four.

Harmony comes in PRAYER (v.31).  Something happens when people bind themselves together in a chorus of corporate prayer.  The church was birthed in prayer at Pentecost, and now we see them bound in prayer here.  Likewise, the glory of God came down, and His power was manifested in a remarkable manner.  The filling of the Spirit was evident, and their witness to Christ was courageous.  How we need such a move of God today!  Until God’s people unite their voices in prayer, the church will lack power.

Harmony is nurtured in PURPOSE (v.32).  We move forward together when we focus on a common goal.  They shared a common faith—their shared belief in Christ united them in the same family, and their shared beliefs in conviction united them in the same faith.  They had a complete fellowship—their hearts knit together in grace and generosity.

Harmony yields a credible PROCLAMATION (v.33).  The Great Commission was their assignment and they refused to be sidetracked.  Any church that permits the Devil to detour them from evangelism and discipleship will soon find itself in the quagmire of division over lesser things.  A congregation hot after lost souls has no time to get hot with each other in anger.  Such will be a great church for they have tapped into great grace!

Harmony leads to sharing POSSESSIONS (v.34-37).  Talk is cheap.  If we love someone, we will put our money where our mouth is!  They laid their possessions at the feet of God’s men, signifying their submission to God’s will and dedication in God’s worship.  Our giving ought never to be an afterthought, but an act of adoration.  It involves worship.  They gave all.  While God may not call us to share everything we have, He does call us to surrender all we have.  The needs of others are met when we do.  One of us cannot fund the missions and ministries of the church, but pooled together we can do all God wants.

If we are not in harmony with our fellow believers, we are not in harmony with God.  Let us look to the Conductor, get on the same page, and make music that will wow the world!

GIVING TO GAIN

 

There is one who scatters, yet increases more;

And there is one who withholds more than is right,

But it leads to poverty.  (Proverbs 11:24)

There are many paradoxes in Scripture.  In the precepts of God’s Kingdom, the way to live is to die; if we want to rise up to lead, we must stoop down to serve; if we want to have all things secure in Heaven, we must give up all things to God on earth.  We give to gain!

Such principles are contrary to the natural man’s thinking.  “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”  (1 Cor.2:14)  It requires spiritual perception to comprehend these truths.  The world has turned God’s ways upside down, while the Word will turn our thinking right-side up!

This world system has the idea that satisfaction is found in stuff—and the more stuff you can stuff in and stuff away, the more stuffed you will be—and content.  But, that is never the case.  The more you have the more you worry about keeping and no matter how much you have you want more.  The source of true contentment is to place what rightfully belongs to God in His omnipotent hands to be cared for and disbursed according to His omniscient mind—and all guided by His righteous and loving heart!

“And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”  (Acts 20:35b)  The greatest gain is not getting, but giving.  That which we selfishly clutch is wasted and gone, but that which we selflessly release is invested and preserved.  In giving, the coin of this temporal realm is exchanged for the currency of the eternal Kingdom.

There is nothing that we have that we have not received from the gracious hand of God through Christ.  “And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.”  (John 1:16)  We need to acknowledge with Job, “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD.”  (Job 1:21b)  The blessings of the Lord are many, and we deserve none of them.  Should He reach out His hand and say, “Give me that,” it is His right to claim.  Christ commanded, “Freely you have received, freely give.”  (Matt.10:8b)

May God take the gift of life and all it encompasses—that which He has given me—and now may I yield it all back to Him.  I have been given these blessings in order to be a blessing—my time, my talent, my treasure, my testimony, the truth—really all His to share with others.  Thank you, Lord, for the privilege. “Blessed be the name of the Lord!”