Sunday Nov 11, 2012 Sermon 2Cor. 9:1-10, Acts 2:43-47
Prayer:
Dustin immediately became my Smarties hero. He peeled out a piece with a smile and handed it over gladly. This was surprising enough, but at that moment, something happened in this little boy's heart. From that day on, for the next two years, every time Dustin got a pack of Smarties, he took out the first one and set it aside for me. Every Sunday, Dustin would track me down at church and generously offer me one or more Smarties. He did it gladly, with a smile, as if he enjoyed it.
Sometimes Dustin would open a pack of Smarties during the week, but he would still save me the first round, sugary, chalky tablet in his pocket. By the time Sunday came, the Smarty was a little mangy and would have lint and other pocket paraphernalia stuck to it, but he never forgot to bring it for me. In those cases, I thanked him and put it in my pocket so I could enjoy it later.
Dustin loved Smarties. He also loved his pastor. Every week before worship started, Dustin and I shared a time of communion. Jesus was present as we shared a few moments of conversation and partook of some Smarties together.
Somewhere along the way, Dustin's mother pointed out that the packs of Smarties she bought for him had ten pieces, and she saw this weekly ritual as Dustin's introduction to tithing. What I saw was a little boy who loved to share and who understood the power of generosity. Since that time, I have asked myself many times, How and I doing with my Smarties?
We’ve spent the past couple of weeks reflecting on the
acronym “GIFT”
“Generosity In Faith Together”
I believe the key word in this acronym is the word “TOGETHER.”
If you think about it… very little happens w/o the help of others.
Our Acts 2 reading describes that all the Lord’s followers
came together for a common purpose.
Together… they and we share community.
Together…
ministry happens.
Together…God blesses with
abundance.
Together… we are working on shared
values.
Together… we will develop a shared
mission in the community.
Together… we will help each other
live out the ways of Jesus.
Together… we respond Generously to
the Gifts God has given us.
Together… our Generosity reflects
our relationship with God.
The Apostle Paul tells us in vs 7 …”Each of us must make up
our minds about how much we give.” Which leads to 3 spiritual questions before
us on how God is calling us to be generous together?
Is God calling me to Tithe my income?
You may ask, what is
a Tithe? The tithe idea comes from the OT… meaning “To give a tenth”
Deuteronomy 14:22… Set
apart a tithe of all the yield of your seed that is brought in yearly from the
field to give to the Lord.
Simply… it means to
give the 10% of your income back to God.
Maybe you’ve been growing in your faith & discipleship and you’ve made
incremental steps towards tithing and now you believe God is calling you to
make the commitment to give a Tenth or 10% of your income as a response to
God’s abundant blessing and grace. If
you are at the place where you believe God is calling you to do this… I
encourage you to take this step of faith.
Is God calling me to Give 10% Someday?
Many of us are here
and this is ok. You are growing in faith & discipleship, but you’re not
ready to give 10% this year. But I’m going to move up a step from where I was….
From 3% to 4%... 5% to 6% and so on. You are growing in faith and now I’m going
to respond to God’s Gifts and grace by moving up one step in faith.
Is God calling me to Give More than 10%
A Forbes Magazine
article told the story of Hugh & Nancy McFarland who had been giving away
70% of their income for 18 years since Hugh was 39. He says, “Giving away 70%
of my income was easy. It’s fun to give money away. The challenge is living on
30%, but we did it and have been blessed more than we could have imagined.”
Maybe you’ve been
tithing for years. God has blessed you richly. You’ve grown in your
discipleship & faith. Now as a response to God blessings I’m going to give
more. Maybe God is calling me to give 12%...15%... maybe 20% or more. God has
given me more than I could have ever imagined and now it is time to share more
of those blessings. I will live in faith and give more this year.
Let’s keep this in
mind. Being generous is not some esoteric function that we do. We are not
generous because a building… or a particular program… or ministry. If your
giving just to a building… don’t give. We will always need money, you should be
giving from the heart. Generosity is a matter of the heart. Generosity is
really a spiritual matter… remember my
Seminary
professor Mark Powell in his book titled “Giving to God” says, “We are not
asked to place money in the collection plate because the church needs the
money, but because of our need to give as an act of devotion.
We are generous out
of our gratitude and relationship to God.
We are Generous in
Faith Together.
Closing:
Together… we grow in Discipleship
& Faith.
Together… we grow in God’s Grace.
Together… we grow in our Generosity.
Together…
God is calling us to be Generous.
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