All of Me

Dr. Mike Browder, Pastor

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Today I want to talk to you about giving. We have been talking about the essential elements that are a part of being a Christian. Bible study. Prayer. Small Groups. Giving is one of those important things.

Giving includes money. But it is not primarily about money. I have noticed, in my years as a pastor, that when I talk about money, the eyes of the congregation start to glaze over. Perhaps there is no other area where we work so hard to insulate ourselves, and keep the message from reaching our heart.

Today, I want to talk to you about giving. And perhaps a word about faith. I truly believe that when we really understand faith, money is not an issue.

First, I want to talk about blessings. Is there a single one of us here this morning who can say that we are not blessed? When I see people, like the villages we visited in South American, I am just in awe of the amount of physical possessions that God has allowed us to own. We have plenty of food to eat. We have nice houses. Good automobiles to drive. And think of the stuff that we never even use. Basements and garages full of junk. Closets full of clothes. And we have enough money to buy all these things that we don’t need and we never use.

Even in the worst economic times, we have much more than we need. When we pray to God to “give us our daily bread,” we are not really worried about where it is coming from. And what is ironic: we don’t even think about things like food and clothing as blessings. They are things that we take for granted.

Yes, and there are blessings so much deeper than these. There is the blessing of health. And the gift of life itself. To be a part of this world that God has made.

Also, the blessing of family and friends. To have people who truly love us, and we love them. - Can there be a greater blessing than that: to be loved?

And God loves us. The God who made the universe knows you and loves you. And Christ loves you, and he has died to give you salvation and eternal life. Think of the greatness of this love, this blessing.

Now I want to ask you this: Is your giving the giving of someone who has been blessed? Could someone look at what you give to the Lord’s work and say: This must be someone who has really been blessed. Look at the generous heart they have! And not just once in a while! Look at the continual joyous attitude they have of someone who has been blessed and who cannot wait to share that blessing with others. Does this describe you? Think about how happy you would be if it did.

Second, we give because we see the needs of others. If you belong to Jesus Christ, your life is not your own. You cannot see the need of others, you cannot hear their cry without responding. God has given us so much. And yet so many people in the world struggle with poverty and malnutrition, even in our own community. We cannot simply say that it is their own fault. Look at the children, for instance. It is certainly not the fault of the children that they are suffering.

Because of our faith in Christ, and the compassion in our hearts, we give to help others who are in need. We give because their very hurt makes us want to help.

Third: We enjoy giving because it makes a difference. We give to our church, First United Methodist Church of Hopewell, because this church makes a difference. Our lives are blessed by the worship we experience here. We enjoy the friendship of the other people in the church. We grow as Christians because we are learning more about faith and the Bible. We are reaching out to children and to the community. We are helping others through missions.

This is a great church, and we are doing a lot of wonderful things in the Lord’s name. But we cannot do these things without financial resources. And we only have the financial income that you give. Jesus said: “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” In other words, it ought to be possible to look at your checkbook and see how much God means to you.

Does your giving reflect how much this church means to you? Does it reflect how important God is in your life?

How much should we give? The Bible, since ancient times, has set down the principle of the tithe. The word tithe is an Old English word, which means 10%. In the Old Testament, the Bible says that we should set aside 10% of our income to give to the Lord. (Dt. 14:22) Every Christian should be striving to do this. Malachi 3:8 says that when we don’t give the Lord our tithes and offerings, we are actually stealing from the Lord’s portion and the Lord’s work.

Every Christian who tithes can tell you how much God has blessed them since they made this commitment. It is remarkable. And I am not sure why this is true. Maybe it is because organizing your money to tithe makes you organize your money in general. But, this much I do know: You can’t out-give God!

Actually, the New Testament goes beyond the tithe. Jesus says that we should give all that we are able to give, even beyond a tenth. Jesus gives the example of the poor widow who gave her last penny. It was all that she had. Christ told this story not because God wanted to take the poor widow’s last penny. He told the story to show how much she ended up being blessed, because she gave all that she was able to give. Today we call this “extravagant giving.” Extravagant giving for God’s sake. Extravagant means giving more than what is needed. Extravagant also means enjoying the excess that you give. The Bible says, “God loves a cheerful giver.” Actually, the word for “cheerful,” in Greek, is the same as our word “hilarious.” We might go back and translate this verse: “God loves a hilarious giver!” Extravagant giving might look a little crazy to those who don’t know God. But, those who give extravagantly to the Lord’s work, and to people in need, are insanely happy.

Are you insanely happy? Try giving extravagantly. It works wonders.

John Wesley said, “Make all you can to save all you can to give all you can.” Look at us: We are really enthusiastic about the first part. We have been stumbling on the second part. And we are really lost on the third part.

Finally, giving is an expression of our faith. Out of true love, comes a desire to give extravagantly. Do you remember when you first fell in love? You wanted to run out and buy your sweetheart all kinds of gifts, to show how much you cared. The person who truly loves the Lord, cannot wait to give to the church and to the things of Christ. Is your giving the giving of someone who really loves God?

Why do we not want to give our money to God? It is because of our love for ourselves and things other than God. So many other things that we choose to spend money on. (And we spend so much money on things that we don’t even need.) It is also a matter of trust. We say, “I have to have money to protect myself. Just look at this economy.” My friend, if you put your trust in the stock market, or even in your bank, you are never going to be happy. But, if you put your trust in Jesus Christ, you will find happiness.

And where does your money come from? Everything in this world belongs to God. We are just allowed to use it for the few years that we are here on this earth. The question is: Will you use it to the glory of the God, who gave it to us to start with? Or, will you forget the Lord, and use it all for yourself. Jesus asks this question: What will it profit you, if you gain the whole world, and lose your own soul? John Wesley said, “I don’t want to hoard even one extra penny, because I am afraid it might lure me into hell.”

Faith is so easy to talk about, but it can be so tough when it gets to your very heart. Christ wants all of you, every part of you. Remember what the Bible says: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.” In other words, Love God with ever part of your self. - This includes every part of your financial resources.

This is not easy to do. Do you remember the rich young man who came to Jesus? Jesus said, “Do you love God with all your heart and soul and strength?” The young man said, “Yes I do. And I have done it my whole life.” The Bible says that Jesus’ heart was touched by the young man at this point. And so Christ said, “You just lack this one thing. Go and give away your money. And then come and follow me.”

Do you remember what happened? The young man couldn’t do it. He couldn’t part with his money. It meant too much to him. You know, he broke Jesus’ heart. And think of what that young man missed. He could have been one of Christ’s closest followers, but his money held him back. Are you like that young man? Is your money the one thing that is keeping you from Christ?

Let today be the day that you make a new start. Let today be the day that you trust God with every part of yourself.

Many of you are old enough to remember that Big Band Song entitled “All of Me.” I want to share the words of that song with you now. But when I speak these words, I want you to think of them in the context of your giving, and your relationship to Jesus Christ. Let us use these words as a prayer, committing ourselves to the Lord.

“All of me. Lord, why not take all of me? Can’t you see that I can’t live without you? You took the part that once was my heart. Now, why not just take all of me.?”