“How Should I Honour You with This, Jesus”

In the past three weeks we’ve been talking about our calling and how our connection with Christ puts our lives on a higher level.  We approach our tasks with the spirit of, “Let this task be lived for you, Jesus.” We’ve talked about how it affects our relationships as we ask, “What does love look like now, Jesus?” But our resources also play a big part in our calling as we pray, “How should I honour you with this, Jesus?” Whether we like it or not, money plays a big role in everything we do in life – including our tasks and relationships. No matter where we turn we are confronted with issues and decisions about money. The problem comes in when people make it look like life is all about money and our purchases.  But Apostle Paul set the focus when he says, “But for me to live is Christ.” That is true in my daily resources – a topic that is very frequently found in Scripture. Listen to what he says to us in 1 Timothy 6:13-19
God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see.  To him be honor and might forever. Amen.  Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.  Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.  In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”

Sometimes we forget who we are and what this is all about, don’t we?  We work hard and play hard as if life is all about us and all about this world.  But it isn’t about us and it isn’t finally about this world. That becomes excitingly clear the more you get to know your God.  He is the Ruler – the only Ruler – of all things; the King of kings and Lord of lords.  There is no power on earth that comes close to him. He is so untouchable in his full glory that no one in our sinful state could see him and live. In his hands is the power to destroy or to raise us to heights never experienced before.  If he is who he is –Jahweh, the God of consistent love toward us – our lives should be consumed with him and continually aimed toward him.  But are they?  Even at Jesus’ time, one of the biggest traps for people and their faith was money and possessions. Loving it was the root of all kinds of evil and pierced people with many griefs.  Wanting to become rich became a trap that plunged people into ruin and destruction. (1 Timothy 6:6-10).  That distracting pattern continues today, doesn’t it?  How many of us get trapped in a revolving lifestyle of trying to keep up with others but not able to afford it?  How many of us get trapped in the obsession of buying to make us feel happy?  How many have resorted to cheating or quietly stealing because their hearts yearn for something they cannot have?  The love for money corrodes the heart and takes away real life instead of giving it!  Jesus said, “You cannot serve God and money.” (Luke 16:11-13, Matt. 6:19-21).  It is impossible to have your heart pursue both.  What we love is shaped by what we consider our treasure.  You see, money is more than a financial issue.   It is a spiritual one.  You might want to look at your bank and credit card statements as theological documents!   They may tell you who and what you worship.  Money has a way of becoming a god-like force in our lives that rules us - a genuine rival to God.   God can put up with a lot from us, but he will not allow a rival for our love and trust.

Paul talks to those who are rich in this present world and warns them “not to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”( 1 Timothy 6:17)   But you don’t think he is talking to you because you’re not feeling rich – you don’t live in a mansion or drive a Rolls Royce?   But how do you measure wealth?   Did you know that if you make more than $1,500 a year, you are richer than 75% of the world’s 6+ billion people?   Let me say it again.  Did you know that if you make more than $1,500 a year (that’s less than $30 per week), you are richer than 75% of the world’s 6+ billion people!  (check updates on www.globalrichlist.com)   Do you realize that the things you think you must have – like cable TV, microwaves, one car for each driver, a cell phone, going out to eat several times a week, air-conditioning, airplane trips, cruises and so much more… were considered outlandish luxuries two generations ago?  So why don’t we feel rich?  Why are we so discontented and stressed?  What has happened to us?   So often we act as if life is just around the corner and we hurry to get there. We end up putting our hopes in getting just a little more before we can feel satisfied, rather than finding contentment in what we have.

The extremely rich John D. Rockefeller Sr. was asked how much money it takes to make a man happy, he said, “Just a little bit more.” Then after he died someone asked, “How much did he leave behind?”  Someone answered, “All of it.”  If you put your hope in wealth, you soon realize how uncertain it is and how quickly you can be separated from it.  It rusts away, is stolen, hit by disaster or just loses its appeal after we have it a while.

But you already have an unshakeable hope – a sure anchor in your life.  You have a God who loves you and works out your life according to his good purposes.  Even though he is the unapproachable God whom no one can see and live, he approaches us.  He sent his Son to step into our world and take on this whole issue – to free us from the aimless pursuit of meaningless living.  But even more so, he stood as a mediator between us and the immortal, unapproachable God – taking on the full punishment for all the times we’ve follow rival gods in our lives. He is the one whom God punished for our selfishness – that attitude that thinks of us and our comfort first and complains when things do go our way. He was put on the cross to rescue us from God’s anger and pay the debt of our sin so we wouldn’t be cast into the fires of hell itself.  He made the unapproachable God – daily approachable for us (Heb 10:19-22).  So when you live in Jesus – you have a grand future – a hope to which he has called you. (Eph 1:18).  That is far superior and longer lasting than anything the world advertises.

This God is so great that he calls us to be his own and live under him in his kingdom.  Already in our baptism he claimed us for himself, enveloped us with his love and involved us in his purposes.  He calls us to be his children under his care – where Paul found contentment whether in times of riches or moments of poverty.  God calls us to be his priests to let the world know how great he is. That encompasses our whole life – everything we are and have. Romans 14:7-8 “For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone.  If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord.  So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”  The call from God costs us every allegiance that competes with Jesus and every practice that contradicts his lordship.  So Jesus said, “You cannot serve God and money.” (Luke 16:11-13, Mt. 6:19-21). 

Does that mean having money is bad?  No.  Paul isn’t advocating we have to create a life of poverty or feel guilty when his blessings to you happen to be financial.  Paul says to Timothy that he should let people know that “God richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”  He wants to have us enjoy life and whatever gifts of his grace he puts there. But it comes down to a matter of the heart.  Are you honouring God with your use of it? You can’t serve God and money, but you must learn to serve God with your money. “Command them to do good,” Paul says, “to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.”  Unfortunately materialism today has become to generosity what kryptonite is to Superman.  Our drive to satisfy, to keep up…to live in comfort – can drain our life in Christ and the generosity that would naturally flow from it. Ask yourself, does generosity shout loudly in your lifestyle? If not, what is strangling your generosity? Is it the worry of an overwhelming credit card debt?  Well, let’s determine to help each other get rid of it with an aggressive plan and be free for Christ.  Is it an overly tight hand on your finances feeling an excessive need for security?  Well, let’s loosen the hands and put our trust in God.  Is it your feverish pursuit of recreation or pleasure?  Let’s determine to find ultimate pleasure in the tasks and relationships in our calling!

Now, more than ever, the world needs to see our real commitment.  Now, more than ever, we need the antidote to selfish living!  Generosity begins with honouring the unapproachable God who dared to step in our world and lets us now share his.  We have the regular opportunity to do that in our offerings.  Proverb’s wisdom says “Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing.”  (Proverbs 3:9)   How do you honour the Lord?  What about your faithful commitment in your giving?  Ask “How Should I Honour You with This, Jesus?”
 
Let your giving be:

• Priority – God is given honour when you return to God off the top of what he has given you – before your bills and purchases – determining your lifestyle choices off the rest.  Show he is of first significance in your life and it will focus your other priorities too.
• Planned – God is honoured when you decide ahead of time what you will be returning to him regularly rather than being unprepared.  Even our human relationships recognize the honour of someone thinking enough about you to plan ahead a special gift for you.
• Percentage – God is honoured when what you return to him in offerings represents the level of gifts he’s given you.  When you review all the income and blessings he entrusts to you, honour him with a significant percentage that shows him your respect and trust.  If you need a goal, consider 10% as a benchmark but not a stopping point. Start now!!

And when you’ve gotten that down…let your giving excel to the level of …

• Generous – Honour God by imitating him with a generosity that celebrates all the great things he has done or that responds to crying needs.  Honour God by accepting these challenges and promises: “Whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (2 Corinthians 9:6). Or this promise, “Bring the whole  tithe into the storehouse…Test me in this, “says the LORD Almighty, “as see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that  you will not have room enough for it” (Malachi 3:10-11).

Honour me, the Lord says, and I will honor you.  Friends, let’s get serious about this and repent where we have robbed him. Consider your offerings being 10% as the challenging starting blocks to show you are living for the only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords.  I’ve have never met anyone yet who has regretted doing so!  It isn’t the only thing, but our offerings to the Lord are an important step to orient the rest of our lives.  If something is in the way of that for now – unwieldy expenses or debt we’ve acquired, make it a priority to ask God for the strength and wisdom to change you and your situation.

But the life of generosity goes far beyond our offerings.  Paul tells us that the God who richly provides us with everything is honoured by a life rich in good deeds and a willingness to share. This is all a part of our calling and our worship.  He gives us the resources to do his will and touch the lives he wants touched through us.  You see it in the early Christian Church in Acts 2 and 4. When someone fell on bad times, fellow Christians would sell some of their assets, like land, so they would have more to share with those in need.  In 2 Corinthians 8-9 Paul describes the hearts of generosity that responded to the Jewish Christians that were suffering financial distress. “We want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches,” Paul writes, “Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.  For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability.  Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.  And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will” (2 Corinthians 8:1-5).  When you see the needs of others, ask “How Should I Honour You with This, Jesus”  What an energizing and encouraging thing it is to see this evident among us too as – <use your own example if possible> – our fellow Christians around the globe responded to disasters like hurricane Katrina with outstanding, unsolicited gifts of around $2 million.  What a testimony to God’s grace to see individuals give sacrificially to <a need or cause>. What valuable resource in your life would you give up so you could worship the Lord through extravagant generosity?  And don’t worry about what you are losing.  Think of what you are gaining when you trust God and fulfill his purposes.  “Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. (2 Corinthians 9:9-11).

“For me to Live is Christ,” has a lot to do with your money and not being sloppy in your use of it.  When you make your purchases, ask, “How Should I Honour You with This, Jesus?” He has put these in your hands as resources to accomplish his purposes for you on the earth – in your task and relationship – as individuals and as a church.  Because of the challenges before us – in our congregation, our synod and our world we can’t afford fuzzy thinking and half-hearted living.  We can’t afford to be sucked into listening to the world’s advice.  Something as simple as your careful management of your money is the preparation needed to position yourself to do good to those God will put into your path and accomplish the mission he has given you.   Os Guiness put it this way, “Are you looking for a purpose big enough to absorb every ounce of your attention, deep enough to plumb every mystery of your passions, and lasting enough to inspire your last breath?”  It is here – in the great commission.  “Go and make disciples”   It is here in the work we do together and personally as the Church in the world to make Jesus known. When we pray, “thy kingdom come” we are also asking that we become a part of that.   Will you take up the challenge to see your resources accomplish his mission??

As long as we hold on to our own life, we struggle.  As you let the Holy Spirit touch your life through the message of Jesus he makes powerful changes!  Unless you let go of yourself and put your life into God’s hands, you will not know what he is talking about!  There he frees us from the anxiety and distraction of money.   He frees us to live our lives generously for his purposes.  Examine your life and its purpose.  Ask yourself, “Who am I?  Why am I here? Am I fulfilling a purpose greater than myself?”  “For me to live is Christ” – is our cause.  It is our challenge. It is our commitment – because we were his cause, his commitment of love to empower us with life that it truly life!

Be rich in good deeds, and be generous and willing to share, Paul says, In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”  Let’s take hold of that life!  If our calling is to make an impact on the world in our tasks and relationships it is also to make an impact with our resources.  Use this week to assess the way you approach your finances so that your life is lived for Christ.  Get serious about it and with all your resources ask, “How Should I Honour You with This, Jesus.” Make a commitment to increase your faithfulness with your resources. Experience the lasting joy and impact it will have on you and so many others.  1 Timothy 6:13-19 – to God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords... be honor and might forever.
Amen.