I m going out on a limb this morning. I bet you re looking. for a good reason to give. You would love to have a motivation

Transcription

1 I m going out on a limb this morning. I bet you re looking for a good reason to give. You would love to have a motivation you couldn t argue with, a truth so compelling it would transform your heart. Generous gifts would flow out of you gladly and naturally. Many of us already give faithfully. That s an indisputable fact we ought to celebrate. But we re weary of obligation, tired of dry duty. We would love to offer our gifts with thanksgiving. Is there a sentence out there that can grab our hearts and fill our giving with joy? II Corinthians 8:9 is about as close as it gets. For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty we might become rich. Out of indescribable love, Christ gave up everything to be with us. And as much as we may forget it, because of his generosity, we are rich. Christ has made us immeasurably wealthy in all the ways that matter. If we knew how wealthy, we would be weeping in the aisles. Perhaps the best way to rediscover our wealth in Christ is to take away all of it. We forget what a gift running water is until the water main breaks. So let s break the main on purpose to reacquaint ourselves with the treasure we have in Jesus Christ. Imagine what our days would be like without forgiveness; every disobedience, each unkind thought, all of our violations

2 piling up with nowhere to go, and the judgment of God laying heavy on our shoulders. What if we could not sing, Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a sinner like me? Many years ago, Paul Tillich preached a famous sermon entitled, You are Accepted. Tillich preached that God in Christ had brought us the relief of acceptability. While we know ourselves as unacceptable and in many ways the culture judges us unacceptable, God has acted in Jesus to receive us as we are and pronounce God s blessing upon us. Our fear of rejection has been forever removed. But what if Jesus held onto his glory? What if he refused to give up his divine status and therefore never condescended to wrap us in the accepting love of God? Imagine walking this earth condemned, never knowing a breath of peace. That s almost too much for me to take. Someone please turn the water back on. Jesus came not only to forgive us, but also to face our largest enemy: death. It s never easy for us to face death, but it would be even more difficult without Jesus whispering in our ears. Jesus said: Behold I died, but now I am alive again because I live, you will live, also. He also said: those that drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty again. The water I will give them will become a spring of water gushing up to eternal life. Yes, Jesus was crucified, he died and was buried. But on the

3 third day, God raised him from the dead so that death no longer has dominion over him. And because we belong to him, death no longer has dominion over us. What would we say at the graveside of our loved ones if the Son had held onto his equality with God and failed to burst open the tomb? How would we face our own aging and decline without being crushed by despair? But as it is, Christ Jesus gave up his position of privilege with God the Father to enter our condition so that in our condition we might receive the gift of eternity. That promise now saturates our lives with hope. And what would we do without his church? I suppose we could live without this particular congregation, although we are extremely blessed to call this community home. Without this place we might survive, but not without a community of faith somewhere through which we could receive Christ s immeasurable gifts. Think with me about the riches given to you through the church: prayers on a Sunday morning that have given voice to your deepest needs; sermons that brought clarity to your life, helped you get over the hump or turned your heart back to God. Count up the anthems, offertories and hymns that have inspired you, the friendships that have sustained you through turmoil and loss, the good work that gave you purpose when you needed it. Without Christ giving up his lofty seat to gather his people, there would be

4 no church to bring you in, love you to pieces and send you out with a song and a mission. Jesus has given us profound gifts we haven t received anywhere else. And we ve only named a few. Not only does he forgive, he empowers us to forgive others. Not only does he promise eternal life, but he gives fullness of life now. Yes, he has given us a place to belong, but he also has made us welcomiing to the lost, the troubled and the afraid. The list could go on and on. A full audit of our wealth is impossible. Even the Bible runs out of words trying to grasp the height, the width and depth of God s gift in Christ. Finally, the authors put down their pens and stain the papyrus with their tears. It s one thing to give generously and remain wealthy. God bless philanthropists who share their wealth with the needy world. However, most if not all, don t go broke doing it. Christ, on the other hand, gathered up all that was his, and let it go. Not counting equality with God something to cling to, he emptied himself, Philippians says, into human form. And in his coming, serving, living, dying and living again, who has become rich?...that s right As the magnitude of Christ s generosity works its way into us, we become generous. It s impossible to know what Christ has done for us in our deepest selves and to remain unchanged. His generosity begets our generosity, and fills our giving with joy.

5 The Macedonians Christians certainly were changed. You may have noticed in our reading that Paul was in the middle of a fundraising campaign. He was overseeing a collection for believers in Jerusalem, many of whom were ostracized from the culture and kicked out of their families once they professed faith in Jesus Christ. Unable in some cases to work and support themselves, the poor, nascent community needed help. And Paul made a point to encourage congregations in the Gentile world to start a collection for the suffering saints in Jerusalem. However, the Macedonian believers weren t much better off. Even though they insisted on sharing in the relief of their brothers and sisters across the sea, they also came from very poor circumstances, a severe ordeal of affliction, as Paul described it. So Paul wasn t expecting a big offering from them. Paul couldn t have been more mistaken. The generosity of the Macedonians knocked him off his heals. We don t have a grand total for their offering. We have Paul s assessment on what the offering indicated, which is more valuable. Because of God s generous gift to them in Christ Jesus, the Macedonians couldn t help it. They gave themselves back to God. Their hearts were changed, and so was their perspective. How could they think of themselves as poor? They were rich in all they ways that mattered

6 most, and out of their wealth, they happily and eagerly gave to the church in Jerusalem. Are we rich? The more convinced we become of God s love for us in Jesus, the surer we will become of our wealth. And the surer we are of our wealth, the more generous we will become. Such generosity born in the heart won t be driven only by obligation. It will wear the glad face of joy. It will know that whatever we give we can t be poorer because there is no end to our wealth in Jesus Christ. I know during stewardship season it s tempting to think that we are making pledges to the church budget. I don t have anything against church budgets. I don t know how we would plan ministry without them. I m also glad the budget is published and put in our hands so we can know what we are increasing and what we are decreasing. We want to be clear and open about all things financial in the life of the church. But on Sunday mornings during the offering, we are not giving to the budget. We are not making pledges to the budget. Who are we giving to? And why? Because we are overwhelmed by God s generosity. Without the gift of Jesus Christ, we would have only the fleeting pleasures of the National Football League, the Food Network and Twitter. But with Jesus Christ, we inherit everything God has.

7 And this incredible gift of the Father through the Son in the Spirit is completely undeserved. We haven t done one thing to merit God s generosity. It s free. Now I can imagine giving some of what I have to help good folks, even a large chunk of what I have if the situation is right. But what about giving up everything for sinners? But there you have it in the manger, along the Sea of Galilee and finally on the cross. Why would you start with your own tiny bank accounts and then wonder what you can afford to give to the budget? Why not take a swim into the vastness of God s mercy, and let you giving be a heartfelt, joyful, overflowing thank you to God? Be careful. Someone might try to take away your joy in giving by driving a wedge between the generous act of Christ and our financial gifts, calling the first spiritual gifts and the later material gifts. But the gospel knows no such distinction. The great gift came to us in the flesh, in the material body of Jesus, and likewise will lead to honoring him with all we have. When we give back to God, every dimension of our lives is included. II Corinthians 8:9 is so broad and inclusive, someone has rightly noted, we can play with it to bring into focus different aspects of its truth. Though he was eternal, yet for our sakes Christ entered our time, so that in our time, we might taste eternity. Though he was without sin, God made him sin, so that in him, we

8 might become the righteousness of God. Though he came from the heart of power, he became small and weak, so that by his weakness, we might become strong. Though he was adored, he become despised, so that by his rejection we might be included. On and on, because there is no end to this gift. It s yours. Free. Who s rich? Abide in the wealth of the gospel, and let your giving be done in generosity and joy.