For the One Series: My Commitment to Reach the One

For the One Series - Part 4

My Commitment to Reach the One

Commitment Sunday

April 22, 2018

A family came home from church one Sunday and after they had lunch they sent their 6-year-old son off to play. After a while, his mother realized that they hadn’t heard much from him, which any parent knows is a recipe for disaster. 

The mother got up from her recliner and walked to the child's bedroom and listened right outside his door. She kept hearing small metallic sounds and jingling come from the other side of the door. Intrigued, she cracked the door a little and looked in to see her son sitting on the floor with his piggy bank opened and a few dollars in coins lying on the floor. He gathered them up and put them in the handkerchief, knelt down and prayed silently, and then threw the coin up in the air. He watched them all hit the ground, frowned, and gathered his coin back into the handkerchief and repeated throwing them up in the air.

His mom opened the door and asked him what in the world he was doing.

The little boy replied, “We learned in Sunday School today that we should give money to God for an offering. I forgot to bring mine today I figured I’d come home and throw mine in the air, and God would catch whatever He needed and I could keep the rest, but He hasn’t caught any yet!”

As cute as that story is, it does highlight one of the common misconceptions about giving as an act of worship.

Our relationship to money is a spiritual truth taught throughout the Bible.

Go with me to our text this morning:

2 Cor 8:1-9

And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.   5 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. 6 So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. 7 But just as you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us a-see that you also excel in this grace of giving.

8 I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. NIV

The past several weeks we have been searching the scriptures seeing how Jesus left the 99 to reach the one and how he has given us that great commission as well. We have heard that Jesus gave everything to reach the one and how it only makes sense that we do everything to reach the one as well. 

This journey to reach the one is a Spiritual journey, it is a spiritual journey that transforms those who take it. Today we come to Commitment Sunday a day where we are challenging to make a financial commitment to the vision to reach the one. Our relationship to money is a spiritual truth taught throughout the Bible. (Repeat)

When it comes to money and finances;

·      Scholars say Jesus discussed the topic of money more than heaven & hell combined

·     One man counted 2,350 verses in the Bible deal with money

·     Rick Warren author of Purpose Driven Church has said that stewardship and redemption are the 2 all-encompassing themes of God’s Word.

·     Why (the above)? Because as we saw in last weeks message God does want money to control us but us to control it!

Our text this morning reveals a church, a group of believers, who seemed to be living by this spiritual truth.

These two chapters highlight the commitment to give that the believers in Macedonia had. I wish we have the time to read the entire two chapters. I urge you to do so later today.

The Macedonia believers understood that …

My Commitment to give transforms me when it ….

I.               Begins in the Heart (2 Cor. 8:5) 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.

With God, the heart of the matter is always the heart of the matter. Who or what has our hearts is the issue God is most concerned about.  These believers blew Paul way with their giving and then he points out it all started with the commitment of their hearts, first….

A.    We give ourselves to the Lord (first to the Lord v.5) but they gave themselves first to the Lord

God will never take second place in our commitment. The first commandment is had NO OTHER Gods before me. Jesus said to love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, with ALL your mind and All your strength. This means that nothing comes before him IF we claim he is Lord and savior it means it all belongs to him.

·      I’m going to get ahead of myself here, but the context of the verse is that this commitment of giving themselves to the Lord is illustrated by their trust in God by giving in the middle of the serve trials and extreme poverty!

·      You see what it takes to please God is FAITH! (for without faith it is impossible to please God) That faith is displayed in their actions.

·      For some of you here today the faith step you need to take is to simply begin to tithe. Give God the first 10 % of your income.

Next please see that not only did they give themselves to the Lord but they then to others…

B.    We give ourselves to/or for others (then to us v.5) and then to us in keeping with God's will

·      God’s Will is that we live our lives for Him and others, The ONE. That our worldview is all about others and reaching them with God message of the gospel.

·      The commitment of my heart must align its self with the great commission and great commandment.

·      With the truth that God is NOT WILLING that any ONE should perish and either AM I.

·      A moment ago I quoted Mark 12:30 but verse 31 shouldn’t be left off 31 The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' g There is no commandment greater than these." NIV

·      This what our commitment to give For the One is all about

Next, notice that while my Commitment to give starts with my heart it…

II.             Continues in My Attitude (2 Cor. 8:3) For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own

Something struck me about this as I studied it.  The position of my heart determines the attitudes of my living. Specifically, here the attitude of my giving.

There are 3 adjectives that describe the attitude of their giving.

A.    Willingly (entirely on their own v.3) Entirely on their own

The story is told of the missionary who asked a new convert, “Pablo if you had a hundred sheep, would you give fifty of them to the Lord’s work?”

“You know I would gladly give them,” he replied.

“Pablo, if you had fifty cows, would you give twenty-five to the Lord’s work?”

“Of course, I would be more than happy to do that,” came the confident reply.

Once again, the missionary asked, “Pablo, if you had two pigs, would you give one of them to the Lord’s work?”

“That’s not fair!” Pablo said, “You know I have two pigs.” Pablo was no longer willing. (Contributed to Sermon Central by Susan Blader)

He was no longer willing because….

The opposite of Giving Willingly is:

·       Giving begrudgingly

·       Giving out of guilt

·       Giving out of fear

·       Giving from manipulation

·       Giving as a ritual

In our For The One Campaign, we have tried to avoid and the above and emphasis that each one of us should seek and ask for God’s direction. I’ve simply been asking God to speak to each of us.

So, they gave willingly, but only willingly but (look at verse 2) …

B.    Cheerfully (their overflowing joy v.2) Out of …. their overflowing joy

A mother wanted to teach her daughter a moral lesson. She gave the little girl a quarter and a dollar for the church “Put whichever one you want in the collection plate and keep the other for yourself,” she told the girl. When they were coming out of the church, the mother asked her daughter which amount she had given. “Well,” said the little girl, “I was going to give the dollar, but just before the collection, the man in the pulpit said that we should all be cheerful givers. I knew I’d be a lot more cheerful if I gave the quarter, so I did.” (Contributed to Sermon Central by Glenn Queener)

·      There are two-word plays found in II Cor. 8 & 9.

·      In chapter 8 verse 2 it says “their joy…overflowed.” He describes their joy as if it is a glass of water that is overflowing.

·      Then in chapter 9 verse 7 it says, “God loves a cheerful giver.” The word cheerful is the word from which we get our word “hilarious.” Thus, that verse could be translated “God loves a hilarious give.”

Verse 7 is often misapplied. Paul is not talking here about how much we give so much as how we give. He told them how much to give in 8:12-15; it was to be in proportion to what they had. But for a believer to give grudgingly, or out of a sense of obligation, is to miss the blessing of giving. Giving must be from the heart, and God loves a cheerful ("hilarious" in the Gk.) giver. Some Christians take this verse to mean that it matters not how much we give, so long as we give cheerfully what we have purposed in our hearts. Absolutely not! A cheerful heart is not a substitute for an obedient heart. Our hearts should be both faithful and cheerful because we give the right gift with the right motive. (from Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the New Testament. Copyright © 1992 by Chariot Victor Publishing, an imprint of Cook Communication Ministries. All rights reserved.)

C.     Sacrificially (Even beyond their ability) 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability.

§  God is never impressed with the size of our gifts, but he does take notice of the size of sacrifice. (The Widows mite – She gave more than them all!)

§  The “For The One” campaign is built around this spirit. The spirit is “Equal Sacrifice, Not Equal Gifts.” God does not measure the size of our gifts, he measures the size of our hearts.

§  Today, I call us all to make a commitment: an expression of sacrifice that is truly pleasing to Him.  If we define sacrifice as “the willingness to give up something I love for something I love even more;” then I unapologetically call you to sacrifice today, for the sake of the King and the Kingdom.  

My Commitment transforms me when I …

III.           Keep a Focus on the Vision (2 Cor. 8:9) For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich

Paul uses the example of Jesus. In chapter 8 verse 9 we read “He

was rich, yet for your sakes, He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” Jesus gave up the joy and splendor of Heaven in order to give His life. He was a king but became a pauper. He was rich yet became poor. He was powerful but became weak. He was a conqueror but was willing to be conquered. We can never follow His example. However, we can follow His spirit.

His Vision of sacrifice, of giving was for the One! He Jesus did everything for the One. Paul reminds us of Jesus example so we would follow it.

I want you to briefly review our vision For the One, God has set before us (Usher pass out booklets to everyone even if they got one before)