I Love My Church By Giving

February 22, 2015

I Love My Church, Pt. 4:  I Love My Church By Giving

Acts 4:32-36

SIS—One of the most significant ways in which we show our love for our church, for God, and for the world is by regular, sacrificial giving which makes us a “blessed-blesser.”

Today, I am going to preach about “giving money to the church.”  Nothing instills more fear in more church-goers than a sermon on “giving money.”  Through the beloved King James Bible the term, “tithing” fixed itself permanently in our vernacular.  “Tithing” refers to the regular giving of ten percent of one’s income to the church.  It is a practice that dates back to Abraham (Gen. 14:20) and was commended by Jesus (Mt. 23:23).  Tithing has more to do with why we give than how much.  Giving to God’s work is more than just a matter of spiritual accounting.  It is a matter of “love.”  Nothing says “I Love My Church” like the practice of “tithing.”  Since tithing does have something to say about money, perhaps a group of accountants could better explain it. 

VIDEO:  “A Bad Rap”

So, now that we all have a better grasp on what “tithing” is, and how it works, let’s read about “giving in the early church in the Book of Acts.”

READING:  Acts 4:32-36.  Here we have three steps to becoming a blessed-blesser by giving to and through your church.

Step #1:  Loosen Your Grip (v 32)

³² All the believers were one in heart and mind.
No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own,
but they shared everything they had.

“All the believes were one in heart and mind.”  This is a very important principle in regard to how the early church absolutely exploded in growth during the approximate 30 years represented by the Book of Acts.  The numerical size of the church by the end of the Book of Acts has been greatly debated.  It is estimated as low as 1000 to reaching into the tens of thousands.  Whatever the exact number, the growth was global and explosive.  Starting with 120 in an upper room days after the crucifixion, 3000 were added in one day (2:41) and another 5000 in just a few more days (4:4).  The Book of Acts ends the story sometime before 60 AD with this statement:  ³⁰ Then he stayed two whole years in his own rented house. And he welcomed all who visited him, ³¹ proclaiming the kingdom of God  and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with full boldness and without hindrance.

The key words are, “without hindrance.”  The early disciples were unified and laser focused on the mission of spreading the gospel—and the gospel exploded.  The fuel for this explosion was the money they gave anointed by the Holy Spirit.  Holy Spirit giving is a key to the explosive growth of any church.  When believers are united in one mind and heart and they loosen their grip on the things of this world—revival happens.  Look again at verse 32:

And no one said that any of his possessions was his own,

but instead they held everything in common.

This is not communism.  No one is compelling anybody to give anything.  This giving is “completely voluntary.”  This represents a group of believers who are so focused on heaven that the things of this world have no hold on them whatsoever.  It reminds me of that song we often sing:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace.

In order for you to be a “blessed-blesser” you need to “loosen your grip” on material things.  Holding onto this world will actually rob you of blessings in the world to come.  You have to ask yourself:  “do I want to risk eternal blessings for temporal pleasures?”

I said earlier that nothing instills more fear in church-goers than a “sermon on money.”  There may be one thing:  Yusuf Ismail, “The Terrible Turk.” This was a “monster” of a man who earned mythical status as a professional wrestler in the 1890’s.  [Show Pic]  This guy was so “massive” (6’2” and nearly 300 pounds) and so “scary” he instilled an almost heart-stopping fear in French and American audiences.  His brutality and strength cannot be easily overstated.  He once won a professional match in just “four seconds” by picking up his opponent by the throat and slamming him to the mat.  Yusuf smashed wrestler, Ernest Roeber, so hard he flew out of the ring and into the audience! In another match Yusuf was so brutally beating his opponent, it appeared that Yusuf was going to straight up murder his opponent in front of 80 witnesses.  The referee tried beating Yusuf with a stick.  When that didn’t work, it took the combined might of six people to tear Yusuf from his opponent. Angered even more at this affront to his honor, Yusuf took out three police officers before being arrested.  His opponent, by the way, felt it the better part of valor not to press charges and anger Yusuf anymore (copied, Internet).  Yusuf earned his reputation as “The Terrible Turk.” 

Now, what does Yusuf, The Terrible Turk, have to do with “Loosening Our Grip On Material Possessions?”  I’m glad you asked.  In his last match, Yusuf insisted that his $5000 prize money be paid to him in solid gold. Since this was a demand from the Terrible Turk, the request was of course granted immediately. Ironically, this became his downfall. On his trip back to France, the boat Yusuf was on began to sink.  According to reports, Yusuf reacted to his boat sinking exactly the way you’d expect, by punching every person in his way while holding a dagger and wearing long flowing robes as he sprinted for the lifeboats. Upon seeing that a lifeboat was already in the water, the 300-lb. Yusuf leapt from the boat into the lifeboat, capsizing it. Yusuf was an amazing swimmer, as you’d expect since swimming is basically wrestling the water; however, the weight of the gold dragged him down and he drowned (internet, Man Cave Daily).

Yusuf could have been saved if he had loosened his grip on his material possessions.  When we hold to tightly to what we own, what we own puts a strangle hold on our lives.  To become a “blessed-blesser” one must “Loosen One’s Grip on Material Possessions.”

Step #2:  Tighten Your Belt (36-37)

Now, you may not be a “Terrible Turk.”  You may feel that your material possession really do not have a strangle-hold on your life.  You may argue, “I simply do not have enough to give.  Our family is living from paycheck to paycheck.”  Here’s where you really need to take inventory of your life.  When a person says, “I don’t have enough to give,” they indicate they do NOT understand the principle of tithing, or proportional giving.  Let me go back to our text last week when we looked at the idea of “Living in Community.”  Acts 11:29 says:

So each of the disciples, according to his ability, 

determined to send relief to the brothers who lived in Judea.

Write this down in your notes and burn it into your mind and heart:  “I cannot afford NOT to give!”  The essence of understanding how a “blesser gets blessed” is to understand the principle of “tithing as first fruits.”  God is the one who brings the pie:

VIDEO:  God’s Slice of the Pie

In order to become a “blessed-blesser” you will need to “tighten your belt.”  Look at verses 36-37:

³⁶ Joseph, a Levite and a Cypriot by birth, the one the apostles called Barnabas, which is translated Son of Encouragement,  ³⁷ sold a field he owned, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

In order to give you may have to adjust your spending.  You may have to look for ways that your family can sacrifice in order to become obedient to the clear teaching of the Bible.  Until you do what God has asked you to do you will suffer the curse of the “leaky purse” (Haggai 1:6):

You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.

Tithing, is NOT primarily about “how much” you give to the Lord’s work.  Tithing is primarily about “why” you give, and most importantly, to “Whom” you are giving.

So, set aside the Devil’s lie that you “cannot afford to give a tithe.”  You cannot afford NOT TO GIVE A TITHE.  Tighten you belt and do what honors God and will make you a “blessed-blesser.”

Step #3:  Open Your Heart (33-35)

This is what Loving Your Church By Giving is really all about.  Look at verses 33-35:

³³ And the apostles were giving testimony with great power to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on all of them.  ³⁴ For there was not a needy person among them, because all those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the proceeds of the things that were sold,  ³⁵ and laid them at the apostles’ feet. This was then distributed for each person’s basic needs.

These believers “opened” more than just their pocket books—they opened their hearts.  Many a pastor has been frustrated, and more than a few have been fired, because they have tried to get people with “closed hearts” to “open” their pocketbooks.  That is never going to happen.  Giving is not a matter of “accounting.”  It is a matter of being “accountable.”  Giving is a matter of being responsible believers.  The Bible calls this “faithful stewards.”  Let’s look at a parable Jesus used that shows what an “open-hearted giver looks like”:

^{Matthew 25:14} “For it is just like a man going on a journey.  He called his own slaves and turned over his possessions to them. ¹⁵ To one he gave five talents;  to another, two; and to another, one—to each according to his own ability. Then he went on a journey.  Immediately ¹⁶ the man who had received five talents went, put them to work, and earned five more. ¹⁷ In the same way the man with two earned two more. ¹⁸ But the man who had received one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.

¹⁹ “After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ The man who had received five talents approached, presented five more talents, and said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. Look, I’ve earned five more talents.’

²¹ “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy!’ ²² “Then the man with two talents also approached. He said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. Look, I’ve earned two more talents.’ ²³ “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy!’

²⁴ “Then the man who had received one talent also approached and said, ‘Master, I know you. You’re a difficult man, reaping where you haven’t sown and gathering where you haven’t scattered seed.  ²⁵ So I was afraid and went off and hid your talent in the ground. Look, you have what is yours.’ ²⁶ “But his master replied to him, ‘You evil, lazy slave!  If you knew that I reap where I haven’t sown and gather where I haven’t scattered, ²⁷ then  you should have deposited my money with the bankers. And when I returned I would have received my money  back with interest.

²⁸ “ ‘So take the talent from him and give it to the one who has 10 talents. ²⁹ For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have more than enough. But from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  ³⁰ And throw this good-for-nothing slave into the outer darkness.  In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Now, many people would argue (mostly in an attempt to excuse themselves of bad behavior), that this parable is not really about money.  The word, “talent,” here does not refer to our English word meaning “a skill or ability.”  This word is a reference to “money,” specifically it is a reference to a “talent weight of silver” equal to 3000 shekels. A talent’s weight would be roughly equivalent to 75 U.S. pounds.  At today’s silver prices a talent would be almost $18,000 (if I did my math correctly which is not under warranty).  Even one talent would have been a considerable fortune, let alone ten talents.  So, this parable is definitely about “money” and about “how we use the Lord’s money.”  But, it is also more that just “economics.”  It is about the “heart.”  A person who has a closed fist on his or her possessions, also has a closed heart to God!  This sounds harsh, but when you consider what Jesus said about the “closed-hearted money manager,” my words are pretty mild.

For years I have had people ask questions like: is “tithing” (giving ten percent) required by the New Testament? That translates into: "how little can I give and still be a Christian?" Or, I have been asked the question: "should I tithe on my net or my gross?" Translate that:  “I don’t want to be guilty of giving too much to God’s work.”  These questions seem to be almost silly, if not so tragic, in light of this picture:  (Preacher in Nepal Being Burned Alive)

I could, of course, show you many, many more pictures of Christian brothers and sisters around the world being brutally persecuted for their faith.  In light of that, should we here in America—where we give out of our surplus and not our sacrifice—be somewhat ashamed?

The world is going to hell in a hand basket as the saying goes.  The world needs the gospel, and the gospel needs our enthusiastic, sacrificial financial support.  When we say, “I Love My Church,” what we are really saying is, “I Love the Bride of Jesus Christ.”  If we truly the church as the Bride of Christ, we will “open our hearts” and give sacrificially to see hurting people helped and lost people saved.

There are three resources necessary to grow a church and build the Kingdom of God:  1) the Holy Spirit.  Without Him moving in our hearts, nothing is going to happen; 2) man-power.  Any time God did something spectacular in the Bible (after creation), He involved man.  When He wanted to save the world from a flood, he called Noah.  When He wanted to deliver His people from bondage in Egypt, He called Moses.  When God wanted to knock down a haughty, pagan giant by the name of Goliath, He called David.  When God wanted to save the world from sin, He came to earth as a “Man”—the God-Man.  Just like cars run on horsepower, the Kingdom runs on man-power (and you women, too); 3) building the Kingdom of God requires “money.”  This world’s commerce is fueled by “cash.”  The Church needs “cash” to operate.  Prayers are nice, but the Gas Company wants cash!  The Holy Spirit, God called men and women, and money are the capital for building the Kingdom of God.

I don’t apologize for preaching on “money.”  It’s as much a part of the “full gospel” as prayer or evangelism or Bible study or any other activity in the Christian life.  Let us go back now and see what happens when we 1) Loosen our grip on material things; 2) tighten our belts on acquiring things; and 3) open our hearts to giving:

³³ And the apostles were giving testimony with great power to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on all of them.  ³⁴ For there was not a needy person among them.

Grace and power fell on everybody—both the givers and the receivers.  The “blessers” became the “blessed.”  Let’s all resolve to show how much we really, “Love Our Church,” by giving enthusiastically and sacrificially and anticipate with great joy that God is going to do a marvelous work in our midst.

One of the most significant ways in which we show our love for our church, for God, and for the world is by regular, sacrificial giving which makes us a “blessed-blesser.”

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SHAPE'd For Service

February 15, 2015                                                           Notes Not Edited

I Love My Church, Pt 3:  SHAPED’d For Service

Acts 11:27-30

SIS–Sacrificial service is the natural and expected response of Christians to a needy world.

God created us and saves us for a life of service.  Let me say that again: “God created us and saves us for a life of service.” Until we are saved and serving we will never be satisfied in life.  Ephesians 2:10 tells us:

10 It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others.

If I were a betting man, I would bet that most of you have called a "Customer Service" number at one time or another in your life. I'd also be willing to wager that at least one of those calls did not leave you feeling like you received much service. Customer Service requires a person that both understands your problem and cares about your predicament. That is why Homer Simpson has never had a career in Customer Service. Homer is an honest guy in a twisted sort of way. He's not the sharpest crayon in the box. Here's his approach to Customer Service: "Just because I don't cafe does not mean I don't understand." That's a typical Homer Simpson perspective that does not have his phone ringing off the hook offering him a career in Customer Service. Homer's statement got me thinking: "Do I both understand AND care about the needs of others around me?" The way to answer that is to think about "service." If I truly understand the predicament of others in this world, AND, I truly care about those people, then I will serve them enthusiastically and willingly. I will serve them sacrificially. Christianity teaches us we are to be "servants of all" (Matthew 20:26). Jesus, our Lord and Model, served others. He is the quintessential Servant. He took on human flesh so He understands our predicament. He did something about our predicament by dying in our place to show that He truly does care. Christians need to be servants. A non-serving Christian is an "oxymoron," sort of like an "honest politician." OK, maybe that went too far. Anyway, come Sunday to see how God uniquely SHAPES every believer for service in His kingdom--service that shows we both understand AND care about others. I have invited Homer to come to speak to us but he was already scheduled to speak in chapel services at Harvard.

Instead, let’s hear what God says about “serving others in and through the Church because We Love Our Church.”  Acts 11:27-30

27 During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) 29 The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.

We will fill in some of the details as we go along, but it is clear

from our text: there was a great need and the church united together in sacrificial service to meet that need.  The early disciples DID CHURCH RIGHT.  They served.  We will examine three reasons why you as a member of  God’s church should be serving today.

1.  Service is the Natural Response to a Needy World (vv 28, 29b)

a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world . . . . The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea.

In our text we discover that there was a “severe famine” spreading

over the entire Roman world.  Hunger was gripping the people of the land and squeezing out their lives.  In verse 29 it says that the Christian brothers and sisters in Judea, “needed help.” 

The world needs “you.”  There is so much suffering in the world

that it is impossible NOT to see it.  I say, “impossible,” but . . . many don’t see it because they hide their eyes.  Every day the news tells the story of the tremendous suffering and strife in the Middle East. We hear of such atrocities as beheadings and the burning alive of a Jordanian pilot in a cage, or the rape and murder of young girls by Boko Haram, the terrorist group in Nigeria.  We hear of the wholesale slaughter of villages including the mutilation of children.  Just this week we have headlines of a terror related shooting in Denmark.  A few weeks ago, it was a terrorist attack in Jewish deli in Paris that captivated the global news stream.  I could go on and on almost endlessly with such tragic news of terror around the world.  But, presently, we are being reminded that terror attacks are not limited to foreign soil.  The trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon Bomber, is currently getting underway with jury selection after two years.  Three people, including one child, were killed and 260 injured in the April 2013 attack on American soil.  If you watch any news at all, you will watch “bad” news flow like a cascading flood over the airwaves.  Our world is in very bad shape.

Such tragedies as the Ebola plague or the continuing AIDS crisis in Africa, or the famines around the world killing thousands each year can hardly find space on a news cast because there is just so much other “bad news” to report.  We could talk about world hunger.  About 25,000 people die every day of hunger or hunger-related causes, according to the United Nations. This is one person every three and a half seconds, as you can see on this display. Unfortunately, it is children who die most often.  In the time it takes to preach this message over 500 people, mostly children will have starved to death.

And . . . America is not without need.  According to government studies 33.6 million Americans are struggling to get enough to eat.  13 million children go to be hungry every day.  1 out of every 10 households in America are experiencing the pangs of hunger.  Between 500 to 600 thousand people are homeless in America – the richest country in the world.

Our world is a needy world – and I’ve only mentioned the physical needs.  Emotional needs are just as staggering.  In the US today although the suicide rate among youth significantly decreased in the mid-1990s, suicide deaths remain high in the 15 to 24 age group with 3,971 suicides in 2001 and over 132,000 suicide attempts in 2002, making it the third leading cause of death for those aged 15 to 24 in the United States.  In our country, the jail population continues to climb as church attendance continues to plummet.  There is a great spiritual need.

I could spend hours outlining the needs of our world.  Need is

every where.  The need is great, but the servants are few.  One thing is clear about the Early Church – they were servants.  They served sacrificially to meet whatever needs arose from hunger to hopelessness.  Our text said that the Early Church heard of a need in Judea and they “provided help.”  One reason you need to find a place of service in our world – in our neighborhood – is because people NEED you to serve.  The health and happiness of many depends upon “you.”

2.  God SHAPED you to Serve (Acts 29a)

“The disciples each according to his ability”

This verse teaches an important principle about “serving” God.

Everybody has different abilities and capabilities.  Just like no two human beings are shaped exactly alike physically, neither are any two persons shaped exactly alike spiritually.  A person’s ability to serve God is as unique as his or her finger print.

The word translated from the Greek as “ability” is only used one

time in the Bible which is this passage.  It refers to the “unique capacities” of each person to contribute to meeting the need that was before them.  While all the disciples participated in serving, not everybody participated to the same degree or in the same way.

Romans 12:4-6  also speaks of the unique “abilities” God has given to each member of the body of Christ:

⁴ Now as we have many parts in one body,  and all the parts do not have the same function, ⁵ in the same way we who are many  are one body in Christ  and individually members of one another. ⁶ According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts.

God uniquely designed us to be effective servants meeting human needs.  We are His snowflakes – no two of us are exactly alike.  In our church we refer to this a person’s “SHAPE.” Each letter in the word, “SHAPE,” refers to a unique facet of how God has “designed” (made, shaped, formed, or created) us.  Let’s look at how God “shapes” each person uniquely for service.  Consider this: human DNA molecules can unite to form 1 x 10 to the 2 billion, 400 millionth power.  That is a 1 with 2,400,000,000 zeroes.  If you right that number on a piece of paper, the paper would have to be at least 37,000 miles long!  That’s how uniquely “shaped” by God you are.  Let’s look at what it means to be “uniquely SHAPED by God for service.

“S” in the word SHAPE refers to our “spiritual giftedness.”  The Bible says:  Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.  (1 Cor 12:7).

When God saves you His Spirit becomes one with your spirit.  Don’t

ask me to explain, “how,” this can happen because it can’t be explained.  But, when God’s Spirit becomes a part of our lives in the event of our salvation it begins a spiritual process, or transformation.  We become “super-charged” after the fashion of a race car.  We get “superpowers,” sort of like the Fantastic Four, or Spiderman.  These superpowers are called, “spiritual gifts” and every believer has one, and most have a mix of spiritual gifts.  This special power from God is “for the common good” or to help us in our service to others.  Spiritual gifts are “instrumental” not “ornamental.”  Some people go through all kinds of surveys and tests to discover their spiritual gifts.  I’m not a big fan of that idea.  My theory is this: “start serving and your spiritual gifts will find you.”  Your gift may be teaching.  It may be hospitality.  It may be the gift of giving.  It may be the gift of knowledge or wisdom.  It may be a combination of more than one gift – but everybody has at least one gift. or power, to help them serve.

The “H” SHAPE stands for “heart.”  How do you know where and how you should be serving?  The key is, what is your “hearts” desire?  What do you really enjoy doing.  The Bible says, “As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man.” (Prov 27:19).  A man or woman is defined by those things that they are most passionate about.  Another word for “heart” could be “passion.”  Bill Gates is passionate about computers and I’d have to say it has “defined his life.”  Mother Teresa was passionate about comforting the poorest of the poor and it defined her life and service.  God put the “desires in our heart” and they are unique to each of us.  Part of how we find what place of service is best for us is to ask, “what does my heart say?”  “What am I passionate about.”  Our “heart” (or desires) are part of how God has SHAPE’d us to serve Him

The “A” in SHAPE stands for “abilities.”  The Bible says, “There are different abilities to perform service, the the same God gives ability to everyone for their particular service.” 

^{Exodus 36:8} All  the skilled craftsmen among those doing the work
made the tabernacle

Unfortunately, most people never live up to their abilities.  For example, you possess the ability to detect something with your finger that is only 1/25,000th of an inch thick.  Your brain–even if it is only average–can process 15,000 decisions a second!  You are a bundle of incredible abilities.  Everyone is good at something, though everyone isn’t good at the same thing.  Any ability you have can be used to serve others from fixing a car to teaching mathematics.  Your unique abilities are part of your SHAPE for service.

The “P” in SHAPE stands for your “personality.”  Just look at how different the original Twelve Disciples were.  Peter was outspoken and often acted before he really thought about what he was doing: “as when he cut off the ear of one of the soldiers who came to arrest Jesus.”  Then there’s Andrew, Peter’s brother.  He was a people person.  Every time he is mentioned in the Bible he is introducing someone to Jesus.  Think of the sisters, Martha and Mary (Lk. 10:38-42).  Martha was a “doer.”  Mary was more of a “feeler.”  We are all different.  We are all like a piece of wood.  We all have a certain “grain” to our lives.  Woodworkers know that it is easier to work with the grain of the wood than against it.  In the same way, we would do well to find places of service that fit our personality.  Personality is a part of how God SHAPE’s us for service.

The “E” in SHAPE stands for our “experiences” in life.  God never wastes a moment of our time.  Nothing that happens to us is “meaningless” or without some educational value in our lives.  It has been 30 years since I served on a nuclear submarine, but God still uses that experience many times to help me speak with other people about their souls – the greatest service any of us can perform.  Because it is required that every submariner learn about every system on the submarine I know a little about a lot of different trades.  I know a little about being a machinist.  I know a little about heating and air condition.  I know a little about hydraulics.  I know a little about nuclear power.  It is amazing how “little” I know about so many things!  Wait, that didn’t come out right!

God used David’s shepherding experiences to prepare him for fighting Goliath (1Sam. 17:37):  ³⁷ Then David said, “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

As I said, God never wastes our time-no experience in our life is wasted.  In fact, the Bible says, “ My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, ¹⁶ your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book  before one of them came to be.  (Ps 139:15-16)

God knows your next step, and the one after that.  He knows every

experience you will have and when you will have it.  He will use those experiences to help you become the “super servant” He wants you to be.  Your “experiences”–both good and bad–are all a part of how God SHAPE’s you for service. God SHAPES you for the service He expects you to perform.  He  gives you spiritual gifts, your heart’s desire, unique abilities, a distinct personality, and a never-ending supply of experiences so that you can be the best servant you can possibly be in a world that desperately needs your service.

GOD SHAPED YOU IN A UNIQUE WAY FOR SERVICE.

Let me pause here and remind you of something very fundamental

to being a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ.  If you do not engage yourself in service to others in and through the church, there are needs that are going to go unmet.  There are unique services that ONLY YOU CAN PROVIDE.  When you don’t show up to serve – something just doesn’t happen.  Nobody but you can be you!

That brings me to my third reason for why you need to find your

special place of service.  Not only does the world’s need demand it.  Not only has God uniquely SHAPE’d you to provide the service the world needs, but,

3.  God EXPECTS you to serve (Acts 11:30)

Look closely at verse 30 of Acts 11, and you will see something really profound in its simplicity: “This they did, sending their gift.”

This is a mundanely simple statement with profound consequences.

Remember the situation we are dealing with – a famine that was going to be particularly hard on the believers about 100 miles away in Jerusalem.  There was a need to take up a sacrificial offering and the Bible says, “This they did.”  Not:  this they debated.  Not: this they studied.  Not: this they thought about.  But, “this they DID!”

Oh, how I wish we could be so simple and immediate in our obedience. So often the normal response in a Baptist church to feeding the hungry or clothing the naked is to set up a “committee” to discuss ministry.  We often play out the moral to an Aesop’s Fable, “When all is said and done in a committee, more is said than done.”

God SHAPE’d us for ministry because He EXPECTS us to minister.

Obedience is not optional.  God put the matter before the disciples and “they DID something about it.” 

One day the disciples were arguing about who was, and would be,

greatest in the Kingdom of God.  Jesus rebuked them for their misguided ambition and said this: “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave- 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, (Matt 20:26-28).

If we are going to call ourselves, “Christians,” don’t you think our

lives ought to resemble, “Christ?”  Should we not love who Jesus loved?  Should we not sacrifice like Jesus sacrificed?  Should we not serve like Jesus served?  Of course we SHOULD—God expects every Christian to serve . . . period!

It is clear from our text that the Early Church followed the example

of the Servant-Savior.  They heard of a need that called upon them to deliver aid and our text says, “this they did!”

The world’s needs cry out even louder today than in the day of the

Early Church–at least as much so for sure.  If we are going to DO CHURCH RIGHT we need to find a place of service and begin serving sacrificially and passionately.

Only about 2 out of every ten church members in a typical church

are actively involved in meaningful ministry to their communities either individually or through the church.  If we are going to DO CHURCH RIGHT, this statistic most change.  EVERY believer needs to find a meaningful place of service.

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