Disciple=Deacon

April 26, 2015

Deacons, Pt. 1:  Disciple=Deacon      NOTES NOT EDITED

Matthew 20:20-29

SIS—Every disciple is called to be a deacon and to serve others.

VIDEO:  CHRISTIANS IN A BUBBLE

Far too many Christians live out their faith in sort of a bubble—completely insulated from spiritual involvement with non-believers.  It is almost as if most Christians actually try to avoid the non-believing world because it is . . . well, so “non-believing.”  The world is actually getting more and more hostile to Christianity.  Yet, we cannot be effective followers of Jesus Christ unless we “burst out of our bubble and serve others in the Name of Christ.”  Every disciple is called to be a deacon and serve others.

READ: Matthew 20:20-29

1.  Great Ambition (20-21)

²⁰ Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons approached Him with her sons.  She knelt down to ask Him for something.  ²¹ “What do you want?” He asked her. “Promise,” she said to Him, “that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right and the other on Your left, in Your kingdom.”

Mark in his account points out that James and John approached Jesus about “special places” in the Kingdom.  The likely scenario is that the boys and mother approached Jesus together.  Verse 22 gives us the conversation in which Jesus addresses the brothers, along with the other 10 disciples, as well as their mother and anyone else listening. 

This whole incident is prompted by the earlier conversation Jesus had with Peter where Peter points out all that they had sacrificed to follow Jesus.  In chapter 19, verses 28-29, Jesus replies,

“I assure you: In the Messianic Age,  ^d when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne,  you who have followed Me will also sit on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. ²⁹ And everyone who has left houses, brothers or sisters, father or mother,  children, or fields because of My name will receive 100 times more and will inherit eternal life.

This raises the whole issue of “ambition” in the Christian life.  Should a Christian be ambitious?  Is there a place for a “competitive” spirit in the life of a believer?  Males are naturally competitive it seems to me.  If you take a group of toddler and throw a ball in the midst of them, pretty soon they will develop a “competition” of some sort.  Nearly every activity little boys engage in involves keeping score in some way or another.  Ambition, machismo, or an attitude of competitiveness is not always a virtue.  Listen to this exchange with Peter not long before this incidence with James and John.  The context is a teaching moment in which Jesus is describing God’s plan for Him to go to Jerusalem and die on the cross.

^{Mt.16:  21} From  then on Jesus began to point out to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and be raised the third day.  ²² Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, “Oh no,  Lord! This will never happen to You!” ²³ But He turned and told Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me because you’re not thinking about God’s concerns, but man’s.”

There’s the answer to whether ambition is or is not a Christian virtue.  Ambition is defined as, “a strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work.”  The problem is not attitude of ambition, but the goal for one’s ambition.  Jesus rebuked Peter because Peter had “worldly goals and not Godly goals.”  When we get to the incident with James and John, Jesus calls on the brothers to “assess” their attitude.  Are they willing to pursue the same goals as the Lord, or are they simply seeking worldly success?  Look again at verse 22 of chapter 20:

“You don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup  that I am about to drink?”

I believe there is nothing more important in life than having ambition, but it must be a “holy ambition” that seeks to fulfill God’s plan and purpose for our lives and not a worldly ambition that seeks to fulfill worldly lusts for fame and fortune and the comfort they bring.  If ambition is directed into passionate, sacrificial service for others then that is a “great ambition,” a holy ambition. 

When we examine the common practice of deacons in a church, far too often it becomes an opportunity to gain power and prestige, rather than an opportunity to pour out oneself in the service of others as Jesus did.  If we are going to be ambitious, let us seek success as the Bible defines it, not as the world defines it.

Remember the definition of ambition--“a strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work.”  Great men (and women) all have ambition.  It is a common thread in the fabric of heroism.  One such man is Charles Boswell.  Charley, as he was known, excelled as a football player at the U. of Alabama.  In 1941 he was drafted into the Army.  While trying to rescue a friend from a tank under enemy fire, Charley was permanently blinded.   He lost his sight, but not his ambition.  He was a great athlete before his accident and his ambition drove him to try a brand new sport, a sport he never imagined playing, even with his eyesight .  .  .  golf!  Now, that exemplifies the idea of “blind ambition” (pun fully intended).  Through determination and a deep love for the game he became the National Blind Golf Champion!  He won that honor 13 times.  One of his heroes was the great golfer Ben Hogan, so it truly was an honor for Charlie to win the Ben Hogan Award in 1958.  Upon meeting Ben Hogan, Charlie was awestruck and stated that he had one wish and it was to have one round of golf with the great Ben Hogan.  Mr. Hogan agreed that playing a round together would be an honor for him as well, as he had heard about all of Charlie's accomplishments and truly admired his skills.  "Would you like to play for money, Mr.  Hogan?" blurted out Charlie.

"I can't play you for money, it wouldn't be fair!" said Mr.  Hogan.

"Aw, come on, Mr.  Hogan...$1,000 per hole!"  "I can't, what would people think of me, taking advantage of you and your circumstance," replied the sighted golfer.  "Chicken, Mr.  Hogan,” Charley taunted?

"Okay," blurted a frustrated Hogan, "but I am going to play my best!"

"I wouldn't expect anything else," said the confident Boswell. "You're on Mr.  Boswell, you name the time and the place!"  A very self-assured Boswell responded "Right here, 10 o'clock .  .  .  tonight!"

Ambition is a worthy virtue when we direct that ambition in the right direction and for the right purpose.  Jesus would go on to teach James and John (and every disciple since them) what goal a disciple should press toward.  Great ambition should be directed toward:

2.  Great Service, and Greater Sacrifice (25-28)

The Lord had some guidelines for the ambitious disciples.  Look at verses 25-28:

⁵ But Jesus called them over and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles dominate them, and the men of high position exercise power over them. ²⁶ It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,  ²⁷ and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; ²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,  and to give His life—a ransom for many.”

Jesus contrasts the “way of the World,” with the “Way of God.”  They are not just different, they are diametrically opposed to each other.  Jesus describes how worldly men lust after positions and power, “and the men of high position exercise power.”  We see this in our world, especially in the halls of our Congress where senators and representatives live like American royalty, dishing out crumbs to the populace while they feast on government provided banquets.  Notice what Jesus says about that in way of life in verse 26.  Jesus contrasts the worldly way with the words, “It must not be among you.”  Matthew uses the future tense but in the context it carries the force of the “imperative mood,” or the mood of a verb expressing a command.  One commentator calls it the “quasi-imperatival use of the future tense” for those of you that like that kind of thing (New International Greek Testament.”  The point is that the contrast Jesus is making is a “strong and forceful one.”  The HCSB, the version we read from, expresses this strong contrast by translating the next clause as, “on the contrary.”  There is a way of the world and a Way of the Lord, and the two are polar opposites.  We err greatly as the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ when we take our cues from the world for what we teach or how we conduct our services.  This has been the great heresy and damaging error coming out of the “church marketing movement” and “seeker-driven ministry movement.”  The ways of the world are NOT the ways of the Lord.  Isaiah points this out in no uncertain terms (Isaiah 55:7-8):

⁷ Let the wicked one abandon his way and the sinful one his thoughts;let him return to the Lord . . . . ⁸ “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not My ways.”

The way of the world, represented in our text by the use of the term “Gentiles” (v25), is to seek “position and power” (v25).  We often refer to this in the common idiom, “climbing the ladder of success.”  The problem is, according to Jesus, the “the way up is down.”  Look at the “way of the Lord” as described by the Lord, Himself (26-27):

²⁶ It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, [diakonos]  ²⁷ and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave [doulos]; ²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served [fr. diakoneō], but to serve [fr. diakoneō],  and to give His life—a ransom for many.”

Three times in this verse Jesus uses the word, diakonos (noun) or diakoneo (verb) from which we get the English word, “deacon,” meaning servant, or to serve.  It can also be translated, “minister, or to minister (KJV).  One other time Jesus uses the word, doulos, which means, “slave,” which is an extreme expression of servanthood.

Ambition is great, but only when it is pointed in the right direction.  That direction is service to others.  Every disciple of Jesus Christ is to be a “deacon” or a “servant” to others, even to the point of giving one’s very life in service to others.  Discipleship is equivalent to service and service is equivalent to sacrifice.  Great ambition must lead to great service which leads to great sacrifice.  Our Lord not only teaches us the proper way to express ambition, but He modeled it as well.  Look again at verse 28:

²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served [fr. diakoneō], but to serve [fr. diakoneō],  and to give His life—a ransom for many.” 

The measure of our service is the “ultimate” sacrifice of our lives.  As long as we continue to hold on to this world as if we have some claim to it—or as if it has some claim to us—we cannot fulfill our roles as disciples of Jesus Christ.  Paul expresses the matter in this way:

Galatians 2  ¹⁹. . . .I have been crucified with Christ 

²⁰ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.

Dead men hold onto nothing in this world.  Disciples are to be dead to this world and expend “everything”—say that with me, “everything”—in service to others.  Discipleship equals service, and service equals total sacrifice.

This past week, one of my FaceBook friends posted a memorial for a soldier killed in the Korean War.  Marine Private First Class Herbert A. Littleton, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, Company C, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division won the Medal of Honor.  64 years ago, April 22, 1951, in Chungchon, Korea, Littleton purposely fell on a grenade to save the lives of the men he was serving with. He was 20 years old.  His life story was frozen at the age of 20.  When I saw that picture I was reminded of what “real service, really costs!”  I thought to myself, “Am I willing to throw myself on the grenade of service so others can have eternal life?”

Great ambition when directed in the direction of great service with great sacrifice accomplishes:

3.  Great Results  (v29)

Most Bibles, perhaps all the ones that use section titles, place verse 29 with the following story about the healing of blind men (including Bartimaeus).  The chapter numbers were added in the 13^th century and the verse numbers came in the 16^th century to make the study and teaching of the Bible easier.  But, with chapter and verse divisions we sometimes lose the flow, or the connectivity of the narrative.  Suppose, however, we connect verse 29 with the Lord’s teaching on being a “deacon” or a servant.  The formula would look something like this: 

GREAT AMBITION + GREAT SERVICE = GREAT RESULTS

The passage would read like this, ²⁸the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,  and to give His life—a ransom for many.” ²⁹ As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him.

All throughout the story of the life of Jesus we see one constant:  a crowd was always following (except that it thinned out greatly at the end of the road where an Old Rugged Cross was standing).  What was it that drew the great crowds to the Lord.  There is no doubt that people were drawn to the preaching of the Lord Jesus.  On one occasion, the Temple Police were expected to apprehend Jesus and deliver Him to the chief priests and Pharisees because His teaching was arousing the crowds.  The Temple Police, when questioned by the Jewish leaders as to why they did not apprehend Jesus, they replied (Jn. 7:46):  “No man ever spoke like this!”

Yet, the Bible shows that it was not the preaching of Jesus alone, or even primarily, that drew large crowds.  The overwhelming success of the ministry of Jesus came from “what He did, not what He said.”  John tells us (Jn. 6:2):

² And a huge crowd was following Him because they saw the signs that He was performing by healing the sick.

Great ambition focused in the direction of great service with great sacrifice will always lead to great results.  That’s the power of the gospel.  If a church is lacking in growth, it is because it is lacking in great ambition focused in the direction of great service with great sacrifice.  You might summarize the matter like this:

No service—no results.  Little service—little results. 

Great service—great results!

The Church is exploding all over the world—except in America.  There has to be a reason.  Roughly speaking, in the last 30 years the adult population in the U.S. has increased about 15%.  However, the population of “unsaved (unchurched)” adults has increased over 90% (quoted from memory from a book on church growth, Dying for Change).  Men, women, and children are drawn to those that serve them—that help meet there physical, emotional, social, and most importantly, spiritual needs.  Great ambition focused in the direction of great service with great sacrifice leads to great results.  For a disciple, great results in building the Kingdom is our greatest reward.

Thursday, Diane Sawyer got the interview of a life-time (at least according to popular, liberal media).  She was able to interview Bruce Jenner—our neighbor over in Malibu and the famous father of the dysfunctional family known as the Kardasians.  You may have heard:  Bruce Jenner is becoming a woman.  He is taking hormones and the millions of dollars he has made from the Kardasian Car Crash Reality Show, (no pun intended if you know of Bruce’s wreck on the Pacific Coast Highway), has provided him with the money for the best sex-change surgery available.  It was an interview so sad and so troubling to me that I turned away. 

But, the headline on my MSN Newsfeed the next day really made my heart hurt:  “Why Bruce Jenner’s Big Interview Will In Fact Change the World.”  He is having surgery to become a she—and this will change the world!  No, folks, men having surgery and hormones to look like women, or women doing the same to look like men will not change the world—at least not for the better.  What will change the world is a church full of people with great ambition directed toward great service and great sacrifice—this will change the world.

Jesus teaches us that a disciple equals a deacon.  A deacon is a follower of Christ with a great ambition to serve others, even to the point of great sacrifice.  This will always lead to the great result of many souls being added to the Kingdom of God.

So, I guess we are left with one question:  who among us will become deacons?  The answer should be:  every one of us!

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A Sure Bet

April 19, 2015                         Notes Not Edited

A Sure Bet

1Chronicles 29:1-18

SIS—Giving to God’s work through the church is not an “easy bet,” but it is a “sure bet” and will bring eternal happiness and rewards.

This morning I am looking at the idea of “A Sure Bet—How to Achieve True Prosperity.”  In a recent Internet article titled, “The Twenty Easiest Ways to Get Rich,” here are the top Five. Number one is playing the lottery. No big surprise there. Most people dream of hitting the lottery just once, but Las Vegas resident Joan Ginther hit it an unbelievable four times. According to ABC News, Ginther won the Texas lottery four times over the past 17 years, winning $5.4 million in 1993, $2 million in 2006, and $3 million in 2008. Her biggest score came in 2010: a $50 scratch ticket that was worth $10 million. Number two: Inheriting wealth is another way people have gotten rich without much work. Christy Walton—the widow of John Walton, a son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton—inherited her husband’s fortune after his death in a plane crash in 2005. Her estimated worth of $22.5 billion makes her one of the world’s richest people, according to Forbes.com. In my wife’s case, she’s decided to take her chances in the lottery. Number three: bet on a long shot at the Kentucky Derby. Texas software entrepreneur Glen Fullerton won $900,000 in the Kentucky Derby this year. His pick, Super Saver, with 8-to-1 odds. Number four: hit a hole-in-one in a “million dollar hole-in-one contest.” Jason Hargett, a restaurant manager and father of four, was a last-minute replacement in a $1 million hole-in-one competition at the Mark Eaton Celebrity Golf Classic in Utah in 2009. Hargett sank the ball with his brother’s 9 iron to win the prize. Number five: Long-term stock investments can pay off. Lake Forest (Ill.) resident Grace Groner worked as a secretary at Abbott Labs for 43 years. She bought three specially issued shares of the company’s stock for $180 in 1935 and held on to them over the next seven decades. The shares split several times, and she reinvested the dividends. By the time Groner passed away this year at age 100, she had 100,000 shares valued at about $7 million. 

This survey came off the Internet and I cannot vouch for its credibility or accuracy, but it does demonstrate something interesting. Investing was “number five” in the list. It is a “get rich quick” list so this shouldn’t surprise us. But, it demonstrates something very fundamental in the human nature: we tend to look for the “easy road” to fame and fortune. As someone has pointed out, “the easy road is crowded.” True prosperity does not lie at the end of an “easy road.” It takes time, effort, and sensible investing. It also is more spiritual than material. True prosperity, as the Bible teaches it, is not “an easy bet.” It is, however, a “sure bet.” Investing your life in devotion and service to God will most surely lead you to true prosperity—some in this world maybe, but in the next world for sure.

People are always looking for a “sure bet,” especially if it promises a quick an easy path to riches.  We live in an “instant world.”  We have instant coffee and make our lunches in microwaves.  But, there is no such thing as “instant success” or a “quick buck,” for the most part.  The key is to pick a good investment and stay with it over time.  A little bit of discipline can pay off in huge dividends over time.  That’s the way to get the best “bang for your buck.”

I read this week about a A TOUGH OLD COWBOY FROM TEXAS.  He COUNSELED HIS GRANDDAUGHTER THAT IF SHE WANTED TO LIVE A LONG LIFE, THE SECRET WAS TO SPRINKLE just A PINCH OF GUN POWDER ON HER OATMEAL EVERY MORNING. Not much, just a pinch, but to do it every day.  The old cowboy assured his granddaughter this would pay off big in her life.  the granddaughter did this religiously until the age of 103, when she died. she left behind 14 children, 30 grandchildren, 45 great-grandchildren, 25 great-great-grandchildren, and a 40-foot hole where the crematorium used to be.  Time, devotion and persistence in holiness will pay off big in life—it is a “sure bet,” but not an easy bet.

When I talk about prosperity I am NOT referring to the twisted, erroneous teaching of the “health-wealth gospel” that turns God into a kind of “cosmic vending machine.” One simply needs to insert the right formula into the slot and out pops health and wealth. If you believe that, then the “health-wealth gospel” will certainly work . . . for the “health/wealth preacher!”

Giving to God’s work through the Church is not an “easy bet,” but it is a “sure bet” that will bring eternal rewards and lasting bliss.

Let’s read about a great project this morning from 1Chron. 29:1-9.

1 Then King David said to the whole assembly: "My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the LORD God. 2 With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God-gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble-all of these in large quantities. 3 Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple: 4 three thousand talents of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings, 5 for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate himself today to the LORD?"  6 Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king's work gave willingly. 7 They gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze and a hundred thousand talents of iron. 8 Any who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the LORD in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD.

WOW!  THAT’S A BUILDING PROJECT!   If you add up all the gold and silver alone, it comes to 3.6 million ounces of gold and 12 million ounces of silver.  The current price of gold is over $1200 per ounce.  The gold value alone donated to build the temple was over 4 billion dollars – if I did my math correctly.  The silver valued at almost another 2 billion.  Then you had some Persian money.  Add to that 1.35 million pounds of brass, and 7.5 million pounds of iron.  Then don’t forget the precious stones that the people added to the offering.  The construction price is in the multiple billions of dollars.

I’m sure you have heard of the famous, “Taj Mahal,” in India.  The Persian Emperor, grieving over the death of his wife, built it as a mausoleum.  It became a national treasure.  One scholar estimates that the Taj Mahal would cost over $10 billion to build today.  The Temple would have exceed that by a great deal today.  So extravagant was the Temple that some skeptical scholars suggest David could not possibly raised that much money.  The Bible says he did.  Regardless of what it cost in today’s dollars,  ONLY ONE WORD DESCRIBES THIS BUILDING PROJECT:  “ABSOLUTEL INCREDIBLE!”  OK - two words.

When God gets involved in a project – He has at his disposal all the resources in the universe!   What we are viewing in this passage is not something NATURAL, it is something SUPERNATURAL.

What we need to do as a people of God is to start working, serving, and giving like we are children of the Eternal King who owns a cattle on a thousand hills – AND THE HILLS THOSE CATTLE ARE GRAZING ON!

Lack of resources must never be used by God’s people as a reason to do less than what God asks us to do.  So, here are three steps you can use to get started as a partner with God and make an investment that is a “sure bet”—but for now and for all eternity.

1.  Acknowledging God’s Absolute Sovereignty (vss 1, 10-13)

The task is great  because the temple will not be for man

 but for the LORD God.

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 ¹⁰ Then David praised the Lord in the sight of all the assembly. David said,  May You be praised, Lord God of our father Israel, from eternity to eternity. ¹¹ Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in the heavens and on earth belongs to You. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom, and You are exalted as head over all.  ¹² Riches and honor come from You, and You are the ruler of everything.  Power and might are in Your hand, and it is in Your hand to make great and to give strength to all.  ¹³ Now therefore, our God, we give You thanks and praise Your glorious name.

Can you guess how many things in this cosmos God is not the Supreme Ruler over?  That’s right: ZERO, NADA, ZIP!  God is absolutely Supreme all the time, every where – including New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, or anywhere else evil or disaster touches our world.

God is sovereign in the bad times, as well as the good time.  The old gospel song reminds us: “The God of the mountain // is still God in the valley.”

DON’T MISS THIS: The whole lesson of tithing and giving in the Bible is to teach us this lesson:  We are stewards of God’s property, not masters of our own.

Our English word steward comes from the Old English word: STY WARD.  It means, “Keeper of the pigs.”   So, when you get to thinking your something hot, just remember the Bible calls you a “styward,” or steward.  You are a “keeper of pigs.”

The New Testament tells us this about stewardship (1Cor. 4:2) ² In this regard, it is expected of managers (stewards, KJV) that each one of them be found faithful.

The word steward here comes from the Greek word: oikonomous.   It

means, “manager of the household.”  We are managers of God’s stuff.  We own absolutely nothing.

Over the years I have been blessed by the generosity of God’s people.

From time to time, I’ve needed transportation somewhere and I didn’t have a car that a church member thought was suitable for the trip, so they lent me theirs.  Or, I’ve needed a tool that I did not have and could not afford, and someone graciously lent me theirs. I really am reluctant to accept such acts of kindness.  But, when do accept these “loaners,” I am very mindful all the time that I am using them that they do not belong to me.  I am a “steward,” a “keeper” of something I do not own.  I treat that possession with the utmost of care and make sure I return in the same or better condition than when I borrowed it.

That is also true of God’s possessions.  They are not ours.  They are on loan.  We must do with them not as we will – but as God’s wills.

This is even true of our children.  They are not ours.  They are God’s.  They are only on loan to us.  We better be good stewards of God’s children!

When you give a tenth of your income you are making a statement.  You are saying to God and man: everything I have belongs to god.   Or, as the Psalmist says, “You are my Lord.  Apart from you I have no good thing.” (Ps. 16:2)

When a person does not regularly give God His Tenth, that person is saying: Every thing I have I worked for myself.  I don’t need God for anything.  THEN . . . THERE IS A LOUD CRASHING NOISE AS EVERYTHING FALLS DOWN AROUND SUCH A PERSON!

The most fundamental reason for giving is to ACKNOWLEDGE GOD’S ABSOLUTE SOVEREIGNTY.

2.  SECOND, Anticipate God’s Blessing (vss 14-16, 18, 26-28)

¹⁴ But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? For everything comes from You, and we have given You only what comes from Your own hand.  ¹⁵ For we live before You as foreigners and temporary residents in Your presence as were all our ancestors.  Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.  ¹⁶ Yahweh our God, all this wealth that we’ve provided for building You a house for Your holy name comes from Your hand; everything belongs to You.

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 ¹⁸ Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our ancestors, keep this desire forever in the thoughts of the hearts of Your people, and confirm their hearts toward You.

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 ²⁶ David son of Jesse was king over all Israel.  ²⁷ The length of his reign over Israel was 40 years; he reigned in Hebron for seven years and in Jerusalem for 33.  ²⁸ He died at a ripe old age, full of days, riches, and honor.

HE WHO DOES GOD’S WORK WITH GET GOD’S PAY,

HOWEVER LONG MAY SEEM THE DAY,

HOWEVER WEARY MAY BE THE WAY,

THOUGH POWERS AND PRINCES THUNDER “NAY!”

WHO DOES GOD’S WORK WILL GET GOD’S PAY.

HE DOES NOT PAY AS OTHERS PAY

IN GOLD OR LAND OR RAIMENT GAY;

IN GOODS THAT VANISH OR DECAY;

BUT GOD IN HIS WISDOM KNOWS A WAY;

AND THAT IS SURE LET COME WHAT MAY;

HE WHO DOES GOD’S WORK WILL GET GOD’S PAY!

The blessing may not come in this world—and certainly the greatest blessings WILL NOT come in this world.  Verse 15 makes it clear:  “This world is not our home.”  We live as strangers, often outcasts.  The Chronicler repeats the idea of God’s absolute possession of this universe as we see again, especially in verse 16:  “Everything belongs to you!”  God is not poor and needy hoping that His people will throw Him a few crumbs from our table.  God has it all—and He can make more anytime He wants it.  He is the Federal Reserve of the Universe!  God is a “giving God.”  He pours out His blessings lavishly on any—and all—who will take Him at His Word.  Verse 28 says, “David died full of days, riches and honor!”

YOU CANNOT OUT GIVE GOD . . . HE HAS A BIGGER SHOVEL! Someone once told me about a conversation a preacher had with a woman who had always been a faithful giver of the church even though she was a widow for many years and did not have much money.  She always gave her offering to God before she ever spent a penny on anything else.  The preacher was talking with this lady and he could not help but ask: “How do you give so faithfully when you have so little but you always seem to have enough.”   God seems to bless you abundantly. The lady answered, “preacher.  There’s a little secret.  Every week I get my shovel out and give God a shovel full of all that I have.  Then, He gets His shovel out and gives me a shovel full of all He has.  And, preacher, God has a bigger shovel!”

Oh, I hope you hear what God is trying to say to you about giving.

God doesn’t need our money – God wants our devotion.  Giving doesn’t fill any need for God – He has no needs.  Giving gets us set aright with God and puts us in position that God can bless us.  GIVING TO GOD IS AN ABSOLUTE – A NO-LOSE SITUATION.

Look again at verse 28:  He died at a ripe old age,  full of days,  riches, and honor.

What a promise!  God even gives us the money to give to him as an offering. The more you give – the more God gives you the ability to give! OBEDIENCE ALWAYS BRINGS BLESSINGS – ALWAYS!

When you give, anticipate that God will bless you.

Now, I’m not saying God will “make you rich.”  You can be rich without being blessed – and you can be blessed without being rich.

Make no mistake about it – give freely and lavishly, and God will bless you!

3.  THIRD, Accept God’s Challenge ( 1Chron. 28:9-10)

Look back at chapter 28, verses 9-10.  David challenged his son,  “As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind,  for the Lord searches every heart and understands the intention of every thought.  If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.  ¹⁰ Realize now that the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be strong, and do it.”

God would not let David build the Temple because David had been a man of war and had “shed too much blood” (28:3).  So, David was giving the challenge to his precious son, Solomon – and what a challenge it was! This was a challenge much bigger than any man.  It was a cause so great, it would be worth dying for.  

It is always better to die for a great cause, than to live with no cause!

History forgets the mediocre, but remembers those who press into the unknown.  Does anyone hear remember who invented the kerosene lantern?  I doubt it.  But everyone remembers who invented the electric light bulb. Great success is the fruit of accepting a great challenge.  Being cheap, as we learn from the first two of the “Three Little Pigs,” never leads to true fulfillment.  Usually, just the opposite.

We serve a “Big God” and need to be people with “Big Ideas” and “Big Giving.”  As someone has said, “Two many people want a champagne life on a beer budget.”  I don’t advocate drinking as you know, but I do advocate “going big or going home!”

The people rose to meet the challenge giving billions of dollars to complete the project for God.  Will you rise to meet the challenge today. If you as a church would get serious about giving to God freely and lavishly, we would see God pour out blessings that we cannot even imagine.  Listen to this challenge from the very heart of God, Himself:  Mal 3:10

10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and 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.

We all want more out of life—and as God’s children, we should.  We should want all the happiness and fulfillment that comes from being a child of the King.  We should expect that faithfulness to God will bring blessing, because that is what God says.  Giving to God’s work through the church is not an “easy bet,” but it is a “sure bet” and will bring eternal happiness and rewards.

Start investing today.

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