Give Whatever You Want

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            Money matters.  Money matters to God.  He wants to make sure we use money and worship him instead of using him as we worship money.  Money matters to you.  You use it to pay rent, buy bread, and purchase a flu shot.  And money matters to the church.  Not because our staff goes to the Bahamas after guilt-ing old ladies out of their Social Security checks; No, money matters to the church because it’s a tool that helps us spread the Word about Jesus.  Yes, money matters to all of us.  That’s why I’d like us to figure out how we’re going to use our money today.  Please open your bulletins to the giving table on p.___.  Find your annual income on the left.  And now here’s what I want to challenge you to give…But first I want you to know that we are a bit behind our budget…And you should know some of our schools to train teachers and pastors are hurting financially.  Keeping that in mind, I want you to give whatever you want.  Do you want to give 1%?  That’s fine.  15%?  Okay.  8%?  I’m cool with that.  Nothing?  Alright.

                I’m not kidding.  Give whatever you want.  The Treasurer may need medical attention after that statement, but I truly believe you should give whatever you want.  So today, as we talk about commitments to support our minsitry, I’m not once going to command you.  I will not once tell you how much to give or even a percentage to give.  No, there will be no commands, just a test.

                That’s the attitude a 1^st century pastor named Paul had towards his church in the Greek city Corinth.  He was asking for an offering to help the poor in Jerusalem and he wrote, “I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others.”  No commands.  Just a test.  But it was a bold test.  Paul wanted to test if they were sincere when they said they loved God and others.  He wanted to compare their desire to give with other Christians.  Paul wanted to figure out if what they wanted to give was a godly desire or evidence of a stingy heart.  So there was no commanded percentage or amount, just a test, a comparison with the generosity of others.

                Why don’t we try that today?  Let’s do some comparing.  Turn to your neighbor and when I count to three, tell them what percentage of your income you give to church.  Ready?  1, 2, …I’m just messing with you!  (Our first-time guests are thinking, “What kind of church is this?!?)  What were you thinking as I began to count?  Were you nervous?  Did your heart start to race?  Did you start feeling guilty?  Embarrassed?  There’s something about money in our culture that causes us to clam up, isn’t there?  We don’t want people to know what or how or where we spend and we’re definitely uncomfortable with comparisons and tests.

                But Paul knew comparisons have a way of exposing us.  A comparison is sudden, but sometimes sudden is necessary to uncover the truth.  It’s like catching rats in a cellar.  If you stomp your feet as you approach the cellar door and open it slowly, the rats will scurry to their hiding places and you’ll never see how big or numerous they are.  If you want to catch rats, you have to surprise them.  You have to throw the door open without warning to see the truth.  Greed is like that.  It’s a sin that scatters and scurries.  Yes, you can give whatever you want, but you should be aware you sinful nature wants to give nothing.  And it just might take a pop quiz on giving, an unannounced comparison, for you and I to see our hearts without the makeup on.  So let me test you, friends.  If I picked one of you out and asked you to share your giving patterns, would you be ashamed?  Would you be hesitant to compare your budget and giving percentage with others like Paul was asking?   If so, maybe we’ve seen those rats of greed that gnaw at our hearts and chew away the peace that only God can give.

                So do you know what Jesus did?  When he saw those rodents in our lives, do you know what he decided?  He decided to give us whatever he wanted.  But here’s what we can’t forget:  Jesus had everything to give.  He is the Son of God, part of the Trinity, owner of every engagement ring, creator of every ounce of gold, and possessor of the earth and all that is in it.  As true God, ten thousand times ten thousand angels worship him every day.  The streets of his city are paved in 24K.  Jesus has HD projection screens in his garages, kings and queens do his laundry, and CEO’s beg just to cut his grass.  Jesus is rich.

                But Jesus chose to become poor.  He came down from heaven to this planet of financial struggles by choice.  He was raised in a tiny town by a teenage mom and a blue-collar stepdad.  When he turned 30, he crashed on friend’s couches because he didn’t have a place of his own.  He walked from town to town as he preached—there was no limo for God’s Son.  His feet ached and he couldn’t afford to go to the spa for a massage.  In order to pay taxes, he had to do a miracle because he didn’t have any money of his own.  Jesus once had everything, but he chose to have nothing.  Jesus once was worshiped by everyone, but he chose to hear shouts of “Crucify him!”  Why in the world would anyone do that?  If Jesus could give and do whatever he wanted, why would he choose that?  In heaven what did he lack?

You.  That was it.  Jesus could have stayed in his lavish home, but then you could never have joined him.  You see, sin makes us poor.  Greed and materialism rob us of holiness and the ability to earn heaven.  We were too broke to get into paradise.  So Jesus got up off his glorious throne and he became poor.  He did that so that you could be rich in grace and forgiveness and peace.  As Paul so powerfully writes, “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.”  That’s the kind of Savior you have.  One whose deepest desire was to give up everything to give us everything.

And that, brothers and sisters in the faith, is why I’m not afraid to say, “Give whatever you want.”  Because I know that message of peace is working in your heart.  I’ll never convince my sinful nature or yours to be generous.  No, that part of us simply needs to be exposed, shamed, and crucified.  I’m speaking to that new creation in you.  That part the Holy Spirit created when you came to believe.  And here’s what I’m saying to that new creation:  Give whatever you want.

That desire is the first key step, but it’s not the last.  If you’ve ever made a New Year’s resolution, you know that’s true.  A woman once had coffee with a long-time friend who couldn’t stop smiling.  “What’s the good news?” she wondered.  “Oh, I made a resolution back in January.  I wanted to lose 20 lbs.”  “Great!  Did you do it?”  “No, but I wanted to…And I also made a goal to pay off my credit card debt.”  “And how did that go?”  “Terrible.  I actually doubled it in eight months…but I wanted to pay it off.”  The want, the desire, the resolution, the commitment, is just the start, isn’t it?  But a commitment has to be completed. 

Listen to Paul, “¹⁰And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. ¹¹Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. ¹²For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.”  That church in Corinth had the desire to give, but Paul knew their eager willingness meant little if they didn’t write the check.  And so, he boldly says, “Finish the work.” 

Our prayer at Eastside is that you not only make a commitment next weekend, but that you also finish the work.  We, like Paul, want to match that godly desire to give with the actual giving itself.  And we believe you’re going to do it.  We believe that commitments and gifts are going to come pouring in.  Here’s why:  First off, you are children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.  You love God’s Word and love what God loves—generous gifts.  Secondly, you want to be a part of something that matters.  The Word that we share is no flash in the pan message.  It changes hearts and family trees and eternities.

Allow me to give a few examples.  We give away Bibles here.  Picture Bibles, Spanish Bibles, family Bibles.  Whoever wants one gets one, no charge.  Your offerings are giving people the first copy of God’s Word they’ve ever had.  And that Word will last.  We teach children about God here, too.  Your offerings allow qualified, caring teachers to talk about Jesus every day with over 100 children at our school.  And that message will last.  We gather for worship here.  Did you know we’ve averaged over 380 people/weekend for the last two months, the highest number Eastside has had in the last five years?!?  Your offerings pay for lights and a sound system and pastors and music.  Our website is reaching more and more people.  I was at a football game the other day and a woman told me, “You probably get this all the time, but we love Eastside’s podcasts (audio sermons online).  I always send them to a group of ladies I know and we’re sort of like your groupies!”  You offerings support that technology.  Our BIC class has had over 30 people in 2009, many of whom weren’t sure about heaven or forgiveness when they came.  What they have learned will last.  Our mission dollars are helping my classmate Phil who is in Florida, reaching hundreds of people with the gospel.  Your pastors are able to learn new ideas to get the gospel out because you support our continuing education.  A young leader at Eastside was able to grow at a conference two weeks ago because you support leadership development in our budget.  The more trained leaders, the more ministry.  The more ministry, the more people who hear about God’s grace.

I am not worried for one second when I tell you to give whatever you want because I know that you want the things that last.  You want to give yourself and your finances to a ministry that will make a difference in people’s lives and families and especially on the day Jesus returns to judge the earth.  I’m aware that there will be a million distractions and a million excuses from our sinful nature, but burning within us is this desire to be like God and care so much about others’ eternities that we can do nothing but give generously.  So, friends, desire and do.  Make a commitment and finish the work!

I’ll close with this:  When Paul wrote these bold and inspiring words to the Corinthians, he pointed them to the generous example of others.  Let me do the same.  Two weeks ago I emailed our pastors, teachers, board members, and councilmen.  That group included young singles, retirees, fathers of four, families who recently lost jobs, blessed businessmen, and some with school loans and medical bills.  I asked that group, in view of God’s mercy, to be an example for you.  And, by God’s grace, they have.  Although they are a small percentage of our membership, they have committed to increase their giving by $9,000 in 2010!  They know it will take some sacrifice to turn that desire into doing, but they are committed to action.  And now I pray that you, who so rich in Christ, would spend time this week in prayer and devotion.  And next week, as we gather and hand in our commitments, just give whatever you want.  Amen.