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Jul 21, 2013

Extravagant Generosity (part 2)

Passage: Matthew 6:19-33

Preacher: Keith Duff

Series:Rhythm

Detail:

As many of you know, I was in Uganda for most of the month of June, with my son and a team from our church working with the Juna Amagara ministry that many of you are familiar with – we’ve taken special Christmas offerings to help them build orphanages and schools and many of you sponsor orphans there – giving kids who would otherwise be working fields or digging ditches an opportunity to attend school and learn about Christ – and God is doing some really really cool stuff through all of that.  Every time I go I am more amazed at the work He is doing and thankful that we get to be a part of it.

I’d love to have you join us next year – so this is your official invitation to visit and care for orphans in Uganda the last two weeks of next June.

Now, assuming you take me up on that offer, I want to give you a heads up on what you will experience in your first 24 hours……  because… frankly… it’s shocking.

You’ll be taken aback by what people don’t have –tattered clothes, no shoes, lots of orphans, families of 8-12 people living in a mud house about the size of one of a children’s bedroom in your house, no running water, no electricity, walking 1-2 miles to school or to care for a small plot of farmland you might own or rent…  Certainly no such thing as indoor plumbing!  Your heart goes out to a people who have so little.

But if I fast forward 4 or 5 days, you’ll find that the sympathy and pity you felt on day one has been replaced with surprise… surprise at the fact that these people who have very little are actually happy, content, and finding joy in the important things – family, friends and God.

You’ll start to think back to home – to your own life, to family and friends.  You’ll think about the fact that while they have SO much compared to the Ugandans, they seem so depressed, so burdened, so… lacking the joy and happiness you see in Uganda.

You’ll start to wonder who really has the right prescription for happiness.

This is actually one of the things God has really been hammering me on this year.  The fact that our western culture is so caught up in the pursuit of our own earthly kingdoms, that we could really care less about God’s kingdom – and that’s a frightening thought.  It’s frightening because scripture tells us that our pursuit of money is not only a false security, but it is a huge barrier to the kingdom of God.

 #1 “We’re addicted to money.” – we believe the lie

A cocaine user, or a cigarette smoker for that matter, knows that their addiction will kill them.  They know that the high they are looking for is short-lived.  They know they love a drug that promises much – but that it’s all lies.  They know it’s a lie.  But… they still do it.  And they end up consuming more and more.  Knowing it’s a lie, yet somehow choosing to believe the lie.

Many of us do the exact same thing with money.

We believe that a sportier car, a bigger house, a better-paying job, or new clothes will bring us joy.  Why do we believe that? The new-car high deflated well before our first trip to the mechanic; the raise came with stressful late nights at the office and a steeper tax tab, the bigger house came with bigger problems – and more stuff that takes longer to take care of.  The new running shoes didn’t really make running any easier – and we don’t run any more than we did before.  The 4.0 or S version of our latest phone – well, when it comes down to it, it didn’t really change our life either.  Yet, we believe the lie that is marketed to us.

How much would be enough for you?...

A new study by the Gates Foundation was recently released.  It examined the responses of 120 ultrarich people – all having a networth of $25M or more.  The respondents turn out to be a generally dissatisfied lot, whose money has contributed to deep anxieties involving love, work, and family. Indeed, they are frequently dissatisfied even with their sizable fortunes. Most of them still do not consider themselves financially secure; for that, they say, they would require on average one-quarter more wealth than they currently possess.

Remember the multi-billionaire Howard Hughes?  His biographer said he had a "grand, miserable life." Beard described Hughes as: "Pilot. Genius. Inventor. Moneymaker. Film-maker. Hughes wore a dozen hats and excelled at everything, except living"  (photo)

John D. Rockefeller summed up the grand, miserable life: "The poorest man I know is the man who has nothing but money." (photo)

I saw a Australian, named Nigel March, on a TED talk who said it like this, “Often, people work long hard hours at jobs they hate to earn money to buy things they don't need, to impress people they don't like.” 

Even the financial website The Motley Fool & Mint.com chime in to reinforce: Studies show that lottery winners, heiresses, and the 100 richest Americans are only slightly more satisfied than the guy toiling for his pay in the generic office-park cubicle. Still, mere mortals find it difficult to accept that an extra digit or two on the paycheck won’t put a permanent smile on our faces.

#1 “We’re addicted to money.” – we believe the lie

 

#2 “I have more than I need; I am rich.”

Look at this chart:   (www.globalrichlist.com)

If you take the world and look at the household income of everyone – then sort incomes from low to high and then divide everyone into 100 groupings.  We’ll represent the poorest 1/100th group down at the bottom right and the richest 1/100th at the top left.  Let me ask you a question.  How much do you think would be enough?  Where do you need to be?  Is it ok being in the bottom right? Do you prefer to be more in the middle?  Maybe slightly above the middle?  Do you really need to be way up at the top left?

Single guy, 20 years old, working full time at a  minimum wage job would earn about $15,000 a year.  Compared to the rest of the world, where do you show up?.... Top 7%!  That means his income is more than 93% of the world.  Wow!
Let’s say that single man meets a hard working single woman and they get married and keep their minimum wage jobs, and earn $30K as a family.  Top 1%! 
The estimated average household income in Sugar Grove last year was $99,600.  Let’s say you earned half of that… Top .28%!  That means that out of 1,000 groupings, you would be in the top 3 of 1,000!
The average household income is just that – so some make more others make less, but let’s look at the average for Sugar Grove of $99,600…  Top .08% - meaning top 1 in 1,000!!!!
How much richer do you really need or want to be?

Do you realize that more than 60% of the people in this world live on an income of $2 a day or less?

Ok, so you say, yes, but it costs more to live in Sugar Grove than it does to live in Zimbabwe.  That’s true.  You couldn’t even pay property tax in Sugar Grove on $2 a day…!  But I want you to realize that even in light of that, you are filthy rich. 

How can I prove this to you?  Andy Stanley, a pastor in Atlanta, used t he term, Rich People Problems – and you and I both have “Rich People Problems”.  So get out your paper and pencil – I want you to keep score on how many of these “problems” you can answer yes to…

running out of wrapping paper to wrap gifts
figuring out where to put the money you’re saving to pay for college after the kids leave home
throwing away food because it spoiled before you could eat it
using the downstairs kitchen for an extra week because the new counters, which are replacing perfectly usable but dated counters, did not come in on time
replacing the electric door opener for your garage
debating how to use the weeks that you will get paid for not showing up to work
you replace version 4 of your phone with version 5 of the same phone
you regularly change the color of the walls of your home
you push a button to dry clothes instead of waiting for the sun to appear.
you have to decide which pair of shoes to wear today
you have a spare bedroom for guests to sleep in
your pet is wearing the same outfit that you are wearing
If you have any of these problems, trust me, you are RICH.

#2 “I have more than I need; I am rich.”

 

 

#3 The alternative – Extravagant Generosity

Here’s the deal. There’s a better way!

Our culture says, “Invest for 30 years of retirement.”

Jesus says, “Invest for 30 million years of eternity!” (Matthew 6:20)

Listen – if we really truly believe this book, we would never be so short minded.  We invest loads of energy on making the next 50 years great – but ignore the fact this is our time to invest for the next 50 million!   We can’t even fathom God’s economy, but it would be somewhat like this. 

Say Donald Trump called you and said, “Larry, I’ve got a deal for you.  I need a guy like you for the next 12 months.  The work will be very hard and the hours will be extremely long.  But it’s only for 12 months.  At the end of those 12 months, the project will be complete and I guarantee your  investment will generate huge returns – in fact, I guarantee that you’ll earn a minimum of $1 million a year for the rest of your life – maybe much more.  But the next 12 months will be hard.  I will really need you to be all in.  If you give me 12 months, I’ll give you 80 years.  What do you say? 

You see, the 100 or so years of this life are our training ground for the next –and our time to invest for the next 100 million or so years with Christ in His Kingdom!  We have 100 years to pour into our heavenly annuity!

Matthew 6:20 says this, “Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal.” 

And 1 Thessalonians 4:17 and 1 Peter 1:4 also remind us that heaven is forever.

We read it.  We hear it preached.  But I am not convinced that we believe it.  I’m not convinced every day that I believe it.  If I was, why, oh why, would I allow myself to be consumed by the things of this world?  Why would I pursue them so diligently? Why would I be tempted to buy the newer version of my phone that I just bought 12 months ago?  Why would I be tempted to buy a nicer house? Why would I need a nicer motorcycle?  Do I really believe that communication, accommodations or transportation will be lacking in eternity with my savior?  Are you kidding?

If we really believed this, it wouldn’t just impact where we put our dollars, it would affect every aspect of our life!

If you really believe this, it changes your life. 

You will do the hard things.
Rather than saying you can’t endure a hardship for the next 50 years because that feels like eternity, you do because you know that’s a blink of the eye in real eternity…. Insert your hardship of choice
obedience to God to love a spouse who is unlovable
standing up for what is Godly and what is truly lovely in this life, even though the world spits in your face
sacrificing the good life in this world for the good life to come
Seriously, if we really believe that this life is like grass that withers and fades away in the blink of an eye, we can do a lot. 

Chris Scott got me involved in CrossFit a few years back – which is a great workout program.  It’s great, but it’s a really intense hour long work out.  The hour is roughly broken into thirds –the final third – the hardest third - called the daily WOD – or the “Workout of the Day”.  It’s intense.  It’s hard.  It seems impossible (especially in the middle of it) – even though it’s usually only 20-25 minutes.  I almost always hear myself saying, “I can do do this.  I can do anything for 20 minutes.”  At the end, I tell myself, “I’m glad that I did it. And I’m glad that it’s over!” It’s the idea that I can endure for the present because I know there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.  Friends, we have a huge light at the end of this life – it’s called Jesus and eternity with him. 

But here’s the really cool thing. Are you ready for this?

When it comes to generosity, God has orchestrated it so that we don’t just receive our blessings 50 years from now in eternity, but he’ll knock your socks off with blessing in this life.

HE WILL DO IT!

2 Corinthians 9:8,10,11:

God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work… Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

You can give either sparingly or generously.  You are rewarded accordingly: “…with the measure you use, it will be measured you” (Matt. 7:2).  When you give sacrificially, God resupplies what you have given and increases your giving capacity.  The more you give, the more you are blessed, and the more you can give.

It’s counterculture my friends! 

Our culture says, “Consume just a little bit more.”

Jesus says, “Give away more!”  (Acts 20:35, 2 Cor. 9:6-7)

Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:33 to “seek first the Kingdom of God” and 12 verses earlier (in verse 21) he tells us that wherever our money is, that is where our heart will be.

“My heart always goes where I put God's money." If we could take a look at your bank statement, we could see where your heart is. If you're putting God's money into fancy cars, that's where your heart is. If you are putting God's money into a luxury home, that's where your heart will be.

…I’m not a cheerful giver – so I’m going to wait until my heart changes.  Don’t wait until your heart changes – it will never change.  Matt 6:21 – your heart is a follower.  “Go with your heart” – never go with your heart – it’s always wrong.  Your heart follows where your treasure is!

By telling us that our hearts follow our treasure, Jesus is saying, "Show me your checkbook, your VISA statement, and your receipts, and I'll show you where your heart is."

Suppose you buy shares of Google (or Apple). What happens? You suddenly develop interest in Google. You check the financial pages. You see a blog article about Google and read every word, even though a month ago you would have passed right over it.

In the late 90’s, Kate and I were at a dual-income no-kids stage of life.  We both had good jobs which resulted in our salaries being quite a bit higher than our needs.  The market in those days was going gang busters so we poured everything we could into the market.  We even skimped where we could so we could invest even more.  And the market kept booming and we kept pouring in.  And… my heart followed.  I would go online to check my portfolio everyday  - to be honest, many days I probably checked it two to three times.  It seemed so exciting- every time I checked, I was “richer”.  And then the dot-com bubble burst and the tech markets crashed in early 2000… and we lost most of our value...  While I don’t want to downplay that crash because I know for some it was very detrimental, for the Duff family, the crash was actually a very good thing.  It forced me to take to heart the fact that the treasures of this world will wither and fade away.  My wonderful portfolio had done just that – and in the process God allowed me to lose my fascination with the treasures I was storing up.  I have to tell you, while I still have some value left to that portfolio, it no longer consumes me.  To be honest, I don’t think I’ve looked at my portfolio statements in over 2 years.  Part of me doesn’t care – and another part knows my funds have rebounded to some degree and I don’t want to risk getting caught back up in that crazy pursuit again.

Suppose you're giving to help African children in Uganda... When you see an article on the subject, you're hooked. If you're sending money to plant churches in India and an earthquake hits India, you watch the news and fervently pray.

As surely as the compass needle follows north, your heart will follow your treasure. Money leads; hearts follow.

I've heard people say, "I want more of a heart for missions." I always respond, "Jesus tells you exactly how to get it. Put your money in missions - and in your church and the poor - and your heart will follow."

Do you wish you cared more about eternal things? Then reallocate some of your money, maybe most of your money, from temporal things to eternal things. Watch what happens.

God has blessed us as American Christians with incredible wealth, not to put our money into unimportant, frivolous, temporal things. When we do that, our hearts become attached to the things of this world. If the truth be told, many Christians don't long for a heavenly home because their hearts are here on earth.

 

It’s counterculture my friends! 

Our culture says, “Ease your conscious – give some money.”

Jesus says, “Experience joy – give your money AND yourself.”  (James 1:27)

The Bible says, if you would lose your life, you will find it.  Once you decide to do it… and you see the result of it - when you are in Africa seeing kids eating, clothed, getting educated – it just brings so much life to you.  I’ve never been happier.  It’s not so much about the sacrifice, it’s about the joy of giving – and the desire to love these people.

Amy Carmichael was a missionary in India, who opened an orphanage and founded a mission in Dohnavur. She served in India for 55 years without furlough (if you don’t know her story, there are three different biographies about her in the church library). She said this, “You can give without loving, but you can’t love without giving.”  That’s really good.  That’s what it comes down to.

Generosity is about our money, but it’s more than that.  It’s about our time.  It’s about our energy.  It’s about our life.

James 1:27 is an interesting verse for a lot of reasons.  It’s one of the few passages in the New Testament where a new command is given.  In many ways it’s one of those litmus tests for our faith too.  It says this, “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”  This verse is why we go to Uganda, to China and to Haiti to serve orphans and widows.  This is why we set aside benevolence funds to help widows in our church.  But the most interesting thing to me in this verse is the verb that we’re commanded with.  It’s the Greek word, episképtomai – which literally means, “to look upon or after, to inspect, examine with the eyes” – it carries much more than simply providing for the financial needs of a widow or orphan – it carries the connotation of physically going – seeing with your eyes – giving of your time – actually being with them.

God has taught me a lot about this through my ministry in Uganda.  At first I really struggled with the cost it takes to go and thought it would be better to just send the money than to go myself.  But God has showed me that while money can enable some great ministry – that money can’t show the love and care that our presence shows.  In Uganda, our presence is a huge deal.  The kids feel so loved that someone would come from the other side of the world to see them – and to get to know them and to care for them.  Their self-esteem goes up because they feel like maybe they really are worth something and have value.  Our money doesn’t bring that, only our presence can do that…

Many of us are consumed with our money, so we’re unwilling to give money to someone who needs it.  But many are just as consumed (maybe even more so) with their time and are unwilling to give it to someone who needs it.  They’re quick to give $100 to ease their conscious, but would never give 3 hours to just be with the person – meeting their deeper longing and need for someone who cares.

Generosity is about sacrificing money, but it’s about more than that. It even lives itself out at work and at school.  Every day you have the opportunity to make yourself look good or to make your classmate or co-worker look good.  To take praise yourself or to let the focus and praise fall on someone else.  Are you greedy to take the glory of a job well done, or are you quick to be generous to share or even shift that glory and praise to someone else?  Do you try to Lord your authority over someone else (be it real authority or desired authority) to make yourself feel and look better or do you treat them as peers and equals?

 

It’s counterculture!

Our culture says, “Christians are stingy.”

Jesus says, “I’ll give it all.”  (John 15:13)

You see, Jesus is counterculture when it comes to money – and I’ll let you in on a little secret – Jesus is a ton smarter than me and a ton smarter than you.  My wisdom is finite.  His wisdom is infinite!  My wisdom is flawed.  His wisdom is perfect!  My kingdom is temporary.  His Kingdom is eternal!

 

ACTION POINTS

One of my major goals as a pastor is to get you to reject the American Dream – the dream for better cars, bigger houses, bigger bank accounts, better wardrobes, bigger vacations.  Reject it!  Things are not bad, but our relentless pursuit of them is killing our souls!

As your pastor, I want you to be the most generous person you can become, for God’s sake.  If you think this is a ploy to raise money for our church, then let’s talk about growing as a generous person by giving elsewhere.  I happen to think Village Bible Church is a great investment – Kate and I have given over $10,000 to this ministry in the past 12 months – and we’ve done that because we are amazed with the work we see God doing here in our midst – because you’re important to us and we believe your lifechange is worth investing in; because we believe in the missionaries our church partners with and believe their work is worth investing in; because we believe in the communities our church is impacting and we believe it’s worth investing in.  But at the same time, if you have a hang up with giving to a church or with giving to VBC, don’t give here.  Look for other places that are making an eternal impact and invest there.  In your bulletin is an insert with a variety of ideas. 

1.    Invest in a missionary that is underfunded and then taking time to send them a note of encouragement – develop a relationship.

2.    Buy some items for a refugee family arriving in Aurora.  Give your time to take the items to the family, visit and get to know them – and keep it up!

3.    Tutor a child that needs help in Sugar Grove (Kid’s Hope) or Aurora (Urban Youth Ministry).

4.    Sponsor an orphan in Uganda ($35 / month) AND write to them every two months to develop a relationship.

5.    Support Samaritan’s Purse efforts to strengthen the marriages of wounded veterans (next door to our missionaries in Port Alsworth, Alaska).

Just start doing something!

People often have good intentions.  The church is full of good intentions.  But in the midst of our coulds, should and oughts, we sometimes, for a variety of reasons, don’t put our plans into action.  We mean well.  We want to take care of the poor, the hungry, and the widows, but sometimes life just gets in the way. At some point, we must establish specific, measurable steps.  Strategy leads to specific action steps that make a difference.  Good intentions, on the other hand, lead to passivity. Here are some ideas:

Decide to become generous. If you’re not faithful with little, you won’t be faithful with much. If you’re not generous when you have little you won’t become generous when you have much.  You have to make the choice to become generous.  God doesn't make us rich so we can indulge ourselves and spoil our children, or so we can insulate ourselves form needing God's provision. God gives us abundant material blessing so that we can give it away, and give it generously.”
Make a commitment today to start increasing your standard of giving, rather than your standard of living. I have a challenge for you – I’ll call it the 1% Challenge.  Increase your giving 1 percentage point this month and come up with a plan to notch it up 5 points over the next 3 years.
Give First - Automate your regular giving.  Make it your top priority.  Give. Save. Live.
Get control of your finances & develop a generosity plan: if you’re married, get on the same page with your spouse.  If you need help, join us this fall for a new Crown Financial Money Life personal finance study.  This study will help you gain control of your finances, get out of debt and develop a generosity plan.  It’s really great.  See your bulletin insert for more information.
Be generous with more than your money – give away your stuff and your time to people who need it. Serve in a greater way at church. Care for a neighbor who needs help.  Visit orphans in Uganda.  Spend time with the fatherless children and widows in our church.
Involve God in the process!  Ask what He’s calling you to.  Ask him if you should go, or if you should stay behind and provide for those who do. 
Consider your surroundings.  If you build a life that is separate from people who experience great need, you will always struggle to be a generous person.  In large part, the people closest to us determine what we desire.  So surround yourself with people who are in need, and you will desire to meet needs.  Surround yourself with people living in excess, and your desires will become even more excessive.  Generous people live in community with people who benefit from their generosity, which makes for a fuller life for the giver.
Take time to share your stories of how God grows you and blesses you with me, with your small group, with the church.  “To turn the tide of materialism in the Christian community, we desperately need bold models of kingdom-centered living. Despite our need to do it in a way that doesn't glorify people, we must hear each other's stories about giving or else our people will not learn to give.”
 

Listen, let’s just admit the obvious--that the New Testament call to discipleship, compassion, and giving leaves no room for the way many of us are thinking and living? Is it time to get beyond the theoretical stance of 'I'd be willing to give up anything if God asked me to,' and start actually giving up things in order to do what He's commanded us?”

This is a big deal.  The rich young ruler wouldn’t leave his pursuit of riches to pursue Christ – and he MISSED the Kingdom.  I don’t want you to pursue a lie.  Even more, I don’t want you to miss the Kingdom.

 

GOD HAS A BETTER WAY.

WILL YOU BEGIN WITH ME TODAY?

 

 

 

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There is a vital connection between the way that we handle our money and the way that we relate to our Heavenly Father

1.  We're addicted to money.

2.  I have more than I need; I am rich.

3.  God's Alternative = Extravagant Generosity

        ▪  Our culture says, "Invest for 30 years of retirement."
           Jesus says, "Invest for 30 million years of eternity!"  (Matthew 6:20)

        ▪  Our culture says, "Consume more."
           Jesus says, "Give more!"  (Acts 20:35;  2 Cor. 9:6-7)

        ▪  Our culture says, "Ease your conscience -- give some money."
           Jesus says, "Experience joy -- give your money AND yourself."  (James 1:2)

        ▪  Our culture says, "Christians are extremely stingy."
           Jesus says, "Christians are extravagantly generous."  (John 15:13)


4.  Do something. 

Decide to become generous.
Increase your standard of giving, rather than your standard of living.
Take the 1% Challenge.
Give First - Automate your regular giving.  Make it your top priority.  Give. Save. Live.
Get control and develop a plan.
Be generous with more than your money.
Involve God.
Consider your surroundings.
Share your generosity stories.