Understand
Pt. 4 – Graced People
I. Introduction
Understanding is essential. How many of you constantly ask your kids "do you understand me?" We recognize that without understanding you can get yourself in a mess quickly. Without understanding you make decisions, choices, and take steps that could haunt you. So, we have been stating very clearly what we must understand as a body. In other words, we have been talking about what drives us and guides us.
We have been looking to Jesus for our understanding. There is no doubt that Jesus spoke very clearly. However, to make sure no one misunderstood His words He would then emphasize His words with His actions. We have listened and watched as Jesus dealt with our MISSION . . . Found People . . . Find People. That should drive us! Then we discovered that Jesus addresses our MODE! We must understand that Found People . . . Find People as Saved People . . . Serve People. Service should be as natural as breathing for saved people. Then last week Jesus spoke to our MINDSET. We must embrace the fact that Converted People Change. Sounds like Encounter. . . Equip. . . Engage to me! We have all said amen to these understandings. However, now Jesus goes into an area that causes Christian people to get nervous. We don't mind shouting a preacher down when he deals with winning folks, serving folks, or even growth. However, here is where we separate the men from the boys. Jesus deals with our MEANS. In fact, as we move forward today you even see that this is where a disciple of Jesus stumbled.
So join me if you will in:
II. Text
Matthew 25:14-30
14 “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. 16 Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. 17 In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. 18 But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 “Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 “Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 “And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’ 26 “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. 27 Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. 28 Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’ 29 “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 30 Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
III. Understanding
Jesus once again, through the use of a parable, reveals an essential understanding. . . "Graced People . . . should be Generous!"
See some of you are already getting nervous cause we moved off talking about this abstract somewhere in here soul to the tangible! However, we must understand that Jesus isn't satisfied with just owning our soul if it has no bearing on everything else about us. In fact, what I would declare to you today is that how much of the tangible He has ownership over really reveals how much of our soul He owns!
We must come to this understanding today . . . We cannot be the church that believes God’s Word in regards to salvation but then refuses to believe what that same Word says about finances or possessions!
In fact, what we must embrace is that we have been so impacted by the great treasure of grace that it affects our generosity levels with our greatest treasures!
This parable reveals that you can know the Master and still not give Him adequate access to your generosity levels!
If you don't believe that go back and study the lives of 2 men. Go reread the story of Zacchaeus. We want to focus on his tree climbing or the vertical challenge he faced. We sing songs about his height, but don't laud his generosity! What we fail to remember is his response to being graced with Jesus' presence. Do you remember? He encounters grace and says I will give away 1/2 all my stuff to the poor and I will pay back 4 times what I have wrongfully taken. Generosity flows out of grace. And yet you can fast forward and see a great contrast. Zacchaeus has one recorded encounter with Christ and Judas has daily interaction with Jesus and somehow some way never allowed the grace to permeate his generosity level. He responds negatively to the act of worship when the woman pours the costly perfume on Jesus' feet. He calls that waste. He lines his own pocket. Daily face-to-face with grace but never generous! God help us! Help us that we don't encounter grace and remain greedy!
We must understand:
A. The generous understand ownership!
It is essential to read the parable carefully. Where did everything the servant's have come from? It came from the Master. It was already His! I think because we work for our pay and by the sweat of our brow we obtain certain things we think they come from us! We don't understand ownership or stewardship. Every good and perfect gift comes from where? We don't own anything we are simply stewarding God's gifts. We would be more generous if we understood that it really isn't ours to begin with!
B. Generosity must be practiced.
Generosity is in our genes, but so is greed.
Generosity is a muscle! The more you use it the stronger it
becomes. Have you ever noticed that being generous gets
easier the more you practice it. The first time I ever gave
something to someone it hurt! Generosity is one of the traits that we have to beat our bodies into subjection to develop. However, the more generous we are the easier it will become! If we are not careful to continually practice generosity the greed gene will rise up in us!
C. Generosity reveals relationship!
You can go back to the parable and see that the last servant has some major relationship issues. The first is that he didn't really trust God. He feared losing what he had. He apparently didn't think the Master would come through in his time of need if he was generous. Some of us won't give because we really don't trust God! We think He will let us down in our time of need. We quote "I have never seen the righteous forsaken or his seed begging for bread" but we don't really believe it. We trust us more than we trust Him!
The second issue was a love issue. This servant loved what he had more than he loved his master. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:24 that the #1 competitor for our love will be our possessions! You can't serve 2 masters. One will be hated and the other will be loved. We love God but we just love what we own or what owns us more. We draw a line and say God you can have my life up to this point. As long as you don't want my boat, my house, my car, 10% of my money then I am yours Lord!
So let me tell you that if you want to see your love level for God revealed in black and white look at your financial records. Your bank statement reveals relationship! If you spend everything on you guess who you worship?
Jesus talked about generosity but He also modeled it for us! He gave everything! He left opulence to live among us! He left a palace and moved into our neighborhood! It is the greatest act of generosity ever seen or put on display.
And because we have been graced we must be generous!
Small acts of generosity. Giant acts of generosity. You don't have to be rich to be generous you just have to be in relationship! You may not have 10 talents but we all have 1 that we can bury under fear and greed or we can become generous and be given more! Isn’t it funny how the generous always seem to have more? We must become a group of graced people who are generous.
You may not be able to hand an envelope of $8K to someone but what about $8 in the drive through? What about and 80 cent cup of coffee? What about the 80 minutes you could serve? Start somewhere! Develop the generosity muscle so that it will overtake the greed in us!
We will continue to reach out and give away! School. In two weeks I am going to tell you how we are being generous right around us.
Would anyone describe you as generous? Would anyone know how graced you are by how generous you are?
