- Skit: Guy shows up who has traveled back in time. Offers second guy a chance to buy Apple stock the day before the company starts. Play up the time period and maybe some jokes off the company name.
A MYSTERY: Why would someone plead for a chance to give?
- 2 Corinthians 8:4.
- Think of the way that fundraising normally works. Someone tries to guilt you into giving. Someone tries to pester you into giving. It’s something you do as a concession. It’s something you do out of a sense of duty or obligation.
- That’s why verse 4 leaves us shaking our heads? What in the world? The Macedonians pled with Paul for a chance to help? Why? Who volunteers for that? If they’re not bugging you about it, just stay as far away from them as you can. At least that’s the way we normally look at it.
- There’s no doubt that they had a viewpoint that was miles away from ours. In this sermon I want to see if I can get us to where we see things from their perspective – even if it’s just for a moment. We might not be ready to make that big a shift, but we can at least see where we need to go.
HOW IT DOVETAILS WITH CHRIST'S VISION: Jesus spoke of the Kingdom as something you’d joyfully sell everything to have the chance to participate in.
- Matthew 13:44-46.
- I want to unpack these two parables for a moment.
- Now, let’s start by acknowledging that the point of these parables is not giving. Rather, these are parables concerned with entering into the Kingdom, so they have more of a focus on salvation and getting to be a part of the Kingdom.
- The first parable is about a man who finds a treasure in a field. He puts it back and sells everything he has to buy the field. He obviously does not do this begrudgingly or with a sense of duty. Rather, he’s overjoyed at the chance to do this. He’s overwhelmed by his good fortune. He understands this is likely the best thing that will ever happen to him and he’s smiling at the open door.
- In the same way, Jesus wants His hearers to understand how they should see the offer He is putting before them. As He invites them to be a part of His Kingdom, He wants them to understand that this is not an offer to see as a duty or obligation. “Well, I don’t really want to, but I don’t feel like I can say no.” “I don’t want to go to hell, so I’ll say yes, but this stinks.” Not in the least. The opportunity to enter Jesus’ Kingdom is the opportunity of a lifetime. An door will be opened through His life and death and we should rejoice in it.
- The second parable paints a similar picture. A merchant is shopping for pearls. He knows his stuff and is looking with his expertise for what is worth buying. He comes across a pearl so incredible, so magnificent that he rushes off to sell everything he has so that he can buy it. Again, as with man buying the field, the merchant here does not do this with a frown on his face. He’s not motivated by duty or obligation. He’s overwhelmed by the opportunity in front of him. He’s rejoicing in the chance he’s been given.
- Here again we have a picture of the proper response to an invitation to enter Jesus’ Kingdom. Joy and gratitude at the opportunity.
- A brief side note: although it’s not relevant to our sermon, it is worth noting that in both parables the person sold everything they had to enter the Kingdom. This does not speak to salvation by works and us earning our way in. Rather, it speaks to the reality that receiving Christ means that He is Lord of our life. He is in charge. He died for us so we live for Him. When we want to do one thing but His commandments point us to something else, we do what He said because He is Lord of our lives.
- So these two parables are about coming into the Kingdom. And both tell us that we should do so with joy and gratitude.
- Now, what does that have to do with money and what we read in 2 Corinthians 8? Well, a lot.
- If the chance to enter this Kingdom is such an incredible opportunity, it would naturally follow that we would want to pour as much as possible into this. Not only our commitment, but our service, our spiritual gifts, and our financial resources. When you have an opportunity like this, it’s worthy of us putting all we can into it.
- And so when we think of our finances, we should have a similar mindset to what we see in the parables. When we have the chance to invest in the Kingdom, it should not be begrudgingly, but with excitement at the opportunity.
- At this point, it’s worth remembering Matthew 6:19-21 about storing up treasures in heaven. We are being given an opportunity not only to invest in worthwhile things, but also things that will outlast this world. Again, this is not something to be sneezed at – rather it’s an incredible opportunity.
WHAT'S HOLDING US BACK?
1. We idolize buying stuff.
- One reason it’s hard for us to shift to having a Kingdom focus with our money is that we are stuck on stuff. It’s hard to not focus there given that our culture is obsessed with things.
- We are incredibly materialistic. I wish I could say this is an area where the church stands proudly different than our culture at large, but I can’t. With rare exception, we are indistinguishable from our culture.
- A crucial starting point for pursuing what God is calling us to here is rejecting the view that says that buying more stuff is the best possible use of my money. It’s difficult to pursue something else until you understand why it’s a good idea to turn away from what you’re doing now.
2. We don’t connect the financial and the spiritual.
- In many of our minds, there is a disconnect between the spiritual and the rest of our lives. We presume that spiritual things are spiritual and Sunday morning has little to do with Monday morning.
- Of course, nothing could be further from the true. Jesus desires for us to follow His teaching in our everyday lives. He expects our lives to be a unified whole, not sectioned off with the religious kept behind closed doors.
- That is true for many Christians’ financial lives. Sure, they might drop a few dollars in the offering plate (although certainly not a tithe), but other than that they don’t see where their faith and their finances cross paths.
- In truth, our financial lives are an important part of our faithfulness and fruitfulness to Christ.
- There are many truths to consider:
a. We are stewards, not owners, when it comes to what we have.
b. The expansion of Kingdom requires funding.
- For missionaries to go out requires money. For churches to keep their doors open to preach the gospel requires money. For outreach events to happen requires money.
- Some might find those statements unseemly, but they are simply facts. And we are called to rise to the challenge to meet those needs.
c. Your financial generosity is one measure of your spiritual maturity.
- Some people might not like that statement, but it is the way things are. If you’re giving nothing (or next to nothing) to the Kingdom, your maturity is not where it should be.
- As we grow in Christ, we aren’t just willing to give, but we become eager to give. Why? Because Jesus matters so much to us. And we want others to know about Jesus.
3. We don’t know the struggles of those around us.
- What I have shared so far is relevant to the money that we give to the Kingdom through the church, but we should be looking for opportunities to give to those in need around us.
- Money is one way that we can show the love of Christ to those we care for. Paying a bill, meeting a need, etc. It shows our willingness to meet them in their struggle.
- Today we don’t do this often enough. There are a number of reasons for this, but the one I want to dwell on for a moment here is our relational distance from those around us. We don’t talk to our friends as often as we once did. We don’t have as many friends as we once did. We substitute social media for friendships, but most don’t publish their struggles online.
- Bottom line: there are a lot of people today who are struggling alone.
- The Bible calls us to carry one another’s burdens, but we can’t do that if we don’t know what the other person is struggling with.
- This is important on the issue of “pleading” for a chance to give. We are likely to be the most eager to give in situations where we are personally concerned with the people who are struggling.
- Even when there is some semblance of friendships, we at times want to keep it shallow. We don’t want to know their problems. We don’t want to get into their struggles. But real friendship requires that depth and that concern.
A DANGEROUS PRAYER: “Father, open up incredible opportunities for me to invest in.”
- This is a dangerous prayer because God just might do it.
- Do we want our money to be used for the dramatic advancement of Jesus’ Kingdom? Do we want God to show us opportunities?
