The Grace Of A Cheerful Giver
Giving and Generosity • Sermon • Submitted
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· 12 viewsThe people of God are to having empathetic hearts for the poor that spurs then to act on their behalf
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Introduction- War On Poverty
Introduction- War On Poverty
📷President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Poverty Bill (also known as the Economic Opportunity Act) while press and supporters of the bill look on, August 20, 1964
The War on Poverty is the unofficial name for legislation first introduced by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during his State of the Union address on Wednesday, January 8, 1964. This legislation was proposed by Johnson in response to a national poverty rate of around nineteen percent. The speech led the United States Congress to pass the Economic Opportunity Act, which established the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) to administer the local application of federal funds targeted against poverty.
These policies can also be seen as a continuation of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, which ran from 1933 to 1937, and the Four Freedoms of 1941. Johnson stated, "Our aim is not only to relieve the symptom of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it".
Deregulation, growing criticism of the welfare state, and an ideological shift to reducing federal aid to impoverished people in the 1980s and 1990s culminated in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996, which President Bill Clinton claimed "ended welfare as we know it."
In the decade following the 1964 introduction of the war on poverty, poverty rates in the U.S. dropped to their lowest level since comprehensive records began in 1958: from 17.3% in the year the Economic Opportunity Act was implemented to 11.1% in 1973. They have remained between 11 and 15.2% ever since.
In 2004, more than 35.9 million, or 12% of Americans including 12.1 million children, were considered to be living in poverty with an average growth of almost 1 million per year. According to the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, since the Johnson Administration, almost $15 trillion has been spent on welfare, with poverty rates being about the same as during the Johnson Administration.
Poverty continues to be a problem within our population
Even Jesus said:
For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me.
Empathy is the ability to experience the feelings of another person. It goes beyond sympathy, which is caring and understanding for the suffering of others.
Transition To Body- Context of - To Love the LORD God is to love all of your brothers and sisters
Transition To Body- Context of - To Love the LORD God is to love all of your brothers and sisters
In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the people of Israel according to all that the Lord had given him in commandment to them,
Wait on the LORD- The LORD God Keeps His Promises
Wait on the LORD- The LORD God Keeps His Promises
Deuteronomy
See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them.’
“Yet you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God.
Deuteronomy 1:26
Even with me the Lord was angry on your account and said, ‘You also shall not go in there.
Deuteronomy 1:
And the time from our leaving Kadesh-barnea until we crossed the brook Zered was thirty-eight years, until the entire generation, that is, the men of war, had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them.
After 38 years of leadership, Moses Will Not Enter The Promise Land- Due to Disobedience
After 38 years of leadership, Moses Will Not Enter The Promise Land- Due to Disobedience
Deuteronomy 2:
‘O Lord God, you have only begun to show your servant your greatness and your mighty hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as yours? Please let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon.’ But the Lord was angry with me because of you and would not listen to me. And the Lord said to me, ‘Enough from you; do not speak to me of this matter again.
Deuteronomy 3:24-26
A nation who is great because their God is so near and they are so righteous
A nation who is great because their God is so near and they are so righteous
See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today? “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children—
See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?
Ten Commandments- Love God expressed in Love For One Another
Ten Commandments- Love God expressed in Love For One Another
“ ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “ ‘You shall have no other gods before me.
Deuteronomy 5:6-
“Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules—that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it,
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
Deuteronomy 6:40
A Chosen Holy Redeemed People
A Chosen Holy Redeemed People
“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 7:
So Don’t Forget What The LORD Has Done
So Don’t Forget What The LORD Has Done
And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 8:3
Not Because Of Our Righteousness- But Because The LORD God first loved you!
Not Because Of Our Righteousness- But Because The LORD God first loved you!
“Know, therefore, that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people.
Deuteronomy 9:6
Open Your Heart To Receive The LORD God’s love!
Open Your Heart To Receive The LORD God’s love!
Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.
Deuteronomy 10:16
He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 10:18-19
Tithing- An Act Of Loving Others
Tithing- An Act Of Loving Others
“At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in the same year and lay it up within your towns. And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.
And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.
Deuteronomy 14:29-
Giving is an act of grace that ought to be done in a manner that expresses our gratitude for our salvation and our joy and satisfaction in the LORD Jesus Christ
But the LORD presents a paradox (2 statements that seem to contradict one another):
But there will be no poor among you; for the Lord will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess—
Deuteronomy 15:4
But we know there are poor people among us- even within the church
Illustration: Deacon’s meeting and discussion of the makeup of our congregation...
Deuteronomy 15:5
(Transition: The people/children of the LORD ought to make a positive difference in the lives of others- we ought to be about the business of being used by the Holy Spirit to help make the lives of the poor better. And to accomplish this mission and commandment of Jesus Christ our LORD and savior, within the church)
Body- Love Expressed With Openhandedness & Open heart Towards The Poor
Body- Love Expressed With Openhandedness & Open heart Towards The Poor
In Relationship With Your Brothers & Sisters In Christ (v7a)
In Relationship With Your Brothers & Sisters In Christ (v7a)
Be aware of what’s happening within the land (community) the LORD has given you (people and places which you are to bear fruit):
community (brothers and sisters in Christ, family, and friends, & place of employment
brothers and sisters in Christ- have a need for intimate holy community in Jesus Christ
family- have a need beyond you just working- be engated
friends- have a need beyond just hanging out
place of employment- unbelievers who are poor in Spirit
community- people are physically & spiritually poor
Without Jesus Christ, we are all poor
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
(Transition: Because I am in fellowship with those who have been save by the grace of God, this shared experience should lead me to act with humility)
Having Humble And Soft (Compassionate) Hearts (v7b)
Having Humble And Soft (Compassionate) Hearts (v7b)
(harden = be strong, have a high status, make firm, let grow strong)
Remember The LORD God gave you what you have
And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.
And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 8:2
Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years.
Deuteronomy 8:3
Don’t think or act like you earned what you have
So you do not look down on those who are poor or who are in need
Or look at them as if they do not belong because: they do not look, dress, act, or even smell the way you do
(Transition: Now I can better see the needs of those who are poor)
Giving To The Poor Sufficiently (v8)
Giving To The Poor Sufficiently (v8)
We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.
2 Corinthians 8:
Give to meet the need...
Consider how would you want to be treated?
Empathy is the ability to experience the feelings of another person. It goes beyond sympathy, which is caring and understanding for the suffering of others.
Give both physical and spiritual gifts
Guarding Against Unholy Thoughts (v9)
Guarding Against Unholy Thoughts (v9)
i.e. only giving when you will believe you will get it back what you give
Jesus’ words regarding our motivation for whom we fellowship and whom we give
He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
Luke
Primarily giving for tax deduction purposes
Getting people to come to church with the ulterior motive of them improving the church’s finances
Only fellowshipping (hanging out with) the brothers and sisters:
whom you can get something from
get something from or who can repay you or expand your business and/or social network
who can repay you
who expand your business and/or social network
Giving Faithfully Knowing The LORD Will Bless You (v10)
Giving Faithfully Knowing The LORD Will Bless You (v10)
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Seeing Opportunities To Be a Blessing (v11)
Seeing Opportunities To Be a Blessing (v11)
2 Corinthians 9:7
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
Transition To Conclusion- Give Thanks With A Grateful Heart
Transition To Conclusion- Give Thanks With A Grateful Heart
Illustration: Give Thanks (with a grateful heart) written by Henry Smith in 1978
There was a man named Henry Smith who had trouble finding work after graduating from college. He also suffered from a degenerative condition that eventually left him legally blind. One day while at his church in Williamsburg, Virginia, his pastor inspired him with a reference to how Jesus made himself poor to make others rich through him. Henry Smith was so inspired he wrote “Give Thanks (with a grateful heart)
Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son
And now let the weak say, "I am strong"
Let the poor say, "I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us"
Has the LORD done anything for you?
After All The LORD Has Done For You...
“With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
Give Your Forgiveness!
Give Your Gifts & Talents!
Give Your Treasure!
Give Your Time!
Give Your Energy!
Give Your Enthusiasm!
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Conclusion- Why should you give praise to Jesus Christ?
Conclusion- Why should you give praise to Jesus Christ?
I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
He died in shame
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—
But he was raised in glory!
It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.
Because on the 3rd day!
Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!
Pertaining to that which cannot be fully related or communicated, indescribable, beyond words
Bright and morning star
Our help from ages past
Our water in a dry place
The rock of our salvation
Mary’s Baby boy
...