What if we give like Jesus gives?
Notes
Transcript
On mission
On mission
Every Christian is either a missionary or an impostor.
- Charles Spurgeon
We have been discussing about missions - and being on it
We have been asking “What if?”
It is a great question - it is one that causes us to dream
It is one we are asking after this service for Four Corners
You have been challenged - to see as Jesus did and love as Jesus loved
When this becomes reality in our hearts and faith - we have no choice to be on mission
Mission takes sacrifice - it takes giving
That’s what I want to talk about today
What if we give like Jesus gives?
What if we manage our resources in a way that honors Christ/
Turn to Luke 16 and follow along with me
Now he said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who received an accusation that his manager was squandering his possessions. So he called the manager in and asked, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you can no longer be my manager.’ “Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do since my master is taking the management away from me? I’m not strong enough to dig; I’m ashamed to beg. I know what I’ll do so that when I’m removed from management, people will welcome me into their homes.’ “So he summoned each one of his master’s debtors. ‘How much do you owe my master?’ he asked the first one. “ ‘A hundred measures of olive oil,’ he said. “ ‘Take your invoice,’ he told him, ‘sit down quickly, and write fifty.’ “Next he asked another, ‘How much do you owe?’ “ ‘A hundred measures of wheat,’ he said. “ ‘Take your invoice,’ he told him, ‘and write eighty.’ “The master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the children of this age are more shrewd than the children of light in dealing with their own people. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of worldly wealth so that when it fails, they may welcome you into eternal dwellings. Whoever is faithful in very little is also faithful in much, and whoever is unrighteous in very little is also unrighteous in much. So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will trust you with what is genuine? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to someone else, who will give you what is your own? No servant can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Let’s pray
Jesus loved to teach through story and parable -
Let me make it very clear - everything is God’s - made by Him and for Him - we are simply managers
This manager squandered- but wise enough to prepare for the consequences
Wise use of our opportunity - because of his position he invested in people (cutting their bills) - future minded
Faithful in the way we use material wealth - Our budgets will show what we prioritize
Wholly devoted to God - can't serve both ourselves and Him - It is all His to begin with - It will be all His when it ends
So what does this look like for us at Family Church
We will give our....
Time
It is the one thing we all have the same amount of
Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.
We all can serve and give our time - i challenge you to track it this week - keep a log - the time is there
It is a question of priorities
2. Talents
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.
God has given us abilities and passions to be used for His kingdom
Take a gifting test - try something out - things you can do that I never dreams or liked doing
We are all part of the body and have a function
3. Treasures
“Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The only things going to heaven - His word and people
This is what we invest in that will have eternal returns
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."
- Randy Alcorn
BUILD
We are not building buildings - we are building families - we building hope - we are building God’s kingdom with Him and through us
Month of Missions
Our goal is $15,000
Dream Center
NAMB - by the way is why there is a church here
IMB
What if?
What if?
Let’s dream
Everything we have talked about starts with the attitude of the heart
We will not see , we will not love, and we will not give - if our heart is off
It is our perspective -
if it is about us and our stuff - low impact - low return
If it is about God, His kingdom and the people around us - high impact - eternal return
"The bottom line is this: your focus determines your reality. If you focus on your wants, enough will never be enough. And your heart will get smaller and smaller. If you focus on the needs of others, you’ll discover that you have more than enough. If you focus on the here and now, you’ll try to hang on to everything you have. But if you focus on eternity, you’ll give away everything you’ve got." - Mark Batterson “Primal”
What if?
What if?
Let’s dram a dream so big that it will fail if God is not in it
It starts with your heart and end with how you manage the time, talents, and treasures you have been given to manage.
Let’s pray