Bring your Gifts
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COME TO WORSHIP—2
BRING YOUR GIFTS
A steak pun is rare, and medium rare done.
Did you know protons have mass? I didn’t even know they were catholic?
Last week: Lift hands as a sign of surrender and a sign of victory in the glory of God… if you didn’t hear it, you need to, next week Pour hearts, Bow knees—Bring gifts.
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem
2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
The reason they came was to worship Jesus
King Herod panics because he is king so he lies—tell me when you find him—worship him too.
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9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.
This was huge in this verse… its a big deal.. let me unpack it….
Traveled from Persia, modern day Iran. 900 miles. 2x width Europe A long painful journey to worship the one they believed would be the savior...
10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
4 Greek words translated into overjoyed…. one translation says—Rejoiced exceedingly w/great joy—it really means w/a humongous big joy we are happy that we are happy… it was a huge deal…because for centuries they believed there would be one that would save them…. so from the depths of their soul they are overjoyed...
Some Xians are underjoyed—happy— it makes no sense that we can’t be happy that God saved us from stuff we didn’t deserve and still be happy… if you are overjoyed...tell your face… let the people around you know… you should be full of more joy than anyone around you… you are under the authority of all-knowing, all powerful… you should be happy… you should be known for what you are for not for what you are against… why…because we are overjoyed that we have a savior… and we should be over joyed that he has…Overjoyed—Answered prayer, used you, overjoyed by his grace, in presence. so they travel 900 miles and then what…verse 11
11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
They were overjoyed to bow down and give to him… they weren’t upset that they had to give… they were happy!
Wise men—gave with joy—not griping—
None of this… oh its your birthday I have to give you something… yay… its what we are supposed to do...
its debated about what these three gifts were supposed to symbolize…but most scholars believe...
Gold—his kingship, Frankincense—priestly role, Myrrh—embalmbing.
Believe the Myrrh was used for embalming as a symbolism that he came to die..
This week we want to talk about Bring your gifts as an act of worship to God…. last week lifting up holy hands… next week pour out our hearts… last week kneeling before God...
Talk about giving your gifts as an act of worship...
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Oh no—giving message—Don’t like giving messages. I want to buy Xmas gifts, bills… used to hate it… because I wasn’t a giver…. but know I love them, and love listening to messages on generosity.. and love being around a generous person… because they are generous…
And this could easily just become about Giving our Tithes and gifts…
And we could talk about how giving our tithe is an act of worship… and we should treat it as such, and we can talk about giving our tithe as what it really means and how it literally means tenth.
Help you love to give to God—thru history—giving to God—act of worship.
My hope is that you will get to the point where you love to Give… love the opportunity… why? because
We get great joy out of giving to our kids… our spouses… people that appreciate it.. why
Speaking of giving, I have noticed that I really love Christmas so much more now as a parent. There is nothing that is better than giving gifts and seeing joy on the faces of your Children and I absolutely love it… and as I was reflecting this week, I wondered about how much more joy it must give God as he pours out his gifts in our lives…
Here’s the real big idea today…
Love gives…
Love gives—
Most well known verse in Bible..John 3:16 say it with me. …For God so loved…he gave.
What did he give? his only son… thats how much he loved us…because love Gives… and god looked at his creation and realize how separated we were from him and became flesh among us died and rose again so that anyone who puts their faith in him could be saved… so we love him because love gives…. in fact Romans 5:8 says...
8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
God didn’t just sit in Heaven and shout how much he loved us he came and dwelt among us and died for us because he loves and loves gives…
But before we get to what most of you think is the most uncomfortable part of this message, where we talk about giving of your money, lets take gradual steps of uncomfortableness… lets start with the greatest act of worship is the giving of our gifts….
Rick Warren had this to say about using your gifts as an act of worship
The Bible says, “My Father is glorified and honored by this, when you bear much fruit” (John 15:8a AMP). When you use your gifts correctly, God gets the glory. And you certainly can’t please God with gifts you don’t have. God doesn’t expect you to be talented or gifted at everything. He just wants you to use what he’s given you.
And listen some of you god has given some great gifts and talents… and you’re not using them, some of you probably have gifts I have no idea about, but get this, some of you God has given great musical abilities, you can sing, you can play an instrument in a way that would make some of us on the team blush at how much better you are than us… and you are just sitting on it… holding it down, and God delights when we use our gifts as an act of worship….
Some of you can have the gift of teaching… and you’re just not… you have all the excuses in the world, you don’t have time, you can’t make way, and in the end God will say, how have you used the gifts I have given you… and when we say we couldn’t do it because we were too busy he will laugh at us… or at leas that’s how I see it in my head…
Some of you have the gifts of helps and you can see it come out in you when there is a meal or when things need done around here, you just jump up and offer your body and your time whenever you need to give it… and there are more of you I am sure that don’t feel like you can lead but you are in this group and you want to just help any time that you can and there is no one that I know of that will turn you down…
We can pray that God sends us someone with the gift of healing… Im sure there are a lot of us that need it.
But there are more than just those spiritual gifts that God has given us.. one of my favorite stories comes from our friend TJ in Ohio
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Have a friend… rare kidney disease… Tj cousin giving kidney… talk about an act of worship
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And for some of us giving our gifts to God is a terribly hard thing for us to do, we don’t want to teach, we don’t want to use our musical talents, we dont want to give our helps, we don’t want to give our kidneys… okay so that one is a little bit harder for most of us than all the others…
But we have been hurt people haven’t used us right or haven’t respected our gifts
Let me read to you some of proverbs 3
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Trust in him….
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.
8 This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
There are higher ways than our ways...
fear the Lord and shun evil.8 This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.
9 Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops;
10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
Honor him with the first fruits and then the rest will be blessed….
but what does First fruits mean
First fruits—Malachi says bring the whole tithe into the storehouse—blessed.
Bring it in as a act of worship…. and God will pour out a blessing on us that we can’t even contain….
Tenth—first tenth belongs to God.
What are you bringing to the Lord… not monetarily but what of the gifts he has given you are you bringing to him.…
So for many years I thought that was crazy…. ten percent… no way….and I go back to Solomon… trust in the Lord with all your heart… and lean not on your own understand but in all our ways submit to him…. and this is what we like to say...
First and best—not worst and last.
We bring our first and our best and trust God to bless the rest.
We believe that when we tithe that God does this that he will bless the rest of us...
The very place that we are being nourished, that is the storehouse… we should be able to give and do more with our money and give to other organizations… but when it talks about bringing our tithe to the storehouse, this is the place it wants it… wherever you call the place that you are getting your meat...
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Trust in the Lord with all your heart—lean not on your own understanding
Honor the Lord with your wealth—firstfruits—barns overflowing!
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Overjoyed—to Tithe
Overjoyed to give offerings!
love it… and there was a time i felt like i couldn’t… hasn’t much changed…but my heart...
I love to return to God because God blessed me… love loves to give...
Why—God gave first!
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When they saw star—overjoyed—bowed & worship—opened treasures.
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In response to God’s ultimate gift
The ultimate gift we can give to him… is our life...
IF you hate Christians, you would be like Paul, he hated them for a long time too…. but listen to this...
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy,
in view of what God did for us...
to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1-2
PRAYER
Love to give—God gave first
For some of you you are going to give your first time ever…. but I want whether it be 5 cents, or 1 dollar… Everyone give today…. and make it an act of worship… not of obligation… but an act of worship…
When you give today—be overjoyed—WORSHIP! Let it come from your heart…. if you say you want to be a worshipper when you give… raise your hands….
IF you say, I get it.. I want to give my god my best and let him take care of the rest and I want to give to him for the first time today if that is you would you raise your hands this morning…
Prayer…. as you are praying invitation… something is drawing you to him… God’s love… HS.. not an accident...
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