Creating Space for Generosity

Everyone wants other people to be generous but when it comes to ourselves, we can’t afford to be generous. Let me tell you, you can’t afford not to be generous because it doesn’t matter how much money you have or you don’t have, we must have a heart of a giver if we are going to create space for generosity.

Being a giver begins with our heart.

When we think of Christmas we think of giving and receiving gifts. We tend to do a lot of shopping, looking for great deals, and overextending our budgets.

Generosity is a big part of Christmas but it’s not all about spoiling the kids and the grandkids. Even though this time of year, we are generous with our money, our time, our energy because we are tired at the end of every day from now until the end of the year. We bake cookies, send out Christmas cards, go to Christmas parties, shop for Christmas presents; this can be the most stressful time of year because we only have so much to give. Generosity doesn’t only have to be done on holidays like Christmas. Generosity is a habit we need to learn to develop all year long, that’s why we need to make it a part of our everyday life.

How do we create space to be generous?

Since we only have so much time, so many relationships, and so much money, how can we be generous with our limited resources?

That is a tension, we are limited with what we have and that seems to be the struggle, especially during the holidays.

I remember early on in life as a kid celebrating Christmas. I would open up my presents under the tree and then after all my presets were opened, I would be disappointed because I didn’t get everything I wanted on my list, just some of the things.

Then when I came back to school, my friends were talking about what they got for Christmas, I was even more disappointed because they got what I wanted.

But eventually I would appreciate the new toys, the new pajamas and sweaters that Grandma Brown made and knit for me. I would appreciate the little things, the time I spent with family, the candy cane cookies my grandma made, sledding down the hill (when there was snow).

As I got older, it’s the memories, spending time people who are no longer with us. So now I need to make new memories with the friends and family and loved ones that are with us today.

I remembered the Rubiks cubes and the Transformers, and Commodore 64 computer, but those things became old and obsolete. It was more about the people who spent time with me, the love that was shared as family and friends gathering together. Those are the memories that I would cherish forever.

It’s not about the money but it’s all about a heart of generosity. We give our time, our self in our relationships, we give our best when serving others and we try to be generous with our money within our financial means.

Having a heart of a giver is having the heart of Jesus because HE has been so generous with us.

Think about the things God has given you. He gave us salvation, shelter, a job, food, friends, family, church…

Since God is generous with us we must create space for generosity with others.

We see in the Nativity the 3 wise men who came from the east to present gifts to Jesus. Gold, Frankincense and myrrh. This important account that is a part of the fabric of the real Christmas story demonstrates Generosity as an act of worship.

We will be in Matthew 2 this morning.

Matthew 2:1–12 (ESV)

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 “ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ” 7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.

8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

PRAY

Let’s begin with a little background of this important account in the Christmas story.

I don’t want you to adjust your nativity but more then likely, these wise men arrived some time after Jesus’ birth.

Here in Matthew, Jesus is called a child rather than a baby or infant in Luke’s Gospel.

It says that the wise men went to a house, not to a stable. So, apparently Mary and Joseph decided to remain for a time in Bethlehem instead of returning to Nazareth after the census.

The Wise Men

Not much is known about these wise men or Magi. We know they specialized in astronomy.

They may have been from the priestly caste in Persia but they were not kings. We don’t know exactly where they came from; the Bible just says from the East.

Tradition says they were men of high position from Parthia, near the site of ancient Babylon.

How many wise men came to see Jesus?

The traditional view that there were three wise men because there were three gifts presented to Jesus, but the Bible doesn’t say how many.

These men came from the East to Jerusalem and if they traveled from Parthia, they had covered thousands of miles in their quest to find a newborn king.

The Lord revealed this to these men as they obediently followed a star.

So, what about this star?

Some say this star may have been a conjunction of Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars in 6 B.C. However, no explanation accounts for the star moving as we see here.

I think the God who created the heavens and the earth, created a special event to signal the arrival of HIS Son.

We have the wise men and the stars and all this to say that these wise men, who were looking to the stars, heard from God and travelled a thousand miles, looking for the Messiah, the King of the Jews.

So they first stopped in Jerusalem and asked King Herod and some of the residents of Jerusalem about this child born who is the King of the Jews.

When the Wise Men asked this question, this didn’t settle well with the people.

Matthew 2:3 NLT

3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem.

Herod and Jerusalem represent the people in power so if there was another King of the Jewish people that means these people had to relinquish their power.

When we have power we don’t like to give up that power.

Creating space means giving up our power

The Bible mentions many different Herods but this was Herod the Great, named king over all four political districts of Palestine by the Roman Senate.

The history of the Herod family is filled with lies, murder, treachery, and adultery. Although Herod the Great was a ruthless, evil man who murdered many in his own family, he also supervised the renovation of the temple, making it much larger and more beautiful, as well as overseeing other building projects. This made him popular with many Jews, especially the priests and scribes.

That’s why when these wise men, these foreigners came and gave them the news about the Messiah, the scribes and priests knew the place. They could have joined these Magi, it was only 5 miles away from Jerusalem but they were unwilling to give up their power.

These wise men were generous with the Good News about the King of the Jews but it wasn’t received well by the people in power.

In fact, this baby was such a threat to Harod, he wanted the wise men to come back and give him a report so he could kill this baby.

Power and control will keep us from a generous heart.

This could have been a moment of surrender but it wasn’t because the people in power were threatened by another king’s power and authority. This king was a little baby.

When the wise men arrived to the home of Mary and Joseph this king they travelled a thousand miles to see was a little baby.

How did they know that this baby would be a king?

God must have revealed this to them because nobody can look at Jesus as a baby in HIS situation, a poor, non-Royal, unimportant, small and insignificant situation and see a king.

It must have been the Lord who revealed HIS plan to these men, foreign men who came from a distant country to be a part of the Christmas story.

God’s story requires space for generosity.

These wise men were generous with…

their time: This journey had taken months with there was plenty of risk and no worldly reward. They had power in their own country yet they took the time to take this long, slow and exhausting journey to follow a star and find a baby. All because these men were generous with their time.

They were generous with their energy and resources: They were willing to ask for directions.

They were generous with the gifts they presented:

Gold was a gift for a king.

Frankincense was a gift for deity.

Myrrh, a valued spice and perfume that was used in embalming. It was a gift for a person who was going to die.

These gifts weren’t just random gifts but they were prophetic and they were timely for Mary and Joseph and Jesus to head to Egypt and back to Nazareth.

If we want to be used God’s wonderful story, we must create space for generosity.

Luke 6:38 ESV

38 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.”

God will bless our generosity when we freely give.

1 Timothy 6:17–19 ESV

17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

If we want the heart of a giver then don’t be a hoarder. Hoarding is never the heart of Jesus.

Here Paul does mention money as a blessing that God richly provides for us. Focus on the Lord, the giver of ALL good gifts.

2 Corinthians 9:6–10 (ESV)

6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

8 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. 9 As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”

10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

When we create space for generosity, we can worship the Lord freely.

When the wise men finally arrived and laid there eyes on Jesus, they responded by worshiping the Lord freely.

Matthew 2:10–11 ESV

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

These men were generous with their time, their influence, their power, and at the end, it was worth everything. They laid their eyes on what they came to see and they responded in worship.

They were filled with exceedingly great joy and they responded by falling down and worshiping this little baby Jesus. They worshiped Jesus because they knew that this baby was the long awaited King Messiah.

And they presented their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to Jesus.

Our generosity is an act of worship.

Our generosity is a response to God’s blessing so create space in our hearts to be a giver.

Take Away:

Are we willing to give up our power and control?

Do we want to be a part of God’s story?

Do we have the heart of a worshiper?

We must create space for generosity!