The Call to Resourcefulness

Intro

The story is told that one day a beggar by the roadside asked for alms from Alexander the Great as he passed by. The man was poor and wretched and had no claim upon the ruler, no right even to lift a solicitous hand. Yet the Emperor threw him several gold coins. A servant of Alexander was astonished at his generosity and commented, “Sir, copper coins would adequately meet a beggar’s need. Why give him gold?” Alexander responded in royal fashion, “Copper coins would suit the beggar’s need, but gold coins suit Alexander’s giving.”

We have talked for three weeks now on your call as a Christian — excellence.

In the words of the Apostle Paul, we must run the race of life to the end, once we reach the end, one of many rewards is perfection. Perfection takes place when we strive to be excellent Christians.

We have talked about our call to righteousness, reliability, and responsibility thus far but I want to leave you with this thought: In order to be an excellent Christian, you must strive to answer the call to resourcefulness.

Resourcefulness is about more than just finances. It is about using each and every thing you possess in order to help those around you and give God the most glory!

Just like the illustration of Alexander the Great, our giving must not be based on the circumstance, but our generous heart of obedience to the Father. Our resourcefulness, our giving of time, gifts, and finances should not be limited to what we think people need, but should be based on the Father’s generosity to us!

We find in Scripture command after command, encouragement after encouragement about giving all you are to the Lord and His causes and giving well! As you answer the call to excellence, you must answer the call to resourcefulness!

2 Corinthians 9:5–15 (KJV 1900)

Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your bounty, whereof ye had notice before, that the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness. But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God; Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men; And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you. Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

Generosity

The call to resourcefulness begins with generosity, and generosity begins with the heart. As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians, we are called to be willing to give based on a heart of love to the Father and His creation, not obligation.

As we give, understand with me that this is about more than just money! Money is the currency by which we live, so as important as it is, we are called to give more than just our finances to God’s kingdom and His creation.

You will sow many things in your life, and you will reap accordingly. The first call you have as you strive to be a resourceful Christian is to be generous with your time

Time

You have time to do what you want to do. There is always time to do what is necessary. And, when there isn’t, we make time elsewhere.

In Scripture, we are called to give our time to worthy causes.

Think of Jesus for a moment. Jesus gave all of his 33 years to fulfill the will of the Father for our salvation. He took time, painstaking time, to please God and save mankind.

And, this is your call as well. Use the time God has given you for His glory. Be generous with it. Help the needy. Obey the commandments. Read the Scriptures. Pray to God. Spend time listening to those who need an ear. Fulfill your calling. Use the time God has bestowed upon you to help fellow man and give God the most glory.

Often, you think you don’t have enough time. That is because we don’t view our time correctly. We don’t live biblically for today.

Live to bedtime. Think not on tomorrow or yesterday. You were designed by God to think about today, get done what you can today and trust Him to help you in the tomorrow. Don’t live for tomorrow, use your time today until you go to bed, and you have been successful .

“Anyone can do his work, however hard, for one day. Anyone can live sweetly, patiently, lovingly, purely, till the sun does down. And this is all that life really [requires of us]. (Dale Carnegie’s “How to stop worrying and start living.”)

Your work is to live for God. and You can do that work, however hard, one day at a time and you can use the time God gave you to do what God has called you to do, generously, when you do it day by day. Be resourceful with your time.

Your time is not yours. Your life is but a vapor and each breath you take is a gift from the Father. So, how dare we believe that our time is our own. It is God’s gift to us, bestowed upon us to help and give God glory time and time again.

Gifts

Not only does God give us time that we are supposed to use to give Him glory, He also gives us gifts and talent which we are called to use for the same purpose, to help those in need, build the Kingdom of God, and give the Father the most glory.

Each of you are gifted with something unique and special, and you are called to use that unique gift generously in order to fulfill God’s will in your life.

If you have the gift of hospitality, open your doors. If you have the gift of singing, come sing! If you have the gift of teaching, you need to teach! There is room in these four walls and outside them for your gift to be used and used generously.

As you discover your gifts, you must spend time in prayer and reflection to understand them. Then, use them!

As the passage read this morning, don’t use what God has given you sparingly or out of obligation. Only out of a heart of love and obedience joyfully use your gifts to give glory to God! Be resourceful with your gifts.

Finances

Whether we like talking about it or not, we are called to be generous with our finances.

Nothing you bring in financially is yours to begin with, it belongs to God and God gives it to you to use for His kingdom and the help of those in need.

Believe it or not, this passage this morning is specifically talking about money, so understand that even Paul needed money to advance the kingdom of God!

So, give. Give to your church, give to missions, give to the needy. Take care of your family, your church family, and those God calls you to help.

The Old Testament calls for a tithe of your finances to be given to the storehouse, the church. Many debate and argue that the New Testament does not call for the same commandment. And, technically, they would be correct!

But, before you get too excited about not giving to God, understand the passage we just read this morning.

English Standard Version (Chapter 9)

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.

You are not commanded to give a tenth of your income to the Lord, but Paul makes the principle under the inspiration of God, that you ought to give above and beyond. A tenth is a great place to start, but you ought to pray and decide with the Lord how much you ought to give to God and His kingdom.

Even the first tithe ever given to Melchizedek by Abraham wasn’t done so out of obligation, but out of a heart of love and compassion. Melch. points to Christ, so even through the Law and prophets we see the point is this: Don’t give out of obligation, but out of a love for Christ.

Don’t give ten percent of your income because you feel sinful if you don’t, give ten percent and more if the Lord guides you but out of a heart that believes God, trusts God, and love God.

Although tithing it is not a NT commandment, I find it to be the principle still. 1) Abraham wasn’t under that Law yet, but he gave 10%. He was led by the Spirit to do so. 2) if under the law 10% was required, we trust that God wouldn’t ask His people to give in a way that would harm them. And 3) the Law was not abolished, but fulfilled in Christ. That includes a tithe.

These three ideas should encourage us that, though a tenth is not commanded, it is the least we should be giving. Be resourceful with your finances.

Giving takes faith, but faith is what we are called to and faith leads to confidence!

Confidence in God’s Provision

When we are called to give out time, our gifts, our money, and all of who we are to God generously, then we must trust that He will provide all that we need.

When we give out of a heart of generosity, we will begin to have confidence that God will indeed take care of our every minute need!

Matthew 10:29–31 (KJV 1900)

Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

Although at times we feel totally worthless, understand with me this morning that you are valuable to God, and as such, He will take care of you!

We are so used to scamming culture that we struggle to trust that God asks us to give not to benefit himself, but to benefit His kingdom and His creation. In the meantime, we aren’t left struggling to feed ourselves or our children, but we are cared for by the Creator of the universe!

When we believe this, then we can give confidently! Our hearts will stop skipping a beat when we write our checks to the church, we can spend time helping people knowing God will provide for the time we may have “lost,” we can use our gifts boldly knowing God has provided them.

We can live totally confidently when we understand that God does not ask us to do something without the eternal promise that He will never leave us or forsake us.

If our Father knows when one bird dies, and He knows every hair you have on your head, then He knows your busy schedule, your shrinking bank accounts, and your fear to serve and He promises faithfulness to us when we are generous with what He has given us.

It isn’t yours anyway, so use it for God’s glory!

He provides the seed for sowing, He provides the bread for sustenance, we are enriched in every way simply so we can be generous in every single way! The point of your money, time, and each gift you have is so that you can be generous with them.

Be confident! Be confident that when you give and give generously that God will provide for you and take care of the rest. Fear not, but have peace.

Peace to Live Life

Psalm 23 (KJV 1900)

A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Peace to live life. Peace to exist every day with no anxiety for tomorrow. Trusting the Lord for TODAY’S bread. These are challenges in our world. But, when we simply stop, remember the words of Paul. Remember the words of David. We can trust that when we obey the Lord, we can confidently live our life knowing that He is genuinely caring for us. For surely goodness and mercy are following me all the days of my life.

This constant, daily reminder will help you to live your life with peace. True peace. The peace that Paul says goes beyond all of our understanding.

Peace to simply live life with no fear for tomorrow. No fear of that dwindling account. No fear of using your gifts. No fear of running out of time.

Simply having peace to live day to day understanding the promises of God throughout the entire Bible that says “Child, live for me and live at peace. I have you. I am holding you. I am caring for you. I am providing for you. Rest.”

Give all you can, all you have, all you are to the King of Kings and trust Him for the rest. Live at peace with the Lord.

Conclusion

“The late Queen Mary was walking in the vicinity of Balmoral on a dark and cloudy day. She strolled rather far, and as the rain came down she stopped at a cottage to borrow an umbrella. The woman did not recognize the queen, so decided to give the stranger an old umbrella with a broken rib. The next morning a man in gold braid appeared at the cottage door. "The Queen asked me to thank you for lending her the umbrella," he explained. The woman in the cottage was dumbfounded and with tears flowing down her checks said, ‘What an opportunity I missed! Why did I not give the Queen the best umbrella I had?’”

SONG

Are you guilty of giving the King your crumbs?

You call is greater than that. Give your King your very best. Your best time. Your best gifts. Your best finances. They are His to begin with and He allows you to use them, so use them for His kingdom.

Live for today, moment by moment. Fearlessly use your gifts for His glory. And financially support your church, missions, and the needy for the glory of God.

Live confidently. Live a life of peace. All through obedience to Jesus Christ.

Most importantly, before you can access what God has for you, you must know Jesus as Savior.

*salvation plea*