Investing in God’s Service Fund

Introduction (5m)

Using Your Money for God’s Purposes

Over the past few weeks, we have explored the fact that you should use your money for God's purposes for your life.

We have discovered God wants you to use some of your money in worship.

You should use some of your money to show him you love him and to prove he is your first priority in life.

God also wants you to use some of your money to invest it in the loving relationships you have with people here.

This often takes the form of practical help such as giving people lifts in your car, making a meal for someone who is unwell, telephoning or writing to someone who needs a word of encouragement.

At the beginning of our Self-Denial Appeal we explored that God has a mission for you in the world.

And God wants you to use some of your money to invest in this mission.

This week, we are looking at the fourth purpose of your life, which is to practice serving God by serving other people around you.

And of course, you can serve other people by serving them financially.

God wants you to use some of your money to help people in need.

They don't necessarily have to be believers.

They could be total strangers.

Over the past few months, you have invested in God’s Service Fund by:

Giving toys and gifts, and money towards them, for children in Ukraine.

Raising money to help Aimee and Esther travel to South Africa to take part in sports but also carry out charitable work.

Many of you give to other charities.

Whenever you give to campaigns like this you are investing in the Service Fund.

Why is this important?

James explains:

Bible Reading

James 2:14-26

James 2:14–26 NLT

What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless? Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone. Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.

MESSAGE NOTES

Explanation (5m)

Faith without actions is dead

James 2:17 NLT

So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

Your faith by itself, without works or actions, is dead.

James makes it clear that faith cannot be simply agreeing that God exists or some kind of intellectual belief in him:

James 2:19 NLT

You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.

Saving faith must include deeds or works:

James 2:14 NLT

What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?

And biblical faith is best defined as active obedience.

The examples that James uses to reveal this vital truth are Abraham and Rahab. But he could have chosen many more:

The one common denominator of every person in Scripture who honoured God by their faith is that they actively obeyed Him (Paul Cedar, pastor).

That is why our ninth Article of Faith says:

We believe that continuance in a state of salvation depends upon continued obedient faith in Christ.

We are not "once saved, always saved"people. Our salvation depends upon continuing to obey Christ. And one of the ways that we can do that is to use our money to invest in other people by investing in them financially.

Expand your ministry

Everyone has a ministry.

God has given everyone at least one gift to use in service for other people.

You have a ministry.

You may not be an officer, but you are a minister.

God has called you.

God doesn't want you to live for yourself but to serve other people to make the world a better place.

If you're not doing that, then you are missing out on one of the purposes of your life.

God wants you to use some of your money to expand your ministry.

Ministry is simply meeting the needs of other people in Jesus’ name.

It might be a financial need, it might be a physical need, it might be an emotional need or it might be a practical need.

God wants you to use your money to expand the ways in which you help people in his name:

2 Corinthians 8:7 NLT

Since you excel in so many ways—in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us—I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving.

Acts 20:35 NLT

And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

So think about how you could use your money to expand what you do for other people in Jesus’ name.

God is watching your generosity

Remember, God is watching how you use your money:

Imagine this: Let’s say you had a father who was a multi, multi billionaire. One day your dad brings you in and he says, “I’ve got this huge fortune that I want to give to you. I want to share it with you. But I need to know if you’re capable of handling it. I need to test you to see if you can handle this amount of wealth. Here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to give you a set amount of money to live on and then I want you to learn to live on less than the amount I give you. I want you to live on less than the amount I give you so you can give some of it away to help other people. I’m going to be watching you to see how you manage and distribute my money. Remember it’s mine. I’m just going to give it to you. I’m going to watch to see how you manage and distribute it and if you do well I’m going to give it all to you”. What would you do with that money? You’d be very, very careful in how you used it. (Rick Warren).

The thing is, God says the same thing to you.

God says to you, I'm going to bring you to heaven one day and I want you to share my wealth in heaven for eternity.

But in the meantime, I am going to test you, watching you to see if you are just going to spend the money I have given you on yourself.

If you do, then I cannot trust you with it.

God wants to know if you are going to be generous with your money.

Are you going to pass it around, spread it around to other people?

Or are you simply going to hold it for yourself:

Proverbs 11:24 NLT

Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything.

Our God is generous

The point is that the more you give to others, the more God gives to you.

Why? Because God wants you to learn to be like him.

Our God is a generous God.

Everything you have in your life is because God is generous.

If God was selfish, then you would have nothing.

You wouldn't even be alive if God was not generous.

Now you may be thinking that you worked for and earned your money.

But think for a moment: where did your ability to work come from?

Who gave you your intellect or your hands?

Who gave you your health to enable you to work?

Who decided where you were born and gave you the economic freedom to earn your money?

Everything you have in life is a total gift from God.

God is generous, and he wants you to be generous too.

And the amazing thing is that every time you’re generous, God rewards you.

And there is one particular group of people God wants you to be especially generous with: the poor.

The Bible is filled with commands and references about caring for the poor and for those who cannot help themselves.

And God's heart tells us he doesn't just want us to give our money to them but to love them as much as we love ourselves:

Matthew 22:39 NLT

A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

God is asking you to love and to be generous to others as you would want to be loved and as you would want other people to be generous to you.

He wants you to give as if it were your child who was blind from drinking contaminated water.

He wants you to give as if you were the homeless man or woman sitting outside the cafe.

He wants you to give as if it were your family who was living in a shack cobbled together from cardboard and scrap metal:

People who are obsessed with God are known as givers, not takers. Obsessed people genuinely think that others matter as much as they do, and they are particularly aware of those who are poor around the world (Francis Chan).

Application (5m)

Giving to the needs of others is a test

James 2:15–17 NLT

Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

So what is your response when you face a test like this?

Are you generous?

Or do you simply say goodbye and have a good day?

The Chicago-based newspaper StreetWise is sold by homeless people who collect a portion of the proceeds. One day as I walked to work, I passed a StreetWise vendor. It was a bitterly cold January morning, and I’d already stopped by Starbucks and paid more than a buck for a measly cup of coffee. Feeling noble, I struggled to find my wallet, reached in, and took out a dollar.

The homeless woman asked, “Do you really want the paper, or can I keep it to sell to someone else?” “Keep the paper,” I replied. Then I added, “How are you today?” “I’m so cold,” she said. “I hope the sun comes out, it warms up, and you have a good day,” I told her as I turned to go.

I continued on, with the cup of coffee warming my hand. About half a block later, the conversation finally registered. I wrestled for a moment with what I should do, but I was late, so I kept walking. Ever since, I’ve regretted not giving her a cup of hot coffee in Christ’s name (Joseph Stowell).

That phrase, “Good-bye and have a good day” or "Go in peace" as it is translated in other versions of the Bible, when addressed to beggars, can still be heard in Jerusalem today, and it has the same effect.

It simply signals the end of the encounter.

The speaker does nothing and simply goes on his way.

The beggar is still cold and hungry.

And the law of love remains unfulfilled.

Don’t pass by on the other side

I trust that when another person's need presents itself to you, whether directly like the Big Issue seller in the story or more indirectly such as an opportunity to give to charity, that you decide not to simply pass by on the other side.

James makes the reason for this clear.

He says you may claim to have faith.

I claim to have works, or actions and behaviour.

He says I can prove the existence and quality of my faith by my actions and behaviour.

But how will you prove to anyone the existence and quality of your faith?

Without actions and behaviour, you cannot possibly have genuine faith.

The Bible tells you that you are the Body of Christ.

Let's ensure that this Corps’ hands and feet are never amputated.

We need to ensure that we continue to use them in service for other people.

Part of that is to use your money to help those in need.

Pray you will find ways in coming days and weeks to invest in God's Service Fund.

May it be said of this Corps as it was of the churches in Macedonia:

2 Corinthians 8:5 NLT

They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.

Next Steps

Video: They Need Christ

Video: They Need Christ | 5:00

There are people hurting in the world out there. They need you, they need me, they need Christ. There are children crying and no one to care. They need you, they need me, they need Christ. And they?ll go on hurting in the world out there, And they?ll go on dying, drowning in despair, And they?ll go on crying, that?s unless we care! They need you, they need me, they need Christ. 2 There are people living who would rather die.  They need you, they need me, they need Christ. And their Christian neighbours simply pass them by! They need you, they need me, they need Christ. There are people sitting by a silent phone, People cold and hungry, people left alone, Suicides for reasons that remain unknown. They need you, they need me, they need Christ. 3 There?s the prostitute, and there?s the pris?ner too. They need you, they need me, they need Christ. There?s the skid row fella who won?t look at you. They need you, they need me, they need Christ. The compulsive gambler dreaming of his yacht, And the lad that?s stealing just to get his ?shot?, And the girl that?s pregnant and pretends she?s not. They need you, they need me, they need Christ. 4 There are runaways who want a place to go. They need you, they need me, they need Christ. There are alcoholics who don?t seem to know? They need you, they need me, they need Christ. There are godless people who have lost their way, And they need God?s love but they?re afraid to say. If we close our eyes perhaps they?ll go away Without you, without me, without Christ. John Gowans (1934-2012) © The General of The Salvation Army. Used By Permission. CCL Licence No. 135015 Copied from The Song Book of The Salvation Army Song Number 935