Is God holding out on Me?

Welcome

Hello and Good Afternoon everyone, thank you all for coming today, it is great to see you all

Today we are continuing our on generosity, we are going to build off of last weeks sermon and we are going to dive a bit deeper into the understanding behind what Jesus had talked about in Luke.

Recap

Last week we discussed how Jesus taught about how people deal with abundance and generosity, in the parable in Lk 12 the farmer had this super fertile field and had so much he didn’t know what to do with so his answer was to hoard everything as his security and peace.

In the parable, Jesus makes the claim, what is the use in being rich in material things unless you are rich in your relationship with God, who in fact is the source of any material wealth that we would have.

Jesus building on that point then said consider nature…seriously look at it, the ravens and the lilies, how spectacular those are and they are fully provided for by our heavenly Father, how much more valuable to God are we then they.

So Jesus continued to say that in response to abundance instead of hoard, be generous because our heavenly Father is generous to us. We are blessed, to be a blessing.

So today we are going to look at the Scriptures and the understanding that Jesus was using to help us understand this even deeper.

Theological Point: God is Immutable

So before we dive into the Old Testament I want to make a theological point.

I am going to use a fancy church word and that is that God is Immutable.

It does not mean that you can not make God silent, it means that God is unchanging

There are dozens of verses in scripture both OT and NT that talk about this point.

Usually they use the language like:

God is Everlasting or Eternal

the same yesterday, today and forever,

God’s own revealed name of “I am” means I am who I am, He is a fixed character

The Alpha and the Omega

The list goes on, they are all hitting at this very point .

One of the best verses that hits this point home in this context with the implication we are discussing is found in Malachi

Malachi 3:6 NRSVue

6 For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, have not perished.

Here the point is clear, because God does not change, that is the reason for a great number of things. In this particular case why the nation of Israel had not been cast off, but in other cases it is what fuels God’s faithfulness.

God does not change.

So if God says He is going to provide, He is not going to go back on His Word, He is not going to one day decide that He no longer wants to bother with us humans anymore.

It also means that when we look at God in the OT we can know that His character is consistent.

We also know that God is exactly like Jesus, has always been exactly like Jesus, they are the same in character.

So we are going to see a consistency between the teachings of Jesus and the actions of God in the OT and therefore we will see the consistency now today and forever more.

With that in mind I want to talk about God as the God who blesses.

God as the God who blesses

Who knows where the first blessings are in the bible?

It is indeed, the very first page of the Bible. Gen 1 God blesses the birds and fish, then the humans, then the seventh day.

So what is a blessing?

A blessing is kind of old language for us now but for then, it was significantly more meaningful.

I am going to do a direct quote because I think this covers it so well:

New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis OT

As a preliminary statement, it must be stressed that nothing was more important than securing the blessing of God in one’s life or nation. All religious or superstitious peoples (in other words, virtually the entire ancient world, along with most of the world to this day) have actively sought the blessing of a specific deity or spirit, believing that this blessing will make them fertile, or prosper them, protect them, deliver them, heal them, preserve them, empower them, exalt them, favor them, or, possibly, bring about all the above. The blessing is thought of as tangible, its effects perceivable and, at times, measurable. The more powerful the deity, the more important the blessing.

How crucial it was, then, for the people of Israel to secure the blessing of the all-powerful god, the only creator, the ruler of the ends of the earth, their true lord and rightful king, whose blessing no one could reverse and whose curse no one could lift. And where there was a covenantal (or family) blessing passed on through the generations, there was nothing more urgent than being properly positioned so as to receive (or inherit) that blessing (cf.

I would argue even today, nothing else really matters.

Like Jesus said in Luke who by worrying can add a single hour to their life, meaning it is the blessing of God that sustains you. He is the source of all life.

Even most successful business people in interviews will often admit, that it really wasn’t something they did or not, it was just being at the right place at the right time. In other words God did that, God saw that thing happen.

So if it all comes down to God’s blessing…then the question becomes…is God stingy with blessing?

The answer to this in emphatically no, God is the generous blesser. Not only that but God in order for God to bless, which looks like abundance and fecundity in all enterprises…then He must also sustain the conditions for that blessing!

What that means is this…if God is going to give anyone an abundance blessing, He must also provide for it.

For example if I were to say someone, I am going to bless you to make billions of dollars, in order for that blessing to mean anything, I would have to provide for the means and ability to make billions of dollars.

So When God says be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth, subdue and rule it…He is then also going to sustain the resources in order for that to happen. It is no good to give the blessing and then not provide the food, water, clothing, and housing in order to sustain that.

This is why Jesus says you focus on the kingdom and the things I have asked you to do and I will take care of the provision…because He is already doing it as a part of sustaining the blessing that He has given to us.

Because Jesus sustains the blessing He gave, He is already sustaining the provision for it, which sounds pretty Generous to me.

So next week we are going to look more in depth at what actual blessings have been given and where do we as Christians fit into all of this.

To close today I want to look at a Psalm and finish by meditating on it.

You can tell a lot about how people think about God by their worship songs and this is certainly true for this:

As I read this, I want you all to think about God as the Generous sustainer and provider, the God who brings Order, think of Gen 1.

Psalm 104 NRSVue

1 Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty, 2 wrapped in light as with a garment. You stretch out the heavens like a tent; 3 you set the beams of your chambers on the waters; you make the clouds your chariot; you ride on the wings of the wind; 4 you make the winds your messengers, fire and flame your ministers. 5 You set the earth on its foundations, so that it shall never be shaken. 6 You cover it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. 7 At your rebuke they flee; at the sound of your thunder they take to flight. 8 They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys, to the place that you appointed for them. 9 You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth. 10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills, 11 giving drink to every wild animal; the wild asses quench their thirst. 12 By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation; they sing among the branches. 13 From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work. 14 You cause the grass to grow for the cattle and plants for people to cultivate, to bring forth food from the earth 15 and wine to gladden the human heart, oil to make the face shine and bread to strengthen the human heart. 16 The trees of the field are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. 17 In them the birds build their nests; the stork has its home in the fir trees. 18 The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the coneys. 19 You have made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting. 20 You make darkness, and it is night, when all the animals of the forest come creeping out. 21 The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God. 22 When the sun rises, they withdraw and lie down in their dens. 23 People go out to their work and to their labor until the evening. 24 O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. 25 There is the sea, great and wide; creeping things innumerable are there, living things both small and great. 26 There go the ships and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it. 27 These all look to you to give them their food in due season; 28 when you give to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. 29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. 30 When you send forth your spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground. 31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works— 32 who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke. 33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. 34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord. 35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord!

This psalm has been repeated daily and weekly for Jews and Christians alike for Millenia, what we have talked about today is the very heartbeat of all that matters in the universe. God is the Generous Blesser.

James the brother of Jesus says it like this:

James 1:16–17 NRSVue

16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers and sisters. 17 Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Communion