Because He Gave First

Introduction

Parker Vasquez was a 3-year old little boy, full of life and energy, as most three year-olds are. Parker had a remarkable trait about him and that was that he loved to share whatever he had with others around him. It seems that Parker’s parents, Philip and Angela, were doing a good job at raising a considerate son. On May 19th of 2024, however, tragedy struck the family. Angela Vasquez, Parkers two siblings, and his aunt were traveling through Cherryville, North Carolina when a truck t-boned their van. Parker received the the brunt of the impact, and though he was treated by an excellent team of medical workers, Parker passed away just a few days later.

When it became apparent that Parker would not survive his injuries, Philip and Angela made the decision to donate Parker’s organs.

Parker’s heart and his kidneys directly helped save the lives of another 3 year-old boy and a 49 year-old man. His other organs and organ tissue were instrumental in either saving or improving the quality of an estimated 80 other lives.

Not too long after this event, the story garnered attention on the local news and social media. Many people saw the importance of becoming organ donors. In North and South Carolinas, there was a spike in people registering as organ donors.

The Vasquez family's community, together with some recipients of Parker’s organs, rallied around them—offering support through fundraisers, practical assistance, and heartfelt personal connections, all rooted in a profound sense of gratitude for their remarkable gift.

And the reason these people rallied around the Vasquez family and gave was because they gave first.

This morning, we conclude our series on giving to the work of God through the church with a sermon titled:

Because He Gave First

This is a sermon on giving, but it may not go exactly as you might think.

Today, we have several visitors, and to you I’d like to say this: This morning, we are wrapping up an annual series that we preach through called Faith Forward. We ask our members to prayerfully consider committing to a 12 month period of giving so that our church can better and more wisely develop a good budget for the upcoming year.

This is not forced upon anyone, and much less do we expect visitors to give to this church. So. If you are a visitor, I want to thank you for being here and we want you to not feel obligated in anyway to give to Good News Baptist Church financially or in any other way.

Though this sermon will deal with what the Bible says about giving to the church, it is not solely a sermon about giving, and I hope that the content of this message blesses your heart and your life.

So before we get any further, let us pray.

Why Does God Want Christians to Give?

Have you ever wondered that? Why does God want Christians to give to the church? If God can do anything, why can’t He provide for the church’s needs some other way?

And the answer to that is simply that He can provide for the church any way He pleases, but it pleases Him that the church be invested in by the members of that church.

The word communication is an interesting word. In businesses and relationships the world over, we recognize the importance of communication. Without proper communication, everything grinds to a halt.

The New Testament of the Bible occasionally uses this word communication. But, in the words of Inigo Montoya, it does not mean what many of us might think it means.

1. Because It Provides for the Ministers

Look, for example, at Galatians 6:6

Galatians 6:6 KJV 1900

6 Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.

Let those that are taught communicate with those that are teaching. Now, this sounds pretty simple and pretty cut and dry. If I am being taught (and the context here is the context of the church and spiritual teachings), then I need to make sure that I am talking and communicating with the teacher or the pastor.

But if we look into what the work communicate means, we will find that this is not what we may think it means. Communicate means “to share goods with.” “Are you being taught,” Paul asks the Galatians, “Then you need to support the pastor teaching you.”

To Timothy, Paul writes this in 1 Timothy 5:17-18

1 Timothy 5:17–18 KJV 1900

17 Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. 18 For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.

Timothy was a pastor of a church, and Paul tells him that he should be compensated for his work in preaching and training the church to be disciples of Jesus.

So, why should we give? Well, one of the reasons is to provide for the pastor or elders in leadership of the church.

2. Because It Provides for the Ministries

Another reason to give is to communicate with those in need within the church. There is that word “communicate” again, and it is once again used in 1 Timothy 6:17-18

1 Timothy 6:17–18 KJV 1900

17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; 18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;

Paul is instructing this pastor, Timothy, to encourage those that have money to be willing to share in the burdens of those who do not have money.

One of the things that we have here for members of our church that are needy is a food pantry. This is first for the members of our church, because this is a way that we communicate in their needs, we share in their needs, and then we also look to be able to share in the needs of those in our community that have a need for some food for themselves or their families.

We give to the church to support the ministries of the church. Today we have several visitors from the Good News Clubs. Good News Clubs is a ministry that allows us to go into public schools and openly teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in after-school programs.

Over the last 7 weeks, members of our church have gone and participated in teaching God’s word, singing songs, teaching memory verses, sharing snacks, and playing games with a group of about 27 children from Cleveland Elementary. In these last seven weeks we have been able to witness to these children and see 7 of them give their lives to Jesus salvation and the forgiveness of sins. If you have given to the church, you have communicated with that ministry, you have shared your goods with that ministry, and you have a hand in the seven souls that were saved even though you may never have been able to participate one of the clubs.

The same goes for the discipleship and the teen events and camps, and the vacation Bible schools (even though we didn’t have on this year). Every time you give, you are giving to these ministries.

So should Christians give to their church? Because it is the path that God has chosen to use to financially sustain churches, their ministries, and their pastors.

But why else?

3. Because It Is an Eternal Investment

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke about laying up treasures in Heaven rather than laying up treasures on earth. Jesus says this in Matthew 6:19-20

Matthew 6:19–20 KJV 1900

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

Store up treasures in heaven, not on earth. Because if I store up treasures on earth, eventually, they will all go away. Houses and cars deteriorate and break down. Money devalues. Things get old and loose their luster and excitement. Gadgets get outdated. Computers become obsolete. Clothes get faded and torn. Everything gets old. And if I choose to invest my money on earthly things, they will all come to an end sooner or later.

However, if I choose to invest my things in heavenly treasures, they will last for eternity. Some of our Good News Club workers were able to tell children about the Gospel and witness them receive the gift of eternal life that is in Jesus. They all have a reward that cannot be taken away. That excitement that they will have remembering how, because of their invested time, efforts, and even money into Good News Clubs, they were able to tell a young boy or girl about Jesus and watch as the holy Spirit guided them to faith and repentance is something that no one, ever, will be able to take away.

4. Because It Connects Our Hearts to God’s Work

Fourthly, one of the reasons why God wants Christians to give to the church is because it connects our hearts to the work of God in the church and it binds us to one another.

Immediately after those two verses that we read in Matthew just a while ago comes verse 21.

Matthew 6:21 KJV 1900

21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

When you invest in something, you become emotionally attached to it. In fact, we become downright defensive about things. I’ll give you an example:

I love Samsung phones. I think they are the premier type of cell phone. Is this a reason to argue with people who prefer I-phones? Should this be cause for arguments with other people who have I-phones about whose phone is the best? No. Should I be able to just be quietly right about this issue and allow others to be wrong without saying a word? You would think so. But I have, over the past 15 years, invested a lot of money in Samsung.

No, I do not own stock in Samsung, but I do own a lot of their products, and over the last 15 years, have exclusively used Samsung phones. So I get a bit defensive about it sometimes if I am not careful. Why? Because I am emotionally attached to Samsung. A significant amount of treasure has gone there.

People graduate schools and universities and sometimes, give regularly to those organizations’ booster clubs or scholarship programs. And wouldn’t you know it, they are very emotionally attached to those schools.

I worked security at Martin High School in Arlington, Texas, and one of my favorite things to do was to work the football games. Martin had an excellent football program, and I got paid to watch high school football games. now, I know that here in the mid-west basketball is king in high schools, but in Texas, football is not just king, it is the totalitarian emperor of everyone’s world. Nine out of the ten most expensive high school football stadiums in the country are in Texas.

While I attended the games, I would often see people there that I did not recognize. There was a particular couple in their 60’s that went to every home game. In the years that I worked there, I began to recognize them, and on occasion held conversations with them.

One game in particular, I remember Martin High School scoring a touchdown while I was near this couple, and they got up out of their seats and cheered particularly loudly. Once they had settled a bit, I asked them if it was their grandson that had scored. To my surprise, they said that they not have grandchildren. As I began to talk to them, they mentioned that they did not have any children either. The husband had gone to Martin High School, and they had tried to come to every home football game they could a few years they got married.

It turns out, he regularly donated to the football booster club. He told me of the different practice equipment and weight training equipment he had helped purchase. How he had helped renovate the locker room, and how a few seasons ago, he had helped purchase track suits for the players.

He had gotten emotionally attached to this football team that no one in his family had ever played on, and if I were to guess, one of the major factors about it was that he was contributing regularly some rather large sums of money.

“Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Giving to the mission of the church will connect you beyond the financial. It will bring your heart into it as well. You will be interested in what is going on in the children’s ministry even though you may not be teaching or helping in a class. You will become interested in the discipleship courses and in the growth of others even though they may not be in your particular small group, but you may have donated some books.

And when problems arise, you will pray and defend your church and its members because you have invested in this place and its work.

These are just four of the many reasons why God tells us to give to the church. But these are not, nor should they ever be, the driving force of why Christians should give to God’s work through the church.

We give, like the title of this sermon says, Because He Gave First.

Because He Gave First

The drive that should cause us each to willingly and generously give to the work of God is the fact that He gave first.

The reason we love God is that He first loved us. 1 John 4:19

1 John 4:19 KJV 1900

19 We love him [God], because he first loved us.

And His love was demonstrated in a very specific way.

Romans 5:8 KJV 1900

8 But God commendeth [demonstrates] his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Despite Our Sin

He gave to us when we didn’t deserve it. Children from the Good News Clubs have been learning that sin is anything that we say, think, or do that breaks God’s laws or makes Him sad.

Sin separates us from a holy, perfect God. Each and everyone of us has a condition called sin, and because that condition, we do not deserve to live in God’s presence, and there is no way of erasing that sin from our lives.

Romans 3:23 KJV 1900

23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

We all come short of the glory of God. I was talking to a child on Friday and showed him this verse, and this is how I explained it.

Have you ever been to a place where there are rides and rollercoasters? He had been to Adventureland, so I asked him, “Were there any rides you could get on because you were not tall enough yet?” And he said yes.

That is how this verse can be understood. Adventureland has standards of height that need to be met for certain rides, and if you do not meet them, you cannot get on.

God has a standard for living with Him and having a relationship with Him and being able to stand in His glorious presence, and that standard is perfection. There is no one who can meet that standard. We all fall woefully short of it, and there is no hope for us to ever be perfect.

The Bible tells us not only that God is Holy, but that He is Just. This means that God is perfectly righteous and right. Psalm 89:14

Psalm 89:14 KJV 1900

14 Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: Mercy and truth shall go before thy face.

God lives in justice. God wants things that are right and lawful to be done. He is the giver of the law, and wants it to be obeyed. And in giving the law, God also gave consequences for anyone who would break His law.

Romans 6:23 KJV 1900

23 For the wages of sin is death...

The penalty for sin is death. This death is not just a physical death, it is a spiritual death, a spiritual separation from God.

When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, God told them to not eat of the forbidden fruit because in the day that they ate of it, they would surely die.

When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, they took of the fruit and ate it. And that day, there was a death that took place. They died spiritually. God came to walk through the Garden and have a conversation with them as He often did, and for the first time in human history, Adam and Eve hid from God instead of running to God. They were ashamed that they had disobeyed. There was something within them now, this state of being sinful, that made them do something that they had never done before - run from God.

And when God called out to Adam asking where he was, it was not because God didn’t know that Adam and Eve were hiding. It was so Adam would have the chance to repent of his sin.

And Adam did. He said, “Lord, I am hiding. I am hiding because I am ashamed. I am ashamed because I ate of the fruit you told us not to eat.”

Their relationship with God died that day. Whereas they used to walk with God regularly, now, they would not, because now they, and all humanity afterward, fell short of God’s standard of perfection. They got kicked out of the Garden of Eden, and their relationship with God was broken.

But God did something wonderful that day. Because they had sinned, and because God is just (supremely interested in keeping the law, and always right), and because God is also loving, He did something for Adam and Eve.

God took another creation. The Bible says that God made for Adam and Eve coats of skins. This means that He had to take an animal and kill it. This animal, or animals, die so that the shame of Adam and Eve can be covered. Not paid for, but covered.

Remember that God had said that they would surely die if they sinned? Well, this event is a foreshadowing of several things. Adam and Eve did die spiritually, as we have already seen - being separated from Gon, no longer having access and good communication with Him, no longer in a good relationship with Him.

But they physically did not die. Instead, God killed an animal in their place. This was not good enough to take away their sin, but it was good enough to cover it.

And just as much as God loves justice, He also loves mercy, so instead of killing Adam and Eve right then, He accepted the death of an animal. An animal that had been created perfect. An animal that had done no wrong at all.

To Cleanse Us From Sin

And this sacrifice was necessary, because according to God’s law, the only thing that can legally pay for sin is blood.

Hebrews 9:22 KJV 1900

22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

The MEV states it this way: “And According to the law, almost everything must be cleansed with blood; without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

God instituted later a system of animal sacrifices that would cover, not forgive or take away, but simply cover the sins of people. These animals needed to be absolutely perfect. Lambs had to be spotless. They could not be blind or have any deformity or have even suffered scrapes or bruising. And though these perfect animals were sacrificed for sin, their blood was only sufficient at covering sin, not taking it away. If you go on to read Hebrews chapter 10 you will see that the blood of these sacrifices was not enough towash away the sins. Though they were perfect specimens, they were not people, and only a perfect person’s blood could take away the sin of the world. The only issue is this: There are no perfect people.

So God gave His Son. John 3:16

John 3:16 KJV 1900

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

The world was perishing, and still is, because of sin. Sin separates us from God, condemning us to the righteous punishment of the second death which is a lake of fire. But He gave so that those who believe in Jesus and accept Him would have everlasting life and the forgiveness of sins.

Remember what Romans 6:23 said, we read it earlier.

But there is another part to that verse.

Romans 6:23 KJV 1900

23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

How could it be that we, being imperfect could possibly gain the favor of God and be given the gift of eternal life? How could it be that God, who demands justice, and that means perfect blood needs to be shed for our sins, how could God overlook that and just give away eternal life?

John the Baptist boldly and truthfully declared this of Jesus in John 1:29

John 1:29 KJV 1900

29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

The way that God was going to be able to offer eternal life to sinners like you and me was to have Jesus be the perfect sacrifice. He was to be like those lambs that were sacrificed every year to cover the sins of the people, except that his perfection would not be skin deep. Jesus would live a life that was absolutely perfect. Never sinning one time, never disrespecting others, never thinking bad thoughts, never doing anything that ever broke the least of God’s commandments.

This is hard for us to comprehend, probably, as each of us struggle with sin daily. But here is the thing about Jesus, we read it pretty clearly in the book of Philippians 2:5-8

Philippians 2:5–8 KJV 1900

5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: [this means that Jesus was equal to God. He is God, part of the Trinity with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. He is in deity and in glory and in holiness, in power, and in authority, and in every other way absolutely equal to God the Father. And yet, this is what He did:] 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: [He humbled himself from sitting on his throne to coming to be born as a baby human being. He did not dispose of his deity, of His God-ness, but took on the form of a person. He took on a body with all its limitation - hunger, thirst, tiredness, the ability to feel exhaustion, sickness, and pain.] 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, [though Jesus is God, he chose to come as a servant, not to be served. If I were God and chose to come to this earth and present myself to people I would not be born, I’d just appear. I would not go through the child years or the teenaged years. I would just appear at the perfect age, whatever that is. And if I were to choose to be born as a baby, I certainly would not pick poor parents. I’d be born in the grandest of palaces. But not Jesus. He humbled Himself. He was born in a little town of Bethlehem. His beginnings on this earth as a man were so humble that He had to be placed in a manger, a feeding trough, because there was no room in any house or inn in that town. His first visitors were not rich and noble men. No, Jesus’ first visitors were humble shepherds. And then, not only did He live humbly, Jesus was obedient to the Father’s will] and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. [It was God the father’s will to send Jesus to die on the cross to shed His perfect blood for you and me, and Jesus obeyed, even though it cost Him so much pain and suffering.]

God gave to us His Son Jesus so that sins would no longer just be covered, but be absolutely taken away and fully forgiven. Why did Jesus have to become a man? Why did He willingly have to sacrifice His life? Why did He have to shed His blood? Because the legal payment for sin is blood. Blood that came from a person. Blood that never had been tainted by sin. Perfect blood. And the only person with that blood is Jesus.

Jesus told His disciples this in John 14:6

John 14:6 KJV 1900

6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

But how could Jesus possibly save if He was dead? Well, this is the thing about Jesus. Remember that Jesus is God, God in the flesh. Remember that He since He is God, He has the same authority and power that God the Father has. Yes, Jesus died on the cross, but to show His disciples, to prove to them and even to those that did not believe Him that He is indeed God, he rose again from the dead. He came back to life three days after He had died.

We read about Jesus humbling Himself and being obedient to the death of the cross, but look at what the very next verses there in Philippians say.

Philippians 2:9–11 KJV 1900

9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The Bible tells us this in Acts 4:12

Acts 4:12 KJV 1900

12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Only Jesus can save.

Jesus’ blood can wash away our sins. Jesus can save you from the punishment of sin, and He is the only one that can.

God Gave First - Despite our sin, to cleanse us from sin, and to reestablish a relationship with mankind.

To Redeem Mankind

We call this redemption. To redeem means to buy back. Satan is the one that tempted Adam and Eve to sin, and when they did sin, the relationship they had with God was broken, and they fell into the family of Satan, and every human being since has been a part of that family.

But Jesus paid the price to not just forgive us from our sins, but to buy us back from that family.

Take a look at what John 1:12 says.

John 1:12 KJV 1900

12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.

Well, this is the ticket. How can we be redeemed? How can we have our sins forgiven in a way that God buys us back and makes us His children and gives us a relationship with Him and calls us sons and daughters?

We must believe on His name. That means we must believe what the Bible says about Jesus. We must believe that He died and rose again, that His sacrifice was sufficient to forgive our sin, and that He is the only one that can save us.

We must receive Him. We must accept Him. He is the gift of eternal life.

And how do you do this, you might ask?

Romans 10:9–10 KJV 1900

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

It is not just saying some words, it is understanding and admitting in your heart what these words mean.

It involves repentance. Repentance is changing your mind. Changing your mind to thinking what God thinks about sin and what the Bible says about Jesus and salvation.

You must realize that sin separates you from God and that there is nothing that you can do about that of your own power. You must recognize that Jesus, God in the flesh, died for you on a cross and rose again on the third day. And you must recognize that Jesus is the only one that can save you.

if you believe those things, then you must ask Him to save you. This is where prayer comes in. Prayer is simply talking to God. The prayer for salvation is simply asking Jesus to forgive you of your sins and to be your savior.

Look at what Romans 10:13 says.

Romans 10:13 KJV 1900

13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

What a beautiful promise. Those who call on Jesus, the Lord - those who believe him and call on Him and ask for forgiveness, shall be saved.

It is a very complex thing that Jesus did for us to be able to get saved. But it is a simple thing that He asks us to do - believe in Him and ask Him for salvation and forgiveness.

We often tend to overcomplicate things, but God made it so simple that even a child that understands about sin and understands about Jesus can be saved.

This is exactly what happened Friday evening. I was talking to a boy about 6 years old.

He knew he was a sinner. He recognized that His sin separated him from God. And we had spent 6 weeks talking about how Jesus, the Son of God, came to the world to die for our sins and rose again on the third day.

That afternoon I asked him, “Do you believe that Jesus is God and that He came to die for your sins?” He said, “yes.”

“Do you believe that He rose again and that no one else is able to save you from your sins?” Again, he said yes to both.

Then I asked him, “Would you like to ask Jesus to forgive you and save you?”

And this boy bowed his head and closed his eyes and said one of the simplest prayers of salvation I have ever heard. “Will you forgive my sins, Jesus?”

It rivals the simplicity of the thief on the cross who simply said, “Lord, remember me when you come in your kingdom.”

Friday evening, at about 5 o’clock, a young man was redeemed and forgiven and entered into the family of God. He was able to do this because he realized he was a sinner, he knew Jesus was the only one that could save him, and he believed what the Bible says about Jesus dying and rising again to save us. And in that belief, he asked Jesus, he called on the name of the Lord to forgive his sins.

And you know what, Jesus kept His promise, and that young man became saved and received the gift of eternal life.

What does this all have to do with Parker Vasquez? Well, because of the gift of Parker’s organs, scores of people were able to live. Yes, it is a bit different. Parker did not sacrifice himself for others, but his parents sacrificed parts of their son for others. And that is what God did for mankind, except that God was willing to send His Son to die so that we could live eternally with Him.

Christians in the congregation today, we ought to learn from the example of those touched by the Vasquez family. Those that received the gifts of organs and organ tissue, many of them reached out in gratitude to the Philip and Angela, Parker’s parents. In their gratitude they gave back to the Vasquez family. They raised funds for them, they gave money for practical needs like groceries and bills, they gave their friendship.

We ought to be motivated by gratitude to our God every day because He gave to us first. And part of our gratitude should be shown in the form of giving. How much? That is between you and Him, but give, not out of obligation, but out of love and gratitude for what He has given to us.

Invitation:

This morning, if you are not saved, you need to realize that God has given the most precious thing, His Son Jesus, to die on a cross to save you from sin.

If you have never done what this young boy has done, believing in Jesus and asking for the forgiveness of sins, then today you are in need of salvation.

Christians, those that are saved already, and specifically those that are members and regular attenders of Good News Baptist Church, if you have ever wondered, “Why should I give to the church?” I hope your answer that helps you give is not one of the for results of giving - it supports the ministers, supports the ministries, it’s an eternal investment, or because it helps me connect with God’s work and the church.

I hope that the driving force for your giving is gratitude that He Gave First for you to be saved.

Bow heads and close eyes.