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Tell the story of the talents (minas) from ().

Tell the story of the talents (minas) from ().

Tell the story of the talents (minas) from ().

The King trusted his people to invest the wealth they were given to grow His Kingdom.

The King trusted his people to invest the wealth they were given to grow His Kingdom.

They were commanded to take risks.

They were commanded to take risks.

The servant who disobeyed did not even invest his money; he just sat on it.

The servant who disobeyed did not even invest his money; he just sat on it.

BIG IDEA: Our wealth is given us by God so that we can invest it to further the Kingdom of God.

BIG IDEA: Our time, wealth, and other resources are given us by God so that we can invest it to further the Kingdom of God.

Need to address, giving is for members and regular attenders.

The king called them to take risks with his wealth to further his Kingdom.

And you may think, well, I would take risks with God’s money, with God’s time, with God’s resources. But, I need to to care of the things I’ve earned.

But, Paul says in , ‘What do you have that you did not receive’ and in , Paul says, ‘All things are the Lords.’

That’s actually what we saw in the story, isn’t it?

The King gave wealth to his subjects to invest to further his kingdom. As Christians, we recognize that everything we have—cars, house, money—all we have are God’s resources, given for us to further the Kingdom of God.

But, what if I give too much and I don’t have enough for my family? What if I don’t have enough money to give? What if we don’t spend money correctly as a church? What if we lose what we have? What do we really have to gain?

You have to remember the purpose of giving. Giving is for the express purpose of expanding God’s Kingdom on the earth. It might seem uncomfortable. It might seem difficult. But, it is necessary to further the Kingdom of God. Paul wrote,

We endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. (, ESV)

Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. (, ESV)

The ultimate purpose of all giving, for Christians, is to further the Kingdom of God; to invest our wealth together—whether we have much or we have little—in order to carry out the mission of God in this world.

It’s easy to think that our giving in the church is about the program of the church. It feels like we give so that we can have a pastor to teach and to pray for us. We give so that we can have an equipped children’s ministry. We give so that we can pay a talented band leader—those sorts of things.

(, ESV)

But, for Paul, our giving to the church begins and ends with the mission of God.

So, today we are going to look at what it looks like to take risks with out wealth for the purpose of furthering the Kingdom of God in our valley.

But, Paul makes clear that ministers of the Gospel—today we tend to call them pastors or missionaries, depending on whether you are sending one or receiving one—should receive a sufficient wage for their work so that they are able to carry out their responsibilities. In the same way that the Priests in Israel recieved their provision from the Israelites, we do the same. WORD THIS BETTER

So, with that said, let’s look quickly at a survey of the major principles of giving in the church.

Need to address, giving is for members and regular attenders.

Giving

Giving

The king called his people to take risks with his wealth to further his Kingdom.

The first risky way to give is to give…

And you may think, well, I would take risks with God’s money, with God’s time, with God’s resources. But, I need to take care of the things I’ve earned.

Consistently

The reality of life is that things come up. It can be risky to commit to giving consistently. If you make a commitment to give every week, or every paycheck, and something comes up, you’re faced with a hard decision.

Do you trust God to provide for your need or do you break your commitment to God?

Well, a good next step of faith might be to make a commitment today to consistent giving. Here’s some ways to give consistently.

Put something aside on payday (16.2)

Give in equal increments (practice some people use)

Give a percentage of your income (cf. tithing; 16.2, “as he may prosper”)

Give first (, ‘We obligate ourselves to bring the firstfruits…to the house of the Lord.’)

If you’re like me, consistent giving is hard. It’s not that I forget to give. I just forget my checkbook and I don’t carry cash. But, on the website, Sonrisepalmdale.com, you can setup automatic giving and save yourself the whole headache. I have mine setup to take a percentage of my paycheck out every payday. God get’s the firstfruits and I don’t even have to think about it.

Now, you’ll notice the numbers on the graphic. These get a little more risky as you go along. The next way to give is…

Generously

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I remember times in Bible school and even before, when we weren’t really making budget. We couldn’t pay our bills if we wanted to, but we felt compelled to give to the Lord’s work. We saw the biblical precedent for giving and we saw the promises of God, to provide for every need.

So, we committed to giving, at that time, 10% of our net paychecks. I’m not going to say it was easy and God’s provision often came at the last minute and rarely came in the ways we expected. But, God provided, and we stayed faithful to give, and to give generously even when it hurt.

So, that’s generosity, but there are other principles of generosity.

Give freely (, ‘Not under compulsion’)

And that might be a true, but, Paul says in , ‘What do you have that you did not receive?’ and in , Paul says, ‘The earth and all that is in it belong to the Lord.’

The earth and all that is in it belong to the Lord

Give God what is His (, ‘What do you have that you did not receive’; , ‘All things are the Lords.’)

Common English Bible (Nashville, TN: Common English Bible, 2011), .’

Give without condition (Matthew 10:8, ‘you recieved without paying, give without payback’)

Give outside the local church (The idea is to be generous in life, not expect the church to be generous on your behalf—you are the church!).

Cheerful

That’s actually what we saw in the story, isn’t it?

Not begrudgingly (, ‘not reluctantly’)

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Not because everyone else does (, ‘under compulsion’)

Not to earn God’s favor (our merit was earned by Jesus because we couldn’t earn it’) VERSE?

Because you await a greater treasure in heaven (, ‘If you store up treasure on earth, you don’t store up treasure in heaven.’)

As the Lord Leads

The King gave his own wealth to his subjects to invest to further his kingdom. As Christians, we recognize that everything we have—cars, house, money, even our kids—all we have are God’s resources, given, not for our own personal pleasure, but for us to further the Kingdom of God.

Prompting of the Holy Spirit (, ‘Give as you decided.’)

Character of Jesus (, Jesus came to serve, not to be served)

Not compelled by rules (, free from the law)

Not compelled by men (It it between you and God to decide how to give.)

Missional ()

But, what if I give too much and I don’t have enough for my family? What if I don’t have enough money to give? What if we don’t spend money correctly as a church? What if we lose what we have? What do we really have to gain?

It’s been said that the calling for the local church, or the mission of the local church, is a three-fold mission. That mission is not, sing songs, preach messages, and gather for fellowship. Those are all good things, but the mission is to make disciples, followers of Jesus Christ. To accomplish this requires 3 things: We take the resources God gives us and use those resources to multiply out into the world.

What are the resources of the church?

Well, disciples, which is all of us, followers of Jesus. Then we have leaders. And we have the church as a whole. So, our goal is to take risks to, (1) multiply disciples, (2), multiply leaders, and (3) multiply churches.

Multiply disciples. Multiply leaders. Multiply churches.

Edification (building up of the body, -10 to 0)

Understanding of

the Christian faith,

the philosophy of the Christian life,

and a Christian worldview.

Discipleship (training of disciples, Oikos, 0 to 10)

Leadership Development (Training of future leaders)

Pastoral Training (Training of future pastors/planters)

For the Apostle Paul, giving is a huge part of thinking missionally. It’s part of the sacrifice we make so that others can enter into God’s Kingdom to experience His presence in their lives.

Missional Thinking

You have to remember the purpose of giving. Giving is for the express purpose of expanding God’s Kingdom on the earth. It might seem uncomfortable. It might seem difficult. But, it is necessary to further the Kingdom of God.

Self-sacrifice

Paul wrote,

(19)

Story tell, Paul did not want to receive wages because it might hinder the reception of the message about Jesus.

ILL: Parable of the pearl in the field.

Innovation (20-23)

Intentionality (24-27) — running the race

We endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel [good news] of Christ. (, ESV)

The ultimate purpose of all giving is so that we can spread the good news about Jesus. Our express purpose in giving is to further the Kingdom of God; to invest our wealth together—whether we have much or we have little—in order to carry out the mission of God in this world.

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It’s easy to think that our giving in the church is about the program of the church. It feels like we give so that we can have a pastor to teach and to pray for us. We give so that we can have an equipped children’s ministry. We give so that we can pay a talented band leader—those sorts of things.

But, for Paul, our giving to the church begins and ends with the mission of God.

So, today we are going to explore what it looks like to take risks with our giving to further the Kingdom of God in our cities, and our valley.

We’re going to skip over the right side of the diagram on the screen and in your bulletins. That’s for your reference, to allow you to see what the writers of the New Testament wrote about how we give to the work of the church. I’d like you to look that over on your own. Maybe go home and talk it through with your spouse or family or go out to lunch after church and talk it over with friends.

I’m not going over it because I’m less concerned with how much you give—that’s between you and God—or why you personally choose to give, or things like that.

I’m more concerned with what God is up to. I want you to see what God is doing in you through your giving, and what God is doing in the world because of your giving—and He’s doing great things.

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So, I’m going to go through three character traits of giving that further God’s mission in the world and that build character in us. The first is…

Self-sacrifice

Paul writes,

For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. (, ESV)

ILL: (Story tell)

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PART 1: Who is Paul and what is his calling?

PART 2: Paul doesn’t want a paycheck.

Paul has a God-given right to receive a wage from the church. ILL: Temple workers.

Other people took advantage of that, resulting in skepticism towards preachers.

Paul chose to support himself by making tents rather than hinder their belief.

Paul considered Jesus's mission to be more important than his own comforts and his own needs.

There is something that Paul was seeking in God’s Kingdom that is far superior to anything you could obtain in this life.

ILL: Modernize, parable of the gold (pearl) in the field.

The gold is the Kingdom of God for you.

But not just for you! God blesses us so we can bless others.

The gold is the Kingdom of God for others, too.

When we sacrifice time, wealth, and resources for God’s mission, it’s so that other people can her about Jesus, but it also builds character in us.

How so?

Actually, Paul asks this question and he answers it really weird. He writes,

What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel. (, ESV)

Paul’s like, OK, I get it. My sacrifices help other people to know Jesus. I put myself out there, sacrificing my comfort to have hard conversations with people, and I have to make sacrifices in my life just so others will listen to me, and all that.

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But, he asks, “What’s in it for me? What’s my reward?”

And then he answers, well, I get to present the good news about Jesus to people.

I get to see people enter the Kingdom of God.

I get to see broken people made whole by Jesus.

I get to see unfaithful people made faithful through Jesus’s faithfulness.

I get to see hateful people become peaceful people.

I get to witness Jesus, literally, changing the world around me because of my sacrifice.

You’re like, wait a minute, you’re talking about other people again. “What do I get?” hasn’t been answered.

But, it has.

ILL: As kids, we like to receive gifts, but as we mature, we get more satisfaction out of giving gifts.

The person who sacrifices themselves for the mission of God, matures, and finds unfathomable riches, unthinkable joys, unimaginable satisfaction in watching other people be redeemed by Jesus.

So, self-sacrifice is one character trait of giving. The next one is…

Innovation

Paul wrote,

To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings. (, ESV)

When Paul says week and strong, he’s talking about knowledge. Paul was a very educated man, but he was willing to talk to people on their grounds.

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If that’s a Jewish person who already knows a lot about God and the scriptures, then he’s going to talk to them on that level.

If that’s someone who doesn’t know much about God, he’s going to meet them where they are at.

Innovation means: to make changes in something established, especially by introducing new methods, ideas, or products.

That’s what Paul is doing. He’s going out into the community to speak to them on their grounds. He’s innovating, willing to change his approach to suit the people he’s talking to.

ILL: Oversees missionaries vs. evangelism to your friends, family, neighbors and coworkers.

Great youth pastors know this—I think Matt does a good job with this. As a youth pastor, you have to literally sit down on the ground and talk to the youth on their level.

You don’t make rules for how they can talk to you.

You don’t put limits on the types or personal nature of questions they ask.

You always respond with grace and patience and withhold judgment unless they ask for it.

Listen, we have people in our circles who don’t understand us. They don’t think like us. That’s our problem, not theirs. We don’t demand that they meet us where we are at. We have to innovate. We have to meet them where they are at.

And that’s not just for talking to teenagers—or teens in the room, that’s not just how you have to talk to adults. This is how we talk to anyone who does not think like we do. It’s your job to innovate, to step into their world, to figure them out.

And when you do, you will see the fruits of God’s Kingdom. Be all things to all people so that by all means you might win some.

[PAUSE]

The word we usually use here is patience. Patience isn’t your ability to put up with something. It’s your ability to endure, even to thrive, in situations that are foreign or uncomfortable.

Here’s what James, Jesus’s half-brother says about patience.

Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. (, ESV)

James is basically saying that discomfort is OK. It’s actually good. The work is hard for a time, but the joy of the harvest is coming, when grain will be plentiful, when wine will be available in abundance, when life will be restful.

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Every hard conversation, every time you strive to understand someone you just don’t get, every time you humble yourself in an effort to demonstrate the love of God to someone else,

Every hard conversation, every time you strive to understand someone you just don’t get, every time you humble yourself in an effort to demonstrate the love of God to someone else,

that shouldn’t frustrate you.

It shouldn’t burden you.

It shouldn’t rob your joy.

It should point you forward to greater peace.

It should motivate you because of the promise of new life.

It should give you joy as you anticipate a day of ultimate joy with Jesus forever.

So, when you give to a ministry or a church, give to ministries that are innovating, not to ministries who are anti-cultural. Give your time and wealth to innovative ministries who are really reaching people to grow God’s Kingdom.

There’s lots of big churches out there who get really big by speaking the language of Christians so well that all the Christians want to go there. Let’s be a church that speaks the language of the world around us so that we can see those around us come to know Jesus as Lord, a Savior, as the one who makes all things new.

And you yourself, live sacrificially. Innovate. It’s worth it. And the last character of giving is…

Intentionality

Paul writes,

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. (, ESV)

We’ll talk about both of these illustrations. Paul uses two illustrations of a runner and a boxer.

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Boxer

Boxer

ILL: Watching high schoolers fight (cats)

This is the essence of intentionality.

A good fighter…

…trains (Oikos).

§ …plans (prayer, wisdom).

…plans (prayer, wisdom).

…waits for an opportune moment. – doesn’t waste strength.

ILL: How many of us have given up on sharing our faith because we’re so discouraged.

Runner

We’re all running whether we realize it or not (life).

We all have our eye on a prize (What is that prize?).

Perishable

Imperishable

If you aren’t intentional about the direction you are going in life, you will always default to living for perishable things.

Living for imperishable things, Kingdom of God things, eternal things takes intentionality.

It’s easy to walk away today with a desire to give time, money, or other resources to further the Kingdom of God, but then not make a plan and never get around to doing anything.

It’s easy to think you are going to invest time, money, or other resources in sharing Jesus with your friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, and then not make a plan and never get around to doing anything.

[What’s Your Next Step]

[What’s Your Next Step] PROMPT (elaborate on these)

(1) Make a commitment to financial giving.

Take a risk by investing in the work of the church to further God’s Kingdom.

Or, at least commit to having a conversation with your spouse or other friends in the church.

(2) Make a plan to reach someone in your circle of influence and tell them about Jesus.

RISK: Time and Money

(3) Commit your life to Christ

You’ve been beating the air.

You’ve been running to receive a wreath that is perishable and has no lasting value.